business goal Archives

Posts

a person pulling medicine cap from a marijuana plant

Cannabis Business: How long has marijuana been used by humans?

December 8, 2020/in Cannabis & Legal Marijuana, MOD Virtual Assistants /by Jeremy

Cannabis Business (or Canna-Bus, get it?). If you’re in the cannabis industry or interested, the stats are in your favor. Inspired by new research that marijuana was used in a temple dating back to 2,700 years … Today, virtual assistants help lead “cannabusiness” to success and outperform competitors.

Since the shelter-in-place orders, cannabis & CBD products sales have only INCREASED. If you need help, or want to explore some ideas, schedule a free Business Strategy Call today.

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

Back to top

Fun Facts – How long have humans used cannabis?

Worshippers at a Jewish temple dating back more than 2,700 years got high on cannabis, according to new research. The researchers wrote, “It seems feasible to suggest that the use of cannabis on the Arad altar had a deliberate psychoactive role.”

2,737 BCE First recorded use of cannabis as medicine by Emperor Shen Neng of China.

23-79 AD Pliny the Elder’s The Natural History mentions hemp rope and marijuana’s analgesic effects.

HOW VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS ARE HELPING CANNABIS BUSINESSES GAIN MARKET SHARE

Virtual Assistants offer INDISPENSABLE help that allows your business to make quicker + more informed decisions.

Your Cannabis Business Virtual Assistant can take on:

As the go-to administrative support assistant
As the default note-taker for all business meetings
Compiling all reports (KPIs, sales, customer demographics, employee performance)
Helping + organizing all managers
All digital marketing, flyers, templates, website maintenance, blogs, & ads
Fulfillment, logistics, & customer service

[Considering a Virtual Assistant?]

Back to top

8 MARIJUANA VIRTUAL ASSISTANT CANDIDATES, NO SWEAT

“We went through at least 8 candidates & interviews”

Tony Trinh’s delivery & consulting business SAVED valuable time by allowing MyOutDesk to help recruit and organize 20-30 minute interviews, recruitment ads, phone screening, interviews, background checks, personality profiles, and final interviews.

Here are the trends: The legal cannabis industry is reported at 78% growth, year by year.

Marijuana retail is an “essential service” in many states (great for prolonged shelter-in-place orders)
Medical & recreational marijuana has inelastic demand (the business is recession-proof)
Weed delivery & CBD retail are in high demand, seeing a 65% percent spike in March 2020 alone.

NOT ONLY CAN A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT HELP YOU, BUT THE ENTIRE CANNABIS BUSINESS TEAM.

“Why didn’t we do this two years earlier?” shares Tony when asked about how much he’s appreciated his MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant. “If you’re thinking about it, just go for it. We paid off in a month.” If you need help, or want to explore some ideas, book a Schedule a free Business Strategy Call today.

Focus on your growth & scale your operations

ENVISIONING OF A NEW REALITY FOR YOUR Legal Marijuana / CBD / Cannabis BUSINESS

Simply put, MyOutDesk equips entrepreneurs & business owners with tools, strategies, and virtual employees – and when combined, businesses have a competitive edge and find growth while efficient systems and processes are put in place.

MyOutDesk proudly provides additional free business growth guides, books, and strategy calls.

See what we are about, and schedule a free consultation with us. We’ll take the time to learn more about your legal marijuana, CBD, or cannabis business and offer solutions to foster top talent and lower operational costs for your company.

Experience The Difference
MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free business strategy consultation & ‘Grow Virtual’ Guide

a cup with hustle on it sitting on a desk

When Sometimes Hustle Just Isn’t Enough

August 3, 2020/in Administrative, Cannabis & Legal Marijuana, e-Commerce, Financial Planning, Franchise, Healthcare, Human Resources, Inside Sales, Insurance, Marketing, Marketing, MOD Virtual Assistants, Mortgage, Property Management, Real Estate, Technology /by Daniel Ramsey

Are you happy? Think about it for a moment: are you really, truly happy in your career? Studies have shown that the human mind finds fulfillment & happiness in doing tasks that are useful, so it’s likely that you get an emotional reward from your work – otherwise, you would have changed careers long ago.

Still, before that first cup of coffee, do you come in filled with excitement about the day ahead, or do you have trepidation about a pile of unsolved problems that you have to tackle while simultaneously pushing your business forward?

