Virtual Moxie - The Cure For The Common Virtual Assistance Practice

Happy Love Day!!

So many people I know hate this day, choosing to see it as a made up day that only exists to enforce mass consumerism and overspending. I’ve been told that it’s a sham to have a "Valentine's" day to celebrate love when love should be celebrated all year long.

And I get it, I really do.

Being TOLD to be loving isn’t appealing. And people who demonstrate love one day/year and no other time aren’t really doing that at all. I just think there’s more goodness here than can be contained in whether or not to give someone a heart-shaped card and some chocolates and the discussion of societal repercussions of commercialism (blahblahblah).

For me, a person whose entire life and everything in it is 100% about love, I see it as a day that’s just like icing-on-the-cake. It’s not the whole goodness, but a little bit extra. And I simply can’t vilify something positive, much less vilify something positively pointing in the direction of love.  A few days ago, a Facebook friend from the above-mentioned down-on-VDay camp told me she really appreciated my far less cynical approach to the day.

So, Happy Valentine’s Day! May you and all those you love feel your hearts filled with gooey, sappy, deeply felt and meant love from all sides today!♥♥♥

You know, about eighteen months ago when I started to know that my life purpose was to love people, I had such agita because I couldn’t think what it would mean to me, specifically, in my business.

Since day one, my business has always been built on less-than-masculine principles. There was no way for me to do it in any other manner and have it make a lick of sense to me. So love has always been present, but the focus? Not exactly.

Genuinely, if I could go sit on a rock in a field all day every day and have people come by that I could talk with and counsel and share love with, that would be sheer perfection. Who knows… maybe I’ve done that in another life.

But in this life, I have responsibilities and expenses to cover, and no community willing to pay those for me so I don’t have to do anything but sit on my rock sharing love (I am open to a wealthy backer doing that, though, so if you know of one, please send him/her my way!).

I figured, no one would pay for me to love her. At least, no one I knew would, nor was there anyone I’d heard of who had either paid for love or been paid to love.

The agita grew. I wasn’t happy any longer to just do the work I enjoyed doing, and there was no way to go back—the barn door was open and the horses were out! But I also couldn’t figure out how to move forward and do my work when no one would pay for love. What I used to do happily wasn't happy-making anymore.

And then I got it. My clients PAY for business coaching, business consulting, online community building, community membership, Virtual Assistant training, book writing/ghosting—all the things people pay me to do for them, and I DELIVER that. What they may or may not be aware of is that it’s all love coming from me. Every bit of it’s entirely wrapped up.. I’ve been told that anyone paying attention would get it—but I don’t know that everyone pays attention. Have you been aware that everything I write here is love in the form of blog posts? Just curious. :)

In wrapping my work in love, I realized that what I do—all if it—can be summed up this way: I love people in a business context.

Since coming to that realization, everything has changed for me in my business. I mean it—everything. From how I market, to how I teach, to how I think about money (including being paid for coaching with Love Offerings), to who I work with, to what I deliver and how, to the compassion I show people…all different. All better.

Is it the love that changed it? Yes—but it only transformed things because I was so willing to dive in, submerge myself, and behave as it directed me. Before the work could be transformed, I had to be willing to focus on what I know I’m on this earth to do.

So today, I’ll share a little love in the form of a question and ask you this…

In your business, are you doing what you’re here to do? If not, how would things be different for you if you were? How could you love and care for and about your work, your clients, and yourself even more than you do now?

There’s only one you. And you’re the only one who can do what you do. Given that the clock is always ticking, is there something—some amazingly awesome gift you bring with you—that you need to be offering to the world?

And do you have the moxie to offer it to others?It doesn't matter whether you tell anyone you're doing it. It doesn't matter if you do it in small, soft ways, or in ways that shake up the whole world. What matters is that you do it--whatever "it" is.

I couldn't agree more with Rilke, who said, "I could give you no advice but this: to go into yourself and to explore the depths where your life wells forth."

What do you say? I’d love to hear—either in comments, or in email. Is it enough to "do" work, or is there something more worth going for... more worth bringing forward? ♥

Why Most People Lie

It's easier. At least on the surface. In the moment, it feels safer than telling the truth, than risking saying something other than what you assume the person you're talking with wants to hear. We don't like disappointing others. We don't like being uncomfortable. We don't like confrontation. And we don't like admitting we did something we probably wish we hadn't.

So most people lie if they can see a clear path to doing so to avoid the stuff I just mentioned.

But it's harder to lie, long term. Remembering the stories you've told is hard. And it's tiring to try. And sooner or later, you'll flub that up, and ... then what?

Telling the truth from the get-go is far better--although often scarier. And it's even scarier when we're talking about clients because the fear is that the client will be unhappy and end our working relationship--and who wants to risk that?

