Stephanie LH Calahan

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Productive & Organized Home Contribute to P&O! Archive Network with Steph Is This You? Work With Stephanie « Start 2011 off Organized! | Main | Group Similar Tasks Together for Awesome #TimeManagement » Make Your Resolutions/Goals from a Customer/Client Perspective & Grow Your Business Next Year (The 3 Ss) Every year at this time we start to think about how the current year has progressed and what we want to do in the upcoming year.

Goals 191

Goals Networking AT&T Fax 191

The Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 12, 2010

The top 5 tips weekly post is always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Make sure that your back office process is designed with the greatest amount of flexibility in mind and any potential roadblocks are removed from the process. 2. Don’t turn the process into more of a burden than it needs to be. Staff should not be overburdened with administrative duties if they also have other functions to perform. 3.

Training 157

Training 157

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 13, 2010

The quick answer is yes -  if you see a positive return from the time and effort required to maintain a Twitter presence.  Having said that, we believe the answer will be no for most small businesses.  The reason is simple.  A very small percentage of adult Americans are regular users of Twitter.  A recent Pew Internet study reports that about 8% of online, adult Americans use Twitter.  Only about 75% of Americans are online, which means about 6% of all adult

Twitter 151

Twitter Social Media Expenses AT&T 151

Virtual Moxie

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Virtual Moxie - The Cure For The Common Virtual Assistance Practice I Want Moxie! And you can also join in the conversation about Moxie posts happening over on my Facebook page Recent Comments Stephanie on Speed is the enemy of many good things. Anastacia on Speed is the enemy of many good things. Renee on Speed is the enemy of many good things. Pam Ryan on Speed is the enemy of many good things.

Gifts 146

Gifts 2010 2011 AT&T 146

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

Office Dynamics

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Whether you are satisfied in your current position or looking for work, you owe it to yourself to be ready to take advantage of opportunities. You never know when an exciting new opportunity will become available; when one opens to you, be prepared to receive it or it may pass you by. The old adage, “strike while the iron is hot” still applies, even for 21st century administrative professional careers!

Cover Letter 132

Cover Letter Resume Administrative Professionals Skills 132

Complete Organizing Solutions

DECEMBER 14, 2010

This season don’t forget to add one more thing to your list… batteries are not included for many gifts! Last week on Penelope Loves Lists , Meredith posted about battery organization and I thought this would be a great time to show you my battery drawer! We just stocked up in time for Christmas. There are always new toys or gadgets and gizmos that need batteries and what a bummer to realize there are none in the house!

Gifts 131

Gifts UPS 131

Ian's Messy Desk

DECEMBER 14, 2010

You’re well into the holiday shopping season and these tips may be too little, too late for many of you. However, make a note of these, start your planning early and be ready for next year. image via Wikipedia. Work from a Budget. Make a list of everyone you plan to give holiday gifts to this year with an estimate of what you want to spend. Add a small buffer for unexpected gifts for people you forgot to include, or for people who unexpectedly gave you a gift and you feel you have to recip

Gifts 130

Gifts Credit Card Budget Holidays 130

Loosely Speaking

DECEMBER 17, 2010

December 2010 Podcast Program Notes– Tara’s and my holiday bonus episode. NOTE: if you see a “warning at the top of this post, please ignore. It’s a coding thing I am working on with the developer of the podcasting software I have installed. Scroll to the bottom of this page and click on the “AZVAs the Podcast&# link to listen to the episode now.

Copyright 125

Copyright 2011 2010 Holidays 125

The Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 16, 2010

You put the phone down after one hour of explaining to your client why you can’t deliver yesterday or perform miracles! And the bad thing is, he will call back again tomorrow. But you are in customer care and that is what you have to do – taking the good with the bad – right? Wrong!! You can’t do it right for everyone, that is not possible, no matter what you do!

Phones 148

Phones 148

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Interviewing

Complete Organizing Solutions

DECEMBER 13, 2010

In case you missed the full series before Thanksgiving. I thought I would share our master closet and pantry makeover one more time. Take a peek at the before and after pictures below, then you will find links to the complete series detailing the installation process from beginning to end! I recently partnered up with The Stow Company to completely makeover my master closet and pantry with custom closet solutions, a dream come true!

UPS 128

UPS 128

Ian's Messy Desk

DECEMBER 11, 2010

Image by apium via Flickr. One of the most common story lines in Christmas episodes of television shows is the conflict arising from the expectations of visiting family and friends during the holidays. I suspect the recurring use of this theme is due to its resonance with viewers. There’s an expectation that major holidays are a time to celebrate with family and friends.

Holidays 126

Holidays Stress AT&T UPS 126

Eat Your Career

DECEMBER 15, 2010

This time of year, as we approach the New Year, most of us spend an inordinate amount of time reflecting on where we’ve been and where we’re going. It can be depressing for some people; especially those who feel like their goals are never getting any closer to reality. I know because I used to be one of those people. Every December 31st, I’d look back on the year that was and think, “Next year, things will be different.

2011 122

2011 Goals Google Facebook 122

The Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 15, 2010

Answer phone messages you really enjoy: Accountant: “ Good morning, I’m calling to talk about your P & L and your Balance Sheet! “ Web Designer: “ Hi, we need to talk SEO – call me! “ These are conversation you can’t wait to have, right? Well, how about these: Accountant: “Good morning, I wanted to talk about how much money you made/lost last year – give me a call. &# or… Web Designer: “ Hi, I’d like to talk to you abou

Phones 139

Phones 139

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Policies

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 14, 2010

A professor at South Dakota State University analyzed non-farm wage, salary and sole proprietorship data for 2000 and 2008 by county for South Dakota.  He found the number of non-farm business sole proprietors grew during this period.  Key quote from an article in Sioux Fall's Argus Leader: "The bottom line is that the number of self-employed South Dakotans is increasing faster than those in hired positions.

