2020 Vision / Meeting Notes January 2020

Location: Pepperwood Bistro, Burlington

Attendees: Janet, Jan, Tamara, Crystal, Christine, Pam, Alyson (guest), Mai (guest)

Announcements

Upcoming Events

February 18 – meeting in Hamilton – Big Dreams
March 17 – meeting in Grimsby – How to find new clients

Future Meeting Topics

• Losing a Big Client
• Website Building
• Social Media Posting
• Vision Boards

In the comments, please let us know what other topics you’d like to learn about or explore, or what you know a lot about and would like to share. 

Discussion: 2020 Vision

We went around the table, sharing our business and personal goals for the coming year, and suggestions ways that others might reach their goals. There were quite a few similar ones!

• Christine would like to build her business so she can resign from the school board. She’d also like to integrate web design into her service offerings.
• Alyson would like to secure one new client so she can sell her cleaning business. She’d also like to work on setting boundaries with her clients.
• Tamara would like to give notice to one of her clients and to stop taking on bookkeeping clean-up jobs so she can have more calm in her life.
• Mai would like to secure a new client who isn’t someone she already knows. We suggested that she ask her existing clients for referrals and get involved with local networking groups and events.
• Jan would like to work on her physical health by eating better and becoming more active.
• Pam would also like to improve her physical health so she can stop taking medication. In addition, she’d like to do some work on her condo.
• Crystal is ready to scale back so she can have more personal time. She’s therefore planning to stop taking on new clients and to get rid of those that aren’t paying adequately for her time and expertise.
• I would like to streamline my processes so I can get more done in less time.

If you missed the meeting, please tell us about your goals for 2020 in the comments, and let us know how we can help you achieve them.

GHVA Accountability Partnership Program

This program was introduced in 2012 as a way for individual members to monitor their progress towards their goals. Here’s what it’s about:

Set goals to grow your business, brainstorm ideas, and have a partner that will encourage you to reach those goals. It’s always good to have someone to bounce ideas off – someone to help to think out loud. It’s all about how we can support each other. It’s often easier to come up with ideas for someone else’s business than it is for your own!

Each partnership operates in whatever way works best for the two members, but it’s suggested that you connect at least once between our monthly meetings, and ideally once a week. Meetings take place via whatever method (in person, by phone, by email, Zoom, etc.) or combination of methods that suits both of you.

Unlike mentoring, where a new VA works with a more experienced one, this is designed to be a mutually supportive relationship, so it’s best if both partners are at roughly the same stage in their businesses.

Sheila and Tamara have been accountability partners since 2012! Here’s what Sheila says about it:

This is a fabulous membership perk. It’s so comforting to be able to speak with someone going through the sames things as you so you can get support and bounce ideas off each other. I highly recommend taking advantage of Janet’s match making offer!

If you have any questions about the program or would like to be matched with an accountability partner, please leave a comment. Feel free to reach out to someone directly if you’d like to partner with them.