Some conscientious users attempt to make their #followfriday tweets more useful by explaining why you might follow a certain user — what is follow worthy about them?  I like these kinds of tweets actually and do look for new people to follow on Fridays.  Especially from sources whom I admire.

Last Friday @chrisbrogan suggested a new #followfriday tradition – where we blog our #ff recommendations and have a single tweet linking to our blog post.  I think the idea has merit.  I love the concept of #ff, genuinely enjoy sharing resources and letting people know that I think highly of them.  At the same time, each week I’m more and more hesitant to spam the twittersphere with yet another #ff.  Plus – I’m not limited in the amount of characters I can use to extol the virtues of my twitter friends!

So in the spirit of generosity I offer you these awesome folks to follow on Twitter.

@openskye – Kevin is new to Twitter, but old hat to marketing wit and insight.  His web design firm has handled branding and design for some pretty large companies.  Follow him for engaging conversations on corporate branding and marketing strategies.

@onemomsworld – I like Jen.  She’s a work at home Mom who is both successful and affable.  She’s the type of person that you know would make a good friend.  If you’re a WAHM – check out her blog too for a fun look into another Mom’s busy world.

@jillwhalen – I RT and FF Jill often.  She’s been a mentor to me on my SEO journey.  One of the few elite SEO’s that I have found to be approachable and willing to help new SEO’s so I’m always looking for a reason to pay it forward back to her.  But friendliness aside — Jill is also a thinker and tester in the field of SEO so what she says is valuable.

@gretchenrubin – I’m reading her book, “The Happiness Project” and its right in alignment with other studies I’m immersed in such as Quantum Physics, Feng Shui, Deepak Chopra & Tony Robbins.  Her memoir is engaging, inspiring and human… and she actively blogs and twitters which brings the relationship of reader & author to life in a uniquely 2010 way.

@smashingmag – A must follow for web designers.  Many smart and inspiring tweets throughout the week to keep you on top of your game.

That’s all for the week!  What do you think?  Who are your follow friday recommendations?  Let me know in the comments!

Because of the piece work way that we get paid (no weekly paycheck, and some companies taking over a month to pay an invoice!), it can be tempting to be overkill and take on any project that comes your way.

Be careful — you don’t want to be rushing through projects (aka – this one won’t be on my portfolio!), nor do you want to be making clients wait past their deadlines for your deliverable.

Sometimes the professional thing to do is say no. Let the client know that while you hate to turn work away or let them down – you’d really be doing them a disservice by accepting the job because you just have too much on your plate.

Often times you’ll find that the client knows just where you’re coming from and appreciates your integrity. They just might be willing to wait! But if their project is urgent — be sure to have a colleague or two that you can recommend to them. Check back in with them the following week to see how its going and to let them know if you have some open time. I promise you, it does sometimes pay to say no!

I suggest beginning to work out a weekly plan. Lay out all of the client work you have in front of you – the amount of hours you anticipate needing per step and the deadline.

Try doing this on Fridays because well meaning plans for Mondays often don’t work out very well when you’re catching up on all of the correspondence that came in over the weekend. So you might try reserving a half hour or so at the end of the work day on Friday creating your schedule and setting client specific milestones for the following week.

The next step is to create a weekly report template that you can use to inform your clients of your plans for the upcoming week. Include of course everything that you have completed in the past 5 days. Make references to the budget and deadlines. Are you still on track? Has the project developed some ‘scope creep‘? If so – this is the perfect time to address it.

Imagine yourself in the shoes of your client… wouldn’t a weekly report like this communicate organization, follow through and concern? It would eliminate the need to ‘check up’ on progress through out the week because you know what is being worked on and that you’ll be updated again on Monday.

This is going to save you a ton of time answering emails and fielding phone calls. More time to actually work and it’s going to build your service brand. Clients are going to be much more apt to refer you to colleagues when they trust your professionalism and organization.

As a small business owner it’s so easy to get caught up in the mentality that you have to wear every hat in your business in order to save money. In the beginning, that may be so. But as you begin to grow you’ll find that you end up making less money by trying to do it all on your own.

