10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have - Week 3

Last week we discussed a variety of tools that Google has to offer virtual assistants, or anyone else who finds them useful. Now on to…

Week 3: Just Plain Handy Tools for Virtual Assistants

Sometimes you come across something so handy that it’s hard to believe you didn’t think of it yourself. I wish I had thought of the following handy-dandy little tools myself, but either way, they have made my life simpler. They may not shed hours off my week, but I cannot live without them.

Lorem IpsumLorem Ipsum Generator: If you design newsletters, websites, templates, or any other type of collateral for your clients, then you’ve probably entered some filler text in the designs to give your clients an idea of how things would look once you began adding the content. You’ve probably used something like “Your text here. Your text here. Your text here…” to simulate paragraphs. Well, the ultimate dummy-text generator, Lorem Ipsum, offers a much smarter way of doing this.

There isn’t any guessing with the Lorem Ipsum Generator. Simply tell it how many paragraphs, words, bytes, or lists you want. It then generates the text, you just copy and paste, and you’re done!

FavIcon by PicsFavIcon from Pics: Have you ever wondered how to create your own favicon that would show up in your visitors’ address bars when they visit or bookmark your site? Well, using FavIcon from Pics, it’s easier than you think! FavIcon from Pics will create a still or an animated favicon from regular images, such as a picture, a logo, or a symbol. The images can be any size and any resolution. The program will provide you with a nice little image file to upload to your web server, along with full instructions. Back in 2006, I wrote a blog article about how to do it. You can check it out here. Read more

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10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have - Week 2

Last week began a 10-week blog series on my favorite free tools, all of which will help VAs alleviate overhead business costs and boost productivity. Now on to…

Week 2: Virtual Assistant Uses for Everything Google

Google

So, pretty much everything Google has to offer is just too darned cool. From scheduling to sharing to tracking and everything in between, you can’t go wrong with Google—and you can’t beat FREE! The most you have to do is register for your free account and then start using all these wonderful tools. Google has so much more than what is listed here, but these are my favorites, and I use them every day.

Google Alerts: Setting up Google Alerts is like having your own little Internet research team. Want to know when your name or your business name pops up somewhere on the Internet? Google Alerts has it covered. Want to keep track of the latest news on your favorite band? Google Alerts can handle that too. Google Alerts sends you an email with the latest relevant Google results based on the criteria you set up for each alert.

Connie’s Tip: I have several alerts set up, including my name, my business names, and other topics of interest. But don’t forget about your competitors! The only way to stay competitive is to know who your competition is and what they are doing. Keep tabs on them by setting up alerts on them too!

Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a great way to track your website statistics. Not only is the format visually appealing (unlike many of the statistics programs offered by web hosts), but everything is really easy to understand. It takes just minutes to set up, and then you simply insert a few lines of code into your web pages, and voila! Instant stats—and you don’t even have to go through a lengthy installation. Another great feature is that you can add as many sites as you need to. For me, I have six sites to track—all my own. If you use Google Adwords, it is also integrated with Google Analytics, so you can view your ROI metrics without doing anything extra.

Google Calendar: Keep everyone organized with Google Calendar by sharing it with your family, friends, colleagues, or clients. Or you can share it with all four separately! Don’t want your clients to see your personal schedule and events? No problem. You can share it with whomever you choose, make it public or private, or even allow clients to view it from your own web page.

Another great feature is that you can subscribe to other people’s calendars and view them simultaneously with yours—and it’s all color-coded. What could be cooler than that? Read more

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10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have - Week 1

Starting a virtual assistance business doesn’t have to be expensive, but keeping up with the technology you need for your growing practice can add up, unless you know where to look! Working and running your business virtually can be inexpensive—and “virtually” free—thanks to those who believe that you don’t have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars on software and services each year just to keep up with the times.

For the next 10 weeks, I’ll be sharing my all-time favorite must-use and must-have resources for VAs. Many of these favorites will benefit small business owners or solo entrepreneurs as well. These are programs, products, tools, sites, and services that are all free. No 30-day trials, no credit cards required, just plain free.

Week 1: Must-Use Resources Provided by Virtual Assistance Organizations

VANA: VA resources and networking at its best. Simply irresistible!

VANAWhether you’re new to virtual assistance or you’re a seasoned veteran, every VA has a home at VANA. Where else could you collaborate with over 6,000 aspiring, new, and veteran VAs for tips, tricks, advice, networking, idea bouncing, and more? Did I mention more? That’s because VANA is so much more than a forum. Founder of VANA, Tawnya Sutherland, is on a mission to provide an abundance of exciting resources to the VA industry, and VANA’s trusty volunteers help to keep things running smoothly. Read more

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You’re Invited to the Visionary VAs Launch Party!