I say damn the torpedoes. You're human. You'll make mistakes--most of which are pretty easily remedied. You have the right to say no and disappoint others. It's ok to be you--fully and transparently. And when you do, it's actually an investment in the relationship. It's saying, "I care more about us and the well-being of our relationship than I do about my comfort or your disappointment." Smart clients will meet you in the wonderful space you create. And those who don't? They don't deserve someone like you.

Tell the truth at every turn and be different from "most" people.

Moxie Tip 89: Lateness

Have a standard about how you'll move on if someone is late, or no-shows an appointment. Mine is ten minutes, in case that helps.

Introducing--Virtual Basics!

On Friday, most auspicious day that it was (11/11/11), and after an eleven-month hiatus from providing training to new and aspiring VAs, I was happy and delighted to launch Virtual Basics for AssistU.

It wasn't launched to the usual launch fanfare--we simply told our lists, and our friends via social media. And now, here, I get to share it with you.

When we stepped away from training at the end of last year, in my heart I was super clear that whenever we came back to it, I wanted to serve a varied market.

It’s not that I was unhappy about the people our live classes had served for 14 years. I wasn’t at all. I’m proud of each and every one of the graduates of that program. And at the same time, I knew there were so many people for whom our training had been out of reach (mostly for financial reasons).

An Anna Quindlen quotation kept playing in my head:

“If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.”

What we’d accomplished in training over the past 14 years felt amazingly good to me, and I knew we were entering a new era for us. An era far more about doing well and doing good in bigger ways that we’d done it before. Success on our own terms, even as we support others in creating the same thing for themselves. Can there be much that's better?

As part of the new era, I set about thinking through and looking for a way to create a training that was complete--including all of our great methodologies, processes and procedures for creating a solid Virtual Assistance business--and to do it in a way that could be priced so that it could be more easily available to more people. I think we’ve done that with this program. It’s applicable to new and aspiring VAs, as well as for VAs who may have already started practices, but on wobbly floors that need to be solidified. And at $515 (with an addtional payment plan option available) and a 30-day Happiness Promise (our cheerful refund policy), I hope the entry point is set just right to encourage people to take a chance--on themselves and creating something of their own.

Someone asked me on Friday after we launched, “Why Virtual BASICS?” I prefer to go deeper, to do training that isn’t just surface level.” A good point that, and nothing we’ve ever done is surface level. “Basic,” in our company, means fundamental, not “surface” or lacking in any way. In fact, whenever I coach VAs--even established VAs who are struggling or wobbly in any way, it always goes back to basics.

In almost everything we humans do, in the beginning of a new thing there’s a need to learn fundamentals (“basics”) before we get fancier. Skip the basics, trip over the more advanced. A prodigy might not, but the rest of us?? Moxie needs a strong foundation, dontchaknow.

So Virtual Basics has been created to make sure that the foundation of this business is solid for anyone who uses this program. Because when it is, a VA can go anywhere.

And we’re here to support that dream of going “anywhere”—especially at a time when more people than ever need hope, and to believe that dreams do come true. I’d love to help a ton of them.

So we’ll see what happens. If you’ve a mind to help us spread the message, thank you for that. And if you have any questions, please feel free to email me, or leave me a comment, below. 

You Have to Pay to Play...Or Do You?

I've been sitting here for an hour trying to think how to write about this without sounding like I'm accusing or spanking anyone.Not sure I can, so I'll ask you to know my heart, and that that's not the point of this at all. It's more of a cautionary tale, really, for those who do teleclasses, telesummits and the like, as well as those who benefit from them.

Last week, someone I know shared that she'd found a tool that let her save audio replays from a telesummit. She shared that the telesummit organizer had made the replays available only for 24 hours, and if you wanted the audio for download, you needed to buy the package that included the downloadable mp3s.

She didn't want to pay, found this tool*, and saved the audios to listen to at her convenience.

I said, "You do know what that is, right?"

She paused... and I heard the lightbulb go off as she realized she'd stolen them. She was genuinely disarmed by that; it was clear she hadn't thought about it in that light. She said she'd delete them immediately. I trust her heart... I know that she did it when we finished our conversation.

So the cautionary tale is about not assuming that your streaming audio is safe. It's just not. If it's streaming, people can (and clearly do) use this to save a copy. Maybe there's a call in there to change the model. Maybe it's not free streaming at all anymore. Or maybe it's all free downloads, and an upsell to something else. I don't know, but it's clear that streaming replays aren't staying on the server where they're hosted, so....?

And the other cautionary bit is for those who may want audios streaming on a site, or an ebook from another where you have to sign up for a list to get it, or anything where there's an exchange of some sort required for you to get what you want. I ask you to think about not using tools to rip other people off. We all have the right to name our price for what it is that we do, and no one has to like it, nor do they have to pay it. But to take it in a way that's not in accordance with the price set forth is to steal it--pure and simple. You wouldn't want someone to do that to you, so although it's become far easier for us to not have to pay to play anymore, please do. It's the right thing. And we could all use some more of the right thing in this world.