If you find that you have clients or customers that aren’t being attended to by the end of the day (and we’re talking real world 9-5 time here freelancers. Staying up to midnight at the cost of quality time with your family can’t possibly be the vision you set for your life when you decided to work for yourself!) If you do find that you end up leaving many things undone by the end of the day and don’t look forward to the morning… guess what? It’s time to hire help!

Consider [slider title="getting yourself a virtual assistant"]If you’re interested in finding a VA, I’m happy to give you some references personally. Or consider posting over on the FreelanceMom Forums. Another fantastic option is to post projects on elance. Elance is a place where business owners post projects and freelance professionals bid on the work. I’ve used elance from both ends – buyer and provider, and haven’t found a service that I like more than what they provide there. By the way, the freelancers who will bid on your work have portfolios for you to view as well as feedback from previous projects they have done. And it’s free for you to use – the freelancers pay a subscription to bid there, but buyers do not.[/slider] to begin with. What do you do on a daily basis that doesn’t require your most valuable skills and that someone else can handle for you? I’ll give you some examples that might really get you excited to take this step!

1. Imagine if you had a trustworthy personal assistant that you could direct your email to. We are all guilty of spending way too much time sorting through email. And you and I both know how many diversions await us in the midst of all the spam!

Instead, you either set up your email via the web, or have your assistant install Eudora on their computer to only handle your email. They go through your email as it comes in a few times a day and they forward to you what requires your attention.

During the first few weeks of this you’ll find that a lot of what comes in is really not something that necessarily requires your attention. So you email your assistant back with a ‘template’ reply. She sets up a template in Eudora that she can use to reply to any future request like this in the future.

The template alone saves you time. Even if you don’t hire an assistant – consider automating some of your replies in this way yourself. It’s so much easier than continually typing in the same answer all the time.

Having someone else go through your spam is going to be liberating. Set yourself up an email account that you won’t advertise on the web, so all the spam bots won’t easily find it. The mail that comes into this account from your assistant and from colleages and customers/clients that you give it out to will all be relevant emails that you must address.

How much would a service like this be worth to you? If you’re capable of making $50-$100 an hour in your business – then wouldn’t it be well worth it to pay a VA $10-$25 to handle your spam? If an hourly rate makes you uncomfortable talk with your assistant about a retainer. Lay out the services that you require and the amount you can comfortably afford and work with them to come up with a fair agreement. Make sure all expectations are clear and make sure they are following through on their end. Eventually you’ll find the exact right fit for you and having a VA will inspire you to take your business to much hire levels than you thought you’d ever have time for!

2. Does your business require a large amount of customer support? Especially if you are selling ebooks or any technical service like a sitebuilder to your customers then I bet you have had those phone calls with a single customer for a half hour. How much money did you lose? In the end what is that customer paying you? $25/month for your service? The support was necessary – but in the end the sale is a wash.

Imagine not taking those calls? A VA can handle your support for you. And skilled VA’s can help you to set up your business in such a way that you can eliminate much of the phone time necessary to handle customer support.

As your assistant becomes familiar with your business they can begin taking customer questions and compling them into an FAQ. On your support page it will be the first thing you offer to a customer. If they can do a quick search on their question and get a clear answer most of them would rather do that then pick up the telephone. In addition to the FAQ, you can set up a help desk system and a live chat. There are many open source solutions for this that are free – and other great solutions that don’t cost much money at all to get up and running. Now those cumbersome phone calls can be handled by a VA through the help desk efficiently with template replies set up to the majority of questions that would come through. A support request that used to take 30 minutes can suddenly take less than 5.

And remember – a VA doesn’t bill you like a secretary in a brick and mortar business would. They bill you for the time that they work. Not for the time they sit at their desk. The exception to this is Live Chat. You’ll want them to have the chat open but most of the time noboby will be requesting a chat. So this is a fuzzy area. The solution is to offer them a flat rate to handle the chat each week – together you’ll find a fair rate based on the amount of traffic your website gets.

