Michelle's Musings
Dear Friend,
I am very excited about planning for my New Year. 2008 is going to be my best year ever! I don't believe in New Year's resolutions, but I do believe in planning, strategizing, and putting my goals on paper.
Here are a few areas where I am concentrating on in my business:
- Clients - I hired a Client Connection Coordinator (a project manager)
- Company - creating a Business Keeper for all of our important data
- Money - I hired a money manager to help me get financially fit
- Products - We're launching new products and services this year that we'll share with you very soon!
- Team - We are working to streamline our processes, create a Policy and Procedure Manual and even a new referral program!
A few of my team members and I will be getting together just after the first of the year to strategize around these and other areas of the business. If you don't have a team, is there someone who would be willing to help you in exchange for your help? I have done many such sessions with a masters group, my best friend, and colleagues. It really helps build my motivation and get me pumped up, inspired and excited to keep moving forward.
If you need help and have no one to turn to, give me a call or send me an email. I have helped a lot of new and seasoned Virtual Professionals brainstorm on their Big Picture goals and specifically on one goal they are stuck on.
Here's to an awesomely productive and prosperous New Year! I wish you all joy and peace.
With Gratitude,
Michelle Ulrich
Featured Products - HELP!!!
Clients and colleagues have asked for our help and we came to the rescue.
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We were asked by many of our clients to submit articles for them. So, we built a huge list of places to submit articles.
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Teleclasses and other online events are becoming more mainstream, so we answered our clients and colleagues plea once again. We compiled a list of places to submit events, teleseminars, webinars, and more!
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I challenge you to give me the name of someone in business who doesn't want more clients, more press about their business, and more notoriety as an expert in his/her field. We have co-created a HUGE directory to get clients' names out to the media. The media directory has 50 tabs; one tab for each state. Here's what you get:
- Each tab includes print, radio and television media contacts
- 50 tabs - one for each state of the United States of America
- 1 tab with Canadian media contacts
- 1 tab with Press Release submission sites
- 1 tab with Christian media contacts
- We keep adding tabs for specific markets all the time!
Check out our great selection of products and help yourself or your clients reach out and get more clients through media connections.
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Featured Article: Be Inspired - by You!
How does one go about inspiring oneself? First, we need to know what 'inspire' means. It literally means, 'to give breath.' Wow! If we can give breath to ourselves and others, we can cause a contagious outbreak of inspiration around the globe. What a beautiful world this would be. (Okay, I'll get back on point here.)
Sometimes, when we get into a career, we end up almost imprisoned by our own aptitude. We may have specialized in one area of our jobs, just because as assistants, we can play almost any role that is thrown at us. But as we look for inspiration for our Virtual Professional (VP) businesses, we need to take time to pause and reevaluate our goals. The obvious objectives are to have more time in our homes, to be financially grounded and successful, to have a host of clients and projects. Probably the most important goal of all, however, and the key that sets the stage for our entire business, is to do the creative and exciting work that we love.
Are you doing what thrills you, as a Virtual Professional?
On your list of services, have you dared to include those things you enjoy the most? And if you don’t feel you have the level of necessary expertise to list those skills, have you made a plan of action to acquire them? If you love web design or desktop publishing or freelance writing, what are you doing to hone those skills? Always remember WHY you have gone into business for yourself. Remember why you have gone into business for yourself -- underneath all the other reasons, it is to have a life that is truly worth living.
As Virtual Professionals, we have taken a courageous step and left the traditional workplace. The next fork in that road is to do the work we love. Take stock in your business – if your work pays you well and you excel at it, but it leaves you uninspired, seek to add that project or skill set that you daydream about. Or if you are offering services that you hated in your old “office life,” this is the time to envision those fading and to see yourself as the star in your own show.
Give yourself the gift of a free few hours for a Goal Planning Session and dare to build a business plan constructed solely around skills you enjoy. This is your VP business, you can forge the road to your own future.
Ask yourself some simple (but not easy) questions:
- What was I leaving when I made the decision to become a VP?
Were you leaving the rigidity of an office? Were you tired of being treated like the lowest “man” on the totem pole – when really you were supporting the entire team on top of your own head. Were you exhausted by your commute?
- What were you hoping to find, personally, as a VP?
More financial freedom? Peace of mind? Work that excited you?
- Where do you want to take your business? Are you setting your business goals high enough?
Take some time and really think about, and list, your goals for your business. Do you see yourself building a business strong enough to sell when you retire? Are you hoping to build a truly 100% virtual business, so you can travel and take your “shop” and your clients with you?
- Finally, what are you doing to search out clients and market your company?
(For a multitude of great marketing ideas, visit the archived Ezine’s (The Vision) at the TVN website.)
Remember, As VP’s we are no longer forced to be chameleons, good at everything thrown at us – we are now free to embrace the unique and vibrant gifts that we each have, and to build our new businesses and lives around those talents.
So, go out and inspire yourself! Get excited about the life you have always dreamt!
