Holistic Business

Special thanks to Juliet Austin and Nathaniel Richman for posting about this on their Website Design and Promotion blog.

From Greenpeace’s site:

Right now, poison Apples full of chemicals (like toxic flame retardants, and polyvinyl chloride) are being sold worldwide. When they’re tossed, they usually end up at the fingertips of children in China, India and other developing-world countries. They dismantle them for parts, and are exposed to a dangerous toxic cocktail that threatens their health and the environment.

It’s time for Apple to use clean ingredients in all of its products, and to provide a free take-back program to reuse and recycle its products wherever they are sold. That means:

Remove the worst toxic chemicals from all their products and production lines.

Offer and promote free “take-back” for all their products everywhere they are sold.

I really love my Macs but am not one to stick my head in the sand and do get very passionate about excess waste and chemicals leaking into our air long after the usefulness of the product has passed - and doing everything I can to not add to the already sickened environment we live in.

When I viewed the pictures and read the statistics on Greenpeace’s site about the dumping of iPods and iMacs in China I felt ashamed to have 2 iMacs and 4 iPods in my household.

So, as a consumer, I ask everyone to click on the “I Love my Mac” link above and educate yourself and spread the word. Even if you are not an Apple consumer, other computer manufacturers are not pristine with their disposal practices either. Even if you never considered yourself a supporter of Greenpeace - read what they have to say.

Especially if you run a holistic business - we’re supposed to get it and do something about it.

Everyone reading this most likely owns an Apple product, has bought one as a gift, or knows someone who does.

Please - pass this information along, the more people that tell Steve Jobs we expect more from Apple - the better off the world may be.

Technorati Tags: Juliet Austin, Nathaniel Richman, Website Design and Promotion, Greenpeace, Apple, iPods, iMacs, holistic business, Steve Jobs

OK - this blog is not for Virtual Assistants, but it is about (among other things) educating the business community about what Virtual Assistance is - and what it is not. Unfortunately, I see a lot of press that is not portraying it correctly and further adds to the confusion. So, here I go.

As I’ve mentioned before, I set Google alerts for a bunch of things and I get notice when something shows up in the news or a blog post about Virtual Assistance.

So, this morning I was perusing the web and came across a blog of a WAHM (work-at-home-mom) that really does not get it. Now, I’m not saying that because she is a WAHM, but I’m really not sure why professional women would want to project the “infant at my breast while I’m working on your latest marketing campaign.” One thing has nothing to do with the other. But that’s another day and another blog.

Anyway, she seems to “help” other WAHMs by posting “jobs” she comes across on Craig’s list and various other job posting sites. Well, sure enough - there’s one for a Virtual Assistant.

I go on to read it and see if the person that posted it even has a clue.

Nope - sounds like he’s looking for a $10/hour personal assistant (at least in the beginning).

I read the list of things he wants communicated to him - like a resume. Sorry - we don’t do resumes - we’re professional business owners. Next time you have a pipe burst go ahead and ask your plumber for a resume and watch all your furniture float out the door while he or she is laughing their ass off.

But - that’s not the only thing he wants. He also wants a picture.

YES - A PICTURE!!!! My eyes are popping out of my head and my jaw has dropped to the floor as I re-read this part.

Now - AHA! - I realize he’s looking for very personal assistance.

But - what got my goat the most was that this “helpful” mommy that wants other mommies to make money from home either never bothered to read the whole thing - or thought that was reasonable - AND HE’S CALLED THE POSITION A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT!!!! I’ve heard “it” called a lot of things before, but this is a first (if “it” is a part of the job I’m definitely not charging enough money).

So, well . . . just a multitude of things that fired me up from this one google alert. I didn’t even need coffee - lol!

For any Virtual Assistants that are reading this - please, please, please - do whatever you can to help educate the market place about what we do. I think a lot of people are misinformed about this and it’s partially because there is so much crap out there that muddies the water.

And - if you think you are in the market for a Virtual Assistant - please, please, please don’t ask for a resume (or a picture)! Or, if you do - certainly don’t partner with someone who obliges - because you won’t be getting what you need!!!

Technorati Tags: Virtual Assistance, WAHM, Virtual Assistant

Testimonials on your Web site and printed materials are great. No questions there. As a business owner, when you read what a client has written about your services you can be totally blown away and perhaps even blush. It VALIDATES you and what you hold near and dear. It tells you that you are doing a good job, are respected, and your extra value added services mean a great deal to your clients.

Go forward in time.

Someone who has given you a glowing testimonial is no longer a client. Let’s assume it is NOT because you fell asleep and let your service level lapse. Maybe, if you are in a Healing Arts profession - the client has moved. Or you are a Coach that specializes in working with Holistic Healers and they’ve gone on to a different career. Or you are a Virtual Assistant that does not offer Web Design and your client found someone who could offer that AND the administrative support.

Do you keep their testimonial on your site? What they said - when they said it - is very, very true. My first reaction from an ethical point of view would be - yes - you keep it on there. You are not deceiving anyone.

But, just this week, I encountered something that has me thinking a bit differently.

I’ve been researching a particular service for one of my clients. It’s Web-based and they have a ton of competition out there - but they are not one of the “tops” in their market.

I tried finding non-partial reviews - they were not included in any of them. Now, the fact that they are less costly and not in the “Top Ten” does not frighten me at all. There ARE some companies out there that aren’t striving to scrape every last dime they can out of their subscribers and who truly want to offer good service at an affordable price.

So - how do I determine (aside from getting the free trial and crawling around inside of it as best I can) - if they are a “good” deal?

I contact people who have left testimonials!!!

Yup, I sent emails, signed up for free stuff to see if they were still using the same shopping cart/auto repsonder service that I was researching.

