“It isn’t the
mountains ahead that wear you out. It’s
the grain of sand in your shoe.” ~
Robert Service
Fireside
Chat - a personal note from Teresia &
Sonia
Hello
Sassy and Savvy Women!
Have you ever wished you could just clone
yourself? Then you'd finally be able to
get everything done, right? Wishful thinking.
Cloning yourself may not be an option, but
that doesn't mean you're doomed to struggle
amid a sea of loose ends and incomplete
projects. This month, we're going to take
a look at the next best solution: hiring
an assistant.
If you tuned in last month, we encouraged
you to take a close look at all the little
things you're tolerating, especially in
your day-to-day tasks. A "toleration"
is anything that repeatedly causes friction
and frustration, eats up your energy and
attention, and holds you back. These little
annoyances add up to big consequences when
it comes to your time, energy and productivity.
The good thing is, they're optional.
Don't miss out on this month's "Savvy
Conversation," a *fre'e*
conference call that will help you learn
and utilize powerful tools for your own
business. JOIN
US and other like-minded
business women on February 15th at 8 AM
PST to dig into the details of how to build
a thriving business with all the support
you need. Get
more details and register!
Your
Sassy Catalysts
Teresia
LaRocque & Sonia Stringer
SassyandSavvyWomen.com
In
this issue:
Feature
Article
Escape From Overwhelm and Reclaim
Your Time
Can you imagine what it would feel like
to walk into your office and know that you're
only going to spend time on things you love
to do? Wouldn't it feel incredible to know
that the other part of your business - the
drudgery, the maintenance, and the details
- is being handled for you? Professionals
who work with a reliable and capable support
person have more time and energy - and sanity!
- to focus on the most important activities:
the ones they really love, and the ones
that that really pay.
So why are you still opening your own mail?
Chances are, you wrestle with (at least)
one of the following mental blocks:
- Finances - "I can't
afford it."
- Time constraints - "I'm
too busy to stop what I'm doing and find/train
the right person."
- Fear of letting go -
"No one knows my business like I do,
so no one else can do things as well or
as fast as I can."
- The Unknown - "I
don't know how to go about finding someone,
what skills they need, or how to train them.
Where do I even start?
- Uncertainty - "Do
I really need to hire someone yet? I don't
know if I'm ready for that much help."
We've heard these excuses more times than
we can count - heck, we've even used them
ourselves. But if you really want to make
a breakthrough with your business, it's
time to acknowledge these larger truths:
- You can hire as little or as much help
as you want (and can afford). If finances
are tight, start small. As soon as you free
up some time and energy, and you devote
more to your money-making activities, you'll
be able to afford more help.
- Most people wait until they're completely
stuck before they seek outside support.
By then, it's much more challenging to bring
a new person up to speed and create the
results you're looking for. If you do the
hiring work now, before you're desperate,
you can create a strong foundation for your
business to grow on. As every savvy woman
knows, you have to do what's important -
not just what's urgent.
- Concerns that "an outsider's"
work won't be up to par have immobilized
many young businesses. But with the right
screening tools and hiring process, that
risk can be greatly minimized.
- With a little research and some savvy
resources (such as the Hire Vision e-book
noted below), you have all the information
you need to figure out exactly what you
need and how to find it.
- If you want to get to the next level,
understand that even a little help can translate
into effortless results and a LOT of extra
time for you. With the ever-expanding field
of freelancers and part-time options, an
assistant doesn't have to be a full-time
commitment.
Don't wait until you're drowning before
you call for help. With a little (or a lot)
more help, you can refocus your attention
on what you do best - and go from "surviving"
to "thriving." Give your natural
brilliance a chance to shine, and watch
your profits go through the roof.
A
Sassy Breakthrough
- Sonia Stringer
|
 As
the consummate perfectionist (read:
control freak), Sonia resisted the idea
of hiring an assistant for three long
years. In fact, she did more than resist
it - she fought it tooth and nail. But
when she found herself crying late one
night over a massive mountain of paperwork,
she finally relented and took that first
step.
It wasn't easy for her. With a tight
budget and a concern about quality,
she decided to ease into this process,
one project at a time. Working with
a virtual assistant allowed a lot of
flexibility and required a minimal commitment
of time and money to start. At first
she was only comfortable delegating
four to five hours of work at a time,
so she started with small tasks: correspondence,
building "welcome packages"
for new clients, purchasing and shipping
gifts, etc. But as she started to feel
a spaciousness in her schedule for the
first time in years, she asked for more
support.
"Susan now manages most of
my business. She takes care of my clients,
takes care of my e-mail, updates my
website, manages my database, does all
my billing, creates financial reports,
places orders, books travel arrangements,
sends client gifts, handles technical
difficulties, formats my workbooks and
training materials, tames my stress
level, cheers me up when I've had a
hard day, and basically takes care of
me so I can do what I do best! Every
dollar I have paid her has come back
to me ten times over - because it allows
me to focus on making money and doing
the best job I can for my clients. She
helped me increase my income and enjoy
my days, and we have had a lot of laughs
along the way!" |
Savvy
Steps: Hitch up your pantyhose and get moving!
Take some time this month
to give serious consideration to hiring
more help for your business. What would
you do differently if you had a capable
professional at your disposal? Keep a notepad
by your computer and start building a list
of everything you'd like to hand off. (Hint:
list anything you do that isn't an attractive
ability.) Go ahead, dare to dream!
The second part of this process is to get
honest with yourself about why you haven't
sought help yet. What fears are holding
you back? Write them down, and take a good,
hard look. As valid as they may be, see
if you can find ways around them. For every
problem, there are many solutions...you
just have to look for them.
Featured
Tools & Resources
 Are
you ready to find more support your business,
but you're not sure about the next steps?
Relax... we have just what you need to find
the right people, get them up to speed,
and experience a new level of success. Building
a Hire Vision: How to Find, Hire and Empower
Exceptional People will answer
all your questions about the hiring process
- even the ones you didn't know you had!
Complete with forms, step-by-step instructions,
and the voice of experience, it's the only
book you'll need.
---------------
Thursday Mastermind
calls
Every Thursday at 8:00am pacific is your
time to get your Sassy and Savvy support,
either through the Savvy Conversation or
the Savvy Mastermind Group. Dial-in#: 712-432-3900
Passcode: 5077473. Make this a regular part
of your professional development. The next
calls are on on Thursday, February 1, 8
and 22.
Savvy
Conversation –February 15
Next
free coaching call on February 15
If you'd like to explore this topic in
more depth, get coached, and experience
the momentum of other like-minded women
who are building support in their lives,
join us on February 15th at 8 AM PST / 11
AM EST for the latest Savvy Conversations
Coaching Call.
In this *fre'e* teleconference, we'll be
exploring the challenges, secrets and shortcuts
to finding and hiring a phenomenal support
person. In this candid discussion, you learn
about some of the most effective ways to
find the right people and integrate them
into your business. We'll
"see" you there!
Watch for more upcoming developments from
the Sassy and Savvy Women! We are building
one amazing community, full of top-notch
resources and high-caliber guidance for
the self-employed woman. And we're burning
the midnight oil to wrap up our book: Sassy
and Savvy Self-Employed Women: The Ultimate
Guide to Leverage Your Business and Love
Your Life. If you'd like to
preview a chapter, click
here!
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