Monday 26 December 2016

Why Online Reputation Management Is Like Brushing Your Teeth


Why Online Reputation Management Is Like Brushing Your Teeth
Ryan Erskine

 Think about why you brush your teeth. 
You don’t do it because your teeth are brown and dirty.
You do it preventatively.
It’s a habit that’s good for you because it impacts your long-term health 
and the look of your smile.
Now think what would happen if you waited until your teeth were gross
before you decided to start brushing. Your teeth might fall out.
You’d probably get gum disease. Your smile would be tarnished and discolored.
It might be too late to fix everything and, at the very least, 
you’d have a lot of ground to make up.
Brushing your teeth is an insurance policy against all those negative outcomes.
Online reputation management (ORM) works the same way.
Many folks realize how important their online presence is only once they have a problem – 
a nasty negative, an ex’s rant, a sketchy forum that sticks out like a sore thumb, etc.
We fix these results, but it can take months and months, or even years.
And that can be a hard pill to swallow.
But ORM can be just as effective -- even more so -- when it’s done preventatively.
By building up your reputation now, you’re able to lay a strong foundation before anything negative has a chance to dominate your search results.

The impact of your search results
Your online presence is critical to success in the business world today.
People spend hours and hours sweating over the smallest details in their resume,
but then forget about the very next place potential employers and clients look -- their search results. Even when someone gets your name via word of mouth,
their very next step is to look you up online and see what you’re about.
When people have negative results, they finally realize how many people
are actually Googling them. They realize this because they find themselves in the uncomfortable position of needing to defend themselves 
to potential customers and employers.
They have to explain that old lawsuit or the story behind that nasty forum.
And there’s no way to recover from that negative first impression.
When people have irrelevant results, they don’t hear about it, because there’s nothing
for potential clients to complain out. But there’s nothing to impress them with either.
Clients and employers can’t find relevant information on you so you lose out on business opportunities. They look you up and find a forgettable, irrelevant reputation.
People with stellar search results are, to a certain extent, in the same boat as folks
with negative search results. They finally realize how many people are Googling them on
a regular basis, only this time it’s to the advantage of their business. It’s a no-brainer really. Relevant, kick-ass results that direct people to the right information
is bound to result in more business.

The best kind of insurance is one that brings in business.
And this isn’t just an idealistic notion. I’ve been actively managing my online reputation
for less than a year, and I’m already bringing in positive business for Brandyourself
thanks to my blog posts and active online presence. This stuff legitimately works.
That’s why we’ve started to take on more clients who are interested in these proactive,
branding-focused campaigns. They understand the benefit of maintaining a healthy smile,
and they understand the benefit of keeping their online reputation in pristine shape.
It’s the best kind of insurance policy -- 
one that brings more business in the door every single day.
You don’t wait until your teeth are gross before you decide to get a toothbrush.
So don’t wait until you have a negative search result 
before you start managing your online reputation. Get started today.

4 things you can do today
1. Purchase your domain: Go on a site like GoDaddy.com, and buy the essential domains
with your name in it. (RyanErskine.com, .org, and .net for example). This is an incredibly important form of online insurance. Even if you don’t plan on building a website right now,
you’ll still prevent other people from taking this valuable piece of real estate away from you – 
or using it against you in the future.
2. Get a personal website: Having a personal website is a terrific way to consolidate everything important into one central hub. You can put your resume, accolades, portfolio, biography, contact information and blog all in one place.
Plus, there’s nothing better than having your site come up when people search your name.
It’s the best way to direct potential clients and employers to the information that matters most.
Squarespace makes this easy with classy and professional themes. 
If you don’t want to spend a $8 a month and are a bit tech savvy, you can make yourself a nice site for free on Wordpress. Alternatively, sign up for a site like About.me or Tumblr
and use your new domain as the custom domain.
3. Keep an active blog: There’s a lot of compelling information out there for why blogging
is a worthwhile investment. It can depict you as a thought leader in your industry
and bring in free business. It can earn you a loyal following and will build authority 
on your website so it ranks well in search results. Write an article today
and put a reminder on your calendar to write another in two to four weeks.
Need some help coming up with effective article topics? Write down some trends 
or innovations in your industry that are making you excited, worried or angry. 
What lessons can you teach others about a recent event in your professional life? 
Find some news articles in your niche you’d like to comment on or take in a new direction. 
Or, write down some challenges in your industry.
This is the birth of the how-to blog post.
4. Build a social presence: Sign yourself up on some of the most authoritative social networks
like LinkedIn and Twitter. Try out ones like Crunchbase and About.me -- up-and-coming networks that don’t require much effort on your part but still look great and rank well.

