Recently I’ve had some discussions with one client, who so appreciates my services he thinks I should start planning to “scale up”. It’s a move I’ve considered, but don’t think I’m ready for just yet.

One concern I have, for example, is that this particularly client mentioned that he’d prefer someone was always available to answer the phone for my company, especially if he were to refer certain types of business to me. I currently only answer the phone very occasionally, as my workspace is not always conducive to professional business calls (got to love those noisy children!) I always respond promptly to phone messages and other than initial consultations my clients generally correspond with me via email anyway.

But I do worry that my phone setup is holding me back, not only from eventually scaling up, but from simply achieving my current goal of a busy one-person virtual legal assistant practice.

Do YOU prefer to speak to a live person the first time you call a business? Do you avoid leaving messages and just move on to the next person if you can’t reach someone? Would reaching a live answering service be enough? Alyssa Gregory had a post not too long ago about exactly this, and she recommended answering your phone as often as possible, with some very valid points noted.

I’ve taken a quick look at a couple of live answering services, and they aren’t too expensive, but in all honesty right now I get maybe 1-2 calls in a month from prospective clients. Most of my contact does come by email, even from possible clients.

I’d love to hear from other solo business owners how they handle the telephone issue. Are you able to answer your phone most of the time? Do you think voicemail is enough of an option when you aren’t free? Can’t wait to see what you think!

When I started my virtual legal assistant business, one thing I realized quite early on was how important systems would be to managing my work and my busy personal life. I have tried and discarded more than one system, but currently have a set-up that works quite well for me. I do have a few things I need to add, or improve, as I’m sure we all do!

First, I have a calendar system that helps me stay on track of both daily and long-term planning. I put everything into my Google Calendar, which being web-based is accessible from any of my computers and even my smartphone. I also sync that calendar with my iPod, for another easy source of access. Within my calendar itself I keep a task list with my immediate to-do’s on it. I also track longer term work on my project management and file-sharing system. I use Teamwork PM for this and clients can input deadlines for tasks and I have a project of my own where I put in some deadlines.

Another important system I set up very early on was a backup system. I have a couple of backup options available, as it certainly seems better to have my data as protected as possible! I share most client work with my clients via my Teamwork site, so documents that they have provided me and final work that I have provided them is all stored within that site (which is SSL encrypted). I store work on my computer of course and protect that information with SugarSync, a constantly running backup and storage application. SugarSync also allows me to access my files from my phone or another computer at any time, and keeps old versions of documents, which has helped me already once!

Another “system” I have invested in is my internet. I use the internet all the time, many of my work projects could not be completed without it. Therefore I have cable internet at home, I have an arrangement with a good friend to access internet from her home if I ever should need and I recently purchased a mobile internet stick for use while out and about or in case of a problem with my home internet.  In fact two nights ago my home internet was temporarily unavailable and it was reassuring to know how easily I could still log in and therefore fulfill my work obligations.

The main system I need to work on in 2010 is my methods for initial contact with prospective clients – right through to getting started working with clients who sign on. I have a good Contract for Services that I use, but it is important I think to make sure I learn as much about my clients as I can in the beginning instead of simply diving in and doing the work. I am going to put together a set of questions for new clients to be answered by email or phone within the first week of starting to work together, so that little concerns like which font they like work done in can be established easily. What systems help keep you on track? I love getting tips from other home office workers especially!

I’ve talked before about how challenging it can be to run a business from home, especially when it comes to taking phone calls! Currently I have an intentionally vague listing on my website for my availability, but I encourage clients and potential clients alike to contact me by phone.

A year in business has taught me a lot though, and I think it’s time to put a small clarification in place. I am still going to be easily available by email and I will still work somewhat irregular hours, but as far as phone calls go I will only be available from 9am to 3pm MST. I also prefer to arrange telephone calls in advance (via email) whenever possible, otherwise calls may go straight to my voicemail and be returned within one business day.

If you are just starting out with a home-based business, whether you are a a virtual legal assistant like me, a lawyer, or any other small business owner, I highly recommend you think carefully about what hours you will make yourself available to clients. It’s easier to start out with a clear policy than to change in mid-stream! And whether you have children or not, phone calls can be very distracting and take away from your focus on your current and much-valued clients.

It’s been a hectic week here at Halo Secretarial and I know when things get hectic here a little inspiration is in order to help me take some deep breaths and remember why I started my virtual legal assistant business! So here’s my inspiration tip for today: find a quotation (or two!) and post them somewhere around your desk and read them in moments when you are feeling stressed or unhappy or you are simply lacking motivation. You can write the quote on a sticky note, or frame it or whatever idea your creativity finds!

I bought some cool wall rub-ons that are inspirational and this is the one in my office (I love that it is huge-makes you really notice it!):

Perfect for a day when the kids are running a little crazy and you haven’t been outside in days even though it’s sunny and you stayed up late one too many times this week! Not that I’m saying my week was like that or anything

Hope my little inspiration makes you smile or motivates you to do something similar!

As usual I was spending a little time after dinner tonight catching up on some Twitter. I read this tweet from @SamGlover which sent me on over to the recently re-launched Lawyerist. There are tons of interesting posts to read there, but the one that really caught my eye tonight was one that talked about what applications, software etc Sam uses to run his law practice.

