How do you combat loneliness in your business?

Hi guys,
It's been quite a while since I've blogged and I wanted to come back to my blog with a fresh idea, something which may not have been blogged about much in the past.

We virtual workers have a different set up to the office worker in many ways in that we don't have a knock off time, we don't commute, and we don't have many coworkers - some of us may miss the social aspet that an office affords. How do you combat the loneliness that working by yourself might bring about?

There are several ways we can do this:
1) We can sign up with groups such as TAVASA

2) We can build up a network of contacts on Skype and other instant messaging services.
3) We can become involved in community activities.

It's this third that I want to talk about in more detail, as the first two have been blogged about extensively, and it's the second that I've more recently become involved in.

Getting involved in community activities has numerous benefits - it leads to making numerous friends and thereby reducing the loneliness, particularly when you end up involved in activities such as teaparties, walks and community garden planting initiatives. An added benefit is networking - you get to know what others in your area, and others get to know what you are doing. Although making money is not my primary objective of community assistance, through being involved with the I Love Kensington Association I have obtained two clients and also been able to assist a Virtual Assistant who also wants to start up in the business. We have been able to accomplish some pretty amazing things, too - see pic of the community garden we planted. My life was pretty full before, with kids and work - now it's full to the brim and I'm finding I also have a bit of a social life - the loneliness factor does not intrude much now.

Have a good week, guys!

Virtual was rough this week

It's been rather an interesting week. Last week, my son had bronchitis and I made the mistake of mentioning to a friend of mine, who accompanies me and other members of our suburb on a regular walk through our suburb (click for more information) that by this week, my whole family should be healthy enough to attend.

After jinxing myself like that, of course, I caught bronchitis within the next two days.

The single worst part of working from home is that there is no sick leave - soldier on is what you do, so I did, with a course of penicillin as my army mate. But Tuesday night I hit rock bottom with raging fever and dizzy spells to go along with the sore throat. Luckily, I felt better by Wednesday morning and was able to get most of what I had to do done, but not without refusing point blank to take on any work for that evening and in so doing, upsetting one of my customers (being virtual, we also can't prove show very effectively that we're ill, and he is one of the customers who does not allow me to outsource).

Thursday I was back to chugging speed, and today, up to about 75 kph if the norm is 100 kph, and I've managed to stay up to date and keep most of my customers' work up to date, except the one mentioned above - who I have a long history with and I know I will hear from him in the next week or so.

A particular transcription I received in this week reminded me of the fact that I truly am virtual (with discussion groups like TAVASA, a great forum for South African VAs and transcriptionists, this can slip one's mind occasionally). My client records his files on site, and this one was done whilst under the attack of a swarm of horseflies!

Doing the things you love is a way to keep your mind fresh for work

Earlier today I was chatting with my friend Damaria Senne about why, lately, I am striving to keep Sundays free to keep up and touch base with the people and things that I love. I am an avid reader, and I call myself a writer, and an artist. But it struck me that the reading I do is between 12:00 and 01:00, usually - and who can remember anything they've read at that time? The last art I did was to make a Christmas card, and writing ... well ... there's something slightly offbeat, and probably inaccurate, if you call yourself a writer, yet the last time you WROTE anything worthwhile was in 2005.

I have a busy life running my transcription business and being a wife and mother - there's no doubt about it. But of late, I've come to realise something. It's very important to find a time to keep doing the things you love. And for me, for now, I've decided that time shall be Sundays - so, on Sundays, for the foreseeable future, I shall be retiring from the world, as I have been for the past two weeks.

And here is where I come to the part that makes this relevant to transcriptionists - and, I believe, others who work in a stressful industry. Taking that day off, to yourself, to unwind, and spend with your family and with doing the things you love, makes your mind clearer, sharper and more focussed on MONDAY - and through the rest of the week. Now, Sunday might not be the best time for you - but I do urge you, yes, your business is important, but find that time for you, too. You'll value it, and thank me for this advice, later.

Would Belinda Carlisle have made it if it hadn't been for the Gogos?

Commenting on blog posts

Hi everyone,

Today I wanted to draw attention to something that I feel is an important part of a small business' marketing strategy today.
Commenting on blog posts.
There is an art to this, in my opinion. It's no good just picking up on a blog and going on there and saying something inane and then posting a link to your website. You have to say something intelligent, lucid, and relevant to the post. Otherwise, you just irritate. So, make sure that your comments add something to the article and are informative. If you don't do this, there is a good chance that your comment will simply be deleted, anyway, and then you will just have wasted your own time and the blog owner's time.

What I'd suggest is the following:
- Pick interesting blogs to follow, blogs that are relevant to your industry or your interests.
- Check back on them on a relatively regular basis.
- Read the posts.
- Think of something valuable to add - maybe something from your personal experience, or add your expertise.

If, for example, the post is about switching from using a tape recorder to using a digital recorder, don't just go there and say "I transcribe, send your recordings to me". Chances are that the person has been doing their own transcription for some years anyway. But if you go on there and say something to the effect of "yes, you've made a good choice with regards to your choice of digital recorder, and this is why", and use your link in your identity, then you'll have planted the seed in the mind of the author and anyone else who happens to see the post that you are an expert in this field - and that maybe they should consider approaching you to save themselves some time - by giving you their transcription. Intelligent, informative comments are appreciated by bloggers, simply because they bring a variety of phrases that may well be picked up by search engines - in other words, they bring traffic to the person's blog. So be careful and think about what your comments are - don't be an irritation, be an asset.