Then follow these six steps to optimize them properly for search engines. 
For instance, use your full name as your username: RyanErskine, not RyGuy9000.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/253201

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software/engineering manuals for spontaneous recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and rememberwhat I’ve read.
I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com    many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Tuesday 20 December 2016

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Startup Success

White dog rose.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant for Startup Success
Brad Hines

In recent years, the idea of small business owners using a virtual assistant to outsource
daily business tasks has gained popularity. But many people don't know how to hire
or benefit from one. As someone who has successfully hired a personal assistant 
for my business as well as several virtual employees, here’s an overview of the issues 
involved in setting up and managing such relationships:
Determine if a virtual assistant will suit your business needs. 
First, figure out which tasks you would like to assign to an assistant and if it’s cost-effective.
Do an analysis of your business activities over the course of a day if not an entire week,
writing down the minor tasks that are taking up time.
Don’t rule out anything as a task a virtual assistant could not do.
While a United States-based virtual assistant can earn a salary that can start at about $15 an hour {2014} (and those with a specialty might command higher rates). Solid administrative-task
virtual assistants from abroad, though, can be secured for as little as $3 to $6 an hour.

2. Understand the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer from an agency. 
It might be costlier pound for pound to hire a virtual assistant who's working for an agency, 
due to overhead costs, says Rich Pearson, senior vice president of categories and geographies 
at Elance-oDesk.  (His company provides an online marketplace for hiring freelancers 
through the Elance.com and oDesk.com websites.) But an agency might arrange 
for an entrepreneur to use multiple assistants to smooth over gaps in availability or in skill sets. 
Listings of available freelancers on the Elance and oDesk platforms include those who are paid by agencies and those who work independently. The entrepreneur can also post a job listing.  
Pearson says using a freelancer who's not on contract with an agency can result in more personalized attention, given that it's just that one person on the gig. An agency might rotate in multiple virtual assistants for one assignment or pull one away at a whim. The most dedicated personal assistants almost always are independent freelancers with whom the entrepreneur
builds a relationship with (as opposed to those freelancers hired through an agency), 
Pearson says.
When deciding between choosing a virtual assistant who's located in the United States
versus someone abroad, Pearson says, consider how important is it for the person to be awake
while you work and how aware of American culture you need the person to be. 

3. Do prep work to create a great job listing. When writing your well-edited, detailed job listing, always put in a call to action that merits a response to see if the applicant has read the description. For example, ask the applicant to provide examples of his or her work.
There will be indications when a candidate seems motivated. I found it particularly telling 
one Saturday to receive a phone call from Nairobi from Joan, who’s now my personal assistant, asking if she could be interviewed right away (even though I had not yet had a chance
to look over all the messages from those who responded to my ad).

4 Hiring the assistant. Go through the bids that come in and create a list of the applicants
whose responses you like, read their reviews and then line up interviews. A platform like 
oDesk's can show an entrepreneur how a candidate scored on an English proficiency exam
and how many jobs he or she has previously done. I like oDesk for its ability to generate
a contract, monitor work and set up a payment system.
A video conference interview with an applicant is a must and will serve a few purposes:
It can reveal the person's grasp of English and the setting that he or she will likely be working from -- and if it's an orderly place from which to make a phone call on your behalf 
and the applicant's overall demeanor (enthusiasm and ability to think on his or her feet).

