Get The Dirt - SIDEWAYS Tough Question Tuesday
All right, let's shake it up a bit today. Usually I ask YOU the questions and recently I let you ask me the questions (great ones, by the way!) in "Reverse Tough Question Tuesday". Well, let's shake it up a bit with "SIDEWAYS Question Tuesday."
Today, I'd like to invite you to ask questions from #1 VA who's forever keeping me on track and watching my back. You know, I'm not 100% sure how long I've been working with Mel Spier, but I believe it will be 2 years in the next few months. She's so awesome, I'm pretty much unable to imagine work life without her. REALLY.
Having someone you can rely on for administrative tasks, customer support and other day-to-day details is an absolute lifesaver for any online business. If you don't have "a Mel" on your team (you can't take my Mel away, but you can have some of her this coming December 1...as long as you're an Outsourcing Sweetie Gold Member before that date), I encourage you to find one.
So, in your quest for your ideal VA, please post any questions you have for Mel in the comments area.
-> If you're curious (or even nosy), you can ask about the day-to-day things about working with me. Find out if I'm a tyrant, a kitten or somewhere in between. Am I organized or a raving lunatic? You get the picture...just ask! ;)
-> Ask Mel about hiring a VA, keeping a VA happy and working on your team for a long time coming.
...whatever you want to know, ask her.
But first, the rules. This time there is only 1 rule:
Please keep the questions simple and precise. Please don't ask for any type of review of your business or ask general questions about the best way to deliver customer support, etc. Tough Tuesday is meant to be a quick Q&A type thing, so again, let's keep it simple and precise.
All right...ask away, but it today (Tuesday only!). Mel will be around soon to reply in the comments area.
21 Comments:
This should be fun! I get to tell the whole world whether or not Alice really is a "sweetie" to work with. ;-)
So what's your first question?
Ok I'll go first :-) Is Alice really a sweetie? ;-)
Mel how long have you been in business as a VA?
Hi Mel (and Alice),
I'm wondering what type of time management (or task management) you use to keep your schedule and Alice's straight?!
My business is getting busier and I'm juggling different projects so I need an easy, VISUAL, system.
Thanks!
Merlyn
http://www.smartbusinessowners.com
I've just hired my first VA. What can I do to get the best work out of her?
My question is the same as Merlyn's. I have a hard time with keeping everything in order. Like "when" to do this and "where" to do that. Do you have an easy system (or some ancient secret) for prioritizing projects, tasks and organizing all the necessary information like content, url's and login info?
Thanks Mel!
Oh BTW, who does your graphics, including the day of the week pics.
Thanks!
Merlyn
Great idea! Okay, here's my question. How do you work together? Does Alice give Mel a list of things for the week? Or is it daily? How do you stay connected (IM, phone, e-mail)?
How many clients do you work with at one time?
Have you ever met Alice in person?
Tishia - The truth is, Alice really is a sweetie. I've never known her to be otherwise. Frustrated occasionally but never anything but sweet.
And for your other question... In January, I will be celebrating my 4th year as a VA but you wouldn't know it by looking at my site! After changing my domain name several times, I've finally found one that I can live with, but that makes me look like a newbie once again.
Merlyn - I can completely relate to the visual system. It’s a great time saver to be able to see everything up front and I use a combination of things for time and task management.
Alice and I manage tasks through a program called Taskspro ( http://www.taskspro.com/ ). Alice can assign tasks, set due dates, view progress, etc. When I log in to my area, I can track my time, create notes, update Alice when projects are complete and so forth. It's very simple to use and can be installed on your site. One thing I really like about Taskspro is that I can look back in the history to locate specific instructions or find a user name and password that I misplaced. It also comes in handy when I'm busy and forget to write down my time in my spreadsheet, I can quickly look back and see how long a task took.
For tracking the time I spend on tasks, it depends on the client. I use taskspro's timer when I can but sometimes it's not practical to keep that open while working. So instead I use TimeStamp ( http://www.syntap.com/products_timestamp_productinfo.htm ) or something I recently found, Online Stopwatch (http://www.online-stopwatch.com/) to track my time.
Then to manage (and see) all my tasks from every client so I can see the whole picture, I just use Google Calendar (www.google.com/calendar). It's simple, straightforward and I can create multiple calendars (one for each client).
