Category Archive:
Posted by Paige on August 2, 2011 at 4:19 pm
I recently joined the hundreds of thousands of small businesses and individuals that have received a very nasty settlement letter from the giant image company, Getty Images. If you’ve not received one yet, count yourself very lucky and I hope you never have to deal with the stress it causes.
My story is similar to so many others – a few years ago I created a website where I could post all of the articles I write that don’t belong in the “author” or “home business” category. I bought a template package from what I believed was a reputable company. The package included literally thousands of images, ready to go header graphics, etc. Fast forward two years and I get the 6-page nasty note from the corporate giant, Getty, informing me that on one of the pages, one of the headers included a partial image (mind you, it was barely visible and was one of 7 images in the header graphic) that they claimed to hold the copyright to. For a mere $1,000 dollars I could settle the amount that I owed them for using this image without their permission.
So I went onto their website and looked – the image sells for $17 on there. So where does the other $983 come in? Well, that’s evidently the costs associated with them having to hire companies that do nothing but search the web for images used without permission and now I was liable for part of their costs. Plus penalties and interest and damages and … you get the idea.
I tried to do the right and reasonable thing – I instantly removed the image from the website. I emailed Getty with an apology and a description of the circumstances and asked if we could work out a deal. Their response was the same as the first – it was my fault for not checking that every image that came with the package was not copyrighted by someone else. I responded that I had received thousands of images and that the image they were referring to was a miniscule part of a larger image – how on earth would I have known that belonged to somebody else? And I received the same answer again. And again. Long story short, I paid them – vowing never again to use them or any of their affiliate companies. I instantly closed out my account with Getty Images, along with my accounts at iStockPhoto and JupiterImages.
So why am I writing this blog post? As a warning to every small/home business owner out there and to every virtual assistant who does graphical work for any of their clients – just be aware that this type of thing happens fairly often and that it’s very expensive to deal with. And if it’s your client’s website, they will be receiving the nasty letter because it’s on their website. That’s an easy way to lose a good client. So be sure that you have the appropriate license for any images you use on your (or your client’s) websites!
On a personal note – I’m an author and I understand and support copyright protection. I do not, however, agree with Getty’s procedures, heavy handedness, scare tactics, and refusal to work with small companies / individuals on settling the issue in an amicable manner.
For more information about the Getty letters, here are some links:
http://extortionletterinfo.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Images
http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/copyrightlaws/a/Can-I-Ignore-A-Getty-Settlement-Demand-Letter.htm
Until next time . . .
Write On!
Paige
http://www.paigejackson.com/business
Continue Reading
Posted by Paige on July 20, 2011 at 12:06 pm
In a world where technology changes come and go at the speed of a sonic boom, there is one skill that all others depend on and that never becomes outdated – organizational skills. It is so easy to become distracted, lose focus, and end up in the panicked “fight or flight” mode to achieve a deadline. In order to avoid that feeling of being overwhelmed here are 5 tips to start you down the joyful road to organization.
5 Ways To Get More Done
- Avoid interruption: If possible, leave your phone on voice mail during times you have scheduled to work on projects. If you have a private office, close your door. You might even place a sign saying something like “Hard at Work: Please Come Back Later.” If you are interrupted, help keep the interruption short by remaining task-oriented.
- Schedule time to make phone calls and return e-mail. When you leave a phone message, list times that you will be available by phone. Ask the other party to do the same – it will save you both a lot of time that would otherwise be spent on everyone’s favorite game, phone tag. Also, avoid checking your voice mail and e-mail frequently. Instead, review them at scheduled intervals during the day.
- Plan stress breaks throughout the day. Make sure you give yourself a break! Working to the point of total brain fatigue and muscle tension will never do you any good. Stretch, take some deep breaths, and go out to get your lunch, call your kids – do something to give yourself a little break. If you’d like, you can schedule these breaks as a reward for when you’ve finished a particular chore.
