Virtual Moxie

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

It's been an interesting week. I've heard from three different Virtual Assistants that they've been contacted by potential clients who were told that working with VAs was the "cheap" way to get their work done. I really don't know who's spreading that bunk around--maybe it comes through things they're seeing from people who use offshored companies, which are a horse of an entirely different color from what's going on in our profession.

Payroll 167

Payroll Equipment UPS 167

The Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Top 5 Tips posts are always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Try to avoid any Twitter “gaffes” by making false assumptions about the service.

Twitter 162

Twitter Learning 162

Step It Up VA Coaching

MARCH 1, 2012

by Donna Toothaker. As a VA, one of your most valuable assets is your passion for helping people, and one of the great sources of job satisfaction is seeing your clients happy and their businesses growing. Yes, most VAs are ‘helpful’ in nature and we want to do what we can for people. But are you doing too much, for too little? If you are holding on to low paying clients, you are hindering your own business growth.

AT&T 157

AT&T Confidence UPS 157

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

The strategy consulting firm BCG recently conducted a global study of small business Internet use.  The goal of the study was to understand how use of the Internet related to small business performance.   Based on survey results, BCG divided small businesses into 4 buckets - high, medium, low and non-users of the Internet and related technologies.  They then compared sales growth, profitability and other business performance measures by these categories.

AT&T 152

AT&T Goals 152

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!

Collaborate

Job Advice Blog

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

I am a practicing career coach and have noticed that in most cases, I guide my clients through 10 certain deeply held beliefs of mine that have evolved over my years of practice. I decided to call the concepts the Landing Expert Principles—naming them after my Web site, www.landingexpert.com Job seekers should have their résumés [.].

Interviewing 149

Interviewing Networking Skills 149

Office Organization Success

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

It’s here! The much anticipated Superlicious Leap Year VA Give Away Event. My friend and colleague, Pam Ivey, has just released a massive giveaway event – The Superlicious Leap Year VA Give Away! [link]. Simply sign up and get the scoop on: training. e-books. audios. videos. tools to help you build your virtual support business. ebooks and audios on personal development.

Training 144

Training UPS 144

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

According to Wikipedia, a Geo-fence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area.   From a marketing standpoint, geo-fencing generally refers to setting up a digital perimeter around a store or shopping area. The crossing of the digital geo-fence by a consumer with a smart, mobile device triggers a marketing offer such as a coupon.   This is often called "proximity marketing" and is considered by many to be the holy grail of location-based services.

Equipment 150

Equipment UPS 150

Virtual Moxie

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Many clients try to tell their VAs that they should learn for them (the clients) on their own (the VA's) time because maybe somewhere down the road, the thing learned will be applicable to something the VA will do for another client. Sometimes, that's seems like a fair comment--as in when the client wants you to learn to set up Basecamp. But sometimes, it's just not--as in when a client wants you to learn a very specific and not widely used program.

Basecamp 142

Basecamp Learning UPS Training 142

Ian's Messy Desk

MARCH 1, 2012

Working at an organizations’ head office, we see a lot of paper. We recently were involved in a capital project to build a new program facility in our region. When the HVAC system was installed, someone thought we might want the user manual for the system: a 400 page PDF document. Instead of filing the PDF on the network, the document was printed and placed in a filing cabinet , where it will sit until doomsday.

PDF 140

PDF Filing Policies Purchasing 140

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Interviewing

Productivity Bits

MARCH 1, 2012

H aving the phrase “No System” and “Organize” both on the title of this post almost sounds a bit contradictory. But there are some benefits to that contradiction. I am a big fan of the GTD bandwagon. Make no mistake about it. I think that GTD will help you to be productive in many ways. You need a system to get things done. Plain and simple.

