Virtual Assistance and You

Over on the marketer’s forum that I recently joined, I posed the question, “Why are blogs so often urgently encouraged when the vast majority of people don’t read much at all?”

The commenters vociferously denied that blogging is essential. What is essential is content creation, content marketing; it’s really not about writing blog posts. You shouldn’t get hung up in the blogging idea, as if it’s a literal thing, they admonished me.

This, to me, confirms that we should be making videos, or maybe podcasts, but certainly not writing posts for markets that have neither the time nor the patience for reading.

Or perhaps we should be holding daily group sessions, or contests, raffles, games, news updates, meetups, events, specials, discounts, whatever. Totally hilarious videos du jour. Awesome beauty tip of the day.  Morning tips on car maintenance.

Content marketing. It’s like good old fashioned merchandising, done with internet tools; endlessly creating displays online, especially ones that include participatory elements. This is the practice of the new marketing.

To call it simply ‘blogging’ is deceptive. Blogging is keeping a web log. A journal on the web, relating/sharing your experiences as they unfold. It’s a useful endeavor in its way, but it’s only a sub-sub-set of content marketing.

The key concept that is necessary to understand and execute is content marketing, because the online goal is recognition by search engines, and those hungry machines are appeased only by continuously refreshed content. Search engines surmise that the most active and engaged publisher of content in any field is the one most relevant to search queries.

So how can your biz be active online on a daily basis, in a natural, sustainable way? This is the question for small businesses who want to brand themselves online. Don’t get deterred by all the emphasis on blogging; you don’t have to be a writer. You do have to be active in your field, perhaps with an intensity that’s new to you.

If the prospect of so much activity scares you, contact a virtual assistant, who will partner with you to keep your brand energized on the internet and beyond.

“(A) weird thing about human psychology that you just need to accept for what it is and not complain that you wish it were different, is that people are motivated more by avoiding loss than by gaining benefit.”

I heard Brian Clark of Copyblogger say that.  It seems such a simple, stupid truth; something all grownup people have to swallow. No sense pretending we’re essentially noble as a species. Our reflexes are defensive, not compassionate, not productive.

So. Get over it. If you are in the business of persuasion of any sort, your tactics must center on your target’s fears, not on their hopes.

This is why social services are usually non-profits; they don’t sell protection, the way for-profit businesses do. Good Samaritan kinds of concerns are the opposite of protection. They expose you to risks and dangers.

Any enterprise that seeks to earn a profit must minister to some commonly-held fear.  As VAs, for instance, we must say we ensure that you won’t drown in a sea of overwork. Or we help present your brand so you will be seen in the best light, avoiding embarrassment and mistakes. Or we make your travel plans so you won’t agonize over the confusing schedules for hours.

We help to keep your fear at bay.

It would be more pleasant if we could say that as VAs we help make you successful; or we give you extra time in your day; or we make social media marketing a breeze. I have a whole string of such hopeful messages revolving on one page of this very site.

But that is going to change now. Time to stop wishing things were different. Time to get real and start selling to the gut. The pretty pictures I’ve been painting may satisfy some aesthetic; but it’s actually stark, repugnant need that’s called for, the dark mementos of terror.

Maybe I don’t have to feel slimy about it. Assuaging fear is a good thing to do. And business can be a building block for future altruisms. So, as they correctly claim, it’s all good.

A helpful visual

Created by Online Education

There are many reasons why branding is an aspect of business that no one can ignore. One of the coolest reasons is that by considering our brand, we anchor our work in sustainable ways that are rooted in authenticity.

The importance of branding increases as we journey deeper into cyber space because it’s through branding that we are able to capitalize on the tools the internet offers. Without our avatar, our “About page,” our profiles, and bios we are nothing on the social networks. These articulations of brand are what constitute our identities.

Of course, these identities can be faked, and there are as well many users who hide the person behind a company name or other mask. An online profile is not automatically good branding.

On or offline, a brand can be deceptive. So how do you know when one is trustworthy? Perhaps more to the point, as a business owner, how can you tell your community that your brand is to be trusted?

You can learn to discern the difference between hype and authenticity in branding by sincerely working on your own process of branding. Once you’ve been through the process, you’ll be able to recognize the phonies right away. How? By their predictability. Pretend-brands are predictable; real ones catch you off-guard, amazing you in some way (Seth Godin’s Purple Cow), sounding in your soul like a summons.

When working on your own branding, you have to constantly remember that brand is reputation, and therefore ultimately out of your control. You work to shape it in the same way we plan and grow a garden, hoping it will turn out as envisioned.  We seek to affect, but don’t expect to dominate the end result.