All this sounds complicated but once it's set up, it probably takes less than 30 minutes a week to update my calendar and know what's due and when.
Oh this is simple Valerie... send her chocolate! ;-)
Actually, there are two things you can do. The first is to make sure your instructions are clear and complete. We all get busy and frazzled sometimes which is totally understandable but the more clear your instructions are, the less margin for error there is.
I can always tell when Alice is busy or a bit frazzled because I'll get chopped up instructions. I then have to email her back to ask for clarification.
The other thing is to offer feedback (good and bad). We don't know if we're doing the job right unless you say something. So don't be afraid you'll hurt her feelings or wrinkle feathers because in the end, it will benefit both of you.
Vickie - I answered part of your question above but you also asked about prioritizing and organizing everything.
Because we use Taskspro and Alice has set due dates, I know what she wants done first. When trying to balance everything for all my clients. I start each month on my Google calendar with the tasks I know have to be done for each client then I can see where I have time for everything else. If a client needs something done by XX day and I don't have time, I let them know up front that I'll try but cannot guarantee it and then they have the option of bumping something else to a later date.
As for organizing information, each client has his or her own Excel workbook. This contains all their logins, urls, FTP information, affiliate information, etc... whatever I do for them, goes in here. Then each client also has a folder on my hard drive with all their articles, instructions and such that I can grab if needed. In addition, I have a 3-ring binder that I keep all my clients' important information in (like logins) so I can take it with me if I go away for the weekend or even if I go to the park to work.
Good question Courtney. Many of the tasks I do for Alice are on going like customer service. Since we've been together for so long, I know those have to be done each day/week/month so she doesn't have to assign them. Anything else, she assigns through Taskspro (see my answer to Merlyn above) or if she's at the gym (where she does her best brainstorming I think!) she will shoot me an email with the details so she doesn't forget. Then she will set up a task when she gets home.
Tasks come in throughout the month and Alice is usually flexible with the due date because she knows she's not my only client and I have other tasks to do. Some of my other clients prefer we connect once a week or every two weeks to assign new tasks and give status reports. Both ways work fine for me but I know some people prefer the more structured set days/times where others, like Alice want to assign tasks as they come up. I think it's a personal preference between the client and VA.
We mainly connect through email, although sometimes she throws a curve ball and will send a message to her own customer support system (which I handle). We've never talked through IM or over the phone. In fact, other than an initial phone call or two, I rarely talk to any clients except through email.
Angie - On average, I usually have 4 long-term, retainer clients that use up the majority of my time. Then I'll take on short, one-time tasks from other clients if I need to fill in any gaps. Lately, it's only been the 4 but sometimes I have 6-7 clients going at once.
Alice and I have never met or even talked on the phone but I hope one day we'll get to attend a conference or something together.
Whew! I think that's it. If I missed any, let me know.
Thanks everyone for the great questions!
Mel
Good work Mel! I loved this peek into the working relationship!
Darn, looks like I missed all the fun. Well, I'm gonna ask, and maybe you'll be able to get back to it sometime. How do you handle the time difference, if there is one?
I've been doing some work for a guy in the UK, and I'm always afraid I'm going to miss a deadline. Any advice?
Thanks!
Hey Mara, I'll answer you real quick since you posted last night.
None of my clients are in the same time zone as I am. Alice is two hours behind me, another client 6 hours ahead (in the UK as well) and the rest are spread out somewhere in between.
The way I keep track is by using World Clocks. If you use Google Desktop you can get a widget for it like this one, http://desktop.google.com/plugins/i/timezone.html?hl=en or if you prefer to download one directly to your computer, you might want to try http://www.qlock.com/ I just set a clock for each client and then I know what time it is at their place.
Now as for deadlines and such, most of my tasks don't have a set time for completion but I do handle some newsletters that have to go out at a specific time each week. So if Alice wants something done at noon, I know (from asking previously) that she means noon her time so I just schedule it in as 2:00pm my time.
Of course, if it's something I can preschedule, I might actually set it up a day or two early because you never know what might happen at the last minute.
Thanks Mel, that was a lot of great information you shared. And thanks to Alice for letting Mel take over today =)
Thank you both! It will be hard for me to give feedback when things aren't done the way I expect, but it is a good thing to remember!
Looks like a great place to be, even for a man. Keep up the wonderful work, I will ask a question when I need a little bit of encouragement.
Anthony
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