3. Bookkeeping. VA’s often have a great deal of experience with it. You can get a Quick Books online account that they can use so that you can both access the data – or if you require a shopping cart then go with 1shoppingcart.com and a desktop version of Quickbooks that you can download your data into. No idea why you can’t do that with QuickBooks online — maybe it’s changed, but o my knowledge you can’t. If you want to use QuickBooks on your desktop – set up an account with GotoMyPC.com and give your VA access. At times you agree to they can access the computer and enter all the recipts, refunds, invoices etc. A huge time saver for you… you now have all that free time to dream up new products, make proposals, attend speaking engagements or any number of bigger picture items for your business.

You’ll be amazed at what can be taken off your plate. You can focus your energy on your mission statement again and take your business to higher, more efficient levels… and still have a personal life! This is called working smarter, not harder. Let me know how it goes!

Over the years I have gathered many resources and shared them on the FreelanceMom website. If you are interested in pursuing this niche you can check out the virtual assistant page.

I recently discovered another resource that I highly recommend, the VAClassroom.

VAClassroom.com offers an innovative online training center designed to equip Virtual Assistants with the skills businesses are seeking in 2008 and beyond. VAClassroom.com’s certification programs have been designed in collaboration with professional Virtual Assistants and the entrepreneurs and businesses that regularly hire them.

VAClassroom.com provides a comprehensive ten-module, video-based program called the “Internet Marketing VA Training Certification”. With over 50 videos, a 70-page resource guide, practical quizzes and assignments, a class discussion forum, live coaching and job search resources the skills developed through the IMVA training and certification program will help you win more ideal clients, increase your income and expand your services into a profitable and in-demand niche! In addition, this course provides you with the Internet Marketing know-how that will allow you to effectively promote your own Virtual Assistance practice.

I asked Craig Cannings from VAClassroom for a peek at the materials. He graciously supplied me with a login and I saw for myself how much work they have put into this program.

A lot of women have basic skills that have served them well in brick and mortar offices, but they feel a bit lost when they think about entering the online business world. There are new things to learn, for certain. This program covers a lot of what you might run into in your first assignements as a VA including Internet Marketing Foundations, Web Anayltics, Affiliate Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Blogging and Social Media and Email Marketing.

The training for all of these things starts with the basics, right at the beginning so don’t feel intimidated. They provide easy to follow, practical videos on how to perform the tasks that you would perform as a virtual assistant.

They are running a special right now where you can save a hundred dollars on membership. It’s still an investment of $197 – but it really looks worthwhile to me. If you decide to join, let us know over on the VA Forums.

Freelance Virtual Assistant Jobs
Virtual Assistant
Tech Savvy Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant For Web Developer/Entrepreneur
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant – (home-based)
Virtual Assistant
General Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant – home based
PR Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant
Administrative Services – Virtual
Real Estate Virtual Administrative Assistant – EXPERIENCED ONLY
Virtual Assistant with Top Producer/Cold Calling Experience in PST zone
Marketing and Virtual Assistant
Real Estate Virtual Assistant Familiar with the Asheville, NC area
Spanish Speaking Virtual Assistant
Assistant
Virtual Assistant For Web Developer/Entrepreneur
Virtual Sales Assistant
Marketing Assistant
VA for InfoProduct Website
Virtual Assistant
Need Virtual Assistant 9 – 6 Pacific Time
Virtual Assistant
Virtual Assistant – Web Based Tasks

It might be burn out for those of us who’ve been freelancing for many years, it might be distraction that you’ve earned the luxury of having by working so hard for so long. Whatever the case may be, at some point a freelancers job becomes stagnant.

Simple projects shouldn’t sit on the back burner for days or (gasp) weeks! You know that… but the element of comfort you’ve achieved doesn’t allow you to fear being so far behind any longer. You’ve got to take responsibility and kick your own butt!

If you don’t have a mission statement, this might be time to write one. Re-assess why you’ve chosen the work that you have. What type of service do you aim to offer your clients. What excites you about the work, and why are you grateful to have it? Get excited about your business again.

