Sat.Jan 19, 2013 - Fri.Jan 25, 2013

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The questions you need to ask before you cover for another assistant

Practically Perfect PA

In last week’s blog I wrote about assistants working together as a team and part of the blog discussed how we should cover for each other when one of us is off sick or on holiday. Once the blog was published I had a couple of people tweet to say that cover for other assistants is hard work and can be a thankless task so I thought I’d follow up with the questions you need to ask before you agree to cover for another assistant.

Holidays 191
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Green Energy: Simple Ways to Save Money and Protect the Environment

Eco-Office Gals

Believe it or not, building an eco-friendly house from renewable materials isn’t the only way to go green. That’s right, even the smallest changes like arranging boiler maintenance or fixing leaking taps can save you money and protect the environment, so there’s no need to shop for wind turbines or solar panels just yet. Use energy-saving light bulbs.

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Productivity versus the perils of working from home

The Small Business Blog

When I am not blogging, I am writing or editing copy for clients. I have exactly eight hours in which to get this work done. That’s a fair amount of time, isn’t it? Well, four of those hours are between 8am and 12pm while my four-year-old is at nursery. (I have tried working while she is at home in the afternoon and have even become adept at singing the ‘Hog Dog Song’ along with her, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto while simultaneously bashing out some copy – but frankly, it’s not ideal)

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6 Ways to Wow an Interviewer Via Video Interview

On The Job

Not long ago someone wanted to interview me via Skype. I froze. I badly needed a haircut. I had bags under my eyes after a week of no sleep because of a bad head cold. The t-shirt I was wearing had a big stain from the tea I had spilled on myself earlier. A Skype interview? Oh, yeah, that was so never going to happen. But if you're a job searcher, you've got to always be ready for that call asking for a video interview.

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SME Relationships: Proven Solutions for Seamless Collaboration and Success

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!

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Working with other assistants

Practically Perfect PA

In my recent blog on what I think Assistants can expect in 2013 I briefly discussed the relationship between assistants and how teamwork and support of each other will become more important this year. I thought I would go into a bit more detail and give some tips on how we can work as a team. Working as a team. If your company is anything like mine then you will also have assistants spread out across different teams, floors, offices and Countries reporting into different managers with varying de

Agenda 188

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The Increasing Popularity of Net-Zero Energy Buildings

Eco-Office Gals

In an ideal world of eco-thusiasts, all buildings would run on totally green power, creating no carbon footprint whatsoever. Unfortunately, the majority of homes, offices, and other buildings still run on electricity from the grid, natural gas, and the like. In other words, they operate entirely on the consumption of fossil fuels. Such buildings are estimated to draw nearly half of all fossil fuel energy produced, and as a result, they are responsible for massive greenhouse gas emissions.

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Top 5 Tips for Social Media #Hashtags

The Small Business Blog

Top 5 Tips posts from the SME Blog are always full of hints and tips for small, home & micro business owners. 1. Hashtags are widely used on social media, especially on Twitter, but have now been adopted by many other social media platforms too. A hashtag is used to collect a series of messages from an individual or a group of people. 2. If you plan on using hashtags as part of a social media campaign for your business, make sure you understand why you are using them and what you hope to acc

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Do You Know Whom to Network With?

Job Advice Blog

By far the most effective way of getting a new job is by networking. When making presentations to large groups, I often test that tenet, and invariably it proves to be true. Therefore, networking is how people in transition should spend most of their time. For many, though, networking is a challenging task because they [.].

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5 Ways to Look Better at Work

On The Job

While looking in the mirror recently you discover a gray hair. In your eyebrow. You also begin to notice that everything is starting to, well, sort of droop. Sag, actually. Your latest photo in the company newsletter bears an uncanny resemblance to your mother. And your great Aunt Edith. You’re starting to feel more than a little old when your new manager doesn’t know who Ringo Starr is.

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Elevating the Virtual Interviewing Experience

Sharing your authentic self in a virtual interview can be an unwanted challenge. How do you break through the digital barrier when conducting a virtual interview and share your exceptional self? Think in unconventional ways to elevate the virtual interviewing experience.

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Moxie Tip 303: Hey, It's Called "Social" Media!

Virtual Moxie

Life is absolutely about more than work or business. It's more than planning one strategic move after another. It's more than gaming people based on metrics—talking with them at this time of day because it’s “proven” to get better engagement than fifteen minutes later, for instance. And it's certainly more than looking for the continual stream of things “share” so that you don’t fall off the radar of your market.

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Turning your talent or hobby into a business (Infographic)

The Small Business Blog

If you are still considering starting a business, why not base it on your favourite hobby or unique talent? The most successful small and micro businesses often grow from the passion that the owner has for a particular interest. Their knowledge of that hobby allows them to spot gaps in the market which they then fill by providing products and services to cater for other people interested in the hobby.

UPS 163
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Wall Street Journal's Explosive Technologies

Small Business Labs

The Wall Street Journal's Explosion in Innovation covers 8 technologies the author believes will drive innovation over the next decade. The eight are: 1. Biotechnology : especially  synthetic biology , which is the application of engineering principles and approaches to biological system design and development. 2. Computational Systems, which is defined as the ability to model almost anything. 3.

