February 8, 2011
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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, 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, filing 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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Small Business, Virtual Assistants
January 22, 2011
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In 2005 The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) announced that January was designated as Get Organized Month. It makes sense that thy choose January as most everyone is making a list of resolutions for the New Year. One of the most common resolution is to get organized.
What does it mean exactly to be more ‘organized?’ And how do you accomplish that goal? The first step to getting organized is to write down your daily tasks and then decide which items you must do your self and what tasks you can delegate to someone like a virtual assistant. Think of all the time consuming tasks that you dislike or that take you away from spending time on growing your business.
The bottom line comes down to how you want to use your time; do you need to get the little things off your desk so you can focus on the core part of your business? Choosing how you will get organized is your first step. For some it can be difficult because it means you have to be willing to give up a bit of control and let someone else come in and help reach your solution. Accepting the fact that you need help is the first step. Contact a virtual assistant or professional organizer and let them know your needs. Be honest and they will lead you down the path to being organized! Happy New Year!
Posted in
Resources, Small Business, Virtual Assistants
November 12, 2010
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It’s great to build email lists, and we know that your subscribers love to hear from you – but how often? If you are a prolific emailer, your favorite subscribers may end up hitting the delete button before the ever open your message. Eventually, they may even unsubscribe just to lighten up their email boxes.
So why not help them lighten their load? With a couple of content changes and technical switches, you can create email lighter frequency lists that give your subscribers the options to get your broadcasts weekly, bi-monthly or monthly. Here’s how:
Condense your content:
- Highlight the top news stories or tips each day
- Remove any announcements for timely events that will be obsolete
- Merge related articles
- Create topic lists that link back to the full story on your Web site
Tweak the Opt-In
- Make sure that your subscribers who opt in to lighter frequency aren’t still on the original daily deluge list
- Create a self-explanatory Web form for each list that makes it clear they are signing up for fewer emails
- Create confirmation messages that spell out what they have signed up for and when they will get emails
If you make the decision to offer lighter frequency email content, now may be the perfect time to reach out t your subscribers who haven’t opened your emails in a while. Send them an email that lets them know they can opt- in for your email lite version. Write a subject that lets them know it’s a new opportunity. Ask them to select a frequency option and link them to a Web form that will set them up seamlessly. It may be just the way to get their attention again!
Posted in
Clients, Customer Service, Marketing, Resources, Small Business, Virtual Assistants
September 5, 2009
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Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn. We’ve all heard of them but have you been using them? If not you are missing out on a valuable resource for your business. The main reason why you may not be using them is because you’re just too busy. This is a perfect time to bring in a virtual assistant. Here are just a few ways that you can utilize a virtual assistant to get your business online and socializing fast.
- Blogging – Have you virtual assistant write up blogs to post on your site. A VA can not only write a post and post it to your blog but can publicize your posts in several ways.
- Article Submission – Do you have articles that you’ve written but haven’t had time to submit? Have your virtual assistant do it.
- Twitter-Your virtual assistant can write up your tweets and schedule them for a week at a time so you don’t have to worry about it.
- Facebook – Have your VA send your friends and fans birthday greetings as well as posting upcoming events and specials.
- SlideShare – This is a fairly new application that brings PowerPoint and Social Media together.
- YouTube – YouTube is a phenomenon that is also new to the business world. Have your virtual assistant demo products, tape interviews, etc.
- Pod Casting – Consider yourself a radio host? Why not, have your assistant set up the show, book guests, write content.
Whatever platform you choose one or all of them you don’t have to go it alone. Social Media is more than just a fad or a phase, it is a proven way to network and build your business and the best part is that it is free!
Posted in
Social Media, Virtual Assistants
