Paying It Forward

My coaching web site, VAstartup was asked to participate in the Connecting2Give event with Virtual Assistant Forums which highlights Virtual Assistant week in March.

Part of this event is the giveaways! And you could win!

As a part of this event, VAstartup has donated 2 copies of our Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants ebook to the event. You could win a copy of my ebook or one of the other ebooks being given away by other industry leaders.

Don't miss a chance to win one of these fabulous ebooks that gives you insight into the virtual assistant industry and how to start your own business!

But it gets better than that...

As a Virtual Assistant who's been in business for 12 years now, I thought "What more can I do?" and that's when it hit me.

I'm finding a newbie to mentor for 30 days!! :) That's right - and it's more than just coaching!

The winner of this giveaway will receive:

* One free copy of my Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants ebook
* Daily Virtual Assistant coaching and mentoring via email and phone as needed
* A free 5 page web site designed by me
* A free blog template to match your web site
* A free logo
* A free business card design

The winner will be announced on April 1st.

For those of you who do not win, there can only be one winner, be sure to follow the progress of the future virtual assistant as she blogs and vlogs about her start-up process.

If you've been thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant - or know someone who is - now's the time to make that leap! Visit VAstartup for additional information.

VA Classroom

I frequently get inquiries by other virtual assistants looking to niche in Internet marketing. I often get asked where someone can go to learn more about training as an Internet marketing Virtual Assistant. Previously, I've just given them links to the most popular web sites and blogs out there that can explain Internet marketing to these individuals.

Now I'm happy to be able to recommend VA Classroom. VA Classroom is now offering Internet marketing certification. Their training programs are top notch and packed full of good information to help you specialize in Internet marketing.

I've also had the pleasure of getting to know Craig Cannings, the owner of VA Classroom and he's a pretty stand-up guy.

So go and check out VA Classroom if you're looking to learn more about Internet marketing.

A Wicked Writer

Angela Allen Parker is quite possibly one of the funniest people I know. I adore her. She's witty, intelligent and well, wicked!

Angela is a fabulous writer. She is the owner of Wicked Writer where she offers her services as a freelance writer, web content specialist and blog consultant. Saying that her work is amazing is an understatement...in fact it's almost an insult! Yeah, she's THAT good! ;-)

I've said it a thousand times before, and I'll say it again, the girl literally makes my toes tingle when I read her writing.

I've known Angela for years through IVAA. She was the former president of IVAA and is a co-founder of Remote Professionals and I can tell you that she's the epitome of professionalism...and quite honestly, she's probably THE biggest geek I've never met in my life...except Bill Gates maybe.

I've been fortunate to know Angela on both a personal and professional level for several years...but truth be told, I love the personal level the best! I really enjoy days like today when I share a giggle or two with her on the phone - and Angela you KNOW what we were giggling about!!!

Thanks for the smiles today you wicked little girl...

Tax Time - Quickbooks/Turbo Tax

Ugh, it's tax time again isn't it?

Years ago I started using QuickBooks Pro for my virtual assistant business. It's easy to use, generates professional invoices and reports, and makes balancing the books a breeze.

Another thing that I love about QuickBooks Pro is that it works seamlessly with TurboTax.

TurboTax imports my information directly from QuickBooks with just a click of a button. Another thing that I love about TurboTax is that will review your returns and check them for possible errors or items that might flag an audit.

To further simplify my life, I transmit my returns online and have my refund direct deposited into my checking account. It makes tax time a lot less painful!

As a virtual assistant coach, I always encourage VAs to use QuickBooks Pro for their businesses.

No matter what type of entrepreneur or small business you are, QuickBooks Pro and TurboTax will make your life a lot easier!

Client Gifting

I finally finished buying my client gifts for this year! As you read previously, I am taking a different approach to holiday gifting this year - no flowers or chocolates this year, I've put a lot of thought into the gifts that I'm giving to show my clients just how much I care...while at the same time making sure that the gift I give them causes them to think of me at least once a day! :) Pretty sneaky eh?

Earlier this week one of my real estate clients was complaining about what a hassle his GPS system was. The mount was a "pain" and when he got in and out of his car, hiding the unit from would be burglars took far too long.

So I started digging around and lo and behold I found this, the Garmin Portable Friction Dashboard Mount.

