Category: All

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Home Work – Wisdom behind the monster

Is home work really such a bad thing, a monster to be feared, an act to be condemned? I don’t think so, for the fact that it is the “home work”, that really teaches one “to be there – in that instant”, for our ever wandering aimless mind. Teachers / Lecturers / professors ( call what you may !) who religiously gave home work were never in the good-books of students and parents alike. He/ She was always scorned for “passing the buck” , and washing his / her hands off the responsibility of “teaching”. Little does the parents ( past , present and most likely the future too) realise that “Home work is also a part of the learning process”. Now, Isn’t that supposed to be a teacher’s final objective.?. How can he / she be blamed for “doing the job”?

Few things happened in the past week, that triggered these thoughts in my mind.Basically, I am not surprised by emails, especially those who request information and guidelines to be an independent freelancer. I am only too willing to help them.For this i have set up an Orkut Community, for open sharing of concerns. Yet many prefer to be anonymous.Please be assured,all the freelancers can ‘grab’ an average of 5 projects a month, and still there will be projects waiting in queue to be awarded. Freelancing is a huge sector, where every skill has a market, and there is a client for every market.

Normally, when I receive a request form a reader (read aspiring freelancer), I try to provide relevant links and referrals so that he / she knows where to start. I also make a point to tell them that it is important they do an extensive google search on the industry they are familiar with / have expertise on. Being a Virtual Assistant, I am able to share the “aspects” in being a freelance VA , but i may not be the right person to answer industry specific technical queries with respect to Virtual Assistance.

After the initial pleasantries , mail requests takes a turn saying ,

“I have done [Edu.Qualif], I am working in [ This industry] for the [n] years and I also know [Some application / etc]. Can you help me with what kind of jobs I can do online as a freelancer. Then I can also become a freelancer like you.”

Now, correct me if I am wrong, isn’t this sender asking me to send job profiles along his / way ? ( oh! By the way… you can recruit a VA to do just exactly this for you.)

This is where the ‘concept’ of Homework kicks in. Having the desire to do something off the beaten track is good. But unless this desire is fuelled by the inherent urge to seek answers.( ie without waiting for the answers to drop on your lap), there is no room for development. Freelancing ( virtual / real) is a tough job. It not like the regular office work, where you slog from 9 – 5, and then forget all about it.

The first and foremost attribute of a freelancer is to be a self-motivator. If you are not motivated enough to search for answers, then how would you convince your client about your problem solving abilities?

As a virtual assistant, I am more than glad to give you some pointers on what to look for, and how to interpret your results. But this does not mean that I will do it for you (unless ofcourse, you are willing to pay me for this ). As I said earlier “Home Work” is a part of the learning experience. So, don’t harbour the tendency to shy from homework. Google throws more than what we ask for. Now how hard it is to sit through the rubble and sift for something that could be an answer to your question.

I am willing to help, but I will not do your homework for you.

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Award Function – Mike please …I want to thank my…

And the Award goes to… “Deepa” , said Priya . I must say, she is a very patient girl. Very religouly she messages me everynow and then, eventhough she knows the brat I am.
Oh!.. comming back to the Award…

This award is given by bloggers to other bloggers whose blogs a blogger finds interesting enough to read – giggle – comprehend- and to blog about it again.
( got Lost !… rewind and read again !!) So you see, Priya being her all generous self, has given me this award from her blog.

Being an award function, mike please …
“Thank you Priya, It was so sweet of you!”
“But before i leave i just want to say few words”.

“First of all i want to thank the blogger who first thought about this award named Brilliante weblog.If not for that intial blogger, the chain would not have had so many links ( literally and figuratively)”.

“Next i want to thank blogger for letting me use their server space for penning my whacky thoughts whith no rhyme and reason”.

“Next i want to thank google for having let other bloggers find my blog.. and Once again thanks to Priya for reaching me here”

“Not to mention, i want to thank Technorati, Sitemeter, STatcounter for keeping tab in the visitors in my times of non-action at my blog”

“I surely want to thank my parents, and family and real-time friends for not interfering with my blogging activities ( or more non – blogging endeavours)”.

” and I want to thank my Internet service provider.. my computer guy …… …. … .. (Trails away..)

Deepa is being whisked out of the stage for the offence of hogging the mike and not complying to the rules of the award

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Visual CV – Take your resume to a new level

Finding a job was never an easy task, and the Resume / CV which is practically the jobseeker’s gate pass to connect to an organisation has undergone a great deal of change since the concept came into being. From word of mouth – to – hand written –to Neatly Typed –to printed format, the show-it-all resume is still undergoing changes to suit the new age trends.

