The American Psychological Association just recently released a study about multitasking and the effects of having to “switch gears” moving from one task to another.  Interestingly, the more complex the task, the greater amount of time lost.  Sounds simple enough, but at what cost does that come?  Consider the cost to one’s business.  Most business owners are elated that they can walk, talk, and chew gum at the same time.  However, consider the amount of time it takes to re-engage in a project after the phone rings or phone calls to be made, the UPS delivery you have to sign for, and the paperwork that keeps piling up that begs for your attention.  Sound familiar? 

Everyday there are more and more ways to “become efficient” and cram more in to our day, but the misconception is that we think we have to do this ourselves.  Not so!  Yes, new software products and technologies have improved efficiencies in businesses without a doubt, but that just leaves the door open for us to take on more stuff.  This is the very reason why I am in business today; to help businesses and business owners navigate the fine line between needing “another app for that” and doing what it is they love to do.
So read the article, save the brain space, and determine just what it is you want to do and delegate the rest!

Reference:
"Executive Control of Cognitive Processes in Task Switching," Joshua S. Rubinstein, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Atlantic City, N.J.; David E. Meyer and Jeffrey E. Evans, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich., Journal of Experimental Psychology - Human Perception and Performance, Vol 27. No.4

        

With social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn becoming main stream, I am finding that good 'ol fashioned networking is still a much needed component for most businesses.  Let me tell you why!  Last weekend, I attended a networking event with fellow virtual assistants.  As we shared detailes about ourselves, we also shared who our ideal clients were and the industries that we served.  You may be thinking, so?  The crux of this is that some people make fatal networking mistakes such as:

1. Talking all about themselves
2. Failing to ask questions to the other people in the group
3. Commanding the conversation with out letting the other party speak
4. Collecting business cards

The key is to listen, listen listen!  Say you attended an event, met "Joe", and listened to everything that Joe had to say about himself.  How is Joe going to be able to market himself to you when he knows nothing about you?  Had Joe taken the time to ask you questions, he may have discovered, for example, that you are not in need of his services, but your colleague is.  I can only imagine the amount of missed opportunities because people are too wrapped up in themselves to get to know the other person.

The goal here is to build relationships and you do that by getting to know people.  You are not going to buy from someone only after meeting them for five minutes, so don't expect the same in return!  Now that I am getting to know my new fellow virtual assistant counterparts, I can be sure that if opportunities arise where I may be in need of their services or know of other people that are, they will get the referral!

        

Are you disappointed with the traffic your website is getting?  (Do you even know how much traffic your site is getting?)

Have you heard the hype about search engine marketing, article submission and goodle adwords, but felt overwhelmed (even drained) at the prospect of trying to figure it all out?

Are you interested in learning how to leverage search engine marketing to attract hundreds--even thousands--more visitors to your website each month?

It's no secret that a powerful search strategy can exponentially increase your revenue; it can also break the bank when executed poorly.  There's more to it that just buying keywords and watching the dollars zing in (would it be great if it was that simple?).

Jeremiah Andrick, our resident Search Marketing Expert, has 10 years of experience, most recently as a consultant for Logitech and search marketing specialist for Microsoft® Live Search (now known as Bing), with years of experience in advertising as an account exec for a large national advertising agency (clients include Tyson’s Chicken, French’s Mustard and Uncle Ben’s Rice).  He is going to join us Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 5 pm ET for a powerful teleseminar: 

Attracting Paying Customers:  The make-or-break fundamentals to making real money through search marketing
Date:  Thursday, July 30, 2009
Time:  3 pm PT / 4 pm CT / 5 pm ET
 
A successful SEM campaign is not about getting more traffic; it’s about getting qualified traffic that CONVERTS to being customers to your website. 