This is the gift that says "I hear you!" and "I care enough to find a solution for you." I hope he likes it!

What Not To Do

WOAH!
I've been a Virtual Assistant for 11 years now and I've seen a lot of "discussions" on the value of Virtual Assistants and how they can bring sanity back into the life of their clients. Now some of these discussions have gone on in forums, yahoogroups, between VAs, blogs and VAs...

But for the first time ever, that I've seen anyways, I've found a blogger who has a Neanderthal approach on how to look for a Virtual Assistant and two VAs slinging mud back and forth at each other and another using profanity in his comments section on the blog.

And it ain't pretty. (yeah, I said ain't)

If anything, Kate LaFrance makes some really good points. She's an established VA that's been around the block. And while her comments were strong, because she's passionate about the industry, it certainly did not call for Kelly's attack.

I do wholeheartedly disagree with Kelly about the "assistant" comment (Let me be clear, we are "assistants" and we appointed ourselves that title.) Just because we assist someone does not negate the fact that we're important to their business nor does the word "assistant" indicate we are of less value because we assist someone. There wasn't much else I disagreed with other than her comment directly to Kate that was pretty unnecessary.

And as far as Jennifer Goodwin, she gets my laugh of the day award for her "ARE YOU F*%&#$%^ KIDDING ME?" comment...that's exactly what I thought reading his blog post. And yes Jennifer, I agree with you too, but um, maybe in a more professional manner. ;) Maybe it was you calling him a "Jackaaaass" at the closing was going a little too far? ahahaha loves it!

But the bottom line? Now this Neanderthal's ideals on how VAs aren't worth over $19 per hour just got a boost from the cat fight on the comments area. I'm not sure how many people reading those comments will hire a VA or be willing to pay more than $19 an hour now. *sigh*

... and NO I won't work for Mr. Neanderthal...because of his attitude and because he cant' afford me! :)

Holiday Shopping for Clients

So what are you getting your clients for Christmas this year?

I normally send a traditional holiday arrangement or chocolates. So cliche and unmemorable. This year I decided to really focus on something that my clients would truly appreciate. Something that says that I listen. And at the same time, something that assists them or fixes their problems.

AND something that makes them think of me...and often! mwuahahaha ! :D Yeah, it sounds all evil and all, but it's not. Don't let the evil mwuahahaha scare you...it's creative gifting...not evilness! I promise!

One of my clients mentioned just last week of having too many accessories, and not enough USB ports on her laptop to plug them into. So I decided that this year, I'm getting her a Usb Squid, 4-Port Hub. I know she will just squeal when she opens it. I could spend 5 times as much on a proper box of chocolates but I'm sure she'll appreciate this gift of 4 extra USB ports instead of 4 extra pounds!

And yesterday another client mentioned how hot his laptop has been getting lately. I had the same problem recently and had looked at some Ventilated Laptop Stands to help keep my laptop cool. I'm sending him one too to see if it helps.

So yeah, that's just two examples of how I'm doing it a little different this year. I'm spending a lot less for these gifts but I'm hoping my gifts are more memorable and useful. I think this year for once my clients will seriously appreciate my gifts! I'm excited!

Oh, and in case any of ya'll are wondering, I sure would like a Bose® SoundDock® Series II digital music system for my iPod®....in black which you can get incredible deals on at Amazon.com this week during their Black Friday Deals!!! :) ** hint hint wink wink ** ha ha

Start a Virtual Assistant Business

I get several inquiries each week on how to start a virtual assistant business. Many of those who contact me have been burned by work at home scams previously and many think that virtual assistants are yet another scam...well, it's not!

Check out the IVAA - International Virtual Assistant Association. There are hundreds of virtual assistants, both newbies and established VAs who belong to this organization. Also, Google for virtual assistant articles. You'll find that reputable print and online magazines are touting the value of working with virtual assistants...places such as ABC news, Business Week, Inc.com, Microtimes, MSNBC, Realty Times, USA today and more! In fact Good Morning America and other television shows have interviewed virtual assistants. It's not a scam nor is it a gimmick.

But, let's keep it real. Not everyone is cut out to be a virtual assistant. The success of your business is based solely on your drive to be successful. When you become a virtual assistant, not only do you have to setup your business, you are also responsible for marketing it, keeping the books, networking, etc. It's not easy - but it IS doable!