With the penetration of internet, and Virtual Assistance gaining foray into the job-posting sites, many recruiters are finding it hard to keep track of submitted resumes and evaluating them. Moreover, for those who are keen on taking up virtual assistance as a career option (part time to begin with…), sending mails after mails with word / pdf attachments is a tedious process especially when you update a resume after it has been mailed to a prospective employer.. It is also a very pressing concern especially for those who want to work with Logos and banners and other graphic elements to send their creative files as attachments, for the fear of their graphic’s unauthorised usage ( People always find a way to work around © & Watermarks… isn’t exactly foolproof)

It was during one of my google-wanderings I came across Visual CV , the much needed resume – format for the virtual age. It doesn’t really matter if you aspire to be a virtual assistant or not. If you are planning to apply for a job, over the internet, then I would suggest that this is the best way to post / create your resume for your employers. Personally I would recommend this for the following reasons

  1. It is online and its your resume. So you own the content , files, and other stuff in your portfolio
  2. No more attachments, just a link in the mail.
  3. You can update this as your career path progresses. So there is no more older versions
  4. Allows a video resume upload. Make it more interactive, as compared to the b /w word documents
  5. You can have option to have a certain public resume ( general info) , & a private resume (more detailed info) which can be shared with discretion.

Virtual Assistant or not, Visual CV is a great thing to have the resume put up. I am sure this will come across as a “Unique feature” among the hoards of resume a company gets for their job postings. Humand mind is a curious thing. The HR is no different, so cash on it, and make your resume truly stand out.

Oh!, I too have my Visual CV in place. Brief me on why you need my CV , I shall share it with you pronto!

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Email ettiquette and Body Language

Often I come across projects where I have to scout for talent depending on my client’s project requirements. This would require me to initiate a contact via email and gauge the candidate. The resume mostly holds information on their academic and work related credentials. This is indeed useful to filter out those who are not “qualified” for the project (but then, I would never initiate a contact with someone who does not have requested skill set)

The actual test of professionalism comes after I see their very first response to my mail requesting their participation in a certain project. There is not much to say about those who dot care to reply. But, for those who reply back, the way in which they present themselves in the emails is a major determining aspect towards their participation in the said project.

As a virtual assistant myself, I completely understand that we never have a face-to-face session with the candidate. Emails are the only means of communication for official correspondences and online chat are scheduled after the short listed VA and the project are put in place.

We would not dare to attend a formal interview in pyjamas and slippers. Yet, not many consider that one need to maintain an air of dignity and decorum while communicating via email with clients and business associates.

Here are some basic email etiquettes that come handy for your business correspondences, If done right, they take very less time, but guarantee more profits in the long run.

  1. Respond within 24 hrs of receiving an email ( even if it says, ‘I will look into this, and let you know later.)
  2. Don’t use SMS-type texts in emails ( such as ur , c dat 2mrw etc). This is highly unprofessional
  3. Don’t write in CAPITALS , It appears to be screaming at the top of your voice
  4. Don’t overuse “Bold”, When used aptly, the message is conveyed in a more effective manner.
  5. If you have a series of queries, use the Numbered bullets / List. This will show how articulate you are with the matter being discussed.
  6. Don’t colour code the email message – unless “absolutely” necessary. Undue emphasis will only reflect badly on your perception of things.
  7. After composing a mail – “Read them again for spell check and grammer”. It may sound unimportant to you, but take it from someone who handles several emails a day, it is an important aspect when it comes to gauge how professional you are. This is almost seen akin to “body language” in a face-to-face interview
  8. Check for attachments if any. Shooting a second mail telling , “Oops, I forgot the attachment”, may go fine for the first time or so, but repetition is indeed a unprofessional behaviour
  9. Use an apt subject line and avoid “URGENT”, “IMPORTANT” for every mail you send. These are strong words and use them wisely.
  10. Be sure that Cc is used with complete understanding of who-needs-to-know-about-this. Else, this could backfire and it might be difficult to get out of a tough situation. Don’t leave someone out of the Cc thread deliberately just because you don’t like the person.
  11. Use BCc with discretion.

Your emails are seen as something similar to your body language in a facet-to-face interview, and remember, If you goof up with emails, you don’t have the excuse of “Lost in mail”. What has been done cannot be undone. Emails might be short and apt, but it is necessary that they address the issue in an equally apt manner.

