Practically Perfect PA

SEPTEMBER 5, 2013

'I have been planning to write a blog post around the pros and cons of the role for a while. I wanted to be totally honest but I thought well I can only really base the pros and cons of the role on my perspective and what I have experienced over the years and although I can share plenty of examples I might be limiting the picture somewhat. So I recently asked my lovely readers to complete a survey on the blog and also asked a few questions around the assistant profession itself and two such qu

AT&T 219

AT&T Salary Finance Calendars 219

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 17, 2013

'Below is our 7th annual Top 10 Small Business Trends list.  2013's trend list is available here. To see earlier lists, click on the year: 2012 , 2011 , 2010 , 2009 , 2008. Our overall economic outlook for 2013 is for solid if moderate growth with U.S. GDP increasing 2.5% to 2.75%.  We expect hiring and the job market to continue to improve with unemployment falling and finishing the year in the 6.5% to 6.7% range.   Technology   1.

2014 218

2014 Forms Networking 2013 218

Eco-Office Gals

DECEMBER 10, 2013

'“Paper or plastic?”. This is a simple question, asked millions of times per day in supermarket checkout lines across the country. Not too difficult to answer for most, but a question with major consequences for the planet. America’s addiction to plastic, perhaps most notably plastic shopping bags, leads to an enormous environmental problem. For example, in New York City alone the administration pays more than $10 million per year in order to send 100,000 tons of plastic bags to out-of-sta

Clothes 212

Clothes Forms AT&T UPS 212

Eat Your Career

AUGUST 14, 2013

'Networking. The word alone strikes fear in the hearts of many. It’s so awkward and uncomfortable! It’s so inauthentic! It’s just so…so…exhausting. That’s why many professionals put it off. If you’re happily employed and your career is chugging right along, networking often gets put on the backburner. I see a lot of people who only start thinking about networking when they “need” something—like a new job, for example.

Networking 210

Networking Google 2013 Retirement 210

Speaker: Joe Sharpe and James Carlson

Payroll optimization can be one of the most time-consuming and complex factors of small business management. Yet, organizations that crack the code on streamlining employee compensation often discover innovative avenues for growth. With the right strategies in place, outsourcing and streamlining payroll processes can result in substantial time and resource savings.

Payroll

Stephanie LH Calahan

NOVEMBER 13, 2013

'Anyone that has ever launched a program or product knows that the entire process is kind of like running a race. You have a strategy and training and you've done all of your warm ups.  You are ready to get your promotion "out there." You are running smoothly, when all of the sudden, someone decides to put a hurdle right in the middle of the track!

Promotion 203

Promotion Interviewing Learning Mentoring 203

Office Organization Success

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

With all the different rules and regulations governing list management, it’s getting harder and harder to not only get your emails delivered to the recipient’s inbox – think all those spam filters – but to actually get your recipient to open and read your email. Just think about your own inbox for a second … how many emails do you get bombarded with each day?

Email 202

Email Management 2013 Business Cards 202

Step It Up VA Coaching

AUGUST 27, 2013

'Summer is winding down and the kids start school in one week from today! It has been the most glorious summer. As you likely know from my ezines, I took most of the summer ‘off’ I don’t consider what I do as “work”, as it energizes me and makes my heart full – - yet, I did enjoy being more available to the kids and spending a lot of quality time with them.

Purchasing 197

Purchasing 2013 AT&T Confidence 197

The Small Business Blog

JUNE 19, 2013

'The obvious answer to this question is “yes, of course” but the reality of the matter is that getting young people (and particularly graduates) to come aboard an actual start-up can be a tough sell. When faced with the uncertain path of start-up employment or a straightforward trek up the career ladder, it is understandable… Read the full article here: Should young people join start-ups?

UPS 194

UPS 194

Virtual Moxie

AUGUST 19, 2013

'When I was training as a professional coach at Coach University , I learned a very powerful thing: Play to the strong; not to the weak. In essence, it means that you want to focus your time and attention on the people who clearly get you, like you, want what you offer, find your services valuable, and next to no time on those people who don''t. In the context of your Virtual Assistance practice, the people who don''t are the. folks at networking events whose eyes glaze over as you share what yo

AT&T 191

AT&T Collaborate Interviewing Networking 191

Office Dynamics

JUNE 5, 2013

'I have always said, “ You do not need to be a manager or senior executive to be a leader. Every executive assistant and administrator can be a leader and should be a leader. ” Leadership is often defined as a set of characteristics such as being ambitious, broad-minded, dependable, forward-looking, intelligent, mature, and honest. Kouzes and Psoner provides 5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership™: 1.

