I have no desire to write a book nor do I plan to do so anytime soon. So when the question arose “If you could write a book or if you plan to write a book, what would be the subject of that publication?” I thought I would just pass on this post. However, not being one to take the easy road, I decided if I had to write a book it would certainly be an inspirational piece.

I was fortunate to not have anything handed to me in life as my parents knew the benefit of good old fashion hard work. This is what I would share. All those life lessons that I have learned along the way to becoming who I am today. The topic would be about life handing you lemons and you making lemonade, but somehow I do not think it would be a mushy feel good piece.

I am an avid reader and find that I am drawn to people’s stories. Both my business and personal readings are often times biographies, real life accounts or survivor stories. This is how I would want to write should I ever take that challenge.

I have taken several writing course however I still have this mental block when it comes to the whole idea of writing a piece let alone a book. So for now I will stick to speaking and possibly video, to get...

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There are many people I would love to meet, both past and present, to pick their brain and have a conversation with. But the one person that I truly would love to meet and will never have the chance, is my husband's mother.

One reason, and the biggest, she has been deceased since before I met my husband. It saddens me that she would never meet our two children. I know this was a dream of hers, for him to have a strong family life, and I am sure that he thinks about that often.

The other is I would love to hear her story. She was certainly a strong woman, lived life for herself and not what the rules dictated. She broke those rules, divorced and remarried when it was not a common thing to do. She had three more children and blended her family to be such a strong unit. She worked outside the home when it was not your typical place for a woman. She picked up the pieces after her second husband suddenly passed and saw to it that her children were educated and led fulfilled lives. And she made sure her children did not want for one thing.

Being a business women with my focus on my family, I am certain that there are many life lessons she could have shared with me. As I sometimes...

leedrozak

This month’s challenge is a real thinker! Essential has many different meanings and interpretations so I decided to take my lead from the dictionary. Essential is to me:

Adjective: (necessary; needed) – Having ethics and integrity is essential to My Office Assistant and an invaluable business practice.

Noun: (a basic, indispensable, or necessary element) – The essentials of virtual assistance is communication and partnership.

Adverb: (relating to the most important characteristics or ideas of something) – It is essential for myself as a business owner to continue to grow with knowledge and education.

Based on the information above, what would essential mean to you?

leedrozak

What does your elevator speech say about you? I could sit here and tell you all the ins and outs when it come to your speech. I could sit here and tell you what you should include and how you should present yourself. However, you have heard or read that all before. Being involved in a lot of face to face networking I can tell you the tips that have worked for me and what has not.

The purpose of your elevator speech is to sell your business and yourself and what better way to do that than be proud of your business and have confidence in yourself. I have found that sitting at networking events listening to the same pitches again and again can be rather tedious. So I changed up my strategy a bit and now instead of what I do, how I can save you money and what a virtual assistant is I focus on myself as a business owner.

I talk about what my latest project is for my business and how it can be applied to yours. I tell about what my obstacles of being a business owner are and how I overcome them. I talk about being a small business owner using social media to promote myself and My Office Assistant. I present questions that many entrepreneurs have and provide the answers to them.

At an...

leedrozak

Success is measured by many in all sorts of ways. For some it is money or wealth and for others it is numbers, whether it is clients, followers or employees. To me success boils down to two things: time and happiness.

Most you understand the happiness part but time you ask. Well I look at it this way, what is the point of happiness if you have no time to enjoy it. Really, if you are overwhelmed time wise than are you really achieving your happiness. Don’t get me wrong, time does not mean are you busy, time means are you spending it wisely to enjoy all the things that are important to you.

So the question was posed “Success as a Virtual Assistant is…” and here is my answer. As a virtual assistant I have the choice of the client that I take on as well as the amount of hours. I am blessed at this point because I truly like and enjoy working with all of my clients. Maybe it is because they are a lot like me and maybe it was just the luck of the draw but none the less, I have superior clients.
I am also blessed to enjoy all the work I do for my clients. Of course as a virtual assistant this is the choice that I get to make. There is very little that I do not enjoy doing, but it is nice...

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Do you really have days to read what a day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant is like? Why so you may ask? Well everyday is quite different and quite unique. You may have the same clients and the same type of work but if you are like the average VA, you have added outside interests to your schedule.

So what is my day like, I can sum it up in a nutshell. Wake up the family and send them on their way. Pour my first of many cups of coffee and enjoy while I read and respond to all my friends at VAF. Then I move on to Twitter and Face Book to see if there is anything pressing in the virtual world. Next, I look at my calendar (and yes this included my clients calendars as well) and my to-do list. I also check out the house to see what exactly needs done there as well. Then I stop to look outside for all my four legged friends, since I saw a herd of deer the other day I am more diligent in sitting by one particular window and gawking outside awaiting their return. It is then on to email and then let the day begin!

I usually follow my schedule and to-do list pretty well since I am anal at organization. I stop around 10 am to take my first break, throw in a load of laundry and make a short personal...

leedrozak

Lately on Facebook the note of 25 Random things about me seems to be all the rage. And yes I did it too. At first I thought, I am not getting caught up in this but, did it anyhow. Funny thing though is I am learning a lot about my “friends” since I figured if they take the time to write I will take the time to read.

