My first ever Corrie Ping and it was a blast!

Wow!  Wednesday night not only did I go to my first ever Ping, I went to the first Ping ever held in Toronto, as far as we can tell!  An evening to go down in history and I was there.

I met some other Corrie fans, Steve, Chris, Stacey – the organizer – and of course the owners of the pub, The Roy.  I didn’t meet the lady at the end of the bar, but she might have been the only other “elder statesperson” in Corrie fandom.  I’ve been a fan longer than Stacey’s been alive.  I first saw Coronation Street, sitting in a room in a suburb of Manchester, that could have been Stan and Hilda Ogden’s main room …complete with “murial”.

But what was so great about it?  The people, of course.  There was only one TV and even with the volume at full, it was hard to hear.  Amazing to think that there were actually other people in the pub who didn’t care about Corrie and insisted on talking and making general noise…believe it or not.

For me though, it’s always the people.   I knew I could watch Corrie again the next morning because I religiously tape the show.  People are what makes everything worthwhile.

And that’s what I feel in my business as well.  As a Virtual Assistant, sometimes I’m not so virtual.  Just the other morning, I went to an event of the American Marketing Association on behalf of one of my clients, actually representing that client as if I was an employee.  When I walked in the door, who was manning the registration desk, but the employee of one of my other clients!  Very small world.  My purpose in attending the meeting was to try to find some potential contacts in the non-profit sector for my client.   One of the first women I spoke to had an association management company who managed 15 non-profits or not-for-profits.  And I thought, “Oh, I’m an idiot.  Why did I not think of connecting the client I was representing and the client who was running the show”.

When the morning was over, I spoke to Candace (the employee) and I mentioned why I was there.  And what did she tell me?  That as far as she knew, one of their other clients was in search of a web designer!  Since I had lots of Kent’s cards (client I was representing) in my pocket, I gave one to Candace who promised to make sure her boss/my client would get it.

Then I went off to do the minutes of a meeting at an organization that is a client of my client who was organizing the morning’s event…was that clear?

Later that day I was able to connect my two clients for a conversation to see if there is any way they can work together.  I love it when a plan works!

And that’s what I think I do really well for my clients, as a value added.  I have such a wide network of acquaintances and I really enjoy it when I can find a solution through that network, that works for a client…or two in this case.

Cheers!

Published by J. Liz Saunders

With over 30 years of experience, J. Liz Saunders delivers exceptional office and sales support to a wide range of businesses. More importantly, she does so with creativity. Her ‘can do’, ‘can solve’, ‘can source’ attitude results in the most efficient and effective completion of her clients’ requirements every time. Upon first meeting, Liz’ her most notable quality is her energy. When preparing for and running the Toronto marathon in 2004, Liz channelled this energy with discipline and determination. She uses those same qualities when organizing her many clients and delivering high quality support services in a timely manner. As a virtual assistant, Liz cold calls and generates leads for sales people; researches sites for meetings; schedules appointments and provides client support; offers transcription services, manages broadcast emails, arranges printing, handles basic bookkeeping; writes correspondence, proposals, quotes and invoices for clients; and acts as a call centre taking registrations for seminars. Liz is a certified Virtual Assistant with extensive experience in Microsoft Office. She has a BA from the University of Toronto and studied Fundraising Management at Ryerson University. She has experience in legal services, construction, insurance, real estate and facilities management. Liz builds her business based on trust, quality and a commitment to exceptional results.

Leave a Reply