Fool-proof Proofreading

As Virtual Professionals, we know that a project can’t only be brilliant and spot on, it must also be spot-less. When it comes to proofreading, we can’t ever have an off day. Every T must be crossed, every comma must be tucked safely into place. The most creative ideas and projects simply lose their luster when returned to us dressed in the glaring red ink of edits and corrections.

For proofreading to really seal the deal however, it must be done at the proper time. Ideally, this is the day after the project is finished – or at least a few hours. Reviewing a project before it cools (or worse, editing as you go) is what good writers call “using a dirty eye.” Great work demands time to sit, and the VP needs time to distance from the material and gain perspective. What sounds like creative alliteration or a great pun at first, may sound pretty foolish after a few hours. (For instance, phrases like “seal the deal” often end up edited out, and for good reason.)

Before you can take out your toolbox, however, you need to have built something worth editing. The pour of ideas and phrases is sometimes like a raging river; other times, it is a trickle that we must coax with all of our might. Editing this flow is like throwing huge rocks into the water. If we do this enough, we will damn up the creativity completely. It is much better to send a “rough” project to a client with great ideas than it is to send a perfectly punctuated bag of rocks. The best scenario, though, is to be creative while building and be editing afterward. We are virtual professionals, and no matter what our specialty, we are joined by the ability to produce brilliant work time after time. Suffocating our process is the last thing we can afford to do.

Once our ideas are solidly in place, and we have had time to stretch and breath – to UNfocus, then we can return and start cutting our diamond out of the coal. Spelling and punctuation are truly the easiest parts of this process. Much more important is the effort to move primary ideas to primary places and secondary thoughts to supporting places. A great piece of work uses two basic rules: 1) No MAIN thought should show up three paragraphs into the copy. In most cases, it’s too weak – and in all cases, it’s too risky. 2) When in doubt, leave it out. The final step to achieving a great product is to “Hemingway” the page. Quite simply, that means blacklining and deleting every spare word or phrase that does not move the message forward.

Proofreading is so much more than knowing the three proper places to use a semi-colon. It is the final, invisible wrapping we put on every project that leaves our desk. Good luck! And remember that if you do need support or you’re not sure when to use that ever-elusive semi-colon or hyphen, a quick note to our Yahoo Group will have the answers flooding back to you at the speed of light.

With gratitude, Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

Making Right Choices to Support Your Success

As home-based professionals, we face a unique set of obstacles when it comes to the basics of taking care of ourselves. Often, we work into the wee hours of the night on projects and stop only for family time and the occasional pot of coffee to prop us up through the process. Making time for healthy choices is not only smart for our health, it is also a smart choice for our successful businesses.

For busy VPs, healthy choices begin way before we are standing in the door of the refrigerator or realize we haven’t moved from our desk for nine hours, and although some of these tips will seem VERY simple, if we put them into place with a passion, we will have stronger bodies and more focused minds every day.

Make a grocery list -- fill it (and your fridge) with “quick-grab” healthy food.

This doesn’t really mean those 100 calorie packs – they’re okay for the car or in a snack fit, but they don’t fill the nutrition part of healthy choices for busy executives like us. On the other hand, a bowl of hard-boiled eggs and a shelf of healthy yogurts are great to have on hand. And remember, a tall glass of cold 1% milk is a terrific source of calcium and protein and will quiet a hungry tummy if you’re just too busy to grab a meal.

Go to bed! Get some help! (Not in bed, necessarily – but I bet that got your attention!)

Working into the wee hours is sometimes necessary, but if you find it is your every-day norm … well, you may want to slowly move into a more invigorating schedule. This is especially true if your day is ending with the 11pm news and then Leno or Letterman tuck you in. Winding down is important, but passing out on the couch every night may not be the best choice for those of us on the very brink of success! Also, accepting the reality that less than six or seven hours of sleep is destructive to us over time is a must. If you must set that alarm for 4 ½ hours after you close your eyes, plan in a good nap the next day.

If that happens time after time, day after day, think about subcontracting some work to our community of great VPs (check out our Yahoo Group).

USE your professional support system.

No matter WHERE you are in your business development, leaning on your mentor and VP pals is a great choice. Be sure to join our Yahoo Group (noted above) and if you haven’t already done so, pick up a membership at The Virtual Nation. We will support you through the tough times and hard choices, and we will celebrate EVERY success. We know that each new client is an accomplishment and that learning by our mistakes is inevitable. (We may even be able to help you avoid a few.) Awesome mentoring is available through our website also at The Virtual Nation – and like membership, it is affordable to any VP, even one just starting out in her business. Be sure to explore this and many other support systems at our website as you move into financial and business success.

