Schedule an Appointment with the Present

Our lives move at a fast pace of knots, and many times we find ourselves constantly jumping ahead in our minds to what is next on our business and personal agenda for that day, week, month, year, decade. Schedule social media, schedule client meeting, make sure you have the family schedule oh and be sure to update your online and mobile calendars or you might end up with, shock, horror, a schedule clash. Argh! Hurry hurry! We are rather like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, constantly checking our watch and flitting past without looking around.

While planning, setting goals and thinking ahead all have an important place in our lives, sometimes we are forced to slow down and live in the moment, enjoying the minute by minute pleasure of purely being alive and sharing our lives with those that we cherish most. When celebrating a birthday remind yourself that it is a privilege to get there, and if you are in good health even more reason to stop and celebrate that moment.

A recent hip injury has temporarily stopped me from running, so I am only allowed to walk for the next several weeks. It has been an education for me to learn how to slow down and enjoy walking. You absorb your surroundings when walking and notice so much more around you. People actually say hello and smile (yes really), and at our local preserve I can see and hear the birds and other wildlife (thankfully no rattlesnakes yet!).

Being present can also be a great source of creativity, as your observations can spark inspiration that you may not have found if you had not taken the time to slow down and just be.

Keep planning but remember the present must be embraced and lived. Take a moment today to just be.

Join us on Facebook at INBOX2OUTBOX and share with us how you took a moment to ‘just be’

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Goals, Resolutions & Pink Unicorns

January 1st, 2012 and a very Happy and Healthy New Year to you and yours. It’s the magical day when all bad habits are abolished and new ones are created overnight. Wouldn’t that be just peachy if it were true? Sadly, the world is not full of magical pink unicorns, BUT with some careful planning, a good dose of hard work and a light sprinkling of good luck, old bad habits will eventually disappear and the good ones will emerge.

How long will it take you to form a habit?

The amount of time we take to form a new healthier habit varies considerably between individuals. One study by Lally et al from the University of London in 2009 found that out of the 96 people they studied, the average number of days to form a habit was 66 days. Some people took as long as 254 days to adjust while others took as little as 18 days.

Whether you are able to adapt to new healthier habits quicker than others, or if you forget your new habit for a day or two, don’t be disheartened. Momentary lapses do not mean that you are not being successful. Pick yourself up and continue along your new healthy habit journey. If you are continually falling down, you may need to refocus and adjust your goals so that they are more realistic and attainable. Break them down into bite sized chunks that are easier to digest. Writing them down and saying them out loud shows a commitment to achieving them. Persevere, be patient, and you will reap the rewards.

Good luck with your New Year Resolutions whether they are personal, business focused, or both. Oh and if you do see a pink unicorn, let me know!

Would love to hear how your New Year Resolutions are moving forward, and if you have any tips for staying on track. Join in our conversation on Facebook at INBOX2OUTBOX or follow us on Twitter @INBOX2OUTBOX

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Bump or Stop Sign in the Road?

As we know only too well, business ownership requires the development of many skill sets, and one of those is the ability to spot a bump in the road versus a stop sign. Over the years I have listened to many inspirational speakers. Some were brilliant and others were, quite frankly, full of themselves and their greatness. One that I remember from a couple of years ago spoke about how the wall or barrier you see in front of you in your business may actually bring forth an amazing opportunity on the other side. In other words challenges can lead to enormous opportunities.

The key is evaluating whether that bump/barrier you see in front of you is really a bump sign or a stop sign. How can you know the difference? The answer is we don’t know 100% and sometimes we just have to go with our gut instinct and the facts in front of us. With planning and monitoring, even if you overshoot the stop sign, you should be able to reverse in good time to avoid a disaster.

Some business owners take a giant leap without looking, others evaluate to the smallest detail all possible eventualities. I believe there is a ‘happy medium’ somewhere in there. I prefer to use my trusty ‘sounding boards’ before making any major business decisions. This just confirms to me that my judgment is not clouded by other emotions. I don’t always heed their advice 100% but it is always good to listen to their respected opinions!

Sometimes we come to a bump in the road and just have to think of a way around it or over it. The recession has lead to many bumps and stops signs in the road of small and large businesses both in the US and Europe.  There are also still those that have thrived in the current economy.

