How does the remote business relationship with a VA work ?

If you ever had an assistant, one who worked with you in the same office, your communication probably looked similar to this:

• you tell her to book a flight to Zurich, reserve a hotel and a rental car (she books everything and prints out confirmations for you)
  
  
• you tell her to make a Powerpoint presentation for a meeting in 2 weeks, you send her some files by e-mail to give her an idea about the content (she prepares the presentation and e-mails it to you)
  
  
• you tell her to schedule a meeting with a client for next week (she sets up the meeting and you get the confirmation on your calendar)you tell her to translate a document on your drive (she does it and lets you know where to find it)
  
  
• you tell her to write an article for your blog and post it (she writes the article and lets you know)

Now, if you worked with a Virtual Assistant, there's not really that much that would change. Instead of telling her in person, you would either send an e-mail, call her, skype her or send her an Instant Message. Instead of printing you those reservation confirmations, she would just e-mail them back to you. Since she would have access to your calendar, she could easily book that meeting and for the translation she could either remotely access your drive or you could just e-mail her the document, whatever is easier for you.

There are so many tools and applications which facilitate this kind of distance relationship. Here are a few examples:

• Skype: free calls, teleconferences, video calls, file sharing, screen sharing, instant messaging
• Sendthisfile.com: send large files (for free)
• Logmein.com: remote computer access
• Microsoft Office Workspace: free file sharing
• E-Fax.com: receive free faxes

So you see, Virtual Assistance works because of the immediacy and efficacy of electronic communications – Instant Messaging, Skype, e-mail, Internet. A successful business partnership does no longer rely on physical proximity.

Click here if you would like to find out more about working with a VA.


P.S. If you are a VA reading this article and have another favorite tool that you like to work with, please list it in the comments. Thanks!

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Learn German on Twitter - word by word

Did you ever think about learning a new language ? Why not German ?
You might have German ancestors, taken some classes in high school, have German business contacts or just simple have an interest in that language.
For me, German (Swiss German to be precise) is my mother tongue and I use it on a daily basis. In my private life when talking to my kids or for business when I translate a text for a client or communicate with a customer based in Germany or Switzerland. My husband himself is in the process of learning German (he is Canadian) and that's how I came up with the idea to use my knowledge and share it with the Twitter community.
So, starting this Sunday, Feb 7th, my followers will receive 1 German word or expression (with the English translation) per day. I will be using the hashtag #learngerman.

Since I am limited to 140 characters per post, I won't be able to give much explanation about pronunciation or phonetics. But if you have a doubt, there's an excellent website where you find an audio recording of a big selection of German words. Here's the link.

So, are you up for the challenge ? Auf geht's ! (let's do it !)

I am looking forward to seeing you on Twitter !


Sarah Santacroce



P.S. If you need a document or a website translated (German to English or English to German) please visit my website for more information about the services I offer.

P.P.S. Please RT this message on Twitter. Thank you !

P.P.P.S. If you are really serious about learning German there are other Tweeters who send out a (different) word per day. Follow for example @DoubleTranslate

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What's the difference between a Virtual Assistant & an Employee ?

Are you or your small business overloaded with administrative tasks?
Is your paperwork taking up precious time?
Is your to do list never ending?
Do you need somebody to streamline your systems to make them more efficient?

If you answered yes to the above questions, chances are that you need either an employee OR a VIRTUAL ASSISTANT.

But what is the difference, you say.
Ok, lets see. If you have a workload that is regular and so great that it requires an in-house, full time person, you are probably better off hiring an employee to manage your office on a daily basis. You get control over the person's schedule, verify how the work is done, double check all the outcomes etc.

If on the other hand, you have a need for irregular work, short term projects, or simply don't have the space or budget for an employee, working with a Virtual Assistant will absolutely offer you the very best, convenient and strategic alternative in meeting your administrative support needs.

While Virtual Assistants do a lot of work that is similar to what an employee would do, it’s important to keep in mind that there are some major differences about the work relationship to keep in mind:

• You are the client to a Virtual Assistant, not the employer.
• You won't be managing or supervising her, or the work, in any way;
• A Virtual Assistant runs her own business and sets her own fees, hours, policies and procedures;
• A Virtual Assistant works remotely, using the latest technology to collaborate with you
• A Virtual Assistant might live in an other time zone and come from an other culture
• A Virtual Assistant depends on clear communication in order to be able to work independently

Do you think this partnership would work for you ? If you have more questions, drop us a line at sarah@simplicityadmins.com or comment below.