And then, your process of discovery as you ferret out the nature of your brand must be couched in your most honest efforts, or it will lack the gut-wrenching value that makes all the difference.  Any modicum of inauthenticity in your seeking will spoil the whole crop. Look for the truth that is, the YOU that is, your particular gifts and skills that help the world go ’round.

Branding is so important because it’s a process that forces us to be brutally honest, matching up our insides and outsides to create something that helps other people. It’s a requirement of adult participation in society that demands that we increase our self-knowledge and become transparent to our communities.  It’s part of our evolution as we adapt to the cyber/global age.

Could you use a few ideas to jump start your branding inquiries? I invite you to read my mini-eBook, Discovering Your Brand.

What was that recent commercial that showed a bimbo groupie saying, “I dunno what it is, but I want it”?  I thought it was an especially funny image, a parody of hype and at the same time encouraging that kind of fan-atic behavior.

Makes me wonder: how much does business depend on hype and how much does it rely on authenticity?

The measurement varies for every enterprise, I suppose. How about your biz? Do you build hype or trust?

What makes hype so pervasive?

How does authenticity become trust?

Is it better to build thrilling suspense or to cultivate security? Does it serve small business purposes to approach markets as if they’re looking for entertainment?  Or are mundane, concrete  solutions for practical everyday living more profitable these days?

Should you latch onto the glitzy affiliate program, selling flashy products from your internet heroes? Or should you carry on the campaign to get your personal brand established, slowly building your own highly select audience, one by one?

I’m a relationship-oriented type, so the slow build is my obvious preference. But honestly, I can’t say which approach is better in terms of making money for you.  Small business marketing is rather like college athletics: mysteriously unpredictable.

For some, the extravaganza is the natural modus operandi; for others, the routine is the only trustworthy way.

Some can produce spectacle upon spectacle, dazzling their public with unflagging celebrations. At higher corporate levels, this is the only way to survive. Others of us in day-to-day commerce feel most productive when establishing solid personal connections that are well positioned to strengthen over time. We like customers that directly dialog with us; we seek clients of a well-defined ilk who will stay with us over the long run.

As much as the gurus would have us believe that authenticity reigns in social media, it’s easy to fake it, and to present hype that avoids all contact with deep inner truth. Sincerely revealing your ‘nekkid’ self in social networks takes precise skill and awareness. Not all of us are up to meeting the necessary standards of authenticity every day.

I think  we have to keep trying, though. I think this is the core value of the internet. It’s a tool that can guide us to a new kind of self-awareness – a self-awareness that actually sells.

How does this contrast strike you? How do you orient your communications – to be entertaining, or to solicit a response from the receivers? Does one or the other of these approaches get a better return on your investment?

A couple of truly outstanding examples of business at its best have come to my attention lately, and I want to celebrate them here. To me, these people are demonstrating the highest standard of business in multiple ways. They are contributing to worthy causes, doing so in a renewable way, defining what it means to be a citizen of Earth, and becoming magnificently strong individuals along the way.

I’m talking about Toms Shoes; and a colleague (though I should hardly presume to be in her league), a fellow VA who has positioned her professional work to be a powerful force for good in the world. This woman, Janine Gregor, recently described one of her projects in a press release. The title? U.S. Virtual Assistant Uses Public Relations and Online Marketing Skills to Help Establish a Library in Swaziland.

These peeps are beyond awesome. Why? As suggested:

1. They’re contributing to worthy causes: What a concept! Shoes, for Pete’s sake. This fellow is more awesomely practical than anything else. His work makes sense in a truly grand way. And Janine’s contribution to the library in Swaziland will nurture recipients for many generations.
2. They’re choosing renewable methods to accomplish charitable giving: The old model for non-profits was fund-raising. The new model, exemplified by these entrepreneurs, is good old business churning along and flowing over to the needful places in win-win, natural ways.
3. They’re defining what it means to be a citizen of Earth – a business citizen, anyway. Our commerce can’t be immune to the condition of the market. We can still accumulate satisfactory personal wealth while contributing to the personal wealth of others. I’m not talking about laws, here; I’m talking about honor.
4. And they are becoming magnificently strong individuals along the way. This is a guess on my part; I don’t know either of these folk personally. But I know what it is to think in global terms. It’s not easy, and it has little mercy. It requires marked reduction in your ego value, in favor of something ineffable. It’s a risk the individual is sometimes compelled to take.

What do you think? I feel like apologizing for sounding socialist; but helping the other guy up is simple good manners, isn’t it? The work of these two makes me joyful. We could all use more of that.

Do you know examples of this same generosity? Please comment!

