Dr. Phil helps promote the Virtual Assistant Industry

The Dr. Phil show today covered couples and families struggling in debt. Dr. Phil provided advice on how to go from broke to bringing in the cash. Interestingly, one of Dr. Phil’s guests were over $1 million in debt. YES you did read that right! They were so much in debt that their house was being sold to the bank while on the Dr. Phil show.

Why this show struck me is because this same couple sought credit counselling and the assistance of Loral Langmeier is a best-selling author, entrepreneur and self-made millionaire. Langmeier helped turn this couple’s lives around. One of the ways she helped is by providing the wife with the necessary information to pursue a career as a Virtual Assistant! Watch clips from the show and read more information on Dr. Phil.com

In case you were wondering, the couple now bring in $6000 a month. Just some food for thought.

Is Fear Paralyzing Your Life Plans?

Fear, like a buzzing annoying mosquito, has popped up numerous times in the past couple of weeks. My husband and I will be flying to Barcelona, Spain in two weeks and I’m absolutely terrified of flying. The thought of being 30,000 ft up in the air causes me to feel claustrophobic. It just doesn’t feel natural to me! I should also mention that I have a very big imagination of all the possibilities that could happen. Morbid I know. What I should be doing is happily packing for a trip of a lifetime. A trip that will provide me and my husband with amazing memories.

What I call Exaggerated Fear, has been present in my life many times over. Yes it’s normal to be scared and nervous and fearful at times, but it’s how we all handle fear that is important. Yes I let the world know I’m scared when I am. I find it very hard to hold in what I’m feeling! But what’s important to note is that I rarely back out (unless my fear is valid). Facing your fears is important to self awareness and self development.

Fear is often present when deciding to start a small business. I personally feel as though more of us would be launching businesses if it wasn’t for fear. Fear of failure is the number one reason but people also fear the irregular pay check, and the hard work and time it could take away from family and friends. Many people drudge through a typical 9-5 dreaming of what kind of business they would open if given the chance. The truth is that chance is always available. It’s the fear that paralyzes most into taking the plunge.

Of course failure is a valid fear but it shouldn’t stop one from ‘opening shop’ if that’s what he/she wishes to do. The potential of failure is inevitable in every area of life; our education, our day jobs, our marriages and other relationships. This doesn’t mean we should simply back out!

If starting a business is your dream but you fear failure, it’s time to get over it. It’s so easy to fail. All you do is nothing; you don’t learn a thing by sitting there and letting life pass you by. But it’s so satisfying to throw ‘potential failure’ to the wayside.

So what can you do to relieve the feeling of fear, the possibility of failure and instead achieve your dream of launching a business?

Do Your Research

Of course you should do your homework before starting a business. Jumping blindly into a venture will heighten your chances of failure and this will not help with your fear! What type of business would you like to start? What do you need to get there?

Take Little Steps

Starting a business doesn’t and shouldn’t happen over night. While you are still at your day job, think of the steps you need to take to launch your business. You may wish to launch  part time and keep one foot in one door and the other in the next until you feel comfortable enough to fully jump into self-employment.You may have to work weekends and nights to get there but in order to build momentum, giving your time at first will be worth it.

VIP Assistant Solutions was certainly not made over night. I started thinking about the possibility while working full time as an Executive Administrative Assistant and part-time as a freelance writer. I started out with another name and website. I toyed with the idea a bit but knew I wasn’t ready because a) I wasn’t telling anyone about this possible venture and b) I wasn’t giving it my full attention at the end of the day. I finally told my family and friends what I was thinking, gained their support and opened a website, with a better name. Once I had a couple of clients, I decided it was finally OK to devote myself full time to the business. I’m still learning and there are some days I feel fear but then I just look back on my plan and my support and the fear diminishes.

Create a Business Plan

Every business should have a plan. A business plan is essentially your blueprint for business success. It will help you see on paper, what needs to be done and how you are going to get there. Click here for additional information.

Tell People about it!

As I mentioned above, I didn’t tell people about my business venture when I first started out and failure easily looked me straight in the eyes. It wasn’t until I told everyone about my idea that I gained support, interest and ultimately the confidence to forge ahead and open up ’shop’.

Take a Course

If taking a course to learn the basics of launching a business will provide you with more confidence, go for it! Educating yourself, whether it’s about running a business or about a particular service or product you will offer, can only give you a leg up on the competitors in your industry.