It got me to thinking; if you knew 25 random things about your clients it would help you to help them as well. People often reveal what they normally would not. For example, one person revealed they like to travel but are terrible at planning; EVENT PLANNING would work for them. And another revealed that her husband hates email because he can’t keep up with everyone, EMAIL MANAGEMENT would work well here too. These were things I did not know about people since I did other tasks for them and their business.

I also thought what would be 25 random business things about someone reveal about your client. When you have to sit down and make a list you have to really think it out and that is when you learn what people truly like and dislike. So, here I go although I will pare it down to 10 to spare you my long list.

1. I wanted to be a chef but am allergic to shellfish.
2. I began working out

...

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When we bought our 100 year old farmhouse, we knew there was going to be loads of remodeling projects for us to complete. At first glance when we moved in it was very overwhelming, but then I took a step back and decided I project manage in my business so I am going to apply the same to this “project”.

I pulled out my project outline and went to work

1. Define the Scope – At first the scope was vague, renovate the house and bring it into up to date. Then I remembered my own advice to other, give detailed and attainable goals and make your scope specific. So now it is: Remodel each room according to needs while keeping with the true nature of the home. I will not bore you with the room to room detail but they are there for direction.
2. Determine Available Resources – Of course you need a budget but being in a rural are we needed to find home improvement stores, construction vendors and home needs stores. And they needed to be accessible to us do-it-yourselfers.
3. Determine Your Timeline - There is some flexibility here since our goal is to get the project done within the next three years. But we needed to prioritize which rooms where in dire need first and which areas would be affected by other rooms so

...

leedrozak

I took some time over the holiday to clean out my personal email account. Funny thing is that my business accounts are well organized, have rules to keep the clutter down and me on top of things and a system for filing, follow-up or needs attention now.

But my personal account was a mess. The only rule I had was to keep the inbox sorted for my email and that of my husbands. Yes he also has an account but NEVER checks it; I guess maybe I should start charging him for that service.

As I sorted, deleted, did follow-up and just plain cleaned the account out, I realized this was the time to remind everyone of the email do’s and don’ts to leave we organized folks less stressed.

Email Do’s:

1. One subject per email please.
   
2. Use descriptive and purposeful subject headings.
   
3. Use your first sentence wisely and state the purpose there.
   
4. Keep the message as short as possible. If you are forwarding then edit the email information to include content only (not everyone else’s email list)
   
5. Not everyone thinks like you, you do not need to include all your personal (or even professional) contacts in the “ten people” you need to forward this email

...

leedrozak

Let me begin by giving you a little history of my story. Several months ago my family moved to a new home in rural location with 21+ acres and a 100-year old farm house. Or as we like to say our new “old” house. We moved in late summer so critters were not our problem, well inside anyway. I’ve got used to the bats, great for the insect population and even bought them their own house. But that is another story.

First thing we did when fall arrived was check the attic for adequate insulation. I was too chicken to go into the attic not knowing what has been up there for 100 years so I gladly sent my husband and son in my place. When my son came back down he announced, “There are some mice skeletons up there and I think some live ones too”. Goody! But I look at it this way, as long as they are in the attic and not in my personal space, more power to them.

Now winter is approaching and the weather is getting colder so I guess my guests are starting to get hungry. I am now starting to notice that they are coming into my kitchen on one of my countertops. Okay now there lays the problem; they are in my personal space. My husband kindly reminds me everyone has mice and we had a few stow-aways at our...

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I thought for 2009 I would do something different since I tend to not keep one resolution I make every year. I am going to make others for themselves. This will certainly make my life easier and I won’t be so disappointed when they are broken. So here goes…

My dear husband – will learn to not get so frustrated and cranky when working around the house. We know it is old but it has character (just like you!)

My darling daughter – will not get so wrapped up in her life and visit her family more. Who cares that she is in college and becoming independent.

My sweet son – will stop using cuss words in everyday language. I know you are trying to find yourself but frankly those words should be saved for times you really mean it.

My best bud – will stop sending all her other buds daily spams. I love her to death but I cannot possibly pray for, add to and forward on one more of these. My friend list is dwindling so I no longer have ten people to forward to.

My dear ole dad – will stop making everyone feel guilty for calling mom instead. Now dad we are all grown with our own families and still need mom, get over it. You should tunnel some of that guilt towards...

leedrozak

So a new year is almost upon us and how quickly they seem to go by. You are probably already thinking, what I want to do differently this year. Here are 5 quick tips to get you on track and help you stay there so you can achieve any goal that you set.

1. Clearly identify your goal.
Be as specific as possible. If your goal is to increase business think about how much: one new client per quarter or increase income by $1,000 per month. When you list an identifiable goal it is easier to reach and you are less likely to stop being deterred. However, be realistic because it is easier to achieve smaller goals and work your way up then to strive for the moon and not even leave the Earth.

2. Practice thinking positive.
Nothing will stand in your way more than you if you don’t really believe in your goals and dreams. Who will get on board with you if you are not on board yourself? Create an image board to help you focus on what is important to you. Another tip is to start and end each day with a “Yes I Can” speech. Stand in the mirror and state to yourself, I am going to get one client this quarter.

3. Break you goal into pieces.
What will it take to get that new client...

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