Of course, these are only a few basic suggestions to help you to fill your time with work weeks instead of work weaks. Take a walk every day to clear your head, schedule in a couple of short breaks, and make sure to have one big laugh by noon every single day to ensure your mental well being.

You are your own company now – take care of yourself as if you were the best asset you’ve every had!

Gratefully yours, Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

Maximize Your Health by Living Your Dream Career

Very few of us are completely free from health worries as we move through our lives. We face the day-to-day crises of sore throats, broken bones, and exhaustion. But we are forced to work despite all these things, and sometimes more difficult health issues.

Because, let’s face it, clients and bosses can’t afford to stop projects or table expectations because we aren’t feeling 100% on a given day.

As Virtual Professionals, we have great tools available – tools for a healthy life that a more traditional role simply does not provide.

Tool #1: Joy. First of all, we do what we love. Engaging in joyful activities stimulates the area of the brain responsible for emotion, motivation, and memory. It also leads to stress reduction and promotes cell regeneration. In short, doing what you love will improve your health.

Tool #2: Flexibility. Although once a project is accepted and moving, we are faced with timelines and deadlines, we can have discernment and actually delay accepting or even turn down a job that might overwhelm us and affect our health.

Tool #3: Team. This is really Tool #2 ½. Because if we DO become overwhelmed by a project or a client, we have a network of other VP’s who support us. Further, our TEAM at The Virtual Nation provides an all-important sounding board for problems and questions.

Tool #4: Time. Time is the most important commodity that we have – it cannot be saved and banked for later use. It can only be spent on better choices. As Virtual Professionals, we can use our time with great passion and purpose. We can multitask and include our health in ways that just would not work in a normal work environment. We can eat small, healthy meals all day long if we choose. We can use our time by walking on our treadmill while we read over project notes, or dictate while jogging around the block. We can listen to podcasts on marketing as we cook dinner, and we can release stress by singing at the top of our lungs in the safety of our own office (i.e., the living room or kitchen table for some of us!).

There is no end to the positive effect of doing what you love for a living. The phrase, “My job is killing me,” was not a lie for us.

We are alive now. We are the designers of our own healthy, fulfilling lives.

Respond here to share your ideas, or write me at michelle@thevirtualnation.com and share your thoughts on living your dream and how you maximize healthy choices while working from home.

Gratefully yours,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

Weekly Tip - Recharging Your Ever-Ready Batteries

Like all entrepreneurs, Virtual Professionals often end up wishing we could add an extra three or four hours into our day. But unlike most CEO’s, we not only manage successful businesses every day, we must also maintain happy and healthy kids and spouses and households (often at the same time). By the time we grab five or six hours of sleep at the end of it all, we have often forgotten to even put ourselves on the to do list. Or worse, we choose, day after day, to NOT prioritize ourselves. We treat our spirits and our bodies as if they were the “ever-ready” bunny – just going and going and going.

I use the term “ever-ready” on purpose, of course, because we seem to have our red capes hanging nearby to fly us to any emergency or client or volunteer project that might need us. But for ourselves? Well, we all know the answer to that question.

Of course, this doesn’t work for long. All aspects of our lives shine less brightly when we don’t recharge several times a day. For unlike “traditional” employees, we are not compelled or reminded to take a lunch break, talk to colleagues, or even wind down during our commute. There are days we simply work from sun up to sun down.

This is not a habit we can think ourselves out of. This is something we must change with right actions, and the right time is right now. Replace your evening commute of yesterday with a 15-minute walk today. Your deadlines will not suffer, and in fact, the stroll may clear your head of “static” and make you more productive – or it may give you enough quiet time to solve a problem or create a great marketing piece!

When you plan your day tomorrow, plan in a 20-minute phone call with a friend, or a thirty-minute newspaper break. Although non-billable hours can feel almost dishonest to a hard-working mom or dad with financial responsibilities, this downtime is vital to recharging and regrouping throughout the day. And remember to have quick and healthy foods at your fingertips. A fridge full of fruit and yogurt is a priceless alternative to the dollar menu.

