Comments on: The 80/20 Principle in Practice

By: Gray Forest

Gray Forest — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:58:33 +0000

I think that focusing on what brings results is a smart move for anyone (and obviously what you are doing is working for you: more power to you).

I have some curiosity how the recent drive to “work less” and outsource is playing out in today’s economy. For those who are employees, delegating out tasks to others and downsizing your workload could lead to – downsizing. If you do delegate out and dump tasks, make sure that you make the case to your supervisor and company that doing so is going to allow you to be more productive, not less.

As well, be aware that many companies (or clients) may not take kindly to your outsourcing work that they thought they were paying you to do. Many companies are rather funny about wanting to know who is working for them, rather than having unseen employees that they haven’t met and evaluated.

Finally, if you are having a VA write your blogs, even in part, do the ethical thing and credit them in the byline.

By: How to Use a Virtual Assistant in Your Business

How to Use a Virtual Assistant in Your Business — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:01:54 +0000

[...] 17th, 2009 (9:00am) Amber Riviere No Comments In an earlier post, I mentioned using a virtual assistant (VA) to help with my work so that I could free myself to focus on more important tasks, including [...]

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 11:23:16 +0000

I like the chart of the 80/20 ..

By: Amber Riviere

Amber Riviere — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:13:49 +0000

Thanks, Claude. I like BackPackIt.com for tracking my goals. I upload images to serve as a “dream board” and create checklists to move me forward with my plans. It’s really helpful, organized, and inexpensive. For the VA, I use VirtualFreedom4You.com or GhostwriterToTheRescue.com (run by same person), but I’ve also referred clients to LongerDays.com without complaint. Hope it helps!

By: Amber Riviere

Amber Riviere — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:10:23 +0000

LesArts – I’ll write one now! Thanks for the recommendation. I was just wondering what I’d write about next. Stay tuned.

By: Amber Riviere

Amber Riviere — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:08:57 +0000

Thanks, Martin. As I mentioned to Liz, I use VirtualFreedom4You.com or GhostwriterToTheRescue.com (run by same person), but I’ve also referred clients to LongerDays.com without complaint.

By: Amber Riviere

Amber Riviere — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:06:48 +0000

Hi Liz,

I use a VA/ghostwriter (VirtualFreedom4You.com or GhostwriterToTheRescue.com – run by same person) to help me with my blogs and newsletter articles. While I still have to do a bit of polishing, it’s well worth the expense, since it gives me a start to the articles. All I have to do is a bit of editing and then publish, and the rates are very reasonable.

Another company that I’ve referred clients to is LongerDays.com, and their rates seem to be reasonable as well. I have not personally tried their service, but I’ve also not heard any complaints from my clients.

Hope it helps!

By: Claude

Claude — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:58:59 +0000

Great post!

What tools, if any do you use to track your business goals?

And please share the VA service you chose.

By: LesArts

LesArts — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:01:09 +0000

OK, we need a good WWD article on virtual assistants… Anybody?

By: Martín Alcalá

Martín Alcalá — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:43:19 +0000

Hi Amber, great post, great reflections.

I’m wondering the same as Liz.

Best,
Martín

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:00:12 +0000

I like this idea… I’m always striving for the less is more principle in my work.

Curious to know what company (or individual) you’ve had success with as a VA – I’m trying to jump into that boat myself but there’s waaaaaay too many options.