I was introduced to the “Pink Collar Club”  from some of my twitter friends (http://www.twitter.com/buckeyeva) and really enjoy the atmosphere, friendships and the encouragement from other members.

The “Pink Collar Club” is free to join and you can learn more by visiting this link http://www.pinkcollarclub.net/

I plan on attending the “

3rd Annual Say What You Mean Online Communication Convention”

it’s free to attend and promises to be very informative with a lot of useful information geared to the Christian work from home men, women and entire families!

Hope to see there!

I think Jon Leger does a great job with this free report, he seems to have done a lot of research and backs up his words with proof.  If you decide to download the free report there is a page that comes up first, where you have the choice to purchase something….but scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page if you are only wanted to free report.

Let me know what you learn from this report!

Happy Reading Steph 

Google is like the Holy Grail of marketing on the web.  Rank well in
Google and your profits are pretty much set.

But there is SO MUCH bogus information out there, often coming from
the “gurus” themselves.

Jonathan Leger has released a new f.ree report that completely
obliterates the following myths about Google (and then goes on to
show you what DOES work):

Myth #1: Google Knows All and Sees All
Myth #2: Google Will Not Rank Duplicate Content
Myth #3: You Must Get Links From Related Subject Sites to Rank
Myth #4: Your Site Must Focus On One Subject To Rank
Myth #5: High PageRank Means Good Rankings
Myth #6: To Maintain Good Rankings, You Must Add New Content

..and..
MYTH #7: THE BIGGEST MYTH: Ranking In Google Is Hard!

And did I mention he’ll pay you for referring other people to this
powerful f.ree report?  And that he’ll pay you for anyone THEY refer
as well (even while it’s in pre-launch)?  Find out more about that
when you download your sample chapter from:

http://searchenginemythsexposed.com/?action=ref&id=19854

Have you written down your financial goals for 2008?  If not, why?

Are you satisfied with your financial goals from 2007? If not, why?

Most small business owners are not satisfied with their finances, they want to bring in more money than the year before and they don’t want to work more hours than needed. So how does a small business owner build a better year financially without working more? 

They outsource! They build their team, a team made up of virtual assistants.

Take a look at your financial goals,  have you included a long list of tasks such as: blogging weekly, start your own podcast, obtain more interviews, submit more press releases and articles, building your mailing list, researching your next interview opportunity or speaking engagement?  All of these tasks can be outsourced to one virtual assistant or a mulititude of VA’s.

 Take active steps today toward your 2008 financial goals, learn from the past, and look to the future!

Have a great week! Until next time…God bless

I was tagged by Alyssa Avant over at Life From My Laptop http://lifefrommylaptop.com/2008/01/04/7-wierd-things/
The task was to share seven random and weird things about me.

Hmmmm…this will be an adventure, to be sure.First I have to share the rules:

1. Link to the person’s blog who tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog

My weirdness……

1. I enjoy reading business magazines

2. I don’t like anything that smells vanilla

3. I’d rather stay close to home than to travel anywhere.

4. I don’t like public swimming pools (YUCK!)

5. I like to hear the traffic passing by my house (country living is beautiful, peaceful and I wouldn’t mind staying at a B&B for a weekend…but that would be enough time for me

6. I like to dip my hot french fries into a Wendy’s frosty

7. I like to watch CNN or CNBC when I take time to watch tv

Here’s a little about me…I’ve been married for 13 years, I’m a mom of  5 daughters (Angelika, Sierra, Autumn, Savannah & Hannah.

I’ll spare you the details of my life story and start with 2001…I was in my last year of college and raising 5 beautiful daughters…life was hard but it was mine When my daugther Hannah turned a year old, she came down with a cold. As time progressed she grew worse and with every passing doctor visit (which ended up being every Friday for 9 weeks straight) she just couldn’t seem to get her strength back. The doctors (3 different doctors at a time) continued to reassure me that she only had an URI (upper respiratory infection) and it would go away in time.

On Monday November 26, 2001 Hannah went home to be with the Lord…all this time sh was dieing from CardioMyopathy, she was 15 months old.

I went on to finish my Associates Degree in May 2002, from there I began my search for a real work from home job..I went through many direct sales companies before I came to a turning point in my life…I thought “I will start my own business!”

My first real business was Sweet Tater Primitives..I would sell my handmade primitive dolls and grubby candles, this was not bringing much money and this isn’t what I took in college.

Then I was introduced to the world of “virtual assistance”! You talk about the Lord answering prayers! WooHoo! This is a dream come true for me, there are days when I feel like I’m never going to get anymore clients, but every business has a “dry” spell, right? That makes me pray longer and more specifically.

As for my other daugthers, they are growing like “roses” and I am astonished at how much they teach me. I homeschool all four (this is our second full year) and I learn as much as they do….we are each others support when days are rough.  My husband is a roofer during the good weather and unemployed during the Ohio winters (which makes is so very challenging to “get-by”) and there again..I lean on the Lord who is my strength and comfort.

