TVN Tip of the Week - Setting Boundaries – Putting a Fence Around Your Garden

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Becoming a Virtual Professional is like sowing the seeds planted over a lifetime of hard work – often in offices where our worth was far from recognized.

As we approach the new year, we must ask ourselves if we have reached the level of self-commitment and discipline required to virtually soar within our industry.

Have we put the very basics boldly into place as VP’s?

• Is your home office or workspace off limits to the daily chaos of running a household? (Or are you trying to work with one hand and fold laundry and pay bills with the other?)

• Do you NOT answer personal or distracting phone calls during work hours?

• Have you provided yourself and your family with adequate childcare to ensure that your “work day” is child “childproofed” and productive?

• Do you plan and schedule time for professional development? This may be as simple as taking a tutorial on the newest release of a familiar software or reading industry-related ezines, or it may be as profound as coaching sessions with seasoned and inspirational leaders in our field. (A great holiday gift idea, btw! Point your loved one to the TVN website to get you that gift!)

• Finally, do you have an END to your workday as well – allowing yourself to enjoy the beautiful life you work so hard to create every day?

As Virtual Professionals we must strike a strong balance between working from home and being at home.

Because in our case, home is not only where the heart is, it is also where the start is. It is the start of our new and fabulously successful lives as VP’s. So be fierce and bold and set the boundaries you must in order to grow a vibrant and triumphant professional life.

With Gratitude,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager and President

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TVN Tip of the Week -- Plan for a Future That is Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

What Does Your Future Hold?

No matter how long a VA has been in business, having a strong and inspiring financial plan is a cornerstone to her future that should not be overlooked.

As businesswomen, sometimes we focus so much on our Marketing Plan, that our Financial Plan is easy to leave on a shelf, gathering dust.

Are we at a point where our business makes a profit month after month? If not, it is important to ask some basic questions when updating your financial goals:

• Are your rates too low? (visit TVN's website for input on rates.)
• Are you successfully managing your expenses?
• Is your work flowing in a steady stream – or is it a flood at some times and barely a trickle at others?

If your business is at a profit level, it may be time to dust off the Financial Plan and set some new goals.

Remember that your business is not only your career, it is your future. Make sure to be adequately planning for your retirement, even if it seems far off, and speak to your insurance agent to determine if your disability insurance is robust enough to get you (and your business) through life’s unexpected rough spots.

And finally, ask yourself the Million Dollar Question: Are you building a business you could sell for a profit one day?

Does your Financial Plan plan for a future beyond your wildest dreams? If not, make one that does!

The Virtual Nation Expert Teleclass Series
Presents...

The Things Your Parents Never Told You
About Planning For The Future

Tuesday, December 11, 2007
10:00 am ~ 11:00 am Pacific

Click here for details

With Gratitude,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager and President

Be Inspired -- By YOU

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Sometimes, when we get into a career, we end up almost imprisoned by our own aptitude. We may have specialized in one area of our jobs, just because as assistants, we can play almost any role that is thrown at us. But as we look for inspiration for our VA businesses, we need to take time to pause and reevaluate our goals. The obvious objectives are to have more time in our homes, to be financially grounded and successful, to have a host of clients and projects. Probably the most important goal of all, however, and the key that sets the stage for our entire business, is to do the creative and exciting work that we love.

Are you doing what thrills you, as a Virtual Assistant?

On your list of services, have you dared to include those things you enjoy the most? And if you don’t feel you have the level of necessary expertise to list those skills, have you made a plan of action to acquire them? If you love web design or desktop publishing or freelance writing, what are you doing to hone those skills? Remember WHY you have gone into business for yourself -- underneath all the other reasons, it is to have a life truly worth living.

As Virtual Assistants, we have taken a courageous step and left the traditional workplace. The next fork in that road is to do the work we love. Take stock in your business – if your work pays you well and you excel at it, but it leaves you uninspired, seek to add that project or skillset that you daydream about. Or if you are offering services that you hated in your old “office life,” this is the time to envision those fading and to see yourself as the star in your own show.

Give yourself the gift of a free few hours for a Goal Planning Session and dare to build a business plan constructed solely around skills you enjoy. This is your VA business, you can forge the road to your own future.

Ask yourself some simple (but not easy) questions:

- What was I leaving when I made the decision to become a VA?