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Spots Available! 30-day Business & Marketing Systems Assessment

Office Organization Success

Let me work with you and help you create your own strategic business plan. The 30-day Business & Marketing Systems Assessment : Focuses on making sure you have the RIGHT systems in place to GROW your business. Includes a deep-dive Business Systems Assessment , including a private 60-minute strategic planning session. Together we create YOUR 90-day Profit Plan.

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Mandatory COVID Vaccination Policy Template

New vaccine mandates and testing policies will affect employers with more than 100 workers. Get Paycor’s free, customizable vaccination policy template to communicate critical details and new requirements to your employees. Get Paycor’s Template today!

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Moxie Tip 305: VAs Are Not a Cheap Way to Get Stuff Done!

Virtual Moxie

In 1997 when I founded AssistU , I said, and have continued to stand up and say that Virtual Assistance was never intended to be the inexpensive alternative to hiring employees, but the convenient, cost effective, and efficient one. Convenience comes at a premium. It just does. But for clients, working with VAs is cost effective for all the reasons we know so well (100% productive time, no need to pay for equipment, space, payroll, conforming to Federal mandates, etc, and the fact that most VAs

Payroll 139
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Communication Breakdown

The Small Business Blog

The art of articulation. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- being able to articulate what you do personally or in business is just about the most important skill you can develop. Sounds obvious huh? Well I am constantly being shocked just how bad people are at it. The age of the ‘Shrinking Violet’ is gone! What exactly do I mean? Well, put it this way, just about every thing in life as a business person either employed or as a business owner is going to not only require you to tell peopl

Skills 159
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Big Data Not Always So Big

Small Business Labs

One of the interesting things we found interviewing Big Data experts is how they define Big Data. Most articles and studies define Big Data as: a collection of datasets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using traditional database management tools or data processing applications. Most definitions also discuss the 3 Vs - volume, variability and velocity - and how the Internet, mobile computing and smart objects are leading to vast increases in all three.

2020 145
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My Own “Duh” Moment

Office Organization Success

This week I am writing to you from beautiful San Diego! I’m here on a personal trip for a fashion event… I’m so excited as fashion has been a life-long passion of mine. I’ve never been to San Diego before and am so enjoying the city. As I shared with you last week, I’ve been doing my own strategic planning for 2013. And one of the biggest “duh” moments I had was in realizing how I was missing out on opportunities in my business.

2013 126
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Is Training the Right Solution?

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.

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Moxie Tip 306: Reducing Fees to Help People Out

Virtual Moxie

The question was, "Hey, A. the economy sucks, my clients struggle, shouldn't I lower my fees to help them out?". The answer is: not necessarily. If you can lower them and still be profitable, and you feel called—truly called—to do this for them on a case-by-case basis, feel free. But never, ever, ever. lower your fees to help a client when it will cause you to stretch or suffer.

Learning 136
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Why your business should start using video online conferencing

The Small Business Blog

Talking to any clients, potential new customers and investors is always important. At all costs, you’ll probably want to maintain a regular dialogue with them, but did you ever consider the price you’re paying for talking to them? You might not realise it, but it’s possible to save your business money while making communication easier with the help of web conference services offered by Powwownow.

Travel 157
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The Rise of Public Unions; The Fall of Private Unions

Small Business Labs

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released their annual Union Summary this week. The New York Times sumed up the data quite well with their article title, Unionization Rate Lowest in a Century.  Key quote from the article: "The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011. That brought unionization to its lowest level since 1912, when it was 11.1 percent." Both private and public union membership fell in 2012, with public membership f

2012 136
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BMW Examines Fuel Cell Technology

Eco-Office Gals

These days, the environment is at the top of just about everybody’s list of concerns. We’ve all been able to enjoy the results of the wonderful technological developments that have happened over the course of the last several decades. Of course, our smartphones and tablet computers are very, very wonderful things. What we’ve been starting to realize, however, is that these things have come at a serious cost to our environment.

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Revitalizing Dry Content: A Lesson in Engagement

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.

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Moxie Tip 304: Attraction—It's About Pull, Not Push

Virtual Moxie

One thing I know for sure, Attraction cannot exist in the same space where seduction and manipulations exist.

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Credit Card Merchants Make Accepting Payments Simple

The Small Business Blog

The more types of payment you are able to accept from your customers, the more likely you are to actually sell your products and services. This is true no matter what kind of business you run, and thanks to the increasing prevalent of mobile payment merchants, the days of only being able to accept cash and checks are all but over. Pay attention the next time you are out and about, particularly if you are shopping at an independent business.

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Book Review: The Encore Career Handbook

Small Business Labs

One of the trends we've long covered is the desire and/or need by aging baby boomers  to continue working past their traditional retirement age. Related to this is the growing trend of baby boomers looking to do something new work wise starting in their 50s.   For many boomers the main drivers for staying in the workforce or switching careers is a desire to stay active, engaged and have the opportunity to do something they have a passion for.

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Get it together, finding your mojo to dreaming BIG!

Office Dynamics

"As a creative person I sometimes go through times of frustration when I don't feel creative or can't find my spark. It should be something we can just tap into but it doesn't work that way. I found today's resource to be helpful to me in finding my clear purpose and vision. If you aren't sure how or where to get started on "dreaming big" please listen to our huddle today and share with us your thoughts.".

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Brain Fog HQ: Memory Enhancement Techniques for Professional Development

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