Well . . .

Very mixed reviews. I could tell when my “free” stuff came in - they were not using this service.

I then contacted some by email to inquire, mentioning that I had read their rave review.

No response, no response, no reponse, and an honest “well, I tried it and checked it out and it seemed really good - AND the owners are really good friends of mine and I know they stand behind their product.”

OK - I’m not writing this company off. I need to get on the phone with them, ask some specific questions, and get some real-time users names and contact information and delve a bit further.

But - it did get me thinking. If I do this - don’t other people? What testimonials do you have on your Web site or marketing material?

Just a suggestion - take a look and maybe make sure your testimonials are up to date. For someone less open-minded than me and willing to give the benefit of the doubt - you could be losing potential business.

Technorati Tags: Testimonials, Healing Arts, Coach, Holistic Healers, Virtual Assistant, administrative support

I’m not a really new podcast listener. I’ve been an iPod owner for a while now and I’ve been subscribing to podcasts and listening to them when I have some downtime.

I’ve generally been listening to downloads in the marketing and motivation areas. Not only are these topics I am interested in for my own practice, but that in turn helps me better support my holistic businessclients - many of whom come to me needing help in attaining their marketing and business goals as they just don’t have the time to do it all. So, I like to learn all I can.

But so far, I’ve limited myself to searching at the iTunes music store.

The whole online audio explosion passed me by while I thought I was keeping up with it.

Well, I broadened my horizons this past weekend and wanted to pass along some things.

First, if you’re still kind of clueless about podcasting and the learning and inspirational audio that is out there, check out Learn Out Loud. Now, a lot of what they offer on their site is not *free* but it is chockfull of information and some of the tops in business management and marketing have audio books and podcasts for sale.

Some of the better sites I’ve found to search by topic and/or author:

Podcast Alley

podscope

Yahoo! Podcasts

Singingfish

I’m going to be actively researching more on podcasting because I think it’s an area my clients (as well as myself) should consider being on the giving end of - the potential is limitless.If you also think it may be good for your business to record podcasts, if you don’t already - spend some time listening to what’s out there that others in your field have done.

You can download and burn a CD to listen to while you’re driving, download to your MP3 player and listen while walking, running, or just relaxing on a Sunday afternoon.

You’ve got to start somewhere.

Technorati Tags: podcast, marketing, motivation, holistic business

I have the privilege of viewing Virtual Assistants’ Web sites through my volunteering as a member of the steering committee of the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce and also find myself perusing blog entries, Web sites, and press releases of those in my target market - Holistic Business Owners and Holistic Service Providers.

What I find is quite surprising.

I’ve been on so many Web sites and have no idea where in the world the practices are located. Now, I realize when you operate virtually as a Coach, Intuit, Spiritual Communicator, or Virtual Assistant- that is not a huge concern as you can service your clients from anywhere. But - I still want to know who and where someone is that I may be considering working with. I don’t think I’m alone in this. “Way back when” (LOL!) our advertising was done in the yellow pages - we shared at least an area and phone number. Now, a lot of times - the only option to reach out to someone is through a contact form. How extremely impersonal! That turns me right off. What is the harm is saying you are in Maine or Texas? Or leaving an email address - not just a contact form if we want a consultation? Maybe someone just wants to say “Hey - I see what you are trying to do and convey to people and I think it’s great?”

Also, many do not include a link or information about their business on their blog. Which is surprising and quite frankly - bad business. If your blog is an extension of your practice - why in the world would you not make it easy for readers to link to your business? Here’s mine: A Capital Solution. I link to it in almost every blog post and have a link in the sidebar. I welcome anyone to contact me or leave a comment to a post.

That’s the other thing, many don’t allow for comments on their blog - at all. I allow comments, although I do need to approve them. That is not because I want to censor and keep out anyone who may have a differing opinion - I just don’t want spamming or MLM crud. In fact - I love well articulated disagreeing. I think it brings out a lot of information and makes us all use our brains a bit more.

In addition - many do not really even give a name or anything that tells me “who” they are and “what” they do.

There is a blog that I could love. The person has - I think - a lot of good information for those in the Massage, Yoga, and Chiropractic fields - but I don’t link to it because: I have NO IDEA who this person is or what their reason is for offering the information. I’m not sure of the accuracy of what is posted because of this lack of background. Oh, and you can’t comment to posts. There is no link to a business Web site. I do think I once found an email link - but that was after searching and using all my backdoor methods to identify the owner. The killer part of all this is - that they really seem to sound like they know what they are talking about and the information may be very useful - but I can not support it because I can not “talk” to the person!!!!

I love passing hints and information along to those who can use it - but I need some level of comfort in what is being said and by whom. I won’t just repeat what I read somewhere without knowing the source well enough to know their information is good or being able to confirm it myself. I just won’t do it.

I just can’t wrap my brain around this.

I thought blogging was all about sharing and voicing your opinions. And, if you grew your business or found others to network with in the process - all the better!

So, am I to assume, when you hide your identity or make it so that we need to be super-sleuths to uncover it - that you are not willing to stand behind your convictions and enter into a friendly online diatribe with others who have a vested interest in what you are writing about?

If that’s the case - keep a personal journal! A written diary that you keep tucked under your mattress so that no one needs to read it or react to it. That way - you’re still getting your ideas and rants off your chest but not pretending that you want feedback. Geez - it’s not an ego thing, or it shouldn’t be. It should be about sharing ideas and growing and learning from what others have to say.

So - ask yourself - are you hiding? And if so - is it on purpose or by accident?

Technorati Tags: Virtual Assistant, Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, Holistic Business Owner, Holistic Service Provider, Coach, Intuit, Spiritual Communicator, Massage, Yoga, Chiropractic