I pride myself on internet security.  I can spot a phishing e-mail in a flash, know how to build and use strong passwords and have security on my network that makes my ISP techs proud. So how in the heck did I manage to have $284.22 stolen from my PayPal account?
That’s what I asked myself at 7:00 am this morning when I received an e-mail from PayPal telling me my account had been limited due to some suscpicious charges.
Being the geek I am, I monitor my accounts ‘like a hawk’ as my Papa used to say. I immediately noticed eight iTunes purchases in varying amounts, mostly for gift cards. Not cool. Luckily PayPal recognized that my iTunes history is never that extensive and took precautions. But I was freaking out (still am!).  How in the world did someone get access. I logged into my iTunes account and sure enough, there in my purchase history were 9 items all purchased at around 5:30 am in the morning.  One was a free game/app called Kingdom Conquest, the rest were gift cards. Whoa!

So how did someone get into my iTunes account?

Although I’m not exactly sure, through a process of elimination I’ve narrowed it down to my new iPhone. Yup..that’s right.  The geeky girl who takes security precautions like nobody’s business got tripped up by her fun new smart phone. My excitement over apps and my infatuation with my iPhone caused me to be less than vigilant.  I believe I was most likely prompted for my Apple ID by an unscrupulous party or app and didn’t recognize it as being out of place.  Naively I gave someone the password to my iTunes account thinking I was just doing the normal authorization process for the App store to do an update.
What happened to my normal vigiliance? I fell victim to something I’m sure many people do, I forgot that the iPhone is more like my computer than a phone.  In fact, the very thing I love about the iPhone is what opened me up to this attack. The fact that it’s ‘connected’ to everything and anything I may want to learn, do or ask.

Because it’s my ‘phone’ I subconsciously viewed it as secure. After all, it’s in my purse or on my desk.  I’ve never had a phone that was quite this connected before so I failed to identify the risks the same way I do with e-mail and the web. Stupid, but probably something that many people fall victim to.
Although it’s been rather nightmarish this morning I consider myself lucky on several things:

1. My iTunes account was linked to PayPal and not an actual bank account. Although it may take a few days, I’m pretty confident that Apple and PayPal will get the funds back in my account. (and trust me, I’ll let you know if they don’t.)
2. Although I was silly enough to have a pretty simple password for my iTunes account, I was smart enough to use a unique password there. None of my other accounts carry the same one, so I didn’t have to worry about someone gaining access to anything else.
3. The fact that I monitor my accounts to the point of OCD means that I was on the phone with Apple and PayPal by 7:30 this morning, a mere two hours after the charges were made. I’m hoping that helps to not only resolve my issue, but to catch the person responsible.

This has been an eye-opening experience for me, someone who thought they had all the security issues covered, and that’s why I’m sharing it with all of you. If my short-sightedness can help just one new iPhone owner from having the same thing happen to them, it’s worth the embarrassment of admitting it happened to me.

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Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me….

If you’re anywhere near my age you probably remember hearing the saying above.  The problem is, it’s not true.  Words can hurt you. And they can hurt your business too.

Let’s say you’ve been contacted by a potential client. They point out that judging by the information on your website, not only do you have the skills they are looking for, your price is right.  They want to start working with you.  You follow-up with a lengthy e-mail or perhaps a call to iron out the details. How exciting!

But suddenly the forward momentum stops there, you either get silence rather than a signed agreement and project instructions and/or the PC (potential client) contacts you and says it’s just not going to work out for them.  You suddenly go from cloud nine to the doldrums. What happened?

There can be many different factors that can cause a PC to abandon you ranging from their own lack of follow through to not feeling comfortable with you or virtual services in general.  There isn’t much we can do about the lack of follow through, just chalk it up to doing business.  But the lack of comfort with you or virtual services is something you might be able to address depending on the cause. Did you know that your vocabulary can have an effect on how a client feels about you and your services?

There have been studies that prove that a strong business vocabulary has a direct influence on how far up a career ladder a person climbs. So it stands to reason if you’re using an everyday vocabulary when talking to clients, it just may be giving them the wrong impression.  We’re not talking about bigger, longer words here; we’re talking about polished and professional sounding words.

For example; rather than start your response:

I’m really glad what I do fits what you are looking for.

try this:

I’m pleased to hear that my services fit your current need.