I not only enjoyed reading what Sam uses for his legal practice, but also the different choices made by the commentors. So I decided to put together a quick post outlining the various applications/software I use to run my virtual legal assistant practice.

• Calendar: Google calendar/wall calendar combo
• Tasks/to-dos: Teamwork PM
• Contacts: Gmail
• Email: Gmail/mobile Gmail from smartphone while on the go
• Word processing/documents: Word 2007, Open Office, PaperPort
• PDF Creation: Adobe/CutePDF
• Timekeeping/billing: Quickbooks
• Bookkeeping/accounting: Quickbooks/accountant
• Backup: External hardrive and SugarSync (love how SugarSync securely lets me access all from laptop/desktop/mobile phone)
• Client/Project Management: TeamWork PM (256 bit SSL)
• Blogging/Website: Wordpress self-hosted

Like Sam and several of his commentors I’m a big fan of cloud computing. I like to be able to access my work from anywhere – my main computer is a laptop for that very reason! And while I know not everyone trusts “the cloud”, I research applications quite carefully before choosing them and feel pretty confident that I’ve made choices that will protect my clients information and my own.

So how does your office run? Does your work live in the cloud at all?!

Yesterday I was able to help a great friend out. I don’t often have the opportunity to do that for this friend, she’s very independent and has things under control. But yesterday she couldn’t afford to miss any meetings at work and she needed someone to sit at her house and wait for a repair person.

Since my laptop is my office I simply took it over there with me and happily worked away. She has a secure internet connection and I had the passcode, so I was all set.

It was a nice change of scenery for me too – which was great!  Just another awesome benefit of having my own (very portable!)virtual legal assistant business.

Ok, it’s a little late in the day (guess I need some time management help today!) but here it is, this week’s time tip!

BUY IN BULK

Yes, this tip is still business oriented! When you need office supplies, buy as many as you can afford.  Stock up on printer cartridges or post-it notes or even just your office coffee beans!  The fewer trips you make to the store the more time you have to focus on your work.  I know that it’s easy to allow “important” things to distract us.  I mean, who can go without coffee when they’re tired at 2pm (or a slurpee if you’re my BFF)?  If you run out of a supply that’s a necessity you’ll end up heading to the store and you may never find your focus again that day.  So buy in bulk and save time!

This weekend one of the main themes in my twitter account was BlogWorld Expo 2008. I enjoyed all the information that was shared by BlogWorld attendees, via Twitter and of course on the many blog entries that have already been posted – and I’m sure there will be many more this week! My faves so far:

• All the coverage from Sparkplugging!
• This from Freelance Writing Jobs
• Missy Ward’s post incl the joys of BWE on crutches
• Rick Moran from Pajamas Media has a really detailed discussion on the changes in blogging, based on his experiences from BWE

I have only been seriously blogging since this summer, so I wasn’t aware of how exciting this conference would be – I sure hope to attend BWE 2009 though!

On the subject of conferences, I really believe they are a great way to do some in person networking, as well of course as learn some great information during actual sessions.  What do you think are THE conferences to attend during the year?  Do you prefer regional ones or ones like Blogworld that attract attendees and speakers from all over the world? Do you stick to your niche only or mix it up a little?

I think ideally I’d attend a couple of big conferences a year – one for virtual assistants maybe, or something with a legal focus, plus something like BlogWorld or BlogHer.  I also need to get out and do some networking locally, and fortunately that is easily affordable!!

I found this article recently on the CBA website – A to Z: 26 Trends for the Legal Profession.  It’s a fascinating read and it posed the question – which trends matter the most to you? If you give it a read I’d love to hear your opinion!

For me, a few of the mentioned trends really stood out as areas in which the contracting of a virtual legal assistant could help legal practitioners manage and grow their business.

B is for BLOGS

You need to write your own posts of course, but you can get a virtual assistant to help you with research, coming up with some topic ideas, proofreading, managing comments and spam and monitoring google alerts for mentions of your company and blog.

H is for HOME

Do you work from home or a small office? If you do, maybe you’ve realized you don’t have much room for office/support staff.  A virtual assistant gives you a lot of flexibility to get help when you need it, without worry about them invading your physical space.

O is for Outsourcing

Outsourcing your administrative and paralegal work to a virtual legal assistant is a tool I really think lawyers should start opening up to.  Save some money, some on carbon emissions by eliminating commutes, save your time since your VA is going to be ready to hit the ground running and get the work done!

Interestingly, the article I mentioned is not that recent, but most of the items are still applicable and often have not been embraced by lawyers.  There are opportunities for those who have vision – reach out and grab them!

If you want to see a good example of how a business can be really mobile and paperless watch this video from over at 21quinces. I love the tablet pc (like this one I’m guessing) that the realtor in the video uses. I think I might have to put one on my wish list!

Technology seems to improve by leaps and bounds every year – and even a regular laptop nowadays can make it so much easier to work from anywhere you want. I usually run my virtual assistant business right from home, but I know that I can take my computer with me if I’m traveling and still get everything done. My faxes come straight to my computer, most of my clients contact me by email or call my cell phone, and just in case I need something from my desktop computer I have SugarSync set up on all my computers which gives me access to all of my files from pretty much anywhere.

I recommend that all solo or small businesses try to be set up to be as mobile as possible. You may not stray far, but it’s nice to know you can if the opportunity comes up to take a trip or you just feel office-bound somedays and want to head to a local coffee shop to work!