Biz Blog

Dun & Bradstreet. Most small to mid-sized companies have heard of Dun & Bradstreet but many still don’t truly understand what it is, how it works, or why you need them. I’ll admit that I think Dun & Bradstreet’s sales calls and representatives are extremely pushy and sometimes just down right hard to deal with because they don’t like taking no for an answer when they want you to sign up for their services. However, having a Dun & Bradstreet number can be very, very important to your business. Here’s the top 5 reasons you need a Dun & Bradstreet Number for your business.

1.) Having a Dun & Bradstreet number creates and defines separation from your personal credit and business credit. Stop using your personal credit for the business. Increase your ability to qualify for better loans, negotiate lower interest rates from financial institutions, and no longer have to personally gaurantee every loan.

2.) Define your company for the professional business it is and join the global network of businesses who rely upon Dun & Bradstreet for streamling their operations, analytics, data, and management.

3.) Dun & Bradstreet provides a full reportaire of business solutions no matter what size company you are. Build your business credit, credit management, credit monitoring, financial risk reports, growth strategies, specific industry information, marketing solutions, and more. Dun & Bradstreet provides you with a knowledge base second to none so that you can take your business to the next level.

4.) By joining Dun & Bradstreet you can make informed decisions. You can check business history and credit on potential creditors to see if they are safe company to do business with, you can investigate customers to determine credit risk, research potential business partners, monitor your competition, and so much more.

5.) Through their marketing solutions you can obtain access to potential businesses that you may not otherwise be able to reach. Through establishing an online presence and credibility with D&B, along with access to their entire business directory, you can get your business verified, create a target market and obtain customized leads using the most up-to-date information, and work with a marketing expert who can help you grow your business.

No matter what stage your business is in or what goals you hope to achieve, Dun & Bradstreet surely has some terrfic solutions to help your business.

I want to add that I just had a client sign up for D&B recently. Because they have now separated their personal credit from their business credit, they were able to qualify with a vendor they previously could not through their personal credit. Through this new opportunity they are now saving thousands of dollars annually and their D&B investment has by more than paid off.

Check it out! www.d&b.com

Tina Holtz~ Miss Executive

As a virtual assistant and business advisor it’s my job to know the ins and outs of social media and the new online platforms that can help businesses succeed. It’s always about working smarter and not harder. I also stay on the up and up in regards to personal branding as well which sparked this blog article today.

 

Years ago, we all networked through business meetings, luncheons, face to face appointments, Rotary and Chamber of Commerce meetings and the like. We walked around handing out business cards to everyone in sight and giving our quick over practiced elevator speech, hoping to dazzle them into wanting to know more about who we are and what we do. Then we would follow up with nice hand written card or quick phone call just to say hey. The goal was to ensure that EVERYONE knew who you were and what you did! In a way, we were branding ourselves. I know when I did these things at every job regardless of where I worked, people began to know that if they worked with me, they got treated a certain way. Generally like a ROCKSTAR! I took pride in the fact that people always remembered who I was, how hard I worked, and always asked “Hey! Where did Tina go?” So many of my customers have followed me throughout the years, from business to business and industry to industry. I guess what I am getting at here, is that I succeeded in branding ME.

Many times we all get so wrapped up in branding the company we work for, (which is what we’re hired to do), we forget to brand ourselves. I’ve seen so many people say it’s not in my job description, or no one cares what I do, no one appreciates the handwritten note, etc.  Nothing could be farther from the truth! Everyone is watching you. Your co-workers, your vendors, your boss, your family, your friends. If you put in 110% all the time and go the extra mile, they all say “Man, do you see how hard Tom works? He never cares how bad of a day he is having, he just goes and goes.” You’re building a reputation, you’re building YOUR BRAND! I would much rather put the time and effort into branding myself like that versus everyone thinking you might be a dead beat, who never goes the extra mile, always goes home at the strike of 5 on the dot, complains about how dirty the bathroom is and then never cleaning it. Nah, trust me, you don’t want to be that guy.

Today with social media and technology, branding ourselves is a bit easier in the sense that we can reach so many people in just a few clicks. I still like to network the old fashion way because that’s who I am, but I alo implement other ways to brand myself too. One is through blogging, which I love! The other is through monthly email newsletters, being seen as the GO TO person for super awesome information, having a nice clean informational website, clean and precisely driven marketing materials about my business, and holding the most professional image of myself as possible on social media and business networking and self branding sites.

Recently I was invited by a colleague to join MyOpportunity and BrandedMe, which are two fairly new networking sites similar to LinkedIn, yet they all differ a bit in what they offer and I LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! them.  I will say that before I join anything, I complete some due diligence to ensure that it’s worthy of my time and that the offer is legit. I’ve been on LinkedIn for years, since 2007 or 2008 I believe. It’s proven to have been largely successful to me over the years and I value every connection I make. I don’t just go through and connect with just anyone, I review their profiles and I look at certain people to see if we can be beneficial to each other now or in the future. I found that by joining these other two sites, there are different people on each one of them. I’m getting new contacts and connections on every platform and the experience is fascinating to say the least. It doesn’t require a lot of time, of course you could sit on there all day no doubt. But a few hours a week can go a long way in branding yourself and your business.

 

The point is NEVER QUIT branding, do it in everything you do and it will follow you forever.

You will find me here: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-holtz-7b235647

BrandedMe: https://branded.me/tina-darinholtz

MyOpportunity: https://www.myopportunity.com/profile/tina-holtz

 

Best of Luck!

