YourDependableVA's Blog

Working With a Virtual Assistant – Internet Research

yourdependableva — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:47:00 +0000

Wondering how to utilize the services of a virtual assistant? Consider outsourcing your internet research needs to virtual assistant.

Internet Research – Find a Better Webinar Provider

A virtual assistant (VA) can do a thorough research of the each web conferencing provider by using advanced in the Google search engine techniques. Your VA will also contact each prospective by phone asking questions related to standard criteria you’ve created with your VA. You may ask, “Why call them when they have a website?” The importance of calling each prospective webinar provider is to see if you negotiate a discount for those services or ask about any promotions they offer. This can save your company lots of money.

Your VA will gladly compile a spreadsheet, neatly listing results for each company researched ranging from “best fit” to “close fit”.

About the Author: Priscilla Walker is the president and CEO of Your Dependable VA, Inc., a virtual assistance company. Your Dependable VA provides professional administrative and social media marketing assistance to small businesses. We offer business support so that business owners can free up their time and energy to focus on running their company without getting burned out.

Find Your Dependable VA on Twitter @YDVA and Facebook Fan Us!

How To: Increase Your Page Rankings

yourdependableva — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:18:03 +0000

Increasing your website’s SEO can be a tedious and daunting task. For many business owners this is a task that # 1 on the list of things to be delegated. For those who have budgeted for an SEO expert, hire that person as soon as you can; your website will thank you. However, when you’re working with a tight budget, you may choose to wait. Why wait? Why not work towards that goal now and best of all it’s free!

One way is to register your site with major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, etc. You may be wondering, “How do I do this?” No worries! See below for a direct link to my top four search engine websites.

This is how it works

Each search engine crawls (periodically), adding and updating new websites to their index.

Here are some key things to remember:

When prompted, use keywords that describe your website best.

Add the full URL address i.e. http://YourDependableVA.com/

Submit Your Site to Google

http://www.google.com/addurl/

Submit Your Site to Yahoo

http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit

Submit Your Site to Bing

http://www.bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx

Submit Your Site to Open Directory Project

http://www.dmoz.org/add.html

Here’s to higher page rankings!

About the Author: Priscilla Walker is the president and CEO of Your Dependable VA, Inc., a virtual assistance company. Your Dependable VA provides professional administrative and social media marketing assistance to small businesses. We offer business support so that business owners can free up their time and energy to focus on running their companies without getting burned out.

Let us help you take your business to the next level!

For more information, please go to http://YourDependableVA.com/ and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com.

“Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

FAQ’s – Virtual Assistant

yourdependableva — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:59:17 +0000

I network and work with a lot of small business owners and I’ve found that many of them have never heard of my line of work, virtual assistance. My company provides professional administrative assistance to small businesses, so that the business owner can focus solely on running their business.

Every successful business owner understands that in order sustain growth and avoid burnout, office tasks must be delegated. By sharing this information with others, business owners will be able to have a more successful, effective, and efficient business. Here are some frequently asked questions about virtual assistants that may be helpful for you.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent contractor who provides professional administrative support to clients.

What a VA is not.

A VA is not a professional that does one specific type of task for the client.

Why would I hire a VA?

VAs provides business support so that you can focus your energies and time on running your business!

Less stress-You will be working with another set of professional set of eyes that can catch likely errors and improve presentations, marketing, and correspondences.

VAs are a more convenient alternative to having an in-house employee.

(Yes, you can continue to work in your exercise clothes!)

Why work with a VA vs. an in-house employee?

There are a number of reasons why people work with VAs (here’s a few):

Lack of equipment needed for someone else to use

Lack of desire to purchase or lease equipment

Lack of space for an in-house employee

Lack of desire to hire an in-house employee

Lack of desire to pay for employee benefits, payroll, etc.

Lack of desire to pay for firing an employee

Who typically works with a VA?

VAs works with an array of successful professionals such as: consultants, real estate agents, executives, speakers –anyone who wants to create a more balanced professional lifestyle.

What type of services does a VA offer?

VAs offers a number of administrative services:

Email Management

Website Management

Appointment Scheduling

Social Media Marketing

Internet Research

Travel Itinerary Management

Business Correspondences

Office Forms Creation

PowerPoint Presentation Creation, etc.

Who works best with VAs?