Hope I didn’t bore you! Thanks for reading and God Bless!

 This is a well written article full of  useful information and facts pertaining to any small business.  I have written a check list using the article that is below. Enjoy!

Checklist:

1. Business Plan

2. Domain Name

3. Website

4. Hosting

5. Shopping Cart

6. State/Federal Business License(s)

By: Michelle Waters

A business plan is basically an outline of what you want to accomplish with your business. Every business, whether it is a brick and mortar store or an online business, needs a plan to keep the direction of the company solid. If you sell a particular type of product to a specific niche, do not feel pressured to add items to your inventory that do not fit that niche. You will likely sit on a huge amount of inventory that costs you money in the long run.

The more detailed you make the business plan at the start, the better, especially if you are looking for investors or bank financing. Include a description of the business, how it will be marketed to the public, where the financing will come from, information about who will manage the company and how many employees the company will employ. There are many examples online of business plans that you can tailor to your own business.

Once the basis for your online business is set, you need a website, hosting and a shopping cart. Even though this may seem like a daunting task to find all these things, start investigating web hosting first. In the simplest of terms, the host is who gives you your place on the web, either with a free or paid hosting account. Your website will not be visible to others without having a host, so starting out small with a free account is a smart option for work at home moms with new businesses.

After you open your hosting account, play around with their website builder to create your site. These programs are generally very easy to use with pre-loaded templates and fonts. Simply type in your sales copy, upload your photos and publish your site in minutes.

Note: Many web hosts have website building programs but not all of them are free. Do not get duped with added fees…ask all of your questions upfront about what is included in your hosting package to avoid any future surprises.

Next on your list of necessities is a shopping cart. Whether you are selling physical products or information products, you need a cart where people can see your product, make a purchase and where you can process credit cards securely. Again, ask a lot of questions about extra fees for the shopping cart, merchant accounts, how easy it is to add new products and how to process payments.

The best of all worlds is to find a free web host company with a website builder, a shopping cart and a strong desire to help fellow work at home moms. This will save you money and considerable amounts of time having all the services through one company.

Article by:

Michelle Waters teaches physical product sellers how to build successful online businesses. Stop by www.michellewatersonline.com for tips and coaching on successful website building.

As an online product seller, your job is to give your customers products and service that exceeds your competitors.  From navigating your website to completing the order, your customers want things to go smooth and as effortlessly as possible.  The reason consumers shop online is convenience.  Make it convenient and you will hold the advantage. 

Making the process easier for your customers doesn’t mean making it harder on yourself, however.  Many online business owners assume, in order to accomplish a personal touch with buyers and create a strong relationship; you must be tied to your computer.  Not so. The right tools can automate so much of the buying and selling process that you don’t have to spend hours each day checking email for customer orders or questions.

In the beginning, many product owners put product pictures on their website and request that the customer either email their order or fill out a form that will then be sent to the seller. 

Customers do not like this.  It takes too much time and effort on their part.  They must wait for the product owner to receive the email and reply with the price before they can pay for their order.  It could take days to complete the process.  By the time the order is received and payment arrangements have been made, the customer could have purchased the same or similar product and possibly even received their order from someone else.  Remember, it’s convenience for your customer that matters.

With this process, the product owner must constantly check for and reply to emails in order to ship the product in a decent time frame.  This takes precious time away from other important business tasks, such as creating or updating products, focusing on advertising, etc.  Easier is better and more enticing from a customer’s stand point.  A site builder and shopping cart can stop all the hassle on both ends of the sale. 

Site builders allow you to quickly add new products to your site without affecting the rest of the products, already in place.  With a few clicks of the mouse, you can expand your product list. 

A shopping cart that includes different options for payment that fit both you and your customers needs will keep everyone happy.  Customer orders can be placed and paid for in one visit.  You have more time to focus on getting products shipped and moving on to the next order in a short amount of time. 

When researching the best site builder and shopping cart, be sure to look for a system that provides tools that make the ordering process quick and painless for your customers and allow you to streamline the process of product management.

Are you ready to keep your customers happy and save yourself loads of time all at once?  Waterswebshops.com has everything you need, from domain names registered in your name to shopping carts.  Watersweb Shops offers customer support every step of the way.Click here!

Take a trip to just about any town and you’ll find at least one Mom who runs her own business.  From pouring candles to designing baby products, Moms are finding ways to contribute to the family income, while staying home with their children. 

More and more Moms are realizing that there is no reason to limit themselves by selling only to those in their community.  It doesn’t take a PHD, or any degree for that matter, to create an online presence for their products.

The holidays are approaching and more people are turning to the internet to do their shopping.  Now is a perfect time for Moms to get their products online in time for the gift giving season.

There are many options and resources available to help Moms sell their products to the whole world.  With a bit of research and initiative any Mom with a product to sell can do so via the internet. 