In this one-hour teleseminar, you will learn:
• The basic step-by-step process of setting up an integrated search marketing campaign (you can use these strategies to improve your website’s search engine optimization as well!)
• common pay-per-click (PPC) mistakes people make that costs them hundreds, thousands, even tens-of-thousands of dollars, and how you can avoid them
• powerful support strategies (many of them free!) for successful SEO / SEM campaigns to help you drive your website traffic and conversions through the roof
• to leverage Google Analytics to monitor your traffic and ensure that it is converting once it arrives at your website.

So if you have never tackled search engine marketing before or you’ve have dabbled in it without achieving results; if you’ve “heard the rumors” that search engine marketing could revolutionize your business and you want to learn for yourself, you do not want to miss this teleseminar!

If you can’t make the call, sign up anyhow; we’re recording it and I’ll send you the link so you can listen at your convenience!

Jeremiah Andrick speaks at major search conferences all over the world (including the renowned Search Insiders Summit, Search Engine Strategies and Search Marketing Expo) and is a recognized marketing thought leader and search marketing insider who can teach you how to not only avoid common pitfalls and blunders, but also to properly architect a website that can fully leverage all the potential an effective online presence offers your business, including more leads and sales, to help you grow your business!

Learn more by visiting Strategic Marketing Solutions!

        

Want to learn more about SEO?  How about hearing is straight from one of Microsoft® Live Search marketing specialists!  You have a web site, great!  Now put it to use!  Read on!
_________________________________________
Reprinted with Permission
www.strategicmarketingsolutions.com


If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone tell me that their tips, tricks and strategies could bring thousands of new visitors to my site or get me on the first page of the search engines…

Have you tried those tricks? 

How about social networking, and the buzz created around sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter? 

Does it feel as overwhelming and convoluted to you as it does to me?

There’s a lot of information out there about SEO and SEM, and how to convert traffic into sales. The truth is, most of it is either outdated or overpriced – or both.  A lot of it can get you banned from the search engines, and much of it is irrelevant to your business.

The velocity of the internet is not for the faint of heart. To be relevant, you must not only keep pace with what works NOW, not what worked 6 years (or even 6 months) ago; you must  know why you’re relevant in the first place and be able to connect powerfully with visitors who are coming to your website.

Jeremiah Andrick, our resident Search Marketing Expert, has 10 years of experience, most recently as a search marketing specialist for Microsoft® Live Search (now known as Bing), with years of experience as an account exec for Noble & Associates, a national advertising agency (clients include Tyson’s Chicken, French’s Mustard and Uncle Ben’s Rice) as well.  He is going to join us Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 5 pm ET for a powerful teleseminar: 

Finding More Customers: Optimizing your Website to Get More Leads & Sales
Date:  Thursday, June 11, 2009
Time:  3 pm PT / 4 pm CT / 5 pm ET  

If you’re a Marketing Maven, sign up here free (you will be directed to your sign in page).  If you’re not, you can become one and register free ($29 / mo; $9 first mo) or sign up for this call for a one-time $29 fee.

If you can’t make the call, sign up anyhow; we’re recording it and I’ll send you the link so you can listen at your convenience!

Jeremiah speaks at major search conferences all over the world (including the renowned Search Insiders Summit, Search Engine Strategies and Search Marketing Expo) and is a recognized marketing thought leader and search marketing insider who can teach you how to not only avoid common pitfalls and blunders, but also to properly architect a website that can fully leverage all the potential an effective online presence offers your business, including more leads and sales, to help you grow your business!

This teleseminar will introduce you to the latest, specific, hands-on techniques, tools and strategies to attract traffic to your site and generate those ‘Buy’ clicks once they get there.

In this teleseminar, Finding More Customers: Optimizing your Website to Get More Leads & Sales, you will:

• Discover the 4 critical components of a powerful SEO campaign. You’ll be shocked at the increase in traffic you’ll see when these strategies are executed properly!
• Learn how blogging and other similar strategies can increase your website traffic and sales.  If you’ve been doubting this medium, you MUST be on this call!
• Learn how to gain the competitive advantage by doing things RIGHT. Position yourself at the leading edge by capitalizing on the most common misfires and mistakes of SEO and SEM strategies - and how to avoid them.
• Witness a large American business institution’s abysmal home page PageRank score AND learn what you need to know to avoid their common mistake.
• Discover how to avoid the #1 problem that plagues all independent professionals (coaches, speakers, authors, consultants, trainers) who are packaging their knowledge on the internet. Using these 3 simple, proven tactics guarantees your website will be in front of many more customers. Period.