People who work best with VAs are:

People who value business relationships

People who are internet savvy

People who have big goals

People who can effectively communicate their needs

People who are focused & organized

People who can delegate effectively

People who are trusting

People who do not micromanage

People who do not procrastinate, then rush to the deadline

How do I make sure I hire the best VA for me?

Create a job description

Write out your wish list –what personal qualities would a VA possess.

Check their professional references.

Issues always boil down to communication –make sure that you communicate better.

Have realistic expectations – so set very specific goals for a specific timeframe.

How do I hire a VA?

The VA sets up a conference call to discuss needs and package plan that works best for the client

VA sends a proposal describing the needs of the clients disclosed in the conference call

Client approves proposal (if changes needs to be made –proposal is revised)

VA sends final letter of agreement for Client’s signature

VA sends Client’s invoice

Client sends VA tasks to complete

Your Dependable VA, Inc. provides over 40 administrative and social media marketing services.

Our clients look to us for great quality and incredible service!

Let us help you take your business to the next level!

Contact us today!

Tele/Fax: 1 (877) 305-5967

Email: Info@YourDependableVA.com

Visit Us @ http://YourDependableVA.com/

“Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

POSITIVE EXPOSURE – SIMPLE WAYS TO BOOTSTRAP YOUR BUSINESS – PART 2

yourdependableva — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:24:41 +0000

I know it’s been a while…here it is…Part 2…enjoy.

Target YOUR Audience

Narrowing your focus to highly qualified potential clients can be one of the efficient ways to bootstrap your business. Rather than attending 100 business networking events every month, reduce your attendance to 2 networking events that produces the most highly qualified prospects. Follow up with them via phone, email, and ask for an informal meeting.

Know What YOUR Competitor Does

In this day and age, the internet is one of the most resourceful tools to any business. The best thing part about this is that it is all at your fingertips! By conducting competitive intelligence online you can find out what your competitors are doing, how much they charge for their services, and what type of clients they have.

If you would like to read (re-read) Part 1, click below.

POSITIVE EXPOSURE – PART 1

About the Author: Priscilla Walker is the president and CEO of Your Dependable VA, Inc., a cost effective virtual assistance company. We help small businesses grow by providing premium professional administrative and social media marketing assistance. Let us help you take your business to the next level!

Take advantage of our special package for U.S. small business owners, 10% off (for the first month) with a $100 gift pack. Offer ends soon….

For more information, please go to http://YourDependableVA.com/ and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com. “Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

Ask a Virtual Assistant! Free Webinar

yourdependableva — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:00:09 +0000

Due to the overwhelming response and inquiry for a virtual assistant at my webinar last time, I’ve decided to conduct another Q&A session on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 1pm -2pm EST. Here are some of the things that I will be covering:

1. What is a Virtual Assistant (VA)?

2. Various business support services that a VA offers.

3. Most importantly, how a VA can help YOU grow YOUR business!

Start 2010 off right by being more organized and energized to concentrate solely on your business!

Simply send an email to info@YourDependableVA.com with the heading “Webinar”

Seats are filling up…..register now!

POSITIVE EXPOSURE – SIMPLE WAYS TO BOOTSTRAP YOUR BUSINESS (PART 1)

yourdependableva — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:26:42 +0000

Lately, I’ve been asked (several times), “How can I grow my business in these hard financial times?” My answer is, desperate times cause for desperate measures. As a business owner, learning new things and growing is almost a daily experience. In order to survive these economic times, you must find smart, efficient ways in marketing your company to potential clients. Here some quick ways to boost your earning potential and positive exposure to the world.

Conduct Press Opportunity Research

You may remember my blog, “Press Opps & Building Your Brand!” In this blog, I spoke of the benefits of press opps. Press opps can provide an opportunity unlike any other. This opportunity can get your business featured in a popular business magazine, talk radio show, television show, and more! For more information see http://yourdependableva.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/press-opps-building-your-brand/. A great resource for press opps is HARO, http://www.helpareporter.com/. The sign up is free and easy! You can download a free copy of a press release template here on my Wordpress site.

Give A Little, Get A lot

I know, it’s a little (very) frustrating. You feel as though you’ve already exhausted all of your options, but have you ever tried to present your services to your local business development center. The other day, I was brainstorming ways in which I could help my clients increase their clientele. I then had an AH HA moment! Contact your local business development center and offer to do a workshop, presenting your company’s services. This will only give you more credibility than an online profile. This also shows that you are not afraid to put yourself out there. For example, SCORE (http://www.score.org/) has chapters nationwide, they offer counseling services as well as workshops to small businesses. You could offer to conduct a workshop in your specialized field. For a listing of small business development centers in your area, see http://www.sba.gov/localresources/.

