Interview: All Business Answers
Diana Ennen appears on All Business Answers talking about Virtual Assistants -
- What a virtual assistant is
- Why you need one
- Plus more!
New Interview: The Christian Authors Show
You are invited to listen to our interview over at The Christian Authors Show
Virtually Successful Telesummit: You Need to be There!
The Virtually Successful Telesummit is on now.
I’ll be speaking tomorrow on building a PR campaign.
Register Today
Free Call: Virtual Assistant and Client Relationships
We once heard that the average virtual assistant / client relationship lasts only 6-months.
This short lived relationship is due to many reasons, but the primary cause is that some virtual assistants have no clue what their clients really want.
If you want to find out how to establish a long-term – and profitable – client relationship, you must join one of the most important calls my friends Cindy Greenway and Tina Forsyth will host to date.
They’ve asked Andrea J. Lee, an Entrepreneurial Futurist, to share with you what clients really want from virtual assistants (and have a hard time finding).
This is a FREE call that’ll be held on Tuesday April 6, 2010 at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern. To get the call-in details, go HERE and click on the popup to be taken to the opt-in box.
You may be experiencing a breakdown in your relationship with your client. You’re doing everything you can, you’re even putting in extra hours (at no extra cost to your client), yet your client has become even more
difficult.
Andrea will share with you exactly why this is happening and what you can do to save or release this business relationship. Once you know what clients really want, you’ll be able to better assist them.
You don’t want to miss this … visit HERE to hold your spot now.
So You Want to be a Work at Home Mom
Would you like an autographed copy of So You Want to Be a Work at Home Mom. Check here ..
Thank You! To SOHO Newsletter
A BIG Thank you and Shout Out goes to SOHO Newsletter! We were pleased to be included in the SOHO Newsletter this month.
Virtual Assistant Twitter Chat
Join me today, Friday, March 19th from 1:00 to 2:00 EST for a Twitter Chat, hashtag #PVA (Publicity Virtual Assistant). We will discuss virtual assistant tips to success as well as PR Tips. Giving away prizes too. Spread the word. These will be help bi-weekly.
Thanks!
Diana Ennen / @dianaennen / www.virtualwordpublishing.com
Book Review from Diana Ennen: AlphaWAHM
What an awesome book, AlphaWAHM BluePrint by Karri Flatla. This is one of those books that the more you do what’s inside, the more you will benefit. The goal of the book isn’t to read it and move on. The goal is to read it, take notes, take action steps, and then come back to the book and repeat the steps above. As the title suggests, it’s a blueprint for business success.
One of the things I really enjoyed was the “Words to Live by” section. Here’s just one example. Empowerment is not to have power over others. It’s to know thyself and consciously manage your actions and reactions to the world around you! – Karri Flatla.
Get your copy today. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Diana Ennen / President Virtual Word Publishing / www.virtualwordpublishing.com
Alpha WAHM Blueprint Book Tour
We were thrilled today to take part in the Alpha WAHM Blueprint Book Tour with Karri Flatla www.AlphaWAHM.com & www.AlphaWAHMBook.com
Blog Stop: Dianna Ennen
Karri was kind enough to answer these questions for us. Also, my review of her book will also be posted today.
1) Tell us more about how we can create a blueprint for our business. We work-at-home-moms tend to wing it so much and having a blueprint would be a great asset. Love to know more about this.
First, let’s talk about what a blueprint is not. Your Alpha WAHM Blueprint is not a business plan. It won’t tell you how to build a website or get clients. In fact, it’s not a how-to document at all.
I present numerous exercises and thought provoking questions throughout the book. In some ways, it’s a journey of the soul.
The “blueprint” is created by the answers you provide to the questions at the end of each chapter. When you’re finished working through the book, what you’ll have is a roadmap for really thriving in your role as a work-at-home mom—and as an ambitious “mompreneur.”
This roadmap is what I hope each mom will come back to again and again for guidance, for inspiration, and to be reminded of why she is living the (crazy!) life she is living.
Building a business from home is a continuous recalibration exercise. You are constantly adjusting to changes in your environment as well as changes within you as a woman who fulfills multiple roles. The Alpha WAHM Blueprint is your rock of truth. Eventually, you will internalize these writings and, in turn, live in a more empowered, purposeful way.
Of course, your blueprint will change over time as more and more is revealed to you about your purpose as a wife, mother and entrepreneurial woman.
2) What exactly is an Alpha WAHM? And how can I become one?
I use the term “Alpha WAHM” for a lot of reasons, but my big motivation was to help work-at-home moms feel confident in pursuing their passions, profitably if they can. Women—but working mothers in particular—are still swimming in a sea of guilt and to some extent, self-loathing. This has to STOP!
Almost every WAHM I’ve ever consulted with, coached, or spoke to feels terribly afraid of two things:
1) Success
2) Failure
Strange but true!
We’re afraid of being too successful professionally because we’re taught to divvy up our lives into neat little sections; one piece of the pie never touching or “messing up” the others.
More to the point though, successful women are still being labeled with negative stereotypes. This is damaging and often becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. i.e. I have to be a [insert curse word here] to get what I want (and need) for myself and for my children.
