Here’s the case of a virtual office assistant who recently took the plunge and claimed her unique space in the VA world.

This is how Tina M. Hilton worded it on her blog:

As of May 1,2009, Clerical Advantage will no longer be considered a ‘generalist’ virtual assistant company, but will focus on providing services to Business Creative and Legal Professionals looking to utilize online marketing methods and/or need assistance with creative pursuits such as books, classes, webinars, e-books and e-courses.

Read the entire post here.

Congratulations, Tina, on taking that scary leap… You’re an inspiration!

Anyone else up for the challenge? I guarantee it’s the best thing you could ever do to grow your virtual assistance business!

I’m a major sucker for reality shows like CBC-TV’s Dragons’ Den, a show where entrepreneurs pitch a panel of five potential investors, for a stake in their company. I guess I like to live vicariously through the Dragons’ who get to tell awesome entrepreneurs how great their idea is, and tear into the ones that just don’t get it (I’m more like Arlene, though, not a hard-ass like Kevin).

Plus, I love hearing each business’ pitch. Most of of them are absolutely horrendous (you’ll often hear me say “What in the heck were these guys thinking?“).

For example, a presentation this week, where the company, Bandthology, Inc., was asking for one-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars for a twenty percent share.

The problem was their business and offer was all over the map. Their pitch started something like “We’re a company specializing in music games and live entertainment for corporate and live events.”

OK, let’s just stop right here… (are you ready for it?) How can you say you SPECIALIZE in something, then sprinkle the word ‘and‘ all over your pitch??? If you SPECIALIZE in something, that means you’re really good at ONE thing…

Moving on…

As the presentation went downhill on, the Dragons’ failed to grasp what they were selling, exactly. They were talking about a music-themed board game, a digital version of the game (in development) for mobile DJ’s and other forms of events, a live show… and I can’t remember the rest…

That’s the point, isn’t it? If, at the end of a presentation, I (the pitchee) still can’t tell what in the heck you’re selling, how can you expect me to take action? Much less hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars of my money to finance your company.

Robert Herjavec summed up what everyone in the room (and watching) was thinking:

I’m completely confused. I hear you talking about a board game, a live show, I hear you talking about intent of a software product, then you’re talking about a DJ. Like, I’m really confused. This is all over the map.

But, Arlene Dickinson said it best:

Why aren’t you focused on doing one of those things extremely well before you go into other markets? Because, really, I think by diversifying so quickly and being underfinanced to do it, you end up doing a lot and doing nothing very well.

Sound familiar???

I’ve said it hundreds of times before: If you want to make your mark in this great big entrepreneurial world, you’ve GOT to stick to ONE thing — the one thing you’re really good at, the one thing no one else does as good as you, the one thing you want to be remembered by.

What’s your thing?

Yesterday, I shared Pam Ivey’s response on how NOT to reply to a request for proposal.

For most service providers, RFPs can be a great resource for new clients – if you respond professionally and thoroughly, with a great call to action (sounds like a marketing strategy to me).

So, how do you professionally respond to a request for proposal? Pam offers these points:

• Restate the request in your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the project and requirements.
• Describe how you will perform the project.
• Describe ways in which you will measure effectiveness.
• Describe your past experience with past projects.
• Suggest a time-frame for project completion or if warranted, you can suggest an ongoing (or retainer) program – which is of course, is often our ultimate goal.
• Thank them for the opportunity to submit your proposal and offer to answer any questions they may have or to provide further details.
• Remember to include your contact information – both email and phone number, along with a link to your website.

I hope you found yesterday and today’s series on Responding to RFPs useful and informative.

I can’t wait to meet Pam in person and hear her presentation Answering and Responding to RFP’s at the IVAA Annual Live VA Summit 2009 in April (right here in Montreal!!). Pam Ivey is a Virtual Business Manager and Owner of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Network (CVAN).

Time to go out there and start making some noise!

There is a difference between conceit and confidence. Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence means you believe you can get the job done. — Johnny Unitas

If you want to get the business, you must instill this kind of confidence in your potential clients. In order to instill it in others, it must first be inside you.

If you sincerely believe your service will solve their problems, don’t worry about coming off as egotistical. If you can back up your claims, you’re no longer a braggart, you’re a solution provider.

Seeing as I haven’t given birth yet, I figured I’d mosey on over to LinkedIn Answers and pose a new question: What are the 3 biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when giving their 30-second intro?

As usual, the responses received so far have been insightful and informative. Want to join the discussion? Click here to post your answer.

Mistakes aside, what are your 30-second intro pet peeves?

For the first time, I posted a question on LinkedIn, not really knowing what kind of response I’d get. I don’t know what’s taken me so long to discover the Q&A feature on LinkedIn (thanks to Lara for the suggestion), but I’m sure glad I did.

