It's your business. Insist on an expert!

This month’s blog post does not have anything to do with business. It isn’t cute. It isn’t sweet. But it is informative, and it might possibly save your life one day. And if you pass on this information to your mother, your sister, your wife, your daughter, or any woman you hold near and dear to your heart, it can possibly save her life too.

My sister shared this information with me, and it had been passed on to her, and so on. I take no credit for this excellent, life saving advice and do not even know where the first message originated. I am only passing it on so that you can share it with people you know and love.

In daylight hours, remember and think about these things if you are ever in an emergency situation. After reading these 10 crucial tips, share them with someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point in your body. If you are close enough to an attacker, use it!

2. Tip from a tourist guide: If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, do not hand it to him. Toss it away from you. Chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet and/or purse. Run like crazy in the other direction!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out of the hole and start waving like mad. The driver won’t see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, meeting friends, or working, and then they sit in their cars checking their emails, managing their checkbooks, making a list, etc. Do not do this! A predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get into the passenger side of your car, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. As soon as you get into your car, lock the doors and leave.

If someone is in the car with a gun to your head, do not drive off. Repeat: Do not drive off. Instead press the gas pedal and speed into anything, wrecking your car. Your air bag will save you. If the attacker is in the back seat, he will get the worst of it. As soon as the car crashes, bail out and run. Wrecking your car and getting a few scratches and bruises is better than being found dead in a remote location.

5. Getting into your car in a parking lot or parking garage:

a) Be aware. Look around you. Look into your car at the passenger side floor and in the back seat.

b) If you are parked next to a van, enter your car through the passenger side door and immediately lock your doors. Most attackers will strike their victims by pulling them into their vans while you are attempting to get into your car.

c) Look at the cars parked next to you. If a male is sitting alone in a car near your car, you may want to walk back to the mall or work and have someone (a guard or policeman) walk you back to your car.

It is always better to be safe than sorry and better paranoid than dead.

6. Always take the elevator instead of the stairs. Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and are the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at night.

7. If your attacker has a gun and you are not under his physical control, always run! Your attacker’s aim will only hit you (a running target) 4 times out of 100. And even then, chances are you will not be shot in a vital organ. Run in a zig-zag pattern.

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic. WE NEED TO STOP. This can get us raped or killed. Ted Bundy was a good looking, well-educated man who always played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane or a limp and often asked to be “helped” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Crying baby precaution: A person heard a baby crying on her porch one night. She called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her, “Whatever you do, do not open your door.” The lady was afraid that the baby would crawl into the street and get hit by a car. But the police warned her, “Do not open your door.” They told her there was suspected criminal who had a baby’s cry recorded and used it to coax women out of their homes. Bottom line – Do not fall prey to an attacker. Let the police take care of it.

10. Water Scam: If you wake up in the middle of the night to hear all of your faucets outside running or what you think may be a burst pipe, do not go outside to investigate. Attackers turn on all of your outside faucets full blast so that you will open your door to check things out, and then they attack.

Stay alert, keep safe, look out for your neighbors, and don’t be afraid to be afraid, or better said, don’t be ashamed to be overcautious. Send this to all the women in your lives to remind them that this is a crazy world we live in and it is better to be safe than sorry.

I thank my sister for sharing this with me and I thank the person who shared it with her.

For more information on women’s safety, please visit www.crime-safety-security.com/women-safety-overview.html.

 

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Email is probably the most common form of business communication in use today. Whether you are a solo business owner or an employee of a large corporation, you probably send and receive email messages many, many times each day. But truth be told, too often many of us send email messages that have a tendency to sound snippy, bossy, or even ditsy. Even worse, we sometimes fail to send a reply altogether.

Oftentimes, we are sending emails to people whom we have never met in person. These relationships are based solely on the emails we send back and forth.

You are not a snippy, bossy, angry person. And you absolutely are not ditsy. Do you want Mr. Smith to think you are snippy, bossy, angry, or — heaven forbid — ditsy? And of course you want Mr. Smith to know that his email message is very important to you.