Maybe the problem isn’t you or your job – it’s that you’ve missed a critical off-ramp to the world of hustle. You’re still stuck in the fast lane pushing as hard & fast as you can, despite the fact that the more successful you become the harder you have to push just to keep pace with all of the demands.

What did you miss? In a word: help. Schedule your ‘Grow Virtual’ Business Strategy Session today to find it.

When you’ve got a tiny business, you can wear all the hats, do all the jobs, and keep all the profits. Even on a small scale, it’s a lot of work, but at least you can keep up with things. Then, as your business starts to grow, the demands increase. More customers, more prospects, more demands on your time – more hustle.

As a business owner, you’re like a frog in the pot of water – it’s easy to miss the slowly increasing heat as it comes to boil until you’ve reached a point where you’re waking up early & staying up late just to stay on top of things. You never would have taken a job working for somebody else doing this kind of work, but for some reason, you torture yourself with it because it gives you freedom.

Freedom? We need to redefine the term, because you’re definitely not free and able to determine your own course in life if you spend all day, every day running just to keep up. Perhaps we could say that “creating your own trap is better than being bait in somebody else’s” – but that’s still a dark, pessimistic view of things, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

As your business grows, you need to add team members to handle the busywork that you no longer have time for. Your job is to be a leader, provide vision & inspiration, and handle key tasks that nobody else can manage – and maybe even sip the occasional Pina Colada on the beach of a tropical resort along the way.

The way that you get from here to there is by hiring staff to handle the hustle for you – which is exactly what MyOutDesk does for thousands of clients across the United States. We provide higher-quality staffing with prices 70% less than you’d pay for in-house staff, with the flexibility you need to handle any type of assistance required. Schedule your ‘Grow Virtual’ Business Strategy Session today to find out more!

MyOutDesk can save you up to 70% on employment costs
Claim a free strategy consultation & downloads

logan lyles the b2b show podcast with myoutdesk

B2B Podcasting: Launch one to distinguish YOUR business from the rest | with MyOutDesk Virtual Assitants & Sweet Fish Media Logan Lyles

June 5, 2020/in Accelerator, Cannabis & Legal Marijuana, Financial Planning, Healthcare, Human Resources, Insurance, Marketing, MOD Virtual Assistants, Mortgage, Podcast, Property Management, Real Estate, Technology, Webinars /by Jeremy

Producing a B2B podcast helps to establish your business as a leading source of expertise in your market, driving up your brand and credibility.

Right now, you have the ability to start a podcast and stand out from the crowd. Every business is looking to differentiate themselves from their competitors…and a B2B podcast is a perfect way to do that. If you want to launch a high-quality podcast, but need to protect your valued time … you can launch your podcast and upgrade your online presence with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant

Top talent Virtual Assistants bring you a huge return on investment.
Claim a free ‘Grow Virtual’ business strategy consultation today!

Why is it important?

Podcasting is exploding right now, and Sweet Fish Media has done B2B podcasting for over half a decade.

Today we talk to Logan Lyles at Sweet Fish Media, a podcast agency for B2B brands. Drawing on his background as a trained journalist and more than 10 years in the B2B sales & marketing space, Logan co-hosts a top-ranked podcast according to Forbes. Sweet Fish Media has launched over 100 podcast programs, totaling over 1,600 episodes! Their flagship podcast is the only B2B podcast to broadcast 7 days a week.

Check out these resources we mentioned during the episode:

Podcasting for Business: A 26-Step Process
To get a copy of the Go Remote Guide, Text MOD to 31196.
Text Logan at (719) 657-7119 with your questions.

The podcast is very top of the funnel. It’s brand awareness. Launch & scale your business today with a MyOutDesk Marketing Virtual Assistant.

Don’t lift a finger, have Virtual Assistants launch your New Podcast Episodes!

Content Marketing with a Virtual Assistant — Everyone is doing it!

The secret business strategy that sets social media moguls apart is … leveraging virtual assistants (in many cases, more than one). Virtual assistants work for you full-time at up to 70% less cost than a traditional employee. Here’s what it takes to out-compete competitors.

If you do the math, you can get UP TO 3 full-time virtual assistants for the price of one traditional assistant! Save time for more important things by hiring a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant.