- Appreciate your own approach. Just as we are all different in other ways, we all have diverse organizational styles. Keep in mind that you have gotten where you are today because of whom you are and what you have accomplished. Employ improved organizational skills to enhance your personal style, not change it. Getting organized should make you feel good, not burdened.
- Stick to your plan. The best-laid plans often fall victim to their makers. While spontaneity is important, there is a fine line between it and plain procrastination. Once you’ve come up with a good plan for tackling a task, stay with it. Only you can prevent yourself from wavering.
Believe me, I understand how hard it is to ignore the phone or not leave your email up at all times so that you can see the messages as they come in. Once you finally convince yourself that you aren’t going to lose your clients because you don’t answer them immediately, you’ll discover at least two amazing things. The first is that once your clients get used to the fact that you answer emails or calls at a set time each day throughout the day, they will likely discover that it helps them become more organized as well. In fact most of my clients utilize this same trick in order to keep organized with their business priorities. The second thing you’ll notice is a completely unintended (but wonderful) side effect – not only will you accomplish more work in the day but you will do a better job at it. You will able to focus in on your task at the exclusion of all other distractions and this will make a world of difference in the work you put out.
Until next time . . .
Write On!
Paige
http://www.paigejackson.com/business
Continue Reading
Posted by Paige on July 17, 2011 at 11:53 am
If you’ve already jumped on the virtual assistant (VA) bandwagon, you’ve probably started experiencing the benefits everyone’s been promising – the flexible hours, the convenience of working from home and all that. You feel, though, as if you’re not making enough. There was that one VA who claimed she makes around $60,000 a year providing VA services. Why then are you making far less money than she is?
In case your paycheck is not living up to either your or the statistics’ expectations, read on to find out how you can increase the money you earn from home.
Please the Boss
Alright, so you technically don’t have a boss when you’re a virtual assistant. If you think about it, though, your client is as close to a boss as anybody can get. Your client dictates the terms of your contract. Your client signs your checks and sets your tasks and deadlines.
Thus, if you want to maximize your earnings as a VA, you have to make sure that every single one of your clients – if you have more than one, that is – is happy. To this end, you should pay attention to the small details. Perhaps, you can insert time stamps in transcription files to make looking for certain segments easier. Maybe you can format word documents in such a way that they’d be very easy to read and upload.
The small details are the things that get noticed. For a little extra effort on your part, you could gain leverage when negotiating your rates, your schedule or your workload.
Streamline Your Work Strategy
If it’s true that time is money, then you can maximize your earnings by maximizing (not increasing) the time you’ve allotted for work. This can be done by, say, downloading the next batch of work while you’re working on the current one on the word processor. This will be an extremely helpful strategy if you’re working on a project like transcribing a conference that involves a lot of file transferring.
You can also maximize your time by using the proper equipment. The term ‘proper equipment’ could mean anything from a clipboard to a transcription pedal, depending on what work you’re doing. Analyze how you could save even a few seconds of your time. All of these ‘few seconds’ will add up and allow you to do more work (and consequently earn more money) in the same amount of time. Getting more things done in a shorter time will also please your client because it shows that you’re efficient and committed to your job as a virtual assistant.
Waste as Little Money as Possible
If you are working from home, it’s sure you are already saving money. After all, you’re cutting down on transportation and food expenses. However, there are costs involved in being a VA as well. Costs like fund transfer fees (when your clients send you payments) and costs for consumables like ink and paper could add up to a significant sum.
Try to minimize any wastage of money. Find a payment method that costs the least fund transfer fees. Perhaps you can set up an account with your client’s bank so that there would be no transaction fees involved in money transfers. As for office resources, you just need to be more mindful of how you use them so you can make them last as long as possible.
Admittedly, trying to earn more money from being a virtual assistant requires a lot of time working and planning. The time you spend strategizing, planning and doing value added services is time that could have been spent working and earning. However, you should not look at it as time wasted. Rather, you should consider it to be an investment for the long term. Try the above mentioned steps and you’ll see that you can earn more money while doing the same amount of work or while using the same amount of time.
