Hi everyone!

Just wanted to share an interview I did with Scott Fox and fellow virtual assistants extraordinare Diana Ennen and Tawnya Sutherland. 

Many thanks to Scott for including me in this panel.  There are some great tips to keep in mind if you want to start a career as a virtual assistant.  I’d welcome any questions or comments here!  Would be more than happy to help someone get started and avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made.  

As always though, if you are seriously considering becoming a virtual assistant, the best training I can recommend is VAClassroom.com.  They currently have a Back to School special on their most popular courses.  If you’re just starting out, I recommend the Internet Marketing and Social Media Marketing Certification course combo to get you started.

Looking forward to your feedback and comments! 

Summer is typically a time to relax, unwind and refresh your mind.  The kids are out of school and all you want to do is play outside at the beach with them.  (Well, maybe just outside…there’s no water in sight here in far West Texas!) 

But when you own your own business, you are never really on a true vacation.  You are always thinking about ways to improve your business, you brainstorm about your next product launch, marketing strategy, etc.  Whether you are a virtual assistant (or an aspiring one), a direct sales consultant, internet marketer or online business owner – you can benefit from continuing education. 

Whether you are the one actually “doing” the tasks, or you outsource it, you at least have to know “what” it is to ensure you are getting the best benefit for your business.  How else can you measure the results?

I just received this very important 18-minute video for you from Craig Cannings at VAClassroom entitled: “Ten Ways to Create Ten Income Building Opportunities for Your Virtual Business in 2010″.  Even though this video is geared toward helping Virtual Assistants build their business, it can really help any online business owner.  Craig consistently delivers high quality and relevent content and you can honestly benefit from taking any of their courses.  VAClassroom’s fresh approach to providing training exactly when it’s needed has helped several business owners take their businesses to new heights – as soon as they implement what they’ve learned.  Whether they have completed the course yet or not! 

This video will give you some keen insights and ideas on how to expand your skills and the services virtual assistants  are currently offering in their business. Plus, it will also give you a nice preview on the types of skills that will be covered in the upcoming VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp starting on July 6!

Check out the 18-minute video here:

VAClassroom Summer Skill Camp starts July 6. Click here to get more details and
check out the early-bird registration special.  I’ve already signed up for camp – won’t you join me?

VAClassroom.com/summer-skill-camp-2010

Have you already made plans for summer?  Do your plans include expanding your skills to offer new services to clients or improve your business?  They should!

Summer is a great time to stretch your legs and get outside for some awesome fun
in the sun. (Our friends “down under” will need to wait to enjoy this for a
couple months:-))

It’s also a great time to stretch your mind and enhance your business! So let’s
do BOTH!!

This year, check out VAClassroom’s Summer Skill Camp 2010 – an amazing
opportunity for you to build ten new skills and ultimately ten new
income-building opportunities for your virtual business.

While this particular summer camp may not include the usual weenie roasts and
campfire singalongs like you might be accustomed to with other summer camps, it
will offer an easy and profitable way to develop the right “in-demand” skills at
the right time to hit the ground running in your virtual business for the last
half of 2010!

Here’s what skills you’ll be building:

* Develop the right system for creating a profitable, in-demand Facebook Page
Service.

* Receive an easy-to-follow blueprint for building an effective online
newsletter or ezine.

* Discover proven techniques for designing a winning WordPress Blog.

* Uncover and implement the right kind of WordPress plugins to ignite traffic
and results for you and your clients.

* Learn how to leverage a freebie offer or information product to attract and
win new clients.

* Discover a simple formula for crafting and delivering top-notch social media
presentations to your clients and community.

* Master a proven system for seamlessly organizing your many social networking
activities.

* Learn how to effectively measure your client’s Internet Marketing results and
success.

* Receive an easy formula for writing articles and press releases that produce
results.

* Develop a winning squeeze page or landing page that converts for you or your
clients.

10 in-demand skills over 10 weeks. What could be more perfect?

VAClassroom has opened its registration doors to their “Summer Skill Camp 2010?,
which will begin on July 6th. Right now they’re offering an early bird
registration special.

Check out all the details here: VAClassroom.com

I just enrolled – won’t you join me?  Would love to “see” you in class!  This is a great opportunity to start you work at home business.  These skills will get you off on the right foot so take advantage of this ASAP!

Enjoy your summer!

What exactly IS a virtual event?

A virtual event is an event, like a conference, that is broadcast via live video, shared computer screen presentation, radio, podcast, etc.  The event is held live somewhere in the world, but, you don’t need to travel to attend.  Virtual events are typically recorded, so that you can access the material at any time if you aren’t able to attend live. 

