Why Start your own Business?

People have many different reasons for starting their own business. My personal reason for wishing to go out on my own was being my own boss. I work well on my own schedule and accomplish more when I'm in an environment where I can listen to my own music, talk to whoever I want when I want and even get up and dance if the move strikes!

Here are more reasons people opt to go out on their own:

Being your own boss - As I mentioned, being your own boss comes with many rewards. You decide when, what, who, where and how.

Create your own schedule - I know the whole 9 - 5 schedule isn't always my cup of tea. In fact most mornings a large cup of coffee doesn't do it! While you are going to be working longer hours when you first start up your own business, you have the freedom to decide when those hours will be. Personally, starting at noon and ending at 8p.m. would be ideal. My creative juices start flowing after lunch! Whenver you do start you can break whenever you want throughout the day for running errands, picking up kids etc.

You can choose your clients - The advice I have read and heard since beginning my research on starting my own VA business has been to pick and choose my clients wisely. The freedom of working for yourself should also be working for people who motivate you and energize you. Not for people you may find in an office environment who may drain you and stress you out. It's ok to pick and choose who you want to work with.

It's simple - you'll be doing what you love - What can be more rewarding than doing something everyday that you love? If this hasn't fallen into your lap already through a company, create the feeling yourself by opening up your own business!

The Importance of Editing

I like to consider myself educated and excellent at catching grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. The best of us (including myself), however, can sometimes forget to edit when we are finished our work. I actually noticed this on my homepage! Below are some tips to get it right before your work goes public.

1. If you are using Word software, you are in luck. The program is already checking grammar and spelling for you. If you are writing for a website or blog, consider doing your work in Word first.

2. Take the time to go over your document at least three times. Once to be sure everything written makes sense. Another to catch any grammatical or spelling mistakes and then to read as a pair of 'fresh eyes'. This means going into the document pretending you are not the author but the reader. Be sure to give yourself at least a couple of hours in between.

3. Be sure to have someone else go over your document. As mentioned above, a pair of fresh eyes can catch things the author may not have.

4. Make sure your document makes sense. Evaluate each paragraph and make sure they make sense in relation to the other. You want to be sure each paragraph is logical and consistent.

Use Skype to Connect!!

As you may have read on my profile, I live and work in Toronto Canada. Yes Toronto, the largest city in Canada, may be my place of residence however, thanks to technology, I can be available all around the globe! Thanks to Voice Over I.P.(VOIP)!

When I connect with people from England, India and even Ohio, I like to make them feel as though I am only a few miles away. Not a few hundred miles away! This is why I recently signed up for Skype. A free VOIP program.

For those of you who haven't yet discovered Skype, you must try this out! Download the program, for free, on their website www.skype.com. I can now talk to anyone, who is also a skype user, for FREE! And I can also buy monthly packages to phone from my Skype account to any landline for as little as $3.00 a month. This is amazing and is bound to be such a fantastic technological addition to my business.

Thank goodness for VOIP!

Topsy Turvy Beginning to my Week

I awoke yesterday morning to the room spinning out of control!

It was a Sunday morning and yes I did have a glass of wine the night before but never have I felt this horrible. Even after five glasses of wine, I am still ok. So waking to such a turning environment was definitely nauseating and not normal. The entire day felt like I had a bit of a hangover and when I went to bed last night I thought it was all over.

When I woke up this morning, again the room was spinning and I was feeling nauseated. I had to force myself to my day job today and then was escorted to the clinic. The doctor told me I had Viral Labyrinthesis - an inner ear infection. I'm now stranded on my couch, bored out of my mind and wondering if this is going to affect my day job (considering I'm supposed to be on a three month probation - I started only two months ago!).

Another fleeting thought was pregnancy....OK I'm trying not to think too hard about this possibility but really the 'morning' sickness sure has been there. If it happens, it happens. It's just I'm not ready! I'm at a selfish point in my life and want to enjoy being married in a month for a couple of years before adding another person to our family. Plus I don't have benefits at work just yet. How horrible would it be not to have a maternity leave? Well hopefully this subsides as it's such a bad feeling. eeek

10 Ways to Avoid Burnout (besides hiring me)

These days, technology keeps us in touch with one another more than ever. Blackberries are so popular, you can see them laying on the docks at cottages ‘just in case’ as their owners attempt to ‘get away from it all’. Seriously though, with all of this technology following us around, how do we not become burned out? How can we actually ‘get away from it all’? In many business situations, people don’t feel as though they can. Owning your own business is very busy and can be stressful. Losing out on a week can mean a major decline to some.

What we all must stop and realize however, is that if we are burned out, our business won’t thrive. But how can you expect clients to be happy if you’re not happy? After all, running your own business was supposed to make more time for yourself and your family, correct? Below are ten ways to help you steer away from total burn out and hopefully helpful tips to keep your business and you stay emotionally afloat!

1. Laugh – Take a mini five minute break and watch that video of the guy falling headfirst into the lake you heard about on YouTube. Laughing can immediately raise your spirits and make you more positive.

2. Balance – Like the term “take time to smell the roses”, make sure you balance your work and home life. If you work at home, make a note to leave the home office at a certain time so you can spend time with your family or friends. Take time out for yourself. Your business shouldn’t take over all aspects of your life.

3. Take those vacation days – yes even you are entitled to vacation! Everyone is entitled to a vacation whether you own your business or not. We are not made to work on an ongoing basis. We all need some time out. When you do go away, also remember to leave your blackberry at home!!