Were you leaving the rigidity of an office? Were you tired of being treated like the lowest “man” on the totem pole – when really you were supporting the entire team on top of your own head. Were you exhausted by your commute?

- What were you hoping to find, personally, as a VA?

More financial freedom? Peace of mind? Work that excited you?

- Where do you want to take your business? Are you setting your business goals high enough?

Take some time and really think about, and list, your goals for your business. Do you see yourself building a business strong enough to sell when you retire? Are you hoping to build a truly 100% virtual business, so you can travel and take your “shop” and your clients with you.

- Finally, what are you doing to search out clients and market your company?

(For a multitude of great marketing ideas, visit the archived Ezine’s (The Vision) at the TVN website.)

Remember, As VA’s we are no longer forced to be chameleons, good at everything thrown at us – we are now free to embrace the unique and vibrant gifts that we each have, and to build our new businesses and lives around those talents.

(And if you need a little boost to help you even decide what those gifts are, a quick visit to the bookstore at the TVN website could be just what the doctor ordered. A great example: The Purple Cow, by Seth Godin.)

The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable

by, Seth Godin

And, if you need a BIG boost to help you get started, or to do some major Goal Setting, consider a private coaching session with the founder of The Virtual Nation, Michelle Ulrich.)

With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager & President

Tip of the Week -- Be Inspired

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As business owners and entrepreneurs, we understand the stress and the challenge of hitting the mark every day, for every client and every project. We do our best to juggle work and home (and friends) and to keep all the players in the band encouraged and connected.

Being able to do this requires that we find (and create) a foundation of daily inspiration and support for ourselves as well.

Sometimes, about all we can manage in our busy lives is a few deep breaths throughout the day and a mental note to look around and appreciate how blessed we are. Remember, as challenging as it is to meet the financial needs of our business and to find great clients, we are the inspired few who bring our dreams of entrepreneurship into reality.

Joining VA communities (such as TVN and IVAA) will definitely net you some of the support you need – but finding inspiration to help us weather the storms of self doubt that will visit us all from time to time is a little trickier.

One such source of rich inspiration can be found at http://www.tut.com/. Begun in 1989, TUT embraces the BIG idea that we can create and embrace our own reality. A recent message we can all benefit from was sent last Friday, November 30:

Here are 3 sure-fire steps that will take you from wishing upon a star to being one:

• Imagine your dreams as if they already exist.
• Speak as if they already exist.
• And act as if they already exist.

On TUT's website, you can sign up for similar, awesome motivations to be sent to you by email every day. This is the perfect answer to the busy VA who may only have those two minutes to begin her day with inspiration, enthusiasm and that important reminder that she is powerful,
brilliant and uniquely gifted to unravel the day ahead of her.

With
Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
www.thevirtualnation.com

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"Self" Coaching Resources at The Virtual Nation

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If you just can't seem to fit one-on-one business coaching or even team coaching into your schedule or business right now, perhaps do-it-yourself coaching is the way to go.

One of the GREAT books waiting to be read at The Virtual Nation's BOOKSTORE is Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work: How to Use the Enneagram System for Success, by Ginger Lapid-Bogda

In Bringing Out the Best in Yourself at Work, Enneagram teacher and business consultant Ginger Lapid-Bodga shows professionals how to apply this popular tool to their work as a way to improve productivity and help build positive relationships with coworkers. The Enneagram is a proven psychological system based on nine personality types; it helps people achieve self-awareness and develop strategic approaches to interpersonal interactions. This system is used by such organizations as the Walt Disney Company, Silicon Graphics, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the CIA. This book provides a proven system to achieving career and life goals, such as:

• Communicating more effectively
• Providing and accepting constructive feedback
• Preventing and resolving conflict
• Bringing out strong leadership skills
• Discovering methods for professional development
• Working better in teams

This is a MUST HAVE for anyone seeking to have a more fulfilling and effective career.

You may find this book and many other resources geared toward professional development compiled by our own Michelle Ulich at the BOOKSTORE at The Virtual Nation.

GET THIS BOOK NOW!

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More on Business Coaching - Affordable and Priceless

Type "Business Coach" into Google and you'll come up with more than 71,000 hits -- and while this may be overwhelming, it clearly evidences the strong and growing role that coaching plays in today's business world.

