10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have – Week 8

A week ago, I shared two great (and free!) form builders for VAs: Wufoo and JotForm. Now moving on to…

Week 8: Alternative software for Virtual Assistants—No Microsoft, Adobe, or Money Required

If only these programs were around when we worked in the corporate world! Well, they probably were, but we were simply unaware given that the big-name software companies were always updating, releasing new versions, and asking for way more money than was necessary. But we bought them anyway thinking that was our only option. Now you have a choice, and a free one at that. There are so many open source software programs out there nowadays. Thank goodness for the developers who believe you shouldn’t have to pay hundreds and thousands of dollars on software every one or two years!

7-Zip7-Zip: Compress, pack, and unpack your files with 7-Zip, an open source file archiver that boasts a higher compression ratio than PKZip or WinZip. 7-Zip supports many popular formats, and you don’t have to pay a dime to get it. I’ve been using 7-Zip for several months now and haven’t had any problems with zipping and sending my large image files to clients or associates.

PDFforgePDFCreator: PDFCreator from pdfforge.org is a free program that creates PDFs from almost any software program. Need to save multiple files as one PDF? With PDFCreator, it’s no problem. You can also create image files such as PNG, JPG, BMP, and more.

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Introducing ConnieMcVicker.com

Happy Friday! Hopefully your week is winding down and you’re getting ready for a relaxing weekend or at least a weekend that does not include working on your business. I’m not usually one to show off or brag about something, however I am pretty proud of the latest site added to my business repertoire.

After owning the domain name for more than a year with the full intention of doing something with it way back then, it just always seemed to be put on the back burner. I invite you to visit my very own named site, www.ConnieMcVicker.com. The site acts as a portal to all I have to offer including a portfolio, subscription form and feeds from my blog.

I hope you take a few minutes to visit and don’t forget to let me know if you have any comments. Have a great weekend!

10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have – Week 7

Last week we discussed productivity and time management tools for virtual assistants, including BigContacts, Backpack, Jott, Remember the Milk, and Time Stamp. Now it’s time for…

Week 7: Forms for Your Virtual Assistance Website

Don’t you just hate building forms and monkeying around with all the code? Does the act of creating a form for your website leave you feeling clueless? If so, then I have the solution for you. Here are two simple web-based form builders that will have you building forms for everything in your business. Easy as pie!

WufooWufoo Form Builder: Hate using your web host’s form mail script or cgi bin? Then get on over to Wufoo to create your form, survey, or invitation without touching a line of code. Really! Wufoo automatically builds the database, backend, and scripts needed to collect your data fast. Need a contact form? No problem. Want to create a support ticket form for your clients? Done. The free version is limited to 3 forms, 10 fields, and up to 100 entries per month, but if you’re a non-techie VA who is just getting started or you just want to send a survey to current clients, Wufoo is just the right tool for the job.

JotFormJotForm: Another great web-based form builder is JotForm. JotForm features intuitive dragging-and-dropping and instant editing right from the form editor. Create web forms and collect submissions and payments from your website.

Have you come across any free tools for creating web forms? If so, share them with us. And don’t forget to check back next week for more free tools!

The Wonderful World of Web 2.0

Caution: DON’T READ THIS POST unless you have time to kill!

Now that you’ve been warned, I came across a super fantabulous site Friday night that literally blew me away. So much so that I can’t even bring myself to admit just how much time I spent (or wasted) viewing and checking out all the wonderful sites listed at www.Go2Web20.net, the complete Web 2.0 directory. Of course not all of that time was officially lost as I found some really great business tools I never would have known existed.

Go to Web LogoThere are over 1000 sites listed at Go2Web20.net and it’s easy to get a brief overview of what each one is about. Simply hover over the thumbnail image of a site or click on it for a little more detail including a link to the site’s homepage. You can even sort by name, date, or category to find exactly what you’re looking for and most likely, some you didn’t even know existed.

Go2Web20.net is a great resource that I’m sure will only get better as new sites pop onto the scene. Check it out when you have a few minutes…or hours. And don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Remembering 9-11

ribbon.gifToday marks the 6th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The events that day horrified us as we watched nearly 3,000 people lose their lives while our entire nation seemingly stood still. That day changed our lives forever. I hope everyone takes a moment today to remember the lives lost, the friends and families of those that perished, and all those who spent countless hours on rescue and recovery efforts.

We remember 9-11 then, now, and forever.