Trish Reisen

:: Class 19, January 13, 2010 ::

The very last class! It feels as though the umbilical cord has been cut and I am awaiting the next step in this wonderful journey.

Our test will be in about a week and a half. One side of me says to be freaked out about it, while the other says be calm we have all the answers at our finger tips.

I am still feeling extremely blessed and honored of how all the steps through the VTP have played out. I don't think I would have changed a thing because it all transpired just as it should. Thank you, AssistU.

I will be forever greatful for my trainer Desiree for her love and tender support and giving me the correct push at just the right moment. My classmates, Victoria and Kristen I will remember forever and I wish them the best of luck in the future where ever their journey takes them.

This is for anyone reading this...please don't be afraid of stretching for your dreams. It is good for the soul to have dreams and you too can have your own business. I wish you all much success in 2010.

Happy New Year to all of you! 2010 will be a year of change. Well, I know it will be for me. My office has received a fresh coat of paint and some organization. I am prepared to start taking clients and a new adventure.

It is hard to believe that I only have one more class with my classmates and my wonderful trainer Desiree. We have *all* grown so much through-out this entire process.

We learned about how important it is to make investments in yourself your practice and especially in your client relationships. We as VA's need to always be marketing and creating WOW moments for our clients. Always be thinking about your client and treating them as a partner.

I really need to practice the part of being able to forgive myself and let it go. You should read the part of what the acronym M I S T A K E stands for. I should probably post this somewhere in my office.

Next week will be week 19 and we will be going over questions we may have prior to our test. Wish Me Luck. I am somewhat nervous but ready for the challenge it is just another step in this process and I am proud to have pushed myself to the very end. Anyone can do this...I wonder what we will all learn from your story.

It is the first week in November, the holiday season is just around the corner. My class will be taking a winter break in the middle of November and will only have two classes left in January.

Class 15, it is official I have enough information under my belt to be able to talk with my first client. How exciting! I wish I could jump into this full throttle but I need to be patient and put one foot in front of the other. I need to transition into this because I am the only salaried provider at this time.

I learned a lot of valuable information this week. I learned that I want to stand for the Client and to know my standards. It will be important to learn how to interview well, because my goal is to have a full practice of all the *right* people.

I plan to buckle down this weekend and finish my client *welcome letter and packet*.

What a day! It is the last week in October, unbelievable. A month from now we will be giving Thanks. The days and weeks just seem to fly by, and so does the VTP.

It is official; I managed to get my final business plan turned in. Of course, it is always a plan in action. However, I feel good, most people don't bother with the plan when getting their business started. It sure feels good to have at least something concrete put down on paper.

This week in class we talked some more about partnerships. In having a great partnership, you will accomplish more and have more joy. I don't know about you but I always want to accomplish more. I don't know of anyone who would turn away wanting to have *more joy* in their life. Two heads are always better than one!

The third week in October, has this year flown by for anybody else? It seems like yesterday when I first started exploring the idea of being a Virtual Assistant. I am sitting here still feeling so honored for being accepted into the VTP.

Our final business plans are due next week, I will be hiding out in my office to put the final touches on it over the weekend.

I am so excited my son who is in the sixth grade comes back from outdoor school tomorrow. He has been gone for five days. This is the longest he has been away that I have not been able to call him by phone. I'm sure when I pick him up tomorrow he will have many interesting stories to tell me about.

What a fulfilled week!

My reserves this week feel as though they are balanced. My husband is happy, both of my children are happy (grades look great so far), and I just feel "calm".

In class this week, we talked about the different types of marketing. I am really starting to get comfortable on the whole idea of marketing, especially marketing with attraction. I want to try several different ways.

Fall is definitely in the air. The leaves are changing and the days are crisp. On the drive into work every morning (6:30), I wish I could just sit and be still. The way the fog settles in patches in the valley is so awesomely spectacular. We have been fortunate this fall; we have had beautiful sunny days. This too shall pass.

I will tell you that this past week was a stretch for me. I pulled it off and sent in the rough draft of my business plan. I am "proud" to say that it was not perfect. Oh yes, did I say "Not Perfect". I have some adding on to do for which I am grateful that my wonderful trainer-Desiree has pointed out. Her guidance is helping me to be a stronger person/VA. I have two and a half weeks to get it as close to perfection as I can. This will help to crystallize my vision for my practice.

This week we talked about marketing and attraction some more. We were introduced to social media. I am excited about exploring this idea some more. At first, I was not too hip on the whole idea. I am starting to understand the point of social media and networking. I would like for "you" to get to know me. Therefore, you may want to follow me on all the top media sites.

Wow, what a month! September just passed me by. I love this season. Fall just feels like a time to slow down and regroup.

This past week seemed to be a lot smoother for my household, kids, and all. I am preparing to spend a lot of time this weekend getting the rough draft of my business plan in order. I feel like I have procrastinated but in reality I have been letting all of the information up to this point resonate with me. I just need to put all of the pieces together and by this time next week I should be feeling pretty confident about where my life is going and the new path that has been laid out.