As we line up at the starting gate of our own new business ventures, who are our teammates? Have we chosen a mentor who has the expertise and enthusiasm that we need?

Michelle Ulrich has taken her role at The Virtual Nation and used it to teach others how to create and succeed in their own virtual careers using eCommerce and technology. Michelle has given more than twenty-five presentations at colleges, professional associations and coaching societies, and has been the keynote speaker for both the International Association of Administrative Professionals and the Women's Council of Realtors. Her presentations on eCommerce on a Shoestring Budget and Creating Excellence in Life and the Workplace Everyday have been vital to many new and exisiting business.

Because of her committment to mentoring other professionals toward success, Michelle has put together three coaching opportunities that will fit into anyone's business model and budget.

6-week Mentor Coaching $97
Belong to a group of your peers where you can safely ask questions, share, help your peers and have a pool of knowledge should you decide to grow your business and need subcontractors. You also get unlimited email coaching.

Mentor Coaching Club $17/month
Continue your group coaching experience! With the coaching club, you and your peers can continue your group coaching experience, discussions, peer support and more.

Personal Coaching $75/mo and up
With personal coaching, you have direct access to Michelle Ulrich, seasoned Virtual Professional. To learn more about Michelle and her vast professional experience, visit her at www.michelleulrich.com/michelle.htm.

With personal coaching, you will explore in a one-on-one setting via telephone how to work through your individual challenges. All information is held in the strictest of confidences and our agreement with you will illustrate this as well. Coaching sessions are tailored to fit your unique situation and needs. Some commonly covered topics are:

• Take time for yourself to gain clarity and a fresh focus
• Confidently discuss your rates and services through role playing
• Explore your passions and possibly refocus your business
• Attract your ideal client Is your message clear and concise?
• Assess your current marketing materials and techniques
• Are you ready to subcontract some of your own workload or clients' projects?
• How to effectively work with subcontractors

If you are interested in this type of coaching, please email Michelle for a complete intake package and available start dates at michelle@thevirtualnation.com or go to http://www.thevirtualnation.com/services.htm.

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TVN Tip of the Week: 6 Weeks of Affordable Business Coaching for $97 - Maximize Your Efforts & Success with Business Coaches at The Virtual Nation

Are you having trouble putting the foundation of your business in place?
Are you overwhelmed by what you don't know?
Or have you gotten started and need help to hit that grand slam of finding clients, managing projects, and making money!

Sign up for six weeks of Mentor Coaching with an experienced Virtual Professional from The Virtual Nation and cover all the bases! http://www.thevirtualnation.com/services.htm

• Virtual office setup
• Confidently discuss your rates and services through role playing
• Attract your ideal client
• Keep on top of technology
• Marketing and networking both online and offline
• Learn how to focus your time using simple techniques that work
• Openly discuss individual and unique challenges
• Group setting for peer comraderie
• Confidentiality agreements signed by all participants

An Overview

Week 1: Get to know your peers: introduce yourself, challenges, what you hope to get out of the class and more. Sign into private yahoo group, introduce yourself to your peers, post your photo and contact information.

Week 2: Change your employee mindset to a business owner mindset by learning the language of business. New dialoguing and languaging skills and techniques learned through role playing. Learn negotiating tactics for prospects who aren't sure how to work with a VA and more.

Week 3: Learn why being authentically 'you' will attract the clients you want to work with. We'll explore values, creating your unique message, and more.

Week 4: Marketing and networking that works for you, not just the general populace. We'll explore both traditional and non-traditional methods.

Week 5: Doing the work: how to focus, time management vs. project management, and developing systems that work for you.

Week 6: Review and cover unanswered challenges, concerns, questions and succcesses!

Are you ready to take your business in a new direction? Now, you can! Just select the coaching day of the week that best suits your schedule from below. (If these days and times do not work for you, please send us an email at info@thevirtualnation.com to discuss some alternatives.)

Choose between:

Coaching calls Mondays at 10:30 am - 11:30 am Pacific (Dates to be determined.)

Coaching calls Thursdays at 9:00 am - 10:00 am Pacific (Dates to be determined.)

**NOTE: Limited to 20 people per group. Some classes may be extended due to holidays and/or previously scheduled out of office dates.


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