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Top 10 Project Management Tools for Virtual Offices

With the concepts of remote offices, telecommuting, and working from home, a.k.a Virtual Assistants gaining momentum, it is imperative that we come up with a governance model that best suits our needs to manage projects within the team, and with the clients.
If you are a part of a large organization (lets assume its an MNC) which approves telecommuting and the remote office framework, then there is nothing to worry. The office will take care of custom management tools and will inform you about it. This post is not for you
On the other hand, if you are an independent virtual assistant then my guess is you will be relying on your mail threads to keep track of conversations and using spreadsheets to keep track of the project status. If you are a bit smarter, you will be using labels (as in Gmail) or folders (as in Yahoo and Hotmail) to sort mail threads for easy access. Mail attachments may be stored on your desktop. Again, if you are smart, you will share the documents rather than mail them.
Being a Virtual Assistant, means all of your work will be online. You may be handling more than one project for the same client, or you have more than one client at any given point of time. Perhaps you might be interested in some of the online project management tools. Most of these are free (with limited features for a single user), and comes at a reasonable price (if you want advanced features). The list below is my top 10 recommendations for online project management systems.
Top 10 Online Project Management Systems
Do check out the site to see the difference for free users and paid users

  1. ProjectInsight
    They have all the “required” features for a Project Management System. Try their demo. This is a little more than basic, and little less than advanced. So if you are a Virtual Assistant with average working knowledge of how a project management system works , then chances are you might get to like this. Strangely though, I could not locate the pricing page. If you can locate it, please pass me the link.
  2. AceProject
    The best project management system I have encountered so far.
    They have about     22 features out of which I rate the Discussion Forum , Task dependencies , and Multiple Project and Task management to be of the greatest value. They offer web-hosted and self-hosted option if you want it in your business’s intralink. You might be overwhelmed initially, but once you get to know it, things are a breeze. I would say this is a “complete” system for single and multiusers (eg:- Virtual Staffing Agencies) alike .
  3. CoMindWork
    I would say that this is the second best project management system on the web based on the features like project-specific Wiki and project-specific blog that are being offered. They allow integration with other PMS such as Basecamp and Salesforce, and also integrate with Gmail and OpenID. So with so many “dream features”, why I rate this as second best is because free users have only one project. ( I need atleast 5). Maybe paid service will suit your business needs.
  4. MyClientSpot
    The Project Management system has been designed for freelance virtual assistants who operate independently. Short , small, and sweet. It is a very intuitive interface and upto 5 user sharing enables better interaction with team or client. If you handle 2 projects at a time (20MB space ), then this is certainly for you. Otherwise, you might want to go for the paid version.
  5. BaseCamp
    A very clean dashboard that gives Project overview of things, without any frills and fireworks. The tabbed interface places Messageboard , files area , Milestones and Todo lists are just a click away. Try the free account to get the feel of things.
  6. VirtuaAssistantManager
    The demo     gives a fairly good idea about what to expect when you actually signup. The list is lined up according to existing clients, giving you a picture of project status regarding a specific client. This is a paid service starting from 39$ /month for 1 Virtual Assistant. Their clients inclue Pepsi, Time Warner ,and Comcast, among others. Personally, I think they are charging a premium. Certainly not fit for freelancers, unless you are minting money.
  7. EasyProjects
    This is especially good if you have a team, and want a single command center for all the client’s projects and also for in-house projects delegated to the team. The Employee Timesheet and Hierarchical Role Based Permissions are noteworthy features. Again, this is a paid service. (sorry, no freebies here )
  8. Project.net
    This is a complete enterprise edition of project management . system. The demo gives an overview of features from the Project Manager’s point of view. However , it remains to be seen how this can be modified to suit a single user with multiple clients. They do offer customization of tabs and formfields. But you never know until you try.
  9. IdidWork
    I will not call this a project management tool, but if you are a part of a team that requires you to submit regular work updates as long emails or shared spreadsheets, you can make use of their Twitter like interface, to communicate your work status. Moreover all accumulated “status messages” can be emailed to the manager of the team. This also allows a performance overview over a period of time. Worth a try, though individual preferences might differ.
  10. SmartSheet
    If you are extremely comfortable with using spreadsheets, then this Project Management System is definitely for you. The concept of workspace is used to aggregate sheets for the same project and the likes of it. You can collaborate with clients and upload files for discussion. It does take a bit of time to get used to the system. This is free and they have the beta version underway.
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Every Skill has a market , & there is a client for every market

As, a virtual assistant, I come across all kind of projects and enthusiastic candidates who wish to work as a virtual assistant from the comfort of their home. However, the reason to do so may vary from person to person. But I do notice something common in almost all of those in the initial phase attempting to make a foray into the virtual assistance industry, which is reluctance.

