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Virtual Insider November 15, 2005 Issue 13 by JERPAT
Patty Benton,
Editor © 2005 JERPAT All statements made in this newsletter are not legal advisement or endorsement of a product. All information provided in this newsletter is strictly opinions and suggestions of the Virtual Insider writers. JERPAT Virtual Assistants and the writers for Virtual Insider cannot be held liable.
Missed one of our past issue? Click here
to view our archive.
Virtual Insider Sponsors - The Busy Woman, My Precious Kid, Discovery Toys,
JVA Invoicing System
Guest Columnist ~ Liane Wood – “The Road to
Success - A.C.T.I.O.N.”
by Patty Benton jerpatvas@comcast.net
Dear Readers,
Welcome back to a new edition of the Virtual Insider! I know that your time is precious with the busy holiday seasons, but this issue is worth the time it takes to read. Get valuable tips on hosting companies, networking online, top technology suggestions, and how to reach success by taking A.C.T.I.O.N.
I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving (here in the states), and I encourage you back next month for tips on growing your business, especially to usher in the New Year on the right foot!
God bless, Patty P.S. Please send newsletter questions, comments and ideas to newsletter@jerpat.org.
If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Virtual Insider, please contact us at jerpatvas@comcast.net for details on our affordable sponsorship. Please support the growth of our newsletter by visiting our sponsors! Thank you! ~Virtual Insider
The Busy Woman~ With the holidays coming up, I know I am going to be feeling overwhelmed and wonder where I will find the time to finish everything! Visit The Busy Woman with me, and check out how they can get you more organized and make life easier (isn’t that what we all want?). ~Patty
Are you
scrambling to find the time and energy to fit housework and family
fun into your hectic day? Learn to organize your schedule, so
you have fun while still having time for the essentials. At
http://www.thebusywoman.com , they can help you plan a schedule
that’s right for YOU!
Discovery Toys - As many of us are parents, I wanted to lighten the “business mood” by sharing this advertisement. Also, those of you who know me know that I was previously an educator, and I think these products are fantastic for children! ~Patty Benton Help make a difference in a child's life. Discovery Toys, Inc. provides educational products for children of all ages! Make learning fun! Playing with your children is the best investment a parent can make. Please visit me, Michelle Jasper, Educational Consultant at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/playtoteach.
JVA Invoicing System-I have been using this product since it was originally created in 2003. This is the first time it has been on the market. This is an amazing database custom built for small business owners. ~Patty Benton Make your invoicing easier and more efficient. Send questions to jva@jerpat.org. The JVA Invoicing System will allow you to create invoices easily with automatic invoice numbers, email quotes, invoices, and receipts. It allows you to easily search for invoices to edit or print, your logos can be incorporated, automatically add due dates on invoices, enter dates with a built-in calendar, and move old invoices to archive for future reference, among many other features. http://www.jerpat.org/jva.htm.
My Precious Kid – Here is a great product for keeping your child safe. ~ Melinda Runkle My Precious Kid Family Safety Products. Have you ever turned around to find your child is no longer following you in a store? It's happened to all of us. Now you can help protect your child with our Wearable ID Products. Never find yourself saying, "I wish I had". Order an ID bracelet today and be Glad You Did!! Order today, shipped tomorrow! Kay Green kay@mypreciouskid.com http://www.MyPreciousKid.com
All newsletters featured here have been reviewed and approved as beneficial to subscribers by the editor. If you would like to swap Newsletter Ads please send a request to jerpatvas@comcast.net including a link to your most current issue.
ACS News, by Kathie Thomas, is designed to give you up-to-date hints and tips in using today's technology in the best possible way for your online business. Just read what these readers have to say: “Thank you for the continued updates - I enjoy receiving them.” Kind Regards, Linda Ward, Hayward Corporate “Thanks for the tips on Email tamer. Your suggestions re the folders are great.” Live Life Laughing! Phillipa Challis JP ASM*, Laughter Clubs Victoria Inc Co-ordinator Why not subscribe to ACS News today? Go to http://www.vadirectory.net/newsletters.htm for details.
