From the Desk of Janet Barclay

According to Wikipedia, there are nearly 100 "notable" social networking sites, and that number seems to be growing all the time. Many of these sites are popular with high school and college students, but others are specifically designed to facilitate business networking, with two of the more prevalent ones being Ryze.com and LinkedIn.com. According to Victoria Mitchell of Cambridge Who’s Who, one of the newest professional networking sites, "savvy executives and professionals use the power of networking to add to their knowledge base and expand their virtual Rolodex, resulting in professional growth and increased profits." In an ideal world, that would be the case, but how many people actually use these sites to their full advantage?

One problem is that a lot of people join a site after receiving an invitation from a colleague, set up a profile (or not), but don’t really understand the concept, so they never return. Others make an effort to get involved by leaving notes to almost random people to "come and visit my profile" without suggesting any reason that the two might benefit from a connection. I have to admit that although I’ve joined a few of these sites myself, I haven’t really haven’t mastered the art of using them. I can, however, see that the possibilities are incredible.

• Online networking can be done at any time of the day or night - no need to rush out to a meeting or dress up in your best clothes.
• Online networking can be appealing to introverts who may be uncomfortable at large  networking events.
• You can decide whether someone would be a good contact for you more quickly by reading their profile than by engaging in conversation - and instead of finding an excuse to walk away, you simply click off the page.
• You’re not limited to whoever happened to show up at an event or even people in your local area.
• People who live in remote communities can network without travelling to big cities to do so.

I’m sure there are many more!

I was first introduced to social networking by Tracy Lyn Moland, who shared the following tips: 

• Use your business plan to help define what kind of connections you need and what would help you.
• Find networks that you think fit your views and watch them for a few days.
• Go to the site to read messages rather than having them all come to you by email - you’ll never stay on top of them all!
• Visit the pages of other members within your networks and post a comment on their board with about them and their business.
• Make sure you adhere to the rules and guidelines about using signature lines and posting links to your website.
• Make your page easy to read and navigate so that it is easy to find and people know what you do.
• If you’re trying to portray a professional image, don’t post photos of yourself partying.

That’s all for today - see you around the networks!

This month, my motivational calendar shows a lovely view of an island, with the following caption:

CONFIDENCE

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

New business owners who feel intimidated by more experienced entrepreneurs will do well to remember that quote before they head out to networking events. Keep in mind that everyone was new at one time, and although you may not feel you have anything to contribute, this will come with experience.

As an introvert, I never expected networking to become one of my strong points. However, with persistence, along with the support of my friend and colleague Marie Mushing of the Bizepost Network, I find more and more that I’m able to offer information, encouragement, advice, and valuable contacts to the people I meet.

Someone forwarded me an email this week which he’d received from Milana Leshinsky, a very successful coach who recommends the use of VAs so that the coach focuses on what he/she does best. Her income has doubled three years in a row, and says that her biggest secret to coaching success is delegation without hesitation. Because some coaches don’t have that level of confidence in their virtual assistants, she has developed a special training program for VAs who support coaches, called Send Your VA to School.

I’ve been very fortunate to attract clients who support my professional development. Last fall, a certified Strategic Attraction Coach who is one of my clients offered me a spot in his six-week telecourse on using the Law of Attraction in your business. More recently, other clients have invited me to a two-day live conference and a series of teleseminars to be held over three days.

Although a VA is an independent contractor, and not your employee, it may be worth looking for ways that you can help him or her to become even better at what they do - it’s a win-win situation!

Monday was the 5th anniversary of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection (CVAC), and to commemorate the occasion, members were encouraged to get out of their home offices and have a nice, leisurely lunch with other VAs in their area. Although we often network through discussion forums, teleclasses, online chats and even online conferences, we rarely get together with other VAs in person. I have not had the opportunity for several years, when I belonged to the now defunct Southern Ontario Virtual Assistant Network, so I was very happy to organize an event here in Hamilton.

I was a little discouraged when only one person responded to my announcement, but I decided to invite some new VAs that I’d had contact with, and we ended up a group of four. 

It was great to be able to sit down and talk about the various reasons we have for becoming Virtual Assistants, and to see how we’re all at very different places in our lives and our careers. We found it so enjoyable and worthwhile, that we’re planning another luncheon for June 5th!

Another bit of humour submitted by one of my readers - The Worst Cube-Dwelling Offenses.

It’s interesting how many jokes there are about working in offices - yet very little about working from home. Something to look into, in my spare time…