Xclusivelee Uneek Events & Services, want to THANK you all for your support in 2010 and wishes everyone New Prosperity, New Peace, New Happiness and Abundance. God Bless you through out the New Year 2011.
 

Habit 1. Cultivate Inner Networks: Entrepreneurs practicing the art of business success know the power of networks. They take the time to identify and build relationships with key peers, mentors, and advisors. This inner network provides support, direction, and an increased number of people to assist. Having an inner network of five people who have a network of five more, grows the network exponentially.

Habit 2. Customer Centric: Business success requires an unwavering commitment to the customer. This commitment encompasses a mindset of understanding the customers' world. Understanding the customers wants and needs provides the business with a greater opportunity to earn a loyal customer base. Focus away from business and profits, and toward what you can do to improve the life of your customers.

Habit 3. Humble Honesty: Business success requires the ability to know your strengths and weaknesses. Being open and honest about yourself and your business creates growth as an individual and as a company. Don't spend time developing weaknesses. Find help for weak areas, enabling you to focus on strengths. In the book, "Now, Discover Your Strengths", Gallup Organization reveals that building our strengths instead of fixing our weakness is the path to mastery and success. Take the time to know yourself and business.

Habit 4. Adaptability: Business success requires the ability to adapt to changing situations. Nothing ever goes as planned. The world of business is full of surprises and unforeseen events. Using the habit of adaptability allows business owners to respond to circumstances with the ability to change course and act without complete information. Being flexible allows us to respond to changes without being paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.

Habit 5. Opportunity Focused: Problems are a regular part of business life. Staff issues, customer misunderstandings, cash crunches- the list is endless. To achieve business success, look at both sides of the coin. Every problem has an opportunity. Being opportunity focused makes the game of business fun and energizing.

Habit 6. Finding A Better Way: Productivity is the cornerstone of business success. Formulate the habit of finding a better way to make your business more productive. This will create more time to focus on the critical issues that drive sales and profit. Productivity can be enhanced by technology, automation, outsourcing, and improving business processes.

Habit 7. Balanced Lifestyle Management: A business can consume an owner's time and energy. It's easy to allow the business to take control of your life. Business success requires the habit of balancing all aspects of your life. Separating time for daily business tasks, profit driven tasks, and free time is a habit that will make your business and life more enjoyable. Take the time to plan each week.

Learning and instilling new habits in your daily business life can have a dramatic effect on your level of success. Review each of the 7 habits. Choose one habit to focus on for a month or until you achieve mastery. Gradually incorporate each of the 7 habits of business success into your life and attain your business dreams.
 
Deciding to hire a Virtual Assistant can save you not only money but resources often associated with hiring onsite staff including: taxes, holiday pay, benefits, equipment and office space.

If you are contemplating the decision, the benefits are endless to hiring a Virtual Assistant. Below are seven main advantages:
  • Make Time for Yourself
    When you hire a Virtual Assistant, you create more time to focus on establishing yourself as a business owner and generating revenue. Your business will no longer be running you. A Virtual Assistant will allow you to take the reins and fully run and concentrate on your business and your future.


  • Cut the Costs
    When you hire a Virtual Assistant, you will only pay for the time used. You do not pay for benefits, taxes, lunch breaks or vacation. Whether you require assistance for one project, one hour or for a couple of months, you only pay a Virtual Assistant on an as needed basis.


  • Save on Space
    When you hire a Virtual Assistant, there is no need to use up valuable office space and provide expensive equipment. A Virtual Assistant works from a remote office and uses his or her own equipment and software.


  • An All in One Solution
    Hiring a Virtual Assistant who provides full business support, will help to create even more time for you to focus on the direction of your business. A Virtual Assistant who provides full business support is essentially your ‘invisible’ business partner; developing marketing campaigns, public relations strategies and managing day to day business operations.


  • Marketing Know-how
    Marketing strategies are quickly expanding to include the use of the internet and social media outlets. A Virtual Assistant, who is aware of and experienced with internet and social media marketing, is one step ahead of the rest! It is difficult to own a thriving business these days without an informative website. And a business present on social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter is opening itself up to new possibilities, providing itself with access to vast amounts of information and generating tons of leads and traffic.


  • You are Hiring a Professional
    Keep in mind that when you hire a Virtual Assistant, you are hiring an individual who, prior to working for himself or herself, spent years working in the workforce as an Administrative or Executive Assistant. A high-quality Virtual Assistant is usually tech savvy and will have the necessary skills, knowledge and education to provide your business with top quality service.


  • Increased Productivity
    As a behind-the-scenes partner, your Virtual Assistant will be available to ensure your business runs smoothly. Whether you are on a business trip and require a document emailed or faxed, or require a presentation complete with short notice; your Virtual Assistant will efficiently complete tasks, and enable you to run a productive and prosperous business.
Whether your business has been, or is close to being, launched and requires 'start up' assistance, or you find you are running yourself thin by taking on work that can be handled by an assistant; the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant, especially a Virtual Assistant who provides full business support, are endless. 


Xclusivelee Uneek is here with 'U' in mind.
 
  1. Have a good understanding of what you want the VA to do for you before you search. Keep an ongoing list next to your desk of responsibilities you really want to delegate. List those items which keep you from doing the work you enjoy.


  2. Prioritize that list. Break the list down to three categories: Items which should have been done yesterday; those which need to be done this week and those which can wait until next month.


  3. Decide how much your budget will allow to contract with a VA. If you can spend $200 a month then stick to that budget.


  4. Post a request for proposal Make your RFP as detailed as possible and do not forget to include your website address and alternate email address. Any information you offer ahead of time only helps to weed out those who may not meet your needs.


  5. Give a timeline as to when your request for proposal response has to be submitted but give a fair amount of time to respond. Anyone who is really interested will respond right away but it does take time to reply properly to RFPs as they are often customized to clients' needs. Specify what you want the VA to send you in the first pass…i.e., links to sites, blogging samples, graphic samples, articles, etc. It is not necessary to ask for a resume. This is not an employee-employer situation. A VA is a business owner as well.


  6. Ask for testimonials. And by all means ask for feedback on the VA's work and turnaround time.


  7. If you know someone who uses a VA, then ask for a referral from that colleague. Many VAs handle multiple clients. If you like the work you see, then this can be indicative of a VA you might wish to work with.


  8. When you have decided upon the right person for the job, expect that in the beginning you will need to 'hand over' passwords and usernames and business information to get started. Be sure that your VA has a confidentiality agreement. You will need to open up your business to another person with whom you have never been physically introduced. Trust will grow over time.


  9. Review the service contract needed to begin and return back to the VA in a timely fashion. If you are not in agreement with something in the contract, say so upfront.


  10. Communicate... communicate... communicate… Set aside time during the work week to answer your VAs emails and questions. The faster you return your replies, the faster the work will be completed. Share ideas... which spur conversation and brainstorm to grow your business. Suggest that the VA read online newsletters or mail her/him publications which are related to your business.

    What’s your request today?

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