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Ask the Master Newsletter Archives
Welcome to the previous editions of the Ask the Master newsletter.
On your left you will find links to tips and the how to’s of
running a Virtual Assistant practice. We hope you enjoy your stay
and if you have a question you’d like answered send it to submission@vatp.ca.
Ask
The Master
September 2004 Volume 3/Issue 9 |
Being Resourceful
Are you a source of resources for your clients? Be resourceful.
One of the things I have learned over the years is that my clients
rely on me as their VA to have resources available for them to use
in their business. They want to know about the cheapest long distance
plans or the best web site hosting companies. Each time either myself
or a fellow VA found a resource I could use with my clients I made
note of it. This list grew and expanded over the years so I thought
I would share some of them with you.
Warmly,
Mary-Lou Ashton
Master Virtual Assistant
Questions In This Edition
(Click on the links to go to that question.) What can I do
to improve communication with a client?
Where can I find information
on intellectual property, copyright, patents and trademarks?
I have several web sites for Canadians and the US that detail information
fees and differences between these items. Educate yourself on this
information so you can understand the issues clients may be facing.
For Canada go to http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/welcome/welcom-e.html
and for US copyright visit http://www.copyright.gov/
and for intellectual property, patents and trademarks go to http://www.uspto.gov/index.html
What can I use to manage
birthday reminders? A really great free site to manage your
client's or your birthday reminders is http://www.birthdayalarm.com/Default.jsp.
It allows you to input multiple names and dates as well as an invitation
feature that you can send to individuals requesting this information.
You can set it up to have reminders sent to you via emails at various
time intervals. For example the first reminder one week out and
the second at two days prior.
Where can I find an
online resource for doing surveys??
I use a free version of Zoomerang. There are some limits to the
free one such as you only have access to results for 10 days but
I have never had a need for anything more. You can really customize
not only the questions but also the background colours and how you
send the survey out. You can find them at http://www.zoomerang.com/login/index.zgi.
Another one is Survey Monkey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/.
Who is the best web
site hosting company to use? There may be a lot of debate
over this issue and everyone will have their favourites however
if you are not sure or want to explore other options then http://www.tophosts.com/
is the site to go to. In addition to the US they have links (check
the flags on the top right hand corner) for Australia, Canada, Deutschland,
France, and the United Kingdom.
What is a good resource
for sharing calendars, documents and contacts with my clients?
While I have not used all of these services they have been recommended
to me or researched and are worth checking out as an option for
working with your client. Pricing and storage space varies so be
clear on budget and space requirements. The one I have used and
felt was a very powerful tool is http://www.intranets.com/.
Also go to http://www.hotoffice.com/
and http://www.calendars.net/.
Brought to you by
Virtual Strategies
and the Virtual Assistant Training Program
Making dreams reality!
www.vatp.ca
info@vatp.ca
1-604-483-3740 |
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