80% of all buying decisions start on the web.  That’s ASTONISHING and you need to know how to capitalize on it.  In the 21^st century, we’ve got a potentially-level playing field, with so many ways you can effectively grow your business with the right strategies.  This is a complimentary call for Marketing Mavens.   If you are not a Marketing Maven, you can  join the Mavens program and register free ($29 / mo./ $9 first mo.) or sign up for this call for $29. 

        

Wow!  I was honored to have recently been chosen to receive the VAccolade Business Entrepreneur Award presented by VAnetworking.  VAnetworking is the world’s largest online member-based Virtual Assistant networking association.  If you aren’t already a member I highly recommend becoming one.

I said that not to toot my own horn, but to say that as VAs it is key for us to be involved in quality associations where we can make a difference.  Being a successful VA is about being able to leverage our skills and knowledge that we have accumulated over the years along with continued educational training so that we can be the best that we can be for our clients.  We must be constantly improving our knowledge and skills so that we can present fresh ideas to our clients and potential clients.  Let’s face it not everyone knows about the power of professional social networking with online tools such as LinkedIn and Twitter.  It’s our job to keep up with these tools so we can have them in our tool box.

I’ll close this post with the definition of a VA from www.VAnetworking.com.
“Virtual Assistants (VAs) are business owners who work from their own offices providing professional support, services and skills to their clients via phone, fax and Internet-based technology. Partnering with a VA reduces stress, protects cash flow, eliminates administrative hassles, and enables business people to find the success they originally set out to achieve. A VA is your right-hand person helping you to succeed in your business. The irony is you may never meet your VA as odds are they live nowhere near you!”

        

According to an article posted on Reuter’s, a down economy is seen as a “boon” to virtual assistants.  If you are a virtual assistant, this is great news!  Additionally, business owners and businesses affected by the economy have some very cost effective solutions for getting the work done.

As companies are tightening their budgets and announcing lay-offs, the virtual assistant industry has seen an increase in those people interested in becoming a virtual assistant.  Additionally, these people are recreating jobs (for themselves) and stimulating the economy at the same time, which isn’t bad considering the virtual assistant industry has become a multi-billion dollar industry!

Most virtual assistant that I know are college degreed, have diverse backgrounds and more than 10 years of knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields.  This alone is an added bonus because that allows a virtual assistant to almost hit the ground running with their clients.

So what does this all mean?  The article states that as a virtual assistant, our jobs are two-fold; educating the business world that the work can still get done in a cost effective manner and educating potential new virtual assistants.  I whole-heartedly agree.

In the first year of opening my doors, my business has grown to a full time business.  That success was accomplished by educating businesses and business owners along with honing in on the skills that I excel at and then developing the rest.  I also believe in giving back to the industry by volunteering my time and knowledge to various virtual assistant organizations.

Suffice it to say that we are experiencing one of the worst economies in quite some time and now is great opportunity for businesses and business owners to reevaluate how to get the work done and how just how valuable a virtual assistant can be.

 Read more about that article here

        

Honor yourself and the environment…partner with a virtual assistant!:
 

• Save on utility costs, computer and supplies because we have a paperless relationship
• Save time, money etc etc
• Build relationships, partner with your business, not an employee mindset
• Save on taxes and overhead etc

.

        

The Chickens Story
By: Author Unknown

This is allegedly a true story. Whether or not it is true is
not important. It is just one of those great examples of how
instructions in business need to be clear and concise.