My question was a simple one: Do you have a 30-second intro? So far, I have not been disappointed with the replies.

My friend and colleague, David Cohen, started the conversation this way:

30 seconds? No way…that’s far too long…how about something short and sweet and catchy so you don’t drone on and on like everyone else at a networking event. Like, I help business owners grow their businesses by over 10 per cent…if this is a result you’d like in your business then let’s talk…

30 seconds is way too long…if you catch me doing that shoot me!

Most people who have answered agree with David — the shorter the better. I agree, although, to be honest, it’s something I struggle with.

So that got me wondering: What’s your take on your own 30-second intro? Are you consistently reworking it to be shorter, or do you find yourself trying to cram in as much information as you can in 30 seconds?

Thanks to Don H. Morris who passed this link on to members of the NewCoachConnection Yahoo Group this morning.

Those of you who know me, know I love words (I’ve recently been labeled as word anal by a close friend) and, I’m ashamed to admit, I love using lingo and jargon (I’m working on it, really, I am!).

If you’re like me, you’ll enjoy this BBC News article: 50 office-speak phrases you love to hate.

In my past life, I worked in a Corporate America setting. So I can relate to pointy-haired bosses (and anyone in upper management) freely throwing these expressions around, how often they are used in corporations and how totally meaningless they are.

Think about industry-speak in your own business and area of expertise.

Here are a few I could come up with for coaching:

• designed alliance: describing the coach-client relationship.
• stuck (I use this one a lot): you know where you want to be, but just can’t seem to move forward.
• gap: a little like stuck, signifies the space between where you are now and where you want to be
• solution- or result-oriented, goal-driven: how coaching is different from therapy, consulting and mentoring.
• safe environment: the relationship with your coach is confidential.
• rediscover yourself: getting back in touch with parts of your personality you’ve either ignored, forgot or never knew were there (in fact, this entire sentence is coach-speak!).
• you hold the answers, the answers are inside you, etc.: a coach won’t tell you what to do, they’ll ask questions to help you come up with solutions.
• ecology check: achieving your goals won’t harm or cause problems for others.
• live your success: this can mean different things for different coaches. Basically, if you think you can do/achieve something, act like it even though you haven’t done/achieved it yet.

There are many more, but you get the idea. I’m sure you’ve heard some pretty good ones too, so please share!

What phrases and expressions do you use (or hear) regularly that amount to industry-speak (as opposed to street-speak)? What are you really trying to say?

As longtime member of the Virtual Business Group (free annual membership in 2008), one of the perks is its Book Club — a benefit I hadn’t taken advantage of until late last year. Boy, am I glad to be participating in this months’ activities, since we’re discussing Marcus Buckingham’s Go Put Your Strengths to Work: 6 Powerful Steps to Achieve Outstanding Performance.

This is turning out to be a life-changing book for me.

In the introductory chapter, Buckingham explains the emerging strengths movement — a technique to getting unstuck, taking back control of your time, and steering yourself towards your strengths and away from your weaknesses.

It may sound simplistic at first, but it’s not that easy. A little less than 2 people out of 10 succeed in capitalizing on their strengths. Why? Society puts more emphasis on identifying and improving our weaknesses as opposed to working toward and favoring our strengths — it’s what we’ve been programmed to do since childhood.

The strengths movement, and more particularly this book, is about becoming one of the 2 out of 10. It’s about moving beyond a label and putting your strengths to work — identifying what is best and most effective in you and applying it in the real world.

The 6 steps walk you through a practical process of sorting through your everyday activities and pinpointing which ones invigorate you and which ones deplete you. Discover how to get more of what “juices” you and steer away from everything else. Find out how to to push vs. being pulled. Learn how to explain what you’re doing persuasively enough to get others to help you (and hopefully they’ll participate in the process too).

The 6 steps are:

1. Bust the Myths — So, What’s Stopping You?
2. Get Clear — Do You Know What Your Strengths Are?
3. Free Your Strengths — How Do You Make the Most of What Strengthens You?
4. Stop Your Weaknesses — How Can You Cut Out What Weakens You?
5. Speak Up — How Do You Create Strong Teams?
6. Build Strong Habits — How Can You Make This Last Forever?

How can this book help you run and market your business? The benefits are more numerous than I can come up with, but here’s a list to get you started:

• You are an expert at something. Once you’ve figured it out, you can clearly communicate and market it.
• Build your business around your unique specialty and carve your own little niche.
• By pinpointing what invigorates you, it’s easier to delegate activities that deplete you. (Can you believe there are people out there who actually LOVE to do what you HATE doing?)
• By concentrating mainly on activities that inspire you, you will be more productive, fulfilled and you’re more likely to stick around.
• By being very clear on your specific strength areas, you won’t be sidetracked by other opportunities.
• You will still have to do activities that aren’t the most exciting for you, but your focus will intentionally be tilted toward the stimulating ones and away from the others.