Increasingly, I’m aware that the field of virtual assistance – in its broadest scope – includes anyone who is offering help to others via online channels. We use the web for research, communications, sales, and an enormous number of other business applications.

And the field of virtual assistance – whether you offer transcription, coaching, client-specific software design, or anything in between these extremes – has its own set of rules and requirements,  some of which radically depart from tradition.  Take, for instance, the meaning of time, online.

Not only have computers and the internet made business astronomically faster than it was 50 years ago, but this increase in velocity has carved its effect in the individual’s experience of time as well.

Because this can be a source of confusion for noobs, I list below a few cautions.

• If they don’t respond to your email within 24 hours, they’re not going to respond.
• If they haven’t opened your newsletter within 24 hours, they’re not going to open it.
• If it wasn’t tweeted within the past hour, it’s passé.
• If it’s an article about a social media tool that was published last summer, don’t bother to read it.
• If it’s a blog with no dates displayed, it’s not a blog but rather a collection of articles. No need to read it now: put it in the folder for later. (Along with all the other articles you’re planning to read later.)
• If you like the look of the Twitter background at very first glance, they’re probably someone you want to follow.
• If you do something stupid and it goes viral, you’re a villain overnight: if you do something brilliant and it’s viral, your future may be instantly assured.

It’s a precarious existence; one in which fate can hang a hard left at any given instant. Therefore, the development of a spontaneous relationship with the web is really the best practice. You have to be ready, alert, tuned in. You have to grab ‘em with a glance. You have to be eminently responsive.

It’s is a new and different rhythm of life, to be sure, for anyone over 50 and perhaps for many less aged. But this post’s theme occurred to me because I ‘met’ a client, quite suddenly and serendipitously, online five days ago and immediately we struck up a delightful and rare harmony.  I could easily have missed this opportunity, but I didn’t. I was there and I responded.

In my earliest days of web exploration, I read an article that said internet success involves staying open, being willing to try things, suspending doubt. Way back when I studied theatrical improv, one of the rules was, ‘Say yes!’ That’s how you make interactions work.

The web is sudden, and fast, and improvisational.  Assimilating its rhythm is a big part of finding its treasures.

Being organized is profoundly important to me. Not that I’m compulsive, but things must be in order, generally, for me to proceed. You could categorize people according to their level of organization, from OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets) to the utter chaos of – for instance – a toddler in the nursery. In between is where most of us flounder, seeking to maintain accustomed efficiency and order while focusing on other things.

Unless you’re at the extreme of disorder (in which case, please contact a VA to help you sort things out), you’ve probably shared my experience of stressing over the thin line between order and inspiration. You know how it is:

• the inner quibbles over whether to stick to your plan or follow your nose;
• the tension that never really goes away between keeping your house or office neat and just living, for Pete’s sake;
• the tendency we have to force things for the sake of order, sometimes, even when the result is negative.

Keeping things orderly is a fundamental of doing  business. Yet a sizable slice of the business world toils along in complete disorganization. The ‘idea’ people, the salespeople who are all charm, the creators and directors who dream so powerfully: none of these can file away a phone number or remember to follow up on something any more than they can moonwalk. Yet we need their strengths, and with assistance, these types can become indispensable.

As is often the case, it’s the average, those of us who aren’t at the extremes, who grapple most often with the rules of orderliness. Part of organization is setting priorities, a cornerstone of business growth. Knowing when to cling with fierce commitment to your priorities and when to let them go is key. While faithfulness is a human value, it’s not’s always the smart choice in business. Those who can remain flexible are able to stay tuned to passing opportunities; success often springs from alertness to conditions and trends of the moment.

Our current transition to the internet challenges many people’s sense of order. It’s all about letting go. Remember the Tennyson lines:

“The old order changeth/yielding place to new,/And God fulfills himself in many ways,/Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”

If you, too, struggle with the rigidity of your personal ideas and structures of order; if you’re experiencing many conflicts with others in your daily life; or if you’re resisting getting very involved online, consider how it’s a question of control. Realize your soul is wrestling with your mind. And then, I recommend sitting back and watching those two entities fight it out. Or better, take a break, take a walk, and when you return, you’ll know what’s right.

Order is like the sun: wind and rain will come and go, but the sun is always there.

Entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses are facing huge challenges in budgeting these days. At the same time, with the internet, new technologies are making possible entirely re-structured solutions. Attitudes and expectations are morphing, and often it seems as though we can’t rely on traditional systems in any corner. One emerging practice that is ecological, economic, and respectful of society’s progress is organizing work in teams rather than hierarchies.