I can't imagine what I will be learning in the next 10 weeks; however, I'm sure it will be jam packed with awesome information that I have never thought of. I will be growing some more :) ~See you next week~

Another wonderful week in the VTP half way and today's my Birthday. I have been feeling stressed out because I have not put enough writing to paper regarding my business plan. I was so excited in the beginning to get it done. I think I am getting wrapped up in making sure that I have all of my reading/fieldwork done and I am forgetting to get my plan out. Maybe I'm *afraid* to put it in writing?

We talked this week about the Attraction Operating System. I was blessed about two years ago when I was first introduced to these principles. I try to think about them everyday and make minor adjustments when possible to simplify my life and things around me.

I can't believe how much the VTP has taught me in so many different areas of my life. I have learned to keep an open mind because when you least expect it stuff will come pouring out at just the right time to either teach or guide others. It is a fantastic feeling.

Class *8* -- almost half way there. We were told there is much more to come. I'm really starting to get in the groove of things. By the way, remember how in the beginning the bridge call had made me nervous to speak. Well things are getting more and more comfortable. My classmates are very supportive and our trainer Desiree is fantastic.

Last night was a long night for me, let me explain. I left my JOB at 3:30 drove home 4:00 and drove my daughter to dance class 4:30. I drove back home just in time for our weekly bridge call and training 5-6. I thought I was a little nervous but I knew I had my elevator speeches prepared. I have to say with a few tweaks they sound a whole lot better.

Immediately following our call my 11 yr old son had a soccer game in the pouring down rain *Oregon* 6-7. We returned home and had a light dinner and I was off to go pick up my wonderful dancer from dance class 8:30. She still had homework to do! The life of an over-achiever. Tears were pouring down. I reminded her gently that you too will get in a groove. First, your body has to get used to dancing 12 hrs a week (competition dancer) after having only one month off a year. Then you have to give yourself time to get to know your teachers and they will get to know you so together you can implement a plan for success. She has freaked herself out, my little 4.0 student, an 8th grader who has been given the opportunity to take a freshman Algebra math class and an advanced English writing class. I am so proud of her; she is a special young lady with goals, aspirations, and is passionate about everything she does. By the way, she had finished her homework by 11:45 she had to wake Mom up who tried to stay awake with her. The following morning she woke up early just so she could read a whole chapter out of a book for class.

I guess what I really want to get across is don't give up on your dreams, and yes life is about taking chances and it could possibly be hard and what if, you don't try...I refuse to stand still and have life pass me by.

Another class has come and passed. A few weeks ago, I thought how am I going to keep all these plates twirling. Its simple you see, one day and one week at a time. Both children are back in school, we are shuffling soccer practices, soccer games, and a competing dancer who dances 12 hours a week, whew. If I can do this, you can do this! Did I mention I also have a full time JOB? I do come home exhausted but the VTP keeps me going :) and my future has never looked brighter.

This week we reviewed class 6 case study and found out to always stick up for your standards don't back down.

Well I am off to go write up and practice my elevator speech and speech for when I am talking to a larger group. I hope you come back for class 8.

Today I had a rough day at my JOB and just when I thought I had a bad day there may be someone else out there going through something way tougher than I. How selfish am I to put myself in that mind set. My pity party lasted an entire day. I am so glad that I am over that!

Another week has passed, the time is flying by. Maybe in 10 weeks I might consider looking to find my first client. In five weeks I'll be turning in my rough draft of my business plan.

You want to have a strong start with your clients, so that you have purposeful relationships not the ones that you have to *work* at. That requires you to put some energy into creating what happens at the front end, so that you can relax more on the tail end. In the corporate world you have no choice what types of people you get to work with so sometimes it does seem like a constant struggle.

You may want to create a Client Welcome Packet and use your own image and style to make it unique. Having strong standards in place will help with this. I'm excited about creating my Welcome Packet it will give me a chance to be creative and let my personality shine.

We also talked about Fees and your value. You need to believe in your value and speak it. Practice paying yourself, you are worth it!

See you next week-May you attract all that you want!!!

Another week has passed, the time is flying by. This week our call was short and brief, but still we talked about some very important details.

You want to have a strong start with your clients. You want to have purposeful relationships, not the ones that you have to *work* at. That requires you to put some energy into creating what happens at the front end, so that you can relax more on the tail end.

You may want to create a Client Welcome Packet and use your own image and style to make it unique. Having strong standards in place will help with this.

We also talked about fees and your value. You need to believe in your value and speak it. Practice saying to yourself you are worth it!

See you next week - may you attract all that you want!!!

Wow, the last class of the month! Where is the time going?