See the difference?  They say the same thing, but the second one just sounds more professional doesn’t it?

How does one build a business vocabulary anyway?  Reading is the number one method of vocabulary growth, so it stands to reason that reading business books, articles and blogs would help.  You can also check out websites that have a business vocabulary section  and even take courses to help.

While the lack of a strong business vocabulary may not be the only reason that potential client isn’t following through, making an effort to choose words and phrases that sound more professional could make a difference in how professional you are perceived to be.  And a high level of professionalism causes PC’s to become happy clients.

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Sometimes life has a way of taking you to task.  As the owner of Clerical Advantage, I tend to put in long hours, often working through holidays and weekends.  Even on the occasions when I travel I generally try to keep a somewhat normal work schedule.  That was my intention when I planned my holiday trip to visit my new granddaughter who was born on December 14^th.

It was business as usual the week before Christmas, with the occasional pause to snuggle the baby and a couple of half days to finish up shopping.  Then as Christmas passed and we started toward the New Year, things changed.  My daughter lives in rural Maine and her internet service isn’t the most reliable in the best of cases, but I have the handy, dandy hot spot on my phone, so I wasn’t concerned.

I guess I was a good girl because Santa brought me an iPhone for Christmas. And then it was back to work on Monday.

Except life had other plans.

Maybe it was trying to tell me that it was time for a real vacation.  Or maybe it was just trying to show me that I needed more balance in my life. Whatever it was, by Wednesday of last week every time I seriously tried to work, the internet went down.  Not only that, but the hot spot on my iPhone was less than reliable too.

At first I freaked out. After all, I had things I needed to get done.  But late Friday, in the midst of a frustrating attempt to record a tutorial with the internet going down every 10 minutes it dawned on me.  I was wasting precious time with my daughter and granddaughter worrying about something that was obviously out of my control.  I relaxed and enjoyed sitting quietly with my granddaughter in my arms, knowing that in a few days I’d be flying home and it would be back to business as usual.  I was able to make memories that I’ll cherish forever.

Too often as business owners we get so wrapped up in being an entrepreneur that we don’t even realize what we are losing out on as we put in those long hours.  And while it’s important to work hard, what good is a successful business if you never get the time to enjoy life and your family?  After all, isn’t that part of the reason we wanted to be our own boss?  Didn’t we envision being able to balance our work and family better and not miss out on all of those special moments that we too often miss out on when working for someone else?

So in 2012 I’m making one resolution and it’s not to lose weight or exercise more.  It is a promise to recognize the fact that those precious family moments are just too valuable to pass up.

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I think we’d all agree, free is good. When you’re a small business, especially when you’re first starting out, the mind is boggled by the abundance of free stuff on the internet .  In fact, it can be a big help for strapped for cash entrepreneurs.  Services like Dropbox and Skype can be budget savers when you’re first starting out.  And of course there is all of that free information.

I’ve discussed reasons to be cautious about getting all of your learning for free on the internet, pointing out that it can end up costly in terms of time spent seeking quality information and/or taking erroneous advice.  Today I felt it was time to discuss another reason to be cautious of free.  It can increase your security risk on your computer and network.

Before you give in to the temptation to download all of those nifty free programs, forms and templates stop for a moment and consider this:

Most computer viruses are contracted through e-mail and downloaded software.  That’s right, that bit of free software could be hiding something.  Viruses and malware often hitch a ride on those free downloads.  This means the more free stuff you try, the higher the probability of one of them having a nasty side effect.  Up to date virus programs can help, but even then you could be putting yourself at risk if the virus definitions don’t recognize the virus or malware.  Even if you’re lucky enough not to get a nasty virus, some software can mess with your browser settings while installing, changing your default search engine settings or adding  a toolbar you don’t want or need.

While taking advantage of what’s available for free on the internet can be a cost saving thing for start-ups and small businesses, be sure you proceed with caution.  Research  any free software you are considering and weigh the risks to your computer and your business.

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Businesses are struggling in this tough economy, and small micro and solo businesses are no exception.  Everyone is thinking twice about spending money, which means they want to see value in you and your services if they are going to spend it on you.  In order to give them that value, you need to make sure that your business is top priority when it comes to what you know and what you deliver. I re-tweeted a post by a friend on Twitter yesterday.  I didn’t re-tweet it because I agreed or disagreed with the latte factor® making one rich.  I re-tweeted it  for an entirely different reason.   To combat the ‘I can’t afford that’ brigade.

