Online Resource: Skype

Have you heard about Skype? Are you not sure what all the hype is about?

Skype is one of today’s most valuable communication tools. Skype is a voice over internet provider. The application download is free. In addition, to use Skype between users is free. There are millions of Skype users. Chances are you already know many Skype users.

So let us say you run a business out of your home in

Ocean City, Maryland and your client is in Ontario, Canada, as long as you both have a Skype account you can talk for free. There are no special rate packages to talk internationally like some services.

My favorite feature about Skype is the instant notification.

Suppose your client would like to know what percentage of McDonald’s profit are generated from the sale of happy meals. Back in the day, you would have had to pick up the phone, consume 20 minutes or more of your time to give a simple answer. Now, with Skype all you have to do is type your answer (40% by the way) into the chat window. Your client instantly receives an alert. When relying on email to send your response, your recipient may forget to check their email. Then, when they do check they have to sort through all the other emails received.

Skype notifications are one to one, highlighted on your desktop and available to you as soon as you need them.

Skype also offers many other features, such as whiteboards, desktop sharing and other plug ins. If you want to expand your usage of Skype paid plans are available. For example, if you want to call from Skype to a non Skype user or a landline you can purchase a plan for outbound calls. There is a separate paid plan for receiving incoming calls. This is rather a nice option because you are paying for what you will use.

Now let us be honest, technology never operates without error 100% of the time.

Skype is like every other technology where it has its moments.

Yes, I have lost calls in the middle of an exchange of vital information. Yes, on occasion reception has been less then audible. However, I find the benefits to using Skype far out way the once in awhile-typical technical glitch I would experience with any other technology I use. After all, I am running Microsoft Vista on my computer. Ok, ‘nuff said.

Small Business Resource: Online Collaboration

Having an online collaborative workspace is very beneficial to your small business. There are times when you are traveling and you need to access information. There are times when you want to share data with vendors. There are times when you want to brainstorm with clients. There are times when you want to set up tasks for your employees. An online collaborative workspace is the one stop resource for you to coordinate information you want to share with employees, clients and vendors.

I compared all the features, options, bells and whistles of over 25 online collaborative workspaces, including WebEx, HyperOffice, and Basecamp.

I chose CentralDesktop. It fit into my budget. I liked the user interface. It was the right size for my business.

I am in the start up phase of my business. CentralDesktop offers exactly the features I need, such as task list management, calendar, document sharing, database. Now, these are the buzz words of features for online collaborative workspaces. Every application will tell you they offer task list management, calendar, document sharing, etc. CentralDesktop appealed to me above the others because for the price, I got what some of the bigger name more expensive applications offered.

CentralDesktop is easy to use, sophisticated without being overwhelming, and customizable to suite my needs.

One of my favorite features is the ability to link within the pages of my workspace.

I can set up a task in my task list, inside the description of the task, I can set up a link to a document in my workspace. Now, I can click on the task then click on the link to take me right to the document I need to work on. I do not have to waste minutes searching for the document I want. Another feature on my list of favorites is a Firefox plug in. When I am surfing the web I might come across a web site with valuable information related to a project I have in CentralDesktop. All I have to do is click on the plug in on my Firefox tool bar and the web site link is saved in my workspace at CentralDesktop.

Even though my business is small at the moment, CentralDesktop is versatile enough to expand as my business grows. They have pricing plans to match your need. CentralDesktop also offers custom price plans.

I recommend you invest in an online collaborative workspace for your small business.
It will keep your business efficient.

The Top 100 Ways a Home Office Warrior can utilize a Virtual Assistant

Has your task list taken on a life of its own? Does your task list seem like an untamable beast? If you want to outsource but are not sure then check out this blog. This post gives a concise list of things to consider.

clipped from homeofficewarrior.com I don’t know about you, but I get sucked into those VH1 Top 100 countdowns all the time. So I thought it would be fun, as well as informative, to do our own here at the Home Office Warrior. The Top 100 ways that a Home Office Entrepreneur could use a Virtual Assistant to benefit their business. Like the musical counterpart, this countdown will come to you in four installments, one each week for the next four weeks. At the end of the four weeks I think you will have found at least a few ways a virtual assistant could fit you and your business and at the same time you will have learned a bit more about the world of virtual assistance.

My marketing journey begins...