Top talent Virtual Assistants bring you a huge return on investment.
Claim a free ‘Grow Virtual’ business strategy consultation today!

verne scaling up your business with myoutdesk

The 5 (Practical) Cs for Leading in a Crisis/Downturn

March 16, 2020/in Administrative, Inside Sales, Marketing, MOD Virtual Assistants /by Tim

True leadership is invaluable in a time of crisis – but being a leader doesn’t automatically mean you know always what to do. To help, we wanted to share with you some valuable words of wisdom from Verne Harnish – and as you read through these, keep in mind that the first point is the most important. Do the rest in whatever order makes sense.

Communicate Daily

Send out a DAILY communication – email, 2-minute video, voice message – to all of your employees. You must over-communicate during a time like this. And it can be brief – a few sentences or 90-seconds is all that’s needed. If you think you need to communicate more than this, you won’t do it, and that’s worse than doing nothing at all.

Your team wants to know that you’re at the helm of the ship (or flying the plane – pick your favorite analogy) – and that you’re working and acting. The key is to stick to the facts – no time for rants, theories, or using phrases like “I bet you’re feeling…” – this isn’t a time for guessing. Present what is happening, don’t sugarcoat, but balance one negative with several positives over the next several days and weeks.

And if you have a negative to share, mention it first in the communication – then note what is being done to address it. Doing this, according to Robert Cialdini, the godfather of influence, makes you more believable and trustworthy.

Communicate something NOW and send it out – don’t give it too much angst – just do it! Your team will be thankful.

Customer/Community Support

There is a tendency to turn inward when something like this happens – but consider “how might we support our customers and community.” Gather teams of employees to brainstorm, then act. The key is giving, giving, giving with no expectation of return. Your customers will remember this when all of this clears up – and it will clear up!

Research shows that one way to combat depression, sadness, etc. is to help someone else.

Clean Up and Catch Up

Organizations have been running hard for years during this decade+ of unprecedented global expansion. Use this slowdown to clean up and catch up. Download Paul Akers’ book Banish Sloppiness – https://paulakers.net/books/banish-sloppiness (it’s free), and then focus on the handful of processes that drive the customer and employee experience and improve them.

It’s time for spring cleaning all aspects of the business. A key focus is on how to make things easier – for customers and employees. When Gene Browne did this at his trash hauling business, The City Bin Co., with a theme of “Bin It,” he was able to strip out about 25% of needless activities and costs, making everyone’s jobs easier and saving money.

Cash, Cash, Cash

Related to “clean up” is a specific focus on the cash side of the business. Review all monthly recurring expenses (I found we were paying for two CRMs!) and eliminate redundancies. And involve your entire employee base in finding ways to save money. Again, when Gene Browne focused on cash for

one quarter, his team of 60 found €40,000/month savings, which netted the firm almost a half-million for the year.

In the US, pursue an SBA Loan. There is a simplified program where you can get a $350,000 10-year loan within four weeks and with the Feds dropping the rate to zero, these loans should be sub 6% with no pre-payment penalties. I’m pursuing one for Scaling Up as a precaution.

Calm and Considerate

At Tony Robbins’ “Date with Destiny” experience, I adopted a new mantra – to approach everything in a “Peaceful, Playful, Passionate” way. It’s been helpful, especially during this crisis. You set the tone for the entire organization.

To help stay calm, breathe! I remember my son Cameron (12 at the time) getting stuck inside the magician’s box while performing the famous Metamorphosis illusion. He told me later, having escaped in time, that he started to panic and then remembered to take a couple of deep breaths and a solution came to him. Years later, when he was quarterbacking his Catalan team to a city and then country championship, his team was down 28 – 7 at halftime. I remember watching him during the second half take several deep breaths as he was readying the team to execute a play.

Right now take a few deep breaths – and give thanks for being able to take those breaths. Namaste and good luck.

Kick Off Spring With These Brand New Green Building Trends

March 11, 2020/in MOD Virtual Assistants /by Abby

With global warming awareness and green movements becoming more of an actual issue that many people are taking action on, residential green building movements are no longer for the hippie-dippy granola heads but a more mainstream demand. From coast to coast, many new developments are going green. While we love what green buildings are going to mean to the polar bears, real estate agents can get lost or confused in a sea of new amenities and features that buyers may be looking for. While the green movement may not be a “thing’ in your area just yet, it is important to keep yourself updated on these innovations so you can remain an expert or at the very least know when the inevitable millennial comes in and makes inquiries about it.