Here are a few dos and don’ts that will help you showcase your professional image and allow your true intent to be read with a smile each and every time you click send:

• Do always include a concise subject line. This will make clear what your message is about and will help recipients prioritize their inbox.
• If this is the first few communications with someone, do begin the message with a greeting, such as “Dear Mr. Jones.” It’s polite and it’s professional. Later on “Hello, John” is perfectly fine.
• Do not use all caps when writing an email. It sets an angry tone, and NO ONE LIKES TO BE YELLED AT.
• Do put your main point in the opening sentence. Let people know exactly what you are writing about.
• Do write short, polite paragraphs. Your message should not be a novel. No one has time for that.
• But … don’t be so short so that your tone is bossy. Read over your message. Do you sound bossy? “If you have a moment, I would like to speak with you right away,” sounds so much nicer than, “I want to talk with you ASAP.” I am not seven, and you are not my father.
• Please do not use abbreviations or acronyms, unless you are 15 and texting your BFF.
• Do use spell check. Never skip this step. Never.
• Do remember to say please and thank you. You have manners. Please use them.
• And finally, do always reply to an email within 24 hours. If you need more time, for instance, you are not sure how to respond, send a brief reply to acknowledge you received the email and provide a time or date when you will be back in touch. After all, do you like to be left hanging?

Send the right tone from the beginning and showcase your professionalism and efficiency. It’s your business. Be an expert!

If you struggle with setting the right tone in your email messages, there is a new email plugin called ToneCheck. ToneCheck checks for emotionally charged words or sentences within email messages and works similarly to spell check. Any angry or potentially accusatory phases will be highlighted, giving you the option to rephrase your message. At this time, ToneCheck works exclusively with Outlook, but will soon expand beyond Outlook as market demand increases. It does seem very useful and worth checking out.

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There is a lot to be said about SEO. There are articles, blogs, podcasts, ebooks, and even real books on the subject. But what is it really … in easy language? And for a podcast author, why is it such a big deal? And finally and most importantly, how do podcasters get those three not-so-little words to do those big, big things for their podcasts?

For anyone who wants to learn about search engine optimization, I am going to urge you to checkout Amit Bhawnani’s insanely terrific “mini book” tutorial on SEO. As an avid SEO student myself looking to better my own rankings and those of my clients, I have been scouring the Web looking for anything and everything SEO. I am not exaggerating when I say that Amit’s SEO tutorial is off the charts.

For starters, you really need to understand what search engines are. I love the way Amit explains the concept behind search engines: Search engines are like little spiders that crawl the Web looking at particular site items (mainly text) to get an idea of what a site is about. This task is performed by a piece of software called a crawler or a spider that follows links from one page to another and indexes everything it finds on its way. Is that not an awesome explanation?

Whenever you perform a search on the Web, you are given results that contain your search term. And if you are like me, you probably tend to only visit those sites that are on the top of the list. How do those Web sites get to be on the top of the list? Yes, you guessed it. It’s because of those three not-so-little words: Search Engine Optimization.

So with that said, as a podcast author, how can your content be indexed by search engines if those little spiders are only crawling around searching for text? Having your podcasts transcribed and published on your site is key to your podcasts’ searchability and therefore popularity. However, just having a text version of your podcast does not guarantee its ranking. You need to incorporate keywords into your transcript that will help those little crawly things index your transcript and bring it to the top of the list.

Just this morning I spoke with Peter Clayton, producer and host of TotalPicture Radio. In 2010 TotalPicture Radio was voted one of the Internet’s top 100 useful and informative podcasts for entrepreneurs and business owners. With a wealth of information broadcasting 24/7, Peter interviews career experts who share their experiences, knowledge, latest trends, and advice with professionals — just like us — looking to succeed in our career goals. And I found Peter’s podcasts, better known as radio TiVos, because I performed a Web search. Peter provides full transcripts of many of his interviews. Those little spider things indexed his content and brought his Web site to the top of my search list!

Peter informed me of a great tool for enhancing a podcast’s — or any type of MP3 audio file for that matter — chances of being indexed by our little spider friends: an audio file data tagging format called ID3, more specifically Pa-software’s ID3 Editor. This ID3 program will incorporate a transcript directly within an MP3 audio file, allowing your podcast to be indexed because of the text that is right there inside the audio file. And, Peter added, “On Smartphones (iPhone, at least) when I play a podcast with the transcript embedded, the transcript will display on the screen.”  OK, how cool is that?

Another extremely important point Peter brought up was that as a podcast producer, you do not need to have a full transcript published of every single episode. What is important is that you enrich your audio with keyword-rich text (i.e. partial transcripts, key points) so that it can be indexed, making its chances of reaching the top of a search engine’s list a real deal.

Many listeners appreciate having a full transcript so they can use a podcast’s content as a reference for their own blogs (as in my case) or other work. They have listened to your episode, found it extremely informative, and now have something to go back to. Providing transcripts allows your hearing impaired audience to enjoy your show as well. A text version of anything — I love reading the lyrics of a song — can clarify unclear content. And a full transcript of your podcast gives your audience a choice. And who doesn’t like choices?