Until next time …
Write On!
Paige
http://www.paigejackson.com/business
Continue Reading
Posted by Paige on July 16, 2011 at 8:49 am
Dealing With the Small Print
No matter what you do or how you present yourself, there is always someone who just won’t be satisfied with your work. This may not have anything at all to do with what you provide for the client or how you approach the job. It is more likely to have something to do with their misunderstanding of your job description. You want to make sure that you are able to find ways to handle the clients that are harder to please if for no other reason than to protect yourself and your business reputation.
The easiest way to handle clients that are not satisfied with anything you do is make sure that you have expectations detailed and agreed upon in writing and in place from the beginning of the project. There is much to be said for preparing for the worst even though you are expecting the best and it is a professional way to walk into a job. What does that mean? It means being prepared for the client to not be satisfied. Make sure that your contract and statements for the work that you are doing has clauses about what is acceptable and what your terms and policies are relating to the work that you do.
You can also prevent most of the possibilities of dissatisfaction by your clients by making sure that you keep communication open and honest. This means that you will want to begin by having a set of questions for the client to answer about what they need and the details of the job. This also means that you will want to find out any information you can about the type of business they are running. The more you know, the more likely you will be to succeed. Finally it means advising the client up front if there is something they are wanting done that you are not necessarily that skilled at. If you have a client that hires you as a Virtual Assistant but suddenly begins throwing medical transcription at you it is your responsibility to let your client know if that is something you are not familiar with or do not feel qualified to complete. You can always soften the blow by offering to help them find someone to complete those particular tasks.
Of course, if the client is still not satisfied, make sure that you have specific clauses that will draw the line on how much work you will or will not do. Make sure that you get your money’s worth for the services that you provide. A word of caution here – remember that is also as important (if not more so) to make sure the client gets their money’s worth! It is always okay to say that you can longer help someone. After all when all is said and done you are the owner and you will find that there are some times when it is more beneficial just to walk away. Most likely the client will realize later on that it is not necessarily your services that were lacking.
By having set policies in place and making sure that you and your client agree on the scope of your work before you start, you can prevent most of the heartache with hard to deal with clients. If conflict does arise, you are prepared because you already have your agreement in place (and make sure that both parties have signed and dated it). This will allow the clients to understand where the line is drawn. By doing these few simple things, you will have the ability to avoid any confusion or miscommunications from those you are working with.
The last piece of advise I can offer is to never take anything personal – remain professional at all times and understand that business is business, there are some people who will never be happy with anything that anyone produces, and those people are taking time away from you finding another client that you mesh with perfectly!
Here’s to you working for the best boss ever . . . YOU!
Until next time …
Write On!
Paige
http://www.paigejackson.com/business
Note: If you do not have forms already then check out the Resource section of create2sell.com. They have blank sample project agreements, NDAs, and other such forms to get you started.
Continue Reading
Posted by Paige on July 15, 2011 at 7:08 pm
The simple answer to this question is yes . . . and no . . . and maybe. Well, maybe it is not such a simple answer because it is a particularly loaded question. The subject of outsourcing is a very sensitive issue for many. There are some who believe that outsourcing, whether it is overseas or domestic, is taking jobs away from qualified individuals while others who are profiting from outsourcing are firm advocates for the practice. Let’s take a look at outsourcing and examine scenarios when quality is compromised as well as scenarios when quality is not compromised.
What is Outsourcing?
For those who are confused about what outsourcing entails, this section will explain the issue. In its most basic form, outsourcing is employing an individual outside of the work organization to perform specific tasks for monetary compensation. Outsourcing can be done on a per project basis, for a set period of time or on an ongoing basis for an undetermined period of time.