Stay on top of things, regardless of fads and trends that may come around, with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant. Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find out how!

Here are some things you may want to keep yourself informed about when it comes to green buildings:

App-based Energy-efficient Technologies

Our smartphones have taken over so many aspects of our lives, and with other gadgets and software like Alexa to augment that experience, it is only a matter of time before every single one of us use them to control our home thermostats or lighting as well, in fact, many homeowners are already beginning to do this already. According to developers, many of them have seen a rise in specifications for these kinds of features in new or re-furbished constructions. Voice activation allows for more intuitive integration and use.

Green or Living Roofs

A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. Container gardens on roofs, where plants are maintained in pots, are not generally considered to be true green roofs, although this is debated. Rooftop ponds are another form of the green roof which are used to treat greywater. Vegetation, soil, drainage layer, root barrier, and irrigation system constitute green roof. Green roofs serve several purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, increasing benevolence and decreasing the stress of the people around the roof by providing a more aesthetically pleasing landscape, and helping to lower urban air temperatures and mitigate the heat island effect.

IAQ Devices

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) devices, installed in home heating and air conditioning systems, not only provides a healthier indoor air environment by eliminating germs, dust particles, mold, odors, mildew, and bacteria that can cause illness, but are also eco-friendly since they reduce home emissions and improve the value of a house by reducing monthly energy electric/gas costs, in some cases, as much as 25 percent.

LEED Certification

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods that aims to help to building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently. LEED certification is granted by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which handles the third-party verification of a project’s compliance with the LEED requirements. The certification process for design teams is made up of two consecutive applications: one including design credits, and one including construction credits. All of the LEED credits in each rating system are assigned to either the design application or the construction application. The design credits include those that are the purview of the architect and the engineer and are documented in the official construction drawings. The construction credits include those that are predominantly under the purview of the contractor and are documented during the construction and commissioning of the building.

Energy Modeling

Energy modeling or energy system modeling is the process of building computer models of energy systems in order to analyze them. Such models often employ scenario analysis to investigate different assumptions about the technical and economic conditions at play. Outputs may include the system feasibility, greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative financial costs, natural resource use, and energy efficiency of the system under investigation. In a building, this system can be extremely important to its being and staying “green”. This impacts a building’s energy consumption because, already in the planning stage, smart decisions can be made in terms of lighting, airflow, and more.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling

What could be better than harnessing the power of the earth itself? Especially when it comes to powering an entire residential building? Geothermal energy is a great resource that has been used for heating and cooling for ages but is now slowly and steadily making its way to the US as green-conscious developers and consumers are consciously asking for such options. Boston MA, for example, has seen a rise in usage and planned implementations not just for residential buildings but commercial and other city structures as well. Tenants will save on energy costs and will benefit from an environmentally friendly system that heats and cools using the same mechanisms.

Have you seen other green building systems and technology that we didn’t mention? What are your thoughts on green buildings and their future implications? Stay on top of things, regardless of fads and trends that may come around, with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant. Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find out how!

Sometimes Hustle Just Isn’t Enough

February 19, 2020/in MOD Virtual Assistants, Real Estate /by Daniel Ramsey

What did you miss? In a word: help. Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find it.

As your business grows, you need to add team members to handle the busy work that you no longer have time for. Your job is to be a leader, provide vision & inspiration, and handle key tasks that nobody else can manage – and maybe even sip the occasional Pina Colada on the beach of a tropical resort along the way.

The way that you get from here to there is by hiring staff to handle the hustle for you – which is exactly what MyOutDesk does for thousands of clients across the United States. We provide higher-quality staffing with prices 60% less than you’d pay for in-house staff, with the flexibility you need to handle any type of assistance required. Schedule your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find out more!

a happy virtual assistant working remotely

How to Build Amazing Work Culture For Your Virtual Team!

February 19, 2020/in MOD Virtual Assistants /by Abby

Experts say that now more than ever, workplace culture will be a top priority for many seeking employment. For many people, it takes just as much priority as wages and benefits. Your work culture is essential to building your business into what you aspire for it to be! This is because you need people who are on the same page as you and can see your goals and take it and run with them as their own. Building a work culture for a virtual team can be a little more challenging. The lack of propinquity can make it tricky to create that one-ness needed to succeed.

