Michelle's Musings
The evolution of a business takes place over a period of time...certainly not overnight. When I first started out as a business owner, I had no idea what roles I would play, how I should set up my bookkeeping, my service offerings, and all the other tasks that go into business start up.
Believe it or not, I am still evolving both personally and professionally. Personally, I read articles, magazines and books that help me figure out who I want to be when I grow up, where I want to go, and how to stay on track. Professionally, I look for ways to challenge myself, my skills and help propel my clients toward their goals.
To help my clients promote their products and services better, I have been encouraging them to start their own teleclasses. This brings in more subscribers to their list, gets more exposure to their website and purchases for their products among many other great reasons.
We've been having a blast with this and our clients get more and more excited when they see their list grow, sales increase and their phones ring for more speaking engagements both online and offline.
In addition to fine tuning my business over time, I look to my colleagues and friends in the same and other service-based businesses. I have collaborated with several people to develop new products that we can each share as well as to ask questions about how to do 'this' or 'that.' I get such great feedback (good criticism and not so good). I know my friends care about me and my business just like I care about theirs, so really, it's all good. We help each other become more and more successful. It's kind of like climbing a mountain. We could do it alone, but what's the fun in that? We help each other climb that next step and when we're having a pity-party day, we motivate each other to keep climbing..."just one more step, and another, etc."
Do you have service offerings that aren't attracting clients or need someone to help keep you motivated? If so, let us help you learn how to attract all the clients you need and even create a waiting list! We now offer coaching in a variety of plans to suit your time and budget.
Here's to your success!
With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
What's Up with TVN?
We have some really cool features for our members that we will be rolling out in mid-October, so keep a watch for our announcements. These new features will bring clients into your funnel and keep you on top of new clients' minds. We can't reveal our surprise just yet, but we will share it with you real soon!
In the meantime, please check out our great selection of products. We are already creating two new directories that will help you and your clients!
Tell us what products you are looking for and we will find them and post the links in our next ezine edition, blog and website, or create it to help you be more efficient and simplify your time! Send us an email to info@thevirtualnation.com for suggested products and/or services you need in your business.
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TVN Goes Green
Many people are jumping on the 'green' bandwagon nowdays. I am, too. Actually, I started my college career wanting to be a child psychologist (I didn't want to get a Ph. D. in order to begin my career), then I thought I wanted to be a Geography major and then it morphed into an Environmental Biology Management major. I'll bet you didn't know that about me, did you?
Obviously, I didn't end up as an Environmental Biologist, but I am still very interested in being green, the environment and leaving the Earth better than when I arrived. That is a tall order these days. I am doing the best that I can and continually strive to do better.
One of the ways I am helping the environment is by instilling my personal values is by going more green in my business. I am choosing green partners and resources and last year I joined Co-op America. Just a few weeks ago, I received my packet that says The Virtual Nation is now officially 'Approved for People and Planet!'
My best friend, Sharon Broughton, is also Green! She has a cool new website and blog called, Chicks Go Green. She has a really neat and fre^e ebook that you can sign up for that talks about Green Grocery Shopping tips, resources, and things to know to be a Savvy Green Shopper.
So, let us know if you have any green resources; we'll place them on our website with a link back to your site. Send emails to info@thevirtualnation.com.
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Featured Article: Hire-A-Businesswoman Week
This really isn't a featured article, but it is certainly newsworthy and we wanted to draw your attention to this amazing opportunity.
Hire-A-Businesswoman Week
September 17 – 21, 2007
Created for Business & Professional Women
Who Want to Reach the $1 Million Mark
Fact: Women control more than 80% of all consumer purchases and represent more than half of corporate buyers, yet only 3% of women-owned companies bring in $1 million annually
The International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce is proclaiming September 17 – 21, 2007 as Hire-A-Businesswoman Week. It will coincide with Shameless Promotion Month, International Strategic Thinking Month, and International Women's Ecommerce Days (18 - 21) to offer business and professional women an innovative week of online networking, coaching, resource sharing, and mentoring to assist in the remodeling of women-owned companies from the inside-out; creating a fast-track to the $1 million+ mark.