ALCO Consultants, LLC invites you to join their monthly newsletter filled with articles and tips on how to market your business successfully. We feature topics such as Time Management, Networking, Internet Marketing, SEO, Marketing Techniques and so on. Visit us at www.ALCOConsultants.com to subscribe.
These products are recommended by Patty Benton, editor, coach and owner of JERPAT Virtual Assistants and Web Designs. Products reviewed in this section have been personally tried and tested by Patty. Please send any questions or comments about the product reviewed to jerpatvas@comcast.net and we will include them in future issues. To view more products recommended by Patty visit http://www.moretime4u.org/resources.htm.
JERPAT Hosting If you are looking for quality, honest, packed packages read on www.jerpat.org/jerpatHosting.htm.
1and1.com Looking for extremely affordable hosting? www.moretime4u.org/hosting1and1.html
Lately I have heard a lot of people looking for a trustworthy hosting company. As web designers, my husband and I have had to help several clients get out from under a dishonest hosting service. We are hoping to get the word out that for all the dishonest hosting companies out there, there are 10 times more honest, reputable one. Before signing with any hosting company, check out their history. With this product review I want to tell you about 2 hosting companies I have personal experience with.
The first hosting company is JERPAT Hosting. My husband and I have had a hosting company called FastURL hosting us for years. They have an unbelievable support team that works 24/7 literally to make sure all your needs are met and that everything is working for you. I have never met another company that provides this kind of support, and we are pretty tough critics. After years of having hosting with them, we have partnered with them to bring their hosting services to you. Their unbelievable packages begin at $14.99, including a shopping cart (if you already have a hosting company but are looking for a shopping cart it is $9.95 with the same a support). Visit www.jerpat.org/jerpatHosting.htm.
The 2nd company that I would recommend now hosts my sites moretime4u.org and virtualvacoach.com. Since these sites did not require a lot of extra features as our jerpat.org does, I wanted a more affordable hosting company. I got more than I bargained for. Their packages begin at $2.99 and go up from there. I have also started using their Microsoft SharePoint services. If you are looking for an affordable hosting company with not a lot of bells and whistles, this would be the company for you! Visit www.moretime4u.org/hosting1and1.html.
JERPAT Owned and Operated by Patty and Jerome Benton www.moretime4u.org (Virtual Assistance and Web Design Services) www.virtualvacoach.com (Virtual Assistance Coaching) We updated and created a whole new look for moretime4u.org. Visit us at www.moretime4u.org/home.html to check out our new look.
Legaltypist Owned and Operated by Andrea Cannavina Company News: Getting all the ducks in a row for January launch of revamped newsletter. Sign up here to get Law Firm Solutions delivered directly to your inbox every month.
ePro Virtual Services, Inc. Owned and Operated by Vivi Gonzalez No additional company news this month.
Finding the Purpose in Online Networking Groups by Patty Benton jerpatvas@comcast.net
Have you ever wondered what the purpose of networking groups online are? We all know they are for getting to know others with the hopes of someday obtaining a client or referral. But don’t they have more of a purpose? Aren’t they for finding other people to build relationships with to benefit your business, your clients’ businesses, and their businesses? I think underlying to networking groups is also finding lasting relationships and friendships. Working virtually we spend most of the day in our own offices, with no contact to the outside world. While there are many blessings to this, it can be lonely. So how can you get the most benefit from a networking group online?
First, you can remember the etiquette of online communication. We all know the basics. Don’t use all capitals; that is considered yelling. Use proper punctuation and capital letters, otherwise your lack of grammar will take away from your message. What I am talking about is the etiquette of respect. I see “arguments” break out in groups because of miscommunication or someone overstepping the boundaries and trying to force their opinion on someone else. What happens to the parties involved? Most of the time, they lose the respect of the other group members. How sad is that when they spent all this time building their reputation, and in one moment, they blow it!
So, how can you avoid this happening to you? Stay out of arguments. Don’t get involved in the “office” politics online! I know that sometimes this is difficult when you see someone being unfairly torn down. Know that if you do try to step in, you are opening yourself up to being drug down. Unfortunately, there are unprofessional people on the online networking groups. You have to rise above those. Don’t let them draw you in. By showing that you are the bigger person, you are taking another step in building your reputation.