There are many services that a virtual assistant can offer, you have to search to find what you like to do and figure out what industry your services are a good match for.

For instance, I have over 10 years of in-house experience supporting executives, so naturally I launched my business The Virtual Secretary offering administrative assistance. This included screening voicemails/emails, basic correspondence, working on presentations and proposals and planning conferences/meetings.

As my business developed, I found that I really enjoy providing services as a marketing virtual assistant, therefore I launched The Virtual Link to focus on marketing services. At TVL, I offer services as an Internet marketing specialist, and work as a Virtual Assistant for Coaches Virtual Assistant for Speakers, and most notably as a real estate virtual assistant.

Other virtual assistants specialize offering services in areas such as database management, podcasting, paralegal, transcriptionists, etc.

The point is to do what you like to do - and to do it well.

If you're considering starting a virtual assistant business, you may want to consider reading my ebook, Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants to guide you through the steps of starting your own virtual assistant business. In addition this ebook also provides you with a list of services that clients are looking for assistance with to help you determine if you have any skills to launch your business with.

Additionally, I also provide virtual assistant coaching services by the hour so that you can ask me questions about starting your business, get help with determining the services you should offer.

And on a side note, as many companies are laying off employees, those same companies are turning to outsourcing work - while the economy and job security is crashing, virtual assistants are getting more inquiries and clients than ever before!

If you're interested in becoming a virtual assistant or need help marketing your business, contact me, let's chat!

Veterans Day and Heroes

Who is your hero? And why? My hero is my brother. Ranger Ethan Graves. Today it's only fitting that I show him some respect on my blog.

I find it disheartening that so many people overlook a day like today, Veteran's Day. Those people have either (a) never served in our armed forces and/or (b) never had a close loved one who's served our nation.

My brother served his time in the Army and has been in the reserves for a few years. In 2006 they took him out of reserve duty and stationed him in Afghanistan. Remarkably during that year as a Squad Leader, he brought ALL of his men home alive.

Amazing actually considering the fighting he was involved in. The number of ambushes they endured. The number of times they were called in to go rescue other troops who had been ambushed and were under fire and needed help getting out.

During his time there, he hit 3 IEDs. It's amazing he survived one blast, let alone 3.

The results of his time in Afghanistan landed him with a collapsed vertebrae disc and another one that is slowly collapsing.

He's been home since 2007. He's in extreme pain, sometimes he can't stand up. The pain is excruciating. The military sends him to doctor after doctor - and rather than fix his back, they'd prefer to dope him up on pain pills and muscle relaxers.

And throughout all the pain...he soldiers on.

I nearly lost my brother not once, not twice, not even three times. The IEDs were just 3 events he went through. Taking your troops into the midst of a full-out war zone to save others is not an easy task. But a necessary one. And one that he did well.

Most American's are thankless - because they just don't know. They don't comprehend. That or they just don't care. And for that, I pity your ignorance.

There are so many brave men and women who put their lives on the line daily for your freedom, for our freedom.

The United States is the land of opportunity, where you can lead your life as you choose. Find a soldier today and thank them for the gift of freedom that they give you.

Ethan - I love you. I thank you. My kids thank you. You're their hero too you know.

And to all those other soldiers, thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Google's Method for Ranking "Influencers" Wait, What?

Did you know that Google has a patent pending for ranking the most influential people on social networking sites? According to an article in BusinessWeek it's true.

Okay, so if I understand this correctly, we will receive a ranking much like our web sites have a PageRank determined by Google.

Wait. What?

Will it also be called PR ranking? As in people ranking?

I can't wait to check this out. According to the article your ranking will be based on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook and will track not just you but the people you "know" on social networking sites. The more well-connected you are, the better your rank?

c-r-a-z-y.

It'll be interesting to see how this pans out...I'm off to get better connected I guess. :)

Clients Clients Everywhere!

Holy Guacamole Batman! I can't believe my current client workload...but first, let's backtrack some.

Earlier this year, I kind of got into a funk about the constant merry-go-round of clients that I get. I get a client, do their site, and they're in and out in less than 4 weeks. It's feast or famine around here constantly.

It causes anxiety when you know some projects are getting ready to close and there aren't any leads on the horizon for new work. Such has been my life for the past, what 7 or 8 years?

