Archive for Virtual Business

Meet Caroline Mills

LC Mills IncHow many times have you stared at a blank page trying to find the words to express exactly what your business can do for others? And wouldn’t it be nice to have someone else manage your blog and fill it with fresh content on a regular basis? Well, let me introduce to you a colleague of mine in the virtual assistant industry. Caroline Mills is the Owner and Operator of LC Mills. Inc.; she provides writing, editorial, and administrative services to entrepreneurs and business owners. I, myself, just happen to be one of the business owners she assists. Over the last year, she and I have worked on several projects together.

Caroline founded LC Mills, Inc. in 2009 and since then has made the gradual transition from providing inbound call-taking services for companies like Arise Virtual Solutions to offering solely general administrative support for entrepreneurs. After several years of working virtually, Caroline examined the services that seemed to be the most requested of her. She began to recognize a talent she had possessed in writing and made the decision in 2011 to market and direct LC Mills, Inc. towards the writing and editorial niche.

Although Caroline enjoys offering administrative support such as project management, initiating newsletter campaigns, and social media support, her specialty focuses more on her writing and editorial services. Ghostwriting, copywriting, and SEO strategic writing are some of the specialized skills that make up the heart of her work.  You can visit her site at http://www.lcmillsinc.com.

 ”I love what I do and how it supports other entrepreneurs like myself. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing that you provide your clients with the words to engage their target audience. It’s like giving a voice to their businesses which allows them to speak directly to their intended market and be heard.  This creates great visibility and authority for my clients and effectively causes them to stand out from the competition.” – Caroline Mills

Thank you Caroline for making my world a little easier.

Would you like to featured here?  Send me some information on your business and how you help today’s entrepreneurs.

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

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3 Questions Your Website Should Answer.

three questions to answerI am often asked to review new websites for business owners.  When reviewing a site for content these are the three questions that I always revert to for the evaluation.

  1. What you do?  First let me start by saying this is not a definition of your industry.  Many new VA’s will put the Wikipedia definition on there home page as an answer to the question.  I want to know what YOU do.  What service or product do you provide that will solve my problems.  When writing your home page content think about what would bring someone to your site, what burning question or issue do they have.
  2. Who are you and why should I trust you?  My second stop is to find out more about the company and the person behind it.  Ever site should have an about page that gives some history and educates the visitor on why they would want to be associated with you.  Are you licensed? Include it.  Do you have a mission statement? Include it.  Special credentials? Include them too.  You should be telling your visitor why you stand out above all others.
  3. Where do I go next?  This is your call to action.  Every page should include some way to contact you or an action to take.  This could be joining your email list, sending you an email or using a scheduling program to set an appointment with you.  Every site should also have a contact page.  I also say put your  phone number on your site and contact page  for those who just don’t want to give up that precious email address.   Once they leave your site without a clear action they are gone.

I do also look at colors, font size, how much clutter your have and scanability but it is the content that will make or break your site.  If someone cannot easily determine what you can do for them they will leave your site without a second glance.

Can your website answer these three questions?

Signing off,
Lee

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

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Tech Tuesday: Quote Roller

Quote RollerI came across Quote Roller quite by accident and boy was that a happy accident.  Quote Roller states it is “super easy to use,  saves you time and helps to close deals faster. You will find that creating proposals is now a fun and enjoyable process.”  Boy are they right.  Here are the three things that have me using this product.

Templates:  There are some in the repository for you to use and tweak however you can also create one from scratch.  Once you have the wording and sections in place then you can style them for clean professional looking proposals every time.  Create a template and then use it over and over.  You can also edit and section of the template for customized proposals or a special need to your offering.

Product and services table:  This is the area where you put your pricing and service structure.  Be as detailed as you need and then save to keep the items in one place to be shared on your proposal or with your team.  This is a great option for creating proposals on the fly or making sure that you are consistent with your pricing structure.  Never miss a detail again.

Proposal tracking: You can create and send proposals both in a web or PDF format.  I also like that you can add attachments so all your supporting documents are with the quote.  However my favorite part is the tracking which allow clients to interact while receiving their quote including e-sign and accepting.  Once your proposal is sent you will see when it was created, sent and even viewed by the recipient.  Here you can also send follow-up messages, edit the proposal for changes or mark as accepted.

There is a tiered pricing structure that includes a free level for 3 proposals a month.  With the paid versions you get additional proposals, analytics on sent proposals and the branding removed.  If you sent proposals or responses to RFPs you will want to check out Quote Roller.

What do you use for submitting your quotes?

Signing off,
Lee

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

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Book Review: Become a Virtual Assistant – The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success.

Becoming a Virtual AssistantWhen I formally started my business in 2008 I would have given anything for a comprehensive business blueprint to get me started.  Actually I should have followed a blueprint but I just could not find the right resource for me.  So I spent hours upon hours of research to find the information I needed only to realize that I had overlooked some of the important details of any emerging business. I was spending valuable time reworking my system or fixing that one step I forget in the process.

I was given a review copy of Become a Virtual Assistant – The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success and was anxious to read this to see what additional tips I could glean for my virtual business.  WOW, where was this book when I started.

Become a Virtual Assistant is 110 pages of information starting with “Do You Have What it Takes” through “The Good News and the Bad News”.  Aspiring virtual workers will find this a well thought out and comprehensive blueprint for starting your own business. The book is set up with many exercises to help you determine if this is the business for you.  And goes on to tackle many of the most asked questions of emerging virtual assistants such as Choosing a Legal Structure, Setting Your Rate, and Marketing and Networking..

Become a Virtual Assistant  - is a bargain at $29 for all the information provided however they did not stop there.  Included with the book is 22 FREE templates, worksheets and business documents along with 100 small business and virtual assistant industry resources.  The bonus material alone would take you many hours and days to assemble.

Unlike many Virtual Assistant books and starter packages available, Become a Virtual Assistant – The Virtual Assistant Forums Guide to Success is the perfect resource to use in your journey as a virtual assistant and being in charge of your own destiny.  If you are serious about starting your business this is a must have for your business book library.

Review by Lee Drozak of My Office Assistant.  There is an affiiliate commissions program but I did not sign up until after I had wrote my review in full.  I did receive a free copy of the ebook and resources in order to do this review but have received no other compensation.

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

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January 7th, Have you abandoned your goals?

One week in and so far so good on my goal for writing a post a day for 31 days.  We as business owners are continually reminded to set goals to make it happen and so far so good on this goal challenge.

But what happens when you get overwhelmed or loose track?  Do you get back on the wagon or say “heck with it”?  I am a get back on the wagon person however sometimes I felt I was just spinning my wheels and frustration would set in.  Then I came up with it, my Monthly Goals Vision Template.  I was not looking at the whole picture of setting my goals and think I was failing because I was out of balance.

Now I have a whole month to adjust my work life balance as well as meet my goals.  Note to self:  My goal sheet is meant to be printed out and post where I will see it daily to visualize and be reminded of what I can accomplish.

What do you do to keep on track and do you have your goals written out?

Signing off short and sweet,
Lee

Monthly Goals Vision Template

About Lee Drozak

I help entrepreneurs organize their processes, implement their strategies and run their back office through planning and action. Building your online home using WordPress, social media, email marketing and eCommerce strategies. Contact me today to schedule your complimentary strategy session.

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