Archive for the ‘networking’ Category

I’ve been blogging for almost a year now and have had the pleasure of people making comments on my blog.  I also read other blogs and comment on them.

Sometimes it is a simple comment and sometimes, based upon the topic, I may recommend a place where I got help or found more info etc.  I never blatantly say – “check me out or I can do that – go here”, it’s not my style.

This month a comment I made on someone’s blog got edited. A first experience for me. My policy is don’t edit, but don’t hide from criticism either.  If the comment is unprofessional, I don’t approve it and my spam catcher does good work too.  If someone takes the time to make a valid comment – not a spam one – then I feel I approve it all or not.  If it had one section that was not appropriate, I would contact them to ask permission to edit. For example, I had a client who had a blog comment make reference to another line of work she had been in, she wanted to edit that but instead we emailed the person, explained the reasons and asked if she could remove that one part. Reasonable action and the other person fully understood.

The editing of my comment bothered me because I took the time to participate with someone else on their blog, and the sites (two) I was recommending were not competition for the blogger just a recommendation to get more info from.

Now I wonder if others commonly edit comments or not? What is your policy?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, networking

Last year James Mielnik of the Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce asked if I was interested in becoming a Charter Member of the Nova Scotia Come to life program. I jumped at the opportunity for two reasons;

1 – I love Nova Scotia and talking about how great it is to live, work, study, invest and play here is very easy for me (Just ask any of the recent participants at the Forum on Virtual Assistance ~ Everyone who attended now knows something about Nova Scotia.  No one left there wondering where I came from, though technically it is Alberta!)

2 – It seemed a good way to do some more networking, which I truly enjoy.

That opportunity presented by James has turned into many more; a networking event where we signed a ‘charter’ document with the Premier of Nova Scotia, a day of media training, as well as meeting other contacts which has lead to new clients for my business. I also ‘gave back’ by helping the Come to Life staff customize their Twitter profile and showed them how it can help connect their program with more people.

Recently, I was contacted by a journalist, Marie Weeren of 10th floor Solutions. She was assigned by the Come to Life program to “Tell my Story”.  It was slightly daunting being interviewed for this; complete with tape recorder, notepad and all.  However, my story has now been told and is published on the Come to Life website should anyone like to take a read.

Thanks to the people who helped Ms. Weeran with by providing background information about me for her story – Tawnya Sutherland of VAnetworking , Donna Toothaker of 1stVA and David Eisnor from the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Education & Development (CEED).  Your time is also appreciated!

For any business, joining in similar type programs (although this one is very unique) may take a bit of time and effort, but you’ll always find rewards in  the end!

Technorati Tags: be thankful, Entrepreneurs, Nova Scotia, reward, Small business, virtual assistant

Well… I am back from Niagara Falls and the FoVA (Forum on Virtual Assistance) and have had a little rest to gear myself back up at work again.

What I find most different about this morning as I sit at my desk is that I have a new outlook on how I plan to run my business and work everyday.

The people I met at FoVA were so very inspirational and full of experience and insight into running a successful VA business! Virtual Assistant Leaders from all over the world came and shared and taught us so much invaluable information! I would like to thank each one of you for taking time out of your own business so that new people like myself could meet and learn from you.

As I said in my anticipation blog post about going to this conference, I was really looking forward to meeting so many people in person. People who I have been connecting with online for the better part of this past year, mostly at VAnetworking and CVAC, and they did not disappoint! I have solidified relationships that had already started and created new ones as well.  And many of these relationships, I feel will turn into more than that – friendships developed as well.

I said it before and will repeat again – Conferences are so needed and valuable for any business owner, but even more so for those of us working from remote or home locations.

Off I go to start working with so much more motivation and ideas than ever before!  Thanks FoVA and friends!

Technorati Tags: motivation, Small business, social networking, thanks, training, virtual assistant

It’s a comment I hear a lot lately, people are getting ‘grouped out’ on Facebook.  Personally, I don’t see the issue and there is a simple solution.

Let’s look at the problem first.  What happens when you join a group or page?

Well.. for starters, you are now connected to many more people through the group.  hmmm… that was kind of the point in ‘working’ Facebook for your business wasn’t it?

Then you start to receive updates or invites to events.  Let’s see… if you respond, your update goes out to all the members… again, your name in front of many.

Now, when someone posts a note, wall post or link, on any of the groups or pages; their post will show on your wall.  Which also means, if you make a comment on another group’s wall or page, your comment will be seen by all the group members or fans. Wow, so many people you are talking to.

The issue everyone seems to have is when they start to RECEIVE all these notes, invites, links and more on your Facebook homepage…that’s when most people become overwhelmed and stop joining anything.

Well… if you are like me, and have more than 100 friends on Facebook, you probably have lots of stuff already being posted on your wall from actual friends – not to mention the flower gardens, butterflies, IQ challenge tests, TV quizzes etc, etc, etc.  Do you read all those?  Probably not… that’s why everyone skim-reads now.  Way too much to take in. You skim and only look further into items that catch your eye.

So… long before you joined any groups you had trouble brewing already.  How do you deal with it and still remain connected to all the groups and pages? Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: facebook, Social Media, social networking, Time Management

One very good place to market your business is right in your email signature line, yet many people never use this to their fullest. That’s right, this simple act of placing your information in there and having it automatically go out in every email you send, can actually bring you business.Emails, even personal ones,  should should always be seen as a way to network and tell someone new about your business and how you help your clients. They are your elevator speech included in every email you send.

You’d be surprised how often people will make comments or ask you about your business when you do have something unique at the bottom of each email.  I personally have had at least 10 inquiries this past year on what I do for a living, all from email contact.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: networking, promote business, Small business, social networking, virtual assistant