If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.

The business owners I know  generally have a pretty good handle on worry. By their very nature, they are risk-takers. Even though worry comes with the territory, it’s easy enough to be calculative and compartmentalize in order to do what needs doing.  Not to mention, if you’re not a naturally energetic, positive and enthusiastic person, you probably won’t last in business very long anyway, and these personality traits alone are a pretty solid weapon at combating worry and uncertainty.

But, not all the time.

Most of us tend to worry when there’s a slowdown in the business cycle. Even though we know it’s coming and have planned accordingly … even though we know the team needs a little “quiet” time to regroup after an intense growth spurt … even though we know history has shown time and time again that the slowdown is temporary…

It’s still enough to make any business owner’s confidence falter, even just a little bit.

But, everyone has to find their own way through the mental ruts that sneak up on all of us. That day when you wake up, look at the to-do list, and would rather nail your toes to the floor than do half the crap on it. You’re tired and uninspired, and you’re the first one out the door if someone suggests … well … anything, really, to avoid running the month’s cash-flow report or attending one more networking event.

For me, a mental slump sometimes hits after we’ve had a fantastic run of new business, some record-breaking revenue months, and when there’s been  a lot of  “…Kickin’ ass and takin’ names!…” flying around the office. Then, inevitably, things slow down a little.  I’m tired, ornery about the boring day-to-day stuff it takes to run a business, and am especially vulnerable to even the slightest discouragement.

It doesn’t jive very well with my generally upbeat, positive, sassy nature,  so I flop around like a fish out of water for a little while, spending too much time in my own head. I start to worry about ridiculous things, like how long I’d be able to live on a diet of Spam and ramen noodles, or where on earth I’d put all my clothes if I had to live out of my car, or wondering if the kid who cuts my lawn is hiring.

Wallowing around in a slimy pile of negative mental goo is the death rattle for any small-business owner, so we fight like the dickens to hold onto the energy, enthusiasm and motivation that got us started in the first place. We are also driven by a little bit of fear… fear that if we don’t get out of the sticky mess of pessimist poo, our business dies.

So, we start moving forward again. We slow down to speed up. We get back to basics and do the things we know will bring in new (and better!) business, we tighten a few purse strings, we maybe sacrifice a little bit of our personal lives to get things back on track.

We surround ourselves with our own personal motivators. I like to spend time visualizing the future, read business mags loaded with ideas, reconnect with old friends from my professional circle, go through daily affirmations, or get caught up in a fun creative project. (Want some other ideas? Check out this post on how to “eat uncertainty for lunch.”)

Then, as expected, we gain some momentum and once again find ourselves in another growth spurt.  Pretty soon, everyone is kickin’ ass and takin’ names once again.

I’ve been running across quite a few blog posts lately that tap into this fundamental issue that plagues every small business owner – falling into a mental rut and the uncertainty about what the hell we’re doing that follows. (Here’s one post on ways to get out of a slump, and another one on dealing with fear.) How do you get yourself through the mental slump that rears its ugly head once in awhile? 

I can definitely make some improvements. As any financial expert will tell you, until you track what you’re spending, you don’t know how much you’re spending. Simple, I know. But sometimes I think it’s the simple stuff that can be eye-opening and the hardest for us mortals to achieve. For the rest of the month, I plan to closely track these expenses and see where I can gain some cost savings.

This got me thinking about a recent article I read in Grandy & Associates July newsletter: “Why Do You Track What You Track?” Here the author, Tom Grandy, asks us to take a moment to look at what we’re tracking as business owners and managers. Does it have value? Do you or others actually use the information? Is it passed on to another department where some other manager uses it? I encourage you to check out the entire article.

And I must add a disclaimer – I’m a little biased about this company, as Grandy & Associates is a client of ours. I am always so impressed by their practical, down-to-earth business advice for the trades industries (which can easily apply to almost any business in almost any indutry). This is a company that does it right, and frequently shows their clients how they can improve efficiencies, increase profits, cut costs and, most importantly, cover all the real costs of doing business (which includes paying the owner a reasonable and regular salary, while properly funding a company retirement plan).

But, client or not, the advice still rings very true — know what information to track and why you are tracking it. What tracking do you find is absolutely imperative? And which report(s) are you filing away each month (with the intention of looking at, but never actually get to)?

