Kathy Ritchie, MVA, Editor

Kathy Ritchie began Ritchie Secretarial Service in June 1996. Specializing in quality virtual office assistance at affordable prices. Since then Ritchie Secretarial Service has provided quality virtual assistance across the Denver Metro area, the nation and the world. Visit her award winning website at www.thebestva.com for more information.

Being an entrepreneur is very important to Kathy. . "I love being my own boss and working for myself. I am the only thing standing in my way and the only thing making things happen."

For Kathy, creativity is essential. The surge of emotion that comes from within after designing the 'perfect' graphic, writing the 'perfect' chapter, or winning another award for having such an 'excellent' Website.... she says is nothing short of addicting. Even more important for her is being taken seriously as a professional - whether it be as a writer, designer, or a virtual assistant.

Enlightenment is key to the success of the Virtual Assistant industry. To this end, Kathy has committed to spreading the word about virtual assistants. She has been featured and/or quoted in the Denver Business Journal; Virtual Summit; Entrepreneur’s Startups Magazine; In Search of Excellence; ParentPreneur Magazine; Business-Seeds.com; The Portal Business Park News (Lead Columnist); and interviewed for presentations to the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP-Toronto) and the Wall Street Journal.

The RSS Herald is the vehicle to spreading the word on Virtual Assisting and it's importance in the future of business. "The Herald has taken on a life of it's own! From a little two-page web based paper to eight or more pages every month! We get awesome writers, and I'm always interested in the thoughts of virtual assistants or other virtual workers," says Kathy Ritchie.

In her off hours, she enjoys reading, writing, fishing and genealogy.

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Janice Byer, Lead Columnist

Janice Byer has owned and operated Docu-Type Administrative & Web Design Services
(www.docutype.net) since 1998 after graduating from the Human Resources Development Canada's Self-Employment Assistance Program.

Specializing in Virtual Office Assistance and Website Design, Docu-Type has become a business and a lifestyle that she is extremely proud of. Her mission statement, "To be a happy, successful person whom others can admire and want to learn from", has been something she has lived by. Each day she provides services for her clients and assistance to her fellow small business owners to help them become successful and stay successful.

Janice's background includes over 15 years in the corporate sector and 5 years in the small business sector. Now she also has 3 years of small business ownership experience to add to her accomplishments.

Her articles are written by a Virtual Assistant for Virtual Assistants. They are 'been there, done that' articles designed to help the VA/small business owner to reach new heights. Her articles are not only featured in the RSSHerald, but they are also read and seen in numerous online publications and websites and in many international print publications as well.

In 2000, Janice was proud to accept the Most Successful Start Up 2000 award, presented by the Pinnacle Awards for Women of Distinction, and the Home-Based Business of the Year 2000 award, presented by the Brampton Small Business Enterprise Centre, in conjunction with the Brampton Board of Trade, the City of Brampton, and the Towns of Caledon and Orangeville, all located in Ontario, Canada.

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Clara D. Fyffe - IAVOA Corner

Clara Fyffe was the owner of All-Write Virtual Office, established in July 1995 in Evansville, Indiana.

She will always be a valuable member of our staf, and from time to time her articles will be reused.

Visit the book of memories setup for her.

 

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Sharon Williams, MVA, AVS Corner

Sharon formed her secretarial service in 1990, initially offering business management and administrative support to entrepreneurs. She utilized her experience in project administration, business and technical writing, and event management to grow the company from a sole proprietorship to a prosperous corporate entity. Her employment background includes serving as president of a 7,000-member union, working as a program compliance hearing officer and in the early stages of her career as an administrative assistant to a director of a city agency.

Throughout the years, Sharon instilled the entrepreneurial spirit into her family, all of whom own their own businesses. During the summer months, her grandchild works beside her, learning the business and how to interact professionally with clients.

Sharon has written comprehensive studies for state government, is the chairperson of the local African-American Chamber of Commerce, and has organized numerous local, national and international events. She is certified as a Master Virtual Assistant.

Sharon is the proud owner of The 24 Hour Secretary, a virtual assistance and secretarial company that is open 24/7, PowerMakers, Inc., a public relations, event planning and marketing firm, and Good Health Choices, a healthy-choices corporation.

Sharon is a graduate of Antioch University, Yellowsprings, OH, with a B.A. in Business Administration and a concentration in labor relations.

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