This weekend was the first time I’ve attended Sarasota/Bradenton’s BarCamp event (unConference). I had absolutely no intention of speaking but due to a little push from three different people, a borrowed laptop and last minute inspiration I decided to do it.
(NOTE: The original purpose of attending was to volunteer for the event with my son and three of his friends)
This was the second time I’ve spoken in front of a group (the first time was back in 2009) and I fall in the huge percentage of people who fear public speaking. There was 25 minutes per presentation and I was so “worried” about going over time that I flew through this prezi in 15 minutes. Which worked out great as it gave the audience time to ask questions (and boy did they have a lot!). As a result of all of the questions…guess what? I went over time!
Remember this slide deck was literally thrown together at the last minute on a borrowed laptop so it’s not very snazzy. Direct and to the point.
Not on this deck but one thing I should have covered – “When is the best time to hire a virtual assistant?”
In my opinion the best time to hire a virtual assistant is as soon as you possibly can. Why you ask? Because if you wait until you’re “too busy” then you won’t have the proper time to train someone and essentially you will end up stifling your own business growth.
The audience asked the most questions about the things a virtual assistant could do for a small business owner (the list on this prezi is just a teeny, teeny portion of all the possible things a VA can do for you). Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I also didn’t really get into the differences between a virtual assistant vs. an online business manager but I will soon as I’m personally transitioning into the OBM world as a result of the work with my business coach.
As an aside if you live in the Sarasota / Tampa area be sure to attend BarCamp’s 2014 event. It’s really an incredibly opportunity to meet other local business owners as well as hearing some really great talks! Here is their website. And, there are monthly (free) after hour events on the first Thursday of every month at Shakespear’s Pub on Osprey Ave (as you’re heading down to Siesta Key Village).