Money Schmoney

OK, obviously many businesses need money to start. But if you do your research, you will see that new business owners do have many resources to turn to to help in this area. Whether it’s through a bank or a business development center, help is available. In Toronto, the Toronto Business Development Centre provides mentors who help with your business needs and assessment process, business incubation programs, networking events and so much more to help the small business owner go save money and gain resources to quickly go from start up to success.

The more you know about starting a business, the easier it will be for you to see the big picture and kick fear to the curb. Fear can be paralyzing and can cause us to miss out on exciting, life changing possibilities. Yes I still am terrified of getting on that plane in two weeks. But I’m still going to do it. Why? Because i wouldn’t give up taking a trip around Spain for anything! Just like launching my business was, it’s all worth it in the end:)

So small business aside, I would love to know your own fears and how or if you were able to conquer them?

Entrepreneur Personality – What’s Yours?

As my business grows so too does my network of contacts, clients and friends. Many of my contacts and clients are entrepreneurs and this has sparked me to wonder about personality type. Does it take a certain personality to work for yourself? What type of personality makes one more successful over the other?

Well, I came across an interesting article on Entrepreneur (great website by the way), that details the individual personalities required to be successful in different types of self-employed business. Not surprisingly, the article declares that successful entrepreneurs share similar personality traits including: natural leaders, problem-solvers, and work well under pressure. Individually, entrepreneurs who have proven to be successful in their industry are those who have opened a business suiting their personality type.

Being aware of yourself; knowing your personality type, what motivates you and what doesn’t, is important to the overall success of your business. Opening an Accounting firm when your true passion and talent is photography, for example, may not end in success. Self awareness is the key to not only success but happiness!

As this article explains, people are most often either Generalists or Specialists. Generalists being independent, free thinkers who look at the big picture. Specialists being individuals who are not likely to take risks, instead sticking to what they know and “specialize” in.

Each main personality type has, according to the article, broad personality types. Generalists include “Trailblazer”, “Go-getter”, “Manager” and “Motivator”. Specialists include “Authority”, “Collaborator”, and “Diplomat”. Successful entrepreneurs know how to distinguish themselves according to personality and use their self-knowledge to open a business accordingly.

I do agree with this article and feel knowing myself; my strengths and weaknesses, are integral to succeeding not only as an entrepreneur but in anything I do. Personally, I found myself in both the Specialist and Generalist personality types.  A Diplomat with a splash of Go-Getter (feel free to argue this point if you must;)) Read the article to determine which one you are!

A Tweet Life – How Twitter Can Help Your Business “Fly”

Twitter, the popular social networking service that allows its users to update their status in 140 characters or less is gaining popularity at the speed of a…Peregrine Falcon! Ok I’ll leave out the metaphor!So why Twitter? Twitter allows you to get your message across to hundreds and thousands of people and businesses in a ‘tweet’ second. It works like a micro blog and is similar to your Facebook status but in 140 characters or less and without the distracting photo shares, games and applications.

Especially when our lives seem to be getting more hectic by the minute, Tweeting allows you to share information and read the latest news in a matter of minutes.  And if you aren’t near your computer, you can keep up to date and send updates via your phone.

Here are some tips to help you Tweet your way to Twitter success:

Be Interesting
Just because Twitter asks you to write what you’re doing, doesn’t mean you should record every waking minute of your day. People will get bored if you only talk about what you ate for breakfast, how you slept the night before and what you’re wearing. Instead, update your status with business news and upcoming events, interesting facts and links to informative news.

Enter your information
Increase traffic to your blog and website by entering the URL into your tweet status. Even if people aren’t ‘following you’ they can still read your updates. Twitter is an excellent resource for finding and following people and businesses you are interested in. Search keywords that interest you in the ‘find people’ tab and follow! Be sure to write a short bio and include your URL in your profile settings so you can attract potential clients, and new and informative friends.

Have Fun but be Professional
Twitter can increase traffic to your business website and/or blog, allow you to establish yourself as a professional and match you with new contacts. It is a fun tool to use and you have the freedom to express yourself however you wish. Keep in mind however, that you should always remain professional.

Keep Private if you Wish
You do have the option of creating a public or private account. A public account will allow everyone to read your updates, including people who are not following you. A private account allows you to approve followers, letting in only people you want to share your twitter status with.  To change your account status, click on Settings and check the box “Protect my Updates”.

Twitter is a social media tool and is an excellent way to market yourself and your business. Visit Twitter for additional information and sign yourself up – it’s free!