Virtual Assistance & WordPress Solutions for Coaches
The more I learn about WordPress the more I realize I have to learn. The “Press This” tool is quite a tool, to not have to think about logging into your site in order to do a quick post may be exactly what is needed to get your blogging habit back on track.
For my bookmarks toolbar I use Xmarks which you can sync across computers and different browsers. Hmm, I”m sensing another tutorial….
Thanks to Andy Traub for introducing me to this cool little tool!
Over the weekend I made a purchase I have been putting off, simply because I didn’t want to spend the money and even more… I didn’t want to go through the hassle yet. At least not until I had some time (have you heard that excuse before?). Thankfully, I changed my mind!
I have been a huge fan of the eMachine computers (I know… don’t laugh too hard!). They have been awesome computers for me, just outgrew my 2nd. Rarely had any problems and both lasted for a long, long time.
But the poor little guy was getting old, I needed way more space and a quite a bit more computing power. In comes the granddaddy of a computer… an HP with a 1 TB hard drive and a wonderfully huge 6 GB RAM. Woohoo! Now this might not seem like a big deal these days but consider that my desktop pc was chugging along with only a 160 GB hard drive and 1GB RAM, it was a trooper each day, especially with what I was putting it through!
Using it has been a dream, at least it was after I got everything transferred over, that took a long time and I still have a few programs that need to be installed. I am faster, more efficient and I’m no longer wishing for greater speed or wondering what I can delete or uninstall to give the poor computer some breathing room.
So this got me thinking, what other areas in my business have I put off, or ignored, getting the right tool for? It hit me the other day that I have not been taking advantage of the help of other VAs. Yes, I have been ignoring the very thing I tell my clients to do. So last week one of the VAs I had worked with earlier this year, got in touch to say hello and check in and my goodness what excellent timing! I realized right then and there that this was a tool I needed to have in my business and keep in my business. Good ole’ fashioned help. (Not to generalize virtual assistants as tools… really more of an asset 
but I think you get the drift)
By bringing on another virtual assistant to help me out in my own business, I am going to become even more efficient, the to-do-list and want-to-do list is going to start being tackled (it already is!), and I am going to be able move some of my projects forward. Wow novel idea!
So I am taking a closer look again at that to-do-list and see what other areas I can have her take on so that I can keep moving my business forward and tackle some of those wish list items that seem to keep falling to the bottom of my to-do-list.
What tool do you need today to keep your business moving forward?
If you had an assistant, what could you tackle and cross of your to-do-list today? This week?
P.S. If you have ever considered bringing on a virtual assistant onto your team check out our FREE special report “How To Find And Hire A Virtual Assistant”. Sign up for it here on our site for instant access.
You probably have at least heard of the newest kid on the block… MailChimp. Well it definitely has caught my eye and I’m looking at making the move over. The features and options and the pricing are all enticing reasons to make the move.
Plus have you checked them out at all? It is just plain fun! A monkey in a mailman suit… that just makes me smile. Even the tutorials are fun and not at all boring and that just makes the whole transition go even better. How many list services do you know have a musical sing-a-long video on Merge Codes LOL!
They recently released version 5.2 which adds many social networking features that sound intriguing. The more I see, the more I like.
I’ll update late on how the transition…move is going, but I would encourage you to check them out.
This weekend I had the fun of celebrating my youngest sister’s 30th birthday. You may have seen her on our site here… she also happens to be my bookkeeper!
She has had an incredible year of being diagnosed with breast cancer, an intensive round of Chemo Therapy, 2 rounds of Radiation as well as a surgery mixed in. This has entailed countless hours of traveling to a hospital up here in Portland (that is about a 4.5 hour drive one way for them), lots of doctors appointments and days of being totally and utterly exhausted from it all.
Not only is she coming through with flying colors both she and her hubby are inspirations to the rest of us on how to deal with adversity and and keep an incredibly positive outlook on life and what it is throwing at her.
It has been a complete and utter wake up call for the rest of us on how precious life is and knowing when to slow down, take a break and enjoy the moment. It has been also a call to faith, entrusting her to God and His loving care. We know that there are lessons to be learned through this journey and doing our best to be open to them and take them to heart.
For me it is to realize that I do not take enough time off, that I am not giving time to me and my family to rest, rejuvenate and refill instead of always going, going, going. An echo of this years theme of simplifying.
So one of the things I will be sharing throughout the rest of the year is to show examples of slowing down, even if for just a few minutes to enjoy the sunny day, walk the dog, listen to beautiful music or my favorite… walking on the beach.
As entrepreneurs we usually are work-a-holics and are in desperate need of an intervention… and I don’t mean this as a flippant use of words. We go and go and go trying to get it all done wondering where the day, week and month went all while trying to keep our head above water as we run our business(es). Many times this does require a hard knock on the head, a good shake to bring us into awareness of today and has to be done and what can wait.
