Monday Microsoft Tip

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Here’s your weekly [tag]Monday Microsoft Tip[/tag]

More [tag]Microsoft Word[/tag] [tag]Keyboard Shortcuts[/tag]

F4: Repeat your last action, including searching, typing, and formatting.
Shift-F4: Repeat the most recent Find command.
Shift-F5: Jump to the last change you made in the document.
Ctrl-F6: Toggle between open documents.
Alt-mouse click: Open the Research pane with information on the word or name you clicked on.
F7: Run the spell-checker.
F12: Open the Save As dialog

Until next time…

~E

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Microsoft Monday Tips

Here’s your Weekly [tag]Microsoft Monday Tips[/tag]

[tag]Microsoft Outlook[/tag] [tag]Shortcut Keys[/tag]

Ctrl-Shift-I: Switch to in-box.

trl-Shift-O: Switch to out-box.

Ctrl-Enter: Send current message.

Ctrl-R: Reply to a message.

Ctrl-Shift-R: Reply All to a message.

Ctrl-Shift-A: Create a new appointment.

Ctrl-Shift-M: Create a new message.

Ctrl-1: Switch to Mail.

Ctrl-2: Switch to Calendar.

Ctrl-3: Switch to Contacts.

Ctrl-4: Switch to Tasks.

Until next time…

~E

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Moving Up! Virtual Assistance in the News

I’ve come across three recent articles in very reputable magazines condoning the Virtual Assistance Industry:

The Chicago Tribune - Technology Links Virtual Businesses: Advances spur rise in collaborative work
A good article on the benefits of administrative outsourcing and how it works from a technology standpoint.

“Christine Durst, who founded the association [IVAA.org] in the late 1990s, estimates about 1.5 million virtual businesses exist worldwide, including 35,000 entrepreneurs who call themselves virtual assistants. Most work out of their homes, said Durst, who’s also co-founder of Staffcentrix, a Woodstock, Conn.-based firm providing training and development to virtual professionals.

The number of virtual assistants, those entrepreneurs who provide business support and services remotely, has been climbing about 10 percent a year, Durst said. They generally include administrative assistants, graphic artists, researchers, software programmers, editors, bookkeepers, marketing consultants and more.

Virtual professionals can be less expensive than full-time, on-site employees because clients pay by the hour and don’t cover benefits or provide office space, Kramer said. The going rate for virtual assistants ranges from $30 to $70 an hour, though fees vary by skill, experience and location, she said.”

Inc.com - Get Help Running Your Business, Virtually

Author Rebecca Morgan offers a knowledgeable piece on the VA industry - where to find one, what to expect, and how much it can cost. Good advice includes:

“From the paradigm of shared space, some struggle to envision the type of work a VA can do. Berg suggests that you jot down the 10 most important administrative functions not getting done. The VA can help you define a process for how that work can be completed long distance. Once the client tastes success, other potential VA-provided services become apparent.

Not every VA is a good fit for your business, just as you may not be a good fit for every VA. The interview process is important for both of you. Matching styles, matching needs and skill sets, and having a mutual willingness to change the relationship over time as you gain experience working will make the difference between a VA that makes your business better, and one that doesn’t.”

Wall Street Journal - Office Work Moves Out of the Office
This article from the Wall Street Start-up Journal discusses the question “I’m starting up a virtual-office administrative-assistance business. What is the climate like for this? Good? Developing? Oversaturated?”

“Virtual assistants are typically self-employed workers who handle administrative work for other businesses from a home computer. Some are generalists, who carry out whatever chores a business may need done. Others specialize in an area such as Web design or legal transcription. Most set their own rates, charging an hourly fee between $25 and $70, depending on their experience and the complexity of the task. Clients who put them on retainer often get a better rate.

The number of people calling themselves virtual assistants has blossomed from a few hundred in the mid-1990s, when the industry first defined itself, to more than 5,000 world-wide today, according to the Alliance of Virtual Businesses, one of the many trade groups representing the industry. Most live in the U.S., though the profession is quickly growing in other countries.

Most VAs today are hired by other small-business owners who don’t want to be bogged down in administrative work, says Sharon Williams, president of the alliance. But the industry is trying to sell itself to larger companies looking to cut costs. One nagging problem: “In a lot of industries, people aren’t comfortable releasing confidential information” to an outsider, Ms. Williams says. Moreover, many companies still don’t know exactly what a virtual assistant is.”

All in all, some pretty good information - and I’m willing to bet it’s because of all the hullaballo with the OIVAC convention. I’m not one to complain - we’re getting this much more close to mainstream!