By their very nature, sole proprietors, small-business owners and independent service professionals do it all — from soup to nuts. Not only do they work hard at servicing their clients and customers, but they are also chief operating officer, marketing director, creative team, sales manager and janitor. Eventually, these folks simply can’t do it all … at least not alone. Service and productivity begin to slip, growth is slowed, projects are relegated to the back burner and they’ve forgotten what life is like outside the office. They need what everyone eventually needs…

An assistant.

Partnering with a virtual assistant (VA) has become an invaluable solution for many soloists, small-business owners, and small teams of people in a larger corporate offices to get the support they need without the cost or commitment of a permanent, on-site employee. Virtual assistants are just that – they are executive/administrative/marketing/communications assistants who work virtually, which simply means they work from their own offices using their own tools and resources to provide the support their clients need.

Just about any professional can utilize the services of a VA. By handing over your supplementary, to-do list tasks to another professional, you free up your valuable time and resources to focus on more important (and revenue-generating!) priorities.

The key to working with a VA is simple – communication. By being clear about what you need, you can leave the rest to your VA while you focus on realizing the full potential of your business. Need a stack of business cards turned into a spreadsheet? Done. Need help planning a big meeting or event? Done. Need someone to design a postcard, find a printer, and get your mailer distributed … all within budget? Done, done, and done.

VAs, in turn, provide progress reports, ask questions and take initiative to get the job done. When you contract a VA, you aren’t just getting an assistant, you’re getting that assistant’s entire database of contacts and resources. Additionally, today’s technology allows for real-time (and easy-to-use) communication and information transfer, so your VA is only a phone call or click away.

The fees for a VA can vary, and depend heavily on the services the VA firm offers and the market it services, however fees generally range from $25-$60 an hour. Some charge per project, while others are on a flat hourly rate. It’s common to find discounted rates if you have a retainer arrangement per week or month, which most VAs offer.

Compared with the real cost of hiring an employee (salary, benefits, taxes, legal requirements, unproductive time, professional development, training, space, overhead etc.), having a VA on your team for a few hours a week may be exactly what you need to take your business to the next level. In fact, most small-business owners can’t afford not to have an assistant if they plan to continue growing.

You know what I mean … picking up your kids on time after work, making a quick trip to the library, supervising homework and the cleaning of the guinea pig’s cage, getting supper started … all before handing off the parenting baton to your spouse and bundling up (especially in January!) to drive the 25 minutes to your yoga class.

Amazingly, week after week, I do it without hesitation.

The reason? You do it when you know that you’re going to an exceptional class; one that offers a 90-minute reprieve from the “real world.” Your expectations are consistently exceeded, so week after week you loyally pay to attend this class. And let’s not forget that this is an exercise class you’re paying to attend, which makes this kind of attendance even more impressive.
 
This yoga class is a great example of what we’re all trying to achieve and maintain as business owners, mangers and strategic partners; customer service excellence and repeat business. For me, the key to my loyalty is that that my yoga instructor, Anne, breaks her 90-minute classes into three sections.

First, Anne briefly talks about the physical, mental, and spiritual side of that particular session’s focus – so if the class is on weight loss, she’ll talk about “weight.” By having this conversation at the beginning of the class, she provides a context which is not only fascinating, but extremely beneficial to more fully practicing and liking yoga.

Next, she describes the yoga moves that will be covered that evening – maybe it’s looking at the role of the liver and the need to wake up this organ as you move into Spring and the positions and stretches that will help this organ function more fully. The instruction is relaxed, inclusive, humorous, and very non-threatening. You work on the yoga positions (invariably discovering some new muscles!), and come away with an increased range of motion and respect for your body.

The end of the class closes in Savasana, a relaxing posture, with a guided meditation. This is where Anne wraps up the class, tying in the main topic, reminding you to let go of toxins and negativity and to radiate a glow of health. From here, you leave the class feeling relaxed and renewed.

By breaking down the class into three sections Anne has made sure her students fully understand and enjoy that evening’s practice and are therefore more involved and connected to the class . . . and keep coming back! I appreciate this approach on a personal level, and anytime I see a successful business model, I am always impressed.

What services or solutions do you provide to your customers that consistently meet and exceed their expectations? Do your customers keep coming back? And do they tell their co-workers, friends, and neighbors about your company?

Once we have finalized their content we encourage (or insist!) that they practice, practice, practice! Reminding them to time themselves running through their presentation in front of a colleague(s) to provide feedback they might not be aware of (i.e. Talking too quickly? Standing toward one side of the room? Reading from notes? etc.). A note about content: it doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles to be effective – if the bullet points are in color with a cool background and music playing, they’re still just bullet points. An effective presentation must show how your product or solution will make your audience’s life/work easier and better, using real examples and testimonials that they will understand and relate to. How did your product or solution save XYZ company time, money, or provide peace of mind?
 