Your turn....do you buck the system to get what you want? Why is that or isn't that ok for you to do? And if you organize audio events, are you shocked to know this is available and easy to do, or do you just accept this as one of the risks of doing business virtually?

 

*I didn't link to the tool because I didn't want to share it. 

What Preparing For Irene Can Teach You About Your Biz

As many of you know all too well, the east coast of the United States just lived through one of the biggest, baddest hurricanes to ever make landfall here, and it came on the heels of a not-insignificant earthquake. Did I ever think I’d really experience something like this one/two punch from Mother Nature here in Baltimore? Nope. This stuff really doesn’t happen here. So did I know what to do to keep myself as safe as possible? Nope. Didn’t have a clue.

I still don’t have a clue how to keep myself safe in the case of an earthquake. That’s in part because we didn’t have any warning or time to prepare, and part because almost as soon as it was over, we were faced with Irene. But you can bet your life that I’m going to learn what to do in case of an earthquake now that I know, first hand, that it can happen here.

As for Irene…Saturday night, when the storm peaked for us, it was pretty scary—and I’m a full 15 miles away from the Chesapeake Bay, so I can only imagine what it may have been like for people who were closer to the bigger dangers the storm presented. As I sat in my office Tweeting with others in the thick of the storm, the rain was pounding, the wind was gusting, the trees were bending, and the lights were flickering. And the only thing that made it easier for me was knowing that I had prepared for it.

I’m not a hysterical person. Not by a long shot. Yet, when we were heartily urged to do certain things—just in case--by experts with far greater experience in dealing with hurricanes than I have, I did them. I bought water and food enough to last five days--for us and the cats. I made sure I had flashlights (not candles—burning them during a dangerous storm, I learned, creates more danger) and plenty of batteries. I bought matches to lite our stove if I needed to. I had tarps and duct tape to cover broken windows. I had a great first-aid kit. I even had safety pins, which were on the preparedness list, and I still don’t have a clue what good they would have done me. I did my laundry in advance of the storm, and stowed away all the patio furniture, bird houses, and wind chimes. I located our non-electric land line back-up phone, made a paper list of emergency numbers, charged cell and laptop batteries, backed up computers, and emailed clients to let them know what was going on and what my plan was if we lost power and services for an extended period of time. I filled my car with gas. Oh, and I found a battery-operated radio. Just in case.

Some of my friends scoffed at what I did. But me? I felt better in doing it. And isn't that the reason we do anything we do? It's the reason we buy insurance. It's the reason we pack extra underwear when we travel. It's the reason we continue to market even when we have full practices. We feel better when we're in action, and when we feel prepared.

I believe it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have. And I don’t believe in screwing around with my life. I’m 48 now and know I’m not invincible.

My point for telling you all this (and there was a happy ending, btw… we were fine, here in the Brice household, when all was said and done, although more than a million people in Maryland didn't fare nearly as well) is that while it was smart for me to do what I did while others thought it was ok to not do it, it's the same in business. Some prepare for the possibility of their having problems, and some don't.

Some buy E&O insurance, and some don't. Some create strong standards, and some don't. Some know where they're going, and some don't. And some prepare for a business loss by creating a business disaster recovery plan, and some don’t. Those who do do so to feel more certain and safe. And those who don't don't—because they believe themselves to be invincible/don’t believe a loss can happen to them, or because it simply takes too much time and effort.

No one is invincible. Not personally, and not professionally. As for too much time and effort to take care of yourself and your business? It takes a boat load of each. I admit that. But I can only imagine the time and effort it would take to try to recover from a loss one wasn't even remotely prepared for.

While I was concerning myself with preparing for the hurricane, I took great comfort in knowing that, among other things, because I have a business recovery plan, I didn’t have to also worry about what would happen to my business as a result of whatever happened here because of Irene.

My wish for you is that you should know such comfort.

Be smart and plan for how you’ll take care of yourself and your biz in the event of something happening to you—regardless of the cause. Truly, it’s not as unlikely as you might think. And, as we learned when we were caught unaware by last week's earthquake, trouble can be on you before you even have time to blink--much less have time to figure out what you're going to do.

Your turn...are you as prepared in business and life to weather whatever trouble comes your way? Or do you not feel that's necessary?

Moxie Tip 27: Leaps of Faith

Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith and do it--whatever "it" is. Remember, you can't steal second with your foot on first.