5. Managing the assistant. While the hiring of a virtual personal assistant can free up your day,
the burden is on you to allocate tasks smartly and effectively so that happens. 
Generally speaking, the more specific you are in explaining tasks, the better. 
Ideally, as a result of good management, a virtual assistant will in time learn your work style 
and you will be able to give that person more responsibility and encourage more initiative taking.
Don’t hesitate to share with the assistant Google Drive documents outlining the who, what,
where and when of daily tasks, including relevant rules, permissions and passwords.
A Google search for “virtual assistant tools” reveals an abundance of gadgets
that can be used by entrepreneurs who are open to managing assistants on their own.
Online social-media entrepreneur Audrey Melnik of ZootRock in San Francisco explained to me
how she hires and manages her virtual assistant. “We use two tools," she writes in an email.
"The first is called Process Street that allows you to set up a repeatable process,"
for the virtual assistant to run through each time. The person checks off the steps
and add comments where appropriate. "The second is a screen shot tool that takes images
of the [assistants'] screen regularly and tracks their productive time so you can be clear on 
what they are working on when and capture evidence of them working the hours 
they are charging you for.” 
Encourage your assistant to offer you feedback, lending more warmth to the remote-work arrangement. Assistants might not provide feedback unless you ask,
yet their ideas are often spot-on given their proximity to the work.
It will be up to you to decide whether to trust your assistant with information like passwords
and other sensitive materials. Start out with small things, such as granting access to social-media accounts. You may want to consider having an assistant sign a nondisclosure agreement.  
“Big things like the virtual assistant's booking your vacation can come later," Pearson says.
"Training starts with trust, and that means small things at first.”
When possible meet your virtual assistant at least once in person and try to have a video conference at least quarterly. Ultimately, a virtual assistant is not just another cog 
in your business machine, but an employee and certainly a human. 
So remember to treat this person as such.
Editor's Note: This piece has been updated to clarify that a virtual assistant in the United States
can earn a salary that starts at $15 an hour. 

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235966

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR music, poetry or self development material for internal knowing.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com      many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Wednesday 14 December 2016

3 Steps to Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive

Purple bell.

3 Steps to Stop Being Busy and Start Being Productive
Jason Womack

Often you get to the end of the day and think, “I was busy all day, but what did I accomplish?”
Goals give us more than just a target to aim for -- they help us change our behavior today.
Do you get the work that is most important to you done? At the beginning of each day,
there are three things you can do to ensure you're going to gain momentum.
The three steps I’ve found most helpful to regain and maintain focus are:

1.       Determine what has your focus right now. 
First you’ll need to admit that something else has your attention.
Ask yourself, “What is a typical workday like?” If possible, have someone audit your workflow
over the course of a day or so. Ask them to tell you where it seems like you're losing focus
and momentum. Knowing what currently disturbs your focus is the first step.
How much quality time do you have for deep thinking, getting important tasks done,
developing new ideas and building on old ones? Are you in a highly interruptive environment?
If you find yourself multitasking often, consider the following five-day-experiment.
For just the next five days, schedule -- and stick to -- a few longer blocks of focused time
to get important work done. Start with blocking just 30 to 45 minutes each day
to focus on bigger projects and move them forward.

2.       Cut "should" out of your vocabulary. 
You're better off without constantly “should-ing” yourself. Getting caught up in things you “should” do is a negative mindset that only clouds your focus 
and pulls you away from thinking about what you're accomplishing in the moment. 
Of course we all have lists of things we “should” do. I initially reduced this list for myself
simply by noticing where and when I engaged in that behavior. 
Stopping to reflect on one “should” at a time allowed me to attach an action step to it. 
That change alone lowered my anxiety. 
If you're struggling to make a decision about what you should and should not be doing, breakdown the steps you need to take and weigh the pros and cons 
of focusing on the specific task at hand.
These focus activities make it easier to decide whether to say “yes” or “no,” 
whatever the situation or question. Either way, you save time and get engaged faster in making your ideas happen, because you’re one step closer to moving your focus away from asking 
“Should I?” to “How can I?”

