Swimming In Technology

Whilst my children are out with their father for their swimming lessons this morning, I took stock as to what I did in terms of keeping Remote Admin Services in touch in the cyber-world.

Partial list of today’s activities:

• Finally finished the Remote Admin Services Facebook Page
• Added this blog to said Facebook Page
• Updated RAS website with a widget to hopes to gain more fans/followers.
• Tweeted on Twitter
• Updating this blog…long overdue

Let’s face it, there’s a lot of options out there in getting the word out for your business.  The challenge I am finding is remembering to update all the social media sites every time I make a change or update and finding the time to do these changes. Ideally I would have one website or application that can cover all the components mentioned above.  You make a change and seamlessly would reflect all the sites.

The hunt is on.

In the meantime, I am off to chase down a cloud computer.

Follow The Consumer Electronics Show on Twitter

First of all, Happy New Year to everyone!  It has been a LONG time since I posted on this blog and I hope to do better this year.  Things have been so busy and Remote Admin Services plans to have a great year for 2009! Recession or not!

One thing that I started doing late last year was catching the Twitter bug and you can find me here.

And speaking of Twitter, C-Net is covering the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as we speak.  They are Twittering the latest gadgets with links as well indicating their frustration on waiting 20 minutes on a Starbucks line when the show had not officially started yet.  You can follow  their twitters either here or here. The Twitters will be fast and furious, but already I have found some interesting items that I plan to keep an eye on such as the next generation SD cards.

Happy twitters.

Need To Change Your Search Engine Default In Internet Explorer?

For those of you who have Internet Explorer 7, you might have noticed the little search box on the upper right hand corner of the  browser.  By default it is set to Live Search, but you can change it. Heres how:

1. Click the arrow by the search field and select, ‘Find More Providers’.  A Microsoft webpage will open up.

2. You have two categories of search engines, select one or more and select, “Add Provider”.

3. If you use none of the browsers listed, open a separate tab to your browser and type in all caps TEST. Copy the search results URL at the top of the browser and go back to the Microsoft page.  Paste in the field provided. Then type the name of the search engine in the second field and click “Install”.  Go to the drop down arrow by the search field in IE7 and your selected search engine should be listed.

4. To make your search engine of choice you default, again, click the drop down menu by the search field, select “Change Search Defaults” Highlight your browser, and click “Set Default”.  This is also where you can remove unwanted search engines.

I use Goodsearch, a Yahoo-based search engine as my preferred browser so as to raise money for my kid’s school.  If the searches are not up to my standards (very rare), I click down to Google and try again.  It only takes a few extra seconds.  Even better, I removed both search engines off my browser at launch, which in turn now loads faster. Originally I had 8 tabs at launch.

Google Chrome – Worth The Hype?

As if I needed yet another application installed into my already over-bloated Vista Business Laptop.  But when I heard about Google’s new Chrome (Beta) browser, I figured my laptop can’t get any worse off, so I decided to give it a whirl.

Installation was dirt easy and took less than five minutes to install and import all my bookmarks (I do not store passwords). I did not opt for the quick launch for or to have it launch from my systray, rather I added another icon to my ever growing desktop. As I have not fully explored the browser yet and certain web sites I utilize only allows for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, it will not be my default browser at this time.

The homepage will look something like this:

It will show your most used pages that you visit, along with a list of your most recently book marked items.

Of the web sites it does not work with, which I use daily are Office Live & Airset.

One of the best features hands down is the Bookmarks bar, which is also on Apple’s Safari.  Explorer does not have this feature and as a result, I have a whopping eight webpages that I use daily set to their own tabs and take 22 seconds to fully load. With the bookmark bar I, there is no need for me to load all these pages at once and it is faster for me to create an additional tab and load from from the bar.  I can event switch the order or the bookmarks. I have yet to test the speed as to how fast multiple tabs load on Chrome.

Interestingly, while doing work for a client, I had to download an image from the web. Once I saved the JPG in my designated folder, on the lower left hand corner of the browser shows the file I downloaded, which I can either open direct, or open the entire folder.  On the lower right hand corner of the screen, I click and it shows my download history and it is searchable. Great if I misplace a downloaded file .

On setting up a default search engine, I was not too happy to see that I could not make goodsearch.com, a Yahoo-based search engine, my default engine, since I use the searches to support my kids’ school.  So until I figure this out, I have it set as a bookmark on the bookmark bar.

So is it worth all the hoopla? I will need another week or so. This entry will likely be edited multiple times as I get used to the browser and it’s capabilities.  Stay tuned!

Gristmill Investments & Terry Waya – Two Scams To Take Note

The junk mail has been busy and must admit kudos to Microsoft for their filtering system.  Two new scams arrived over the past few days and thought I would bring it to your attention.  Now mind you, I am not 100% sure exactly how they work, but I will at least give you supporting links that confirmed my suspicions.

