Vanessa Andruz - Virtual E-book Tour

2009-06-25 | Filed Under Vanessa Andruz |

I talked with Vanessa Andruz, a Virtual Assistant colleague of mine, about her e-book series in an earlier post. “The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant” series chronicles Vanessa’s journey from an Executive Assistant at the SafeRight Insurance company to the successful owner of her own Virtual Assistance company. Not only do you get great information on starting your own home-based business and tons of resource links for your own research, you also get to know Vanessa’s family and friends. It’s an amazing “how-to” manual mixed with a dash of fiction!

Vanessa now tells me that her Virtual E-book Tour is starting next week. Here’s a list of the blogs on her Tour schedule:

Vanessa will participate in an interview on each blog. You’ll be able to ask her questions about the e-books series in the comments section, so be sure to stop by.

Knowing Vanessa as I do, I’m sure they’ll be very interesting interviews. :-)

If you’d like to have Vanessa visit your blog in the future, just email her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to stop in for a visit!

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Organizing Your Life, Your Way! E-book

2009-06-17 | Filed Under Books R Me, Home Office Basics, Virtual Assistance |

Virtual Assistant Janet Barclay of Organized Assistant is a qualified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® practitioner. She used her knowledge of Personality Type analysis, statistics from two surveys, as well as data collected from her workshops to compile the information provided in a very interesting e-book: Organizing Your Life, Your Way!

What Type are You?

In the first part of the e-book, Janet gives an overview of the 4 personality type preference areas which combine to form the 16 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® personality types.

I was sure I could pick out my preferences easily. After all, I’ve spent over 50 years becoming acquainted with myself.

Extroversion (E) or Introversion (I)?

Prefer written communication (I)…avoid crowds and seek quiet (I)…Introversion, obviously.

Sensing (S) or Intuition (N)?

Live in the future (N)…enjoy new experiences (N)…Intuition, of course!

Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)?

Analyze information (T)…task-oriented (T)…this was easy – Thinking.

Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)?

Orderly lifestyle (J)…enjoy starting things (P)…work before play (J)…desire to have many experiences (P)…hmmm, this wasn’t quite as easy as the others.

Fortunately, Janet goes through each of the 16 personality types, listing their strengths and challenges. And – what I like best – she lists comments from real people within those personality types. After reading the comments, I knew my final preference was – Judging.

That makes me an INTJ. Cool, huh?

So What?

Now that I knew my personality type, I could look over Janet’s suggested “Preferred Time Management System” for that type and adjust my own system to be more effective.

Get yourself a copy of Organizing Your Life, Your Way! then stop back and let’s compare personality types :-)

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6 Life Lessons I Learned This Week

2009-06-06 | Filed Under Melodee's Musings |

It’s been a busy week, but, as usual, I’ve learned some important life lessons along the way. Here are a few of them:

  1. Exercise can help stave off Parkinson’s disease (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/parkinsons/)
  2. Before sending a wire transfer, make sure the receiving bank accepts wire transfers - not all small banks do.
  3. Clearing off my desk at the end of the day makes the next morning more enjoyable.
  4. If I don’t schedule time to write and post my blog, it won’t happen.
  5. To end wrist pain from too much non-ergonomic “mousing”, rest the base of your palm - not your wrist - on the wrist pad.(http://www.yorku.ca/dohs/ergonomics/mousewristrest.htm)
  6. Pacemakers are good things.

What life lessons did you learn this past week?

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Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office

2009-05-19 | Filed Under Home Office Basics, Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistance |

Are you thinking of becoming a Virtual Assistant?

Would you like some help in starting your VA business?

If so, go to www.VanessaAndruz.com and check out the first three e-books I’ve written in The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant series. The series takes you step-by-step through the process of starting a home-based business. By the end of the series you’ll have a completed business plan and be well on your way to having a successful VA business.

The e-books also chronicle the journey of Vanessa Andruz - an Executive Assistant who became a VA - and all the adventures she had while setting up her business.

Vanessa Andruz, owner of Andruz Business Solutions LLC, joins me today to talk about the third e-book in the series which was just released. Vanessa, why don’t you tell my readers about it?

I’d love to, Melodee! It’s called Vanessa Sets Up Her Home Office. Think your readers can guess what it’s about? (laughs) Just kidding. It’s about how I created a well-equipped VA home office, of course.

I’d never started my own business before so I spent a lot of time researching things like - the type of business structure I should use, what equipment I needed, the best internet access for where I lived, how to arrange the room to make it feng shui compliant, and lots more. The e-book contains all my research notes and links to the websites I used for my research. It even contains a link to download my notes for easy reference while setting up your own office!

I’m so glad you let me help you with this e-book, Vanessa. It’s very instructional. And it’s fun to read about the other things that were happening in your life during that time.

Oh, Lordy. You’re talking about the “gift” I got in the mail from my mother, and the heated conversation I had with my ex-husband, aren’t you.

And don’t forget what happened to your father at the Sedona Retired Welders Golf Invitational.

I felt so sorry for him! (giggles) But it was kinda funny.