Finally, we tell our clients that on the actual day of the presentation, be sure to allow enough time for technical glitches – you don’t want to be that speaker up on stage trying to get the projector to work, or waiting for your presentation to download to your laptop. And to check out the room setup  — What will provide the most effective layout? Is the A/C running?
 
But, you know, even with a process in place, it’s still hard work to pull all of this together! Our clients have full rein to tease us about putting our presentations on the back burner – we are guilty as charged! There are definitely times when it’s much easier for us to work in the business instead of on the business. Good luck with your upcoming presentations!

Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best… and Learn from the Worst by Robert I. Sutton. As Sutton says, good bosses “do everything possible to help people do great work,” yet they also “do everything possible to help people experience dignity and pride.”

Live First, Work Second by Rebecca Ryan. What do young people think about living and working in your community and your company? Are they plugged in? Committed? A note of bias here, I’m a huge Rebecca Ryan fan and her company Next Generation Consulting is just down the street from Rescue Desk!

Get Rid of the Performance Review!: How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing–and Focus on What Really Matters by Samuel A. Culbert with Lawrence Rout. “With passion, humor, and a rare insight into what motivates all of us to do our best, Culbert offers all of us a chance to be better managers, better employees and, indeed, better people.”

As you can see from these professional selections, the emphasis is on expending energy in a positive direction, doing what you love, and being a better person and (more productive) employee for it.

Then here are a few reads from my actual book club that I have thoroughly enjoyed – books that take you to a different time, location, world, and points of view.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett. “Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women–mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends–view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope. The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.”

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. “Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles—and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined.”

We welcome your feedback . . . who knows, perhaps we’ll even start our very own Rescue Desk Book Club!

I started a business.

OK, so maybe it wasn’t quite THAT dramatic. I had spent more than six months planning and prepping and saving, digging into every resource and expert I could find. So, I wasn’t jumping in TOTALLY blind…but, pretty close. The view was pretty darn foggy.

In the spirit of commemorating what I had just done, I officially tagged my first week in business as “Freak Week” — I allowed myself a full week to officially and unabashedly freak out about what I had just done.  I planned to cry over the fact that I had given up a  steady, well-paying (albeit kinda crappy) job, I fully expected to succumb to weeping fits of self-doubt, and I was mentally prepared for the mind-numbing fear that would come as I thought about being 100% responsible for my own paycheck.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

Rescue Desk is currently celebrating its third birthday, and while I certainly have moments of sheer panic (I challenge any business owner to deny that they still have an occasional fear-based temper tantrum!), our small, spunky firm has been plowing forward full-steam ahead since day one. We’ve grown from a sole proprietorship that was headquartered in the second bedroom of an old apartment to a funky little studio office space near the city’s center.  Our team of five continues to help the growing numbers of business owners who find their way to our door. We have no plans to stop adding to our team and upping the virtual-assistant services we offer.

They say most businesses fail within the first five years, and I can see why. It’s not easy to consistently face uncertainty and permanently park yourself outside your comfort zone. But, I don’t think I could be happier about the direction our team is taking Rescue Desk. It’s not always easy, and there are certainly days I fleetingly wish life was easier. But, at the end of the day, we’re here, we’re growing, and I can hardly wait to see what the next three years will bring.

As it turned out, I didn’t really need “Freak Week” that first week  — the fact was that I was so sure that launching out on my own was the right move that it quashed pretty much any feelings of doubt about what I was doing. It also helped that the first Rescue Desk client came along on day #2.

Help us celebrate our third anniversary! For the first (and perhaps only!) time, we’re offering special promotions to just about anyone who signs on with us during the month of March!

I’ve been wheat-intolerant for 6 years (also called Celiac disease), but even now, I’m still so appreciative when I’m at a restaurant and they have a gluten-free menu. Knowing whether a noodle is made from rice (which I can eat) or pasta (which I cannot) is key. Or if that tortilla is made out of corn (a gluten friendly food) or wheat is imperative.

I am especially impressed when an Italian restaurant has a gluten-free menu (Biaggis or UNOs for example), or when you’re at a grocery store that has a dedicated gluten-free section (thank you Silly Yak, Woodman’s, Whole Foods, Willy Street Coop, Hy-Vee and Copps!).