Posted in Business, Virtual Assistance | 1 Comment »

Microsoft Monday Tips

Here’s your weekly [Tag]Microsoft Monday Tip[/tag]

Getting Feedback together in [tag]MS Word[/tag]

If you need to distribute a document for review, and you want [tag]Microsoft Word[/tag] to track the changes, you need to use the Send for Review feature. To do this, click File>Send To> Mail Recipient (For Review). When those reviewers use the ‘Reply with Changes’ feature, word will prompt you to merge the documents, at which point you’ll be able to see *ALL* the changes your reviewers have made.

Until next time…

~E

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PayPal Calculator

We all have to deal with those [tag]PayPal[/tag] [tag]merchant fees[/tag] every now and then, and most people don’t have the experience with PayPal to know how much they’re going to really receive after fees are decucted.

Well, now we have a handy-dandy tool: the PayPal Calculator. It not only will tell you how much you’ll receive after [tag]paypal fees[/tag], but it also has a nifty calculator to help you figure out what to charge to get the amount of money you want.

As you can see in this example, it’s pretty darned nifty! You can calculate fees for overseas and domestic transfers, as well as different merchant level rates. For a US transfer at the standard PayPal fee, you’ll pay $11.90 for a $400 transfer, and if you need to receive $400, you’ll have to charge $412.26.

Finally, I can stop using [tag]high-school math[/tag].

~E

Link via ProBlogger

Posted in Business | 1 Comment »

Is Blogging Right for your Business?

When we hear some *new and improved* marketing technique, we all want to jump on the bandwagon. Technorati.com estimates that there is a blog created every second, and ProBlogger.com estimates that many of those blogs die within three months. Why do those blogs die? Maybe the owner didn’t have sufficient time to keep it up. The owner may have chosen a topic that was far too narrow and ran out of things to talk about; or they may have chosen one that was far too wide and couldn’t get focus.

Blogging is perceived as ‘easy’

Many people who choose to blog begin doing so because it’s so easy, and so cheap, to get started. Blogging is a credible marketing vehicle – it is a great way for the search engines to stay keen on looking at your website, it provides valuable information to your clients and prospects, and can even make money through affiliate income.

How do you know if blogging is right for you?

1. Will your target market respond to a blog?
   If your market doesn’t know what a blog is, doesn’t care what a blog is, or doesn’t have the time to learn – don’t even attempt a blog. Seriously. Of course we need to educate our customers, but using technology for technology’s sake is just a little too self-absorbed. Let’s keep it real.
2. Do you have the time to devote to the upkeep of a blog?
   If you can’t post at least once a week – whether it’s a long post or a short article, you won’t get return readers. Readers want to depend on your information, and if you can’t post at least once a week your ROI will suffer tremendously.
3. Can you define a blog niche for yourself?
   You need to have a content niche – and something that’s wide enough for you to be able to post on regularly, and narrow enough where your readers won’t think you’re jumping all over the place. You can’t depend on free-reprint articles for your blog – your readers want to hear from you! (Believe me, I’ve been down that road, it doesn’t work no matter how hard I wanted it to) If you can’t devote time to finding and developing great content, then blogging isn’t for you.
4. Do you know (or are you willing to learn) how to market your blog?
   As with any other venture, blogs can be very lucrative, but you need to know how to market them. While, yes, business blogs are a marketing tool, no one will be able to find a blog without proper marketing. So, learn what you need to do in order to properly market your blog to get readers.
5. Do you know (or are you willing to learn) all the technological needs of your blog?
   Chances are going into blogging you aren’t going to know what half the terms mean. If you can’t invest the time, make sure you have someone available to help you who can (or already knows it). If you’re not savvy on the platform before jumping into it, you will spend a considerable amount of time learning.

As you can see, blogging isn’t as easy as many will lead you to think. Many customers won’t respond to blogging, because it’s not part of their worldview. For those customers that will respond to it you need to ensure that you’re able to give them the content they want – or they’ll go somewhere else for it. The beauty in blogging is the possibility to inform subscribers and ‘wanderers of the internet’ about you, your expertise, and your passions – with the simple click of a button.

If you don’t have the time, or your customers aren’t ready for the world of blogging, then don’t waste your valuable energy and resources creating and maintaining a blog. Instead, you should focus your efforts on things that will bring you a high return on income – and not something as labor-intensive as a blog.

If your market will respond to a blog, then by all means go ahead and begin one. However, if you do not have the time and energy to expend in learning the various aspects of blogging, then you must either hire someone to help you or wait until it’s more feasible in your business. There are many people available (myself included) to help you in your blogging efforts – inclusive of everything from creating and maintaining to helping you write your blog. Finding help isn’t hard; but if you have a lukewarm approach to blogging, the response will be the same.