It’s time to think outside-the-box and break through the challenges to the amazing opportunities on the other side. Sometimes opportunities are tapping us on the shoulder disguised as a challenge and sometimes opportunites are so quiet we don’t easily notice their existence. Listen and adapt to keep moving along your road!

Join in our conversation on Facebook at INBOX2OUTBOX, LLC. We’d love to know about how you overcame your business challenges.

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Summer Break Survival Strategies

If you have a home based business, summer can sometimes leave you feeling like a circus juggler. Juggling business and family can leave you feeling pulled in many directions for several weeks. We love spending time with our children, however, many of us also have a business to run simultaneously. How do we get it all running smoothly or can we?

Firstly, have no illusion that things will run smoothly ALL the time during summer break. If they do I want to know HOW you managed that, so I can bottle it and sell it:)

Having a flexible schedule is wonderful but it does have it’s pitfalls. When my children were younger I found it easier if I spent time with them in the mornings, and then established, or at least tried to establish, quiet time in the afternoon. If that failed late night working when peace reigned worked best. Downside of late night working is that you can’t call your clients at that time, but you can send emails. Alternatively you can trade-off babysitting with friends. That way work gets done and you get to enjoy quality time with the children.

With older children (pre-driving age) it is best to establish the rules at the beginning of the summer break. If you have the flexibility set certain hours for work at your home office. Explain that you cannot have non-critical interruptions during certain times. A word of caution – their idea of non-critical and yours are likely to differ considerably. Fixing the X-Box may not be on your critical path but will be on theirs. As much as possible plan your week ahead of time – making time for family and work (Yes I know real life is not quite as organized).

During summer break accept that the house will be untidy and constant trips to the grocery store are essential, particularly if you are feeding half the neighborhood children who may have found their way to your house. Enlist the help of your older children for household chores. I find this system works best when cash is offered! If you don’t have spare cash to spend, negotiate a treat for them when the chore is completed. Children have the best memory when it comes to treats and the most appalling memory when asked to complete a chore. One of life’s great mysteries!

Last but not least make time to spend with your family. It’s so easy to be absorbed in work and days/weeks can slip by before you realize you haven’t had a proper conversation with your children recently and they are all grown up. The years truly fly by so make sure you enjoy their company while they still want to spend time with you.
If you have any great strategies for summer break we’d  love to hear them. Remember to have fun!

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5 Quick Tips to Better Business-to-Business Communication

Is Linkedin another post-it note on your endless to do list? Not sure where to start.

Here’s a quick 5 tip approach to making effective use of your Linkedin account.

  1. Make sure your profile is complete. The more information a potential client or alliance has about you and your skills the better. Check what your public profile looks like as that is often the first view a prospect has of you.
  2. If you have a Twitter account, make sure you are following your connections on Twitter. Hint: There is an app available to automate this process.
  3. Be professional. Linkedin is not Facebook and the conversation should be business oriented rather than personal.
  4. Join relevant groups that will help you network with people outside your first connections.
  5. Ask and answer questions within the groups that you join. Become the expert.

Linkedin is a valuable resource for business to business communications. Make it a habit to invite your face-to-face networking contacts into your connections.

If you need help getting your Linkedin profile set-up/updated, please contact us at lisabhella@inbox2outbox.com to see how we can help you make the most of Linkedin.

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Finding & Communicating Your Niche is the Key

Starting out as a Virtual Assistant several years ago, I remember being absolutely terrified of standing up in front of a room full of people and delivering my 30 second commercial. I’d blurt it out in 10 seconds and just be hugely relieved that it was over. It took awhile for the penny to finally drop (about a year later!) and I realized that other businesses were not giving me business because very few understood what I did. In fact I was finding that difficult to understand myself.

The ‘glazed look’ on my audience meant they really had no clue on how I could help them. I raise my hand and accept responsibility for this. The lightbulb finally went off  and I realized that during my 30 second commercial I MUST explain my niche and give an example of how I help other businesses.

Finding and carving out your niche is essential for a business to be successful. Here’s to no more ‘glazed looks’!

If you are a virtual assistant looking to learn more from others in the industry, please register and join us April 11-15th, 2011. A series of webinars that are affordable and a great source of information, register at  http://vavirtuosos.com/. What better way to learn than from those that have walked this path before, made mistakes and learnt from them.

 

 

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Do You Tweet Like This?

