Social or in-person networking? Which is best?

Tom Beauchamp, co-founder of 2 Minutes with a VA answers my question about where Virtual Assistants should spend their time networking – online or in the face-to-face world?

Maximize your Chamber membership and see big results

A note from Angie: I am excited to introduce this week’s guest blogger, Samantha Kulchar.  She is the Owner of The Next Level, offering Executive and Personal Support Services.  She specializes in providing high-level personal and business support services to executives and entrepreneurs with the cost benefit of a virtual office.  Samantha has over twenty years of experience in business management, Human Resources, marketing, public relations, estate management, personal support and more.

You can follow Samantha at:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/SkulcharTNL
LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/pub/a/619/2a7 

Many Virtual Assistants, when starting their businesses, are advised by others to join a Chamber of Commerce. Many people don’t really know what a Chamber does or just how valuable a membership can be until they have the need for one. These networking associations can be an incredibly valuable way to take your business to new heights.

What’s in it for me?

Very often, a prospective member would come into the office to meet with the Membership Director and want to know, “So what’s in it for me?” Business owners need to know the value of what they are paying for. A Chamber that is in tune with what its members need will explain the value to you clearly, and take the time to advise you of the best way to maximize your membership for your specialty.

Chambers can offer a terrific variety of advertising options, in addition to the standard listings and networking opportunities that come with a membership. It’s wise to choose a one with a wide array of networking and marketing options. More importantly, choose a Chamber that is up to date in their offerings. Flyers in a newsletter are great, but if your business is more geared to the internet, or you are looking to expand your reach, make sure that the Chamber you choose offers options to that end, like a strong website and the ability to use advertising such as banners and email blasts. Use the tools offered – every Chamber member knows that vigorous marketing is the most effective way to retain business.

Interview your potential Chamber

As a matter of fact, interview several! It’s great to choose a Chamber with a hearty membership roster, but you want to ensure that the staff is very much in tune with its members. Request a meeting with the staff to see if you feel any chemistry with them. If you do, you’ll feel that you are in better hands when it comes to asking them to help you choose the best advertising mediums for your business. A knowledgeable staff can help you to connect with all of the right people, too. Most importantly, clicking with the staff will keep you at the front of their minds. When an opportunity arises, they will always think of you and be more likely to connect you with someone who might have a need for your services.

Attend events, create relationships

Most Chambers offer a monthly Breakfast, Luncheon and Evening Mixer as standard networking events. The wonderful thing about being a Virtual Assistant is that you can make your own schedule. There is no shop to mind, no office to lock up. You can attend all of these events! Make yourself seen and don’t go to plug your business. Go to create relationships. The more you get to know your fellow members, the more they will trust you and be likely to refer you. Most importantly, let other members know that you are eager to refer their services as well. People always respond positively when they see that you genuinely want to learn more about what they do. The upside to this is that the more you know about them, the easier it is to identify where they might have a need for a Virtual Assistant!

Volunteer!

I know that we are all pressed for time. Being business owners, moms, wives, we are often stretched to the limits. It is, however, worth it to invest even an hour a week volunteering for a Chamber. It’s a great way to test it out and see how things are run, and once you’ve joined, it’s a wonderful way to be seen and gain a level of trust within your new Chamber. Sitting at the check-in desk at events will guarantee you an instant introduction to everyone coming through the door. As the voice answering the phone, members calling in will always want to know who you are. Once you tell them you’re volunteering, it will show them that you are dedicated to the organization…so you must be dedicated to your business and your clients, too.

Donate your services

Give away a 3 hour project, a database cleanup, a Search Engine Optimization evaluation….anything that will give attention to your services. Donating a door prize at a breakfast or a raffle prize at a mixer will put the spotlight on you and get others wondering what you can offer their business, as well. Doesn’t everyone want to be more efficient?

Strategic Alliances

I’m a big fan of these relationships. Why not partner with another member to offer enhanced services? If your strengths lie more in the administrative arena, perhaps you could partner with a Web Developer to run a promotion of some kind. Everyone you meet is not necessarily just a potential client, but a potential partner. Nearly every business owner you encounter through the Chamber will need more than one type of service to enhance their business, and by partnering with other experts, you can be their one-stop-shop.

Be Remembered

People talk about things they remember. Innovative and creative methods stay on their minds. Things I still remember from members of the Chamber? A digital business card with blinking lights. A wonderful photographer who volunteers to take all of the photos for events in exchange for photo credit from the Chamber. The amazing neck pillow I still use from a sleep and wellness store that was given to everyone who came to their ribbon cutting. I even went back and got one for every member of my family and they all rave about it. The giveaways, volunteers who took some stress off of our hands, and friendships forged are all things that resonate in my mind when I think of how a Chamber of Commerce membership is so incredibly valuable.