Posted in Blogging, Business | No Comments »

Happy International Virtual Assistant’s Day!

“The IVAD Creed: Dedication, Experience, Expertise and Determination to Succeed of professionals providing administrative and other business support services, virtually (DEEDS), exemplifies our integrity and commitment to provide superior service.”

Yes, that’s right, today is the first Official International Virtual Assistant’s Day!Take the time today to thank your VA!

I’d like to thank Jen and Jenn - without whom I’d be very lost! You guys are the best!!

~E

Posted in If I may be so bold..., In The News... | 1 Comment »

Free SkypeOut!

Today, Henry Gomez General Manager of [tag]Skype[/tag] North America announced that until the end of the year, all [tag]Skype Out[/tag] calls to landlines and cell phones in the US and Canada are free!

Skype is one of the easiest to use [tag]internet telephony[/tag] - it works much like an instant messaging client, it runs silently in your task bar. When you get a call, it gives you a simple interface for receiving the call, all you have to do is have speakers and mic (which is difficult) or a good [tag]headset [/tag](I personally recommend the Plantronics Headset).

As noted on the Share Skype Blog:

Yes. It is really very, very free. There’s no prepayment, no minimum use, no subscription, no monthly fee, no nothing. You just download and install Skype and then you start calling. Both the caller and the number called must be in either the US or Canada. There are no strings attached.

The only condition is that we have said free SkypeOut within the US and Canada is guaranteed to last until the end of this year — that is, until December 31, 2006. We’re not quite sure yet what we will do after that. Maybe we extend the free period, maybe not. You’ll hear more about this towards the end of the year.

Skype is easy to use, and while in the past people had complained about connectivity issues, I’ve been using it fairly regularly (at least once a day) for the past three months, and have had only one issue.

So start Skyping out today - absolutely free!

~E

Posted in Business | 2 Comments »

Microsoft Monday Tip

Here’s your Weekly [tag]Microsoft Monday Tip[/tag]

Creating [tag]Custom Lists[/tag] in [tag]Microsoft Excel[/tag]

If you find yourself frequently entering the same data into a worksheet, like vendors, you can create a custom list by going to Tools>Options and selecting the ‘Custom Lists’ tab. Enter the list in the list entries pane (one at a time) and click add. (Alternatively, you can import the list from cells if they’re already in the workbook.) Then, when it comes time to enter the list in your worksheet, just enter any of the list entries in a cell and dragging the fill handle to fill other cells with the remainder of the enteries.

~E

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Proposal Writing

Many of my clients have to create [tag]proposals[/tag] - or they want to. Unfortunately, many of us have little experience with propsal creating, which leads to 9-10-15 hour days in front of the computer trying to smash out the latest proposal. Laura Ricci of Laura’s winning ideas has been featured in [tag]Inc[/tag] and [tag]Fortune[/tag], and has this to say about burnout:

The brain works by creating pathways for specific projects, like your last proposal. [tag]Communication[/tag] is passed between cells along these synaptic pathways by electrical charges. The gap between cells has a conducting property. Think of it as a gel that holds a charge, similar to a battery.

Synaptic pathways wear out

When the synaptic pathway is fired continuously, like your last proposal, the gel loses its charge after awhile. Communication slows and takes on static. By the time you notice a slowdown, burnout has already occurred….
Breaks are the only way to prevent this problem from slowing down your progress and ditching your proposal’s winning edge.

Make sure everyone on your team takes breaks. Meal breaks should include REAL FOOD, not fast food and last at least 40 minutes each. Your body needs time to redistribute fluids back to the brain after getting your digestive track lubricated and working. A walk around the outside of the building, a break for a snack of fresh fruit, a few minutes of music, a 20 minute nap. The proposal must not be discussed, reviewed, thought of or otherwise intrude during breaks. It takes awhile to get used to breaking for dinner and talking about anything BUT the proposal, but you can do it!

I think this is relavent to all projects, just not proposals. I know I occasionally find myself bundled up at my computer for numerous hours at the whim of my latest brain child - and then when I return to it after a break, it seems much of the project is jibberish.

Solo service professionals generally don’t have the support system nearby to notify when it’s breaktime, but we can just as easily set up our scheduling software to ping us when it’s time to break. This will save us the time and immeasuable heartbreak that occurs when we push our minds past their limits, and they spit gunk out at us.

Posted in Business, Solopreneur-ship | 1 Comment »