Skills 190

Skills Confidence Administrative Professionals AT&T 190

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

Join this brand new webinar with Tim Buteyn to learn how you can master the art of remote onboarding! By the end of this session, you'll understand how to: Craft a Tailored Onboarding Checklist 📝 Develop a comprehensive, customized checklist that ensures every new hire has a smooth transition into your company, no matter where they are in the world.

Equipment

Practically Perfect PA

JANUARY 14, 2013

I’m not going to lie, I became an assistant because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Growing up I’d dreamed of becoming everything from a spy to an air hostess but those dreams faded once I left University and hit the big wall of reality that is paying bills and funding your social life. Looking back over the last 10 years and having worked my way up from a Team Administrator to an Executive Assistant I wouldn’t change my decision for the world (not even the world of espionage!).

Confidence 219

Confidence Social Media Interviewing Skills 219

Small Business Labs

MARCH 19, 2013

The 3rd Annual Global Coworking Unconference Conference (GCUC) was held March 5th and 6th in Austin, Texas.  Reflecting the strong growth of the coworking industry , there were well over 300 attendees this year - more than triple the number attending two years ago.   My major takeaways were: 1. The Mix of Attendees : GCUC attracted a wide range of folks this year.

Collaborate 215

Collaborate Forms AT&T Learning 215

Eco-Office Gals

MARCH 1, 2013

There are some pretty conflicting opinions on this subject. On the one hand, working from home can reduce your carbon emissions through a lack of commuting. But, on the other hand, around 17% of the US workforce is now at home all day, every day, causing an increase in energy consumption. It doesn’t have to be that way though. If you’re a contractor and you choose to work from home, you can make it a much greener option just by reassessing your working environment.

Carbon Footprint 199

Carbon Footprint Home Office Equipment Forms 199

Eat Your Career

DECEMBER 12, 2013

'Over the past few months, I’ve talked about this concept at length in numerous webinars, speeches and presentations. Career Academy members are already familiar with this, as are those who have attended my live training programs. But this is one concept that’s so important, it deserves a blog post of its very own. When it comes to career advancement, the biggest question has to do with your value to the organization.

Purchasing 207

Purchasing Resume Administrative Professionals Negotiating 207

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Management

Stephanie LH Calahan

OCTOBER 17, 2013

'Recently, I've been talking a lot with clients and in on-line groups as questions come up about pricing strategy. There seems to be a lot of confusion around making the choice of hourly charges or value based pricing / results based pricing. Its a great question to ask and today I'm going to share thoughts on what charging for results means as well as a video of Jason T.

Salary 202

Salary Budget Expenses AT&T 202

Office Organization Success

APRIL 27, 2013

'If you don’t already know, I am a big fan of spreadsheets! They have so many more uses than just calculating figures. They are also a great tool to help you manage your time effectively. As a busy soloprofessional you are not only working for your clients, but you have to work ON your business too. Effective time management is crucial for developing and growing your business, as well as income generating activities.

Management 199

Management Calendars Stress Training 199

Ian's Messy Desk

AUGUST 14, 2013

'The post 5 Tips for Effective Delegation appeared first on Ian's Messy Desk. As a manager/supervisor, you just can’t do it all. To achieve effective results, you need to able to delegate projects and work to others. By effective delegation , you communicate to your employees that you have confidence in their ability to complete a job or project.

Confidence 192

Confidence AT&T Skills Management 192

Step It Up VA Coaching

JUNE 21, 2013

'Announcing: PAY WHAT YOU CAN DAY!! For the rest of the day, until 11:59 pm EST, you can purchase a private, one-hour strategy session with me — and you pay whatever you can. No strings. No upsells. No gimmicks. Just you-and-me. Strategy. Growth. Success. Just one conversation can dramatically improve your business! And today you pay whatever you can. .

2013 189

2013 Purchasing Phones AT&T 189

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Interviewing

The Small Business Blog

FEBRUARY 28, 2013

Comes with enormous responsibility. The failure, the success, or a somewhat tacky mix of both- whatever result that your team achieves, they say, is a direct result of your leadership. At one time I really hated to think that having a successful team was all up to me- after all people came around with their own differences by default. How am I supposed to know that George and Rita would have a serious personality clash, let alone how I was supposed to solve their disputes?

Environment 191

Environment UPS Learning Management 191

Virtual Moxie

MARCH 4, 2013

At AssistU , I teach a class called The Greatest Marketing Technique, which is designed to do just one thing: help a person find and connect with a potential client in such a personal way that the potential client responds to the call to action placed in front of him or her. It works for everyone, can be done from anywhere, anytime, and it’s such a slice of awesomeness that it really deserves its name, if I do say so myself. :).