3.       Remove distractions. 
Realize that your focus is splintered in the face of distractions -- primarily visual and auditory.
What distractions around you decrease your productivity? Visual distractions include piles 
of papers or unfinished projects, and even sticky notes on your computer.
Auditory distractions are generally sounds that pull your focus from your project.
Turn off dings, alarms, notification alerts, popups and sounds that you can control.
Distractions and interruptions can fool us into thinking we’re being productive,
while destroying your focus. Don’t try to change everything at once. Select just one auditory
or visual distraction and eliminate it. Give these small changes a week and see what happens.
If your focus improves, continue distraction reduction.
Ultimately focus allows us to complete what’s important to us. With a strong goal, a clear objective, and 10 to 15 minutes of focused time, you can move much farther and faster
than you thought possible.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229625
Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can pre-read all your course material for internal knowing.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com       many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com      just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Friday 2 December 2016

How Jack Ma and Robert Herjavec Confront Failure

Pear thistle, knapweed, creeping thistle.



Turbo Charged Reading: Read fast>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software and engineering manuals for spontaneous recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         gives many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com        just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Saturday 26 November 2016

I charge 500 dollars an hour! Improve your business!

Lavender and viper grass




Turbo Charged Reading: Read More>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an instructional/academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube 
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com         many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com        just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Monday 14 November 2016

Why You Should Never Eat Lunch at Your Desk

Flood waters at Malham, Yorkshire. UK.
Why You Should Never Eat Lunch at Your Desk
Lisa Evans

We know eating a nutritious lunch can improve our health and productivity, but it turns out
how, where and with whom we eat our midday meal is just as important as what we eat.
While you may think you’re being more productive by eating lunch at your desk, 
taking your lunch elsewhere may be the best thing you can do for your own health 
and the health of your business.

John Trougakos, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior & HR Management
at the University of Toronto recently published a study on lunch break patterns in office workers
and says the absence of a proper lunch break can cause greater fatigue and lower productivity.
Here's why you should never eat lunch at your desk,
and how to foster a more break-friendly culture:

1. Give your brain a break.
"We really only have so much psychological energy that we can use on any given day.
All efforts to control behavior, to perform and to focus draw on that pool of psychological energy. Once that energy source is depleted, we become less effective at everything we do," 
says Trougakos. The mid-day meal provides a perfect opportunity to detach ourselves
from the source of that energy drain and recharge our resources.

2. Boost cognitive abilities by taking your lunch to the park. 
While simply changing your environment can help to stimulate new ideas,
a 2013 study by researchers at Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh
showed sitting in green spaces and even viewing a park from an office window
had restorative effects and helped improve attention fatigue and quicken stress recovery.

3. Create a "break" culture.
Trougakos says too often employees feel pressured to eat lunch at their desks
because they’re afraid of appearing lazy by taking a proper lunch break.
When Trougakos studied office workers’ lunch break patterns, however,
he found employees who felt pressured to work through their lunch experienced greater fatigue. “Fatigue is related to decrements in efficiency, productivity and accuracy of work,” he says.
Setting up a proper break room signifies to employees that the company culture 
values break times, resulting in less fatigue and more a more productive workforce.

4. Avoid business lunches.
A business lunch can have the same fatiguing effects as eating lunch 
while working at your desk. "It doesn't provide you with the chance to recover," says Trougakos.
Although we may assume lunchtime socializing can help us to relax,
Trougakos says that wasn't the case for the employees in his study
if they were forced to socialize with co-workers and if the talk centered on work. "You’re hanging out with people who you can't necessarily kick back and be yourself with," says Trougakos.
While socializing with co-workers led to higher levels of fatigue, 
talking on the phone with a friend, on the other hand, resulted in lower levels of fatigue. 
If you do schedule a business lunch,
take a break before heading back to the office to go for a walk
or do an activity you find enjoyable such as listening to music or talking to a friend
– anything that allows you to detach for a few moments.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229628

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR specialist and language dictionaries that are spontaneously accessed.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube 
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
TurboChargedReading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com      many ways for you to work with the stresses of life
www.happyartaccidents.blogspot.com     just for fun.

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

4 Key Metrics In Repairing Your Reputation Online

Thistle.

