My VA Diary

Date: 23-06-2017

Time: 12:47pm

It has been an awesome couple of weeks. I learned and unlearned many things, like the basics of running a business, how to handle a "NO" from prospects and a lot more than you can imagine. Some of these stung me in ways I could not have imagined but it has made me a better person and business woman. One thing I have learned is a "NO" from a prospect is not an outright rejection. It usually not about you as a person. You either have to accept the rejection , retreat and mope around for a few days or weeks or you accept it, draw your lessons from the experience and come up stronger. A failure is one who quits. 

I have had a great time working with several entrepreneurs. The truth is anyone who is an entrepreneur or business owner is an extremely brave person in my books. Running a business is no small feat, you have to deal with a lot no matter the size of your business.  These are a zillion and one things to learn daily, everything is evolving, what was in yesterday is out today. It is a whole load of hustle and I am enjoying it. This means I am growing, I am no longer in my comfort zone, I am breaking through barriers mentally, physically and hopefully financially(Amen to that).

Working as a Virtual Assistant is fun, the most fun part for me is understanding my clients goals (business and personal) and helping them meet those goals. It helps build the client-consultant relationship and trust is no longer an issue as the client is encouraged to commit more into my able hands. Some issues are still of concern to me though and I am going to address them. Hopefully, this will help someone out there. 

🌟 Dear Entrepreneur,  I understand that your business is your baby. Your  VA is not out to steal your baby( I am speaking for myself). Many people are unwilling to let go of the reins of some aspects of their businesses and this frustrates the VA . Please learn to let go. Imagine you have car troubles, you pick up your phone to call your mechanic. Your mechanic shows up and you shut your bonnet, lock up the car and hide the keys 😀😀. That sounds crazy right? That's exactly how it is when you hire a VA to run your schedule, plan your meetings or even manage your business  and you refuse to share salient information with your VA. Your setting up yourself for a fall. 

🌟 🌟 Your VA is not the enemy. Kindly inform your staff before you hire a VA, explain to them the duties of the VA and ensure the VA is given maximum cooperation. I have had to work with employees who feel threatened (no, I am not gunning for your job. I run my own business. Thank you!) or just totally ignore me. I need information from you to attend to what your employer needs and I think it is very immature and unnecessary to tell on someone not doing their job as they are supposed to. I leave it to the employer to find out except it is something that will threaten the business then I morally obligated to speak up. 

🌟 🌟 🌟 I call, text send emails constantly at the beginning of a business relationship because I want to ensure that I have all the information I need and after this, you do not hear from me except there is a need for it. Communication is important, very important. Dear Entrepreneur, when I insist on you telling me your preferred communication channel ,please don't skip the question and complain when I send you emails when you would prefer a phone call. Merçi !

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 My fingers are hurting so I will stop here an save the rest for my next diary entry. Having a system is important for every business, documenting your processes is vital for your business. Onboarding your VA is less tasking for you and the VA. It also makes it easy to run your business even in your absence. You cam focus on more important aspects of your business and even go on a long holiday when your VA has a proper understanding of your operations. 

I intend to have a great weekend and I hope you do too. 

XOXO 💙💚💛💜

How Hustling Only Makes You Tired, Not Rich

A good evening to you 🙋

Please read below an excerpt of an article by Janne Robinson(Writer and Blogger). 

I attempted to paraphrase the article but decided to use the original content  as it captures essentially how a Virtual Assistant can help your business. I will put up a link to the original article which I believe you would love to read as there are a lot of lessons for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Read and Learn! 

You Cannot Afford To Not Have An Assistant.

I jumped on a call with a lawyer 6 months ago and when I asked him how his day was he replied, “To be honest, I just started my own practice recently and today I spent 2 hours trying to teach myself how to use this invoicing service. It was frustrating.”

“Lets say for a moment you make $500 USD an hour. My assistant costs me $27 dollars an hour. She could set up your invoicing system in less than an hour, and then it would take her 5 minutes to send an invoice for you. While she does that you could have worked with clients for two hours and made $1000 USD. You would make over $975 USD today by hiring somebody to help you do the things you could teach yourself how to do, but don’t need to do.

The first week I hired my assistant to help me with my emails and work, I went on a day trip to a surf break in California and surfed for 3 hours and took a nap.