Budget 139

Budget Phones Purchasing Stress 139

Small Business Labs

MARCH 1, 2012

Nielsen's State of the Media: U.S. Digital Consumer Report, Q3-Q4 2011 (free, registration required) describes in detailed the digital connectedness of Gen Y, which they describe as 18-34 year olds. None of the data is surprising - everyone knows Gen Y is a wired generation.  But it's very useful to see hard data supporting this.  Key quote from their blog post on the report : The latest Census reports that Americans 18-34 make up 23 percent of the U.S. population, yet they r

2011 144

2011 Networking UPS 144

Virtual Moxie

MARCH 1, 2012

There are many things you can be known for. I think the best is to be known as a truth-teller. People can't trust you if they don't know where you stand, or where they stand with you. Always say what's so. Sometimes that's painful, sometimes it's not. It's always the right (and kind) thing to do.

Training 139

Training 139

On The Job

MARCH 1, 2012

I've been told that when I am in meetings, my body language screams "I hate being here." Nice to know my body is listening to my mind. Seriously, there are some meetings I enjoy and find myself fascinated by the interesting comments and dynamic personalities. When the meetings are over, I feel recharged and ready to take on the world. But sometimes, I hate being there.

Agenda 138

Agenda Learning UPS 138

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Policies

Office Organization Success

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Lots to share this week… One of the best ways you can grow your business is to get out from behind your PC and go and meet people! This was one of the goals I set for myself this year … to get out more, and so far I’m achieving that goal. Just this week I had coffee with a colleague who has put me in touch with several people in the area who are looking for speakers to host workshops.

2012 133

2012 Project Management Goals Networking 133

Ian's Messy Desk

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

Yesterday, I posted some tips for running effective meetings. What happens when you’re on the other side of the table? How can you ensure you are getting the most out of meetings you attend ? When you attend a meeting you should: Attend only if needed. Some use meetings as a weapon in their office politics arsenal. They attended to be seen and heard whether they need to be there or not.

Agenda 133

Agenda Meeting Minutes UPS Management 133

Virtual Moxie

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

For years, I've longed for a great program I could refer VA's to, to help them become great writers. Dawn Goldberg has the answer in her Writing Essentials Program. If you know you don't write well, she can help. If you're unsure, she can help you figure that out. And if you simply want to write better, she can help. At AssistU, she's our go-to resource for writing skills and training, and we can't recommend her program highly enough!

Training 130

Training Skills 130

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Lots of good information on mobile computing in comScore's 2012 Mobile Future in Focus report (free, registration required).   One thing that really jumped out at me is the impact of smartphones on small business transparency.   According to the report, the use of smartphones continues to rapidly expand and consumers are increasingly using their phones as part of their retail purchase process.  Key data: Nearly 42 percent of all U.S. mobile subscribers use smartphones.

2012 129

2012 2011 Purchasing Phones 129

Speaker: Tim Buteyn

Let's set the scene: you’ve identified a critical performance gap in your organization and need to close that gap. A colleague suggests training, but you suspect there’s something going on that training can’t address. How can you determine if training is the right solution before you commit your budget and resources to a new training program? In this webinar, you will learn how to determine if training is the right solution using the Behavior Engineering Model.

Training

Practically Perfect PA

MARCH 2, 2012

I was recently asked what I thought was the most important aspect of being an executive assistant, having scoured my brain for a smart answer I simply said ‘maintaining a good relationship with your manager’. I’m still not 100% sure if it is the most important part of being an EA but having thought about it keeping and maintaining a good relationship with your manager makes the life of an EA a lot easier. .

Management 116

Management Gossip Filing Confidence 116

Ian's Messy Desk

MARCH 1, 2012

Each year, January 28 is designated as Data Privacy Day. Don’t bother looking for Hallmark cards, it’s not that kind of day. Canada, the United States and 27 European countries, mark this occasion as a means of raising awareness and generating discussion about data privacy practices and rights. Most people aren’t aware such a day exists. This probably speaks to the fact that too few people realize they are leaving an trail of data behind them for others to collect, merge, analyze, massage and se

PDF 126

PDF Fax Policies International 126

Virtual Moxie

FEBRUARY 26, 2012

If you have other specialties--things you do at such a high level that you could make a business doing them (like bookkeeping or graphic design, or IT help), consider that they should be their own offerings, with different pricing. You can also market them individually to people, creating multiple revenue streams for yourself.