There are many benefits to virtual events such as cost savings (no need to travel), accessbility (attend the event when the time is right for you), world-wide audience, permanent access to the event, and so much more. 

 I am not sure if you were aware but the Virtual Event Industry is actually one of those markets that has GROWN in leaps and bounds during this economic downturn. 67% of professionals responsible for physical events report that overall attendance has dropped, and 76% of businesses say have already begun using or plan to start using Virtual Events in 2009. In fact, 70% of Corporate Event Organizers predict a reduction in live events in 2010, and forecast major growth in virtual conferences and webinars.

There is no better time than now to position yourself as a Virtual Event Specialist!  If you are a virtual assistant looking to grow your business, or maybe you’ve been thinking about becoming a virtual assistant, this could be the niche for you! The popular training center, VAClassroom.com has just unveiled the Virtual Event Specialist Self Study Certification Program. VAClassroom has a knack for providing the right niche training opportunities at the right time.

This self study training program will cover the key set-up, implementation and management activities for the 5 most popular virtual events in 2010, including tele-events, webinars, live podcasts, online radio and webTV.  Just click on the below link to get all the course details and enroll today:  vaclassroom.com/virtual-events-specialist.  Plus, you’ll also get the Camtasia Mini-Course as a bonus (if you signup for the course by March 1, 2010)!  Camtasia is one of the best tools on the market today to created, edit and publish videos.

When this course was originally released at the end of 2009, I did not sign up because I didn’t think I needed to learn about virtual events.  I wasn’t planning to offer it as a service in my marketing virtual assistance business.  I was short-sighted.  Within a few weeks of the launch of that course, I found myself in a unique predicament.  I needed to learn how to host a teleseminar for my SendOutCards business.  EEK!

Needless to say, I fumbled through the entire thing.  And, I’m sure I could have done it more effeciently and effectively.  I also just completed VAClassroom’s Traffic Geyser Certification course and again, I really could have used the virtual events training since we needed to create videos for our final assignment.

As always, VAClassroom offers courses that help virtual assistants increase their earning potential, BUT, this course is for anyone who needs to learn how to host a virtual event.  This course is also great for direct sellers who want to use the power of the internet to get more customers and potential recruits.  The virtual events specialist course will not only teach you how to set up and manage a virtual event, but also gives you tips on how to maximize your event. 

We’ve all got the same 24 hours in a day.  Our challenge, regardless of what business we are in, is to maximize those 24 hours. By learning how to set up, create and host a virtual event, you’ll be able to repurpose that material into many other things.  For example, once your virtual event is recorded, you can have it transcribed and use those notes to create future blog posts, articles, tweets, an eBook, and so much more.

As soon as I’m done with VAClassroom’s new Social Media Certification Course updated for 2010, I will be taking the Virtual Events Specialist course. 

I encourage you to at least check out the course details to see if you can benefit from it.  The special bundle with the Camtasia mini-course will not last for long.  (Remember, it expires March 1, 2010.) That’s an additional savings rather than signing up for that class separately. 

So, who’s going to join me in this course? vaclassroom.com/virtual-events-specialist

P.S.  Here’s a video from the co-founder of VAClassroom, Craig Cannings, on the Top 5 Reasons Virtual Events are so popular.  It’s a quick video, but really gives you an idea of the potential for this specialty!

You’ve seen the buzz – Facebook is all the rage!

With more than 400 million active users, Facebook is THE PLACE to be seen by people and businesses.  This creates a ripe opportunity for you to start or expand your virtual assistance business by creating and maintaining Facebook Fan Pages.

Businesses large and small are looking for ways to leverage their Facebook Fan Pages, and why shouldn’t they?  According to Facebook’s Press Room Statistics – the numbers are reason enough to get involved ASAP!

• 50% of active users log in everyday (that’s 200 million people!)
• More than 35 million users update their status everyday
• More than 5 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each week
• More than 20 million people become fans of Pages each day
• More than 1.5 million local businesses have active Pages on Facebook
• Pages have created more than 5.3 billion fans

So, it stands to reason that business are looking for help – your help to create great Facebook Fan Pages.  But creating a great Facebook Fan Page is only the beginning.  Businesses need to ENGAGE their Fans.  They need them to come back to their Fan Page to see updates, click on their links, opt-in for their great FREE content, watch their videos, attend their events — and BUY their stuff!

All of these actions take a great marketing plan to start, implement and maintain.