Whilst huffing, puffing, and resembling an over-ripe tomato on the gym treadmill the other day, it got me thinking… If gym users were twitter users, what type would they be? They both come in many forms.

The young slim girl who positions herself in front of every gym mirror, and at the front of every class, constantly admiring her reflection, would be sending celebrity tweets. The look at me, I’m having a sandwich, eating an apple, blinking, sleeping, I’m totally awesome tweets.

The Ironman competitor and marathon athlete following the strictest of training programs and healthy eating plan is the twitter user we so admire. Everyone at the gym knows him, admires his self-discipline and wants to know how he does it. We wonder how they manage to train, eat right and be totally fantastic at what they do. He churns out 100 amazing tweets in a day, has over 5,000 followers, an awesome blog that everyone wants to retweet and fans who are just begging to hear more about their recipe for success.

The shy overweight lady who is spotted January 1st through January 31st at the gym, is the twitter user who “gives tweeting a go” as they know it can work if done correctly. They have the best of intentions but distractions and self confidence stop them from getting their twittering up and running.

Next we have the gossip gals who love to talk talk talk to each other and anyone who will listen. Anybody within 100 yards has to turn their ipods up to drown out their chatter. They are at the gym to exercise their vocal chords and have a cappuccino afterwards. Their tweets chat to each other all day long. They are harmless enough, but it sure can be irritating following them. You often wonder why they don’t just email each other as nobody else is interested.

Last but not least is the gym user who goes to the gym regularly, is in reasonable shape, but has definite wobbly bits. These are the twitter users who generally keep up with tweeting, are shaping up their blogs and other social media accounts but still know they have plenty of room to improve. They are a work in progress.

So….how do you tweet? Are there more types out there? I’d love to hear them!

Follow INBOX2OUTBOX  on twitter

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Social Media – Not Always About Me

Social media is here, there and everywhere. Some people love it, others loathe it, but one thing most are in agreement with, it’s becoming more and more difficult to avoid it.

Social media is so much more than finding out what a celebrity is having for breakfast, drinking or where they are eating. Granted it may be important to you if they’re eating at your restaurant!

Charities are managing to build and mobilize their communities through social media. Whether it is advertising a running event to raise funds for a national charity or raising funds through a local car wash, social media can give small voices the power of a larger voice.

Charities can raise awareness of diseases through social media and put out a Call to Action. The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation  uses social media effectively to communicate updates in mesothelioma research and to mobilize and grow their community when a Call to Action is needed. They recently mobilzed the mesothelioma community through Twitter and Facebook asking followers and fans to contact their local Representative to ask that the Mesothelioma Awareness Day resolution (H.Res 771) be brought up for a vote. The Call to Action can be sent directly to your phone via Twitter.

Susan G Komen for the Cure uses social media effectively to promote events, raise funds and inform their over 17,000 followers on Twitter about the latest breast cancer research and updates.

Love it or loathe it, social media is here to stay for the foreseeable future. It’s so much more than where you’re having coffee this morning.

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Competition – Friend or Foe?

Business school in the 1980s taught me that small business owners needed to know their competition and outsmart them in the marketplace.  Some of this is now as outdated as the big hair, can of hairspray and enormous shoulder pads that accompanied that era.

You do need to know who your competitors are and what they are up to, but have you ever thought about working with your competition rather than against them? In the virtual assistant industry this really can work, but I’m not saying this is applicable for all small business owners and their industries, and it will depend on the size of your market.
 
It has worked for me! Working as a virtual assistant you soon become aware that there are many of us out there, but upon closer inspection you realize that our skill sets and areas of expertise are very different. 

Birgit Olson at Focused on Your Business Virtual Office Assistance, LLC also has a local virtual assistance business, so theoretically she is a competitor.  However, what we discovered is that we have very different skill sets that complement each other. For example, she is talented at designing marketing collateral and I enjoy writing blogs and newsletter articles for clients. We also separately offer a variety of other business support services. If a client needs a marketing brochure created I refer them to Birgit as she is talented in that area. We both want the best results for our clients.

Not only do we create referrals for each other, we also meet to discuss and brainstorm new business opportunities and current business trends in our industry. So…. know your competitor, AND think outside-the-box on ways you could potentially form an alliance with them.

Don’t forget to follow INBOX2OUTBOX on Twitter at @INBOX2OUTBOX.

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