All Season VA, LLC

Do you and your business feel like the recession is subsiding?  Do you want a formula for success in 2010?

I recently attended a seminar dedicated to Smart Ways to Success in this troubled economy. Here’s what I learned, I wanted to share these ideas with you.

Business Success Strategies

1) Pay less for things. Take a serious look at your business top 10 expenses and reduce these services immediately. Things like Attorneys, Bookeepers/Accountants, Car Services, Cable/Internet, just to name a few. Take a look at payroll/staff. Determine if you can delegate duties and begin working with a Virtual Assistant. This simple change would definitely save you money. Also, approach your current vendors and renegotiate lower fees. If there is no room for renegotiation, consider finding new, lower priced service partners. Your bottom line will see immediate savings. It’s well worth the exercise.

2) Do you pay yourself first? Put the maximum allowed into an IRA, 401K or defined benefit plan. There will be money for you and not just your business, if you pay yourself first. Your money will continually grow and be there when you need it.

3) Do you have a real tax strategy? Have you put in place the right set up a tax perspective? Be it an LLC, Corporation etc. make sure the original business set up is current and consider changing this if it would benefit you and your business, tax wise.

4) Do you know how to deal with worry? It’s confidence.

Pick the 5 things you need to decide on before the end of 2010 and use this formula.

• Identify a problem

• Write it down

• Decide what you can do about it

• Make a decision

• Act on it NOW

5) Do you have a support network? It’s lonely in small business today. Small Business Owners are different. They are wired differently than everyone else. Join Business Networking Organizations and get involved, make friends and business partners. Share best practices and new innovative ideas for success.

December 2009. Written by All Season Virtual Assistant. www.allseasonva.com 888-556-5090 All rights reserved.

Did you know that close to 80% of "InBox" messages have little or no value?  Did you know that the average business person receives approx. 80 e-mails per day?  There is a way to successful manage this daily activity.  Here are my suggestions to help you with the email blues:

• Take your name off lists.

Unsubscribe using the link provided in the email, or send an email asking to be removed from their email distributions and mailing list

• Reserve a seperate email account for important communications you want to receive.

Share this with anyone you want to have direct access to this account.

• Check Email only once or twice per day.

Calendar this activity and stick to this schedule so as not to be chained to your desk or computer.  Respond to incoming mail twice daily.

• Handle your Email in box, like it was paper.

      a.  If it has no value, hit the delete key

     b.  If it requries a quick response, respond and delete it

     c.  If it requires a response but not necessarily your time, see if you can delegate it

     d.  If it requires a response and your time, plan to complete it later and enter it into your calendar or day planner for follow up.

Taking control and dealing with Email in this fashion will most likely take you about 1 hour per day.  Don't let Email control you or seal away hours in your day when you can concentrate on more important tasks at hand.

Consider assigning Email tasks to your Virtual Assistant as an important step in helping relieve you of your administrative duties.

*Written by allseasonva.com, VA to entrepreneurs. All Season VA is a leader in providing Virtual Assistance to small businesses leaders, busy executives, executive coaches, speakers, authors, doctors and ?virtually? anyone needing assistance with daily administrative duties.

When you begin your new business, what concerns you most?

    Not enough time for Administrative Details

    Marketing

    Selling your services or product

    Strong relationships with your clients

Can you think of anything else that a Virtual Assistant and partner could help you with?

By working with a Virtual Assistant you achieve reasonable support and gain a valuable business partner in the process. 

ASSIGN - your admin tasks to a competent Virtual Assistant. Free up your time to focus on your business initiatives.

CONCENTRATE - on building your organization for success. You will be "less stressed" and absorbed in the daily details.

EXPAND - your business development efforts, ensuring growth of the company, increased profits and overall success.