Why Going It Alone Is A Bad Idea
I started my VA business back in January 2006 and one of the things people often ask is ‘what do you owe your success to besides hard work and determination’? Well there’s lots – especially people – that has helped me along the way so that’s why I want to talk about why you shouldn’t go it alone.
Are you the independent type? Do you prefer figuring things out on your own? Will you spend finding your own answers instead of asking questions of someone who could help you get there faster? It’s a nice idea to consider yourself a ‘self made’ woman and it looks great on your bio, right?
If this is you, I have to ask, how is it going so far?
If you’re determined to go it alone you should know that you’re opening yourself up for some bumps in the road. I mean who takes off for a hike and says, ‘Nah, I don’t need a map ‘I’ll figure it out as I go.’? The one who got lost, that’s who. Everyone with common sense bought a map and took the time to study it. Some even hired a guide to lead them through.
If accessing a map and even hiring a guide is such a smart thing to do, why do so many seem to balk at the idea when it comes to learning about internet businesses.
Learning resources on the web are abundant, and lots of it is free. I’ve benefited from it and still do. Still, I can’t imagine if there had been all I had. A lot that I’ve taken in that helped me to succeed came through a resource I paid for.
Just a couple examples are a $50 eBook written by Rosalind Gardner provided the breakthrough I needed to start earning steady affiliate income. Without it, I’d be missing out on a big chunk of my income. Then a $50 coaching session solved a technical problem that had stopped me in my tracks. Without it, I would have been slamming my head into a wall for sure!
While browsing blogs a couple of years ago I stumbled on a woman who seemed to be going out of her way to fly the ‘Don’t Pay For Info’ flag. Repeatedly she blogged about it, ranting about all the free information on the web and telling readers they were a fool if they spend money on ebooks or membership sites.
In between these soap box sermons, her other blog posts related an interesting message. Apparently she’s broke because she complains at length about how she can’t afford groceries one week and a birthday gift the next.
It’s not difficult to realize that she’s against paying for learning because she doesn’t have money to pay for it. Sadly, when I went looking to see how she’s doing today, her blog is gone. I hope her attitude changed since then and that she’s experiencing some success.
Making selective information product purchases is an investment in your business. So is making the decision to join a membership program, if you make a good choice.
I’m not patting myself on the back when I point to the Solo Masterminds membership as a great example of providing more than information for members. Our all female membership which turned seven years old this summer took on a personality and culture of its own right away.
Yes, we’re all about learning but the value added support and encouragement seen between members can’t be manufactured so I don’t claim any responsibility for it.
Profitable partnerships and joint ventures have grown between members and between our coaches and members. Who better to partner with than someone you’ve trained up with?
When going it alone wears you out, why don’t you come be part of Solo Masterminds and start benefiting from our extensive learning center and powerful network of support!
Social Media Time Out
Facebook
Google +
Oh my! And those are just a few of the social media sites. Talk about social media overload!
Last year I had the opportunity to work with a client as her social media manager. One of the first things she complained about when she contacted me was all the time she was wasting with social media marketing. That’s a pretty common complaint but until recently I didn’t really understand just how much time you could waste when it comes to social media. She was spending anywhere from 2-4 hours a day between Facebook, Twitter and Linked In. As I started doing things for her I often found myself wondering how she could spend so much time every day on these sites. Little did I know that I would soon understand.
Side note – I did not do 100% of social media stuff for said client. We followed a 80/20 rule where I could do 80% of the stuff but she had to commit to doing 20% of it. After all it was about her building relationships with her friends/followers and I couldn’t be her and connect with them on a personal level, she had to that herself.
Social Media Time Out
Remember above when I said, little did I know that I would soon understand (in regards to that client spending so much time on social media sites)? Well, unfortunately I get it now. Recently I wanted to know just how much time I was spending being productive wasting on Facebook. I spent a day timing myself and the results weren’t pretty. 30 minutes here, 10 minutes there, 20 minutes here, 5 minutes there…they add up to probably a lot more than you think. I know for me they sure did. I’m sad to admit that I wasted almost 4 hours! Yes, 4 hours! Mind you that was from 10am to midnight but still! That’s ridiculous. And sadly I can’t say that I was even doing anything business related!
So, today (September 1st) I embarked on my month long social media time out! Yep, sometimes even adults need a time out too 
During the next 30 days I plan on focusing on my business! I’m going to put a social media plan into place so that when I do come back on October 1st I have a goal when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Google +, etc.
Do you know how much time you spend on social media sites each day/every week?
If you don’t, I challenge you to time yourself and see how long you’re spending. I don’t necessarily recommend you take a time out, especially if you do a lot of business related things on Twitter, Facebook, etc. But maybe it’s time to measure whether you’re getting an ROI (return on investment) on that time you’re spending with social media sites.
Thanks to You I’m in My New Place!
