ACS News January 2004

*Individual Highlights:* New Beginnings Professional Indemnity for Small Business Marketing Checklist Marketing Checklist Help Business Profile New Office Opens New You Must Read/Must See About Our Organisation [Home] [Bookstore] For those who work at/from home. [Business Partners] A list of complementary businesses to our services. If you would like yours listed, please let us know! [Case Studies] Wondering how we could assist your business? [Membership] For prospective virtual secretaries. [Newsletters] Read our previous issues. [Rates] Kathie's service rates. [Services] A sample list. [VA Directory] For a full list of our team. [Search] Search our site for further information. If you received this newsletter by regular mail, have an email address and would like to receive this online, please either subscribe at our website, or contact our office with your email address. Feel free to pass this newsletter onto a friend! www.asecretary.com.au Why are you on this list? You could be any of the following: a client we've swapped business cards member of MBN, BNI, NSAA or another networking group that I participate in. How to get on or off this list: Send a fax or write me if receiving this by post and wishing to update contact details, or be removed. Or, if receiving online please click here to subscribe or unsubscribe. PO Box 2918, Cheltenham, Victoria, Australia, 3192 Ph: +613 9583 8359 Fax: +613 9585 3785 kathie@asecretary.com.au	New Beginnings
	A new year can be exciting if you have plans and things you want to do. Since last October I have been developing an Action Plan to carry out during the holiday period. Some of it is basic tidying up – my office, filing systems, diary planning and so on. I even reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled software on my computer, as well as put in extra memory. It is almost like having a new computer and it goes so much faster!	Other things on the list are: update my websites, update the newsletter format, review the business associations I belong to, look at my budget, review the way things are done. Some of this was prompted by a book I read by Ivan Misner called The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret. With respect to marketing and networking for your business it is good to review what you’ve been doing in the past, what’s	been working and what needs improving. Misner advises that belonging to 3 different types of networking groups is very effective for your business. And being active in them helps even more. What networking groups do you belong to and are you an active member? Have a fantastic 2004 and I look forward to networking with many of you through this year.
	Professional Indemnity for Small Business
	Australian small businesses struggling to get professional indemnity (PI) insurance cover this year can breathe a sigh of relief. *ABBi is the first insurer to offer direct PI packages tailor made for small business, enabling this 'forgotten market' to now be safeguarded against professional risk legal suits. Many small businesses, from landscape architects to bookkeepers, have not only been stung by crippling premium hikes but are also being increasingly rejected by their insurers who won't cover them because of their relative size, according to ABBi General Manager Mike Hooton. "Most small business owners view professional insurance as a	'necessary evil', citing they have been pressured from clients to get cover to keep their business alive," Hooton said. ABBi's Tips To Get PI INSURANCE 1. Allow at least two months before the renewal date to secure a new policy – many businesses have found their insurers unwilling to renew, even at increased premiums. Set aside time to negotiate and shop around. 2. In the current climate, it is wise to budget for high premiums for the next three years at least. 3. If you are a SOHO and your insurance requirements are not too complex try going to a direct insurer and ask them to provide you with a quote.	4. Be confident that your insurer has a full understanding of your business and its risks. Ensure they are kept up to date with any change in your business activities as this has a direct impact on your professional indemnity insurance cover and your requirements may change. 5. Develop and implement a risk management plan. This will reduce the chance of a claim being made against you and if you can demonstrate to your insurer that you have a strategy in place this will be of benefit to you when seeking insurance. *Read the full article at ABBi’s website under ‘In the Press’.
	Marketing Checklist
	Do you: 1. Know exactly who your customers are? 2. Use your personal passions to market your business? 3. Focus on a particular market niche? 4. Understand and market to your client’s specific needs? 5. Market solutions and benefits? 6. Have a clearly defined Value Positioning Statement? 7. Integrate this core	marketing message into everything you do? 8. Assume prospects are aware of the range of services you offer? 9. Educate your clients about all the solutions you offer? 10. Take advantage of low cost marketing tactics? 11. Regularly stay-in-touch with your target market and existing clients? 12. Maintain an up-to-date customer database? 13. Lead your prospects to take action?	14. Make it easy for clients to do business with you by eliminating risk? 15. Continually test new marketing ideas? 2003 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved. Charlie Cook, is Chief Executive of Ideas and Inspiration at In Mind Communications in Old Greenwich, CT and can be contacted via www.charliecook.net, or by calling 203-637-1118. To get the Free Marketing Guide and the 'More Business' newsletter, full of practical marketing tips go to www.charliecook.net.
	Marketing Checklist help
	With respect to the above item, there are ways that we can assist you achieve a ‘yes’ answer to most of these questions. Perhaps you know who your clients are but do not have a planned strategy for reaching them. Developing a database and a newsletter should help considerably in this regard. We have capable team members who could	assist with writing of content, editing content already written by you, set up newsletter formats, design and maintain your database, broadcast fax and/or email as required, or even set up mail merges, printing of letters and envelopes and organise the mailing of these. If you feel that perhaps you haven’t gotten out and met enough people, then why	not visit NetworkingtoWin, click on the links image at the top and seek out possible networking group meetings for you to attend and meet other like-minded people? Perhaps we’ll see you at some of them!
	Business Profile
	I would like to profile the businesses of those who provide complementary services to ours to further available services to all our readers. If you would like to have your business profiled here, please send to me no more than 100	words to place in this spot. A small logo or photo would be acceptable too. There are so many of you whose services I’ve used personally and it would be good to share you with everyone else.	I look forward to receiving your profiles in the not too distant future, but please be patient – this newsletter comes out once monthly and if I receive many profiles, it may be a while before you are in print.
	New Office Opens Near You….
	The membership of “A Clayton's Secretary” continues to expand and this means that if you have a need for face-to-face contact there could be an ACS member real close to you. The best way to determine this is to visit the Locations page of our website and click on your state or your country	to see the current list of members and the services they provide. This includes bilingual services, we have many members whose native tongues isn’t English and if you need translations services we may have just what you are seeking.
	Must Read/Must See….
	Each month we’ll write about suggested books to read and websites to visit that may benefit you personally or in business. If you have any suggestions, please send them in! They would be most welcome. I'm also happy to accept a small review with a link back to your site or email address.	Book: The World’s Best Known Marketing Secret by Ivan Misner Ph.D. An excellent study of Word-of-Mouth marketing – are your clients your advocates?	Websites: Networking to Win Network advice and list. The Art of Influence Seminar coming up soon. CNN.com Global Office Read about worldwide happenings relating to the global office.
	About Our Organisation…
	What is a Virtual Assistant? It's a term for home-based secretaries, administrative and secretarial support, and others who supply remote or virtual support.	We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own!	Location no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are!


January 2004 Volume 10, Issue 1	ACS News