Thank you both, Amit and Peter, for sharing your knowledge with me and allowing me to share it with my readers. And thank you, Peter, for your time this morning. It was a pleasure to meet you. To our success and SEO!

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If you are not yet reaping the rewards of using social media to grow your business, NOW is the time to get started. If you are like me, a person with little previous social media experience, the thought of breaking out of your cocoon and spreading your wings may be a bit overwhelming. But it need not be. You will discover, as I did, that much like going to a fabulous party and meeting new people, social media networking can be so much fun, and it can be very valuable and profitable for the growth of your business.

I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert (pardon the pun) on social media. My area of expertise is in transcription and specialized administrative support. But once I discovered how useful and vital — and enjoying — social media was for the growth of my new business, it dawned on me that there were probably many others who may need a small nudge to get going …

So, yes, you too — come, break away, spread your wings, and become a sensational, successful social media butterfly!

Remain true to yourself. Even though the purpose of using your newly attained social media skills is to help promote and grow your business, you should remember to remain true to yourself – be who you are. By doing so, you will attract new clients and contacts who will not only be a good fit for you but who will be helpful resources for your business.

Consistency is the key to success. This couldn’t be truer if you want to be a sensational, successful social media butterfly. A busy daily schedule can make it difficult — I know — to set time aside to be active on your social media sites. The only way to be sensational and successful is to dedicate time every day to engage in conversations and interact with others in your social groups.

Which sites are the right ones for me? Social media sites are all different and offer different ways of interacting and networking. I suggest that if you are just beginning your social media journey, research each site and see which one(s) fit your style. My own research resulted in my choosing Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I chose these according to my individual style and my business’ networking objectives.

Facebook

I love Facebook. Period. Long before I began using Facebook professionally, I was using it to reconnect with old friends, past co-workers, and family. Kimberly LeRiche, a social media marketing assistant, believes that word of mouth is a business’ best friend. Kimberly states that “platforms such as Facebook make word-of-mouth marketing happen instantaneously with large numbers of people.”

In her Magic Fan Pages series, Kimberly also gives tips on utilizing Facebook’s Business Fan Pages to the max. She states that using Fan Pages correctly can optimize search engine results and can bring new customers and clients to your Web site. And who doesn’t want that?

Twitter

For the most part, Twitter is simple to get started with. New tweeters generally get the hang of it quickly. I did. And Twitter serves as a great marketing tool for your business because of its simplicity and its limitations on how long a tweet can be. You do not need to post a long comment or announcement (as a matter of fact, you can’t). And on the flip side, you do not need to read a long, drawn-out blog entry. Such a perfect little strategy for our busy, busy lives!

LinkedIn

If you use LinkedIn wisely, you will find countless ways of making professional contacts — all around the world. What I love about LinkedIn is that it is a highly professional site. Its purpose is to connect you to employers, other professionals and entrepreneurs in your line of business, or other professionals who might need your goods or services.

In an incredibly informative podcast interview with Peter Clayton of Total Picture Radio, Donna Sweidan, an expert in career exploration issues and a strategic career coach, discusses the importance of being an active and contributing member on LinkedIn’s discussion boards (amongst tons of other valuable information). Donna explains that many of us start off with the idea that LinkedIn is just a place to “park” our resume. Simply stated, this cannot be further from our goal. It is so important to be active. As Donna puts it, “You have to participate in some of the phenomenal tools that LinkedIn has created.”

Another great point Donna brings out in her interview with Peter is that networking on LinkedIn is not just about receiving but is very much about giving. “If you know the answer to something,” Donna says, “Share it to help others because it can only come back to you in a positive way in the long term.”

I know how true this really is. I have made so many wonderful connections just in my short time as a LinkedIn member. I am continuously amazed at people’s generosity and their willingness to help with issues and their eagerness to answer other members’ questions.

So what is holding you back? The time is NOW to get your business noticed in social media networking. Visit social networking Web sites to find the match that is right for you, seek the help from a social media specialist, and get going on on becoming a sensational, successful social media butterfly!

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One of the most interesting and sensitive subjects that I have come across so far amongst virtual assistants has been the use of resumes. Being a somewhat newcomer to the virtual assistance industry, I admit that I was uninformed about many of the “inside” aspects of this business. Knowledgeable and experienced as an administrative support professional and transcriber I am. Knowledgeable about the virtual assistance industry I wasn’t. And most importantly what I didn’t realize was the bond and unity that exists among virtual assistants.