In a team, no individual escapes responsibility, no one can be slack, all equally share the challenge. Thus, for the individual, teamwork may require a heightening of commitment and motivation. But teams also mean shared victory, and shared loss. As we transition to a global awareness and economy, teams may cushion the psychological weight of making a living. Teams are both protection and strength.

Team-oriented business structure means you don’t look for employees: you look for partners, people who will fulfill their roles independently of your oversight. People who will do the work, apply sound judgment to problems, and submit the deliverables with no need for your constant nurturing or management. People who contract with you because they believe in you and your work and want to support the business. People who are interested in being the best they can be.

Virtual assistants, of course, are obvious potential team members. VAs operate according to the premise that their skills are viable as independent services, which can be added by contract to a business owner’s team.

Let’s look at an example. My friend is skilled landscaper. He hires helpers to do the hands-on work of gardening and landscaping, and he considers these people employees. But instead of locating office space and increasing his payroll, my friend contracts with independent people to flesh out his team. He works with a graphic artist, a marketer, a bookkeeper, an HR professional, and a customer relations specialist; and all these people comprise his team. As his business takes off, he also forms a liaison with a VA to help him stay organized and on top of the details. His VA also introduces him to the wonders of the internet, and helps create his company’s presence in cyberspace.

All the while, this friend of mine is actually responsible only for the people who dig and plant under his direct supervision. Even these folk, once trained and confident, may become freelancers rather than employees. And thus we all work towards being self-employed.

Please note how this way of defining the trends makes virtual assistance something entirely different from the expectations one might have when ‘outsourcing’ to a third world so-called VA. The difference is so vast that the moniker, virtual assistant, becomes problematic, causing widespread confusion. A VA of the sort that can make a measurable difference to your business is a team member and not a day worker.

As a business owner, are you still struggling with all the trappings of traditional structures: office space and equipment, payroll, oversight, politics, policies, taxes, parking, health, attitudes, weather, and all the hairy details involved in bringing employees under your wing? Isn’t it time you matured, forming ties with professionals rather than shouldering the burdens of being the boss? Shouldn’t you be creating a brilliant team, rather than remaining saddled with dysfunctional and costly systems?

Interested in learning more about how a virtual assistant can make your work both stronger and smoother? Please contact me today!

Image by Amy McCartney, via Flickr.

Lately, I’ve been noticing many articles about unemployed people giving up on job hunting and deciding to start their own business.

Now, I certainly have experienced the humiliation and discouragement that often accompany job searches. Been there more often than I like to admit. Can’t blame anyone for giving up and inventing a new approach.

Actually, since I believe we should live first and make money second, I celebrate, applaud, and praise to the skies any effort to realize (make real) the most direct manifestation of your own personal gifts. Everyone should make a living by the strength of their best native capabilities.

There’s that one hitch, though. That one thing that no one can circumvent. If you’re going to start your own business, you have to learn how to do business, and then you have to do it. I am hoping that people who feel driven to self-employment understand what’s involved.

Make no mistake, doing business is a very different thing from being an employee (or an academic). You may have a product or skill, but you need business skills and capital as well or your endeavor will fizzle.

You trade the servitude of employment for slavery to business demands. If you don’t thirst for that kind of obsession, owning a business may not be for you.

Business is something it’s best to be passionate about. Someone in my networking meeting today said, “I’m all about marketing,” as if he was a car covered with stickers hawking widgets. When you’re in business, you’ll encounter many peeps who are born to the trade (as it were!). People with market savvy in their genes.

But another person in my networking group told his story of having a lifelong dream that now, in his retirement years, is at last manifesting. A traditional job took him for many decades in another direction, but his dream never entirely faded. Now, his return to authenticity makes his current enterprise eminently attractive to customers. So this fellow’s not only experienced in business, he’s operating from the heart. That’s the optimal combo.

(Perhaps ideally, we’d all be working in the best expression of our native skills from the start. We’d focus on identifying our dreams, and then assimilate the necessary business acumen to see them through.  Unfortunately, it usually works the other way around, if it works at all. People spend years just doing business, and only later on turn to focus on their dreams. To me, this is backwards.)

So what if circumstances have left you jobless, the search for employment has been fruitless, and you’re at your wits’ end, but you have no experience as a business owner? Learn, learn, and learn more through reading, networking, going to conferences, and any other opportunities you come across. Team up with others who do have business skills. And most of all, be patient with yourself. You can learn this stuff; it’s not rocket science, but it’s also not assimilated in a day.

Do what you love, respect and learn the processes and morés of commerce, and your new enterprise will surely prosper.

An inexpensive way to be supported in your new business is to work with a virtual assistant. Please contact me for a free consultation about the ways a VA can help maximize your business assets and boost your productivity.

(Image by rachaelvoorhees via Flickr)