Many newcomers are reluctant to express their skill in a genuine manner. Or, rather, they have a misguided notion “requisite skills” for a Virtual Assistant. This is how it goes. Hours of painstaking googling and watching freelance sites, newbies arrive at a conclusion that , I can only do data entry work because,

  1. I don’t know Photoshop, flash and web designing
  2. I don’t know accounting and statistics

I must agree that graphics, web designing and accounts management are coveted and most placed projects in the job board along with copious data entry jobs. But this is not all.

You could be a graduate, post graduate or perhaps even a retired professional. Don’t fear to mention that you have a degree in aquatic biology, or did some thesis on a certain chemical assay, or were actively involved in the astrophysics workshop. Remember, every skill has a market, and there is a client looking for the very same skill in the market. Unless you make it clear that you have the experience, the client will not know.

Data entry and web designing seen at the corners … in the Virtual Assistance job spectrum. Perhaps your skills fit better in the middle. Revamp your VA Profile and express your core area , the one you are best at. This little tweak in your VA-Resume should give you an added edge when the right client passes by.

There is no steadfast rule on “requisite skill of VA”. A Virtual Assistant is hired for the skill he / she performs best.You may not be rocking as a data entry specialist, but you could be a great content generator for scientific journals. The trick is to identify what you do best, and tap that market as a virtual assistant. Remeber, Every skill has a market, and every market has a client.

If you wish to discuss this further focussing on your area of expertise, here is the orkut community where you can share your apprehensions.

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Vista's Security concerns – For a common Man

Today,I happen to read a news-item which says ” Windows Vista security ‘rendered useless’ by researchers” which greatly reminded me of how this would affect the outlook of a common man who “just want to get a new PC”. To cite my concern, I would like to introduce you to Alex, whom I consider to be a typical average computer user. He is not tech-savy, but just wants things to done via his computer. More simply said, I would say he has traded ‘ His Notepad’ for ‘Notepad.exe’

Alex Finkelstein is a senior citizen who blogs his way happily about real-estate and related news content, after retirement. Unlike many senior members of our community who start out late with “computers”, he too had his share of roadblocks. His enthusiasm is infectious, and I get to see a regular stream of mails from Alex asking how to “make this work”, or “why this is not working” etc and I would respond accordingly. Slowly but steadily he gained more control over “things being done on a computer”, and now has fewer queries to clarify. This is the time, he was just about getting things right in XP. But as providence would have it, he too faced a hard-disk crash and had to go for a new desktop.

Eventually he did end up buying a Vista (as XP is no longer available). Lets bear in mind that he is a senior citizen, and has reached a certain comfort level with XP. Now forced to use Vista, he feels completely lost and the increasing delay in understanding how to go about folders and icons only added to his frustration. His requirements are minimal and, is certainly not interested in the frills and fireworks of vista.

Now, back to the article, ” Windows Vista security ‘rendered useless’ by researchers” . You can read the technical mumbo-jumbo in the original article, while I quote,

“The genius of this is that it’s completely reusable,” said Dino Dai Zovi, a well-known security researcher and author. “They have attacks that let them load chosen content to a chosen location with chosen permissions. That’s completely game over.

A common man like Alex may not have “sensitive information pertaining to national interest” on his desktop. Nevertheless, this piece of information cannot be ignored Going by the details, I presume, anyone with the appropriate knowledge can use an unsuspecting commoner’s PC/Laptop as a virtual command center for sensitive and perhaps malicious actions. All that is needed is to find an open Wifi-spot , with lot of unsuspecting commoners who are unwittingly taken for a ride.

Wonder what Microsoft has to say about this ?. Maybe I will just go in for Mac.