So I decided to pull away from web site design and revert to retainer clients once the kids got back into school in August. I need to fill my practice with clients that need ongoing assistance in order to reduce my stress level some. This was my goal and I started focusing on marketing to these kind of clients at the end of August.

So here I am the first week of October and I'm drowning in work!

• One speaker client that I had on a 20 hour a month retainer now needs about 15 hours per week!
  
  
• A commercial real estate company is about to sign for 40 hours per month for Internet marketing.
  
  
• This week an associate of mine requested help with social marketing work for an organization that has over 10,000 members....um yeah, Batman, you read that right - over 10,000 members! Dude if only 1% of those members need help that's still 100 clients!
  
  
• Another associate of mine contacted me this week and requested 40 hours per month for Internet marketing help for one of her clients.
  
  
• Oh, and now my speaker client has referred me to a family member who is a consultant for brokers and real estate agents!

My head hurts thinking about it all.

I'm not complaining mind you, but I also have an ebook I'm working on and some training modules that I've been putting together over the past month or two.

Oh and did I mention that I started taking classes up at the community college this semester?

And yes, I'm still doing real estate virtual assistant services such as web sites, training Virtual Assistants and trying to run GeekGyrls.com but I can't give my babies (projects) the attention they deserve because, well, there's no more time left in my day!

:) When you make a decision to do something, believe it and you can achieve it.

Oh, and does anyone know where I can get a Virtual Assistant? I need help! LOL

MessageSave for Outlook

I often get frustrated with my Outlook due to the staggering number of client folders and the number of messages in each folder.

Quite often the messages that I receive have large file attachments with pictures, brochures and information which leaves my Outlook file quite large. I like to have the email messages for future reference. I never delete old messages because it's a kind of a CYA (cover your bootie) for me.

I recently ran across a fabulous little program called MessageSave from TechHit. With MessageSave I am able to archive the entire Outlook folder with attachments to my client file on my hard drive. The process was so easy it was a little scary!

Now I'm able to easily archive any client folders over 6 month old and my Outlook program isn't quite as large any more! Check out MessageSave from TechHit.

Rainmaker Trained Virtual Assistants

Dan Richards of the Gooder Group released an announcement this week in regards to their new Virtual Assistant Directory for Rainmaker eCentral trained Virtual Assistants.

If you're a real estate professional who's not using Rainmaker eCentral (what? are there really successful REPs not using Rainmaker?) take a look at all Rainmaker has to offer.

Rainmaker eCentral is a 4-in-1 integrated system that includes lead-capture web forms, plug-in website content and automated drip e-mail which helps you generate more leads...enrich all your websites...and follow up every prospect without lifting a finger.

When you're ready to sign-up for your account - be sure to find a Rainmaker Certified Virtual Assistant (like me, real estate virtual assistant Anna Baron of TheVirtualLink.com) and you can save $100 off your set-up costs!

Aweber E-mail Marketing

Aweber is perhaps one of the most power e-mail marketing tools that I use, not only for my business but for my clients as well.

Aweber is an email marketing tool with all of the essential (and powerful) marketing features that will enhance your online marketing efforts. Whether you are new to email marketing or a seasoned veteran looking for advanced tools and systems to enhance your current marketing efforts, Aweber is by far the most powerful online email marketing system I've used.

Perhaps my favorite feature of Aweber is the ability to create multiple databases for your marketing efforts. By using multiple databases, you are able to customize your drip mail campaigns for more effective results in your online marketing efforts.

Best of all, you can try Aweber out for 30 days absolutely free! Visit the Aweber web site for additional information.

GeekGyrls

Take a peek at my new forum called GeekGyrls.

GeekGyrls is for anyone geeky. You speak geek - we want you! Graphic designers, web designers, SEO gurus to programmers and coders. It's not just for real estate virtual assistants, such as myself, nor is it for just the typical virtual assistant.

If you're a geek, we want you! We need you...and deep down inside...you want us to!

Be sure to review the $100 contest for those who join and refer people to the forum.

ReadNotify to Confirm E-mail Receipt

As a Virtual Assistant I sometimes run into issues with clients and colleagues who claim to have not received an invoice or an e-mail I had sent. After several instances of this, I began using a service called ReadNotify.

ReadNotify is a chep and affordable service ($24-$36 per year). More than once it has been a resource to prove that e-mails were indeed received. Sometimes this can be offensive to the client, but my experience is that the clients that are getting upset are the ones who are indeed receiving my e-mails, sometimes multiple times, and simply ignoring them.