4 Key Metrics In Repairing Your Reputation Online
Peter Daisyme

Ben Franklin said,
"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation -- and only one bad one to lose it."
Warren Buffett famously said a similar adage: 
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."
If you think about that, you'll do things differently.
Even if you take that quote to heart and try your best to earn and keep a positive reputation online, it only takes one inappropriate tweet or one negative review 
to bring your positive reputation to a screeching halt.

What do you do when that happens?
In most cases, you would want to own up to the mistake, apologize 
and initiate a plan to prevent this from ever happening again.
While it takes some time to repair the damage that has been done,
you should begin to start seeing some positive feedback from your attempts to fix your mistake.
During this rebuilding process, you should also be paying attention to the following four key metrics so that you can monitor how you’re faring and what adjustments you still have to make.

1. Conversion metrics
Conversion metrics are an essential part of every online reputation strategy.
In particular, you want to pay close attention to the following eight conversion metrics.
Traffic sources: 
You should be having visitors coming from a variety of sources like direct visitors,
search visitors and referral visitors. If your reputation is damaged, people will be less likely to refer their friends or family to your business.
New or unique visitors: 
How are new visitors interacting on your site? Are they just browsing, curious or converting?
Returning visitors: 
What are your returning visitors doing when they come back to your site?
More importantly, what made them revisit your website?
Interactions per visit: 
Monitor the behavior of your visitors so you can learn and make the right adjustments.
Value per visit: 
You can calculate this by the number of visits divided by total value created.
Cost per conversion: 
How much did it cost you to convert a visitor? It could cost more if you have a bad reputation.
Bounce rate: 
This is “the rate at which new visitors visit your site and immediately click away
without doing anything.” For example, someone may visit your site
just to see if you’re still operating or what all the negativity has been about.
They could have this information almost immediately and then leave your site.
Exit pages. 
Go deeper in your analytics to determine where exactly visitors left your site.
You can easily -- and conveniently -- monitor these conversion metrics with tools
like Google Analytics.

2. Social-media activity
This doesn’t mean your latest Facebook post. Social-media activity metrics examine everything
from how much your audience has grown or decreased and if people are engaged with your content. You can uncover these metrics by using Facebook Insights
and visiting the analytics pages on your Twitter or LinkedIn accounts.
You can also turn to tools Google Analytics, Buffer, FollowerWonk, Klout, Cyfe and SumAll.
Once you’ve taken a closer look at your analytics, you’ll be able to make more informed decisions that can continue to help you repair your reputation.

3.Google autocomplete
If you want to really understand how you’re viewed online, poke around review sites like Yelp, Google My Business, Foursquare and other social media. Are people leaving five stars
or sharing what makes your business awesome? Or, are they leaving one stars
and stating why they’ll never do business with your again. It’s a daily task that sometimes
can be discouraging or infuriating, but it’s essential when examining your online reputation.
Thankfully, there are a number of ways in which you can find out what people are saying about you and your brand by setting up a Google Alert and using tools like 
Social Mention, Hootsuite, Trackur and ReviewPush.

4. Google autocomplete
When you search for your brand, what terms appear? Hopefully, the terms that appear
will be the branded keywords that you want to be known for when you started a marketing campaign. And, in a perfect world, you would also turn up positive results like "best" or "favorite." But, what if you receive negative autocompletes like "rip off" or some other controversy?
Dan Virgillito suggests on Search Engine People that you:
Own the search term. Create mini sites that contain the search terms
so that you can tell your side of the story or address the issue.
Investigate. 
Find out why these negative terms began to appear if you’re not already aware of the origin.
Don’t manipulate the terms. You’ll end up causing more harm than good.
Outrank
Promote your positive content so that you can bury the negativity.
Remove. 
This isn’t an easy task to achieve.
But, you can report offensive predictions to Google or argue that you were filtered incorrectly.
Again, if you’ve set-up a Google Alert or look carefully at your analytics,
you’ll have an easier time in identifying any negatives from Google Suggest.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270741

Turbo Charged Reading: Read more>>>Read fast>>>Remember all>>>Years later
Contact M’reen at: read@turbochargedreading.com

You can TCR software/engineering manuals for spontaneous recall – or pass that exam.
I can Turbo Charge Read a novel 6-7 times faster and rememberwhat I’ve read.
I can TCR an academic book around 20 times faster and remember what I’ve read.
Introduction to Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
A practical overview of Turbo Charged Reading YouTube  
How to choose a book. A Turbo Charged Reading YouTube
Emotions when Turbo Charged Reading YouTube

Advanced Reading Skills Perhaps you’d like to join my FaceBook group ?

