I was having a discussion with a woman who has almost zero turnover of staff in her business. I told her a number of people will come through my network, and stay for less than six months and disappear again. Her response was that she also gets those type of people and she wasn't counting them as 'staff' because they were never fully committed in the first place. She starts them on a probation period and many just don't go far beyond that time period. I hadn't thought of it that way, but … [Read more...]
Lucky I’m Home!
My husband rides his bike to work every day - it's just under 21km one way. He loves to ride, get the exercise and hates getting caught up in public transport systems that rarely seem to run on time these days and are overcrowded. If you live in Melbourne, Australia, you'll have some idea of what I'm talking about - it's a common theme in the news. Anyway, I digress. Graham's been doing this trek since around October last year, so it's a good 9 months he's been making this trip. I guess I … [Read more...]
I’ve Been Tagged!
Seems I've just been tagged by Darlene at Interview Chatter. The idea seems to be to write 7 random facts about myself and tie them into my blog somehow. Mmmm. Now what to share? As a young girl I'd always dreamed of running my own business, I just didn't know what or how. Twenty years later I finally realised that whilst I was waiting for that business opportunity to come along I had developed the very skills I would need for a business. In 1993 I won 'Secretary of the Year' and Microsoft … [Read more...]
Are You Vitamin D Deficient?
I was watching Sunrise whilst putting in a bit of time on the treadmill this morning and it highlighted a recent news article that I heard over the weekend but hadn't really thought about. They had an expert talking about the importance of getting sunshine on a regular basis to prevent Vitamin D deficiency. They mentioned people most at risk are those who are constantly covered up (perhaps due to cultural or religious reasons) and the long-term sick, or the aged who stay indoors all the … [Read more...]
Google is Quick!
I did a post on a newspaper article about our industry yesterday and then heard that another newspaper had published the same article. So I did a Google search to see who else had and was amazed to see my blogpost on the first page of Google in 4th position less than 3 hours after I published it. Now that was fast. … [Read more...]
What is a Virtual Assistant For?
I was alerted to an article by the Sydney Morning Herald titled "The Rise of the Virtual Assistant". The author has evidently experienced some challenges with their contact with a VA and has written about it. What was obvious to me straight away is that the article confused a VA with being sales staff or a receptionist, handling phone calls. Whilst it is true that some VAs might provide this service, I can say that the majority do not and it's important that prospective clients recognise this. … [Read more...]
Check It, Before Passing It On!
We all get numerous emails on a daily basis but when we get something that's a warning and seems like it's important, the urge to forward it on to as many people as possible prompts us to do so. But I'd like to encourage you to stop and think for a moment and do something else first. Put the subject heading into your search engine and see what comes up. More often than not you'll find sites like Urban Legend, Symantec's list of hoaxes, Hoax Busters and others at the top of the list. Ok, so … [Read more...]
Exploring Picasa
As a Virtual Assistant, I love exploring new programs but am sometimes skeptical towards some until I hear from others of their own personal experiences. Free programs I do view warily until proven otherwise, I don't want to get caught with something I wished I hadn't downloaded. However, recently my team were discussing a photo storing program called Picasa which is a free download from Google and it is worth checking out. It does a full scan of your computer or will only scan the sections … [Read more...]
Taking The Plunge!
Some call it 'diving into the deep end', others call it 'stepping out in faith', but whatever it is leaving a (secure) job and moving full time into your own business is a big scary step and it's hard to know when is the right time to do it. There are some guidelines that can help you with that decision. If you cannot afford to do without the income you are receiving at a full time position, then you need to consider building your business part time (after hours and weekends) until you are … [Read more...]