For many the word outsourcing has a very negative connotation. When they think of outsourcing, they picture underage employees in third world countries working for salaries which would be paltry by our standards. However, outsourcing has evolved so much and no longer resembles this stereotype. In fact many outsourcing takes place domestically by savvy entrepreneurs who market their abilities as an independent contractor rather than toiling away in corporate America. These individuals, enjoy their quality of life, negotiate fair compensation for their work and accept or decline work at their own will. Furthermore these individuals are often highly qualified for the positions they accept and are capable of producing work of a high standard.
When Outsourcing Compromises Quality
The simplest answer to this question is quality is compromised when price becomes the sole governing factor in selecting a candidate to complete the outsourced task. Of course this answer is not completely accurate because the truth is there are very educated and skilled employees overseas who are fully capable of completing tasks just as well as those living in this country and often for a much lower price. However, when only domestic candidates are being considered and price is the governing factor, quality is often compromised as it is very rare that the most qualified candidate is also the candidate with the lowest rates.
However, it is very common for an individual or a business to allow price to become more important than quality of work. When this happens quality is often compromised for the sake of a larger profit. An example of this is seen regularly on websites where outsourcing projects are listed and potential applicants submit their bids for these projects. Many who utilize these websites routinely select the lowest bidder without regard for the qualifications of the bidder. In most cases these individuals find they make a costly mistake when the work they receive is inadequate.
When Outsourcing Does Not Compromise Quality
Outsourcing does not always compromise quality. In fact in many cases outsourcing is not only the most affordable option but also provides the most qualified candidates. One way to avoid the pitfalls of having quality compromised by outsourcing is to carefully screen candidates before making a decision. This process should be taken just as seriously as hiring a full time employee because the work of the individual will reflect on you as an individual or your business. If due diligence is given to selecting the right candidate it is not likely that quality will be compromised.
When outsourcing work to an individual it is important to request detailed information regarding their qualifications and to verify all information supplied. Examples of information to request include:
* Previous work history
* Relevant work experiences
* Explanation of qualifications
Additionally, it is wise to ask for both business and personal references. These references should all be contacted and questioned about the work ethic and personal integrity of the individual.
Until next time . . .
Write On!
Paige Jackson
http://www.paigejackson.com/business/
Continue Reading
Posted by Paige on July 14, 2011 at 9:05 am
If you’ll remember a few months ago I posted a blog about mind mapping – trying to figure out what the big deal was. Well a client of mine swears by it and wanted me to start creating mind maps for his company for use in training and coaching. I downloaded a shareware type mind map product and was not impressed at all. In fact I almost dropped the whole idea right then and there.
But then my client asked me to go to the Mindjet website (www.Mindjet.com) and download a free trial of their mapping software. Being the good Virtual Assistant that I am, I went right there and did it. Within 20 minutes I was creating mind maps (it really is just that easy) for my client. Within 2 days I was creating mind maps for my business. Within a week I was hooked! I didn’t even wait for the trial to finish before purchasing the software.
So what is a mind map? It is a very visual rendering of anything and everything – from a daily “To Do” list to a PowerPoint presentation to an organizational chart and even project management. A mind map places information in such a way that your brain understands it faster and retains it longer (okay, that’s my opinion but I’m sure there’s some documented proof somewhere).
You can check activities off as they are completed. You can time/date stamp each entry as well as assign the level of importance for each task. You can attach emails, spreadsheets, documents, and so much more. There is a section for notes where you can put in more detail about the task, notes to yourself, or even notes to others. There is even a project manager add-on (as well as numerous other templates).
So where do I stand now? I strongly encourage any business, especially a home-based or small business, to utilize this software. Their claim is that they can save a person two hours a day and I would have to agree with that – it has certainly proven true for me. Now instead of handwritten notes on a legal pad I just paste my client requests into a mind map which allows me to keep all of the correspondence and documents for a particular task right there in one place.
Until next time . . .
Write On!
Paige Jackson
http://www.paigejackson.com/business/
Continue Reading
