Guest Post by Donna Toothaker

As Virtual Assistants and business owners, it is so easy to get lost
in the day-to-day details of running the business that we do not invest enough time in growing it. Even if we set aside several hours a week, where do we begin? What areas of our business need improvement? Where can we be more efficient? In what ways are we succeeding?

A coach or mentor can be an invaluable asset to help us focus on priorities, and give us encouragement. I place a huge value on my monthly coaching calls. But what if there was
a whole group of other successful Virtual Assistants to give you many new perspectives, support your ideas, point out areas that need improving, and hold you accountable for taking action? This is where a mastermind group comes in.

Simply stated, a mastermind group is a group of people who come together to achieve
a common goal. In this case, several VAs exchange ideas and perspectives to help one another grow their businesses. Here are a few reasons to join one:

1. Why go it alone? Your ideal mastermind group is made up of your peers. This peer-to-peer network is a great place to share ideas, get help when you’re stuck, brainstorm solutions, get inspiration, receive support – – and the list goes on. It is a way to share your strengths and benefit from the strength and experience of others.

2. Set goals and be accountable for them. Like a good personal trainer, your Mastermind group will prod you toward achieving your goals, and expect you to put in the effort.

If procrastination is one reason your business isn’t growing, having a group to hold you accountable is an excellent way to stay on track!

3. Motivation. Once you’ve set your goals, you need to be motivated to stay on track.
A good mastermind group will have homework for you to do so you can keep moving
toward your goals with focus and determination.

4. Get in, and stay in, the growth mindset. Many members of mastermind groups may
make six figures. If you are not yet there, joining a group is the first way to make
that goal tangible, and possible. What better way to become a big earner, than to
learn from them?

There are many ways in which to join a mastermind group. You may join one through a respected colleague, through a live event, or even form your own with peers.

Whichever way you join a group, be sure that you get the most out of it. A group should be structured and focused, accessible after mastermind calls, and be made up of a diverse and well-rounded group of entrepreneurs. Do your research, and joining the right mastermind group can help you grow your business dramatically, in much less time than it would take to do it alone.

Donna Toothaker is CEO, founder and coach of Step It Up VA Coaching. These highly sought-after VA coaching programs have been created for established, successful VAs who wish to create the 6-figure business of their dreams. Visit Step It Up VA to receive the free report, Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid in Creating a 6-Figure VA Business.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing, proofreading
and transcription assignments along with research, blog posts, article submissions
and social media maintenance!

Why not Schedule a Project now?

I love to network and use social media but there are some sides of doing so that, for me, are more WORK than they are enjoyment. Most of the avid social networkers I come across agree.

I have a couple of clients that I assist with the “chores” facet of their networking so that they can concentrate on the FUN sides, and I know I would love to someday have a helper to do my “busy work” for me as well.

I love to do my own searches for new people to connect and interact with but a lot of the people I am in contact with do not like this stage of the game. To me, the biggest chore is weeding through new connection requests to make sure the person is someone I would want to be associated with, have something in common with or at least has something interesting to discuss now and then.

I have helped others set up their social media personas, find like-minded people for them to connect and interact with, written or at least edited their profile descriptions and weeded through their new connection requests.

I have both a personal Facebook presence and a professional or business one. Some people tend to “friend” every person that asks so that they have a huge friend list. This is probably fine for personal social gossiping, sharing fun stuff, etc. but for my business, I feel that I need to concentrate on people who are my peers or in an industry compatible with mine or that might someday either need my services or at least know someone some day who does.

I also have an account on Linkedin for the sole purpose of connecting with other business people and getting and sharing tips, advice and resources with my peers.

My most fun, and most USED social media platform is Twitter. I am quite active on twitter and have some really interactive connections there. I have also made some real friendships from being on Twitter AND have gotten the bulk of my clients and referrals from my connections with this great platform.

If you love social networking but want to concentrate on the fun, interactive and connecting side and need someone else to manage and perform your maintenance for you, please keep me in mind.

I can set up your account for you, search for people in YOUR designated criteria, weed through your connection requests for the people you DO want to be involved with, send them a personal hello and welcome so that you do not have to use an autoresponder or even send them NO hello and welcome message and pretty much anything else to make your social networking experience a more fun and/or rewarding one.

Discover 350 Powerful Social Media Tactics You Can Implement To Your Business Right Now For More Traffic, Leads & Sales …

for only $9.97!

In this unique package, you’ll receive a set 7 reports in 7 different topics, all targeted to helping YOU take advantage of high traffic social media sites.

Today, as I was editing different areas of several of my own web sites,
I realized yet again that although I actually LOVE doing this task, a LOT
of bloggers and webmasters DO NOT. This is just one more reason you might have to consider having your own Virtual Assistant .

Yesterday, I celebrated TEN YEARS of being the editor of my online newsletter for marketers and small business owners, Rim Digest ezine
and spent a couple of hours last night and a few more today updating the many pages
on that domain and some here at my Virtual Assistance site.

I do quite a bit of proofreading for clients, both on their web pages and in their advertisements or email newsletters, but rarely make updates like changing dates, facts, resources, etc. and yet I realize this is another part of editing that is very necessary for those who have online businesses.

My dream, to be honest, is to someday be so busy with my Virtual Assistance assignments that I can hire my own helper to do the things I do not like to do or take up my time and keep me from doing those I love to do. The first thing I would want a helper to do for me would be to assist with my eBay store , which is my biggest time waster. I do not want my eBay listings to be the same boring, blah blah cookie cutter stock descriptions and images but really nearly go into a coma with the monotony of looking up each movie, book or memorabilia item I sell on eBay and giving each an exciting description.

Maybe until that time comes I will be lucky enough to find someone who LOVES doing that kind of task and hates doing his or her own editing work and we can swap! Hey, if I am going to dream, why not dream big?

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing , proofreading and
transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com