Archive for the ‘On The Go Blog’ Category

How many times do you say – “I haven’t got the time”! “Where do all the hours go”?

Personally I manage time in chunks – I allocate set hours for each client.  For my clients who book a set amount of hours a month I allocate specific days during the week  to carry out their work.  My calendar is a colour coded masterpiece – a set colour for each client.  That’s how it works for me. How do you manage your time?

If you need some guidance on time management there are some excellent tips here in a post by Mark Walsh.

Nigel Morgan of Morgan PR featured me in his blog this morning having had a conversation with me first thing.  The reason for his call was to discuss MYSMB which has recently come on the market.  I felt it only appropriate to use my blog to respond as well as placing the context of this blog into his comments section.  Before you read on I would like to make it clear that I believe Nigel is extremely adept at what he does not only in the field of Social Media but also as a PR consultant.

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It was good to chat to you this morning Nigel – I didn’t realise I was going to be featured in your blog!  MYSMB appears to have got a few people in a spin judging by the various comments on blogs and social networks.  I will reiterate.  Although I have been involved in social media for over two years (thank you for the compliment – I think she was proficient in the first place!) as with anything to do with technology changes happen at an alarming rate. We are learning all the time, different ways to enhance what we already know, the changes we need to make, what we adapt and what we drop.  The training modules within MYSMB are excellent and I have gleaned information that may well be out there for free as Mike McGrail clearly states, I just hadn’t found it.

I believe this needs to be put in perspective.  MYSMB is a job opportunity that will provide an income for those keen to learn, for others it will enhance a service they already provide (as in my case) and unfortunately for the remainder who don’t realise they have actually got to work at it the opportunity will pass they by.

I don’t believe there are any experts in Social Media, there are people who have become involved originally through fascination, possibly intrigue as to how global it is,  realise they have a talent for it and eventually make it part of their business.  Some people are better at it than others but that doesn’t make them an expert.  Society will decide for themselves who they want to work with and who they want to represent them.  Where Social Media representatives, for another word, will come to the fore is how they produce the ever evasive ROI for their client.  We are a nation clamouring statistics.  Anyhow that is another comment for another blog no doubt.

Just to confirm I did pay for the branding package which will be integrated with my existing site, under development as I type my response.  Each person will choose how they want their site to look and no doubt will update it frequently as we do with our own sites so the few you have earmarked in your blog may well be working on them now.

MYSMB has provided me with the relevant information and support I expected it to.  It will give other people the opportunity to run their own business however large or small they want it to be and who are we to deny anyone that.  Should existing Social Media experts be concerned, well that will depend on how confident they are themselves on the packages and services they provide now.  As someone who provides this service already I wish every new MYSMB person lots of luck with their new venture.  I will be looking to see how they are marketing their business, just as I do with Virtual Assistants, competition is healthy.  Do I feel threatened, no.  It’s a very large world and I firmly believe there is room for everyone.  MYSMB is no different to any other business; it provides a profession and a service to the business community and each and every one of us has the right to choose which provider we use to fulfil that service.

As you rightly point out I am a member of Nigel Botterill’s Entrepreneur Circle and I appreciate his leadership.  As we discussed on the phone we all find someone we “follow”, “admire” and listen to – Nigel happens to be one along with quite a few others whose knowledge in their individual fields I respect highly.

Working as a Virtual Assistant (VA) means my entire business is based on-line, either through email, Skype and the telephone.  The only time I have face to face meetings is when I attend Networking events – which are a must to keep up on social skills and to actually speak out loud. It is very easy to agree with everything you say to yourself.

One of the drawbacks that can arise when working on-line is that I may not always see what the client does.  I can’t tell what they are  feeling.  Until technology takes another step forward how can I tell if they are they having a bad day.  How will I know if they have just lost an important project or that they are running out of time to meet a deadline?  As wonderful as technology is I can’t always tell from an email what frame of mind they are in.

Charles Green – founder and CEO of Trusted Advisor Associates wrote an excellent article on this  A Customer Service Reality Check

It’s not a new theory and I am sure you will recognise some, if not all, of what he has to say. I have often said to friends, clients and even my children when they have received an email or text message that they don’t understand or misinterpret - “they may not have meant it that way”. However, I am grateful for the reminder that you never know what someone is thinking and it pays not to guess.  A little perception is required.  Listen, ask, and then take action.

