Susan Orlins wanted some help self publishing her first book, a memoir called Confessions of a Worrywart: Husbands, Lovers, Mothers and Others. She calls herself an impatient person, and says she wasn’t willing to approach publishers or agents to get her work out. She didn’t want to have to wait a year to see her work in print. She wanted it now. What Orlins also wanted was a guide who had some experience in the [...]

As a business owner, your main goal is to create a successful business, providing a great product or service to satisfied and loyal customers. In the journey towards doing so, it is imperative that you think smartly in the way you spend your money and your time. Deciding on final decisions in these two areas of your business can sometimes lead to stress and anxiety, with the fear of having to change so many things. [...]

Day-to-day efficiency is regarded as one of the most valuable attributes a business owner can have. Unfortunately, the most difficult part of being efficient is in maintaining that same high level of efficiency throughout the course of each business quarter, without crashing and burning. The tasks pile up and your level of stress sky rockets. This results in missed or late deadlines, dissatisfied customers–and even worse–a loss in acquiring more possible customers and revenue. If [...]

Outsourcing short term projects is an effective way to promote the growth of your business without having to expand your budget. You might be looking to outsource short term projects either because you lack the time or skills needed to perform these tasks yourself, or you may be hesitant about bringing in a new part time contractor for a long term period of time. Either way, short term outsourcing is the most popular way for [...]

Email marketing is the business practice of sending an email to people on your contact list. The intent is to establish you as an expert and create trust, loyalty and brand awareness. There has been much research done on the benefits of e-newsletters. It is more cost effective to grow your business through interactions with existing clients than it is in pursuing new clients. However, a subscriber on your contact list is a potential valuable [...]

Successful virtual assistant Michelle Mangen was interviewed at PodJamTV Live recently and did a wonderful job of evangelizing the VA industry and explaining how business owners can find, hire, and work with professional assistants. This is a very informative episode for anyone who’s been considering working with a virtual assistant or just wondering what all the buzz is about!

You’re probably already aware what a virtual assistant is. But just in case you’re not, in a nutshell a virtual assistant is someone who can provide you with business support, without costing you any additional overhead. For small business owners and entrepreneurs, working with a VA is a more cost-effective solution than employing someone in-house on a temporary or part-time basis. Perhaps you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day? Or you’re missing [...]