Engineers at a major aerospace company were instructed to
test the effects of bird-strikes (notably geese) on the
windshields of airliners and military jets. To simulate the
effect of a goose colliding with an aircraft travelling at
high speed, the test engineers built a powerful gun, with
which they fired dead chickens at the windshields. The
simulations using the gun and the dead chickens worked
extremely effectively, happily proving the suitability of
the windshields, and several articles about the project
appeared in the testing industry press.

It so happened that another test laboratory in a different
part of the world was involved in assessing bird-strikes -
in this case on the windshields and drivers' cabs of new
very high speed trains. The train test engineers had read
about the pioneering test developed by the aerospace team,
and so they approached them to ask for specifications of the
gun and the testing methods. The aerospace engineers duly
gave them details, and the train engineers set about
building their own simulation.

The simulated bird-strike tests on the train windshields and
cabs produced shocking results. The supposed state-of-the-
art shatter-proof high speed train windshields offered
little resistance to the high-speed chickens; in fact every
single windshield that was submitted for testing was smashed
to pieces, along with a number of train cabs and much of the
test booth itself.

The horrified train engineers were concerned that the new
high speed trains required a safety technology that was
beyond their experience, so they contacted the aerospace
team for advice and suggestions, sending them an extensive
report of the tests and failures.

The brief reply came back from the aero-engineers: "You need
to defrost the chickens...."

        

The GLOW Project is a motivational show for women in business that is taking place all over the US…

The GLOW Project is about bringing together prominent corporate and dynamic entrepreneur women that have achieved success.  At the events you will not only hear about their ups but you will also hear about their downs and yes even their struggles. You will also hear about their strategies for success and what drives them forward.

The GLOW Project will show you that, no matter how hard you work, no matter how hard you try, you can never achieve your full potential and happiness without GLOW. GLOW is your birth right as women. Your essence, your passion and your dreams can no longer be denied. You are brilliant, magnificent, and unequaled! Embrace your essence and forever live in GLOW

For more information about this exciting program go to http://www.glowproject.org/TheGLOWProject.php

        

You need to always maintain a
*Winner's Mindset* in order to
attain your Championship
*Gold Medal Dream* in Life!

The following is a comparison of a
Winner's Mindset vs. a Loser's Mindset...

Where is your mindset?

Even better yet...

Where are the people who are
on your Mastermind (Olympic) Team mindset?

W - The winner is always part of the answer...
 I - The loser is always part of the problem...
N - The winner always has a program...
N - The loser always has an excuse...
E - The winner says, "Let me do it for you"
E - The loser says, "That's not my job"
R - The winner sees an answer for every problem...

VS. - The loser sees a problem for every answer...

L - The winner sees a green near every sand trap...
O - The loser sees two or three sand traps near every green...
S - The winner says, "It may be difficult, but it's possible...
E - The loser says, "It may be possible, but it's too difficult..
R - BE A WINNER

Now you truly need to make a conscious decision
to be a Winner and always maintain a Winner's
Mindset in order to win the Gold Medal in YOUR life!

Just like Olympian athletes, you need to train
EACH AND EVERY DAY CONSISTENTLY to win
your Gold Medal!

The #1 training method is to continually Feed
your Heart and Mind with Top-Quality Mental and
Motivational Nourishment to Build the Olympic Mindset
to Win in Life!...

Excerpted from:

The World Famous John Di Lemme Champions Are
Born Losers Are Made Success E-zine...
Rated one of the Top *3* Personal Development
Success Ezines on the internet today for over 8 years!
                         Learn More by visiting...
 = = > http://www.ChampionsAreBornLosersAreMade.com < = =
**************************************************************
John Di Lemme, a Former Clinically Diagnosed Stutterer, now the
World's Leading Motivational Expert *shocks millions globally*
by exposing the truth they've been searching for in order to
achieve monumental life success through his Award Winning Live
Seminars, Power-Packed Training Events, Live Tele-Classes,
Mill.ionaire LifeStyle Freedom Club and Success E-zine...
Take action now -Join the tho.usands of others that have
used John's proven methods to live their life to the Maximum!
Visit...
- >> http://www.ChampionsAreBornLosersAreMade.com