Danielle Guerin

Archive for July, 2010

Hello, my name is Danielle and I am a recovering Yesaholic.

For as long as I can remember, it has been hard for me to say no to work and helping others. Was it fear of rejection, aiming to please no matter how it impacted on the rest of my life? Maybe.

After reading many books, blogs and quite a few hours of coaching, I know now that every time I say yes to more work, more commitments, I’m saying No to other things that are important to me. Enter the guilty feeling and resentment.

It’s not easy but now, every time I’m about to say Yes to a new commitment, volunteer work or work project, I ask myself what I’m saying No to. Sometimes it’s worth saying Yes when it’s in alignment with my values, my mission and my vision.

Remember, there’s nothing wrong with saying “let me think about it”, really think about it and come back with an answer.

I can’t believe I still see this…

As I was searching for some of my French VA colleagues on the Internet, I searched for independent secretaries or other professionals that didn’t call themselves “Virtual Assistants” so I could invite them to join the French VA Network. I almost went in shock when I saw the email addresses some of them had chosen.

Some had addresses like “myhusband’sfullname@internet.com”, others had “childrensnamesmomanddad@internet.com” and there where even some that had nicknames that, at first glance, might suggest some other type of professional. I’m almost certain most of them are not in business anymore. A serious VA client might think twice before asking for a proposal.

Please! There are no more excuses! It’s easy to create an email address with your name, your business name or even your tag line. Most Internet providers offer you more than one email and you can easily set up an email address for free with Google (gmail), Yahoo and Hotmail if budget is an issue or while you decide on a domain name. When I started, I had mon.assistante@sympatico.ca (even if it’s French, most of you understand what it says). It was easy to remember and said who I am.

Hmmm… What if I had chosen an address like DanandMario@internet.com or littlechicky@internet.com ? These addresses are tolerated for very personal stuff or for a teenager. Serious business people know that everything is important in your brand and that includes an email address.

In my strive for Excellence, I also want to have fun. Actually, since 2008 my focus is on making everything Simple, Easy and Fun.

I remember… after spending too many hours trying to create an RFP form for the French VA Network (www.rpsav.com) I started searching within my network for someone to do it. The rates were too high for my budget (zero at the time) so I turned to the Internet for an affordable solution.

The solution I found is Formexperts.com. Wow! Now it was simple, easy and fun! I now use it for my clients as well. For one third of the lowest bid for one form by an expert, I can create an infinite number of forms: contact, request for proposals, registration to an event, membership, etc.

Imagine the possibilities…