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Is Your Team Ready for a Project Management System?

If your organizations team members routinely work on projects that involve multiple users, components, stakeholders and resources, chances are you would benefit a great deal by implementing a Project Management system. Project Management software can be used in a number of ways but primarily they support planning, tracking, scheduling, communications and documentation of projects from start to completion.

Businesses, consulting firms, non-profits and other organizations operate much more efficiently with the right Project Management system in place. They all need a way to manage all the moving parts of a project. In the past, many decision makers hesitated to use these systems believing them to be too big and expensive. In many cases they were right. Early PM systems were big and robust and were designed for big operations. But today there are many options with systems that are ideal for and actually built for smaller groups and projects. They are easy to use and inexpensive which are often key factors in deciding to use PM systems. There are even free systems that do a great job helping to manage projects from end to end.

Think of your Project Management system as a hub for:

Organization
- Store all project related information in one place where it can be accessed and viewed by all team members
- Have visual timelines so you know what’s been completed, by whom, and what tasks are outstanding
Communication
- Maintain clear lines of communication with managers, team members, clients, etc.
- Provide a means for clients and team members to discuss progress, report issues and make requests
Planning
- Delegate tasks to the appropriate employees
- Determine what time, resources and personnel are needed for specific tasks
- Make sure deadlines are being met and potential delays avoided

Monitoring and tracking your Project Management system is probably not the most effective use of your time. Your Virtual Assistant can do this for you making sure things are running smoothly. Your VA can make sure team members have the resources they need, input new project information, keep you updated on project status, monitor individual team members progress and step in and provide support wherever it’s needed. Your Virtual Assistant becomes the Project Manager allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. Project Management systems are one of the great tools that VAs use to support their clients.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS) a full service VA firm. Contact Becky today at becky@virtualadminservices.com for a free 20 minute Discovery Session

By Becky Gregory

Biz to Biz Bartering

Recently, I found myself in a situation with a potential client where we went from talking dollars and cents to discussing exchanging our services in a way that would ultimately be a win-win for both of us. He runs a business networking group and has a substantial membership list of business owners and professionals in the Washington, DC Metro area. He also had a substantial list of administrative work which he needed help with. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the budget for a V.A. On the other hand, I wanted access to his membership list. I believed it had the potential to be a great source for new business. We began to talk about how we could help each other.

This was not the first time I had bartered my V.A. services. In this case we determined that I would provide some of the admin support he needed and in exchange he would grant me access to his prominent list of members, invite me to do a business presentation at their next meeting and give me a free membership!

Bartering Virtual Assistant services is like bartering for anything else. According to SBDCNet (Small Business Development Center Network):

Small Businesses exchange almost every imaginable product or service like medical services,media services, landscaping, clothing, food, real estate, legal services, toys, cruises, cars, hotels, etc.

The advantages of bartering are:
- You receive goods or services you need without paying cash.
- You get new customers from the company you bartered with as they will continue to buy from you for cash, if they are pleased with your offering and service. This satisfaction generates the most effective form of advertising: word of mouth – which will get you new customers.

Consider bartering the next time you need something but don’t have the necessary cash on hand. See if the person who has the product or service you need is willing to make an exchange for yours. Here are a few tips to help you set up your barter arrangement.

Decide what you need and what you are willing to accept in return. Be very clear and detailed.
Identify a realistic trading partner. Take a fresh look at existing business clients and vendors and determine if there’s something worth exchanging.
Make sure you get everything in writing up front – and be specific. Develop a contract just as you would for a paying client and include time limitations.
Keep records for your accountant. Remember, bartering is considered income! While you may be able to write off expenses you incur during the barter, you must claim the fair market value of the services you provided as income.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS) www.virtualadminservices.com

By Becky Gregory

Business Survival in Tough Economic Times

I really don’t want to use that worn out cliché ‘in these tough economic times’ but… in these tough economic times it’s not enough to say to a client or potential client “these are my prices – period!” I believe we should be willing to offer some flexibility.

Think about it- and I’m going to be perfectly honest here – I’m a Virtual Assistant and a lot of my clients are small business owners, independent professionals, entrepreneurs and consultants. Solo flyers if you will. Folks who may not have a big operating budget in the first place and now, like everyone else, they’re dealing with this economic crunch. They have to cut back wherever they can. They still need my services and I still need their business so I have had to be creative and imaginative when my clients have been forced to tighten their fiscal belts. What that client was able to afford a year or so ago he/she may not be able to afford today. So instead of possibly losing that client altogether by rigidly sticking to a price or fee they simply cannot manage right now, I’ve had to come up with some inventive ways to help keep us both happy and in business until things start to turn around.

Here are a few ways I’ve demonstrated flexibility with my clients:

Temporarily reduce rates
Run monthly specials
Offer new, more affordable packages
Implement meaningful referral bonuses

If I have a client who has been with me for a while and I want them to be around when things get better, I have to be flexible. I know it will come back to me – it always does. I’m not really concerned about that. When the client’s business picks up so will mine and we’ll return to our normal fee schedules. It will all balance out.

Sometimes, in life and in business you have to meet people where they are.

I’ve spoken with and read articles by others in my field who are adamant about maintaining their standard fee’s no matter what! It’s as though that fee scale is part of their identity and integrity as professionals. And that’s ok, if that’s how they choose to operate. Everyone should be and should want to be paid for what he or she is worth and I’m no different. What I’m saying is ‘in these tough economic times’ (there’s that phrase again) perhaps we should be willing to offer our clients some options that might make it easier for them to maintain our services and continue a professional relationship that both sides can benefit from.

Becky Gregory is an Executive Virtual Assistant and the owner of Virtual Administrative Services (VAS)