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If you have turned on your television anytime in the last few months you have heard the news about the restrictions that lenders are imposing on businesses nationwide. Being on guard about your business’s accounts is vital to your company’s credit.

it is important to monitor your business credit, to track the activity in your business credit accounts. To do this, reconcile the account activity reported online or in your monthly statements to what your records state frequently. This will help you (1) identity mistakes, (2) identity fraudulent activity, (3) monitor how much your employees are charging and (4) stay informed about how much you are spending or charging.

Another and probably one of the most important tools to protecting your credit is your Dun and Bradstreet credit rating. You can order a number or reports from this corporate credit reporting agency. These reports are as simple as credit-at-a-glance reports that summarize your company’s credit history, or a more selective and detailed report.

Don’t forget your personal credit! When creditors examine your credit applications they are not only going to examine your business’s credit rating, but they are also going to examine your personal credit rating, and possibly the credit ratings of your top executives. In order to monitor the personal credit reports that impact the credit worthiness of your company you will want to request copies of your three credit reports at least several times a year. For small business with revenues under $100,000 a year you will probably only need to review your personal credit report two to four times a year. For small businesses with annual revenues over $100,000 a year, you will probably benefit from monthly monitoring of your credit reports.

If you want a more simple way, there are several agencies that will put together While you can request your Dun and Bradstreet credit reports and your personal credit reports individually directly from the reporting agencies it is often simpler to subscribe to combination monitoring services that are designed for businesses. A few options are Identity Guard and Experian for businesses.

One of the best things you can do to protect your credit rating is to watch it carefully. If problems do arise you will need to contact D&B or any of the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and Transunion. They are required to report fraud issues to the other reporting agencies. Keep an eye on your credit and report issues immediately.

Hybrid Computers
November 4, 2008
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Going green has surged into the computer market this past year. Hybrid computers are the “new” environmentally-friendly choice of computers, with its power-saving laptop components, use of recycled materials and minimal packaging.
Dell has recently introduced The Studio Hybrid, which starts at $500 a unit (Dell Hybrid). It is a impact and Eco-friendly choice to make if you are in the market for a computer.

The many benefits of going for this type of computer is the simple fact, that when you don’t need the extra power as you would for high graphic websites, video games or editing, you can simply hit the power save button. Using minimal power, you are still able to surf the web, check email and use most office software without noticing any difference. This can be used effectively for email purposes, web surfing or using office documents. You save on power, heat and noise. Especially with a notebook, you want to preserve that battery life when you can.

Another piece of equipment to keep in mind when you are looking to cut cost on energy and to help out the environment, is the energy saving power strip. One particular model, The Smart Power Strip, offers power surge protection and line noise filtering, while being able to sense the flow of electrical current through the strip’s control outlet. So if your computer or printer has not been in use for a while, it will automatically power it down. Although a great idea, it is important to remember to save your work before leaving the computer idle.

Do You Have A Disaster Plan For Your Business?
September 13, 2008
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It is not something that any business owner wants to think about, but it is vital to consider what a natural disaster like a hurricane or fire could do to your business. In the last few years we have seen how quickly a disaster can strike, and sadly the damage it can do. So, while we can’t predict or prevent some of these issues we can be better prepared. There are a few questions to ask yourself: Do I have an emergency preparedness plan? Do I have an offsite, secure data back-up system in place? Do we have a plan that would allow us to continue with our business during the recovery time after the disaster?

An ideal disaster plan is a management process that identifies potential impacts that threaten an organization and provides a framework for building resilience and the capability for an effective response and possible recovery if required.

The plan will identify in advance, the potential impacts of a wide variety of sudden disruptions to the organization’s ability to succeed. This will also help to prioritize the needs of your business in order to continue day to day operations in such areas as staff management,security, facilities and IT.

The plan should also look at surviving significant losses of resources such as staff or equipment. Because an organization’s resilience depends on its operational staff and management as well as technology and geographical diversity, this resilience should be developed throughout the organization.

A disaster plan is vital. Though it is hard to know where to start, but one way to get started is by creating your plan. The Homeland Security Department has created a number of things to aid in your preparation, including a sample plan. Having a plan in place will not only help you to restore your service, but it will help you set up a plan of action until necessary repairs can be made.

Because it is so important to make sure that your backups are kept safe and without threats of data loss or compromising sensitive data, you will need to establish a ‘offsite back up plan’. One way to do this is to save your data at an off-site location, there are many companies that offer secure data back up. One of these companies is Acti-vate, Inc. They can help your company secure your data, make your contingency plans and create an emergency plan. Another company that does contingency planning is ZoneCast. They can also provide virus back-up plans and manage the backups for you!

Don’t wait until a disaster hits, if you don’t already have a contingency plan, isn’t it time to consider one? Make a plan and be prepared!