Here are some of the features of ReadNotify. They tell you:

• date/time your e-mail was been opened
• how long the e-mail was open or read
• tracks and forwarding of your e-mail
  
• notes if attachments web URLs were opened

To test out their service, sign up for a free account.

Boosting your business with an ezine

Alexandria Brown, the Ezine Queen, has a couple of amazing newsletters that I have read for years. Her newsletters are a fun read and I almost always pick up some useful nugget of information to apply to my business.

Recently I purchased Boost Business with your Own Ezine and wanted to share with you just how impressed I was with this product. The information and resources that I found in this product has helped me apply new techniques to how I do business online.

If you haven't heard of Boost Business with Your Own Ezine Head then head on over to Ali's products page. While you're there, check out her other cool tools to make money online with.

And don't forget to sign up for the newsletter!

Cuil - a new search engine

A few months ago, I was really excited about SearchMe (www.searchme.com) , a visual search engine that had been launched. I still think it is a cool concept but to date, it has not taken off as expected.

Today I saw an article on Cuil (www.cuil.com) regarding a new search engine developed by Anna Patterson. Anna Patterson developed and later sold her Internet search engine to none other than Google. She has now launched Cuil (pronounced cool).

I took the new search engine out for a spin and honestly, I am not sure what I think about it yet.

For instance, when you Google the term real estate virtual assistant you will generally find Cheryl Allin (www.virtuallin.com), REVAnetwork, The Virtual Link (www.thevirtuallink.com), Kim Hughes, Assistant for Real Estate, VA4RE, and others. None of these companies appear on the first page of results for this search engine. The first company to appear is Amber Drake with Essential-Admin.com on the second page followed by Kathy Goldman and Ruth Ann Macklin.

Another thing that kinda irritates me is that my graphic for the Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants ebook seems to appear several times next to results for companies that are not related to mine and do not sell my ebook? Which is confusing.

I am sure the search engine will get the kinks out of its system as it gets fine tuned, but be aware of Cuil as it is predicted to do quite well.

Here is the article if you are interested in reading it:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/28/technology/cuil.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

Service Providers...

No matter what industry you're in, if you provide a service, there's at least one person out there that appreciates you, depends on you, looks forward to seeing you or getting what service it is that you offer.

This week it's been pretty evident that I have come to depend on certain people being in my life and when they're not, my week just doesn't function as well. And from my lips to my hips to my toes, all of my service providers have decided to go on vacation on the same week! ARGH!

My lips: My favorite barista, Coral, up at Starbuck's is on vacation this week in Florida. People, love your barista and they will love you back! Every morning after boot camp, M-F like clockwork I am there around 6:40am. No longer does she ask what my order is, just rings it up, and 4 out of 5 times, she's noticed me walking up and has started my drink before I even get to the counter! She's priceless I tell you!

I can always count on Coral to razz me about how crazy I am for getting up at 5am to go workout and to tell me about her morning or how her previous evening went. Funny, funny lady and always has a story to tell. I've come to count on this girl - without my daily venti caramel machiatto w/ 4 shots and extra caramel, I simply could not make it throughout the day.

My hips: My boot camp instructor Chris for some odd reason thinks HE needs a vacation! Seriously? And while he's left an equally narcissistic replacement who's a mini-nazi such as himself in charge (her name is Diane and I love/hate her by the way) it's just not the same. I like goofing off with Diane at boot camp, challenging each other, giving Chris a daily dose of crap together...but when he's gone like this and she's in charge, it's a much different story.

My toes: I need a pedicure. And guess what? Even my nail guy (yes, mine is a guy LOL) is on vacation! What the heck? Tony is ALWAYS working. I know he hasn't seen his family in Vietnam in 2 years but he took a whole month off of work to go home! I mean, seriously? A whole month? You don't understand - this man is amazing - my nails never break, the designs he paints on my toes are THE coolest ever... Pfft, I can have one of "the girls" do my mani/pedi...but it's just not the same. Plus, Tony is always humming and singing along to the tunes on the radio - I keep telling him I'm going to put his butt on American Idol and he just laughs.

So there you go - from my lips to my hips to my toes, this week, I'm missing my people! A lot!