In the morning – sit down with your cup of joe and write a list of all the things (however small) you have been putting off. Make stars next to ones you could consider outsourcing.

Outsourcing is a big step for your business, but it’s can be a god send for securing your future with clients. If you don’t have time or motivation — outsource it. Especially outsource it if the rate of pay is what’s keeping you from tackling the task. It can be hard to take care of clients who pay lower rates when you have plenty of higher value work. So find an assistant who is capable and can work somewhat below your ‘lower rate’ and give them the work.

Often times people procrastinate because they are perfectionists. Look – it’s better to get the job done and then go back to make a few corrections then it is to get the client angry because you’ve got nothing to show them. Quit procrastinating. Dive in and bang it out.

Set deadlines for yourself. Make them tight deadlines. Try BEFORE the client wants the work done. If you push of small jobs until the last minute — you’ll find yourself in trouble. What to do when your phone rings with new work? Set your deadlines and stick to them. Many of us work much better under pressure. Create some pressure. Set some goals and measure your success.

Don’t get overwhelmed by your list of to do’s. Just prioritize at the beginning of the day — make sure to take everything into consideration when you’re prioritizing. How long has the client been waiting? How time sensitive is the project? How quickly could you knock it out? Get your list put together. It really helps to think about how it’s going to feel to get this stuff done — go ahead and set a dollar amount on what you could potentially make that day if you move this forward.

Remember how things flow. New work always shows up. Don’t hang on to work because it’s somehow a security blanket for you to know you have it. Get it done, and watch the flood gates open with new opportunities.

Remember your mission statement – how your work fulfills you. How that in turn helps you achieve your long range goals and dreams. We’re one of the most fortunate breeds of workers. We’re working from our home office. We have the freedom to take breaks and walk in the woods, hug our kids or listen to music. This is the life! Live up to it and go get em!

Here are some tips for bidding on projects at elance that I published in the FreelanceMom News awhile back:

1. Before bidding, research the client. See what other jobs they have posted in the past. Get a feel for which providers they choose. They may only choose lowballers. If that is the case, you might not want to bid. Or, you might want to lowball simply to get your first gig and get feedback.

2. Check what the client has left for feedback. If they have given low feedback, check out the provider they gave it to. If that provider has great feedback in general – you might want to think twice about working with this buyer.

3. Make sure your bid is original. Don’t copy paste the same text into different bids. That means, REALLY read the project description and address it in your bid. The more familiar you seem with their project, the more your bid will stand out from the rest.

4. If they have a website, visit it and try to casually comment on it if it seems applicable.

5. The tone of your bid should be somewhere between friendly and professional. You don’t want to be too casual, but you don’t want to be too uptight.

6. Don’t sound desperate :) Do sound confident.

This is especially helpful for you if the project scope turns out to be more then you initially expected.

For example your first update might say, “I just wanted to update you on the progress. I was able to complete a significant amount on x. However, I wasn’t aware when we initially spoke that such and such would need to be done. (or whatever). This may add some time to my initial deadline projection but of course I’ll do everything possible to reach our initial agreed upon deadline.”

Just letting the client know when something unanticipated comes up helps keep them in the loop.

Remember the golden rule: Under promise and Over deliver!

It’s times like this when you need to chunk. Take 10 minutes. Make a list – highlight the items on the list that are most time sensitive. Get yourself a cup of tea and do the first most important thing on the list.

That’s the only thing you have to do right now. Don’t even let yourself THINK about all the other things. Bang that first most important thing out in spite of everyone else who is waiting for their project. In spite of knowing a neighbor might pop in and see the state of your house. Just do it!

I bet it takes you less then an hour.

Next… Look at the list of priorities. Not the whole list. Just the highlighted items. Which one is the quickest to do? Do that one.

Now in probably an hour you have completed two critical items.

Pat yourself on the back. The momentum you just created will help you to conquer your list. Make sure to take time after each item to breathe deeply and celebrate!