Can you relate to Charles Green’s article?

We’ve all done it at some point – “my computer doesn’t work”,” I can’t get to grips with the program”,” it doesn’t work for me” and every other excuse we can find to “blame” the tool.

Of course the program works, so does the computer, what doesn’t work is our brain – it goes off on a tangent telling us we should have been able to produce that article in 5 minutes, let’s face it that’s what the program is meant to do – save us time isn’t it?

Well yes – and it does – but first you have to learn how to use it, just like anything else we have done in our lives – step by step, day by day, we get better, more accomplished, more adept at what we are doing but this only comes with practice.

Great article here by Chris Brogan – Hemingway’s Pencil. I can still hear my Father (a solid Lancastrian) who always said in his broad accent “it’s nowt (nothing) to do with the tool, it’s all to do with the bonce (head)”! and so it is.

Take yesterday, the Ryder Cup, what a fantastic conclusion to the event.  Why did the Europeans win?  What did they do differently?  Each player had a golf club, each a master of the game, all worthy of a place on the team.  They took control, they thought their game plan through and they didn’t let their emotions or mind games take over. More importantly they didn’t give up.

How many tools have you started to use and then let go of because they “didn’t work”?

Go back now and try again, give yourself some time, work through the process and one by one the pieces will come together, you will save time, you will produce the outcome you are looking for and then move on to the next “broken tool”.

I came across this video whilst surfing on the net and I became spellbound.  It was slow to load on the original site so I found it on YouTube to share with you so hopefully it will run smoothly.

Storytelling – do you remember being a child and having a story read to you? The comforting voice of your Mum or Dad  creating those wonderful characters? It was so real wasn’t it? Somehow we lose that dramatic vibrancy when we read a book ourselves; it’s our own voice in our head creating, building the scenes and characters.

Has the art of storytelling died?  Has technology taken over to the extent we’ve forgotten what it was like to listen to a story or indeed tell one?  Could it be the speed in which we are able to communicate these days in truncated, abbreviated single sentences, in some way has let this art, and it is an art, die?  You see to tell a story takes time and time is something we all say we just don’t have.

Well, perhaps it’s time to slow down and allow ourselves to be transported. Take some time now (just 8:53 mins) – make a cup of tea or coffee and listen to Jay OCallahan’s wonderful story.  I’m so pleased I came across this – thank you for transporting me away from my computer for just a few minutes.  If you were on Twitter Mr OCallahan you would get my resounding #ff !

Let me know if you have taken some time out – were you transported?

Being a VA means working On The Go.  Technology has made it easier for all of us – restrictions of being tied to a desk from 9-5 have long since gone.  Where do you work from – a specific room at home, on the go, office, at the airport …… it really doesn’t matter these days does it? Being an avid “people watcher” I would find a coffee shop so distracting and highly detrimental to the waistline! Let me know where you work – is it through choice or necessity?

Some productivity tips here.

“Select a compatible partner, maintain mutual respect and self-prescribe a lot of laughter” – this was the advice of Ted Spring, 73, who is this month celebrating half a century with his partner Paul Pollard, 72. ‘Britain has changed, but not the prejudice’

In my mind the same applies to business.  Choose who you work with, respect their opinions and laugh at your successes as well as some of your mistakes.

Loved this article – keep it simple - compatibility, respect and laughter.

I am lucky to have dream clients – as a self-employed person I am able to choose who I work with.  How about you – are you able to choose your clients?  Have you ever been in a situation where you wish you hand’t taken on a client  - if so – how did you deal with them? Did you find a way to work together or did you politely point them to another provider? Shay Howe explains - Turning All Clients Into Dream Clients.

I hope you don’t mind but this week I am going to use this blog to ask you, or anyone you may know, for some well deserved sponsorship. It’s for Sophie Rebecca Perrin who is a 14 year old girl from Swindon. Sophie started riding Jet Ski’s at the young age of 6 and three years later – at the tender age of only 9 – started racing seriously. In 2008 she attended the US finals and was crowned ‘World Ladies Junior Champion’, coming in at an amazing third place in the overall championships.