I hope these tips were helpful……stay tuned to Part 2………

Take advantage of our special package for U.S. small business owners, 10% off (for the first month) with a $100 gift pack. Offer ends soon….

For more information, please go to http://YourDependableVA.com/ and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com. “Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

Email Management. How You Can Conduct This Task Efficiently and Effectively!

yourdependableva — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:13:24 +0000

This is one of the most daunting tasks a lot of business owners’ face on a daily basis. Here are some quick ways to manage your emails.

If you are inundated with emails from various online groups, adjust the settings so that you can receive one daily or weekly email.

Create individual folders for each client. This will hold all important correspondences and other information.

Create an ASAP folder. This can be used for any emails that need your immediate assistance. Group all of your VIP emails together 1^st, and then review each one. This way you can focus on the VIP emails only!

Create a folder for your own company for all internal correspondences.

Create a Misc. folder for all your other emails that do not need your immediate attention.

Delete, delete, delete! Remove any other emails that just take up space.

Also, there’s a website that is dedicated to helping people manage your emails and not the other way around called Away Find, http://www.awayfind.com/.

I hope these helpful hints were to your benefit! Cheers! To a de-cluttered email account!

About the Author: Priscilla Walker is the president and CEO of Your Dependable VA, Inc., a cost effective virtual assistance company. We help small businesses grow by providing premium professional administrative and social media marketing assistance.

Let us help you take your business to the next level!

For more information, please go to www.YourDependableVA.com and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com.

“Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

Press Opps and Building Your Brand!

yourdependableva — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:27:55 +0000

Some business owners don’t understand the benefits to having a press opportunity. No worries, that was me three weeks ago! Press opportunities aka press opps allows you to gain exposure for your company and/or personal brand. Taking advantage of these opportunities can help your company grow exponentially. For example, The Inc. Magazine is looking to feature a small IT company in the Northeast Region of the U.S. that has survived the recession. Can’t you see yourself being featured in major business magazine?

When submitting an interest in a press opp remember, these are deadline driven. Press opps are usually comprised of 10 main components:

Summary of the Press Opp
Name of the reporter
Category of press opp (i.e. Business & Finance)
Email address of reporter
Title of the press opp (Sometimes the same as the Summary)
Media Outlet (i.e. The Inc. Magazine)
Specific Geographic Region
Region (i.e. Usually the same as Specific Geographic Region)
Deadline (i.e. 12:10pm – October 14)
Query – describes specifically what the reporter is looking for

Let us help you take your business to the next level!

For more information, please go to www.YourDependableVA.com and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com.

“Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™

Ask Priscilla Anything About Virtual Assistants Free Webinar, October 8, 2009, 1-2PM

yourdependableva — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:36:30 +0000

Calling all Small Business Owners, Execs, and CEOs! Join me for a FREE 1 hour Q&A session this Thursday, October 8^th, 1-2pm EST, promptly. There, you’ll be able to ask me anything about Virtual Assistants. Here are some of the things that I will be covering:

1. What is a Virtual Assistant (VA)?
2. Various business support services that a VA offers.
3. Most importantly, how a VA can help YOU grow YOUR business!

For more information, go to: http://yourdependableva.com/Webinar.html

I look forward to answering any questions that you may have!

Priscilla Walker, CEO, Your Dependable VA, Inc.

http://YourDependableVA.com/

Effective Communication & How This Can Help You Grow Your Business – Part 4

yourdependableva — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:54:15 +0000

For Most, Change Can Be Difficult

You will find with some clients, they are not comfortable with change. The routine that you may find convenient and efficient could be confusing for your client. Make the best of the situation by clearly explaining to your client exactly what you need from them. Be clear in expressing the what, how, why, and where. It would be best to inform your client how this could benefit him or her.

Think Positive (I know, you hear it all the time.)

Sometimes when working with others in business we find ourselves subconsciously focusing on the differences, instead of commonality. Next time when you and another business owner encounter this problem, make your focal point the reason why you’re both working together. You can say something like, “My reason for working with you is to assist you in taking your company to the next level. I want to see your business succeed.”

Let us help you take your business to the next level!

For more information, please go to www.YourDependableVA.com and/or contact us at info@YourDependableVA.com.

“Have a More Productive Day with Your Dependable VA!”™