Tina~Miss Executive

As more and more people are becoming familiar with the term VA and virtual assisting, not everyone has a clear understanding of what it is that a VA does. Although I’ve written a previous blog post on some of the most common services provided by a VA, there are other services available as well, which to some might come as a surprise. Each VA has specific services they offer in their practice, so the types of services offered by each will vary significantly.

Here are some additional services that you might find being offered, many which are offered by myself at Executive Business Services, LLC.

Services You May Not Know a VA Provides

Online Media Consulting- setting up and maintaining social networks, creating online marketing strategies and advertisements like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pinterest, ScoopIt, Google Adwords, etc.

Ancestry and Geneology Research- want to know about your ancestors or find missing relatives or learn more about your family heritage?

Proofreading- reviewing documents and materials for grammar and spelling errors.

Budgeting and Forecasting-both corporate and personal. Need a budget, need guidance, need help getting back on track or finding ways to cut costs and un-needed expenses?

Shopping and Gift Buying-a VA can many times arrange to purchase gifts both locally and online worldwide and have them delivered right to your door.

Corporate and Personal Travel Arrangements-airfare, hotels, meetings, events, retreats, golf tournaments, concerts, vacations, etc.

Locating Hard to Find Items-VA’s are very informational and highly experienced in research, chances are your VA can find what you need in a short period of time.

Wedding and Event Planning-weddings, ceremonies, honeymoons, reunions, parties, retirement celebrations, anniversary’s, baby showers, etc.

Personal and Executive Assistant-an assistant for everything you need! VA’s are well versed in all sector’s of business. Find the one that can best service your needs and you’ll be well organized and spoiled.

Finding Suppliers and Vendors-VA’s are very good at establishing relationships and setting up new accounts for your business often times researching where to get the best service and price for you.

Cold Calling-Many VA’s will cold call prospective clients on your behalf including setting appointments for your sales staff.

Building Customer Lists-locate new prospective clients or markets for you and provide that information in list form.

Letter, Invitation and Card Writing-sending cards, letters, and invitations for you, this is a highly time sensitive process that many businesses don’t have time for.

Gift Baskets and Floral Deliveries-want to send a bouquet to a sick employee, or a gift basket to a customer, maybe flowers for your wife, your VA will handle this task, just call and give a budget and the rest is done.

Reminder Services-VA’s are very good at maintaining a schedule for their clients and setting reminders and notifying you of important appointments so that you NEVER miss another meeting.

Corporate and Personal Research and Special Projects-you never know what you might need to research and you may lack the time to complete effective research, call your VA and they can do this fairly quickly for you.

Relocation and Moving Services-moving your business or perhaps your family. Need help finding a moving company, or changing address, notifying customers, vendors, etc. Your VA can help with this. Your VA can even find your new location or home as well.

Homestaging/Decluttering/Organizing-some VA’s specialize in these services and are highly savvy when it comes to these needs. If you need help getting a home sold or becoming more organized, this could be just what you need.

Referral Service for Trades, Contractors, etc.-with the many relationships that VA’s have they have a long list of businesses, contractors, and trades in your local area and can more than likely quickly find them for you anywhere in the U.S.

Scheduling-setting up and maintaining a schedule for you.

Auditing-a complete review of your insurance policies, workman’s comp, benefits, office supply purchases, fuel receipts, DOT logs, safety and policy manuals, financials, spending accounts.

Contact and Database Management and Setup-want to track your customers, vendors, or family better? Maybe you have a database of information that you don’t have time to maintain. Your VA can take care of the implementation of several database management systems and maintain them as well.

Competitive Research-want to know what your competitors are up to? You will also need this information for drafting a business plan or starting a new business.

 

 

A virtual assistant is truly an amazing member to have on your professional team. Just like having a CPA, a lawyer, an insurance agent, and a banker, you should also have a virtual assistant to help you as needed with a variety of business support services.

Tina-Miss Executive

I moved into a new office in beautiful Rifle, Colorado a few weeks ago. For the past three years I ran Executive Business Services, LLC on a part-time basis while I worked my full time job in the Oil and Gas Industry. I was unexpectedly laid off in March of this year due to an economic downturn in the industry. I wasn’t truly surprised that layoff’s happened, but I was surprised when I was called into the office and I was one of the layoffs.

I started working more and more on my business and within a few weeks I had two clients keeping me busy for about 25-30 hours a week. Soon I realized that this is what I absolutely love doing and that I was ready to go at it full-time. My passion is business and I enjoy helping people with their businesses. It is very gratifying for me and it makes me happy!

Working from home definitely has it’s benefits for sure, but for me it posed many challenges. I remember when my kids were little all I dreamed of was a work at home job.

The main issue for me is that I live in the mountain boonies. I don’t get cell service at home and I don’t get high speed internet. I have satellite internet and I am limited to only 10 GB a month at a VERY high cost. A new challenge this year was that one of my children decided to home school through an online school which meant she would need access to the internet too and suddenly I thought, this is it. I HAVE TO GET AN OFFICE IN TOWN! I was literally driving into town to take my other child to school each morning, driving home to work, and when a client called for me to come to town or if I needed to run errands I was back in town. I was racking up mileage faster than I ever imagined.

So in July I moved into a beautiful historic building called The Midland in downtown Rifle. It has opened so many new avenues for me and the business. I am easily able to run any errand on foot, I can visit with prospective clients at the restaurants just a few feet away, and I have found more people take the business serious now that I have an actual office.

In addition to that, I have SUPER FAST internet, cell service, and somewhere that separates my home life from my work life. I also have clients visit my office from time to time and the fact that my child and I share an office for her homeschooling has worked out very well. It’s been amazing and I am so happy that I did it.

Tina- Miss Executive