Clothes 190

Clothes Travel Learning Goals 190

Clutter Coach

JULY 6, 2013

'Originally posted 2012-05-08 10:40:45. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Clutter comes from many sources; a primary one is what we call delayed decision making. That’s when things pile up because you haven’t made a decision to move them on to their next stop: being put away, thrown away, taken to the cleaners, returned to their owner, tossed in the Goodwill bag, shredded, mailed back or foisted off on someone else.

2012 184

2012 AT&T Promotion Email 184

Practically Perfect PA

JUNE 12, 2013

'Over the years I’ve had a number of roles that have required me to work for more than one boss. I’ve been Executive Assistant to the CFO, COO and Company Secretary. I’ve been PA to a Director and Administrative Manager for a whole department. I’ve even been Account Manager for 12 Committees. These jobs were hard because I had to juggle multiple tasks, deal with multiple personalities (sometimes within the same person) and I had to work to lots of different deadlines.

Goals 216

Goals AT&T Expenses Training 216

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Policies

Small Business Labs

MAY 28, 2013

'Life Satisfaction and Self-Employment is an interesting academic study out of the UK. It shows that those who choose to be self-employed are not only more satisfied with their jobs than traditional employees, but they're also more satisfied and happier with their lives as a whole.   There's been many studies showing the self-employed tend to be more satisfied with their work than folks who are employees.

Interviewing 207

Interviewing 207

Eco-Office Gals

JANUARY 29, 2013

Even office workers that have yet to embrace the ideals of green living are aware of the fact that recycling exists, especially if you’ve decided to set up bins around the office to remind them that there’s an alternative to throwing everything in the trash. But aside from reusing scrap paper, sending toner cartridges in for refills, and reusing or recycling other supplies, you might not know which items in your building can go green on their way out the door (or better yet, find a s

Equipment 199

Equipment Budget Filing AT&T 199

Eat Your Career

AUGUST 26, 2013

'You’re a nice person, I know. And nice is good! That old saying that “ nice guys finish last ” is a myth. Niceness, by and large, is an asset to building relationships —both personal and professional. However, there is a point of diminishing returns, especially in the workplace. Being TOO nice is a problem. People who are deemed “too nice” may be seen as: Pushovers.

Assertiveness 205

Assertiveness Confidence Facebook International 205

Stephanie LH Calahan

OCTOBER 3, 2013

'The other day I was listening to Dave Ramsey share a story that I thought fabulously illustrated the power of perspective. He told of an English professor who wanted to make a point to her students. That day, she wrote the following on the board: A WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING Then, the teacher picked two volunteers, one woman and one man.  As they came to the front of the room, she handed each of them a marker and asked them to place the appropriate punctuation for the sentence she h

Confidence 201

Confidence AT&T UPS 201

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!

Collaborate

Office Organization Success

JULY 13, 2013

'Many business owners are a little confused between an Online Business Manager and a Virtual Assistant – they think they’re one and the same. To some extent they are, but there is a role for both types of virtual support professional in your business. And it very much depends on where you’re at in your business. To put simply, I equate an Online Business Manager with the traditional Office Manager/Executive Personal Assistant in the corporate world; and a virtual assistant with an administrativ

Management 189

Management Budget Project Management Stress 189

The Shrink for Entrepreneurs

DECEMBER 16, 2013

' T he term “self-sabotage” is thrown about a lot these days, but it’s only ever meant one thing: Self-sabotage is when you know you should be doing better – that it would be easy for you to do better, in fact – but you just can’t seem to get motivated. And it tears you up inside, because you know just how easy it’d be to start getting s**t done. You know you’re better than this laziness and slackness, but you just can’t get moving.

Negotiating 87

Negotiating Goals AT&T Facebook 87

Small Business CEO

MAY 9, 2013

'For cash strapped small businesses social media can be a cheap and effective way to promote your business/brand and increase revenue. At the same time many SMBs don’t properly utilize social media or ignore it altogether. No matter where you fall on this spectrum keep the following dos and don’ts in mind. Dos. Do set up social accounts on all the relevant social platforms for your business.

Social Media 87

Social Media Networking Customer Service Promotion 87

The Small Business Blog

JUNE 19, 2013

'It is often thought that the mind of an entrepreneur is wired slightly differently. It takes a strength of character and a unique perspective to start your own business and make a success of it. That’s why the infographic today is so interesting. All entrepreneurs are different and yet they share many of the same… Read the full article here: Infographic: The Mind of an Entrepreneur on: THE SMALL BUSINESS BLOG.

189

189

Speaker: Tim Buteyn

Let's set the scene: you’ve identified a critical performance gap in your organization and need to close that gap. A colleague suggests training, but you suspect there’s something going on that training can’t address. How can you determine if training is the right solution before you commit your budget and resources to a new training program? In this webinar, you will learn how to determine if training is the right solution using the Behavior Engineering Model.

Training