You have a Virtual Assistant in Arizona, a client in New York and your office is in Georgia. Welcome to the modern business world! This new way of doing business is great but also poses some challenges. For example there may be a document or report that needs several rounds of editing and may require emailing back and forth again and again with every change and potentially lots of faxing as well. There has to be a way to make this happen more smoothly!

Luckily there is a technology allowing people to keep up with this kind of world. One type of software is online collaboration programs, some of which allow you to work together in real time, making collaborative efforts much easier. Google Documents is one way to store and exchange as well as collaborate on various documents and spreadsheets. The document stores to your google account and fellow users on the project can be added as collaborators and can edit freely. Best of all Google Documents is a free service available with a free Gmail account.

Also available is Central Desktop, a program which has both free and paid accounts. The free accounts are limited to 5 members and 25mb but otherwise for a monthly or yearly fee offer security online storage, web conferencing and up to 25G online storage. This program has the added benefit of some project management tools, but these are not available with the free package.

If you are already using Microsoft Office, you also have the option of using Microsoft Office Live which is free. The program boasts that you can access your documents from almost anywhere, save over 1,000 Microsoft Office documents in one online place. You can also add a button to your toolbar that will allow you to open and save directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to your virtual space. With additional security like being able to limit who sees and edits files; (password-protected sharing), this program is great for sharing files. A small business version is also available with even greater options.

Other options include: Same-Page, a collaborative program not unlike Central Desktop, however, there is a cost involved but they do offer a 30 day free trial. Base-Camp is an online project management program which offers a free package along with several paid options. While there are a lot of other programs out there, another one that stands out is Joomla. While Joomla is a great program and is free, it does take some effort to get started and sometimes that is discouraging to a new user. It is however one of the better collaborative programs on the market.

So while the world is changing, it doesn’t have to be an expensive prospect to get a program that will work for your office. Different programs tend to cater to some needs and remember that when looking, particularly with open source software, keep security in mind. Try a program and see what works for you and help make your office run smoother.

What Is RSS?
August 9, 2008
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It seems like nowadays everyone has a blog or a website of some sort. So what is the best way that you can keep up with the current news and updates? A great way to go about this is with RSS feed. What is RSS feed you say? RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication.’ An RSS Feed basically lets you know when your favorite websites or blog sites are updated with new information. Before RSS in order to keep track of updates on a website you had to ‘bookmark’ websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added.

According to a blog tip site ProBlogger, a good way to start using RSS is to sign up with an RSSFeed Reader. They recommend going with either Google Reader or Bloglines. Each of these sites are free and quite easy to use. Especially if you’re just starting out. After you’ve found your RSS Feed Reader, you’ll want to get your feet wet by subscribing to some feedsto see how works. You should be able to locate these feeds within the site itself or within your Brower. In either case both Google Reader and Bloglines have help areas that will walk you through the whole set up process.

So, whether you are looking to stay on top of your favorite blog or wanting to know what the current weather conditions are going to be, using an RSS Feed is a great way to find these things out. Not only is it easy to use, but you’ll be able to keep up on the latest information and trends.

Affordable Marketing Strategies
July 20, 2008 ________________________________

There may be dozens of small businesses out there that do the same thing as you do. So, how do you get your business out there in front of all the others? What can you do to make yourself more marketable while making it affordable at the same time?

The key word here is affordable. Especially if you are a new business your revenues may be small and you may not have a very big budget. So, you’ll need to look at some creative ways to help keep the marketing costs down, but at the same time will definitely get your name out there.

Google Adwords is great way to drive customers your way if you have a website. You create your ads and choose keywords that will drive customers in your site direction. The customer clicks on your ad and can make a purchase right there or learn more about you and your company. You can do all of this for just pennies.

Or how about joining a barter/exchange network? You would trade your products or services in exchange for advertisement. This can range from radio, to print to computer advertisement. You may even be able to get the other business you’re doing the exchange with to recommend your product to others. Word of mouth is another great form of advertisement that customers really trust.

Blogging is definitely an up and coming new way to market your business. It’s really easy to do and people really seem to enjoy reading other people’s opinions or “expert” advice. You could blog (write) about something you enjoy and have ads about your product or service set up around your blog site. Or maybe you could actually blog about your product or service. An easy way to start a blog is through Word Press, not only is it free, but it allows you the freedom to set up your blog site any way you choose.

Another free avenue is Craigs List, which provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, items for sale, services etc. Posting your ad under “services provided” in a couple of the larger cities will allow you to get your “feet wet” and get your product or service’s name out there.

These are just a few ideas for marketing your business in an affordable way. There are many other avenues for one to take. Think outside the box for other ways and watch your business begin to grow.

Smartphones
June 22, 2008
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Convenience is at a whole new level these days. People are becoming busier and busier everyday. So the idea of having something that saves time or makes life more convenienthas really becomes important. A Smartphone is one of those things that can help.