You know what I’m talking about.  We’ve all been guilty of it.  You know  business could be better,  you know that you’re lacking a skill, knowledge or even equipment that could make a real difference.  But it costs a bit more than you’re comfortable spending.  So you tell yourself, “I can’t afford that” and you continue as you have been, struggling to find new clients and make your business work.

But how much are you spending on lattes a month?  or maybe for you it’s something else.  Manicures, pedicures or salon visits,  trips to the local fast food restaurant for a quick lunch or dinner, a weekly golf game or pizza delivery are all small expenditures that can add up to big money.  For me it was paying for a wireless air card for two years when I had a wifi hotspot on my cell phone.  Often things we consider small add up in big ways.

Only you can decide how serious you are about building your business.   Is it worth skipping the lattes?

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I’m currently taking an online business turnaround course.  GASP!  “But Tina”, you say, “you already have a successful virtual assistant business.  And you teach others how to build their own successful businesses.  Does that mean you don’t know what you’re talking about?”

Before you get your panties in a bunch breath deep and listen to what I’m going to say next. 

You shouldn’t stop learning and starting new things simply because you’ve gained a certain level of success at something.

No matter what I know already, I realize that there are always other people out there that know something I don’t.  Perhaps they do what I do in a different, more effective way.  Or maybe they do something totally outside of the box I’m currently in.

Too often business owners use the ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ excuse.  How many local businesses dragged their heels on having a website because they were sure their customers weren’t the ‘web’ type?  Or keep sinking money into yellow pages ads but have no clue that their business doesn’t show up until around page 6 in the search engines?  The number is a lot bigger than you might think.

Even now, with mainstream media adopting social media and mobile computing there are tons of businesses that think it doesn’t affect them. They are wrong.  In a few months, or years if they’re lucky, they will find out just how wrong. Then they will either scramble to catch up or find themselves pushed out of business by those companies that recognized the need to learn new things and implement them for their businesses.

And that’s why I’m taking this class. And why I took the one before this one.  And why I’ll take the next one.  I’m aware that the level of success that I have today doesn’t guarantee that same success tomorrow.  My best bet is to learn from others and make changes that keep my business growing.

It’s one of the biggest secrets to success there is.

Oh…and did I mention that the money you spend on learning nets you an absolutely incredible return on investment?  But that’s another post.

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As if there wasn’t enough confusion out there regarding virtual assistants, along comes the iPhone 4S.  The S, I’m guessing, stands for Apple’s version of a virtual assistant and ‘her’ name is Siri.  Articles and blog posts have been singing her praises, absolutely amazed at the way she answers their questions and requests.  I suppose some virtual assistants might  be irritated.  After all, we’ve spent a lot of time trying to distinguish ourselves as high level professional administrative support and now a scrap of artificial intelligence gets added to an iPhone and appears to muddle the issue once again.

Or not.  I think it’s a chance to set ourselves apart even further.  

Siri is artificial intelligence and as such is limited by both the questions asked of her and the answers her developers programmed into her.  As  helpful as she may be  and as witty as some of her responses may appear, she can’t think for herself.  Nor does she possess creativity and initiative.  There are just some things that you’re never going to get from a programmed piece of software that you get from a living, breathing, thinking human being.

While Siri may return the three closest locksmiths to you when you’ve locked yourself out, she isn’t going to call them for you, explain your situation, get price quotes and send the best deal to your door.  She may give you directions to the hotel you’re booked at, but she isn’t going to be able to call the hotel  and set up the shuttle service to pick you up at the airport when your flight arrives.

Siri holds no loyalty to you or your business.  Or anyone else’s for that matter.  She’s simply not real.

Although I don’t have Siri, or even an iPhone, I’m pretty sure she’s not capable of pulling your PowerPoint presentation together.   Blog assistance, e-book creation and website creation aren’t on her list of services either.   Sometimes as fallible as we humans can be, the human touch is just what we need most.

Rather than  be irritated by Siri, I’m embracing her.  She’s giving me a great way to set myself apart.  You see, when a potential client mentions her in the same breath as me and my services I have the perfect response.

“No, I’m not Siri.  I’m so much better than that.”

P.S. As of this writing Siri is still considered beta.  I’m not.