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Outsourcing Disasters – 3 Major Conceptual Errors

This is something that outsourcing naysayers would love to rave about, the dreaded Outsourcing Disasters. They are more adept at providing statistical details regarding the number of outsourcing ventures that hit the dirt coupled with heated, critical arguments. So, I will leave the harangues to them.
For a change, why not take a look at this from the perspective of a business? It has been widely known and understood that being in business means to take calculative risks. Much like our first history lesson, “Man is a social being”, I would say , “Business is a social venture”. It is impossible to launch, thrive and flourish a business venture without any association with other businesses. Outsourcing is no different from this, and the businesses that seek outsourcing services are also bound to this principle.
However, listening to the success stories that came out of outsourcing, many enthusiastic business owners started to look at outsourcing as a miracle cure to cut costs and increase productivity. They failed to look deep into the same success stories focusing on the amount of preparation and governance model that was employed, which eventually lead to the success of an outsourcing deal. This eventually led to the germination of misguided outsourcing deals.

  1. Bird’e Eye View :-
    • Most buyers have only the bird’s eye view of the end result. This is fine when you are actively involved with the project. But when this is conveyed to a certain outsourcing partner, a ‘bird’s eye view’ of things is just not sufficient.
    • Most failed ventures will reflect that the buyer has limited the communication to the ‘bird’s eye view’ of things without giving full details
    • Failed ventures will also reveal that ‘multiple mails requesting information’ were looked down upon , and the outsourcing partner stands the risk of being labeled as ‘incompetent’.Beware, you really need an inside scoop to get this information.This reflect the arrogance of the buyer, and not the much hyped incompetence of the outsourcing partner
    • Eventually creating a huge void in communication and leaving everything to assumption
    • Assumptions lead to misguided project management, leading ultimately to the failed venture
  2. The Aspirin Approach :-
    • No one ever thinks twice before popping an aspirin. Same goes for the outlook towards outsourcing among the buyers who want to ‘get things done as fast as possible’.
    • Buyers jump to the conclusion that outsourcing is a quick fix for all their financial problems. Somehow they fail to realize that cost cutting is only a by-product of outsourcing, while the actual objective is to get the process done elsewhere.
    • This requires the buyers to shed the ‘aspirin approach’ to outsourcing and take up the ’surgical approach’ to things.
    • Failed ventures will most certainly showcase haste in outsourcing their project without due the necessary preparation with respect to the governance model required to see the overseeing of the project’s progress.
    • Pop-and-forget may work for aspirin, but attention to detail and extensive preparation is needed when a surgical procedure is being considered. The surgical approach is certainly lacking in failed outsourcing ventures.
  3. Blame the Mailman :-
    • Both parties are dissatisfied at the end of a venture that has failed terribly. The dissatisfied buyer ends up blaming cultural and geographical differences as the reason for failure.
    • I wonder how come these differences did not surface when the deal was being finalized.… Both parties were well aware of the offshore working model. Both parties would have been communicating in the same language (I assume it is English). I am sure that both parties would have had a satisfactory time period before declaring a venture to be a failure.
    • Just as the mailman cannot be blamed for delivering bad news, it is unfair for the buyer and the outsourcing parther to blame each other soley for the failure. Success is result of compatible team-work, but failure seems always to be the result of incompatible teaming with the buyer and the outsourcing partner.
    • With lack of timely communication and information exchange, irrespective of an outsourcing deal or not, any business venture is sure to fail.
    • I would further site ‘ego-centric’ communication within the buyer’s institution as a cause for failure, such as ‘ Since you (outsourcing partner) did not ask for a certain information, I did not think it was necessary to give you’. With this kind of approach, is it fair to blame the mailman ?

Everyone wants to succeed in their business. The buyers want an outsourcing deal to succeed because someone else can do it better for less, and the outsourcing partner wants to ‘be in business’, which is possible only if his client is satisfied with the performance. Both parties aspire for the project to succeed.
My request to the naysayers of outsourcing would be, to consider that every business venture starts out with an aspiration to succeed. It is no different for outsourcing deals. It would be prudent to only look into the actual cause that lead to a certain failure and not thrust the blame solely on the outsourcing partners. I am sure that you will agree that business involves making deals and taking calculative risks. Isn’t this the basic principle of running a business? With every business, there are some great deals and some disaster deals. Then why is it that everyone is coming down heavily on failed outsourcing deals?. Perhaps, that ’s because everyone loves to say “I told you so!”

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PPH just became 'UN friendly' – for independent providers

I visit PeoplePerHour few times a week to check if any projects matching my profile are available. Personally, I would say that PPH projects are more professional than other freelancing sites, where you see more of ‘Clone a website’ or ‘Criaglist postings’ or ‘Post our links where ever you can’ kind of projects.

You don’t need any special expertise for that. A little bit of common sense, an internet connection, lots of time, and the willingness to ‘underbid’ other bidders will land you these projects.