Simply put, YOU are your commodity. Put yourself on that list, schedule down-time on your calendar every day, and treat yourself like the million-dollar jewel you are. You will have the energy and creativity to not only climb up that ladder, but to love every rung along the way.

With gratitude,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager

How Now Brown Cow

What we endeavor to do at The Virtual Nation is to help Virtual Assistants and Professionals to approach the HOW of our businesses. This is an ongoing and onGROWing effort, of course. Our industry changes each day, with new softwares and new opportunities happening faster than even Bill Gates could keep up with.

Discovering your niche, developing a level of expertise and producing work that you love every day is an experience everyone should have in their lives. Add to this a host of diverse clients and the experience to be part of an industry of courageous entrepreneurs, and you have the formula for a career beyond your wildest dreams.

The “How” to do this is found on every page of our website at TVN. But the bigger question you may be looking at is “Why Now Brown Cow.” If you are just beginning your journey into home-based entrepreneurialism, the list of roadblocks may seem endless.

The simple truth is that there may never be a perfect time to take that first step. But you are the perfect person to take it. Your devotion to excellence and creativity will be the building blocks of a firm foundation to your future. If you haven’t yet started your virtual business, join an online community of Virtual Professionals (you will find ours at Yahoo Groups) and post a message asking for input and start-up ideas. Pick up a great book or two from TVN’s Book Store to help you form ideas and start your business plan. We especially like Seth Godin's book, The Purple Cow. (I've chosen a brief synopsis from our bookstore below.)

Cows, after you've seen one, or two, or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though...now that would be something. Purple Cow describes something phenomenal, something counterintuitive and exciting and flat out unbelievable. Every day, consumers come face to face with a lot of boring stuff-a lot of brown cows-but you can bet they won't forget a Purple Cow. And it's not a marketing function that you can slap on to your product or service. Purple Cow is inherent. It's built right in, or it's not there. Period.

In Purple Cow, Seth Godin urges you to put a Purple Cow into everything you build, and everything you do, to create something truly noticeable. It's a manifesto for marketers who want to help create products that are worth marketing in the first place.

Finally, when you think about your business (whether it's new to you, or you are just ready to take it to new and exciting places), ask yourself the question out loud, “Why Now?” If you’re ready, the answer has to be, “Why Not.” As a VP, I dictate and create my own role and my own success. Tell yourself, “Time is a priceless commodity, and I will not spend it wasted in a career that I do not love,” and then begin your exit strategy (which we call a business plan) today.

Take the bull by the horns and be a PURPLE COW TODAY. Live your ONE precious life the way YOU choose. Believe in yourself, grow your skillset, bring all your passion to this choice, and you are virtually guaranteed to succeed.

Gratefully yours,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager of The Virtual Nation

This Little Piggy went to Market

There aren’t many times in a woman’s life where being called a “Piggy” would bring a smile to her face. But like the nursery rhyme, as VPs, we want to be both the Piggy who went to Market and the Piggy who Stays HOME. Of course, I am actually writing, in a lighthearted way, about the serious subject of bringing our VP Business to market.

No matter what stage of your business you find yourself in, swamped with work and growing a team of subcontractors -- or just starting to build your client base, “going to market” is a big task. Like having a healthy body and working out every day or so, having a healthy business demands that we exercise our marketing skills on a consistent, ongoing basis.

Finding great and inexpensive ways to market can be much easier than we think (or fear). It is not a road through the jungle that we have to clear ourselves.

Committing just a few hours to read a great marketing book, such as Guerrilla Marketing for the Home-Based Business (by our favorite team, Jay Conrad Levinson and Seth Godin) and flagging your favorite ideas as you go can be a tremendous and affordable boost to any business. Spend another hour afterward to customize your own fresh marketing strategy (whether or not you currently have one) could be invaluable to your successful future.

The Virtual Nation’s bookstore carefully chooses the resources and authors we recommend to our community. Our own team consists of many Virtual Professionals who join to advocate for our industry and support those who take the courageous and smart leap into building their own futures. Visit the bookstore often to see what’s new, not only in marketing strategies and business techniques, but also to discover new skills, softwares and solutions!

Finally, we are always happy to answer your questions or point you in the right direction. Be sure to check out our website (www.thevirtualnation.com), check out and sign up for our ezine (The Virtual Vision), and join our community. Be part of today’s growing virtual success story.