Thanks for stopping by, Vanessa. I know you have a Virtual E-book Tour to organize so I’ll let you go. Send me your Tour schedule as soon as it’s available and I’ll post it here for my readers.

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May is Get Caught Reading Month!

2009-04-30 | Filed Under Books R Me, Melodee's Musings |

Reading is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Always has been. I tied for first place (darn you Gary Olson!) in a 4th grade contest by reading 101 books during the school year. I especially liked the Little House on the Prairie books that year. It’s great that there’s a month that promotes the idea that you should Get Caught Reading! As you can see from the photo, my nephew and niece (Erik & Elise Staff) “got caught reading” in their PJs :-)

These days I read all sorts of things - books, e-books, magazines, e-zines, blog posts, cereal boxes (although they’re not nearly as interesting as they used to be) and whatever else I can find. I just read a fantastic series of books - the Weather Warden Series, by Rachel Caine. The first book of the series, Ill Wind, grabbed me right away. Of course, reading about a female character that can control the weather and see auras, who drives Mustangs (very fast), loves the color purple, and hooks up with a seriously hot djinn - well, what’s not to like? I whipped through the seven books in the series and am waiting impatiently for the next book to come out in August.

For May, I’m going to finish listening to The Joy Diet by Martha Beck on CD (very inspirational), and then listen to The Power of Less by Leo Babauta which is going to help me streamline my life and free me from clutter! I also have a library book called Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain, and Other Lessons from the Biology of Consciousness by Alva Noë. Then I’m hoping I’ll have time to read a book given to me be a good friend who understands my fascination with molecular biology - Abraham Lincoln’s DNA and other Adventures in Genetics by Philip R. Reilly. (I do love my science!)

And, of course, there will be lots of blog posts and cereal boxes mixed in during the month.

I’m always on the lookout for good stuff to read, so tell me - how are you going to celebrate Get Caught Reading month?

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Meet Mrs. Malapert - the “How To” Lady

2009-04-22 | Filed Under Home Office Basics, Mrs. Malapert, Virtual Assistance |

When I need to learn how to do something on my computer and I don’t have time to find an answer myself, I ask Mrs. Malapert (see photo). She’s the “How To” computer expert for my business.

She really knows her stuff. [Aside: She's also a bit of a know-it-all. She reminds me of my high school English teacher who had a real knack for making me feel like an idiot. Ever know anyone like that?]

As I said, she knows her stuff, so I’ve asked her to Guest Post for me occasionally. She’ll be giving us tips on how to care for, and efficiently use our computers.

Thank you for being part of my VA blog, Mrs. Malapert.

Thank you, Ms. Patterson. I’m sure my expertise will be a welcome change from your usual posts.

Yes…well. What topics will you be including in your posts?

I’ll be providing your readers with some fascinating “how-to”s which I’m sure will be very helpful to them in their Virtual Assistance businesses.

Could you give us some examples?

No need to rush me, dearie! I was just about to enumerate them.

Some upcoming topics include:

  1. How to create and use an avatar
  2. How to find informative business blogs
  3. How to remotely connect to your client’s computer
  4. How to get website statistics with Google Analytics
  5. How to send large files to your clients
  6. How to organize your incoming emails in Outlook
  7. How to use Google Alerts effectively
  8. How to create a PDF file
  9. How to clean your computer
  10. How to back up a hard drive

Those all sound very interesting, Mrs. Malapert!

Of course they do, dearie. I’m sure you understand that those are just a sampling of the posts that I have planned. I want you to read all of the posts carefully, Ms. Patterson. I’m sorry to say, your knowledge of some of those topics is sorely lacking.

Ummm, yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, Mrs. Malapert. I’m sure everyone is looking forward to your insightful postings!

If you have any “how to”s that you would like Mrs. Malapert to discuss, just leave a comment or email me. I’m sure she’ll be happy to oblige :-)

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Butt Wiggle Diet Went on Vacation

2009-04-15 | Filed Under Melodee's Musings, Weight Loss |

As I posted earlier, I’ve lost 15 pounds on the Butt Wiggle Diet. (Woo hoo!) If you’re new to my blog, the Butt Wiggle Diet is a specialized routine I have created for Virtual Assistants - and anyone else who sits on their duff all day long. It consists of rock music, a chair, and lots of butt wigglin’ to the beat! OK - so you also need to track your calories in and out (very easy to do with fitday.com) but the butt wigglin’ is the most important part.

Unfortunately, I went on vacation for two weeks and kinda forgot to practice my butt wigglin’ so I gained back a few pounds. Hey! I “deserved” to eat whatever I wanted - I was on vacation!

Fortunately, I lost them again once I got home and back into my chair. (Double Woo hoo!)

Why is it soooo difficult to lose a pound and soooo easy to gain it?? What was Mother Nature thinking anyway??

If you’re looking for more exercises to do at your desk, Sahar of Fat Fight TV provided Problogger with some great tips here.