It is also learning to work through the fear of… what if I can’t get it all done? I must do it all myself to make sure it gets done right. It is a fear of letting go in order to move ahead.
So I invite you to take this journey with me of learning to set boundaries, or at the very least enforce the ones already in place!! Enjoy today, take a deep breath and celebrate life!
I’ll be posting a few pictures soon of “Aimeepalooza” with roasted pig, tiki lights, leis and live music! Plus tent city as we converged on her home, what a blast!
There has been a lot of talk these days about re-inventing your business. It is 2010, the “new economy” and all that. And yes there is a lot of truth in the thought that the economic climate we are in creates a need to streamline, get more focused, watch our dollars and cents etc.
We have tons of new ideas, projects to take on, something new to learn – entrepreneur is synonymous with change and it is time to embrace it, learn from it and grow from it. We are always re-inventing, streamlining and moving forward to something new.
Now for me personally (and for many of the entrepreneurs I know…), the truth is I get bored! Just ask my Mom, I have been that way since I was a kid and I doubt it is going to change any time soon. As an adult and as a business owner, I am learning to accept that this is just the way it is, so why not take advantage of it and work from that strength?
Recently I have been doing a lot of reading on ADD/ADHD and specifically adults with ADD/ADHD, who are entrepreneurs. Several members of my immediate family were recently diagnosed and it got me curious. We compared notes and I had several “aha!” moments explaining a few things about me… especially the getting bored easily and never able to have just one project going at one time because, you guessed it, I get bored with just one!
In the past couple of months I have been working with my doc on this and doing even more reading on managing my time, my thoughts, project lists, ideas and did I say my time? The more I read about it the more I am convinced that while it is something to address and manage it is also a gift.
As an entrepreneur it is important to keep up with the trends in your industry, what your clients are wanting, discovering new ideas, developing new skills and most importantly keeping you interested! If you are not maintaining a high level of passion in your business it is time to step back and take a look at what is happening.
Do you need to tweak your product line or your list of services? Do you need to try a new avenue of marketing to reach an entirely new group of people? Do you need to get involved in a group that supports you, energizes you and gets you and keep the creative juices flowing?
For me that group has been the Free Agent Academy and my business coach Justin Lukasavige (also professor at FAA). An incredible group of people who willingly share their knowledge, offer feedback and also let you when you are not stepping up to the plate. Right now we are working on branding and business planning. It is exactly what I need right now.
I resisted at first because planning is not my favorite thing in the world, but I’m finding it to be an incredible challenge and an opportunity to examine my business with a fresh set of eyes and a whole new list of ideas. Especially through the lens of my strengths and weaknesses, it is helping me be more me in my business.
These ideas will be coming out over the next couple of months and I am getting excited about the possibilities and opportunities on the horizon.
This should be enough to keep me from getting bored in the near future, hopefully…
How have you re-invented your business? Small changes or major overhauls?
So how many free reports, telesememinars, training programs and newsletters have you signed up for lately? Probably more then you realized.
I just spent some time going through my inbox that was way overcrowded with emails that I was not reading, or barely glancing at. It made me realize that I could start cleaning house and cutting way back on the number of emails I receive on a daily and weekly basis. What a relief!
There is no fun to be had with a full inbox filled with newsletters and announcements that you just haven’t had time to read and keep putting off reading. Ah the sweet sound of the delete key.
Not only is this a great way to clear up the inbox it is also a way to gain back control of your time, effort and focus so that you can use your time wisely and effectively.
In the first 2 parts of this series we covered the pros & cons of the All-In-One Package for coaches and the awesome pawesome custom designed WordPress site… until it isn’t so awesome.
Now I don’t want to target coaches only with this problem, just about every entrepreneur out there when they are getting started, have this issue. It’s also perfectly natural.
You are getting started in your coaching practice, you have a million things to consider, organize and set up. You are most likely bootstrapping your business and every dollar counts. So you look at the very short term and set up only what is absolutely essential right here, right now to get you up and running.
In many areas this will work, you do what you can then, add features plus all the bells and whistles you need, as you need them. But are you looking ahead 1, 3, 6, even 12 months down the road? Have you laid out an action plan of steps and needs as you grow your coaching practice? This is essential for your online presence: Website, Social Media, eCommerce.
When you don’t take that peek down the road a bit it is very easy to get caught in a trap of a solution that “Will work for now”. I can’t tell you how many times that has come back to haunt many entrepreneurs… and yes I’m including myself in that statement. Of course watching the $$ is vital but when you skimp in important areas such as shopping cart, list management and website it will hurt you in the end more then it helps up front.