Offering Love to New and Aspiring VAs

As many of you know, 2010 was a super-huge year of change for me, among the biggies, my VA of 11 years closed her practice and I found (luckily!) another who is amazing, I entirely refocused my entire life on my highest value--love, changed my first name to the name of my heart (and my full first name), rebranded myself everywhere, and reworked the way I coach--choosing to coach for love offerings rather than big bucks.

Then, at the end of last year, we took our fabulous Virtual Training Program out of our service offerings for a revamp. I admit that, after 14 years of training world-class Virtual Assistants, making that decision was super-hard, even though it was the most loving thing I could do for my company, and I knew the program would be back and even better and more powerful for the VAs who opted to train with us.

With regard to that, my original plan was to relaunch at the end of this month. But for a variety of reasons, including my constant finding of new things I want to teach in our program, relaunch is now scheduled for the end of October.

Good for me and good for anyone who joins the program… but still, the delay bothered me.

As I sat with the reality that there were people actively waiting for us, and we were going to be coming late to the party, my heart whispered that waiting to launch that didn’t mean I couldn’t do something else now. I sat up a little straighter and put on my thinking cap.

I immediately knew I didn’t want money for it. I wanted to gift it so it could help loads of people. And I wanted it to be a genuine gift—which, by definition, has to be given freely and without strings—so I didn’t even want them to have to sign up to get access to the information I planned to share. And I wanted it to be more rich than an ebook or special report--which I keep hearing people are entirely tired of. And I wanted to interact with the people who wanted whatever it was that I was going to offer. Lastly, I knew I didn't want a big, long crappy-old sales page.

More thinking, and a full good night of sleep later, what that turned out to be is the Smart VA Starter Series—three live teleclasses with me, three Q&A Office Hours sessions to interact with me around the class material, and all six audios. Not an ebook or pre-recorded anything in the mix.

Foundational stuff, of course—as it’s what I do best. But I genuinely can’t think of a better thing to offer a new or aspiring VA than the opportunity to learn and think deeply about foundation as a precursor to his or her thinking about, or learning about anything else having to do with this fabulous profession of ours.

If you’re reading this, and you are a new or aspiring Virtual Assistant, if you struggle at all in your practice and know that you don’t have a strong foundation under you, if you’ve been piecing things together from a variety of sources even though you’re not sure that what you’re doing is really going to serve your business or you, from my heart to yours—you’re the person I’ve created this for, and I hope you’ll join in on the fun and learning.

If you’re reading this and aren’t the person who needs foundational support for your practice, but you know a Virtual Assistant who does, I hope you’ll feel good about sharing the gift. Again, my moxie-filled hope is to help as many people as I can, by being of service in the best way I know how—loving VAs through helping them create super-strong businesses.

All the details are here: smartvastarterseries.com

Happy Birthday!

Happy 48th to me, and Happy Birth Day to Moxie Tips!

Over the last year, I've had more than a few people tell me how much they wished I would write more for Moxie.. share more ideas, and more of my experiences, and from my experience. Until last weekend, I couldn't really see a way to get more of that to you, in a way that would be sustainable for me. 

And then, sitting in Panera, working on the relaunch of the AssistU training for VAs, it came to me out of left field. I wasn't even remotely thinking on blogging or blogs, or tips, or anything... and it showed up anyway. L-O-V-E when that happens!

So, starting today, you'll see your regular VMoxie post on Tuesdays as always, and on all other weekdays, a short (often single sentence!) bit of moxie-filled awesomeness.

I hope you'll like Moxie Tips. If so, I hope you'll share them with friends and clients. If you prefer reading bloggy things in email, be sure to sign up (over there on the left, near the top!) to have them sent to you automatically. And as always, feel free to click through to come back here and add your voice and your own ideas to the conversation.

Choice and What it Means to Your Independence

Five years ago, I wrote a post on the 4th of July about claiming my own day of independence, and I encouraged everyone else to do that, too.

I'm reprising it again this year (today, not tomorrow as usual for my posts), because more than a handful of you asked me to. You can read that post here.

As I read it today, I tried to think if I had anything to add to it. Was there something, I wondered, that I could contribute to make it stronger, and that my brain--five years more developed--could see today than it could when I created it.

It's just this small addition...

Freedom, or independence, is about choice. And you can really only be at choice when your needs are met. One clue that they're not is that you're afraid. There is no choice if you're afraid and the fear runs you. If you're worried that you won't have enough money and that leads you to take on crappy clients... if you're fearful of standing up for yourself so you let clients run roughshod all over you...if you're scared, as a VA said to me last week, that waiting for ideal clients and turning away others is like spitting in God's face....or if you're scared to take any real steps forward because you are afraid you don't have the skills to attract great clients, the fears will run you.

Stop being afraid. NONE of this can kill you. And if you're going to live through whatever you do, why not do the stuff you know is good for you and see what happens then?

Choose freedom. Choose yourself. Claim your independence from everything that holds you back. Believe in yourself--I do!