Given the class nature of PPH projects, and an excellent support system ( they respond within 24hrs after placing a ticket and donot leave any issue unresolved), I never felt bad for loosing to a fellow bidder. The winning bidder sure must have something more to offer.

But their recent update is shocking, disturbing and depressing for independent freelancers. We don’t stand a chance again all those Affiliates and Virtual Staffing agencies who bid with “We have the people who match the skills required for your projects”.

It makes me sad to say, I shall not be recommending PPH at any more independent providers. PPH has come up with a perfect strategy to chase their independent providers to other sites such as scriptlance, oDesk, and Get a Freelancer. Sure, they too have their restrictions on bids and other things, ( For instance oDesk gives you more bids, if you take up more skills tests). But they are more than enough for an independent provider.

Here is why I would drastically cut down on my PPH visits.
Monthly Membership fees (7.95£ – 14.95£):

Affiliates and VA staffing agencies:-
Appears affordable to me given the fact that they have ‘n’ number of freelancers ( Virtual Assistants) already in their database, all they have to do is win bids and subcontract those projects to specific VA’s in their list

Independent Providers:-
Cannot afford, unless they are already established, and have a steady income from this, and / or other bidding sites.
If you are one of those listed VA’s with these staffing agencies, then chances are you will get a project. Else, start looking elsewhere if you want to operate independently.

Service Categories
This is I guess means, you are expected to be an ‘expert’ in just one field. Lets say, you are good at writing articles, and also good at logos and banners. You also have a portfolio that support this. Yet, PPH will allow you under standard membership to place bids in EITHER copywriting projects OR Graphic projects. You cannot bid on both.

Affiliates and VA staffing agencies:-
Gold members get 2 categories to bid on and Platinum members don’t have this restriction (Lucky !). Is it just me, or do i see more Platinum members at PPH from the staffing agencies in future. After all, they need to cater to the skills of all VA’s in their database. ….

Independent Providers:-
Think, how many projects will be posted per month on ‘your’ category. Btw, did I mention that you can ‘purchase categories at 5.95£ / month’. Well, you might as well go for a gold membership. It seems to work out cheaper.

Monthly Credit allowance
Affiliates and VA staffing agencies:-
These guys get whopping 20 – 80 bids per month. Remember platinum members don’t have the service category restriction. ( who ..independent provider !)

Independent Providers:-
Not worth the time, skimming through posted projects. Did I mention you can ‘buy’ more credits at 5.95£ ( per bundle of 10). Well, if you can !.

If you are still an independent provider, you must seriously start considering finding one of these guys and get affiliated. There is no way you can win independently here.hey!.. PPH guys !, it is not just you, we are also affected by the Credit crunch

A word to independent providers
Fret all you want There is nothing you can do about this. Take a detour

A word for PPH guys.

  1. How about allowing the buyers to present a standard set of questions which can be answered by genuine providers (who have the subject knowledge). This should eliminate most of the bogus bids.
  2. 3 bids per month for one category is practically useless. And the category restriction add insult to the injury.
  3. Providers will act more responsibly if you would release the category restriction, and instead enforce a 5 bid per week restriction. I hope asking for 1 bid per working day (Monday – Friday ) is not too much.

Think about this guys,

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Delegate when you are overwhelmed.

Small business owners in their zeal to expand their business, tend to bite off more than they can chew. I am not saying that is wrong or unacceptable. It completely gets them by surprise when more than 5 marketing leads display symptoms of maturing into business deals, all during the same time. The business owner is indeed overwhelmed at the good news of a new business deal, or, should I say “few” new business deals. This is indeed a happy moment for the team.

It is normal to see the in house activities take a backseat during these times. Most times, it is the last minute scramble for getting things done for ourselves when we are overwhelmed at work. I have witnessed that the same goes true for small business owners as well. The fact of the matter is, existing staff is already working on the newest deal and it is difficult to get a new recruit and train him / her within a short time.

I would recommend that you seek virtual assistants who have prior experience in the kind of tasks that is causing a backlog in your business. This does not completely eliminate the training period, at least you now have some one who speaks the same business language. My bet is, with just a couple of mails, outlining , ‘What need to be done’ – ‘ When it has to be done’ – ‘Any particular way in which you want it to be done’. With these, the induction programme is complete.

Think about this, you can be overwhelmed about your new deals without having the nagging thought about in-house backlogs. Now, isn’t that a better way to be overwhelmed?

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance

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