Conversely, we’re also afraid of failure. We don’t think we’re good enough to meet the men where they are. We don’t believe in our God-given talent, in a purpose that may very well extend beyond motherhood. We’re afraid to just be ourselves and let the chips fall.
So to be an Alpha WAHM is to face your fears head on, claim your truth, and live life to the fullest. As a mother, this is THE greatest gift you can give to your children and loved ones.
3) You have found a great deal of success with your marketing consulting business (http://snapwebmarketing.com). Do you have any top tips that you feel an Alpha WAHM needs to know?
Yep!
1. Don’t get stuck on perfect. Whether you’re worried about creating a great business plan or a great website, perfect is not the goal. For various reasons, men are more easily able to look past imperfection and keep moving forward. Women, however, tend to get hung up on getting everything just right, on details that really don’t matter to the long-term objective. Then procrastination sets in and you’re business comes to a dead stop. Do your best, and then take action.
2. Trust your wisdom and experience. Then charge handsomely for it. It took me a long time to realize what I was very good at … and what I was definitely not so good at. You don’t have to be the best; you just have to be the only one who does it like YOU do it.
3. Treat your spouse with respect. Being “alpha” isn’t about stepping on the men in your life. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Being a WAHM is really hard sometimes, and it’s easy to take your frustrations out on the only other adult you may interact with in a day. Resist the urge. Instead, make it priority one to keep hubbie in the loop. He may not always “get” what it’s like to be you, but his support will go a long way toward creating the nurturing environment you need to thrive as a work-at-home mom.
(4) We’d love to know a little more about you. Could you give us just a brief bio on you and your business?
Sure! Here’s an excerpt from the back cover of Alpha WAHM Blueprint: An Empowerment Guide for Work-at-Home Moms:
After the birth of her first child, Karri Flatla started a home based marketing business so she could parent flexibly and avoid re-entering a workforce that smothered her deep need for creative independence. Today, Flatla is the go-to coach-consultant for modern work-at-home moms and other small business entrepreneurs around the web. Her frank and sassy advice has been featured at Search Engine Guide, VAnetworking Blog, Problogger’s TwiTip, Fuel Net, Alberta Venture, and Smart Company Magazine.
Karri’s latest venture is the launch of AlphaWAHM.com, an online resource dedicated to both experienced and aspiring work-at-home moms.
Work from Home: Excuses, Excuses
Just how badly do you want this? What’s holding you back? People present all kinds of excuses for why they shouldn’t start a home-based business. Fear is the most common. Fear of failure, fear of financial insecurity, fear of responsibility, and fear of change are the most frequently stated. Let’s look at these for a moment and see if they apply to you.
Fear of Failure: Most of us fear failure. It’s natural. Who wants to fail at anything? Besides, if you don’t try, you can’t fail, and you will not have to deal with those negative emotions. Successful entrepreneurs see failure as an opportunity. They believe that there is no such thing as failure, only lessons. You need to be able to learn from your past failures, or as I call them, “tries.” I consider it this way: “I tried it; it didn’t work, so I’ll try something else.” I give failure no power. One of our favorite clichés is, “I would rather regret something I did over something I didn’t do.”
You should learn valuable lessons from each of your mistakes. What did you do wrong that could be corrected next time? Never dwell on your mistakes. Solve the problem and plan a new course of action.
You can also prevent the risk of failure by being aware of why most home-based or small businesses fail and then guard against these things. The following are several reasons many businesses fail:
1. Lack of enthusiasm, motivation, dedication and drive
2. Lack of self-confidence
3. Lack of knowledge and expertise
4. Lack of management skills necessary to run a successful business
5. Lack of providing clients with quality and professional services
6. Lack of a professional attitude
7. Lack of a market for services
Remember that success takes time. Very few businesses are overnight successes. It takes work, rethinking of ideas and carrying out your plans. Think of success as a marathon, not a sprint.
Fear of Financial Insecurity: This is a valid concern for those leaving the security of a full-time job with a regular paycheck every week. There is no guarantee that every week you will make a certain amount of money. However, you can take steps that will enable you to make it through the slow times until your business is up and running. Don’t let your paycheck addiction seriously interfere with your dream of entrepreneurship. Keep in mind that you could be downsized, fired, laid off, let go, given the pink slip (you get my point) tomorrow, so take control of your future now!
Have two or three months of money in reserve to help you through the first few months. This alleviates the stress of having to make money NOW! Many start this business on a part-time basis and continue working their full-time jobs to keep money coming in and to build their client base.
However, lack of savings shouldn’t stop you from starting a business. After being in business for 20 years and seeing so many businesses succeed, I know many who have made it without this extra money.
Fear of Responsibility: Many are frightened by the role of sole responsibility. They like the option of going to someone else when a crisis hits and having that person solve the problem. With everything falling on their shoulders, they fear they can’t handle the stress. Advance planning is the key here. When you start your business, have a good back-up plan in effect. Then when a crisis hits, you immediately know what to do. After the first few crisis situations, you learn to remain calm and solve problems with little effort.
