Caring about sharing: how the sharing economy will change how you do business
What is your business’ value proposition? Why do your customers buy what you sell? What can your clients get from your business that they can get nowhere else? These seemingly simple questions are devilishly hard to answer and, as your business grows, the answers may...
Pandora’s Inbox: How to Manage Your Email Without Unleashing E-Chaos
Do you ever get that sinking feeling when you open your email application on Monday morning after a weekend away from your computer, or when you return after an extended vacation? There’s nothing that causes such a strong desire to trash your laptop and live off the...
Whaddaya Think? Tools for Getting Employee Feedback
“Only connect.”-- E.M. Forster, Howard’s End We live in the most connected of times and yet our ability to communicate meaningful ideas seems to be at an all-time low. Nowhere is this truer than the workplace. There exist a plethora of media to communicate – voice and...
So you want to be a manager? Or, the dangers of micromanagement
"Management" – a word often used and a skill rarely taught. In so many organizations, management positions are doled out to those that perform well in their company or department’s specialty. A sales team is led by the best salesman, a litigation department is run by...
Time Bandits: Time-Wasting Habits that Decrease Productivity
There is a difference between being busy and being productive. “Busy” describes high energy flitting from one task to the next. There is a reason that the term “busy as a bee” is a sticky idiom: it provides a clear image of busy-ness. We can see the bee constantly...
Think Globally, App Locally: Techie Tools for a Virtual Team
When did calling a simple team meeting become an exercise in cat herding? When everybody wore hats and ties, drove to work in a yacht-sized car, and called it a day at 5 PM, gathering your team into a conference room in the late afternoon wasn’t a big deal. Needless...
Be Social for Me: Delegating Your Business’ Social Media to a Virtual Assistant
Social media occupies a paradoxical position in the lives of many small business owners. On one hand, your personal account is a tar pit that envelops your time. On the other hand, your business account is almost completely neglected. Many is the small business...
Tips for Startups and Entrepreneurs to Travel on a Budget
Ugh, another business trip. Waking up before dawn to go to the airport, squeezing into a coach seat, running into a business meeting, going back to the hotel, grabbing a quick bite of bad food, working until midnight to prepare for the next day’s meeting, putting out...
The Best of Both Worlds: Harmonizing Digital Assistants and Virtual Assistants
Many busy professionals dream about one day having the perfect digital assistant; a hand-held version of the computer on Star Trek’s Enterprise, complete with artificial intelligence, voice recognition, conversational skills, a perfect understanding of issued...
How to Successfully Integrate a Virtual Assistant into your Business Operations
If you're a small business owner or entrepreneur you’re constantly busy trying balance running your business, growing your business, and balancing your business with life. You’ve heard a virtual assistant can really save you time, but you have doubts about whether...