Remember there are boundaries to each networking group. Each one has established the rules they expect everyone on the group to follow. Be sure to follow what they have set up. Each group has their own purpose, and you will join each one for the purpose it serves. I know that on a lot of my virtual assistance groups, there isn’t a lot of room for debate on topics. They are established to help assist each other and ask questions about running a virtual assistance business. Because of this, someone else established a group that was for debating topics and issues that come up in the virtual assistance industry. Look at each group and see what purpose it would fulfill, and then be sure to follow their boundaries.
Networking online has a great purpose and can really help you to be successful in your business. By maintaining your integrity, following the boundaries of the group, and supporting others, you can get amazing satisfaction from a group and create some lasting friendships!
Patty Benton is the owner of JERPAT Virtual Assistants, JERPAT Web Designs, and JERPAT Hosting, www.moretime4u.org, which provides affordable administrative, web design, and hosting support to coaches, small businesses, religious organizations, and realtors. Additionally, Patty is a coach for new entreprenauers interested in venturing into the virtual assistance industry. She has developed a program that is affordable for all. Visit her coaching site at www.virtualvacoach.com for program details and great business resources. © 2005 JERPAT You have permission to reprint this article electronically or in print, as long as the text and byline remain unedited. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.
Top Ten Technologies For this Virtual Assistant! by Andrea Cannavina Andrea@Legaltypist.com
1. Unified Messaging – absolutely could not run my business without it. I have used the same company since starting LegalTypist in April of 2001, and highly recommend them for their stable/reliable technology, attentive customer service and reasonable pricing. What is unified messaging? It’s the latest technology for digitally controlling the information you receive each day (e-mails from all sources + fax + calls/voicemail = unified messaging). Having tested several services, none compare to Onebox (www.onebox.com) especially in terms of user friendliness. The Onebox user interface is easy to understand and intuitive to use. Anyone can set up their Onebox account to get their company’s communications process to work for them. Want to hear what I mean? Call my toll free: 866-848-2195 – and take a listen or dial x101 if you want to say hey! ;)
2. Treo with Internet Access – I started with the hard cased, flip type Treo 270 which was the first PDA with built in phone. It was large and clunky just when every cell phone maker was focusing on miniaturizing. Let me tell you, I received several jabs about that phone when placed to my head (Beam me up being the most frequent)! Since upgrading to the Treo 600, however, I have never thought of going back to just a cell phone. When combined with notifications and forwards from my Onebox account, my Treo gives me all I need to keep me “in the know” and conduct my business.
3. Wireless networks – I hate wires; always have. In fact, you won’t see any wires on my desk, around my keyboard or mouse. Even though my background is transcription, I refuse to get a USB foot pedal because I can’t stand even one more wire under my desk!* Since the Hubby made our house wireless, the fact is, I can open my laptop anywhere within my house, in the yard, or even at the pool during the summer and still get my work done - making wireless network technology priceless! * Being what I call a “WordPerfect™ Girl” from way back, hot keys (keyboard combinations such as Shift + F7 or Alt + J) are preferable to control my transcription software over another wire under my desk. Refer to your transcription software help files to see if you have this option.
4. Automatic Back Up – if you have ever burned a CD, chances are you have software right now on your PC which can be used to back up your important information. Don’t do another thing if you do not have a full copy/back up of at least your Desktop and My Documents folders. Once you do that, set up some sort of schedule to copy your PCs information to a disk or other storage medium. Also, it doesn’t hurt to do a separate weekly back up of your .pst file if you use Outlook. Yes, many things are stored on line, especially if you use web based services, but nothing helps you fall asleep faster than knowing at 3 am everything that’s not will burn to DVD.