This got me thinking about Rescue Desk, and the “gluten-free” additions that we can provide that would really make a difference to our clients. How about your company? How can you make your customers’ experience even better?

1. Are there any services/solutions that your clients would like to see you provide?
2. Is there anything confusing in your sales process?
3. Do you provide sufficient periodic project updates?
4. What areas do you need to improve upon?
5. Is there anything complicated in your billing process?
6. Would your clients recommend you to a colleague (and if so why)?
7. Do your clients know about all of the services you offer?

Let me know if this ‘gluten free’ analogy was helpful. We’d love to hear your feedback! And if you’re wheat sensitive, here’s the link to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness

I’m Penny Johnson, guest blogger at Rescue Desk. I am working with Rachel for the rest of May to learn the Virtual Assistant biz. On a normal day, I am a quiet college instructor at Madison Area Technical College, tucked away in my classroom teaching Business Technology. In the past few years my colleagues and I have become more and more interested in starting an academic program for people interested in becoming VAs. I asked Rachel if I could shadow her to learn more about the field, and zero in on the topics we will have to teach potential VA students.

Here are some things I have learned so far:

Social Media is critical to small businesses.
I must admit that at Madison College we have been talking about Social Media but some categorize it as the fad of the youth. I can see that is not true! Social Media is the way to connect and get your business name out there. It is also a great way to stay connected, which is so important in today’s busy world. I would love to hear your stories of successful uses of social media.

Software can be an issue.
At Madison College, we are proposing a type of degree called an “Advanced Technical Certificate” which means each student has to have a degree first, or have 2 years of work in a related field before beginning this certificate. We are targeting adult students who want a change of career, and so we assume that students will come with software skills in hand. This may be true, but we also need to make sure that our students are capable of adjusting. Software products upgrade, new versions are released constantly, new technologies are introduced. The idea is that this certificate should prepare a person to be knowledgeable enough with software that s/he is comfortable learning new techniques. Which reminds me:

Virtual Assistants have to be willing to learn new things.
It is clear that VAs are today’s Jack-Of-All-Trades. It is not enough that clients will want a whole host of tasks completed; but, the VA needs to learn all of the business skills included!

The Virtual Assistant field is growing.
We’ve been tracking the Virtual Assistant field for some time, but I was still amazed to hear how quickly VAs are adding new clients and building their businesses. As we propose this new certificate for training VAs, I would love to hear about your successes. How much has your business grown? How has your business shifted since you started?

I’d love to hear from you: What you do think we need to know as we put together a certificate program to train Virtual Assistants? In the next few days I hope to add to this blog and gather your thoughts and advice!

I love the “In a minute…” feature.

It’s just a small little box found in the corner of one of the front sections, and it lists a half-dozen things you can literally do in a minute. It always brings me back to the basics; the simple things I do in a day that may not only benefit me, but benefit those around me – my team, my clients, my friends, my family…

So, in the spirit of “In a minute…” I thought I’d start my own running list of things that can be done in 60 seconds or less. Feel free to steal from it, share it or add to it!

• Send a quick, “Hi! How ya doin’!” email to an old friend.
• Send a small congratulatory gift to someone who has achieved a goal (I’m a fan of LittleThings.com).
•  Give my assistant the afternoon off.
•  Register for a yoga class.
•  Zip an article of interest to a prospective client.
•  Pick up the banana instead of the cookie at the snack counter. 
• Give my dog a belly rub.
•  Compliment someone.
•  Upgrade my usual medium hazelnut latte to a large, just because.
•  Apologize to someone. (Admit it…we all know someone who may be a little miffed with us!)
•  Tip an extra $5 at the restaurant.
•  Make a referral.
•  Publically proclaim what excellent service I received from (fill in business) on my Facebook or LinkedIn profile.
•  Say “No,” once in awhile.
•  Invite my best friend out for dinner.
•  Send a thank-you note. In an envelope. With a stamp.
•  Order a new business book for my office library.
•  Download a podcast.
•  Close my eyes and visualize my next vacation.
•  Add a new picture to my vision board.
•  Get a little fresh air – and a fresh perspective – with a walk around the building.
•  Giggle at a memory.
•  Change the radio station to one I wouldn’t normally listen to.
•  Take a candid photograph of someone.
•  Ask the always-friendly guy at “my” convenience store what his name is (and remember it!)

These are just a few things that popped into my head in a matter of minutes. What can you do in a minute that might improve your day, or that of someone you know?

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