The beauty of Laptops when working virtually

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If you’ve thought about delegating your admin to a Virtual PA but haven’t yet managed to make the technology work from your end, I wonder if you’ve thought about handing over your laptop while you’re on holiday.  If you biked it over to your Virtual Assistant before you headed off into sunnier climes, he or she could be managing all your e-mail, enquiries, newsletter responses and in fact anything else your business needs to operate smoothly while you’re taking your welll-earned break.  There’s no surer way of enjoying your vacation than off-loading your communication tools surely (and no, you shouldn’t take your Blackberry-if you leave an emergency number for the place you’re staying, there really is no need)!

T0 read more about how the Virtual PA can save you precious time and money, go to http://www.virtually247.co.uk

Something for nothing …

Why do people think they can get something for nothing?  Just because we are in the midst of challenging times, it seems that some think they can get away with asking for “little” favours and freebies for nothing in return.  Why are so many web experts telling us that the only way to attract new customers is to offer them something for nothing?   This can be a downward spiral as we VAs could all spend our time giving out freebies, earn nothing in return and end up without a business.  The trouble is that so many new kids on the block are blindly following this advice without realising it is only under-valuing what they do.  The more people who adhere to this form of marketing ,the more it will cheapen this valuable service and the worse it will get for all of us by dragging down prices and achieving an overall feeling of dissatisfaction.  Admittedly many may have been made redundant and are trying to find their way in a new business, and good luck to them – it is not easy - but for heavens sake realise the value in what you do and don’t sell yourself off cheap – it helps no-one save the bargain-hunter and who needs employers or clients like that?

There is true value in the phrase, “speculate to accumulate.”   By making their choices carefully and investing in people,  and their specific talents, clients and employers alike will achieve what they need with a clear conscience and their employees and workers will not feel cheated and belittled.  The people hiring them will also encourage loyalty and respect and their businesses will reap the rewards long-term.

The only way out of this recession is for everyone to work hard for a fair price and by all means cut out costs you can’t afford, but by calling in favours and asking for freebies, people will only damage their reputations and are not helping small businesses to get back on track.  For more on the value of employing a virtual PA go to http://www.virtually247.co.uk

Happy Easter readers… this long break is always a good time for a bit of an office spring clean without the usual daily interruptions of phonecalls.  If you’re not going away and your place doesn’t need redecorating, (which seems to be the main hive of activity at this time of year in the UK) why not ensure you’re ready for a hassle-free summer by carrying out a few failsafe tasks.  These could include archiving old files on your PC and laptop, (running a defrag will also help you to free up space  on both computers), updating your software, syncing your mobile devices ensuring all your contacts are up to date.  Oh, and if you don’t already, organise an online backup for your systems – so much more reliable than transferring to an external hard drive don’t you think? 

If you need help with any of these tasks, ask your Virtual PA – if he or she is worth their salt, they’ll be able to free up your time and talk you through… oh and don’t forget to take time out to relax and enjoy nature at this inspirational time of year!

Get paid to surf …

If you’re looking for ways to increase your income online, you can now get paid to surf.  Register with moneymagpiesearch.com and make it your homepage to get paid each time you use its search engine.  Yahoo is behind the site as they’re trying to compete with Google.  The amount you earn depends on how often you search and what you search for – you can introduce friends to increase your revenue but be sure to read the rules!

Twittertips

I’m getting lots of enquiries lately via my website from aspiring VAs asking for tips and advice.  Even though the news is not so great that they have been made redundant, it really is great news that as the more of us who join the Virtual PA industry, the more of us will be blogging about its virtues thereby creating awareness.  I am still amazed at how many people still haven’t heard about the concept in the UK while in the US smart people have been using VA services  for years to really optimise their time by delegating tasks they don’t need to be doing themselves from calendar arranging and travel booking to creating websites and newsletter creation.  We tend to be a bit slow on the uptake here so in an effort to educate those who need to cut their headcount but still need to market themselves harder in order to stay in the game, I am dedicating my “Twitter time” to providing useful tips, both for the benefit of new VAs and VA clients who need our help – even if they don’t realise it yet!  For more on newsletters http://www.emailnewslettersplus.com

How’s your website?

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Did you know that to entice visitors to return to your website, and to generate new interest you need to be publishing new and interesting content.

Otherwise why would people bother to return? More importantly, do you think that search engines will list your website high up on their pages if you don’t update it often and provide some compelling information? They won’t – there are too many other sites featuring great content which are performing.

It doesn’t take long to create some new and exciting words. Think about what you are constantly creating in your business and the importance of announcing any new products or services to the world.  Your website needs to be a current reflection of your business and not an out of date archive.

If you feel daunted at the thought of updating it yourself, or even creating a brand new site, why don’t you ask your Virtual PA to do it for you?

© Virtually 24/7

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is my first post and I’m going to write about the virtual business assistant.  Think of a good PA or Executive Assistant and what he or she does to ensure their manager gets through each day without a hitch.  Then imagine those tasks are carried out remotely, using the internet (for calendar management and travel reservations), the phone (for appointment making), e-mail (for confirming those appointments), fax or scanning (to get those all important contracts to the right person).  In other words, the virtual business assistant doesn’t need to be sitting in their manager’s office at all.  These multiple tasks can be carried out virtually at very little cost to the person hiring the assistant.  Smart people  have already realised the benefits of the virtual PA industry and not only save on recruitment costs, insurances, healthcare, taxes and equipment costs, but also only pay for the actual time they utilise.  Time is usually charged out on an hourly or project basis.  More to come on this very green way of working … think of all the saved emissions if all managers thought like ours.  You can read more on our website: virtually247.co.uk