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New (Or Not So New) Ideas for the New Year
By Janice D. Byer, CCVA, MVA, Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services

Welcome to a New Year and a time for new beginnings.

At the start of every year, most of us make resolutions or have thoughts about making some changes to our lives. From telling ourselves that we need to lose weight or eat healthier, to quitting smoking or any other life-changing task, we all wish we could profess these wishes and then actually stick to them.

Unfortunately, New Year's resolutions are one of the first promises that we make to ourselves that we inevitably seem to break. So we decide to either make tiny resolutions that we know we won't break, or we don't make any at all.

Well, why don't we make a resolution (don't worry, this is an easy one) to make our businesses more efficient, productive, and thus, more profitable this year?

I know what you are saying to yourself, "But I am already doing that. What can you possibly tell me that I am not already trying?"

Well, these ideas may not all be 'new' ideas, but they may be ones that you haven't had a chance to implement yet. So let's get started….

Most of us sent our holiday sentiments to our clients and contacts in the form of greeting cards or gifts. But, how often throughout the remainder of the year do you make an attempt to keep in touch with these valuable business associates? This is one resolution that you should make this year to help increase your business. After all, these professionals have seen your work and know that you are worth recommending to others.

Try sending a monthly or semi-monthly newsletter to them and fill it with news about your company, any new product or service you are offering, short helpful articles that they will find useful, and plugs for your clients (they will love that!).

We at Docu-Type send out a newsletter every other month (read our archives and sign up at www.docutype.net/news.htm). It is usually an 8-page PDF filled with information to help build small businesses. It is laid out with an Index on the front, along with an introduction section. Throughout the newsletter, we include articles, links and helpful tips that may help our small business clients. And, we also include a little bit fun to help break up the monotony of a busy entrepreneur's day.

Somewhere in amongst all this useful information, we try to plug at least one of our clients or associates. It is either to announce a new client's website, announce an associates open house, or to rave about an association we belong to, we try to include our clients in our newsletter. When they read it, you just know they will be happy. Actually, we did a piece on our local Brampton Board of Trade in a previous issue and, a few days after it was mailed out, we got a call from the President to thank us for the mention.

If you are unsure as to how to set up your newsletter and what to include, it might be best to contact a professional who can guide you through the process.

Another new (or maybe not so new) idea to help boost your business is to try gaining free exposure. And, one of the most common ways to do this is to write articles. Write about what you know and submit it to online ezines that are related to the topic and printed publications as well. It may take a while to get noticed by those that you want to be your future clients, but this form of marketing will help you to be recognized as an expert in your field and, in turn, trusted by your audience and potential clients.

One word of caution, be sure to read and reread what you have written. If possible, have someone else read it to see if there are any errors that you may have missed. Also, if you are going to use statistics in your articles, be sure to include where you received your information (in the form of a bibliography or footnotes) and that it is from a reliable and accurate source.

Press Releases are another terrific way to gain exposure through the media. When you start your business, add a new product or service, win an award (see our Press Releases for our latest awards at http://www.docutype.net), or have any other newsworthy happening, be sure to let the media know and they in turn will let their readers (your potential clients) know.

And again, a word of caution with regards to Press Releases, make sure that it is newsworthy and does not come out sounding like an ad. Editors are very particular as to what is included in their publications. If you want to advertise, you will have to buy the space. But, if you truly have something worthwhile to say to the readers, then there is a much better chance of it being published.

Now, the final idea that we have (for today anyway) is to try to alleviate some of your workload. As small business owners, we wear all the hats when it comes to running a company. Unfortunately, some of those hats take us away from the tasks that actually generate revenue. We need to get back to the important aspects of our business… its success!
To accomplish this we need to be able to have an extra pair of hands when the workload gets to be too much. So, why not outsource some of your tasks to a fellow Virtual Assistant? You already know they are experienced professionals that specialize in everything from general word processing to website design and can handle the more time-consuming tasks that take you away from building your business and increasing your profits.

