Are you a rule follower? A trailblazer? Or are you a little of both? Janice Plado Dalager and Debra Ann Dotson discuss being rule followers versus trailblazers, and how we are never one or the other. We sometimes need to follow rules when working with clients, but also need to provide unique solutions to problems, thus being trailblazers.  Whether you follow the rules or blaze new trails depends on “how you want to express yourself” in your business, according to Janice. Share your views with us on Facebook and Instagram (@sheroesofsmallbusiness). - Sheroes of Small Business: https://sh ..read more

Do you take work with you on vacation? If you do, how to you relax and recharge?   Janice Plado Dalager and Debra Ann Dotson discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working while on vacation. Both Janice and Debra embrace the remote office culture and are considering the digital nomad lifestyle. But just because technology allows you to do your work from anywhere, that doesn't mean you should always be working.   Janice also provides insight from one of her favorite books, Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business, by Paul Jarvis. Debra is now reading t ..read more

The Sheroes discuss their writing processes—or rather, the lack thereof. Janice Plado Dalager (Janice Your VA) says when writing, she comes from the "school of suffering," meaning any amount of writing causes a lot of trepidation. She doesn't have any problem starting a project, but finishing an article or post is another story. Debra Ann Dotson, who writes 80,000-word novels, has difficulty putting 250 words together for a simple blog post, and would prefer if Janice wrote the description for each podcast episode. Debra and Janice discuss the benefits of keeping up with a writing practice an ..read more

In this episode of Sheroes of Small Business, Debra Ann Dotson and Janice Plado Dalager (Janice Your VA) discuss “owning our time.” We do this by creating schedules that work for us as well as our clients. As we work with people in different time zones, it no longer makes sense to work the standard 8 to 5. And since we are building our own businesses to have a better work-life balance, we need to create a schedule that allows us to work when we are at our peak and affords ample time off to recharge. When you “own your time,” everyone wins. You’ll be happier, more productive, and both you and y ..read more

Season 4 of Sheroes of Small Business begins with an introduction to Community Productivity Hour, a monthly event hosted by Janice Plado Dalager (Janice Your VA). Learn how Janice started CPH and how it has grown from a 60-minute to a 90-minute session of goal crushing fun! Debra Ann Dotson shares her experience as a faithful attendee and how the events keep her hyper-focused on her projects. You can learn more about CPH at JaniceYourVA.com. - Sheroes of Small Business: https://sheroesofsmallbusiness.buzzsprout.com/ - July 2022 Community Productivity Hour: http://bit.ly/cph-july2022 Hosts ..read more

In this episode of Sheroes of Small Business, Delores Garcia asks Janice Plado Dalager to explain the advantages of hiring a virtual assistant to help us with our various business tasks. You know, those necessities that we either don’t have time to do or don’t understand how to do ourselves. Janice also discusses where to find a virtual assistant and how much you can expect to pay.  ..read more

Shereos, it is time to consider what services you have to offer, how you will package your offerings, and how much you will charge. We are in business to make money, but it can be a sensitive subject. Today, the Shereos of Small Business bring their industry-specific perspectives to the table to discuss different considerations surrounding price points and how to communicate your fees. Chelsea weighs the option of posting prices (or ranges) on her website versus quoting the package price only after a consultation. This leads to Janice sharing her experiences of price testing new services with ..read more

In this episode of Sheroes of Small Business, Debra, Janice, and Delores discuss where they find inspiration for new ideas for their businesses. They discuss everything from listening to podcasts and reading blogs to taking a walk and listening to music. Inspiration can appear at the oddest times and in the strangest ways. It’s best always to be prepared and never discount any idea or thought as crazy or not worth the time. Finally, Chelsea talks about finding new ideas from social media and why it’s best to try something different instead of following the crowd. Here are just some of the reso ..read more

In this week’s episode, the Sheroes continue discussing the advantages and disadvantages of publishing prices on our websites. We discuss how specific we need to be about our services and how pricing can be affected by knowing our strengths and the amount of time it takes to do a task well. When starting or building our businesses, we must understand the value of our unique perspectives and talents. Finally, we tackle the importance of post-service conversations with our clients—the truth can set us free! All this and so much more is coming your way on Sheroes of Small Business ..read more

Janice, Delores, and Debra continue their discussion about having a strategy when you decide to outsource tasks to a virtual assistant (VA). The conversation naturally progresses into different owner mindsets when it comes to spending money in our businesses, which involve determining "investment vs. cost," as well as marketing, value, and pricing. We conclude the episode with Janice's passionate reminder that workers are not robots and how female business owners have the power to change business culture when we uphold humanity in the workplace ..read more