There are four basic things that a Mom needs in order to sell her products online:

1. Acquire a domain name.   A domain name, or website address, can be purchased for less than $10 per year.

2. A hosting plan.  This is how the website will show up on the internet.  Hosting plans can be purchased for a range of prices depending on your needs and how big of a site you plan to host.  There are hosting plans available for as low as $15 per year.

3.  Moms need to create a website.  One way is to purchase software specifically designed for website creation.  These programs require a bit of coding knowledge and can be pretty pricey.  You can also pay a web designer to create the site for you.  Depending on the amount of content, products, and flair needed the cost can get pretty high.  (Get a free website at www.freewahmhosting.com )

To get started quickly and easily a site builder is probably the best option for those with little or no HTML knowledge.  Site builders have everything you need to create your website, without the hassle and cost of the other options.  Within minutes a completely functional website can be created.

4. A shopping cart.  This will allow customers to purchase items from the website without having to call or email the product owner.  They can browse the products and once they have decided what they would like to purchase, they place those items in their shopping cart and pay the owner right there at the site.

Created with Mom product owners in mind, Watersweb Solutions offers everything a Mom needs to give her products an online presence.  From purchasing a domain name with complete ownership, all the way to the shopping cart, you can find it all in one package at http://www.shopkitplus.com.Click here!

Many web designers, web designing software and site builders today are very good at what they do.  In fact, they are so good they can help small business owners create a great site in just a few hours or days.  The sites they create are very well put together, have amazing search engine optimization (SEO) and function almost flawlessly. 

The website itself functions perfectly until the time comes to add products or update information.  The site owner can make changes on their own, but should they run into a problem along the way, how easy is it to get the help they need to overcome those obstacles? 

It’s in the best interest of a product owner to know, at minimum, the basics of updating their site, no matter what route they take to get the original site built and online.  However, there is no way to know the answers to every single thing that could possibly go wrong and as business owners they have more important things to spend their time on.

Most software, site builders, and even some web designers, have help files or sites with FAQ’s to lend a hand when the product owner has trouble.  The time it takes to search through those files could take hours if they aren’t easily accessible or in terms that only someone with a degree in web designing could comprehend.  If the product owner is lucky they also have the option of submitting a ticket to the company’s help desk, but waiting on a reply could take days or weeks.

So, what it boils down to is this:  In order to learn what you need to know as a business owner with a website, you must invest time, money or both.  Even if you pay someone to maintain your site, there will inevitably come a time, when you need to know how to make changes or fix problems.

Watersweb Shops will helps customers find answers, no matter how big or small your problem.  They realize that even the smallest problems are a huge deal when it’s happening to you and they treat each and every help inquiry that way.

The main goal of Watersweb is to show business owners not only how to build, but also to maintain a successful website.  They understand that not everyone has the time available to learn everything at once.  That’s why they offer two different paths of getting the job done.

The first option offers tons of resources for those who have the time to learn from the beginning.  Yes, they too have FAQs the difference being the fact that both are easily searchable and in terms that can be understood by someone just getting their business online.  There is also a fully staffed Help Desk to get your questions answered in a quick and friendly manner. 

Where Watersweb goes the extra mile lies in the other resources including a forum full of information, video tutorials, and knowledge base.  Also available to customers are various PDF manuals that allow more flexibility by being printable so that the customer can take it with them and make notes or highlight important details that pertain to their specific situation.  This option makes finding help again, at a later time, much quicker.      

The second option, for those who don’t necessarily have the time available to learn, is to hire a Watersweb staff member to do what needs to be done to get your site up and going.  They will also be there to help you through all of it, should you have questions or concerns. 

Remember, the goal of Watersweb Shops is to help business owners help themselves.  The key here is that it can be done at the customer’s pace, unlike some of the bigger name companies who sell similar services.  When the business owner does have a few minutes here and there to learn the steps involved in keeping the site in tip top shape, they can easily find what they need through the same resources available to those who choose the first path. 

Going above and beyond the call of duty and offering everything needed to get a business owners products online, makes Watersweb Shops the customer friendly company it is.  Customer service is very important to the company and it shows in each step of the process.

Looking for a company who offers everything from domain registration to shopping cart setup and teaches you how to use your new site to build a successful online business.  You can find them here => http://www.shopkitplus.comClick here!

As a Virtual Assistant to many different types of small business owners, I can say that everyone has atleast one thing in common…that one thing is “to have a more successful year than the year before.”

 So saying that I have a few ideas that I believe anyone can implement:

1) Write articles and submit to free article submission websites or have your va submit them for you!

2) Write a Press Release about a new product, new invention, new service…whatever you business wants to “put in the spotlight”!

3) Get yourself a Personal Assistant or Virtual Assistant (many hands make light work, and can help you reach those new years goals).

4) If you don’t have a business coach or mentor, get one…get both!

5) Get organized! Find someone to help you organize your office area. *more on organization to come*

Finally, get involved in your community. Do you have a local Chamber of Commerce that you can network with? Get to know your locals and you just might see some of the growth you desire for yourself and your business.

Until next time!

Buckeye Virtual Assistant