I thought it was a really nice gesture to host a party for the freelancers they have. How many companies actually do that? And next year, now that I know a few people, it will be easier. Oh, and though I didn’t place in the Olympics, I did get a company shirt and a cup full of candy… Nice!

I responded that yesterday was just a value-add to the editing we’re doing for him, and I certainly would have told him beforehand if I was going to charge my consulting fee, but if the consulting got more in-depth and he needed a lot of my time, we would address it at that time.

My fellow VAs—don’t you just want to clone clients that pay immediately, are EAGER to compensate you for any “extra” time (I don’t bill hourly for most editing projects), and are just so darn easy to work with?? I’m fortunate that he is not the only client I consider myself lucky to have!

I’m just glad one of us has a career that enables us to know what’s going on with the family, lol.

Speaking of which, I’m off to the school to take the boys to meet their teachers. I’m sure I sound like a broken record (for those of you old enough to know what that is!) but I love being a virtual assistant. You just can’t beat the work/life balance it offers.

I’ve only done one PowerPoint presentation. Since it was for the IVAA summit and my topic was about continuing education, I did it myself. My next one will be for Infinity Publishing’s Express Yourself Authors’ Conference late next month. I will be speaking at the Writers’ Day program. Hope you can join me.

Once upon a time…so begins most fairy tales. Yet not all real-life tales end with the “happily ever after.� Some people spend their whole lives chasing that elusive fairy tale ending. Others take the quest to a different level; trying to find a substitute or in some way duplicate the person which, at some point in their life, they’ve identified as the perfect lover and/or soulmate. A few do track down the lost object of their desire, while others settle for a look-alike or feel-alike while they try to rekindle a never-forgotten romance. If you or someone you know has walked up and down memory lane in search of such a happy ending (regardless of the conclusion), I would like to hear from you. My name is Maria Grazia Swan and I’m an author collecting material for a non-fiction book. Send your stories to swan3@mindspring.com

Here’s my 2 cents: When you answer the phone or read an email from one of these occasional clients, do you smile or groan? If you still don’t mind doing the actual task required, can easily fit it into your schedule, and you get some other value from these relationships (perhaps they refer you business, have given you a great testimonial, allowed you to use them as a reference or you just plain enjoy servicing them) then I would keep them.

If you resent hearing from them, dislike the actual work you have to do for them, or find they’re keeping you from pursuing the work and clients you’d really like to have, then you could consider subbing out the work or just referring them to another VA.

My clients can remain “inactive� for a long time and I expect that. But then again, I’m working mostly with authors on a project basis and they may go a year (or five!) without needing me. I have “resigned� from clients over the years as my business has changed and they no longer fit into my preferred business model. I would do this even before I “could� financially. But I also think this opens up space (physical and mental) to pursue the clients/projects you really want.

Thanks Katie, for inviting me to join in your conversation. Comments are welcome. What do YOU do with long-term, low-value clients??

My goals are to increase awareness of the VA industry among the public and the media, grow membership of the premier VA organization, and expand educational opportunities to members.

If you’re an IVAA member, don’t forget to read the nominees applications and vote accordingly!

I couldn’t help going back to my own first IVAA conference. I had just joined IVAA the month before, and on a whim, decided to attend the conference in Chicago in 2004. I flew alone and stayed in a room by myself (too scared at the prospect of an unknown roommate). I walked into a room full of strangers at the cocktail party and literally had too much anxiety to go up to someone and say hi. I seemed paralyzed by fear. Looking back on it, it seems silly because now I feel perfectly comfortable walking into a room full of VAs because we already have something in common. Or a room full of writers, editors, publicists, etc.

Barbie’s testimony really struck a chord with me. It is about facing your fears. If I hadn’t gone to that conference two and a half years ago, would I have gone on to do speaking engagements, serve on a Board of Directors, and write and promote another book?

Barbie said her net profits increased 60% following the conference. I made a contact at the Houston conference in 2005, that referred a client to me that earned me over $11,000 in the span of 10 months. Now I’m not a math person, but that’s a good ROI.

If any of you VAs are on the fence about whether or not to attend the conference, please look at the bigger picture of what it will do for your business a year from now. You won’t be sorry!

I have a couple of items to share: 1) I am now the Managing Editor of IVAACast, the International Virtual Assistants Association’s online magazine. It has a circulation of 4,000 and hasn’t been published in a while, so the “first” issue (again) will go out next month. I have a great staff and I’m looking forward to resuming this fine publication.

On a related note, I’m about to throw my router out the window. For some reason, it will not let me access the ivaa site. This is a problem (see paragraph above). Since I have to check IVAA for email, etc., I need to be on that site. My poor husband has been troubleshooting for about a week trying to figure out what’s going on. He was on the phone with Linksys last night for at least an hour and still can’t figure out a solution. But if I plug my laptop directly into my cable connection, it works. Then, however, I lose my Vonage phone line. Technology is great when it works!!

Right now I’m editing a really great book, and I have 3 more lined up after this one. I can’t think of a better career.

Next week I travel to Manchester, CT, to the Manchester Community College to give a presentation based on my book, Entrepreneurial Freedom. The staff up there has been incredibly helpful and kind and I’m looking forward to it.

At the end of the month, I’m giving a presentation during one of Myron Golden’s workshops on the bookwriting process. Those are always fun and Myron is one of the most positive people I’ve ever met.

And it wouldn’t be the month of March without my older son’s birthday. He’ll be 7. That’s hard to believe.

In April, I’ll be going to the IVAA summit in San Francisco, and giving a presentation on Continuing Education–Investing in Your Own Mind! And in researching flights, I’m really wishing there were direct flights from Harrisburg, PA to San Francisco, but I don’t see that happening in my lifetime!!

Happy Spring everyone!
Lauren