(And if you need a little boost to help you even decide what those gifts are, a quick visit to the bookstore at the TVN website could be just what the doctor ordered. A great example: The Purple Cow, by Seth Godin.)
The Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin
And, if you need a BIG boost to help you get started, or to do some major Goal Setting, consider a private coaching session with the founder of The Virtual Nation, Michelle Ulrich.
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Upcoming Events
The Virtual Nation Expert Teleclass Series
Presents...
Grow Your Business,
Not Your Waistline
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
10:00 am ~ 11:00 am Pacific
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Michelle Ulrich,
Chief Villager & Founder of
The Virtual Nation™ |
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Gillian Hood-Gabrielson |
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Join me for one hour to learn all about turning your business challenges around and making them work for you!
Date & Time: Tuesday, January 15, 2008, 10:00 am Pacific, 11:00 am Mountain, 12:00 pm Central, 1:00 pm Eastern (1 hour)
To check your time zone, click here.
Who Should Attend? Coaches, Entrepreneurs, Sales Professionals, Solopreneurs, and Virtual Professionals of all walks of life.
Waistline Challenges for Virtual Professionals:
- Check out our website for more details coming soon!
Format: Michelle Ulrich, founder of The Virtual Nation™ will have a one-on-one discussion with Gillian Hood-Gabrielson. She will share her knowledge and expertise to help virtual professionals with their waistline challenges.
Gillian Hood-Gabrielson is the founder and President of Healthier Outcomes.
A popular and in-demand fitness and intuitive eating coach, Gillian understands the unique needs of busy women in different ages and stages of life. She is widely known for her ability to create a high degree of motivation among her clients to make exercise and intuitive eating an enjoyable and integral part of their lives.
Gillian brings to each client a unique and rare perspective on what it takes to eliminate the diet mentality and overcome emotional eating. Prior to becoming a fitness professional, Gillian experienced many of the same struggles her clients and millions of women experience, from weight gain and poor body image to disordered eating and lack of exercise motivation.
Having personally faced and successfully overcome her own battles with emotional overeating, Gillian fully understands that eating healthy, exercising and maintaining your weight is not an easy task for most women. For the last 14 years she has dedicated her life to educating, guiding and helping women lose weight and get in shape while learning to eat their favorite foods without feeling guilty or punishing themselves.
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.
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The Twelve Days of Productivity
Productivity Shortcuts
The end of the year is always busy. There's the hustle and bustle of holiday spirit and shopping. But, you still want to get some work done, right?
Great! Then, join us for The Twelve Days of Productivity! Rick Cooper is hosting a series of 12 half hour teleseminars. They're focused and quick. You'll get a few great ideas every day to increse your productivity.
Complimentary Teleseminar Series:
Productivity Shortcuts (The Twelve Days of Productivity)
Daily through January 9th
What you'll learn:
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Tips to get focused
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Techniques to get organized
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Strategies to combat spam and manage your email inbox
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Lessons on prioritizing your most important tasks
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Tips to shop for productivity gadgets
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How to balance work and family during the holidays
Worried about Missing a Call?
No problem! All calls will be recorded and available for download. You can easily listen to the calls at any time.
Bonus: You will also receive our Productivity Tip of the Week.
Who should attend?
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Announcing our New Marketplace Partner
The Virtual Nation and FileMaker have just formed a new marketplace partnership and we'd like to showcase their product, VA Exchange.
Do you have multiple computers that you work from but need a tool to 'keep it all together?' This new software will help you manage the workflow with ease, security and peace of mind. Even if you have one computer, you can still highly benefit from this product.
Benefits to you, clients and other colleagues:
- Simple software that is easy to use
- Low monthly cost
- Collaborate with your clients, colleagues, and/or subcontractors
- Share documents
- Access your documents from anywhere in the world
- "Have documents, will travel" - Can you say, "Vacation?"
- Secure your documents
- Potential viruses
- Disaster in your own home (earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, etc.)
- Back up of your documents with redundant servers
Don't ever have to say:
"I lost a file with
client social security
numbers. I’m being sued."
"Someone broke into my
network! Did they get into
my confidential files?"
"Who released
information to the
newspaper? I didn’t know
anyone had access to it!"
"My laptop was stolen! All of my client files were on it, now what?"
With VA exchange, you don't have to worry.
Non-member pricing is 5% off retail
To learn more and get access to the discount code: download a brochure (72kb PDF).
Member pricing is 10% off retail
*NOTE: Virtual Nation Members will receive special pricing and links inside of our forum.
If you are currently NOT a PAID member,
you may sign up and receive your extra 5% discount right away.
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Resources
Are you in need of a great resource, piece of software and don't know where to look? Look no further!
Resources include:
- forms
- great books
- information on starting a business in California
- printers
- templates
- VA cost comparison
- VA jobs
- VA myths
- VA organizations around the globe
- and more, it's all on the website. Click here to have a look.
And don't forget about continued learning opportunities with Planet Teleclass!
Planet Teleclass
At www.PlanetTeleclass.com you can take a class or
list your teleclass at
The Net's Largest Teleclass Community!
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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 earlier this year, 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. |