I hope that these suggestions will be helpful to you in your endeavors, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Samantha Kulchar

The Next Level

Executive and Personal Support Services

samantha@thenextleveltoday.com 

 

VAs crucial to small business success in 2009

Happy new year!  A savvy Virtual Assistant can use the current business climate to her advantage this year.  As small business owners navigate the challenging economic climate of 2009, they will undoubtedly need to change some of the fundamental ways in which they operate.  To maintain a competitive edge, small businesses will need to: 

• cut costs;
• be more efficient;
• focus on cash flow;
• continue (or increase) marketing efforts; and
• offer top-notch customer service.

Virtual Assistants are in a unique position to help a small business stay competitive in the coming year.  By anticipating needs and presenting solutions to the unique challenges that a business owner will face this year, a VA can make herself an invaluable partner.  Whether you are an aspiring Virtual Assistant ready to find your first client or a veteran VA ready to make this your most profitable year yet, use the following points to convince prospects that hiring you is vital to their success in 2009. 

Virtual Assistants can help a small business cut costs

In and of itself, using a Virtual Assistant will help a business cut costs.  A VA is flexible, typically working on an hourly basis, and only as much as you need her that month.  By using a Virtual Assistant instead of hiring a full- or part-time administrative professional, there are no overhead expenses such as benefits, taxes or office equipment to purchase or maintain.  Once hired, a Virtual Assistant can help an owner analyze other expenses and make smart purchasing decisions.

Virtual Assistants can help a small business be more efficient

A Virtual Assistant can help identify and implement ways to operate more efficiently and maximize productivity.  This could include office management procedures, phone and email message management, and efficient use of technology. 

Virtual Assistants can help a small business focus on cash flow

Any task that takes a business owner away from selling needs to be automated or outsourced to a Virtual Assistant or other expert.  These tasks include (but are certainly not limited to) bookkeeping, correspondence, marketing, and web site maintenance.   If a small business owner can’t answer “yes” to the question, “Is this the best use of my time right now?” then he or she needs a Virtual Assistant!

Virtual Assistants can help a small business increase their marketing efforts

A savvy business owner needs to market on many fronts to compete this year.  Local media continues to be important, but in addition some businesses must also leverage their website, draw readers to an electronic newsletter, blog or podcast, and make use of social networking media.  A Virtual Assistant can help  manage or implement these efforts.

Virtual Assistants can help a small business offer top-notch customer service

It is increasingly competitive for a small business to keep customers buying from them.  Virtual Assistants can help by conducting satisfaction surveys, analyzing trends or needs, or offering customer appreciation gifts.  With the phone technology available, a VA can guarantee that a businesses phone is personally answered during business hours and customers will never have to reach voicemail.    More importantly, Virtual Assistants can give business owners back the TIME they need to be responsive to customer needs. 

This small change will put you ahead of the VA pack

I was listening to someone on the radio and he said,

“An entrepreneur satisfies needs we do not even know we have.”

If you embrace that concept in your own Virtual Assistant business, you will separate yourself and solidify your brand and reputation throughout your network.  You will attract clients to you.  So what does it mean, really, to be an entrepreneur?

When you decided to become a Virtual Assistant, you made the decision to work at home, to be independent, to take control of your professional career path…but did you really decide to become an entrepreneur?  Are you searching the job boards online, wandering in the forums, hoping to stumble across an assignment you can do from home?  That is where many of us are right now, by the way, but I am going to suggest that you shift your thinking.

Many, if not most, small business owners today still do not know what a Virtual Assistant does or how a VA can help him or her.  It is your job to educate the small business owners, home business owners, and “solopreneurs” in your local community.  You need to get out there and tell them what you do.  Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your former employer, and attend your local Chamber of Commerce meetings or other networking group for home-business owners or the National Association of Women Business Owners.  Generate free publicity by submitting a press release to your local newspaper, business magazine, or radio station.  You need to be proactive and generate a “word of mouth” campaign about you and your business.

If you take that step, that’s huge.  But let me suggest taking this whole “entrepreneur” thing one step further…

If you could approach potential clients with some specific ideas on how you can save them time and money – in other words, identifying needs they don’t even know they have – THAT is going to catapult you ahead of the pack.  So, how might one do that, you ask??

That begins with identifying your target market, an industry or type of client you would like to focus your marketing efforts on.  Perhaps you worked in that industry previously, or have a strong interest in it now.  Maybe it is nonprofits, business coaches, financial planners, or small businesses with a storefront.  You should have a strong knowledge of your target market’s trends and challenges they face.  If you have selected a target market but do not feel very familiar with the latest information, do some internet research.  Look at the popular publications and subscribe to newsletters or blogs.

When you are up to speed, you can then easily make a list of tasks you can help with, items you can take off a client’s plate, ways that you can create a partnership.  Take that marketing message out, and I know that you will find the long-term clients and projects that you are looking for.  You will break free from the job board searches and instead take charge of the direction of your Virtual Assistant business.