As you can imagine this is not a cheap sport – what sport is? Unfortunately, due to a lack of funds Sophie was unable to attend the finals in America last year and instead competed at the ‘European Junior Championships’ where she became the number three ‘junior champion’ – an incredible feat indeed! Today, at 14, Sophie is no longer allowed, under the Jet Ski rules, to compete in junior competitions and now only competes in adult events – racing against both men and women aged 20 and above. That is some achievement.

Until you have seen Sophie in action it is hard to believe that one so small can have such dedication, strength and determination to win. Paul and I have seen her in action twice. Believe me it is nail biting, high speed action that really takes your breath away. How Sharon (Sophie’s Mum) watches I just don’t know. I was fortunate enough to catch Sophie for two brief interviews on the last day of her racing season prior to going to the States which you can listen to here: Interview 1 and Interview 2

This year (2010) Sophie has had a fantastic season. In the British and Belgium Championships she became the twice British Champion in ‘Limited’ and ‘Novice’ Stock as well as coming 2nd in Belgium in the ‘Ladies Class’ and 2nd in the ‘Stock Class’. With the help and support of local businesses, as well as being funded predominantly by her parents, she will be travelling in a couple of weeks to America in order to compete in the IJSBA World Finals hosted at the Crazy Horse camp ground in Lake Havasu, Arizona (For more details visit IJSBA.com) Sophie has a great chance of winning at this event which will help her to gain sponsorship for 2011. However, bearing in mind that each season costs well over £40k, she clearly needs all the sponsorship she can get!

To see Sophie in action then please watch this short video I have put together of this year’s season.

Please consider sponsoring Sophie and help her to achieve her dream of being the World Jet Ski Champion, not only this year but for many years to come. Every penny counts and I know she would be delighted with any sponsorship she can get.

If you can help then please email Shane (her Dad) on shane@spcomputers.net who will be able to give you have the relevant information. If you would prefer to send a cheque then please make it payable to MAS Racing and post to “SP Computers, Unit T3, IO Centre, Holby Drive, Stratton, Swindon, SN3 4NS”. In return for your sponsorship your business will be promoted on the MAS website and also on marketing banners as a thank you. Let’s give her every chance to make her dreams come true.

Many thanks in advance for your support – I am counting on you!

Summer tends to bring the chill-out factor in me.

This has to be the best summer I’ve experienced since returning to the UK over twelve years ago. Consistent days of sunshine have been glorious. They’ve lulled me into a false sense of security in the vain hope they may continue forever! But already the wetter days seem to be returning. Oh well, that’s what we expect from British weather isn’t it?

On a beautiful summer’s evening, on the 31st July, Paul and I (Paul’s my husband for those of you who didn’t know), were invited with a group of twelve friends to go to Highclere Castle to listen to the Battle Proms. The husband of a friend, Tom Bott of High Society Orchestra, was playing in the orchestra so actually knowing one of the musicians personally made the event even more exciting. Hiring a school bus, off we went with picnic baskets, wine, chairs, umbrellas and cagoules. An hour later we off-loaded and went through the gates to the open space where people were already setting up their picnic places. Families, couples both young and old, all enjoying a perfect summer’s evening. Some were dressed formally and others were attired in dinner suits and frocks, with the majority just dressed casually – everyone mingling, laughing and dancing.

The castle stood in its splendour as the perfect backdrop, almost shining in its glory, in the secure knowledge it was being admired by so many people that evening. The highlight for me was when we saluted Carolyn Grace in her LF Mark IX Spitfire as she performed a carefully choreographed display to the orchestra’s opening pieces. This display took place against a sunset going behind a dark cloud, twisting and twirling just like a scene in a film, stunning, even for a non aviation enthusiast like me.

Battle commenced as the big guns came out for a unique performance that gives the concert its name. Beethoven’s Battle Symphony was playing in the background with live firing cannons, infantry musket fire and fireworks. Detonation technology enabled this piece to be performed with the guns firing precisely in time with the original composition and the fireworks display simply took my breath away.
The whole evening provided a complete escape from our normal work routines and stresses. By taking the time out to travel not too far away and enjoying a beautiful evening surrounded by friends was a superb tonic which definitely recharged some flagging batteries. It was a clear reminder to me of how important it is to take time out – no matter what tasks are crying out for our attention.

I hope you have all taken some time out this summer to “smell the roses” as the old saying goes and have recharged your own batteries. Long may the Summer continue!