She gave me back 10 hours of my life in that week, and the week after, and my invoice at the end of the month was $337 CAD.

Of course You Can Teach Yourself, Just Hire Somebody.

An artist and friend of mine one said, “Janne, there are mine fields that you will hit as an entrepreneur. And you can either walk across and get blown up or you can hire somebody who knows how to walk across and not get blown up.”

I know so many people who try to teach themselves how to build their own websites.

It takes them eons (weeks or months), and they get discouraged and procrastinate.

My first basic template website cost me $100 USD and it was done in 48 hours.

Hiring people to do the things you suck at, or don’t know how to do is a strength, not a weakness.

Stop teaching yourself how to do everything—use your time, energy and creativity to do the things you love and are strong at.

Source Continue reading here

This basically emphasizes the benefits of outsourcing some aspects of your business. It may seem like an unnecessary expense but it helps build your business and gives it a defined structure. 

You can call me for further enquiries on +2349072703020 or send an email to aabenquiries@gmail.com. I would love to hear/read from you and also add value to your business. 

Rising Star 🌟 🌟

A very good afternoon to all of you 😊😊

Another Saturday, Another Rising Star!

One thing I have learned from the Uplevel Book (fantastic book I must add)  is restlessness is not always a bad thing, it is usually a sign that you should take that extra step, make a change or do something differently.

This is exactly what I experienced today. I was ready to post on our Rising star for today but I felt a stirring in me. I decided to hold off on publishing the post. I continued reading up stuff online while still very restless in my spirit till i stumbled upon this very long but interesting and educative article. I am enthralled by this because I can relate with the transition from paid employment to running a business and i can assure you that this will further encourage someone out there who thinks his/her passion cannot become a profitable business.

For me, my passion was helping people get things done, personal and official. Your phone is acting up? I will be there to fix it. You need a document typed/proofread?, I was a super girl to the rescue. You need information on anything/anyone?, I was a walking encyclopedia.  I remember confiding in a friend 8 years ago,telling him about my dream of becoming a Personal Assistant, he thought I was crazy but here I am today, a Virtual Personal and Executive Assistant. It took me a while to get here and I am glad I took the step. Others have done it, you can do better. There will be difficulty along the way but in my opinion ,no success story is valid without challenges and bad breaks.

"Working from your comfort zone produces good results, working outside of your comfort zone produces great results"-Anon

Do read with an open mind and learn a lesson or two 💕💕



HOW I STARTED MY CATERING BUSINESS  – OGHOR PROMISE

My name is Promise Oghor, I’m from Delta state. I studied Mathematics/ Economics at the University of Benin and graduated in 2001. By the grace of God, I’m the CEO/Chef at Boundless PICK Ltd. We offer professional catering services for all outdoor/indoor events and occasions of all sizes and shapes.

STARTING A CATERING BUSINESS…

After my graduation, I got a job with a bank and was posted to Awka, in 2005. I worked till November 2010 when I resigned as a cash officer. I resigned because my wife and I worked in the same bank. One of us had to resign so I chose to leave because I’m the more skilled person, I like to work with my hands. It would be easier for me to start up something…

WHY WAS IT A PROBLEM WORKING IN THE SAME BANK WITH YOUR WIFE?

It is the bank policy that a couple cannot be in the same bank to mitigate fraud, though we were in different departments. For malicious people, it would be very easy, and even tempting, to rob/defraud the bank. So you understand how that could be a problem. I left the banking job in 2010 and opened my catering business.

WHY CATERING? WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO GO INTO THE CATERING BUSINESS?

I love cooking. I just love it. It is one passion I have. That was why it was easy for me to decide on becoming a caterer.  Cooking is something I do for fun. Even when I was with the bank or in school, I used to invite my friends over to my house and I would cook for them. That was even how I wooed some girls back then (laughs). It’s a part of me. I cooked my own food while I was in school because it was cheaper, richer and more delicious. I would tell my mom sometimes to leave the kitchen and I would cook for the house. It’s a passion.

HOW I STARTED MY CATERING BUSINESS 

When I left the bank, like every Nigerian, I had so many things in my mind I wanted to do. One of the first options I had at the time was MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) but it was not sustainable. Let’s tell ourselves the truth a lot of things are not sustainable in Nigeria, and I talked to myself and said I cannot be helping somebody else make money. A lot of people would say it’s a plan B but that was not a plan B for me because over time, you get jaded – you get fed up when the money is not coming. When your down-liners don’t perform, what do you do?