Gristmill Investment Company [ginvestmill6 [AT] gmail.com]

The letter I got was thus:

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

We are brokering an Investment deal in your country on behalf of a client of our firm.

 

This deal will involve the eventual investment of USD 25 M. (Twenty Five Million Dollars) in any of these fields: Manufacturing Businesses, Real Estate and other Small businesses.

 

We are by this letter offering you our partnership in business, so as to allow us have you as the representative and manager of invested funds in your country.

 

Since we can not determine if this email is still functional and also your willingness we have kept this proposal brief.

 

If you are Interested in this offer of partnership, please respond and give us your direct email address, telephone and fax numbers and your company’s full contact information & profile, and in response we will send you an elaborate proposal and details of this offer.

 

Your expedient response will be appreciated.

 

Thank you.

 

Mr. Bruce Miller.

Gristmill Investment Company.

First of all, anything related with investing raises my red flag. Personally if I ever do any relationship with any investment company, it will be in the States and registered under the SEC.  Also they are asking for my direct email address, telephone and fax numbers and contact profile…hmmm, did they check out my website? Apparently not.  Here are the links that confirms my suspicions:

• http://antifraudintl.org/showthread.php?t=4124
• http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=585427
• http://www.scamwarning.org/2008/03/31/ref-2008-investment-project-in-your-country/

Terry Waya [waya.terry [AT] gmail.com]

I am not kidding the subject in the heading was “Can I trust you?” Not to mention the “To:” heading was missing (looks like a bulk mailing to me). Here’s the letter:

Hello,

Can I trust you?

I have found your information on the internet very intriguing and implore you to take a moment of your time to do same about me and let’s examine the possibility of a lasting business relationship.

I have a business portfolio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I need you to handle it for obvious reasons.

If you’d like to work with me, I would expect us to sign a mutual non-disclosure confidentiality agreement, and await your advice on this.

You may provide me with your most secured telephone number(s) so that we can discuss the modality of this business on the phone. Or please feel free to contact me to arrange it.

I’ll call you as soon as I have your feedback.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Waya.

Forgive me, but I really feel the need to tear this apart.  Let’s start with the greeting, “Hello”. Not even a ‘Dear Sir or Madam’, how very rude. That spells bulk mailing.

‘Can I trust you?’ – Creepy sounding to say the least.

I have found your information on the internet very intriguing… - What is so intriguing? And where on the Internet did you find my information? Pardon the sarcasm but the line sounds like a bad response to a dating advertisement.

….and implore you to take a moment of your time to do same about me… – No problem, I did.  This is what I found:

• http://nigerianmasses.com/diaspora_details.asp?id=729&stateid=+
• http://www.saharareporter.com/tabid/58/itemid/29/Confiscation-Hearing-London-Court-orders-Terry-Wa.aspx

 Virtual Assistants and other home office warriors, take note!

Online Calendar Options

Ok, so you’ve considered hiring a Virtual Assistant, but there’s an item of note that is holding you back.  How can he/she set up appointments and keep my calendar in check for me?

Thankfully there are a few free to low-cost alternatives that can keep you right on track.  Here are a couple that I use depending on my client preference: 

Officezilla -  A free site packed with a bunch of bells & whistles.  Calendar can be exported to CSV. One thing that might be a turn-off to some is the Bible Verse section, but it is not in your face. The good news is that the module can be removed by doing the following:

Go to Admin > Configuration > Modules (A million thanks to George Scott of Officezilla for letting me know about this.)  

Individual user privileges can be determined by the administrator. 

Airset -  Another very good site in which you can have multiple groups neatly tabbed.  Calendar is pretty easy to use, and can export to .ics format.  Also calendar events can be set-up to send email reminders. My clients really like this feature, especially in the event I am not in the office to call and remind them of an appointment. One word of advice, DO NOT use add your mobile phone at sign up and do not add it on your profile lest you get a series of text reminders.  A real hassle if you pay-per-message. Again user privileges are determined by the administrator.

There are many others out there and will be reviewed in the near future. 

Tax Time! (or What’s In The Shoebox?)

Not a topic we like to hear, unless you are an accounting professional.  But tax season is well under way! Have you given thought as to what you might be able to deduct?

I was recommended a very good book called, 422 Tax Deductions For Small Businesses & Self-Employed Individuals by Bernard B. Kamoroff, C.P.A. The 7th Edition is out.  As a rule of thumb, it pays to get a new book every year to make sure the deductions are up to date.  Some book publishers offer a discount if you, for example mail in the cover of a previous edition.  But this varies.  The book is a good reference of topics in alphabetical order that can be looked up quickly, like a dictionary. However, as you will see in the Amazon listing, there are mixed reviews, so to each his own.