While I don’t know where this journey will lead me and my business (that’s a scary thought), I am keeping an open mind and remaining curious about the discoveries and breakthroughs I’ll make along the way.

I’m SUPER excited about this process (can you tell?) and I look forward to applying it in my life, my business, and using to help clients get unstuck. I’ll be sharing my journey with you, through each of the 6 steps.

Sound like fun? Start your own journey to see where it takes you!

If you’ve already subscribed to the strengths movement, I’d love to hear how it’s helping you in your business.

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I’m back from vacation and I’m feeling rested and ready to rock!!

The very first thing I want to share is an ad I saw in Rhode Island, while driving back home. It wasn’t your run-of-the-mill billboard; It was a beautifully crafted wood sign, painted in plain white, strategically placed on a busy corner on a manicured lawn. The sign simply read:

Custom built to suit

Below those words were his name and phone number. In less than 5 words, this person told me everything I need to know about his business.

How about you? Can you say what you do in 5 words or less?

A formidable challenge, I know. But think of the benefits:

1. Save on advertising. Granted, advertising is not the best marketing strategy for service professionals, but it can help drum up new business and gives you visibility. The less you say when advertising, the less it costs.
2. Tell me more. By using a few simple and well-chosen words to describe your services, you pique the interest of your audience by making them want to learn more about what you do.
3. Use it everywhere. You’ll be using this short description everywhere you market yourself. You’ll use it as a base for your 10- and 30-second intro, make it part of your tag line, add it to your email signature and on your business cards. You’ll add it to social networking sites and anywhere else you can think of.
4. Remain memorable. By creating a short description of your services, you make it easier for others to remember what you do. When people can recite your short description of services, you are creating valuable referrals partners.

While it’s not easy to come up with a description of what you do in one short sentence, the benefits are well worth the effort. Resist the urge to tell your audience everything — tell them just enough to make them want to come back for more.

I love sharing questions that come up on the various online networking groups I belong to, because I feel they reflect what’s really going on in business.

For example, last week, this question came up:

I am looking at a starting a VA business part time while maintaining my full time status at work for at least 6 months. I want to still have an income while I build my business. Any suggestions? Also, what is the first step to start a VA business after I have decided to do it?

I would have loved to share with you what other experienced members had to share… but I was the only one to reply:

I would not suggest you spend too much money on your business just yet (except for what I mention below), unless you are missing critical equipment or software.

1. The VERY first thing I suggest you do is to clearly define the services you offer. Do you have a specialty? Clearly define that part of your business. Be specific. There are a lot of VAs out there offering general admin services, so how will you set yourself apart? Don’t add services you think you’d like to learn or you THINK you can do. That will come later. If you’re in a hurry to get started, it’s not critical to have a business name yet. Just use your personal name.
2. Second is to set your fees — hourly and retainer (you may want to consider a “package fee” if your services lend themselves to such a format).
3. Third is to choose a target market that needs your services and can pay your fee.

At this point, don’t get stuck in “analysis paralysis”. There’s SO much information out there, and you can get stuck into thinking that you have to do all of those things to get going. While they’ll help (like having a website, brochures, marketing kit, press release, articles, head shots, business bank account, separate phone line, etc, etc), they are NOT critical in the start up phase.

These are just my suggestions, but here is my list of things I think anyone starting a service-based business MUST spend the few dollars on:

• If you don’t have a business name or logo yet, that’s OK. But they ARE important. Start thinking about it. Brainstorm with someone if it helps.
• Even if you don’t have the money to have a professional website created, you WILL want to spend the few dollars to register a domain name. Again, if you don’t have a company name, that’s OK; register your own name to start with. You can always purchase another domain and redirect later.
• Once that’s done, you DEFINITELY want to get business cards made — even if you don’t have a logo, business name or website yet. Have a professional-looking card designed with your name, email address (the one with your registered domain name – DON’T use a generic account as it will hurt your credibility from the start), your title, phone number and the services you offer.

Then you’ve got to get out there and market yourself. Networking is THE best strategy to get known. You are starting off right if you’ve joined VA networking groups. If you live in a town (or close to one) that has networking groups, join them if you think members are part of your target market.

You’ll want to tap into your own network you have now. Start spreading the word to your colleagues, family, friends, associates, etc… Slowly you’ll see your business taking on more shape then you can concentrate on your website, marketing material, and other, more involved marketing strategies.

While this question was specifically about starting a VA business, I believe the advice applies to most anyone starting a service-based business.

What do you think? What did I forget to add? What would you have answered? What were the steps you took? What do you wish someone told you?