Enhance your work culture with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant! Book a consultation with us today to find out how.

“Culture” has become a sort of buzzword among workplaces in recent years. You just have to look at popular Silicon Valley companies to see this played out. Team culture has become synonymous with things like catered lunches and break room games. However, work culture is more than break rooms, pantries, and team outings. While those can be fun and are great for much-needed breaks, there is so much more to it than that. Culture is about how we work, how we communicate with customers and each other, and how we incorporate company values into what we do.

Virtual teams need a bit more work than those in a traditional office space. Since everyone in a virtual team is remote, it is easy for each member of the team to function as an individual unit and while this may be true physically, it is not the case. The importance of positive workplace culture has been repeatedly highlighted in the research. Culture is linked to employee productivity, mindset, engagement, and empowerment. Getting your virtual team to that space is extremely essential.

It Starts With Leadership: your style of leadership is the glue that will hold your team together. Since your team is virtual, it’s not like you can visit them at their desk or look over their shoulder. What you need to work on is empowering your team to be independent whilst working as a cohesive unit. You need to allow them to take ownership of their role and still encourage and foster a spirit of one goal and big picture realities.

Create a good virtual environment: the environment you foster will be the driving force behind your work culture as a virtual team. Creating trust and rapport between team members is a core factor that you need to encourage. You can begin by expressing this trust and then exercising that by not micromanaging, keeping expectations clear but also allowing them to do what they will, given these parameters. Make it clear that a win for one is a win for all but also acknowledge these individual wins.

Communication is key: How you communicate is extremely important, especially with a virtual team. The bottom line is that you need to set up effective communication channels and processes and use them. Find ways to have interactions beyond simply the work but allow your team to have a chance to get to know each other personally as well. Balance interactions mixing both business and fun.

Make it personal: when you make it personal, this means that you are fostering honesty and accountability thus boosting your work culture. Allowing your team to feel comfortable with being honest and to be accountable for their actions, good and bad, brings about a sense of loyalty that will also drive your team to work harder together.

Building a positive work culture for your virtual team is not impossible. Remote individuals physically apart can turn into emotional distance and discord in your team. By being a strong leader and laying down the groundwork to avoid that, you can have a successful team and a strong work culture too.

How to Find & Close Qualified, Motivated Real Estate Leads!

January 29, 2020/in MOD Virtual Assistants, Real Estate /by Abby

Finding leads is easy – there are tons of platforms out there promising leads galore with low, low monthly pricing. The question is whether those leads are worth buying – and feedback from agents typically is that those channels are oversaturated & filled with unmotivated tire kickers that make them a waste of time & money.

What you need is motivated, qualified leads that you know will close fast – and finding these is a whole other ball game. Learning how to find well-qualified clients is only half the picture here. Plenty of agents can get their phone to ring, but only experienced agents can keep their phone ringing consistently.

Find and close your qualified leads with the support of a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant! Schedule a Double My Business strategy session today to find out how.

Here are some strategies to find and close your qualified leads:

Never Forget to Follow-up

Follow-up is where the money is. The key to knowing your market is listening to their needs and wants as buyers/sellers and connecting them. Statistics show that most salespeople stop following up after only trying twice, so persistent follow-up is essential. Keep in mind that you are selling high-ticket items, so to speak. It will take time for many people to be ready to bite the bullet and make the big move. Following up to check-in is over half the battle. Create a systematized follow-up strategy and make sure you are tracking the progress of all your follow-ups.

Purchase QUALITY leads

In the past, we have discussed if buying leads is a worthy use of your resources. This is quite a polarizing subject, and you will hear opinions towards yay or nay across the board. However, being wise about purchasing leads can bring you a lot of good business. Look for a company that sells quality information and be picky about your purchase. Do your research and find lists that experienced lead companies procure. Purchasing willy-nilly will surely be a waste of your time and money. Keep in mind, Close even one of them, and you’re already in the black. Close two or three, and you’re getting a 200%+ return on investment (ROI) from your spend.

Bank on Referrals

We’ve shared numerous statistics about how amazing referrals can be for your business. TL;DR: Referrals are good. When you nurture relationships with your clients, you are investing in repeat business and referrals. If they love you, they will recommend you and send more business over. By far, referrals are more effective than any marketing strategy. Referrals will always get you higher closing rates than cold leads.