As always, for the home office warrior, if you are thinking about taking the home business deduction, or deductions recommended from a book such as the above for example, you should consult a tax professional.

Are you overwhelmed with expenses for deductions and no one to help? Consider Remote Admin Services to help sort out deluge. We will organize those receipts in a manner that your accountant will love you for!

What? No Website? Consider Office Live

Not to be tooting my own horn, but when I started Remote Admin Services back in November of 2007, I needed a web presence at little to no cost and no funky advertising.  The solution was Office Live by Microsoft.  

New freebie and relatively low-cost features is written in depth by New York Times’ David Pogue about Microsoft’s revamped Office Live Small Business.

Setting up your own domain and emails (up to 100) is free for the first year, then $14.95 per year after that. Certainly that can’t be beat. You get business contact manager, Office document collaboration space, email marketing (beta, free for now), and a few other perks.

If you have absolutely no experience in website design, no problem, Office Live has a number of themed templates that can be adjusted to your needs from changes in color schemes to columns. Though I would have much preferred using Dreamweaver to make my site (at this time I would have to pay a premium monthly fee to use a non-OL design), I have been pretty happy with the overall outcome. Until I have completed my RAS 2.0 website and find another provider that can accommodate my own files, OL is where I will stay for now.

Some say that you need a lot of eye candy to grab attention.  In my experience for a small business, people want a quick-loading, clear, consistent, easy to find, information. The trick is keeping the content fresh to keep your visitors interested in returning.

Pogue wrote that 70% of one-person businesses do not even have a website.  I’m not sure where he got that statistic, but if he is accurate, that is really a crying shame. 

If you happen to be part of the 70%, Office Live Small Business is a great launching pad. If you do not have the time to create your Office Live presence, Remote Admin Services would like to help you get on the right track. 

Thinking of Taking The Home Office Deduction?

I am not an accountant and I certainly will not tell what one should do.  But if you are contemplating doing a home office deduction on your taxes this year and worry about an audit, read this great article that I found from Business Week.

If you will excuse me, I need to take a picture of my office…

How Virtual Assistance Can Help Small Businesses During Economic Slowdown

There is no denying, it appears that the U.S. seems to be heading for an economic slowdown. I refuse to flat-out say ‘recession’ as I would prefer to be the optimist.

I read a good article in Business Week this morning as to how to prepare your small business to be recession-proof. The bits of advice has opened my eyes into changing my ‘road map’ on things that I need done for at least this quarter.

To keep from losing business, keep in close touch with your customers. “Show that you care. Understand how their business is being affected and look for ways you can help. Lasting relationships are built in hard times.” And look for new market opportunities, recognizing that when the business climate changes, customer needs will change as well. That may mean new markets will open up for you…

When I finish an assignment with a client, I follow-up from time to time just to say, ‘hello’ and inform them that Remote Admin Services is here for them for both big projects and small tasks.  Therefore if my client needs to cut back, they still have me in mind and use my services albeit more likely on a smaller scale. Better to have a smaller assignment than none at all.

…Create a positive experience…Another good option for local businesses is community involvement. “Join the Rotary Club or the Chamber of Commerce. Sponsor a Little League team. Let the Girl Scouts do a car wash in your parking lot. This is part of bonding with your community and becoming an established part of it.”

This is particularly useful if either you are just starting out as a VA or other small business.  Virtual Assistants spend just about all of their time in an office and very rarely do we venture out to the community at large. This is not particularly bad especially if one has their majority of clients that is out of state or even out of country. However, there is something very special when you build a relationship within your local community.  There is nothing like it in the world in which you can go actually meet with your client or potential clients face to face or deliver a finished product in person.

…small companies need to reach out to the new residents in their communities. “They’re going to choose someplace to buy their pizza and their shoes. You want to have an active campaign to greet them and bond with them…”

Technically the above does not really pertain to Virtual Assistants (unless one is niching to personal assistance services), but the concept still holds true if a new business opens up in the community.  If you happen to be driving by a new place of business, make a point to stop by and introduce yourself with business card in hand and welcome them into the community. Checking the local papers or a Google Alert of local press releases might help.

In the article it also talks about hiring, not firing.  Say that a small business has an administrative assistant and business is doing fine, but not growing due to the slowdown. Yet the admin is buried in tasks that really requires another assistant. No problem, a Virtual Assistant can easily take care of the overflow, until business picks up again…and you will be able to hire an additional in-house admin!  Do not have an administrative assistant at all? Remote Admin Services can take care of your tasks until you are ready to hire!

Finally, as much as it is a crunch in these hard times, now is not the time to get rid of your marketing plans…silence your marketing, you silence your business…period.  If you must change to an alternative less-costly plan of action, the article suggests innovative ideas such as e-mail marketing, blogging and online newsletters.

As a wise-relative used to say to me all the time, “this, too shall pass…”