5. Blogging – faster than creating a web site, yet gives instant internet presence. Set up an account with Blogger (www.blogger.com), pick a template and you’re all set. Just remember not to post anything you wouldn’t expect to read in a professional publication. Unlike a website, your content can be more personal in “tone”, however, it must maintain professional standards of courtesy, respect and correct grammar, spelling and the like or it won’t be very useful at anything since no one will keep reading ... and then there’s Blogging’s audio cousin …
6. Podcasting – it’s true, if I had a better sounding voice you’d probably be listening to this Top Ten list rather than reading it! ;) I don’t have time to filter my recordings or do anything slowly. I am even working on my “fast” talking through my membership in ToastMasters International (www.toastmasters.org). FYI, the goal of my next speech is “Vocal Variety”. I’ll keep you posted.
7. Paypal – seriously, there’s no way around the ease of use and increasingly common acceptance of this payment process. I use Paypal to securely collect credit card payments directly from my website and I can invoice from popular accounting/contact management software and I can download my history in common .csv format for importing into Excel spreadsheets or financial software. Listen up sole practitioners, legal consultants and VAs – truly another user friendly and extremely useful technology for conducting business.
8. ListServs/Trade Associations – these two go hand in hand since without a good bunch of people, neither provides much value, IMHO. Doing a Google search for your niche market will generally turn up a Yahoo group or the website of a trade association that you can join to network. Be careful to join only those organizations you intend to actively network and which can provide you with the greatest exposure to your intended market. There a tons of virtual networks cropping up which do hardly more than have people join and promote the list rather than assist with business. As the most important commodity to us all is time, choose wisely re: networking!
9. Remote Access Software – well, what can I say? When it all boils down, the easiest way for me to work is from one computer. I usually have multiple programs actively running and most of them contain several projects and pages. Yes, I have a laptop and yes I have and do sync my information, but remote access to the PC I’ve dubbed “LegalTypist’s Brain” just provides the best solution for me when I am traveling or wish to work away from my desk. I came to the conclusion early on that it is better to use a third party application such as www.logmein.com or www.gotomypc.com which are both simple and user friendly, rather than try to configure the remote access features of Windows or deal with firewalls, configuration issues and the like.
and last but not least….
10. Digital dictation/transcription technology. Let me tell you, if there is one technology that any business owner can use to get the work done, it’s digital dictation/transcription. Upgrading to digital allows both dictator AND secretary to be in separate places, yet still be working in tandem. I’m going to end what would otherwise be a rant about all the benefits of upgrading this process, but will leave you with the option to visit my site: www.legaltypist.com/services.htm to learn more.
Andrea Cannavina is the CEO of LegalTypist, Inc., www.legaltypist.com, a secretarial outsourcing and off site digital transcription service located in New York. To contact Andrea directly, please e-mail Andrea@Legaltypist.com, call toll free: 866-848-2195 x101 or visit her website at www.legaltypist.com.
The Road to
Success - A.C.T.I.O.N.
If you have a question, comment, or suggestion you would like to see in the reader’s corner, please submit an email to newsletter@jerpat.org. We will post as many as we can, but do not guarantee every email will be posted. We reserve the right to edit or only post part of an email. When sending an email, you are granting us the right to post your first and last name along with your business name (if you would like this information excluded, please note that in your email). Thank you!
Additional Newsletter Information If you would like to subscribe to our newsletter, please visit us at www.moretime4u.org/home.html.
All statements made in this newsletter are not legal advisement or endorsement of a product. All information provided in this newsletter is strictly opinions and suggestions of the Virtual Insider writers. JERPAT Virtual Assistants and the writers for Virtual Insider cannot be held liable.
JERPAT Virtual Assistants always welcomes article suggestions from our readers, although we cannot promise to print everything submitted. Because of our publishing schedule, we are not able to announce time-sensitive events; however, if there is an upcoming conference or newsworthy event please be sure to submit it, and we will do our best to validate and publish the event WHEN POSSIBLE. While we often mention commercial products, publications, and web sites, JERPAT Virtual Assistants and affiliates does not accept or reprint unsolicited advertising copy. Send your article suggestions to the editor at jerpatvas@comcast.net.
Contact: Patty Benton 303.766.3051 9 am-5 pm MST Monday-Friday
© 2005 JERPAT No part of this newsletter may be reproduced unless specified in the authors byline. Please respect all guidelines provided by our writers. If there are no guidelines provided for a section of this newsletter you would like to reproduce, please send print request to jerpatvas@comcast.net.
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