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JANUARY 5, 2009 Don't forget to add "newsletter@virtualassistantnetworking.com" to your email friends list so you won't miss future issues! In This Issue:
From the EditorWe Virtual Assistants realize our name is a bit ambiguous and open to interpretation (very often, not correctly). Many think it's anyone doing anything virtually. But it's not... it's really, really not. So we like to give a refresher now and again to help business owners better see the real gem that the Virtual Assistant solution offers them. If this week's article helps you to better understand, please do give me a shout (as in email). :) Be fierce!
So What Is This Thing Called Virtual Assistance?You may or may not fully understand what Virtual Assistance is all about so every five weeks we like to spotlight an article that has to do with better understanding what Virtual Assistance is and how to best work with a Virtual Assistant. Unlike a secretarial service, which is focused on piecemeal, transactional project work (sort of like dropping off a copy job at your local printer's), a Virtual Assistant specializes in ongoing, continuous, administrative support working in collaborative relationship with clients. See, working only once or sporadically with vendors you are only impersonally or occasionally engaged with only accomplishes an immediate need. And sometimes that's all you need. Isn't it great that there are all these different kinds of businesses in our great, big, wonderful world? But sometimes a business owner wants more continuity. He or she realizes that one little ol' project being completed isn't going to contribute in any substantive, permanent way toward building a more efficient, smoother-running business. That business owner wants someone who can handle ongoing administrative functions as more of a right-hand, a partner who can then better understand the work and how it all ties together within the business. In this way, that "partner" is therefore able play a bigger, more effective, contributing part in helping the client achieve his or her objectives. This is exactly what a Virtual Assistant is in the business of offering: right-hand administrative support delivered in an ongoing, collaborative relationship. A partnership, if you will. This is where all the magic, efficiency and forward-growth happens. And the longer you work together, the more efficient and sympatico the work and your relationship becomes. You are building upon a foundation of knowledge and understanding, not starting and stopping from scratch, project by project, with strangers outside your business. They simply can not have the same big-picture vision of what the works means to your goals and what you are striving to achieve. So you see, it's not outsourcing. It's not project work. It's a close, personal relationship and the chemistry that occurs only when two people work closely together. RESOURCE: Learn more about Virtual Assistance and how to get the most out of your relationship with a Virtual Assistant with our Client's Guide to Virtual Assistants. And don't forget that the VACOC is the only organization that screens members to meet standards of excellence, ethics and competence. They ain't got it, they are not granted membership. Our Virtual Assistants are waiting to meet you.
© Copyright 2009, The Portable Business™. All U.S. and International rights reserved. You are granted permission to republish this article only if used in its entirety with this copyright notice, title, article content, resource, author's bio and links left intact.
VACOC News: Ezine Begins Third Year and Gets a New Name2009 marks the third year of our little ezine here and we couldn't be more ecstatic about its growth! Our articles have helped subscribers in their businesses with savvy tips and advice, better educated the marketplace about Virtual Assistance, and connected business owners with our members who are some of the most competent and reputable administrative support experts in the industry. You may have also noticed our name change a couple months ago from "Gritty Business Buzz™" to "The Portable Business.™" Our new name better reflects part of our mission, which is to help small business owners run more efficient, flexible, automated businesses so that they can operate anywhere (portable!) and not miss out on life. We're continuing to grow and evolve in 2009. New subscribers are signing on daily (we're now at 4,745). Thanks for all your lovely messages and keep those article ideas coming!
Join the VACOC Kiva Lending Team
Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. It's free to join and you can make a loan at any time to help a fellow entrepreneur out anywhere in the world. It's good karma and you are repaid 100% in full when the load is paid off. You can lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur in the developing world (hey, $25 is a WHOLE LOTTA MONEY in those areas). You choose who to lend to—whether that's a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq—and as they repay the loan, you get your money back. We love it because it's a hand-up, not a hand-out. If you join the VACOC lending team of Virtual Assistants, you'll be joining forces with one of the most respected Virtual Assistant associations out there and working with us to alleviate poverty. Once you're a part of the team, you can choose to have a future loan on Kiva "count" towards our team's impact. The loan is still yours, and repayments still come to you, but you can also choose to have the loan show up in our team's collective portfolio, so the team's overall impact will grow. Anyone is welcome to join our team. I hope you'll join! To sign up (it takes like one minute!), visit: http://www.kiva.org/community/viewTeam?team_id=2197
The Results Are In!
If you are a Virtual Assistant and didn't participate this year, we really encourage you to take part in the next survey. You will be contributing to the effort that is helping the industry grow AND you'll get a copy of the full survey results report once the survey period is over. Only those who participate get the full survey report at no charge. In the meantime, we offer an abridged version of the survey (about half) which gives some of the basic statistical data. Feel free to "take one down and pass it around." You may also publish the results contained in the survey highlights report as long as attribution is given to the VACOC.
Next FREE Teleseminar: January 15, 2009
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SCRATCHING YOUR HEAD? Have you been wondering what this administrative solution called Virtual Assistance is all about? Not to worry! The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce has written an online guide to answer all your questions: The Client's Guide to Virtual Assistants.
TIRED OF WADING through the thousands of Virtual Assistant sites on the Internet? Would you like qualified, competent and reputable Virtual Assistants to come to you instead? Simply submit your Request for Partnership at the VACOC RFP Center.
Find a Qualified Virtual Assistant Today!
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| ABOUT THE VACOC: Founded by industry veteran Danielle Keister in 2006, the is a professional association committed to empowering business-minded Virtual Assistants grow smarter, more successful practices, and providing business owners with to connect with reputable, qualified Virtual Assistant professionals. To change your subscription, see link at the bottom of email notification. The Portable Business™ (formerly The Gritty Business Buzz™) is a trademark of the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce™. All logos and names are the copyrights of their respective owners. Disclaimer: Neither Danielle Keister nor the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce™ endorses the accuracy or reliability of any of the paid advertisements above nor the quality of any products, information, or other materials displayed, purchased, or obtained by you as a result of an offer in connection with any ad. Please do your own due diligence BEFORE purchasing any product. © 2007-09 Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce™. All U.S. & International rights reserved. |
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About
the Author: Danielle Keister is a business advisor, innovator
and thought leader in the Virtual Assistance profession. A veteran Virtual
Assistant of 12+ years, her logical, no-nonsense approach to business
development has gained her recognition as one of the leaders in the field.
She loves what she does and is passionate about sharing her knowledge
and know-how with the world. She’s all about inspiring others to
reach for their highest excellence. When not taking care of clients in
her own Virtual Assistant practice, 
Are
you determined to make 2009 your best year yet? Then join us
for the next VACOC Guest Expert Teleseminar on Thursday, January
15, 2009, with Passion into Profit mentor Cari Vollmer as she
shares her world-famous vision boarding process and how to create a vision
board that will keep you powerfully aligned with your dreams and goals.