Again, I love fashion. There were so many things I would love to do if I knew how to sew. I went to a lot of fashion designers here and told them I wanted to learn. They were like: you? Learn? I said, ”yes, I want to learn. Forget about my appearance and style and everything, I want to learn how to sew” You know the problem with most Nigerians is we are too proud to do a lot of things. My salary at the bank then was good but I was willing to set aside everything and learn. That was my mindset at the time. Problem was, none of them wanted to teach me.

There had to be something I could do without spending an insane amount of money and that was why I started a catering business. My passion for cooking just made it easier and more fun. Catering funds itself. You want me to cook for you, you give me money and I cook. I didn’t need millions to start. My wife was shy at first (laughs) because she felt I should start big. However, I believe in little beginnings. She has been very supportive since she saw the prospect in food business.

HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT AT FIRST AND WHAT WERE SOME CHALLENGES YOU FACED?

The first job I got was from a friend of mine. He was skeptical at first but I said, “Give me a try…try me.” So he gave me the job and I executed it perfectly. I cooked rice. He gave ukwa (bread fruit) and bitterleaf soup to someone else because he was afraid I couldn’t do it. Funny enough, when people ate the rice and asked who cooked it, he said I was the one who did everything (laughs) because it was amazing. I started telling people gradually, child dedication, birthdays, and that was how my business kicked off.

I lost a lot of jobs because of experience and uncertain market factors. I experimented a lot. For instance, I did a job once and the bag of rice I bought didn’t turn out nice. So I lost that job. There were lots of challenges but I was never daunted. I kept moving.

THERE ARE LOTS OF CATERING BUSINESSES AROUND. WHAT SETS YOUR APART FROM THE REST?

One of the things I work on, which we don’t do often in Nigeria is this: everybody cooks, some people cook better than I do, frankly. What a lot of caterers lack is timeliness and service. Those are the key areas I work on seriously.

Timeliness in the sense that my clients don’t get to the venue before me. It never happens. I don’t like it when people call me on the phone to know where I am. If you tell me 12, I want to be there 11. I never disappoint my clients because of time.

Service in the sense that we don’t rush. We don’t serve people food with dirty or oily plates and say people are rushing. We don’t rush. We must take our time and clean the plates. Even if heaven is falling on top of earth, we serve people with dignity. We dignify service. You are not serving dogs. But in Nigeria, most people don’t care. They eat anything and say it doesn’t matter. It matters a lot to me. When I get to a venue, I dictate the pace of my service. I tell my clients these things. I take time to explain to them and they are happier after the events.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THE WOMAN SHOULD BE THE COOK. DO YOU AGREE? AND HOW DO YOU BALANCE YOUR ROLES AS A HUSBAND, FATHER AND CATERER?

The idea that a woman’s place is in the kitchen is just the mentality of our fathers, the world has evolved very much. If you watch food channels, most of the cooks are men. If you go to big restaurants, men are chefs. You’ll only see a few women. Even before I traveled, I used to cook to for my wife. Why can’t I cook for my wife? Till tomorrow, sometimes I make lunch, package it and send to my wife in her office. It spices up our marriage like nothing I’ve ever seen. We are too rigid as a people in Nigeria. A lot of people hold on to some outdated tradition and that is why we find it difficult to move forward. Till today, my mom still asks me: I hope you cook for your wife? She knows I do it willingly. Those things make marriage very interesting. I’m very proud of what I do and I do it with so much zest. I don’t care who is looking at me.

On balancing the home front, my jobs gives me enough time to spend with my family. Sometimes I have hectic weekends but other times, I have enough time. So it’s not a problem. I enjoy it. I have an understanding with my wife and she’s beginning to appreciate it. She assists when she has the time to do so and we have a great time together. It has been wonderful having a supportive wife and I appreciate her for it. We understand each other. I don’t see cooking for her as anything. Even while we were still dating, I used to cook for her. It’s just fun.

LOOKING BACK FROM WHERE YOU STARTED, HOW MUCH HAVE YOU GROWN?