And in the future, if you all could coordinate your vacation schedules to NOT be on vacation at the same time, it would save me a lot of grief! :) Miss ya'll!

Monday, Monday

Is it really Monday already?

As a Real Estate Virtual Assistant working from home and loving it, at least I don't have to face the road rage out there today...I'm sitting here at my desk sipping my Starbucks coffee and deciding where to start...so much on the to-do list.

Here's a video for the rest of you facing the Monday morning blues...

The Calvinator

At what point do you tell yourself that you've lost your mind? That your actions sabotage the possibility of ever getting work done again?

My son, Calvin, turned 5 yesterday. He wants to be in a band so he asked for some drums and a guitar for his birthday. Well, he got the drums.

I put his drums in the unfinished media room, upstairs, all the way in the back of the house. I'm in my office, downstairs, all the way in the front of the house...and it's like I'm in the room with him. Seriously, what was I thinking? The media room is getting ready to be sound proofed and a door added to it to block out some of this noise!

He did melt my heart when he smash-face hugged me today and said I was the best mom ever. I think it's more like the craziest mom ever.

Here's a video of his first day on the drums...I think he has potential...and yes, I am the best mom ever!

Tying Up the Loose Ends

Right now I'm sitting here sipping on my addiction, a venti caramel macchiato w/ 4 shots and extra caramel from Starbucks. And can I just say, it's damn tasty!

I'm sending a special thank you to my virtual assistant buddy, Katie Baird over at Loose Ends. Katie, an avid stalker of my blogs (and I say that with all the love in the world) read my blog from yesterday on Getting Distracted, Getting Focused and not only did she send some virtual support, but the lady sent me some love through PayPal to go buy a cup of coffee...and that's just what I did this morning!

Being the GeekGyrls that we are, I've asked Katie to help out with one of my projects that I'll be announcing soon - and she agreed! Thanks Katie girl...

And for all you other VA buds of mine that called to get into my business...don't. :) Send me some PayPal love instead to keep me stocked up on the carmel macchiato's so I can spend more time on my projects and less time on the phone.

Oh, and if you think you're a GeekGyrl, drop me an e-mail and let me know...maybe I'll let you help me out on my latest project.

Getting Distracted, Getting Focused

The past few months have been riddled with absolute craziness. The distractions in my life have overruled my sanity, my desire to focus on work and the ability to think rationally.

In the past 3 months, I've lost a best friend over business dealings and my mother was in the hospital for almost a month.

It's been a wicked ride the past 3 months but I'm back and stronger than ever. I'm focused again.

I've got several projects underway and will post about them all as soon as they're formally launched. Stay tuned!

Memorial Day Weekend

It's Memorial Day Weekend. As such, I have to send some love and respect out to my brother, Ranger Ethan Graves. You will ALWAYS be my hero!

If you don't stand behind our military - feel free to stand in front of them!

On Your Toes VA launches new web site!

Meet Lori Cain of On Your Toes VA! Lori is a Virtual Assistant with 15 years experience who has decided to focus her niche on providing real estate virtual assistant services.

Lori specializes in Lead Management, Transaction Coordination and Listing Coordination.

We worked with Lori developing her web site and she is a real pleasure to work with. If you need a Virtual Assistant, contact Lori for additional information.

Virtual Real Estate Logistics

Meet Saleta Powell of Virtual Real Estate Logistics. Saleta has 12 years of real estate experience but is now opening her doors as a real estate virtual assistant. Saleta offers the following services:

• Prospecting Support
• Lead Management
• Pre-Listing Research
• Listing Management
• Online Transaction Management
• Web Site Management

I had a blast working with Saleta on her web site. She is funny, smart and personable. If you're in need of the services listed above, give Saleta a call.

SearchMe: SEO takes a new twist

Not many people have heard of SearchMe yet, but this Real Estate Virtual Assistant thinks it could quite possibly change the entire way we all view search engines.

SearchMe is a visual search engine. Type in your keyphrase and instead of results with catchy descriptions as you currently find displayed in Google, Yahoo and the others, SearchMe instead shows you a snapshot of the web site. Don't like the first view, click on the next, it's like a book of results that you flip through. Watch the video, it's really coool! It's amazing even!



Originally a web site thrived on cool design. Then it became good SEO which killed killer foo-foo designs...but now with SearchMe, it will be a delicate blend of awesome design and fabulous SEO to get good results.