Your website will become your home base on the internet and it needs to have a strong foundation in order for you to grow and expand, without needing to re-do the entire thing in a few months time. As mentioned before, a self hosted WordPress site is my favorite foundation to get started with.
There are many who think a WordPress site is too “bloggy” looking and I can see that point. You want your site to stand out, be noticed and not look like everyone else’s. But you also want and NEED a site that can be up and running in a short period of time, is something that you can be comfortable working with and does not cost you an arm and a leg in the process. A WordPress site can do that for you… can your current site do all this:
Take some time to look down the road and review the goals you have in place for your business. What areas of the business will you be developing in the next few months, what role does your website need to play? Will you be venturing into new forms of marketing? What features will you be needing with the new products and/or programs coming up in the next 12 – 18 months?
Do you feel you have a strong foundation in place to get started and grow with? If not contact me today for your FREE consultation and we can see if WordPress might be a good solution for you.
Okay you have totally awesome graphics, you love the look and feel of your website! You have it uploaded to your site either as a traditional HTML website or as a custom blog design. It looks great, you are getting great comments on the look of your website. Great that is what you were hoping for…
After a few weeks you realize you need to add a page or remove a page. You need to add some sub pages that appear when you hover over the navigation tab. Then it hits you, uh oh I don’t know how to do that!
You check with the designer and you find out that your entire menu is a graphic. So in order to add a page you will need a new graphic made, have it installed and linked to the new page.
Now I am not a proponent of the coach doing it all. Coaching, website guru, designer, bookkeeping, customer service etc. In fact I think that is the fastest way to burnout. BUT I firmly believe that you the coach needs to be able to quickly and easily jump into your site to make minor changes. That sentence that you REALLY want to tweak or add a new page, drop in a video etc.
In order to get that small little thing that is staring at you from your to-do-list you need to be able to jump in and take care of it in just a couple of minutes.
You have your design in place and it looks great you are getting comments on how nice your site looks… but where are the comments on your content? On the great blog post? There may be a few mentions but not nearly as many as you thought.
Take a look at you design – is it overwhelming and taking away from the content? A nicely designed, professional looking website is a must but there is also such a thing as “Simple is Best”. When your content is getting lost in the beautiful design it may be time to reconsider the design.
I have seen some gorgeous websites and I get caught up in the design details and then have to scroll down to the content. Not good! You are establishing your online presence to have people get to know you and what you offer, not how wonderful your designer is.
Don’t get me wrong I think a designer is an important part of the team and the right designer who gets what you are trying to accomplish can create something for you that looks incredible but does not take away from your content.
So what do you need to consider before having a custom design created?
If you have a website for your coaching business is there anything you would love to change right now? If so what and why?
When starting your coaching practice you know one of the first things you need to to is set up your presence on the web a place to start getting your name out there. It is an important piece of the puzzle so make sure you take the time to think it through.
The All-In-One Website for Coaches
Actually, I almost have a hard time calling this one a mistake. This is a great concept and can be a very inexpensive way to get started. It will have all the features and tools you need, all under one roof.
And the best part? One login! Nice – that is probably my favorite part
But here is the bad part… as your business grows, as you expand your products and services – 9 times out of 10 this type of set up will not grow with you. You will be limited by template options, number of pages, tool, features and bandwidth. You can always upgrade to get a bit more of what you need but by that time you are probably paying an arm and a leg.
So next you start looking for new options for your website… here comes the ugly part.
All of a sudden you now need to go get hosting, shopping cart, newsletter service and set up a membership site. Oh but wait now you need to move all of your content over, but what about ALL your blog posts? Sorry their blog software is not compatible with WordPress, Blogger or Typepad. So either your lose all the content or start moving over each post one by one. Now you are hearing and feeling the big ouch!
So what should you do? Ask your colleagues, check on the coaching forums you visit, ask on Twitter! Find out what is working for your fellow coaches, what they like, what they don’t like, what they wish they had done different or features they find helpful. The feedback you receive will give you a starting point in your research.
Here are a few things you need to keep in mind:
My personal bias is WordPress – scalable, adaptable, manageable and customizable.
Start with what you need:
WordPress – Free
Theme / Design – There are tons of free and low cost options available.
Hosting – You can easily can find something for under $10.00 per month.
Domain – Usually $10-15 per year.
Newsletter Service – From Free to under $25 per month, lots of options to consider.
When you are ready… you can easily add a shopping cart, membership site, forum, social network… your options are wide open.
Are you a DIYer? Check out my resource pages for recommendations and options. I’m adding more as I find tools that may help you, feel free to check back often.
Not so much a DIYer? Not to worry, feel free to contact me and we can set up a time to go over your options and figure out what will work best for you.
What questions do you have about setting up your coaching website?