My growth has been steady. I’m not rushing a lot of things. I went for a culinary course in South Africa and returned last year. I’m yet to decide which aspect of catering I want to settle on – the food part or the pastry part. I love pastry. In school, I had beautiful times in my pastry classes. I like the smell of baked food coming out of the oven. But one of the problems I have is that baking equipment are very expensive. My idea of a kitchen is way beyond what we are used to in Nigeria. It’s difficult introducing the concept I would like in Nigeria. But my growth so far has been steady and God has been faithful.

WHAT ARE THE HABITS YOU HAVE THAT PROPEL YOU TO SUCCESS?

I see myself as someone who does not know anything. I love to learn more. Nobody knows it all. You can only try but someone knows better than you do. I like to learn from people. I’m very teachable when it comes to things like that.

I’m very passionate about cooking. Without passion, you can’t succeed at anything. A lot of eateries have closed down because there was no passion. People think of catering as very lucrative so everyone runs into catering – mechanic, battery charger, everybody. In the end they close down. Catering is very lucrative, but you need passion to sustain your drive. It’s not about the money, it’s about the passion. It’s not that Nigerians don’t start businesses. It’s that most of them have no passion and want to make millions the next day. It doesn’t work like that. There’s a process.

WHAT ATTITUDE OR MENTALITY SHOULD ANYONE WHO WISHES TO START A SUCCESSFUL CATERING BUSINESS HAVE?

The person must have a can-do spirit
The person must have passion. Money will come but passion is first. Food markets itself. The primary, most important thing is passion.
Fear God. You need to trust God that he can make you succeed. I have the God factor in everything I do.
Don’t be too proud. Humility is very important
Always be willing to learn new things. I’m always on the internet looking for new recipes that I can tweak to suit Nigeria taste and style of cooking.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. The beginning might be scary but continue to give it your best shot.

CONSIDERING THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE OF THE COUNTRY, IS THIS A GOOD TIME TO START A BUSINESS IN NIGERIA?

There is no better time to start a business in Nigeria than now. Nigeria will be better but everyone has to be at their best. Most countries that are doing well are based on skilled labor and SMEs (small and medium enterprises). White collar jobs alone don’t make a country rich. When majority of the populace is gainfully empowered to do their own business, the country prospers.

Nobody wants to start small and be patient. We all want to ”arrive” at the same time. If you traveled oversea you will see a lot of Nigerians doing menial jobs they would never do back at home even if they are paid more than what they earn overseas, because of pride. Nigerians need to be up and doing. Shun pride and get yourself busy. Lagos is taking shape now because you see new business sprouting up at every nooks and crannies and that is the way for our country to go.

There are so many businesses to do. People must feed, people must wear clothes, people must live in houses, people must drink water, people must wash their cars, etc. Learn a particular skill and get yourself engaged. The economic situation right now is favorable for people with skills and not white-collar jobs.

There are opportunities lying everywhere in Nigeria. That is why you see foreigners come and invest here because business opportunities are plenty. When you use the power of numbers, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll make. Instead of owning a place which would need a lot of capital to start and making 2k from one person, own a small restaurant and make 200 from 10 people. Your chances increase geometrically.

FINALLY, PLEASE TELL US HOW TO START A LUCRATIVE CATERING BUSINESS IN NIGERIA AND SOME TIPS THAT INCREASE CHANCES OF SUCCESS

You must have passion. Don’t go into it because you think it’s the easiest way out.

Get materials. Get on the internet and read. Some people might not teach you because of the attitude of Nigerians. Some people might come to learn from you and after learning they just zoom off when they are supposed to work with you for a while and offer value. You see the same person replicating your recipe and you can’t sue them.

Buy cooking utensils you can afford and rent those you cannot. Put back your profit from every job you do into your business till you must have gotten all the equipment you need to execute your jobs.

Start small, look for family and friends and start with them. Don’t accept a job for 300 people when you haven’t catered for 20 people unless you want to contract it out to another caterer.

Always try to create more value. Look for things you can add, extras. It creates value for people and you’ll get more businesses from there.

There is one thing that works for me. Appreciate people. Pay your workers well. If you want the best out of people, treat them well. In Nigeria we use people and we don’t appreciate them. Learn to appreciate people, both your customers and people who work for you. I pay people based on what they do for me. I look forward to the time I start paying per hour. It would make people work hard and earn their pay. Also, keep a cheerful disposition. Smile. Be cheerful.