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Anyone who reads this blog knows I’m a big fan of Twitter. (Done the right way.) And although I myself sort of dragged my heels at first, I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to social media for business, a Facebook Page is a necessity.

The problem is, many small businesses are overwhelmed by social media and find the Facebook Page a bit confusing.  Not to mention they aren’t quite sure how to use it.  So rather than deal with it, they throw their hands in the air and say “Bah! Facebook is the devil.”  Enter this post.

Below are a few simple tips and hints to help you utilize the power of Facebook for your biz.

Profiles vs Pages:  The most confusing thing about Facebook just may be the whole Profile/Page confusion.  First, your profile is what you get when you sign up for Facebook. It’s personal, all about you, not your business.  So basically, your Facebook profile is your base “account’.

Pages are something that you can add to your ‘account’.  A Page is totally separate from your profile pages and wall. Items posted to your personal wall do not show up on your Page and vice versa (unless you choose to share them there).  Your personal friends do not get added to your Pages, they must ‘Like’ them like anyone else.

Types of Pages:  Facebook has several categories for Pages.  The choices are:

• Local Business or Place
• Company, Organization or Institution
• Brand or Product
• Artist, Band or Public Figure
• Entertainment
• Cause or Community

So you can build a page for your business and/or for your new bestseller or product.  As you can see, you could easily end up having several pages for different reasons.

What Do You Do There?  A Facebook Page is all about creating a community of people who like your business or product.  Ask yourself, “What do I want to share with my community about my business?”  Perhaps you want to announce book signings or public appearances. Or you could share news about what’s going on at your biz, including new projects, faces, products or services.  Does your community have questions about your business?  Let them ask on the page and provide answers for them.  Of course, you don’t have to limit it to just one of those options, you can combine several or all of them.   And don’t forget, if you have a blog you can connect it to your page so that new posts are announced on the Page wall.

Add an Admin:  Facebook allows you to give someone else access to your page administration.  So if there is someone else in your business that is going to take charge of the Page you can give them access.  See, you don’t have to do it all.

How do I create a page? Check out the short video below:

Even though the thought of creating a Facebook Page may be a bit scary at first,  it really isn’t so bad.  The increased exposure your business will receive because people can now find you on one of their favorite places to hang online makes it well worth the time and effort involved.  Now go create that Page!

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Alright, alright, let’s just admit it right now: we ALL make mistakes!  Nobody really wants to admit it, but it’s just part of being human.  In the course of our lifetime we have and will make many, many mistakes; some large and some very small.  The mistakes themselves cause their own bit of anguish as we are forced to accept that we are not perfect and still always have room for improvement.  However, it is the consequences of these errors that are undoubtedly the worst part.  Sometimes we can get away with an ‘oops’ moment with next to no fallout, but other times we can face further challenges, penalties, and setbacks just based on a single slip-up.  It seems unfair that one can be judged due to such an innate human quality, but it isn’t uncommon for even the smallest of errors to cause great suffering.

When it comes to owning and running your own business, there seems to already be insurmountable odds stacked against your success, so who wants to have to stress about making one wrong move that could cost you all your hard work?  Well, unfortunately I’m not here to tell you how to avoid all the common entrepreneurial mistakes there are out there, but I would like to focus on one group of seemingly small errors that can compromise your professional reputation.  Just as in my last post I talked about how text speak can earn you a reputation of ‘business amateur’, I want to zero in again on how the way you communicate can affect the way you are perceived professionally.  This time, I’m going to reveal to you how grade school level grammar lessons are important even now that you venture out on your adult pursuits.

Think those monotonous lectures on punctuation in elementary school were useless?  How about spelling bees and grammar quizzes?  I’m sure we all loved every minute of those grammar lessons. (Well I did, and I know it’s most likely only because I’m sick in the head!)  If your business requires e-mail correspondence, printed or web-published materials, and marketing via social networks, then you may want to dig up those memories of Mrs. So and So’s red pen all over your most prized essay.  Nothing can turn off an intellectual professional like the misspelling of “they’re” or an improperly used comma.  Not everyone is a grammar Nazi that will notice every apostrophe that’s out of place, but some are, and an elementary flub can make you appear careless.  Let’s face it, it’s not that most of us don’t know how to properly capitalize, punctuate and spell, but more often than not, it’s a time crunch and the failure to proofread that leaves our correspondence in need of that dreaded red pen.  Though most of your audience will chalk up those errors to just that: an oversight and not a lack of intelligence, it can also lead to other negative impressions.