These are just a few ideas that don't cost a fortune and can contribute to the success of your small business. I hope you will implement some of these ideas (if you haven't already done so). They are all wonderful ways of increasing the productivity of your business.

Janice Byer, owner of Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services provides professional, creative and affordable virtual office assistance and small business website design. She is a Certified Canadian Virtual Assistant (CCVA), certified Master Virtual Assistant (MVA) and co-founder of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Connection (www.cvac.ca). She is also the author of Surfin' The Net - Docu-Type's Virtual Collection of Links, as well a number of Business Building Ebooks. Visit her website (http://www.docutype.net) for more information.

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IAVOA Corner
By Clara Fyffe

Ahh, it's that time of year again! A time of hearing Christmas carols in all the stores, a time for taking little kids to see Santa and tell him all their wishes - and to tug at his beard, just in case! A time for putting up your tree, stringing multi-colored lights and shimmering garland, reminiscing about each and every special ornament, placing your favorite angel in her place of honor at the top of the tree. A time for making out your Christmas list, being sure not to forget anyone, and time for writing out your Christmas cards, rushing to get them in the mail before it's too late! Then there's the time for baking Christmas cookies in all shapes and sizes, decorating them in all kinds colored sugars and smooth frostings. Oh, and don't forget the menu for the scrumptious dinner you'll serve to your family and guests on Christmas night. Ahh, yes, all of these wonderful and oh, so important times to make our holidays bright! Oh, did I forget to mention love, peace, and joy? Hmmm, I wonder why not?

Like so many of our colleagues, both in and out of the virtual world, we feel the pressures of the season just as much as anyone else. That's why it's so critical that we organize our time carefully and allow for a multitude of interruptions and time constraints as the day nears. So many entrepreneurs are totally wrapped up in their businesses, missing out completely on the joys of Christmas. With spreading themselves too thin, by the time the holiday preparations are barely begun these types of people are plagued with headaches and backaches and panic, with a good bit if depression and sour moods thrown in.

Now, the small business owners and entrepreneurs are oftentimes wary of delegating any of his or her office tasks to anyone else, fearing that if they don't handle every aspect of the business themselves, the output just won't be good enough. Thus, they spend their days, not only at Christmas but any other day, as well, grabbing a quick bite at the closest burger joint, then downing the Mylanta as they burn the midnight oil. All this because they think if they work a little more today, they'll have time for holiday preparations tomorrow - or maybe the next day - or the next. That day never comes. Oh, they might rush and throw the tree up, dressing it haphazardly. They might run to the nearest department stores at just about closing, hoping to remember what it was that Janie said she wanted "more than anything else in the world!"

As you can see, this type of businessperson will not be enjoying the holidays, and neither will their families. But this is a situation that is not at all necessary. Of course, a Virtual Assistant should be the first step in their plans. But sometimes, even a few VAs are stressing out, too, with no plans in place for their Christmas season. None of us needs to have ruined holidays and upset stomachs. Plan in advance, and stick by those plans. Of course, you must allow a tiny margin for "pop up" problems, but for the most part, you'll slide right through the holidays with excitement, yet with a quiet spirit the others will miss.

While speaking with a few diverse businesspeople and asking them how they manage to seem so "all together" this season, I learned a few of their major preparations. First and foremost, they didn't wait until December 15th to start planning for the holidays. Most elected to take the phrase "Christmas in July" to heart, letting that month be the beginning of their plans.

Next, they studied their clients' "needy" times to see which of those clients could be worked around without harming either of their needs. With a list of those clients, the business owners or VAs would schedule meetings with their clients, providing availability times and project goals. By working together on their proposed schedules, the client and the business person can both free up extra time at the end of the year.
Creating a complete list in July of each and every task you want to complete before Christmas Day is imperative. Then, by studying your own calendars, both professional and personal, and penciling in non-negotiable times for each of those tasks, they will create little windows into the future holidays through which they can visualize what's ready and what still needs completed.