Having been in the corporate world for many years, I clung to my resume because I felt it would be extremely useful as I worked to get my business up and running. I assumed potential clients would want – let me rephrase that – I assumed that potential clients would need to see my past accomplishments, experiences, etc., so that they would feel comfortable and confident with my services. And wasn’t that what my resume was for?

I learned that the answer to this was emphatically, absolutely, positively NO! And the reason for this is actually quite obvious, as you will see. However, there is an alternative to a resume – but we’ll get to that later because I first would like to discuss why it is that virtual assistants, like any business owner, should never need or be asked to provide a client with their resume.

It is important to remember that the owner of a virtual assistant company is exactly that: the owner of her or his business. As stated by Amanda Brienza of 25th Hour Assistants, “A VA is a professional service provider along the same lines as an attorney or an accountant. When we seek out advice or services from an attorney or an accountant, we would never ask him or her for a resume. Therefore, as providers of professional services, we should not be asked for a resume either.” Amanda further explained, “I provide plenty of information without going into the level of detail a resume implies. My company information includes information about my background and education — as it typically does for any professional service provider.” Amanda, you hit this on the nose!

It is really important for us as virtual assistants to understand how to portray ourselves as business owners, and more importantly, to understand the need to stick together. Kimberly of JKVirtualOffice explained, “It’s important to understand that as an industry, we all work very hard to get the ‘world’ to understand that we are business owners and not employees. As an industry, it is important for us try and be united in how we present ourselves. Understanding about the VA industry has come very far in the past few years, but part of that is because we have stood together in presenting ourselves as an industry to be taken seriously as independent business owners.”

Kimberly, you are so right. There have been many before me who have worked really hard and long to get the industry known and accepted as a profession. I feel it is my duty to respect the standards set by those who have worked long and hard. I have a commitment to them to “play by the rules” so that my industry keeps its momentum and continues to prosper.

And it really is all about educating the world on the virtual assistance industry. As Janine of Your Virtual Wizard said, “Clients who routinely ask for resumes are not used to dealing with a VA, and it’s a great opportunity to start educating them on the mechanics of the relationship. VAs are business owners who partner with other business owners. By offering them an alternative to a resume by way of a professional summary related to your business, it helps new clients become acclimatized to the idea that you are a partner in their business and not an employee.” I love how Janine explained this because she showed me that there is an alternative to a standard resume.

In reality, most potential clients are used to hiring employees and naturally ask for a resume. Kate Kerans of Kerans Virtual Assistance explained that she routinely provides new clients with a professional summary as well as a welcome packet. Kate stated that “the professional summary portrays who I am and is an overview of what my business is about. Any relevant achievements, specialties, products, and experiences can be included in the professional summary, and it can be personalized based on what interactions I have had with a potential client.” This is a wonderful idea, Kate, and can absolutely satisfy a client’s request or desire to be supplied with a resume.

Why this whole topic on resumes was so important to me is because I believe every client deserves the right to feel confident with whom they contract with. After all, it is their business and their livelihood that is at stake. It is important to respect their concerns and requirements. However, it is equally important to respect the standards set forth by the founders of the VA industry. And what better medium than a professional profile?

Thank you to all of my new friends in this industry for your input and for your guidance. We are a lucky bunch. I do not think there are other professions out there that have such a great group who support each other the way that virtual assistants do!

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Going green — everyone should have it as a New Year’s resolution this year, especially we business owners who rely on energy-hungry products and practices to run our businesses on a daily basis. There have been so many great articles and blogs on the topic, and they have all been extremely informative and inspiring.

Did you know that partnering with a virtual assistant can get your company on its way to going even greener?

But it’s a new year again. And that’s a great reason to start thinking and implementing ways to live and work greener, which is why this topic will be popping up once again here and there, I am sure, through many channels. This really is an important topic, and it really is a big deal in more ways than just one.

For the most part, a good number of business owners have already implemented ways of going green — without even realizing it! We’ve done so in part because we have all felt the impact of a bad economy in some way or another. Office supplies are more expensive, the price of gasoline makes us cringe, and even the cost of postage has jumped on the bandwagon. And added salt in that wound, customers just aren’t spending as much on our products or services as they once were. This has left many business owners desperately looking for ways to save some green.

We’ve started saving money by refilling our ink cartridges, and we’re cutting down on our paper cost by printing (when we have to) on both sides of the paper.  These practices not only help us save some green, but they are green practices – wow, win-win!

But did you know that partnering with a virtual assistant can get your company on its way to going even greener?

