Wanna know a secret? Sure, you do! There is a surefire way to help your business grow. It’s not shameless promotion (well, some of it is), and it’s not whoring yourself out to people for too low of a rate. The secret? Blog. About everything. It’s not hard. I’ll give you a perfect example of how and why blogging for your business works.

Let’s use my dear friend Mirella, who creates beautiful wedding flowers, as an example…I know she won’t mind.

Mirella started her floral business in 2008. It was getting steady, but not really taking off the way she wanted. Mirella starting blogging. Religiously. So much so that I’m embarrassed by my puny amount of posts!

So, she blogged. Then she blogged some more. And you know what? She’s still blogging. Mirella writes about things other than flowers. She writes about wedding planners and graphic designers and anything she thinks might interest her clientele. The woman is a blogging machine. She also promotes her newest creations, seasonal flowers, and wedding shows that she’s attended.

To help further boost her traffic and get some qualified leads, Mirella developed a contest for new brides on her blog. The contest has helped her gather incredibly hot leads for new brides who need wedding flowers. And she blogged all about it.

One of the most interesting things I’ve found is how Mirella’s blogging has boosted traffic to my own site. She interviewed the Mad Hatter on her blog and that one post sends tons of traffic to my site. Mirella’s efforts to boost her own traffic are spilling over into the worlds of those she blogs about. What a fabulous way to build business relationships and trust with other business owners! Just fab.

Ok, so it’s not really a secret that blogging works for business, but so many people don’t do it (or slack off, like me) and there’s just no excuse. It’s one of the cheapest, easiest, most effective ways to drive traffic to your website. Let’s not neglect blogging any longer!

So, if you’re not sure how to get started with your blog, it’s best to talk to a *cough* blog designer to find out. Wordpress blogs are pretty simple and straightforward, but you’ll want to host it on your own domain – none of this Wordpress.com stuff. Again, if you’re not sure what this means, I know an awesome Wordpress blog designer who can explain all the technical stuff!

Happy blogging, people!

I’m not one to bring politics into business, but I would like to proudly proclaim that as a business owner, woman, and plain old citizen of the USA, I support Barak Obama for the next President of the United States.

There. I said it. Don’t agree with me? Fine. But don’t slander a good man in the name of lifting up a rich, pompous bastard. And all of you know that’s what McCain is. If he becomes president, it’s likely I won’t be able to express myself like this on my blog, nor will my husband and I be able to afford to support our family.

Barak is in support of small business owners and women. He is more middle-class than McCain will ever be. He IS the minority and he knows what we’ve all been through.

I read a comic strip once that said, “Voting for president is like trying to pick the best mosquito out of the swarm.” Yes, Barak might have his own set of shortcomings, but come on, people! He is the best choice we have. And personally, I think he’ll do a darn good job.

Oh, and this whole “lipstick on a pig” thing is out of control. McCain’s people need to shut the hell up and focus on their own problems – like choosing an inexperienced twit for vice president. Wow. Nice choice, McCain.

Ok, that’s all I really have to say. Mostly I wanted to publicly proclaim my support.

I’ve talked a little bit about the booming new world of Virtual Assistants thus far in my blogging endeavors. I started thinking that maybe my readers do not realize just how many virtual assistants I have worked with. Maybe my average reader/site visitor doesn’t understand why I keep rambling on about how I know so much about VAs and their branding mistakes.

Well, let me tell you…I have worked with a lot of virtual assistants. When I say a lot, I mean a. lot. Now, that does not, by any means, make me a VA expert or guru or anything like that. Just trust that I have seen my fair share of branding blunders (if you’ll excuse the alliteration). I still have a fair number of VAs coming to me for logo design, etc. wanting me to “brand their new business.” I completely understand why I would be asked to do this (Hello!? I’m a graphic designer!) but a lot of VAs have the wrong idea about where branding actually begins.

Branding does not begin with the designer (thoough designers are hired to help make the brand recognizable and unique). Branding begins with the business idea.

Ok, so you want to be a virtual assistant. Great. There are now what, 5000 or so known VAs? Fabulous. How are you going to stand out from the crowd?

“Standing out from the crowd” does not mean you have a slick new logo that looks like no one else’s. Standing out means that you have a niche. A corner of the market that you are ready to take on. Your niche is an area of expertise that you latch onto and brand your new business accordingly.

Branding is mentioned all over the Web, but I would like to express my personal view on the subject. Branding, in its simplest form, is what everyone else thinks about you. Not what you think about yourself. Branding is more than just a logo and some letterhead. Branding is your business name, your website, your work style, your communication style. It is the promises you make, the way you treat clients, and the things you say in forums and on blogs. It encompasses all that is you and your business.

In short, branding is not something to be taken lightly, and waaaaaaay too many virtual assistants do just that.

If you’re reading this now and you’re considering starting a VA practice, I urge you to consider your branding the most important part of the start up process. It will help you decide how, where, and when to market. It will help you decide what kind of website you will need, and it will help you create a stable and lasting image for your business from the very beginning.

I’m planning a few more posts for virtual assistants, and then it’s on to other things. Don’t forget to subscribe for updates.

As a side note: You don’t have to have tons of cash to build your brand, but there are some things better left to the pros. If you aren’t a designer, hire one to create your logo. A designer (especially one that has served literally almost 50 VAs in some fashion) knows what is out there already. A designer can create the proper files for printing and web production. A designer can create a memorable icon for your brand.

I’m not just saying that because I want to design more VA logos. I’m saying that because I have been there. I have seen what works and what doesn’t. Budget money for your logo to be designed by a pro. You won’t regret it.