In 2006, I joined an online community. For the first month, I sat back and observed. I looked for ways I could fit in. Then an opportunity popped up in front of me. I noticed someone needed help with an online project. I approached them and offered to take on a task for them. They accepted my offer. After helping various people in the online community for six months, I thought to myself, I think I am on to something here. In June of 2007, I officially hung my shingle as a virtual assistant.

I am having a great time being a virtual assistant. I have met some dedicated entrepreneurs. I love the work I do. I started this blog with the intent of sharing advice, tips and expertise with entrepreneurs. However, the purpose of this blog is now going to be about my thoughts, reactions or critiques of other resources related to being an entrepreneur, especially because I found some knowledgeable sources such as “The Savvy Entrepreneur” by Cristina Favreau. I started reading Cristina Favreau’s blog several months ago. Every time I read her blog, I am inspired to take action in my business. Her style appeals to me. Since I am new to being an online entrepreneur, I decided to hire her as my marketing coach. I have a clear goal. I know what I want to achieve. I need some guidance on the road to achieving my goal. Two weeks ago, I signed up for her marketing program “Get Clients Now.”

As soon as I received my “Get Clients Now” book by C.J. Hayden, I read the first three chapters. I printed out my two worksheets. I started looking at my business, analyzing my situation and mapping out a way to achieve my goal. Today was my first coaching session with Cristina. Here I am thinking I am prepared and ready for action. Wouldn’t you know, half way through, Cristina stumps me. I mean, made my thoughts come to a screeching halt. I actually had the Oprah Winfrey “ah-ha” moment. You can read about my “ah-ha” moment here: Don’t Give Yourself Away.

Virtual Professionals Provide Administrative Services to help with the Aftermath of California Wildfires.

A very special note of appreciate goes out to Roberta E. Eastman, The Customers Corner, for rallying the virtual assistant community to help support recovery efforts after the devastation of the wildfires in southern California. Roberta started the Pay it Forward Marathon. Virtual Assistants from across the nation have donated their time to assist victims of the fires. The stress of recovering a business can be overwhelming. To ease the stress, virtual assistants will aid businesses, professionals, and families with any administrative tasks. For more information and to participate, please visit:

http://www.thecustomerscorner.com/payitforward.html

Marketing Genius at it's worst.

I saw this headline pop up in my blog rss feed:

“A Team of ''Virtual Assistants,'' Awaiting Your Command”

The article is on a reputable web site who’s target audience is entrepreneurs. Maybe I should clarify that to say, it is on a site I consider reputable but now am starting to doubt. Did you notice I did not link the article for you to click and go? I purposely did not link it because the “article” is not worth your time. The title lead me to think I would learn about what a virtual assistant is, what services the virtual assistant provides and how I can keep a team of them at my disposal. Silly me. No. One look at the article only to discover it is four sentences long. The whole purpose of the blog post, because obviously it is not an article, is to direct readers to the web site of a fellow columnist of the author of the blog post. The fellow columnist is a “serial entrepreneur.”

Since I am here, I cannot help myself, I click on the link to his web site. I just have to know if this is where there is a directory of fellow VAs. Silly me. No. There is no information about the virtual assistant industry. He wants you to fill out a form. Lead generation. Well, why not? In the name of research, I forge ahead. I fill out the form. Then, my browser jumps to a web site with oodles of words and no substance. This is internet-marketing 101. I imagine the owner of this poorly formatted junk sitting at his desk thinking, “What is today’s hot topic? What is the current buzz word?” He chose “Virtual Assistant.” His material is the three-ring circus dog and pony show. He does offer one link to one virtual assistant company.

Ok, now I am knee deep into it. I am compelled to click on the actual virtual assistant link. At this point, I am curious to know what his connection is to the virtual assistant. Perhaps this link will lead me to the information I thought I was going to get originally. Silly me. No. The business appears to be legitimate but I cannot tell if the information is current. Some of the links are dead. Some of the web pages do not load correctly. I do not recognize any of the names associated with the business. I do not see any industry associations. I swear it is as if these two got together and said let us give these internet marketing and search engine optimization formulas a whirl.

I have no reason to believe anything negative about the virtual assistant. From my heart, I wish her success. If she wanted media exposure, why did the author of the post not directly mention her? Why go through the “serial entrepreneur?” My criticism is of the original blog post. The article was not about virtual assistants, and the fellow columnist is not a virtual assistant nor do they own a virtual assistant business.