Salary 121

Salary 2008 Learning 121

Ian's Messy Desk

DECEMBER 15, 2010

PhatWare Corporation has today released PhatPad for iPad, a note-taking and collaboration app featuring PhatWare’s proven handwriting recognition technology. PhatPad turns an iPad into an brainstorming tool by enabling users to draw, write, and type on the iPad, then instantly share ideas via email, WiFi sync, Dropbox, or with PhatPad’s built-in presentation mode.

Collaborate 122

Collaborate Dropbox Keyboards PDF 122

Make or Break Moments

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Building customer relationships, earning customer loyalty - these are passions of mine and I was pleased to see an article offering 7 key steps to creating customer loyalty in Fast Track magazine. Author, Micah Solomon, opens his list with this comment: A personal bond with customers lets your company escape the commodity pricing wars and provides [.].

116

116

The Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 17, 2010

If you want to learn more about virtual assistants, or you are a virtual assistant who wants to know or share some tips and tricks about the profession then the new website Assistant Edge should be your first destination. Assistant Edge is a news portal for virtual assistants around the globe to come together and share information on various topics related to professional assistantship.

Social Media 138

Social Media Training Learning 138

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

Office Organization Success

DECEMBER 16, 2010

I’m a huge fan of the WishList Member membership site plugin for WordPress – I’m currently using it on my School for Online Business Management program and very soon the Easy Office Organization program – so I thought I’d share with you the special offer they’re currently running… Right now they have a “Buy 1, Get 1 Free&# so this is a great time if you’ve been thinking about adding a membership program and/or continuity program to your busin

Management 116

Management 116

Complete Organizing Solutions

DECEMBER 16, 2010

We just had our first snow here in Tennessee and oh what a mess. I love watching the kids get all excited about playing in the snow but a small part of me dreads getting them bundled up and then un-bundled again. And then there is the wet sloshy, muddy mess they bring in. Blech. I could do without. See, here we get very few snow days, in fact last year the schools closed one day because it was supposed to snow.

Twitter 113

Twitter Management UPS Clothes 113

Make or Break Moments

DECEMBER 16, 2010

I received a lovely surprise in the mail today. A friend and colleague of mine, Leslie Ungar, president of Electric Impulse Communication, sent me a copy of her new book 100 Tips in 100 Days, 100 Tips to Communicate Your Competitive Edge. It is a clever, information packed, must-have to help you communicate your message [.].

109

109

The Small Business Blog

DECEMBER 17, 2010

Hiring staff is aways a double edged sword, staff cost money, time but hopefully they will take work off of your back and increase productivity. After weeks you are still doing the work you hoped your new staff member would do, but here you are still talking to the customer, etc. – so, why did you hire the new staff member? The reasons are still the same, aren’t they?

AT&T 136

AT&T 136

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

Step It Up VA Coaching

DECEMBER 16, 2010

by Donna Toothaker. The quickest way to increase cash flow in your business is to create new products to sell. The quickest way to create new products is to repurpose the content you already have. Repurposing your content by tailoring it in different formats – ebooks, audio, video – also gives you more marketing tools to promote your products and services to new audiences.

Promotion 109

Promotion Filing UPS 109

Complete Organizing Solutions

DECEMBER 13, 2010

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. ~ Winston Churchill. - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -.

UPS 113

UPS 113

Office Dynamics

DECEMBER 15, 2010

As an executive assistant used to a fast-paced environment supporting executives, you are like a finely tuned system. You enjoy the challenge of each workday. And, you are well aware that your resume speaks volumes. So how is your packaging in comparison? Are you “gift wrapped” to best promote your professionalism and spirit of excellence? Perhaps you aren’t job hunting, but have an idea you’d like to pitch to management.

Gifts 100

Gifts Job Hunting Resume Skills 100

Brilliantly Better

DECEMBER 12, 2010

Tweet Everybody has daemons. And I’m not talking about those small, dormant, discrete programs running in the background of your computer (I know a few programmers are reading this blog so I thought to cut any ambiguities from the start). I’m talking about real, active and powerful forces which are acting in a disruptive way. Sometimes those forces are taking the form of people.

Forms 83

Forms Learning AT&T 2010 83

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

Small Business CEO

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Social Media is going crazy viral as each day passes. Nowadays, it seems that everybody and their mothers use different social networking sites for a variety of purposes. In a show of entrepreneurial spirit, small businesses everywhere started to get on this marketing technique and follow it with such gusto that every article seems to focus on this strategy.

Social Media 67

Social Media Agencies Networking Google 67

Men With Pens

DECEMBER 16, 2010

Sometimes you meet surprising people online. They’re the ones you never expected to like but end up liking anyways, just because they’re quirky or funny or nice to you. So when Martin Stellar sent me a post that tells you the secret of getting big names to like you and how to get people paying attention to you, I had to share it. Enjoy. James Chartrand has a crush on me.

Social Media 64

Social Media Twitter AT&T Email 64

Office Dynamics

DECEMBER 15, 2010

As an executive assistant used to a fast-paced environment supporting executives, you are like a finely tuned system. You enjoy the challenge of each workday. And, you are well aware that your resume speaks volumes. So how is your packaging in comparison? Are you “gift wrapped” to best promote your professionalism and spirit of excellence? Perhaps you aren’t job hunting, but have an idea you’d like to pitch to management.

Gifts 100

Gifts Job Hunting Resume Skills 100