What is the difference between an office and a home office

More and more do I get convinced that although there are advantages to being a business owner rather than an employee, the world doesn't really change.

In my home office I am completely reliant on my internet networking skills. Through the net I get in touch with many people in many different environments.
Just like I when I used to have colleagues. I met a few this week in a virtual meeting. And I meet them on forums.

And just like when I used to have colleagues, some of them are great and some of them just simply annoying. People you need and people you really don't need. People who know what they're talking about and people who just don't have a clue. The coffee lady has been replaced by the fun website which brings a little light entertainment during the day. The boss has been replaced by the client. The IT department hasn't been replaced at all, just different people.

The other thing I find is that I need my regular breaks. I need to have structure, very similar to when I was in the office. Work from 09.00-12.00, have a short break, work form 12.30-15.00, have lunch.

So what is the difference between an office and a home office: not much really. And that's an eye opener for me.

Fact checking and how the internet can fool you..................

Generally, whenever we said "it must be true, I read it in the newspaper" or "I heard it on the television" is now easily replaced by "I read it on the internet".

So, when we were in Seville yesterday - lovely city where we met with a friend - we went in search of the Apple store. We had read about it on the internet and even seen a picture. It was supposed to be near the Cathedral which was exctly where we met our friend.

Completely against my normal way of working, we had not written down the address. It wasn't necessary, we had seen it on the internet. We walked around and around, being pointed in this direction and that. Consulted the TomTom, but not an Apple store in sight.

When we got home later that evening (we did enjoy Seville for a while longer, since the weather was so beautiful), we looked it up again and found our page: Apple store in Seville **

So, just like when hearing it on the television or reading it in the newspaper, fact check whatever you read on the Internet.

                          Oiseau by Karel Appel
                              

** For those not speaking Spanish, the page says: My creation to show how nice an Apple Store would look in Seville.

Dealing with a difficult client

I thought it might be a nice idea to share some of the knowledge which has helped me reach the top of my profession. It's about dealing with a difficult client.
I asked around and it seems that people most often want to know how to deal with an unreasonable or difficult boss - and I have had some. As a Virtual Assistant I no longer have a boss. I have clients. Same difference.

My advice and my experience is:
The customer/boss is always right. Affirmative noises immediately create an atmosphere where agression is no longer necessary and the customer feels heard.
Create a relationship where you are equal to the one you serve. That relationship starts long before the client acts unreasonable or difficult. Right from the beginning establish yourself as a grown-up, as a person in your own right and as an individual who knows what she's talking about.
Listen. Listen. Listen. You might actually learn something. Be open to input.
Count to 10 before you answer (silence is powerful) and do not contradict, it will only make things worse.
Take ownership of the issue. Show that you care and that you want to do better.

Do all this whilst keeping your integrity intact. Show that you have values, put yourself at the same level as your client and you will be able to hold a real conversation about the issues. You will be able to resolve issues and work with a difficult client.

I pad

When I left my job to move to Spain and become a so-called Virtual Assistant, my boss gave me an Ipad as a farewell present. 
I hadn't wanted any farewells or farewell presents and had made that very clear. He insisted on giving me something and had thought this through carefully. They weren't for sale yet  in The Netherlands at the time and he went through a lot of trouble to get me one.

In the beginning I hardly used it. I downloaded ebooks and PDF documents that I read on my Ipad. My 3 year old nephew used it a lot to play games and look at Cars videos. At one point he was better at using it than I was.

But now, I've seen the light. I'm using it every day. To read my email, to Twitter, to LinkIn, to read the valuable courses which aid me very much in my work - they will be the subject of a later post. And I can do that without being bound to the house. Weather is still lovely here, so we are outside a lot.

In short, I love my Ipad and we are inseperable. My nephew still gets to use it around lunchtime, but for the rest it's mine. I've bought a lovely pink leather holder and carry it with me everywhere.

So, really, this is to thank my boss for such a thoughtful gift and to let others know that although it's a bit bulky and there is room for improvement, it's a very useful tool for a virtual assistant.

Surfing

We live close to Tarifa which is surfer's heaven. The whole town (small as it is) is about surfing. I wanted to take up surfing by decided I'm just too old, have no sense of balance and and a wetsuit just doesn't look good on me either.

What I do do is surf the web. When I worked in an office we were never really allowed to surf the internet, only the intranet. For work purposes of course it was necessary, but even sites that were useful were barred. Now I find that surfing the web is taking up a big chunck of my day and that it is really useful for my work. It's so liberating that I can do whatever I please because I'm my own boss. Here are some of the websites I like and visit every day.

http://www.workingnaked.com/
http://www.noded.biz/
http://www.virtualassistantforums.com/
http://mashable.com/
http://jezebel.com/

Out with the Old, In with the New

You will have noticed that most of my blog posts indicate that I struggle with new technologies and draw upon old technologies to help me. Indeed, I am old.

Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook are old to many, new to me. The challenge is to interpret the new media in a way that they work for me. This is most often a combination of the two. Find a new job via findvirtual.com, but speak to the client via phone or skype (also quite a new medium). Twitter with people in my new area, but the tweets concern things like the weather.

A good example of in out with the old and in with the new gone nearly wrong is my new haircolour. I always trusted my hairdresser. Since moving to a new country I haven't found a new hairdresser yet and decided to try dying it myself. Not exactly the result I wanted. But I'll live and am getting used to my new image. I leave you with it below.

Communication, Communication, Communication

As I said in my previous blog post, things are going really well for me. I have clients who give me a lot of work, 2 of them people I don't know personally and who have a different lifestyle. When one takes up a new task, the most important thing is understanding the task. 

In the Virtual Assistant world it is not unusual to communicate only via email. Communications in writing is not new, rather it used to be the main means of communications. But it most often was accompanied by face-to-face contact. A king looking for a new bride would perhaps not make the track to another country by himself, but he did send his aides to have a look.
Since computers, email and texting, written communications have changed. They have become faster and shorter. And with it the habit of thinking before writing has become faster and shorter.

This happened to me too with the 2 clients I mention above. It took a bit of emailing, misunderstanding on my part and frustration on their part before I decided to do the old fashioned thing and communicated face-to-face, that is via Skype. Face to face contact certainly makes it a lot easier to communicate. Facial expression, tone of voice - all these things get lost in email communications.

I have heard other VAs speaking about "intake" forms or "get to know" forms. I have not done that until now, sticking only to the business basic. The experiences I mention above have taught me that I have to invest more time in getting to know the client, and I will.