If you missed the pre-launch of the Visionary VAs website at the OIVAC last month or you haven’t had time to check out the site yet, this is the PERFECT time to visit. Through the rest of June, Jaime Lee Mann and I are hosting the Visionary VAs Launch Party, and we’re kicking things off with a BANG!! We have teamed up with some pretty amazing VAs to bring you a launch party to remember. By joining the party, you’ll have the opportunity to win great prizes, claim freebies, and take advantage of special bonuses and discounts. Visionary VAs has something for everyone, whether you’re just thinking about starting a VA business or you’ve been in business for years.

By the way, EVERYONE who registers will receive a FREE door prize!! Read on for details… Read more

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The Virtual Assistant Connection — The ULTIMATE Resource for Virtual Assistants — Is Now OPEN!

I’ve been working hard on this idea and site for a while now and today is launch day! I expect that all Virtual Assistants will enjoy this great new resource as it is my hope that it becomes the ULTIMATE resource for VAs worldwide. So whether you’re a VA or an aspiring VA, bookmark this site and keep checking back for new additions as the entire industry fills it up with every resource you could imagine! Read the information below for more details and please do drop me a line and tell me what you think. And remember this is for the VA industry…if you have an idea or a suggestion to help us improve the site and its offerings, please email me at info@theVAConnection.com.

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You’ve worked hard to build your VA practice. Maybe you’ve developed a product, written a book or an eBook, started a blog or an eZine, or even published a free report to help other virtual assistants establish their own successful businesses. Of course, you have to market your products effectively and consistently before anyone will know they’re out there. Wouldn’t you love to have just one place to market your products to other VAs around the world?

On the other hand, maybe you’ve just launched your VA practice and could use some pointers on how to make your business a raging success. Or perhaps you’re an aspiring VA and have just begun researching the ins and outs of starting your own practice. Either way, wouldn’t it be great if there was ONE place where you could find all the information you need? Instead of spending hours searching for books, guides, advice, organizations, and training, wouldn’t it be ideal if you could find everything in one centralized location?

Enter The Virtual Assistant Connection, the ULTIMATE resource for all virtual assistants worldwide. After being a VA for more than a year now, it has always bothered me that there wasn’t just ONE place to go for resources. They are scattered all over creation, and trying to find them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

So what makes The Virtual Assistant Connection different from other VA directories? For one thing, it will be assembled BY virtual assistants FOR virtual assistants. It’s not a directory where potential clients will come to find VAs (although they could); it’s a place for virtual assistants to connect with each other. The Virtual Assistant Connection was created in order to house all the resources available within the virtual assistance industry, not only to help VAs market their products and educational materials, but also to help fellow virtual assistants find the information they need so they can learn from others who have built thriving, successful businesses.

The Virtual Assistant Connection will hold all the resources you can imagine, including: Read more

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Connie McVicker Nominated for the Janet Jordan Achievement Award

There is only one word to describe what I am felling right now…WOW! I was just notified that I have been nominated to receive the 2007 Janet Jordan Achievement Award presented by the Online International Virtual Assistant Convention (OIVAC). The award honors a newcomer Virtual Assistant who has been in business for less than 2 years and has reached a milestone in their short career in the industry. This milestone needs to be an accomplishment that has helped to boost their new business to an overwhelming success.

It is extremely humbling that my peers, people I work, collaborate, and share with every day, have nominated me for such an honor. It sincerely means a lot just to be nominated and I personally thank those, from the bottom of my heart, who took the time to submit a nomination for me.

Janet Jordan, who passed away in January 2006, was a recognized industry leader in the virtual assistance field. Mrs. Jordan’s virtual assisting career began in 1980, long before the term “Virtual Assistant” was coined. Along with running her private VA practices which included clients who spanned the globe, Mrs. Jordan also trained aspiring entrepreneurs to launch their own up-to-the-minute, compelling and relevant virtual assistant practices through Virtual Assistance U. Jordan created future leaders in the VA industry.

The OIVAC Judging Panel for the Janet Jordan Achievement Award consists of experienced Virtual Assistants from around the world. The winner will be honored during the International Virtual Assistants Day (IVAD) event which will be held online May 18th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm EST. The celebration coincides with a three-day Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC) scheduled for May 17-19, 2007. Visit the OIVAC website for more information.

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