If you are not familiar with the term ‘smart phone’, it is in simple terms a mobile phone that has advanced capabilities compared to that of a regular mobile phone. Smart phones come equipped with much more than the everyday calling features or text messaging. They offer features from instant messaging, web and email access, or even watching your favorite television show.

IBM designed the first smart phone in 1992 and called it Simon. It had features like a calendar, address book, world clock, calculator, note pad, e-mail, send and receive fax, and games. It had a touch screen instead of buttons and text was entered with a unique on-screen keyboard. However, in today’s world this phone is already out of date. The technology being used today has far exceeded “Simon.”

Today’s smart phones come equipped with common features such as an operating system from Windows, Symbian or Blackberry. They contain cameras, recording devices, satellite radio and Bluetooth. Some have miniature keyboards and some have touch screens. There are a vast array of features and phones to choose from. With features like this, it’s no wonder so many people are able to multi-task during the day. You can conduct business anytime, anywhere.

A good way to assure that you have the right kind of “convenience” to fit your life style is to compare phones. An easy way to compare is to go online to a website called Cnet Reviews Here they not only offer reviews, but they also offer side by side comparisons of features and prices. They’ll give you the good the bad and the “bottom line” about each product. This will allow you to not only catch this wave of new technology but, also to find the right level of convenience for you.

Email Etiquette
June 9, 2008
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Etiquette means being polite and showing good manners. So, it only makes sense that when you are corresponding with another individual via email that you follow this rule as well. According to a survey conducted by the UCLACenter for Communication Policy, 88% of all internet users in the U.S. use email. So, whether you are using email for personal use or for business, you should remember that your correspondence represents you as a person. It can make a big impression on the receiving end of the email.

Whenever possible try to be brief and get right to the point, like most of us, the person on the receiving end may be getting a lot of emails throughout their day. There are many etiquette guides and many different etiquette rules. Some rules will differ according to the nature of your business and the corporate culture. Below is a list of some basic etiquette tips and rules that are important to follow.

1. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation. This is a no brainer, remember to spell check!
2. Do not attach unnecessary files. In addition it is best to ask permission before sending a file larger than 1MG.
3. Do not overuse the high priority option. Readers won’t take you seriously if every email has this feature.
4. Do not write in CAPITALS. Using all caps is unprofessional and implies SCREAMING.
5. Happy faces are ok for friends, but don’t use them in business correspondence.
6. Use a meaningful subject. Keep it short and sweet.

Remember if you are emailing someone for the first time, you are setting a first impression. Follow these email tips and it can make the world of difference, especially when you’re “meeting” someone for the first time.

On Friday, May 16th, 2008 Virtual Assistants all over the world will be celebrating International Virtual Assistants Day. While that may seem odd to the casual reader, this is actually the Third Annual International Virtual Assistants Day. Held every year on the third Friday of May, the day is meant to recognize the many “remote” workers who do the same jobs as the “Administrative Professionals” but don’t usually get credit.

Remote workers all over the globe will also get a chance to celebrate by attending what else, but the Third Annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention which begins Thursday, May 15th and runs until Saturday, May 17th, 2008. During the unconventional convention, which will be held completely online, an attendee can participate in training, informative workshops, motivating seminars, business showcases and networking sessions. There are even exhibitor halls and virtual trade show booths. Best of all it is available at all hours and without traveling further than your computer!

In celebration of this event two awards were created. The first is the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award, named for the man who coined the term Virtual Assistant and founder of CoachU. The second is the Janet Jordan Achievement Award named for the founder of VirtualAssistantsU. Both of these awards will be announced over this exciting weekend event!

Click here for a complete schedule of all the events and sessions. Join us online for networking, seminars giveaways and fun!

Many offices today both home and corporate are making the change to being paperless. There are many benefits with a paperless office beyond simply having less paper to deal with. While having an office completely paperless with no paper in sight is not really realistic, but with the use of email, online calendars and other software and systems, you can eliminate a good portion of the clutter and waste.

Below are the main benefits of becoming paperless and tips how to make it happen.
• Save time. By eliminating paper you can save time finding, copying, and organizing paper. Information can be accessed instantly without having to search through files or boxes of stored documents.
• More space. With a paperless office there is no need for countless filing cabinets or boxes of files. Your desk will also provide more workspace without all the clutter of paper lying around.
• It is helping the environment. Less paper means less waste in the landfills and more trees saved, period.
• Increased security of files. By switching to an electronic system of filing and storing documents, you can decide who can review certain items. With the use of password protection, sensitive information can be restricted to those who really only need it.

If you are considering the move but still are not sure it will work for you, try to make at least a partial move towards a paperless office. Simple things like using scanners instead of copying machines, sending electronic faxes instead of paper faxes and storing information electronically instead of in filing cabinets is an easy way to get started!

Remember to make sure you’re backing up files since you are not creating a hard paper copy, a good choice to try is Carbonite. This is an online backup system that is easy to use and automatically backs up all your documents. So make a change today in how you work, you will find in the end your life is much easier and organized!

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