Training 130

Training 130

Loosely Speaking

MARCH 2, 2012

Andrew was 13. He and I returned home from his birthday weekend in Phoenix to find it in our driveway. A garnet 1994 SR5 5-speed Toyota 4-Runner. The first new car I’d ever owned, purchased that weekend by my husband-to-be as our new family car. I freaked out. It took me at least six months to relax and begin to enjoy it, and then the fun began.

Temping 116

Temping Purchasing UPS 116

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

We’ve all been there. You’ve been given a pile of dry content and asked to create a compelling eLearning course. You’re determined to create something more engaging than the same old course that learners quickly click through, but how do you take this “boring” content and create something relevant and engaging? Many instructional designers will say, “Boring in means boring out.

Policies

Office Dynamics

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

It is our pleasure to announce we have added NINE new Star Achievement Series ® Certified Trainers to our star family! Friday, February 24 the following individuals were awarded their Star Achievement Series ® Trainer Certification (in order as pictured from left to right): Karen Andrews, Procter & Gamble; Jana Herlitz, LSI Corporation; Denise Holata, LSI Corporation; Laurie Lampman, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP; Joan Burge, CEO & Founder, Office Dynamics International, Inc.; Jane McCoy, Kin

International 116

International 116

Ian's Messy Desk

FEBRUARY 29, 2012

Amazing, isn’t it? Every day, you’re given 24 hours. Some days, you feel like you’ve lived every hour. Other days, the time seems to slip through your fingers like grains of sand. Even though time can’t be pinned down, we live in a society that tries to do just that. Schedules, timetables and deadlines are the framework of modern life.

Phones 122

Phones AT&T Management Calendars 122

Laughing all the Way to Work

MARCH 1, 2012

Someone sent me a link to an article about the benefits of laughter. Here is the link: [link].

Health 100

Health 100

Brilliantly Better

FEBRUARY 28, 2012

It’s official, the latest version of WPSumo, 1.1.5, is up and ready for download. It’s also the first release after I took on this project, last year. As you may imagine this wasn’t an easy ride. As a matter of fact it was way more time consuming than I initially thought. Here are my thoughts on what are the upsides, the downsides and the overall feeling of reviving an old project.

Learning 70

Learning International Training Filing 70

Speaker: Chester Santos – Author, International Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, Memory Expert, U.S. Memory Champion

In October, scientists discovered that 75% of patients who experienced brain fog had a lower quality of life at work than those who did not. At best, brain fog makes you slower and less efficient. At worst, your performance and cognitive functions are impaired, resulting in memory, management, and task completion problems. In this entertaining and interactive presentation, Chester Santos, "The International Man of Memory," will assist you in developing life-changing skills that will greatly enha

Networking

Office Dynamics

MARCH 2, 2012

From our friends at Business Management Daily: I’m supposed to work part time, but the load is full time. by ALICE BUMGARNER, MODERATOR on FEBRUARY 15, 2012 2:39PM. in ADMIN PRO FORUM. Question: “I work in a small office of 10 employees (an insurance company). I work 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; all the other employees work full time. At times I need to pass work to others to handle in the afternoon hours.

2012 100

2012 Management 100

Ian's Messy Desk

FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Image via Wikipedia. Meetings can be effective ways of sharing information or reaching a decision. However, ineffectively run, they can swallow up your time without giving much benefit. Just as jobs have a cost, meetings have a cost; not only for you but for all who attend. After any meeting ask yourself, “was my contribution worth my investment?”.

Agenda 122

Agenda Management UPS 122

Service Untitled

MARCH 2, 2012

Customer service should be a priority if organizations expect to expand their businesses with new customers while still retaining their current loyal clientele. Businesses are so inundated with such automated services as paying bills online, balancing bank accounts online, pressing 14 digit account numbers followed by pin numbers, our first pet’s name, our mother’s maiden name and the last four digits of our Social Security number, it almost seems that we all too commonly accept po

Customer Service 63

Customer Service Twitter Facebook Learning 63