One Week in my Virtual Business Lifestyle – Searching, Stressing (a little!) and Producing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyU-l8t_EVg

Location: Company HQ – Reading / Viewing Time: 4mins

Last Friday I shot this quick video (with my webcam, so quality is a little lower than usual), in regards to last week’s going-on’s. I originally thought I might just slam this up on our Facebook Fan Page, but then figured a post would get it to a larger audience – so, here you go.

It was a bit of a topsy-turvy week, and I can report that I am STILL looking for that Operation’s Manager – so, if you fancy it and have previous, relevant experience, let me know. I will bring you a little more up to date on everything this coming Friday, when my latest Monthly Report (for July) will go live.

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Why I Want to be a Virtual CEO (Part 3 of 3)

Location: The Beach, Cebu – Reading / Viewing Time: 4mins

First up, thank you so much for all the great comments and feedback on this short video series. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the blog comments, tweets and emails I’ve been getting all week long. I genuinely didn’t think they were going to be this popular, but, it just goes to show you – never underestimate the power of peoples feelings, and true fans and friends. Thanks again, guys.

Today I wrap up the series, which I shot at a local beach resort here in Cebu, Philippines, when I was on a little getaway with my family last week. In this clip you’ll get to find out the single most important part of wanting to become a Full-Time Virtual CEO – simply being able to ‘be there’ more, for my family. Such a simple thing, but in todays hustle and bustle of business life, its sometimes tough to get around to it.

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Why I Want to be a Virtual CEO (Part 2 of 3)

Location: The Beach, Cebu – Reading / Viewing Time: 4mins

So, here we are with the second part in my short, but sweet three-part series of videos on why I want to be a Virtual CEO. In the last clip I discussed being location independent, which basically means I will be able to work from anywhere, any time I like. The goal here is to make it as seamless as possible, however, so nobody even knows I’m traveling, etc.

In this clip I talk about something that, as a true entrepreneur, I do definitely struggle with. And thats being able to act on some of the ideas and plans I put down on paper, be able to expand my business portfolio, and diversify my earning potential as a business owner. So many ideas, so little time…!

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Why I Want to be a Virtual CEO (Part 1 of 3)

Location: The Beach, Cebu – Reading / Viewing Time: 4mins

Last week I pulled my family out of the city and escaped to one of the many fantastic beach resorts we are blessed with, here in Cebu City, Philippines – getting a taste of the Virtual CEO life, shall we say! Whilst there, we stayed three nights and completely ‘let go’ of everything. I worked seamlessly (about 5 hours a day) throughout the trip – even to the point where one of my managers sent me an email to ask if ‘he could come to my office to discuss a few things when I had time’. He had no idea I wasn’t in the building! Now, THAT’S what I’m talking about!

As I’m at the half-way point on my quest to become a Full-Time Virtual CEO, a goal I set for myself at the beginning of the year, I thought it might be nice to shoot a little series of videos, whilst on this latest little getaway, to give you an insight as to the three main reasons that are spurring me on to accomplishing this year long mission!

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May 2010 “Virtual CEO Goal” Monthly Report

Helping to Promote a Local Brand of 'I Love Cebu' T-Shirts!

Location: Company HQ – Reading Time: 5-6mins

Number of Days in the Office: 19, Total Number of Employees: 186

So, another month passes, and I am now officially just 7 months away from my target of becoming a Full-Time Virtual CEO. Will I hit it? You bet your ass I will…! I don’t set targets to not hit them, guys…!

Amongst other things this past month, a local company wanted me to help promote their new ‘I Love Cebu’ t-shirt range, via billboards, mall banners and newspaper ad’s (as above!), which I was happy to do – as I whole-heartedly DO love this great little city! The rest of the month wasn’t as busy as past ones, mainly because it wasn’t meant to be. Let me explain…

May 2010 was very much my ‘sit back and see how things are going so far’ month. And that’s exactly what I did. I contemplated. I thought. I planned, and actually re-planned certain parts of the next 7 months ahead of me. And I came to one big conclusion – although I have excellent local management around me (some of the best in the business, I believe), I am going to have to hire a full-time expat to come and work for me here in the Philippines, at my company’s HQ.

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4 Ways to Manage Your Healthy Lifestyle Like a Virtual CEO

Location: Company HQ – Reading Time: 5mins

I’m very happy to post this excellent Guest Post by Matt Gartland of HealthyLifestyleDesign.com. Matt comes to the VBL table with some great concepts and ideas on embracing lifestyle design, with the focus on health, more then anything else.

Many people believe that business is boring. These are the same folks that work gloomy 9-5 jobs, believe that meetings are sacred, and are addicted to bureaucratic procedures. Haunting images of Dilbert, Office Space, and The Office come to mind.

These same people believe that health is boring. They are apathetic about their food choices, believe that exercise is stressful, and are surprisingly “too busy” to get healthy. Of course, they think that “healthy” is a straight-jacket restraining personal freedom, indulgence, and fun.

But that’s not you. That’s not me. We don’t settle for conventional wisdom’s. We think and act differently. We design our lives the way we want them. And in so doing, we’ve come to learn that one aspect of our life profoundly influences the next.

And so it is with business and health. The same mindset applies to optimizing both. This may not be obvious on the surface. But half-truths live at the surface. True meaning lies deeper. So let’s dive in and discover the ways you can manage your healthy life just like your virtual business.

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April 2010 “Virtual CEO Goal” Monthly Report

Our Welcoming Lobby at the Live2Sell Group HQ

Location: Home Office – Reading Time: 4-5mins

Number of Days in the Office: 14, Total Number of Employees: 179

This month went by faster than I realized… Hence the slightly late post! My Virtual CEO Goal is still moving along nicely, and again, I feel like I am getting closer and closer to it with every passing month. I have a plan in place, written down, and I am working that plan. It’s a 12 month plan of action including everything from automating certain aspects of my business as well as hiring of important, key employees, that fundamentally will ultimately allow me to remove myself from the business on a full-time basis. I have no doubt this year will end with my mission being accomplished.

We brought on board 3 new virtual assistant clients this month, and they have been going really nicely so far. One of our clients even sent greeting cards to his VA at the companies HQ, which put a massive smile on her face upon receiving them!…

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I’m Too Busy for Bullshit – The Things I’m Doing to Stay Productive!

Location: Home Office – Reading Time: 4-5mins

2010 is shaping up to be an incredible year for me, business wise so far. As you’ll know by reading my Monthly Reports, by the end of the year I sincerely believe I will be a Full Time Virtual CEO, working from wherever I like, whenever I like, doing whatever I like – but, still growing my businesses. For the time-being (and realistically for the very long foreseeable future, because I just love doing it so much!) my focus will remain on my parent company – the Live2Sell Group – however, there is a hell of a lot of other opportunities coming my way, too.

The whole thing here is that as I begin to warm-up the furnace that will be ‘2010’, it’s hitting me very hard – I am getting convincingly more and more busy. In itself, this isn’t an issue, as long as I maximize my time every day. Because, lets face it – wasting time is bullshit, plain and simple! …

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