Always keep your word and don’t settle for less. If a customer orders 50 plates of food, I don’t make 49 because only 49 people showed up. I make 50 because that is what the customer paid me for. Don’t cut corners just to make more profits. We do a lot of things here because we think customers don’t have their rights. Customers have rights.

Accept only what you can handle. If I have a job and another job comes, I tell the second person: I have a job. I don’t accept two jobs at the same time and in the end, disappoint the 2 of them. Let your word be your bond. You’ll go much farther. If you can handle only 5, don’t start with 10. Food business is largely marketed by referrals.

Always be time conscious.

Allow yourself to grow. While you bring in workers, don’t relax like a boss. If you are not a part of your business, your business will collapse. Till today, I still cook my foods. Even if I have a large number of workers, I will still get very much involved with the cooking process to make sure things are done the right way.

                                      Promise Oghor

Promise can be contacted via email
promoforlife@gmail.com.

Source
Source

Book Review- 6 years to becoming, my Uplevel story

Hey, 

Remember my post on this here

Well, I have had the opportunity to receive and read an advance copy of the book, and also review it. I know this sounds cliche but trust me, this book is going to change your life. It has changed mine and the good news is....... drum roll.......the book is available for sale. 

Allow me to share with you feedback received from other readers and my humble self. 

Nigerian A-list actor ,Mona Lisa Chinda Coker         endorsing the Uplevel book.

There will be a workshop on the 25th of March, 2017 where some successful women in business will be sharing their Uplevel stories. It promises to be an awesome experience.See picture below for details, go to the website www.talealimi.com/uplevelworkshop or follow the hashtag on facebook #uplevelbook for more details.

The review is still ongoing and I promise to share with you the review of subsequent chapters but why wait when you can get your own copy now!?!!

Click here to order for your own e-book for just 2,000 Naira only. The download link will be sent to you immediately after payment. 

A little about the author, 'Tale Alimi

Tale Alimi is the Lead coach and CEO of Tale Alimi Global. She is a foremost entrepreneurial thought leader, business growth expert, business coach and strategist. 

She is on a mission to raise a new generation of value conscious entrepreneurs that would bring about change and transformation. She guides business owners to up-level their businesses and revenues so they can uplevel their lives. She has over 13 years corporate experience in Technology, consulting and telecommunications where she built and managed some high performing business development and sales teams. She has a first degree in Accounting, an MBA from the Prestigious Lagos business school and a Certificate in personal coaching from The Coaching Academy UK.

‘Tale provides transformational knowledge through her business programs, products and coaching that enable people to start and create authentically successful businesses.She has trained and spoken to over 5,000 business owners in the last 5 years. ‘Tale is a regular contributor  in Bella Naija, Genevieve, Spreadmedia, Connect Nigeria and Salestar Africa websites. She used to host The Entrepreneurs Journey an interview radio show showcasing inspiring entrepreneurs on WFM 91.7. She is also a TEEP(Tony Elumelu Enterprise program) Mentor. 

Her mission is to guide aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs in Africa to create businesses they can enjoy and that adds value to the economy.

Rising star 🌟🌟🌠🌠

Hey guys,

Hope the weekend is going on great?!

I am so glad this series is becoming a success, according to my stats and feedback received. I'm extremely grateful to all who view, even though you do not drop comments. A comment or two wouldn't hurt you know?! Thanks anyways!

Our rising star this week is Renu Yadav.She is an Solopreneur whose goal is to make you look good even on a tight budget.

If you are a lover of all things bright and beautiful, this is for you! I am not a jewelry lover myself but a few of these pieces give me life!

It won't be presumptuous of me to call them statement pieces as they are guaranteed to give a little oomph to your outfit whatever the occasion.

I hope you fall in love with these beautiful pieces and holla at Renu asap.

                                       Earrings

                            Neckpieces and 3-in-1 sets

        

                            Rings, Bracelets and others

Renu Yadav

There you have it.. 

They are very affordable and can be delivered to your doorstep on demand.. 

For further enquiries, you may reach Renu on 📲 /whatsapp 07014098312 or send her an 📧 shekhar.renu@gmail.com or drop a comment below and I will get back to you asap. 

Last word 😁😁😁

Do have a good one 💜💟💙💟