4. Have a hobby – As I mentioned, work can’t be the only thing going on in your life. Just like you shouldn’t “put your eggs in one basket”, putting your life in one category will only make you miserable in the long run. Take a course, join a team (I for one have been playing Ultimate Frisbee!), just do something on the side that makes you happy.

5. Ask for help – I understand how hard this can be. When I’m given a project, I want to run with it – alone. Giving my tasks to other people is difficult, however it’s necessary for mental health. Sometimes you just can’t do it all alone. This is where a VA comes into the situation;) But seriously ask your business partner or assistant for the help you need.

6. Leave work at work – When you are done for the day, leave it there. Don’t go home and keep working. Especially if you have a family. Your family needs your attention just as much as your business does. There is a time and place for it all.

7. Shorten the commute – Commuting great distances day after day can have a grueling effect on your emotional stability. If you are commuting everyday consider telecommuting or finding a place closer to home.

8. Go out for lunch – Yes do go out! Don’t work nine hours straight without a break.

9. Make friends – You need someone to talk to and confide in. Of course if you are married, your ‘partner in crime’ will be this person, but at work make sure you socialize. It will immediately raise your spirits and relieve stress to know there is someone who understands your workload. If you work alone, be sure you have someone to call so you can get any issues off your chest.

10. Exercise – Exercising has been proven to relieve stress and depression. So go for a jog, hop on your bike or go to the gym!

FINALLY! The Website is up

My website is up and running. I'm sure there will be a few tweaks here and there, hoewver it's up and the information is available.

I must admit, I was nervous sending the site to publish. I've done a lot of research on the business. Now hopefully this will help me get business!

Sensible Solutions
www.asensiblesolution.ca

Virtual Assistant Forums

What a great website! I came across this site by referral.

This is really a growing industry and such a site is necessary when building contacts and searching for valuable information.

Thank you www.virtualassistantforums.com for making my life easier.

Top Eight Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant (i.e. me)

Jumping into a business shouldn't be done blindly or without one question at least being asked once - why would people want to hire me?

After much consideration I've come up with the following top eight list.

1. Focus on what's important YOUR BUSINESS! - Hiring a VA will help you focus on the main tasks of your business. Sometimes business owners can get caught up in the 'extras' such as filing, travel arrangements, research etc. and find they don't have enough time to focus on the main priority. Either that or they put so much effort into all that they miss out on spending valuable time with family and friends.

2. Making time for yourself - The last point above brings me to my next point. How do you expect to take pleasure in running your own business if you don't have time for yourself! Also, you should be allowing your mind to rest so you can continually think of new and exciting ways to make your business work. A VA can take away the extra stress and time to allow you the freedom to make sensible decisions.

3.A VA is there everywhere! - If you need a last minute document sent to an important client while you are away on vacation or business, your VA is there. With email, phone and fax, connecting with your VA to get what you need is easier today than ever before.

4. You can hire an 'all in one' package - As a Virtual Assistant, I am able to provide many services to you. I have a degree in Social Development with a post graduate in Communications. I have experience writing, editing, publishing, researching, creating spreadsheets, reports (yes even Pivot Tables!), booking travel etc etc etc. No need to hire different employees for different tasks. Your VA can wear many different hats!

5. Save on Space - As you know, hiring a VA saves you money in hiring costs and benefits. It also saves you on office space. If you are like many small business owners, I'm sure you don't have much space to offer a full time employee!

6. Outsource when you need it - You only need to hire on a project by project basis with a VA. When times are slow, you don't need to keep an assistant even if there is no work to do. I'm available only when you need me!

7. Professional and experienced - A success VA didn't just come out of the woodwork in terms of education and training. I, for example, have several years experience working for many different organizations. I have 'seen it all' and will only offer you the best of the best should you hire my services.

8. The VA can be your silent 'business partner' - Yes you can appear to be a 'one-man show' to your clients all the while have the back up of a VA when you need it. You can have the help of a partner without sharing half of your business.

Struggling with Ambition

My week is starting off with anxious thoughts of my business.

Using my skills to help new and/or small businesses is a very exciting and important initiative for me.

Still working full-time as an executive assistant, I'm juggling my start up as well as my upcoming wedding! As you can tell I'm very good at multi-tasking. There's a point I can add to my website.

While I am quite the multi-tasker however, I am still finding it hard to concentrate on the temporary as I move along to the road of self-success.

My first post!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog and my first post. I am eagerly awaiting the construction of my website for my Virtual Assistant business - Sensible Solutions. In the meantime I am introducing my services to the world through my blog.

Owning my own business has been a dream of mine for quite sometime. However, I couldn't quite pinpoint what I wanted to do. I have combined 10 years customer service, administrative, communications experience. Working for 'the man' never appealed to me which is why, after graduating University and college, I decided to take on contract work. Helping different organizations with various projects was much fun to me and I never seemed to have trouble finding work. When I started noticing employers (mainly 'old school' employers) looking down on my contract work and not seeing a steady job, I decided to work full time as an administrative assistant in the Corporate World at one of Canada' largest Insurance Companies.

Being tied to one place with little creative opportunities in the IT department, I decided to seek out other opportunities. I took on some freelance writing assignments (which I LOVE!) but I finally realized that other opportunities really meant working for myself and here I am. I am so confident I can do this and do this well.