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What exactly is a Virtual Assistant ?

In the United States, the term Virtual Assistant or short "VA" is already pretty common. But not necessarily in other countries. So lets have a look at some definitions.

If you google "what is a Virtual Assistant" a couple of different definitions from multiple sources show up. Here are a two samples:

International Virtual Assistant Association
"A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis."


VirtualAssistantNetworking.com
A Virtual Assistant (or VA) is a solopreneur who specializes in providing ongoing, one-on-one, collaborative-style administrative support. Like other professional service providers, Virtual Assistants operate remotely from their own places of business and utilize today's technology to deliver their services and communicate with clients.Virtual Assistants are first and foremost administrative experts. Virtual Assistants sometimes offer additional, separate specialties that fall under creative and/or technical services. Virtual Assistants come from a variety of business backgrounds, but the single-most important qualification the industry expects of its peers is at least five (5) years administrative experience earned in the real (non-virtual) business world working in upper-level capacities such as administrative assistant, executive assistant, secretary, legal assistant, paralegal, legal secretary, real estate assistant, office manager/supervisor, etc.From this level of experience, a Virtual Assistant is expected to possess the skill sets, training and business knowledge which are the hallmark of a truly qualified Virtual Assistant.


This gives you a good idea of the characteristics of a VA.
An other difference between a Personal Assistant and a Virtual Assistant is that a PA is mostly a generalist. By hiring a VA, you can also choose a specialist. There are VAs who specialize in Real Estate, Legal Aspects, Bookkeeping, Translations and Social Media. So depending on your needs, you will have to do some research and find the VA that suits you and your business best.

To find more answers to your questions, check out this FAQ about working with a VA.

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Firefox Password Manager

After a bit of research since my last post, I've now decided to give Firefox's password tool a try.
Basically it creates a Master Password, behind which all the other passwords and user names are stored. If you would like to see if this is something for you, and you are already using Firefox as your default browser, here is what you have to do:

- click on Tools in the menu bar
- choose Options
- click on "use a Master Password"

It will then prompt you to create a Master Password. Make sure you use a combination of letters and numbers which is at least 8 digits long, and at least one capitalized letter. Once you've done this, Firefox will store all of your passwords with nearly unbreakable AES encryption. Each time you start Firefox and go to a site that requires a saved password, you'll be first prompted for your master password.
For now it works for me, I hope it works for you too !

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Multilingual Websites with Office Live Small Business

When living in America, the choice of language for your website is pretty easy. English and English. Or, for those who know some Spanish, they might add a Spanish version. But I don't see that too often either. For Europeans, it gets a bit more complicated ! Alright, in the business world a majority of people probably do speak English, but when it comes to select a service provider, they would always prefer one that also speaks their mother tongue. So, therefore I have to translate my website to French and German. Office Live Small Business tries to help you with that, but the set-up is not perfect. You can create several websites (for free!) and create a package solution from your original site and install it in your other language version, BUT, and there's the catch, you have to have a different e-mail log-in for each website. So I now find myself with 3 different e-mails for each site, each one of them with a different password. Help ! But, if that's the only catch to it, I'll just have to get organized and then start working on these translations.

Find more info here from the Microsoft Office Live support team.

How do you organize all your passwords and log-in information ?
I'd appreciate your tips !

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Happy 2010

A new year has begun. For me and my business an important one. On a personal level the biggest change is probably our move back to Europe sometime in summer 2010. It won't be easy, not for us adults, but also for our kids who have to learn yet an other language.
On a professional level, I want to officially launch Simplicity Admin Solutions in the 2nd half of 2010. And there is still so much preparation to be done. Since I want to work globally, my website has to be translated to German and French. Only this way can I offer a truly international service. Does anybody have experience with multilingual websites ? I would appreciate your comments below.
And my new year's resolution is to write at least 1 blog entry every two weeks. Let's see if I can keep it up.

A very happy, healthy and successful new year to all of you !