I've just signed up as a beta user because I can't wait to try this tool out. If it's half as amazing as I'm thinking it is, Google better buy this company out quick!

VAstartup - How to start a virtual assistant business...

www.VAstartup.com has been my virtual assistant coaching web site since 2002. Recently I revamped the site to include an ebook for Virtual Assistants called Boot Camp for Virtual Assistants.

Additionally I've created some low cost Virtual Assistant marketing materials for newbies looking to enter the industry. I offer low cost Virtual Assistant web sites and more. Check it out!

And of course, I still offer Virtual Assistant coaching to help you with your questions about starting a Virtual Assistant business.

If you're new to the VA industry, check out VAstartup!

8 Random Facts about Anna Baron

I have been tagged by Kathie Thomas so here I go with 8 random facts about me.

1. When I was 23 a programmer friend of mine, Terry Ogletree who is as eccentric of an individual as you'll ever meet, tried to convince me to start my own business working from home as a secretary. It was 1992 - I laughed in his face and hugged him for having so much confidence in my skills - at that time, I didn't have that confidence. Geesh, Terry was on to it way back then and I didn't have the vision until 5 years later.... I miss you Terry - wherever you are.

2. My VA business began when a former employer (Big 5 Accounting Firm) begged me to come back to work for them to head a new department as the lead secretary. I refused, I had just given birth to Alison and was for once in my life going to be a stay at home mom. They decided to start sending me work by e-mail and without putting much work into it, my VA business was born.

3. I stumbled in to the real estate niche when an agent called me one day to see if I could do a flyer for her...my passion for supporting the real estate industry came from that one lead. Thank you Kathy Drewien!

4. Kim Hughes is probably one of my best friends ever. She called me about 7 years ago wanting to know how to be a VA. I wasn't a coach back then, but I did take the time to talk to her and the friendship grew from there. We've cried together, we've laughed together and she is truly a great friend. She's now one of the premier Real Estate VAs in the business and I couldn't be prouder of her. We're going to meet for the first time ever in November when we travel to NAR for IREAA.

5. Growing up, I was always protective of my little brother Ethan who was 5 years younger than me. I beat up the kids on the block when they hurt him. Mom said one time that I yelled "That's my punching bag not yours!" LOL My brother joined the Army and during Ranger training he outlasted all the others there...his Drill Sargeants asked him in front of everyone "What makes you so strong Graves?" to which he replied "My sister sir!" :) My brother has been in the military for 10 years now, serving in Kuwait and he just returned from Afghanistan in May. His platoon lost no soldiers during his tour as a Platoon Sargeant.... Hooah Ranger Graves - you're my hero and I love you!

6. I reunited last year with my 22 year old daughter that I gave up for adoption when I was 15 - it was the best day in my entire life. Without arranging it, the day we reunited we both wore orange colored tops - how crazy is that? :) Her name is Mariah, but I named her Jessica Christie when she was born. We look just alike and she too grew up in the Dallas area. We talk daily and have a fablous relationship. Thank you God.

7. I have 3 other children, Amber 20, Alison 9 1/2 and Calvin 4. I feel like I've been raising children all my life! LOL I swear if I had a boy first, I never would have had any other kids - boys are crazy!

8. I met my husband (2nd marriage) shooting pool at a tournament. I hooked him with my bank shot and those skin tight jeans and boots. We've both been to nationals in Vegas and I've been in 4 billiards magazines. We're good, but he's the shark, seriously, don't ever bet money when you're playing "Bad Brad" cause he'll take it! My first business computer that was hand built cost almost $3,000 and he won that in one night from Cowboy Randy. Thanks Brad - and I love you! We just celebrated 10 years in July! *woot*

Virtual Assistant and loving it!

I tag -

Kim Hughes Kim Hughes & Company
Pam Ivey Visual Persuasions Canada
Cheryl Allin VirtuAllin
Laura Monroe Creative Agent Solutions

Professional Crushes

Ohhh, someone's got a crush on me! A professional crush that is...and it's very flattering!

Pam Ivey of Visual Persuasions in Canada has a professional crushes page in which The Virtual Link is highlighted. The first time I saw this I chuckled and said "cool" - which sounded a little bit too much like Beavis and Butthead for my own comfort.

Just wanted to share - it sure made day! :)