Share Insider Information With Your Audience

When you share a listing online, please don’t stick to the readily available facts they can find on any other website. Instead, share some insider knowledge. For example, does the home have an interesting history? Is there a secret nook or room? Did the aunt of someone famous live here for a period of time? Using little insider information drops like this can build trust because you are adding value through information.

Brand Plus Customer

A rising trend called marketing is a strategy where you are less brand-centric and more customer-centric when you market on different platforms. While your brand is still important, your main objective will be to ensure that your message speaks to your target demographic for each platform you use. The importance of the consumer experience is higher now than ever. This is because generation Z currently holds a lot of buying power, and so do millennials, each attracted to different types of messages. Keep this in mind when creating your marketing strategies, and as you adapt, you will find more quality leads that turn into more conversions for you.

Conclusion

These are just some of the strategies you can deploy to find higher-quality leads and actually convert them. But, whether you decide to utilize one or all of them, one thing is for sure. You need a strong team behind you to be successful. A MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant can be part of that team that takes you there. Book your Double My Business Strategy Session today!

wanda smith and daniel ramsey video thumbnail

Wanda Smith: My Business is Up 322%

January 29, 2020/in Real Estate, Testimonials /by David

myoutdesk virtual assistant hands crumpling a paper into a ball

When Virtual Assistant Mistakes Lead To Success

January 29, 2020/in MOD Virtual Assistants /by Abby

So, you’ve spent all this time creating the perfect business process. You hand it over to your Virtual Assistant (VA), walk them through it a few times and completely hand it off…. Then, all of a sudden, BOOM, they make a mistake. Maybe you’ll look into it, walk them through it a few more times, and then it never happens again. But then, what if it does? These scenarios can be frustrating and can lead to you thinking, “maybe a VA isn’t a good fit for my business” or “maybe I need to replace my VA.”

Before you act on these thoughts, you may want to consider that this might actually lead to more success for your business. This strong and detrimental belief has been a stumbling block to many clients and has led them to let the tools of scalable business success and real entrepreneurial freedom slip from their grasp. Letting go of a VA because of a mistake may be a drastic measure, especially since the situation can be a learning opportunity.

Boost your business and find more success with a MyOutDesk Virtual Assistant! Book your Double My Business Strategy Session today to find out more.

Yes, you read that right. Mistakes that your VA makes could lead to success for you and your business. We’ve been around for 11 years, and through all the feedback and stories we’ve had from over 2000 clients, we have deciphered one thing, if you shift your perspective and take a good hard look, mistakes by your VA could expose holes and problems in your processes.

First, keep in mind that it is not your fault or your team’s. For example, sometimes processes can look really good on paper or make complete and logical sense in the planning but can fall short in the execution. It may not be foolproof when used in different scenarios, etc.

Now, we aren’t simply making excuses for our fabulous Virtual Professionals. There are times when a mistake is a mistake, so you have to assess the situation, sometimes it can even be clear as day, but sometimes, their mistakes expose a chink in the armor, so to speak. They reveal a step in the process that could need tweaking or fixing, thus improving your processes and subsequently boosting your business.

One of our clients shared a story where their Virtual Assistant helped improve one of their processes. Our client, a realtor, was late in presenting a proposal to one of his potential clients. In this scenario, they saw that it was not exactly a mistake on their VA’s part but instead revealed a huge flaw in the process they had in place. After this happened (our client was unable to close the deal), their Virtual Assistant suggested and implemented changes to the process, and this incident never happened again.

One fundamental step in seeing the potential for success within a mistake is letting go of frustration and fear and, again, shifting your perspective from ‘who made a mistake’ to ‘why they make a mistake.’ Remember that any process needs adjustments and re-writes, and these need to happen before it is truly fool-proof, and the best way to find out is by testing it and looking at the mistakes like leaks in the dam, so you know what areas need restructuring or patching.

Once you and your team attain a full grasp of the mistakes and how they were made in the first place, proceed with what you can learn from them instead of pointing fingers and focusing on the mistake alone. First, asses the why and then figure out how to improve. You can even create a process around navigating through them and making them a part of your business process improvement exercises to avoid the same errors in the future. As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It takes time and trial and error to figure out best practices, and mistakes should be seen as little gifts that present themselves to you to help build your way to success.