VPA Blog

I learned a very powerful lesson this week in professionalism and courtesy. I was faced with an unpleasant task and concerned not for the person in the center of the controversy but for the other person in their relationship. I was saddened to think I might lose her friendship and her valued input in our little group – afraid she would be put in the awkward position of choosing us or him.

Image my pleasant surprise when she came to the meeting! And, she was as gracious and lovely as always. I might have known. She is and always has been a true professional. Warm and inviting, willing to go all out for her clients with nary a nasty word to say about the awful ones. She can always find a nice side, a silver lining. She can put herself in that position and see more sides than I knew existed!

I remember now why I was first drawn to her in the group. And why I would like to be more like her.

I have, on occasion, been told my services are expensive – that there are others who what I do for less. like a full-time employee.

My response? Yes, you may be right. But let’s make sure we’re comparing apples to apples.

• Do they offer the same level of expertise and experience? Or are you hoping to get a ‘good buy’ – a worker with experience that you can afford?
• What’s your cost to hire an employee? Do you have to train them? If so, you’re not making money during that training period.
• Are they billing only for the hours being used? Or, are you paying for breaks, sick days, vacations, etc.?
• Can you track what they’re doing? Maybe so, if you are micro-managing your employee and not getting your work done.

I have no problem with full-time employees – I have been one most of my career – but I firmly believe that I offer a strong, competitive advantage for small business owners.

Here is an article I’ve found offering further ‘proof’ of my hypothesis: Why a $14/hour employee really costs $20

This is what I’m sayin’! http://fleck.com/gEAhK

Another reminder of why I love Apple – security! HuffPost – Sneaky Apps Could Secretly Pass Your Data Back To … http://tinyurl.com/ycggmdj

My site was published on the Sandvox profiles page: http://www.sandvoxsites.com/website/gpntrmpg

I found this joke on my “Shake Joke’ iPhone app. It explains, with humor, just how important us ‘doers’ are:

A big corporation recently hired several cannibals. “You are all part of our team now,” said the HR rep during the welcoming briefing. “You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria for something to eat, but please don’t eat any of the other employees.” The cannibals promised they would not. Four weeks later their boss remarked, “You’re all working very hard, and I’m quite satisfied with you. However, one of our Secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her?” The cannibals all shook their heads no. After the boss had left, the leader of the cannibals asked the others, “Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?” A hand raised hesitantly, to which the leader of the cannibals continued, “You fool! For four weeks we’ve been eating supervisors and no one noticed anything, but noooooo, you had to go and eat someone important.”

HBR Tip: 3 Tips for Making the Most of Social Media http://web.hbr.org/e/?e=mt&d=102309

Cool ideas to streamline your home office – http://bit.ly/cWIUcD #cnn

http://fleck.com/UbKGB Something Special with Flowers gets a mention in the paper. Great job, Christine!

RT @tweetmeme Is Reading Blog Posts Worth Your Time? http://bit.ly/9udVe8