In an age of “authentic” marketing, it can be easy to see where brands might accidentally blur the lines between business and personal – especially if you’re a smaller business with a smaller team. When it comes to social media, because it’s supposed to be social and you are interacting with other humans, a personal touch is nice – but you have to remember you are
01September
A Tale of Two Banks: Why Service Still Rules
There are many courses available on client service, but we can never hear too often the importance of delivering on your promise of excellent service. As entrepreneurs it’s vital we make people feel welcome and respected. I recently had to deal with two different banks within an hour of each other. Bank A and Bank B both have very similar branding and advertising. They’re on the customer’s
28August
We All Need a Cheering Section
Give me a “T”, give me an “E”, give me an “A”, give me an “M” … you get the message, you and your virtual assistant are a TEAM! And teams work together, support each other, and grow together. That’s what this blog is about – growing together. I talked about hiring the skillset you need. It is really important that you hire someone
25August
Important Announcement
Dwania McLarty- Peele, founder and Executive Director of Canadian Small Business Woman took to social media to apologize after cancelling her scheduled annual Immigrant Women Small Business Expo in Toronto . A couple of months prior to the scheduled event, Dwania was diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering lumps in her right breast. The tumors have since been removed and she is
Are you on Instagram for business? Part of your Instagram strategy is to determine the look and feel of your profile. You want to create a cohesive and consistent visual experience for your community that enhances your brand and what it has to offer. This can be challenging because it requires a keen eye and a little planning ahead on your part, but here are 9
01August
PERSEVERANCE
27July
Let the Fun Begin
“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” –Helen Keller Let’s face it, when you work alone you have control over every little bitty piece of your information. Now that you’ve hired a virtual assistant (or other support), you have to let go of some of that information. I know it’s hard. It can be really, really, really hard. It’s understandable. You
In Part 1 and 2 of this series I discussed “the sole proprietorship” and “the partnership” in greater detail. I took a look at the strengths and weaknesses of each business structure, along with various things to consider when deciding which structure is best suited for your business. In this third and final part of the series, I am going to explore “the corporation” in greater
Many employers treat hiring like a blind date, hoping for “love at first sight.” They spend a little bit of time with a candidate. They ask some basic questions, then ask a few more questions as they come to mind. They think they have the job candidate all figured out, so they “propose” and attempt to seal the deal with a job offer. I know that a job offer
There is no short cut to getting more Instagram followers. While there are companies out there that say they can guarantee to get you your first 1,000 followers – or 10,000 or whatever the number is – chances are they are buying followers. While you might think it’s ok to boost your numbers in the beginning because it adds credibility, you need to give your target
We are all super human! We leverage technology, people, resources and time to design, create and amass wealth. We conquer our goals and live our dreams. But do we really? If we are truly super human why are we burning out? Over the last decade, burnout among employees and yes, entrepreneurs too, have been on the rise. In the Forbes article ‘How Can We
If someone had told me when I was eight years old that one day I’d make myself bored on purpose, I’d have laughed at them. I could never understand why my mother always said that being bored is good for you. When I came of age, though, I saw how easily I could fill my life with activities and never take time to see if I was
27June
Spice Up the Search
Tell me what you want, what you really really want! In the infamous words of the Spice Girls – what do you really want? You want to save time, you need some help, you need to outsource, you need a virtual assistant. Let’s drill a little deeper. Knowing what you want is a key component to hiring the right person. Throughout your planning process, you
The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. You created your business because of a passion, or maybe it’s your background from years of employment. Whatever the reason, your business was created because it is about you. That is why is so important that your create YOUR WHY video. There are two reasons why a WHY video is effective. The
In Part 1 of this series, I briefly discussed the three ways that a business can be structured (sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation). I then took a closer look at the sole proprietorship in greater detail and set out some of its strengths and weaknesses. In this second part of this series, I am going to further explore “the partnership”. I will discuss what constitutes a