From the Desk of Janet Barclay

I don’t know if this is another sign of spring, but there sure are a lot of conferences going on!

Last week was the IVAA 7th Annual Summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, and this coming weekend is the Forum on Virtual Assistance in Toronto. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit either of them into my plans for this year, but I am looking forward to the 3rd Annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC), which is taking place from May 15 to 17.

For the first time this year, the OIVAC will include three "Meet the VA Industry" sessions, which business owners, or anyone interested in exploring the potential of working with a VA, are welcome to attend. These sessions are being held at the following times:

• Thursday, May 15th at 1:00 PM EDT
• Friday, May 16th at 8:30 AM EDT
• Friday, May 16th at 3:00 PM EDT

The exhibitor booths and many of the regular seminars will also be of interest to entrepreneurs from outside the VA industry. In addition, there are opportunities for you to participate as an exhibitor or sponsor, and market your services to both new and established virtual assistants from all over the world. I hope to "see" you there!

I haven’t made an official announcement here on my blog, but over the last few months my husband Scott has been working with me at Organized Assistant. It’s a perfect fit for him, since he has Microsoft Office Specialist certification in five programs and is naturally organized.

Most people, when I tell them the news, think it’s a wonderful set-up, but others express concern, saying that they could never work with their spouses. The thing is, Scott and I actually met in the workplace and worked together at another organization for several years, so we’re well aware of the potential problems – and the benefits.

We’re not prone to arguing, which seems to be what most people are worried about. Maybe because we’re so close, we’re more apt to say what’s on our minds if we’re annoyed or upset about something than we would with others. Then it’s out in the open and we can move on, instead of keeping negative feelings bottled up inside, leading to more serious problems. One of the things I really like about working with Scott is that we know about and are interested in each others’ work, so we don’t have to be polite and pretend we can relate to certain issues that we really don’t understand.

I’ve done a little research on the subject, and it seems that the majority of experts agree that any potential drawbacks are outweighed by the advantages. For example, in her article Marriage Advice From Couples Who Work Together, Beth Levine talks about being able to spend more time together, sharing a passion, and being aware of each others’ strengths and weaknesses. In The Rules of Engagement, Fast Company’s Linda Tischler credits a woman who works with her spouse with saying "Knowing your best interest is in the forefront of every decision being made without you is really comforting." And in Working couples in small business, Philip M. van Auken indicates that working together may enhance a couple’s sense of intimacy. I’m not disputing that there are challenges, and each of the articles mentioned suggests strategies to deal with those.

Knowing that we are not alone in this, I set up a Facebook group for Couples Who Work Together and was amazed to discover that nearly 10% of the people in my existing network work with their spouse, girlfriend, or boyfriend, in either a traditional workplace or home-based business. If you’re in this situation, I hope you’ll join the group – we would love to hear about your experiences! Of course, you are always welcome to post your comments here on the blog.

Crocusses and snowdrops are lovely, but they really just hint at spring. To me, it’s not spring until the daffodils come up and you can comfortably go outside without a bulky winter coat – and I think we’re there!

It really felt like spring this morning, because I resumed my early morning walks with my friend and colleague Marie Mushing.

In addition, tomorrow is Earth Day, so there are all kinds of outdoor activities planned in the community, such as tree plantings and walks for charity. Speaking of Earth Day, the Earth Day edition of The Organized Assistant Resource will be going out tomorrow, so be sure to watch for it in your Inbox! Not a subscriber? Better click on over to my website and sign up today!

This is officially Organize Your Files Week, but don’t worry if you haven’t started yet – it’s never too late to get organized!

If you’ve been holding back because you don’t know where to start, why not check out Neat & Simple Essential Paper Organizing Systems? For only $6.95, this downloadable guide will help you to create a system that’s just right for you!

Click here to view more details.

Not much of a reader? Perhaps you would prefer my upcoming Paper Management teleseminar!

As small business owners, blogs, Facebook, and LinkedIn are just a few of the many tools available to help us to develop our online presence and expand our networks, and since any one of these activities can consume several hours a week, it’s important to make sure that we are using our time wisely.

For this reason, I’ve developed a survey to find out what online activities are most effective, and I’m asking you to respond. It will only take a few minutes, and all answers are completely confidential. To thank you for your participation, I will be sharing some of the results here on my blog.

Please click here to take the survey.