With Gratitude,

Michelle Ulrich, Chief Villager and President

Write on…

No matter what specialty you have chosen in the VP world, having excellent writing skills is a must in our bag of tricks. Whether it be to support a client, to refine our marketing materials, or to put out our monthly ezine (see The Virtual Vision for a great example), we cannot afford to let our writing skills gather dust on a shelf. They must be used and practiced to be vibrant and effective on a moment’s notice.

In less than 24 hours a fantastic teleseminar will take place, hosted by Susan Borkin, well-known author and the founder of Write Now! Even if you cannot squeeze the seminar into your schedule (Tuesday, January 8 from 12-1pm Pacific), by signing up, you will receive a free recording of the call. The seminar will cover "The 5 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid When Writing."

In addition, you will learn:

• How to Get Yourself to Start Writing Every Time
• How to Write More, Faster
• The Most Important Thing to Know About Editing
• How to Select the Best Writing Tools and Equipment

As Virtual Professionals, the teleclass hosted by Susan Borkin as well as the ongoing series hosted by The Virtual Nation are an invaluable resource for information and growth. To register for this seminar, visit www.susanborkin.com/teleseminar.htm and you will receive an email with the telephone number and passcode.

Taking writing seriously is vitally important to any VP – like any skill, it can be learned and honed with practice. As business owners, our plates are more than full; utilizing 15-minute exercises two or three times a week is a great start (and can be a great source of peace in a crazy day).

Here is one easily-implemented example that can be practiced in 13 minutes anywhere with a simple pen and paper (think grocery store line, etc.).

Set a timer for three minutes. (A watch or Blackberry that vibrates or beeps quietly will work, but I like an hourglasses the best.) Number a blank piece of paper from one to ten. Make a list of ten things you saw two days ago, starting from the morning and ending with night. Don't write a novel, just a few anchoring words to capture each image.

Then, set your timer for ten minutes. Look over your list and pick one of the items; write the item number and words at the top of a fresh piece of paper. Expand on that one memory until your ten minutes is over. Write in simple clear sentences; don't try to be fancy. Write what you see and hear in your mind’s eye.

Finally, if all else fails, a hand-written note to a client you have not worked with in a while keeps our hand moving and our skill fresh, and it may revive a business relationship as well. – always a good thing.

With Gratitude, Michelle Ulrich,
Chief Villager and President
www.thevirtualnation.com

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MYOB – Creating a Sacred Workspace

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Working from home is a BIG example of MYOB - MIND your own business. Tend it the way you would a precious garden you are building. Do you approach your workspace with joy and peace, or with reoccurring angst? When you sit down to work at your business each day, do you first have to clear away dirty coffee cups and dig a path through paperwork to even reach your keyboard? Creating a sacred workspace is both a literal, day-to-day chore and a far-reaching concept to impress upon our housemates (and ourselves).

As we enter 2008, give yourself twenty minutes of quiet meditation simply standing in your work area. Ask yourself -- What kind of office space would “invite” you to work every day? Grab a clipboard and jot down two columns – Changes I can make a) immediately and b) over the next few months.

Some helpful ideas:

· Keep a simple A-Z standing expandable folder by your desk so you don’t have to jump up for every note, idea, or piece of paper that floats by you. (This is also a great way to stop misplacing things on your desk.)

· Utilize a standing divided file for current projects. If you share your workspace or your computer with other members of your family, you can purchase a “briefcase box” file at Target for less than $10. You can then close this and take your current projects and important paperwork with you at the end of your work day – proactively saving yourself from crisis and chaos.

· Keep a file folder handy to print out and keep emails and helpful ezines (like The Virtual Vision) that arrive in your email – you can relax with these over coffee later.

· Keep a recycle box under your desk for paper, and remember to keep your trash emptied every day.

These are small suggestions, but remember to think big when you’re making your list! Would a new printer or laptop help you to have a better work area? Courageously put these things on the list. Do you need a new chair? Or perhaps a Gal Friday to do your invoicing and filing once a week? You may be running a virtual business, but as you become busier, you may need some flesh and blood help to keep things clear enough to be creative and have room to grow.

Building a sacred, quiet, inviting place to succeed is not a luxury. It is part of the foundation of our new life. You write the script for your success every single day as a Virtual Professional. You choose the props. You put on the show. Setting a beautiful and inviting “stage” is an important element to our business that we simply cannot afford to overlook.

With Gratitude, Michelle Ulrich,
Chief Villager and President
www.thevirtualnation.com

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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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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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