The Sounding Board

I’ve been a little negligent with my Link Love of the Week these last few weeks. What can I say? I’ve been a little busy.

This week’s link love goes out to Gail Richards of AuthorSmart.com. I recently took Gail’s Tame the Publishing Process seminar. It’s specifically tailored for Virtual Assistants who want to help their author (or author hopeful) clients navigate the publishing process.

I took the class for two reasons. First of which is the obvious - I wanted to learn more about the publishing process from a publishing industry veteran so that I could better help my clients who wish to become published authors. The second reason was my own vanity. I’m currently working on my own authoring project & I wanted to learn more about the publishing process for my own work. I wanted to know how to get ISBN and LCCN numbers. I wanted to hear about the various self-publishing options. I wanted a little time to pick the brains of folks who have been in the publishing industry for some years.

I’m happy to say I met both my goals. I picked up a few new tips and tricks for assisting clients with their book aspirations, AND I got alot of my own publishing questions answered. Gail’s staff of experts gave me a plethora of useful resources, information, and contacts in the publishing industry. I can use this stuff both for my clients and for my own project. The experience was definitely worth the expense.

In addition to the Tame the Publishing Process course, Gail has put together several other courses specifically tailored to authors. There are courses that teach about book proposals, writing a nonfiction bestseller, and becoming an independent publisher, just to name a few. You can learn more about the classes Gail’s crew offers here.

Thanks, Gail for putting together such a great class! I really enjoyed it. And I have to admit, I was impressed with the final exam after the course. It wasn’t an easy-schmeasy exam, by any means. Good thing I took notes during class - that’s where I found the majority of my answers.

I am, by no means, a self-built business genius. I have a lot of experience, and some pretty good ideas and understandings, mind you. I’ve learned a great deal over the last 15+ years in the business world, not to mention my continuous college education. (I am now working on my second bachelor’s.) But I’ve never claimed to know it all. That is the purpose of my Link Love of the Week – to shine a little spotlight on the folks who have helped me learn what I need to know, expand the knowledge I already have, or have enlightened me on new ways of doing things in my business.

With that thought in mind, I knew that this week’s link love needed to go out to someone who truly did turn a light on for me in my business. Alicia Forest of Client Abundance did that for me last year. I took her 21 Steps Take Action Group and all I can say is WOW! It’s not so much that she taught me things I didn’t know as she helped me formulate what I already knew into a workable, built-for-me-and-my-own-style plan. She helped me to connect the dots in my own mind so that I could do more with less in my own business. You can buy either the ebook, or do like I did and take the actual course with other business owners struggling with the same kinds of situations. Alicia walks you through, step by step, on how to build an abundance of clients in your business. She uses real thought-provoking concepts to help you bring out what it is that makes you unique & then shows you how to use that to build up your business in such a way that your real ‘you’ shines through & attracts the kind of customers/clients who you truly connect with. She also helped me to see that “done is better than perfect” – something of a mantra she’s fond of reminding her readers & participants of. She’s also got a great ezine you can subscribe to here. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up for Creating Client Abundance.)

Thanks, Alicia! You truly have helped me get a better grip on what it is I want to do and how to go about doing it!

Wow! Did Monday really come and go that quickly yesterday? Somehow, I think I overslept & woke up to a Tuesday rather than a Monday! J

This week’s link love goes out to a special client. She’s been with me since Day 1. She’s my favorite client and a real gem to work with. Not to mention, she’s done a lot to help me brainstorm my own business decisions…even critiquing my new business name choices back in 2006 when I organized my practice as an LLC. She’s a talented professional, but always goes the extra mile to give her own clients 110%. She regularly reminds me that no matter how skilled or professional you are, the most important part of any B2B relationship is STILL the relationship.

We all have boundaries and policies for our businesses. We have to have those to prevent feeling like a doormat. There are things you simply won’t do, or won’t do a certain way. We all have those. They are necessary. However, if you get too rigidly ensconced in your boundaries, you’re liable to push clients away, rather than making it easier to serve them. Micki reminds me on a regular basis that while though it’s important to have and respect boundaries, to be successful you always have to be client-centered, to put your clients’ needs ahead of your own. Boundaries are important, but so is plain old good customer service.

It’s that little reminder to stay down-to-earth and reachable that makes my working relationship with Micki so wonderful. I see how she works with clients. I see that “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” kind of approach to her business that reminds me what it is that works so well with my own business relationships. There are real people behind the businesses I serve, and those people need to feel cared for and supported by the businesses they choose to work with. It’s that personal aspect, that partnership-type relationship that is the basis for a good Virtual Assistance practice…and Micki helps to keep me focused on that approach.

Thanks, Mick…you’re the best, girl!

Micki Silver, owner

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