This week we touched briefly on people who are adrenaline junkies. Adrenaline is not a constant state to live in. Adrenaline needs to be in reserve for when you really need it. I think I may be a borderline adrenaline junky. I feel I have been better about this over the past six months but I still have a ways to go. I have lived my life up to the minute by minute. This could be a good habit and a bad habit to have. I don't allow myself enough time to *relax*, I feel guilty when I am not constantly doing. I am great at prioritizing and time management but guess who I have left out of the picture? ME. Once again, this is why I am going through the VTP. I am getting realigned.

We also talked this week about having reserves. You need to have backup reserves in your account for when you need them most. There are ten areas of reserves to help free you from the demands of circumstances or crisis...time, space, money, energy, opportunity, love, information, wisdom, self, and integrity. So get busy and beef up your reserves.

Have a great week; I look forward to sharing with you about next week's class.

Wow, another week has passed. Week 4 for me seemed to have had the most homework due. We had a lot of research to do. It has been a long time since I have had to read this much. I hope most of it is sinking in.

This week we talked about our practice structure and setting standards and boundaries. Setting standards for me I think will be the easy part. I have always believed in having high standards for myself although there is always room to grow. Setting boundaries for my practice will be the difficult part. Even now in the corporate world I have a hard time with boundaries. I want to please everyone and everyone knows that I will do whatever I can to help them out. I need to focus on this and that my business is all about ME baby. If I'm happy so will my clients. And if I have clear boundaries they will respect me for them.

We are also learning to figure out our ideal client. This is another step in the process that for me will be challenging. At first I thought, everyone could be my ideal client. That is what the corporate world has taught me. Make that extra buck anyway how. But, this model is extra special you see it's all based on special partnerships. Why spend extra time on those clients who never seem to pay you on time. The time you spend trying to get your payment you could have 2 clients that would gladly pay you on time.

I'm looking forward to next week. We will have a good part of our Business plan down on paper with the process of creating our standards, boundaries, and our ideal client profile. See you all next week.

Hi, to all of you once again. Just prior to making this weeks bridge call I was thinking that I was behind in my homework. There seemed to be a lot of reading the past couple of weeks. Sitting still long enough to read seems to be a bit of a challenge but my family is starting understand that this is extremely important to me and the extra bit of time to myself will give me more time to give to them in the future.

We were blessed this week to have Stacy as our special guest/trainer. She is a wonderful person and her energy is positive. That is why I fell in love with AssistU as my engine to get me to where I want to go.

I found out that my laptop is plenty of a machine for now and in the future be sure to buy double the memory. I learned that one number is something to investigate instead of my home phone number or my cell phone. I also found out that I really want to run an Authentic Business and Law of Attraction will help with that. What a relief, I can have my own image and style. With being in the corporate world for so long, what is my image and style? Soul searching is about to begin, stay tuned for the updates!

This week's class arrived so quickly. Was it because I was ready to receive more information or was it that I was feeling a little overwhelmed? Last second I was second guessing myself. Did I turn in the correct week's homework? Oh, thank goodness I did!

Our class this week was about getting our support systems in place. Why would we even try to build our VA business all on our own? It is important in all different types of business whether large or small to have great trusted advisors in place. I hope to start the process this next week.

I am feeling proud of myself because I have started my business plan and I am so excited to see how it is going to evolve in the next coming months. Thank you AssistU for this wonderful opportunity.

Once again, I waited patiently to call in..."Hello!" another voice answered and then another, and then another, and finally our trainer Desiree. I was relieved to know I was not the last one to chime in this week. You will also be proud of me to know that I spoke up in class and it was not the end of the world.

When I started reading this weeks class 1 reading materials from the Training Manual, I really enjoyed reading the piece "Stifled by the Corporate Box". You see, I can relate about seeing colors and then you see brown because the company is seeing brown. Well, I am here to tell you that I no longer want to see brown and the world is full of color, especially when you have a plan!

I am really excited about having heard the VA Mantra. I think having this handy at all times will play a big role in being a better communicator.

So, I will end here by saying. I am very excited to get started on my Business Plan which will give me a great road map to start my business off.

I remember the day I received a phone call from Laura Allen, who called to tell me I had been accepted into the training program. I was so honored to have been chosen.

Approximately 2 weeks prior to Orientation my box of goodies had been delivered to my front door step. There is so much information to go through. I will not describe all of the wonderful contents because that was part of the fun in opening the package. You will not be disappointed.

Orientation day arrived, I had been excited all day and that was all I could think about at work. I did some preparation for the bridge call and had my computer logged into the portal. I anxiously waited for the top of the hour and dialed in. I think I was the last to chime in. For me, the most challenging part of the phone call was introducing myself. I suddenly had become extremely nervous and my voice was shaky and I know I did not talk in perfect sentences. Meeting our trainer Desiree was great; she is a very patient lady. I am very excited to virtually hear the changes and growth in my classmates. I am so grateful to be able to have this training to get my dream business off the ground.