I’ll share with you a somewhat embarrassing story:

I tried to create a Facebook Group page last year for someone.  I had NO idea what I was doing.  I tried to figure out how to create a group, engage people to join our group, set up events, the works.  It bombed.  It bombed BIG.

I can tell you first hand that it’s not a good idea to “wing it”.  I only wish that I had some instruction, some insight, some HELP to do that.  I didn’t even know that Facebook Groups were so “yesterday”.  That’s how little I knew…

Well, the good news is, that help is now available!  VAClassroom Fantastic Fan Page Mini Course is just the thing you need to learn how to create a Fantastic Fan Page.  Not only that, but it will teach you marketing methods and techniques to get your fans to come back, engage with you and help create loyal fans.  You know, the ones that talk about you and recommend their friends become your fan too!

This course can help you start your virtual assistance business, or expand your list of services.  Even though the course is only 2 weeks, you’ll be prepared to tackle the task with success!  Plus, as an added bonus, their is the social network for all course participants so you can ask questions and converse.  There’s a lot of great “nuggets” of information in the social network.  And the best part is, once you sign up for the course, you have access to it, all the updates and the social network – FOREVER!

As I have mentioned before, I think VAClassroom has the best training programs on the internet PERIOD.  But this course is also special in a lot of ways because it’s not just for virtual assistants.  Anyone can take this course (or any of VAClassroom’s courses for that matter.) But the Facebook Fan Pages Mini Course is really great for anyone that has any type of  business.  Maybe you work for a large company that has been talking about creating a Facebook Fan Page, or maybe the company has one but it’s not very active.  You can take this course and learn how to make your Fan Page everything you want it to be.

So what are you waiting for?  Make 2010 your year!  Create a Fantastic Facebook Fan Page TODAY!

One of the best ways to begin any work at home business is to invest in yourself.

How, you may ask?

By taking the time to train yourself.

When you have a work at home career, you are solely responsible for your success. And your success depends largely on your knowledge. Whether it’s product knowledge or other expertise, you have to keep learning to make sure you are on top of your game. Knowledge will set you apart from your competition.

There are several ways you can train yourself:

1. Do a Google search on a topic – be a voracious reader!  There are literally hundreds if not thousands of resources to train yourself for FREE.  It will take time and dedication, but you can pretty much find out everything you need to know on the internet.
2. Read books – whether you go to the library, buy eBooks or purchase them on Amazon.com, you can train yourself to be a better sales person, or how to create beautiful graphics.  Books are a great resource to refer back to, so you might want to look for used books you can purchase at a discount.  Your local college bookstore can be a great resource at the end of each semester!
3. Research your competition – know of someone who is very successful that you admire?  Follow them!  Read their website, subscribe to their blog, watch what they’re doing.  You’re bound to find new ways to do things and sometimes, new ways of what NOT to do.  Either way, you’ll gain some valuable lessons.

The last way you can train yourself, is to pay for training courses.  There are several resources around the internet, but hands down, the best training resource I have found is VAClassroom.com.  Don’t let the name fool you – even though they are dedicated to training virtual assistants their training courses apply to everyone.

The Internet Marketing Course is a great starter course for anyone who is interested in internet marketing.  In this course you will learn all about the different kinds of internet marketing, how to evaluate your performance through research and competitor analysis, how to do keyword research, and so much more.

The Social Media Marketing Course is critical for ANYONE who wants to promote their business through social media.  This course will teach you how to create a social media marketing plan, what social networks to participate in, how to engage with the community and more.

One of the most popular courses is the Facebook Fan Page Mini Course which really helps you identify what makes a successful Facebook Fan Page, how to engage your fans to keep them coming back for more and how to format your fan page for optimal results.  Facebook Fan Pages are highly indexed by Google and can help direct traffic back to your main website.

Lastly the Blog Marketing Tips and Tactics Mini Course is a must for anyone with a blog.  This course will teach you the most up to date methods to drive traffic to your blog and engage your readers to comment.  You will even see my testimonial at the end of the page!

One of the biggest benefits to paying for a training course is that it cuts down the time it takes to learn a new skill.  For example, I once created a Facebook Fan Page and it literally took me days to try and figure it out.  The settings weren’t clear, I didn’ t know enough HTML to make some of the functions work, etc.  The Facebook Fan Page mini course would have been a great tool to have.  Business owners  and companies who already have fan pages but are not happy with the results, can benefit from this course too.

I hope this provides you with some ideas on how to train yourself for 2010 – no matter what option you try, make it one of your new year’s resolutions to invest in training yourself.  I promise you won’t regret it!

Disclosure – affiliate links included in this post.