If you’re on the Butt Wiggle Diet, I hope it’s working for you. Just don’t forget to get your wigglin’ in every day, even if you’re on vacation :-)

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5 Reasons Why Baby Boomers Make Great Virtual Assistants

2009-04-08 | Filed Under Baby Boomers, Virtual Assistance |

The perception of Virtual Assistants is that they’re young mothers who want to work at home to be with their small children. Some are, of course. But there are plenty of Baby Boomers (including myself) who have become VAs. Here’s why we’re successful:

  1. Experience. Besides having administrative, creative or technical experience, Boomers have a number of years of life experience. We’ve learned to take care of ourselves, our partner, our children, and anyone else who enters our life circle. Our clients get the advantage of our experience and our confidence in our skills.
  2. Lots of Networks. We’ve been networking, personally and/or in business for years so we have a built-in support network as well as a prospect list to help us market our business.
  3. Empathy. We’ve lived through good times and rough times. We’re able to understand what our clients are going through - we’ve been there ourselves!
  4. Fearlessness. We no longer sweat the small stuff. We’ve learned that we can do more than we ever felt possible, if we only give it a try.
  5. Sense of Humor. If you’ve lived as long as we have, you know that it’s important to laugh and enjoy what you’re doing. After all, that’s the whole point of life, isn’t it?

What other reasons can you think of for Baby Boomers success as VAs or in other businesses?

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Hey Virtual Assistants - take a vacation!

2009-03-23 | Filed Under Virtual Assistance |

Yes, I know you can take your office with you wherever you go. That’s one of the perks of being a Virtual Assistant. But does that mean you have to work 52 weeks a year? I say it’s time for VAs everywhere to grab their boarding passes and yell “Hell no, I will go!”

I just took a two week vacation - unheard of for me. I’ll admit, I did take my computer along to do a daily check of my emails (and to post vacation pics on Facebook) but that was it. No work. For two whole weeks. It was eerie.

At first I had this nervous, unsettled feeling. Like I had forgotten something important at home, but I couldn’t think what it was. After a few days, though, I started to relax and actually enjoy the sunshine and baseball games and not working. At the end of the two weeks, I was almost reluctant to get on the plane that would take me back to the realities of Wisconsin. Not only am I refreshed and rejuvenated about my own business, but I feel excited about helping my clients with their businesses again, too!

Be Prepared

Janet Barclay gives some great advice on how to get ready for your vacation in this blog post.

Cheryl Harless also discusses how to keep your clients happy while you take a break. With a little planning, you can have a great time and come back rarin’ to get back to work!

Come on, VAs. Let’s go on vacation!!

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Introducing: Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant

2009-03-01 | Filed Under Baby Boomers, Home Office Basics, Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistance |

I wasn’t sure if this day would ever get here, but it’s finally time to introduce everyone to Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant!

Vanessa was an Executive Assistant at the SafeRight Insurance Company in Washaketa, Wisconsin for over 20 years. She decided that she had enough of “corporate life” and decided to start her own business.

Vanessa asked me to help her create a series of e-books chronicling her amazing journey from employee to successful businesswoman and I am thrilled to do so.

Vanessa, is there anything you’d like to say to other women who are thinking of becoming a Virtual Assistant?

Yes, Melodee, I know that even though we’re going through some difficult economic times at the moment, the Virtual Assistance industry is a viable business path and it’s growing every day. I’m so glad I started my business, and I hope that these e-books will prove to be a resource for all of you who are thinking of starting your own.

Can you tell us a bit about the first two e-books that are now available?

I’d love to! The first book in “The Adventures of Vanessa Andruz, Virtual Assistant” series is called Vanessa Has a Dream. It tells what happened one winter day which started me on my wonderful entrepreneurial adventure. I’m not advising anyone else do what I did that day, but sometimes you’ve just got to do what you’ve got to do! You know what I mean?

Actually, I think I do. What about the second e-book?

The second e-book is called Vanessa Becomes a Virtual Assistant. This is where I describe how I named my company - which my mother actually helped me with, if you can believe it! - and about the legal structure I chose. I also discuss how to research licensing and zoning issues for creating a home-based business.

That sounds very helpful. What type of information will be in the rest of the series?

It’s going to be so great! I’ll describe how I chose my niche market, how I’m marketing my business, tips on networking, and a bunch of other interesting stuff!

How can people download these e-books?

All they have to do is go to my website and select the e-book that they would like to download. The first e-book is FREE! And the second is only $4.95, which I think is an economical way to learn about the legalities of setting up a business.

I think so too. Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

Oh, yes! I almost forgot to say that each e-book has a number of Internet links to some practical and constructive information. The links go to websites and e-books that I used to research each leg of my journey and I’m sure they will be helpful to everyone.

Thanks for stopping by, Vanessa. I’m looking forward to assisting you with the rest of the series.

Thank you, Melodee, for helping me to write the e-books. And I have to thank Rachel Rasmussen of Rescue Desk for her wonderful research assistance, and Dixie Lang of Dalton Unlimited for her amazing editing. I couldn’t have done this without you all. Bye!

I hope you enjoy the series and that it’s useful to you. Vanessa and I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.

Oh, and do me a favor? Don’t say anything to Vanessa about her being a fictional character -  she’s a bit touchy about that.

Thanks! :-)

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