How to Ensure Your Article Will Get Published

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you probably have a wealth of knowledge to share with your prospective clients. Writing articles is a great way to introduce your services and expertise to the masses. It also has to be done in the right way in order to be effective (or even to gain approval for publication on the majority of article directories).

Annoying Telephone Calls? Complain About Them Online!

As a business owner or entrepreneur, the last thing you need during your busy day is to be interrupted by scam artists who work via telephone. They often don’t call in using 800 (or private) numbers, so it can be hard to tell whether picking up the phone will lead to a potential business opportunity or not.

Finding Quality Support for Your Business via Freelance Job Sites

Congratulations if your business has grown to the point where you could use some assistance with certain projects and/or require help with its day-to-day administration! That is a very positive sign that your business is definitely on the right track.

 

Now how do you keep up that momentum of moving forward without breaking your budget? More importantly, how can you find exactly the type of quality support you need?

My Favorite Small Business Forum

As a virtual assistant (VA), I don’t get out much. If I want to network with other small business owners and entrepreneurs, I don’t have a lot of time to attend board of trade meetings and events.

 

My solution was to join Small-Business-Forum.net and I absolutely love it!

 

Originally, I joined solely for the socializing and as a way to keep up-to-date with what others were doing with their own small businesses.  I thought I might gain a few tips here and there and that was about it.

 

Well, I was wrong. I have gained much more than I ever dreamed of…

Some Nifty Free Tools to Manage Your Online Business

 

I’ve come across a few very handy (and free) tools that can help quite a bit in managing one’s online business, especially when you are just starting out and have little, if any, money to spend on extras.

 

Of course, if you are really busy—and congratulations if you are—you will likely seek the help of a qualified virtual assistant (VA) to handle a variety of tasks for you, but that doesn’t mean you also have to purchase a lot of expensive software programs or services right away…

Above Average Customer Service – The Key to a Successful Online Business

 

“I can’t log in to your website. I can’t access the online ebooks or videos that I just paid for. Can you help?”

 

“No one has responded to me. I want a full refund. I am angry. I am feeling confused. Your site is difficult to navigate. No one is taking the time to help me.”

 

If you are a person who is running a one-man shop—perhaps you are selling ebooks or other products online—there will always be customers who experience difficulty for one reason or another just due to the technical nature of your product’s delivery. Different browsers and operating systems and a varying degree of user ability will affect a certain percentage of your sales.

 

If you have a contact form on your website, most folks will use that, but there are some who won’t even get past the order stage. They may even feel that there’s no point in trying to contact you because they’re sure their inquiry will just end up in a ‘black hole’ somewhere in cyberspace.

 

There isn’t much you can do for the few who don’t even bother to contact you, but there is a lot that can be done for those who do…

Clients and VAs: The Benefit of Touching Base More Often

I know a lot of virtual assistants (VAs) who are hesitant to ‘bother’ their regular clients or are afraid of contacting them too often unless there is a specific issue they need to discuss. I also know of clients who feel the same way about their VAs.

While it’s always necessary to ‘touch base’,  especially when you are unsure of something or need clarification, even if things are running smoothly, a quick email or 5-minute phone call on a regular basis is a great way to discuss new ideas, offer feedback on various ongoing projects, or just to connect and say, “Hi. How’s it going?”

Don’t be shy. In today’s ‘virtual’ world, emails, phone calls, text messages and IMs are the equivalent of stopping in the hallway to chat, running into someone in the lunchroom, purposefully walking to their desk, or perhaps even accosting them in the parking lot. (Okay, I didn’t actually mean “accosting” them.)

What I feel most strongly about is the need to touch base frequently in order to form a successful client/VA relationship. Otherwise, both parties can feel quite isolated. At some point (as a VA), you may need to contact your client and say, ”I’m not quite sure I understand what you need from me,” or (as a client), “I know what I need, but I don’t know quite how to get there. Can you help?” But sometimes equally important issues and fresh ideas can arise during a simple, friendly conversation.

Some clients and VAs have established a more formal weekly phone meeting or online chat session on a regular basis. This is a great method because if there is a non-urgent issue, both parties know it will be discussed during their regular session.

Frequent communication helps clients and VAs feel more human with one another. It allows them to get to know each other’s personalities, just as if they were in the next office or cubicle. They don’t have the luxury of grabbing a coffee together, celebrating office birthdays or even admiring a new haircut or brand-new outfit. These little things are what help make us feel more ’real’ to each other.

Having said that, I’m not advocating going overboard and sending a daily “Good morning” email or anything like that. After all, we’re all very busy. But chances are, clients and VAs could benefit from a little more ‘water cooler’ time a little more often, even when no specific issues are demanding their attention. Often during these more-relaxed sessions, some amazing ideas and insights can come to the surface.