As I mentioned, I have read many great articles recently on going green, and to my absolute delight, many of these mention the impact virtual assistants are having on green efforts worldwide. We’ve all heard how electronic communications and electronic file management can help the environment by saving paper. Virtual business support specialists are by profession, just that, virtual. There is little or no paper involved in the work we provide to our clients — fantástico!

However, I’m not sure everyone has heard of the following two key, important points that I came across, which truly did surprise me and which prompted me to write about “the virtual thing.”

Taryn Merrick of Merrick Management and Media Services wrote that virtual assistants do not drive to work everyday. You see, virtual assistants typically work out of their homes. Fewer cars on the road reduce pollutants and emissions, not to mention gas consumption. And less gas consumption translates into less fossil fuel consumption. Bravo!

I would have never thought of this one — the virtual assistant’s attire. Because virtual assistants work out of their homes, as noted in a blog posted by Michelle Murphy of Murphy Assistants, they are generally dressed casually. So there’s less need to have those fancy business clothes dry cleaned so often. This translates into less dry-cleaning solvents being flushed into the wastewater. What a great point to bring to our attention. Thank you, Michelle! Bravo, bravo!

And finally, have you considered the fact that virtual assistants use less energy than a conventional assistant?

Having been on “both sides of the coin,” it is my opinion that virtual assistants complete a project for their clients much more efficiently than conventional, in-house assistants. Why? Virtual assistants don’t have the distractions of an office setting and don’t have unproductive “gossip” time.

As a virtual assistant, when I am working on a project for a client, the focus is generally solely on that project with little or no distractions. The best part is that there are never those “gossip” times, lunch hours, or breaks when computers and equipment are left running in your office — and let us not forget about the air conditioner or the heater. Bravissimo!

Bottom line here is that we all should be thinking of ways to save our planet. And what’s so fascinating, is that it can really be so simple when it comes to our business practices. In most cases, not only will you be contributing to making our planet greener, but your company will benefit by keeping some of that green where it belongs — with you!

If you would like more information on going green during work or play, please visit the Go Green Initiative at www.gogreeninitiative.org and World Watch Institute at www.worldwatch.org.

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Yes, I’m new to blogging, or as I have dearly termed it — “The Blog.” I just wasn’t getting what all the hype was about. I mean, what did I need “The Blog” for? I learned and started using Facebook (boy, did I start using Facebook). I created a Twitter page, and designed and created my own Web site. So why did I need “The Blog” if I tweeted and FB’ed and had a Web site?

I read an article recently on “de-aging” one’s resume. Not that I’m ancient, but in today’s job market, I knew I had to do something with my resume. It wasn’t getting me anywhere. The article, which was written by Bradford Dworak, explained that a dated resume can make a person look old on paper. When employers picture someone with 25-plus years of experience (that’s me), “they see a bad, gray perm, not someone young, vital and Internet-savvy.” My jaw dropped. I looked old on paper!

The article also went on to say that having a blog and including the blog address in your resume will show that you’re hip and with-it. Having a blog can give you great Web presence, and great Web presence is totally where it’s at now. I didn’t have a blog . . . I didn’t have great Web presence . . . I didn’t look Internet-savvy!

Okay, I was sold. I didn’t want to appear as un-savvy and even more importantly, I didn’t want to be thought of as an old lady with a bad, gray perm. It was time to get to know “The Blog.”

It was scary, I admit. I had never had any direct contact with “The Blog” before. To my own defense, however, I do know all about FB’ing and tweeting. I have become quite skilled at maintaining my own Web site and some of my clients’ Web sites. But there was just something dark and mysterious about “The Blog.”

Long story short, I signed up for a Word Press account, watched the how-to videos, read all the how-to articles, and spent an entire evening discovering the “The Blog.” Since I really am Internet savvy (or so I thought until I met “The Blog”), I figured I could bypass some of the ho-hum stuff and dive right into the more advanced features of “The Blog.” Not so. “The Blog” is definitely not as simplistic as we’d like to think. It is a wild, wild horse that is just begging for discipline.

I’ve gotten as far as posting my first blog and somewhat tweaking my likes and dislikes about “The Blog,” but I have a long road ahead of me. With that said, “The Blog” will not be my demise. I am going to learn it, get good at it, and master this wild, exciting horse.

A few people have asked me, “What is your goal for 2011?” I do have many goals, most of which consist of moving my business forward. And one aspect of accomplishing that is to master “The Blog” for that great Web presence that is crucial to “de-aging myself on paper.”

And this is my very first real blog, FYI. So please do take the time to comment and add in your thoughts. I’d love to hear how other non-bloggers have mastered their own personal apprehensions of “The Blog.” Until then . . . happy blogging!