Fact: According to the Women’s Center for Business Research, only 3% of women-owned companies -- that's 242,000 out of a total of 10.6 million women-owned firms -- earn $1 million or more annually. Roughly three times as many male-owned companies -- 818,000 of them -- bring in $1 million or more annually
Hire-A-Businesswoman Week will bring together female experts from the coaching, virtual assistance, real estate, business development, sales, and marketing industries to help business and professional women put together a personalized action plan to accelerate sales and revenue to new records.
Hire-A-Businesswoman Week will offer over 30 seminars delivered in a teleconference setting offering daily online networking events for women seeking strategies to grow and expand their companies into multi-million dollar ventures. Business models, business plan makeovers, franchising strategies, SBA lending, home-based business/small business conversion, “blogging” and video-casting, re-branding, virtual outsourcing, and much more will be subjects offered by professional business women with experience and a proven track-record. The seminars will be recorded for later review, replay, and additional learning opportunities.
Women interested in learning more about Hire-A-Businesswoman Week can visit the International Virtual Women’s Chamber of Commerce online at http://www.ivwcc.org or call (678) 379-4281 for more information.
Jerrilynn B. Thomas, CEO
International Virtual Women's Chamber of Commerce
http://www.ivwcc.org
Skype: womenschamber
P.S. Michelle Ulrich will be a speaker on the teleconference Wednesday, September 19. Check the website for more details!
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Upcoming Events
The Virtual Nation Expert Teleclass Series
Presents...
"Pricing Roundtable Session"
with Robert Brenner
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
10:00 am - 11:00 am Pacific
Michelle Ulrich,
Chief Villager & Founder of
The Virtual Nation™
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Date & Time: Tuesday, September 18, 2007, 10:00 am - 11:00 am Pacific; to check your time zone, click here.
Who Should Attend? Coaches, Sales Professionals, Solopreneurs, and Virtual Professionals
Our next Expert Teleclass Series will focus on pricing and how to price your services so you will actually make a profit and still be competitive in your industry. Robert Brenner, owner of Brenner Information Group, a division of Brenner Microcomputing, Inc. since 1982, will be our guest and help educate us on best pricing practices.
Your virtual practice might not be making you the money you need or desire. Without know how to figure out your pricing structure, you may not know if you're charging enough to support your business. We'll find out answers to these questions and more next month when we'll be able to pick the 'Pricing Guru's' brain!
Some questions we'll explore:
- How do I come up with a price to charge?
- Why is price so important?
- Why should I care about costs?
- What are some of the popular pricing models?
- What is a 'pricing grid?'
- Why should I consider raising prices?
- How can I effectively raise prices?
- How much can I raise my price?
- What should I keep in mind regarding price objections?
- How to deal with cutthroat competition?
- How can I deal with 'bottom fishers' looking for the lowest price?
- When should I consider turning work down?
- What's the bottom line when it comes to pricing?
Teleclass Format: Michelle Ulrich, founder of The Virtual Nation™ will host a roundtable session with Robert Brenner. For more information about Robert, you can check out his website at http://brennerbooks.com.
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Registration: This is a Complimentary Teleclass - Just click on the button below and fill out the form; that's all you have to do! We'll email you the teleclass telephone and pin number. We'll send a reminder a few days before the call. If you do not receive this information, please email us at info@thevirtualnation.com.
For more information prior to registration, please visit our teleclass page on The Virtual Nation™. |
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Marketplace
Would you like to have a banner ad or classified (text only) ad in our ezine? You can have up to a 50-word ad with live links.
Check out our full line of advertising options.
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Resources
Planet Teleclass
At www.PlanetTeleclass.com you can
take a class or list your teleclass at
The Net's Largest Teleclass Community!
TVN has a lot of other incredible resources to choose from. If you are in need of forms, templates, information on starting a business in California, where to go to find great books, printers, and more, it's all on the website. Click here to have a look.
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Advertising Disclaimer:
The Virtual NationT does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the paid advertisements above or the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad. You are responsible for handling your own due diligence before purchasing any product or service.
Thank You for Joining Me!
**IMPORTANT**
You are receiving this ezine because you subscribed on our website or purchased one of our products or services. If you've received this ezine from a friend, don't forget to sign up for this ezine on our website. We changed ezine delivery company several months ago, so you may need to sign up again at http://www.profcs.com/app/join.asp?merchantid=96717
With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
Want to share your gratitude? Mosey on over to the Gratitude Club and check it out. |