The response I had to the ‘move to my kiddo’ special was overwhelming! Overwhelming but amazing! I shouldn’t be surprised – I’ve been a part of the work at home community since 2006 and I’ve seen this community come together to help others out so many times. The bond we all share is priceless. So, I should have known that I would get a huge response.
Everything happened so fast! Within a week of putting the crazy special (on my VA services ) out there I had the money needed to move! I actually had the money before I even had a place to move to! I was running into several road blocks finding the ‘perfect’ place – location, size, affordability, etc and was starting to get disheartened and wonder if a move was ever going to happen. Then, I checked Craigslist (which I had been checking regularly but skipped a day because I was seeing the same stuff over & over) and saw a new ad. I called on it, went and saw it and…well the rest is history! (Side note: the ad was just placed that same day I called! The lady’s previous renter had just moved the day before the ad was placed – she hadn’t even had time to clean the apartment!). It seriously couldn’t have worked out any better.
I fell in love with the apartment (even with this hideous ‘holy purple batman’ as I called it living room – thankfully the landlady is really cool and told me I could paint the living room! ) as soon as I saw it. It had everything I was looking for – inexpensive rent, 2 blocks from downtown, 3 blocks from the beach, a built in bookshelf (built into the wall) and a sun-room. Plus, it was in an ‘older’ style home (I just like the older style homes).
Here’s some pics:
Before/After Living Room:
Kitchen Looking Towards the Sun-Room (which happens to be my office!):
Built in Bookshelf:
The bedroom & bathroom pics aren’t all that exciting so I won’t bore you with them Actually, the bathroom is really small and that was sort of a ‘con’ but all the ‘pros’ trumped that & I figured I don’t spend a ton of time in that room, so it being small wasn’t really an issue.
A friend sort of nicknamed it the jelly bean house because all the rooms have different color walls! lol That’s just one of the tacky unique things that I like about it
Today (August 4th) is the 3rd day here. It’s a big adjustment getting used to being back out on my own. But, I’m geeked to be in the same town as my kiddo now – thank YOU for making this possible.
Affiliate Niche Packs Review
Name Of The Product:
Affiliate Niche Packs
Where You Can Buy It:
http://www.tishiasavestime.com/niche-packs
Product Description:
Everything you need to get started in a new niche as an affiliate. With each pack you receive a description of the niche and your ideal target market, recommended affiliate products to promote, a list of 1000+ keywords as well as 100 domain name suggestions and 100 article and blog post ideas.
You also receive an extensive guide on how to get started including 2 different marketing strategies along with daily tasks and check lists.
Who This Product is Intended for:
Anyone who is interested in affiliate marketing or wants to increase affiliate income by going into a new niche.
This course is especially for you if you:
- are new to affiliate marketing and don’t know where and how to get started.
- are a seasoned affiliate marketer who wants to get into a new niche.
- want a step by step action plan for generating a new stream of income.
- want to save time and don’t want to research a new niche yourself.
Uses:
Each Affiliate Niche Pack provides the information and tools get you started in a new niche. Follow the marketing strategies and create content that will attract potential customers.
Pros:
Affiliate Niche Packs are for anyone interested in or currently actively involved in affiliate marketing. It saves you days of research time and helps you stay on track with the action plans and marketing strategies. You can sit down and focus on content creation or hand the package and instructions off to one of your assistants.
Included in the packs is a 50 plus page guide that tells you exactly what to do to get started in a new niche.
The directions are simple and easy to understand.
Cons:
There are several different packs available, but you might not find what you’re looking for.
Probably the biggest con is that the content isn’t written for you. However, there are plenty of article and content ideas included in the pack to help you with ideas on what content to create. Even with the ideas, if you’re still not interested in doing the writing yourself, you’ll find (in the resource section) links to sites where you can purchase relevant content.
50% Off 10 Hours!
Thank you all for your kind words to the email I recently sent. If you didn’t get it, you can read it here. I shared about a huge change I recently went through in my life…and something I’m still trying to adjust to. Because of that change in my life, another big change needs to happen and I’ve set September 1st as the day for that to happen.
I need to come up with a large chunk of change by September – $1500.00 to be exact! After some serious prayer and thinking I came up with a HUGE discount to offer. Honestly, at first I kept telling myself there was no way I could offer this discount. I felt like at this stage of the game I shouldn’t be discounting my services like this. But, it’s a win/win situation! For you because it’s such a large discount on a lot of hours which will help free up your time so you can focus on those tasks you’ve been putting off that need your attention. And for me because it will help put me where I need to be – with my son!
So, what’s the discount?
50% off 10 hours – ($100.00)! Regular price is $200.00
That’s just $10.00 per hour!
This low price will never be offered again! And, it’s only available to 15 people. (as of July 20th I removed the 5 people limit and raised it to 15 – so there are still spots available)
Please note: There’s no need to worry about losing your hours if they aren’t used within 30 days – they just need to be used by the end of the year!