We all know how easy it is to become grumpy and irritable during one of the best seasons of the year. Let us be conscious of how much our families and friends love us, then relax in the love, peace, and joy that the others will miss.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Clara Fyffe

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Outlook Productivity Tips: Drag and Drop
by Andrea Kalli

Drag and Drop --- a key component to keeping organized! You can easily create new Outlook items from other Outlook items using drag and drop. The hidden beauty of drag and drop is that whatever information is in the message or notes area of the originating item passes on to the message or notes area of the newly created item...making for less typing, cut and pasting, etc. To name a few: drag an email from your inbox to a contact folder and create a new contact item. What's handy is if the email also contains the person's phone numbers, websites, or addresses you can drag and drop those individual pieces of information to their appropriate field from the new contact record notes area. Again, less typing, cut and pasting, etc. Drag an email to your task folder to create a new task. Drag an email to your calendar folder to create a new appointment. Drag a task from your task folder to your calendar folder to create a new calendar item. Did you know you can create new Outlook items by selecting specific text and dragging it to a folder? A new item form opens with only the selected text in the Notes field or message body. This is handy if the email message contains a lot of information you don't really want to carry over into your new contact or appointment, etc. Dragging HTML from a webpage to create a new task, email, calendar, etc. works as well. Just reduce the size of the webpage in your screen so you can see both your Outlook and the webpage at once. dragging selected text from a Word document to create a new Outlook task, email, calendar, etc. works too. Notes: It doesn't work with all items types and text formats in all versions/service pack levels of Outlook. If you receive an error, test it by selecting a block of plain text. In Outlook 2003, you may receive errors if you use both Unicode and ANSI (Outlook 97/2002 format) message stores and try to create new items from existing items in the other message store format. Not into drag and drop? Try copy and paste - use Ctrl+V to paste copied text on a button or folder in Outlook to create an item with the copied text in the Notes field. Have fun!

Click here to view Andrea's helpful videos from these tips!
Andrea Kali is a virtual Trainer and virtual Assistant. Visit her website at virtualassist.net

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Editor's Corner
by Kathy Ritchie

Hello and Happy New Year! The RSS Herald is happy to be back after a month hiatus over the holidays.

Every so often, we need to step back and step down. Such was the case for the staff of the RSS Herald, in
December 2006. It was a welcome respite and a good time with our families.

2007 promises to be an exciting year, with new technology, and advances in our industry. Please join us each month to discuss what's new.

Again, Happy New Year, and the staff of the RSS Herald wishes you a very prosperous 2007.

Kathy, Janice, Clara, Shirley, and Cheryl

Kick Start Your Marketing in 2007
by Cheryl Callighan, MVA/Mentor/Coach E-Office Assistants

There are two statements from the Get Clients NOW! Program for marketing that I simply love -

"Marketing is not rocket science."

Marketing doesn't have to be complicated. Even a very simple marketing plan, executed consistently, can vastly improve your bottom line.

"Marketing is simply telling people what you do - over and over and over."

Marketing is a numbers game. The more people that know what services you offer the better your chances in finding the perfect client that needs those services. And yes, not everybody will be that perfect client but consider this, on average every person knows at least 250 people.

Of those 250 acquaintances, surely they will know somebody who needs your services - your perfect client! And if each one of those 250 people know 250 people - what a way to network! Don't pass up an opportunity to tell anyone you meet about your business. You never know who they know!

I recently attended a business expo and heard an interesting idea for creating a marketing budget. It's called the "Rule of 10." Simply put, you divide your marketing budget of X dollars among 10 marketing strategies. Each marketing strategy gets 10% of you overall marketing dollars. Then you track the results from each of your 10 strategies over six to twelve months and see which ones are performing and which are not. Those strategies that aren't working you drop and either add something new or transfer those marketing dollars to one of the strategies that is working. Very simple.

To get your marketing plan on track for 2007 take time to -