If you don’t have time to proofread, or you have more important things to do than to look over your e-mail before you send it, then how quickly and possibly carelessly are you going to tackle the projects that potential clients might send your way?  Appearing too busy or spread too thin is not an attractive quality to a client who wants to insure that their needs are going to be met in a timely, professional and attentive manner.  It may seem that it’s quite a stretch to think that a couple missed proofreading sessions would have this magnitude of an impact on your business, but it’s not an exaggeration.  Failure to put a little extra effort into the simple tasks is indicative of the same type of treatment of important tasks and projects.  Though it may be necessary to embrace your own weaknesses and work on improvement, it is neither necessary nor favorable for a client to also have to embrace them.

Clients and other business professionals should only see your most polished finished product at all times.  All humans have faults and make mistakes, but that is what editing is all about: realizing them before anyone else and correcting them.  It is to our great advantage that we deal mostly with the written word here in the VA realm.  Whereas spoken words will often leave our mouths unchecked, written words can be reviewed, deleted and rewritten before anyone is the wiser.  This is why it is very important to take full advantage of the opportunity to prove that you do indeed have the time and patience to make sure every product you turn out is of the highest quality and is the best representation of your skills and values.

Note:  Do not, I repeat: DO NOT rely on your word processor to correctly identify your spelling and grammar mistakes.  PLEASE!  Proofreading is most accurately done by an oh-so-fallible human, go figure!  Read, read and re-read and be sure to research anything that seems a little iffy to you.  Chances are if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

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You’ve finally taken the plunge, followed your dreams and started that new business you’ve always dreamed about.  The excitement of being your own boss gets even higher as you conduct your first few consultations with potential clients.  And then you’re sent crashing to the ground by that inevitable question, “How long have you been doing this?”.

And as a brand new business owner, the minute you hear that question your stomach drops right?

One new virtual assistant business owner put it this way in a recent forum post I ran across;

Let’s face it; employers are looking for someone who (has) had previous experience in a related (area) so that they would be ensured you could perform.

And although I cringed at her reference of potential clients as employers, the sentiment is something that rings true for many businesses trying to get off the ground.

So how do you combat this problem that seems to be a catch-22?

First, you don’t start a business providing services you don’t have a level of experience and expertise in.  It may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be shocked by the number of people that open businesses based on simply an “I could do that” mentality. This is especially true of service based businesses like virtual assistance that many see as easy work from home jobs.  When you base your services on skills and abilities that you’ve used in prior positions you can assure potential clients that although you haven’t provided them virtually, you have successfully provided them.

Second, only provide services that you have extreme confidence in you own ability to provide.  Your own confidence can overcome many of the doubts a potential client may have about your ability to complete their projects. How do I know this? Let’s go back to that new virtual assistant’s quote about employers.  She was right, employers do generally want someone experienced in whatever job they need to fill. But… and this is a huge but…they don’t always hire a person for that position with experience.  How do I know this?

Because when I applied for the position of title processor at a real estate title office I had no experience as a real estate paralegal or title processor.  What I did have was a small amount of mortgage processor experience and an unshakable confidence that I could learn the job.  That combination of familiarity in the real estate industry and confidence made me stand out in the crowd.  Several years later, when I was helping the owners of the company find my replacement I helped interview several candidates that I was told had also applied for the job when I had.  These individuals had actual title processing experience.  And although by the time I was conducting interviews I had become extremely good at my job, I was curious.

I asked them why they had ended up choosing me, looking for a bit of insight into my new foray into the HR realm.  I was surprised when I was told it was my confidence in my abilities that made the difference.  They pointed out that they could tell it wasn’t a false bravado of someone trying to land a job, that I truly had no doubts about being able to learn the job. Thinking back, I knew they were right. I didn’t doubt my abilities. I knew I could take what I knew and learn what I didn’t.  It landed me the job that gave me much of the experience that I drew on when I started Clerical Advantage.

Being inexperienced as a new business doesn’t mean you’re inexperienced. When that inevitable question comes up with a potential client, focus on the experience and expertise you have and let your confidence in your ability to provide services to them shine through.  You’ll be off the vicious merry-go-round faster than you can imagine.

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