Perhaps you’d like to check out my sister blogs:
All aspects of regular, each-word reading and education.
Turbo Charged Reading uses these skills significantly faster
www.innermindworking.blogspot.com    many ways for you to work with the stresses of life

To quote the Dr Seuss himself, “The more that you read, the more things you will know.
The more that you learn; the more places you'll go.”

Tuesday 8 November 2016

10 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Both the dog and briar rose have branching sepals.

10 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant
Alina Dizik

Using a virtual assistant can shave hours from your workweek,
but knowing which tasks to delegate can be tricky, whether you're starting or growing a business. Most virtual assistants are contract or freelance workers who do their jobs from home
and focus on administrative tasks that are similar to those of an executive assistant or secretary. Websites that specialize in contract workers, such as odesk.com andelance.com,
have thousands of listings for virtual assistants.
With the number of virtual assistants are growing, their expertise now runs the gamut,
making it easier to find someone who fits your organization, says Jaleh Bisharat,
vice president of marketing at oDesk.com, which is based in Redwood City, Calif.
In 2012, oDesk had 25,000 postings for virtual assistant jobs, compared to about 2,500 in 2008.
Entrepreneurs can use virtual assistants for everything from making vendor or customer service calls to sending out thank you cards to prospective clients. It's important to build trust, 
just as you would with a permanent employee. "They become a team member 
who just happens to work remotely," Bisharat says. Not sure where to start?
Here are 10 ways you can use a virtual assistant to improve your business.

Bookkeeping: 
Keeping tabs on bills and other bookkeeping matters can be one of the easiest things to assign
to a virtual assistant, says Kathy Colaiacovo, marketing director for
the International Virtual Assistants Association, a Henderson, Nev.-based trade group.
Many small businesses choose to share their bookkeeping systems with their virtual assistants
who can then follow up on tasks such as outstanding invoices or unpaid bills. "You will need to hand over some control [including] passwords and access to accounts," Colaiacovo says.

Online Research: 
You can easily farm out Internet research to virtual assistants.
Common requests include finding information on corporate websites, exploring new products
and vetting potential employees or business contacts, says Sue Kramer Harrawood,
president of Peace of Mind Virtual Assistance, an Orland Park, Ill., firm that provides companies
with virtual assistants. Be sure to send clear instructions, along with user names and passwords
so assistants can get access to specialty search tools or paid websites.
Tristen O'Brien, an eBay marketing expert in Westfield, Indiana, asks his assistant to help him
find blog topics, as well as occasionally proofread his blog [link: www.theebayentrepreneur.com]
on eBay selling. "She researches what is trending and reports back to me," O'Brien says.

Database entries: 
Whether it's a slew of new business cards picked up at a conference or updated information
for existing contacts, keeping databases current is a suitable task for virtual assistants.
Be specific about your needs and expectations, and make sure the virtual assistant
has done this type of work before so there's less room for errors, Kramer Harrawood says.
"Follow up is a huge thing for business owners. Sometimes clients will fax
or scan business cards to us, and [virtual assistants] will plug them into the database."

Data presentations: 
Turning raw data into a clear PowerPoint presentation or summarizing research findings
in a Word document can be a huge timesaver when prepping for meetings, says Rich Pearson,
chief marketing officer at eLance.com, a jobs website for freelancers in Mountain View, Calif.,
who uses a virtual assistant himself. The data "comes back in a format I can share," he says.

Managing email: 
To keep you from wasting time in your email inbox, some virtual assistants will filter
your most important emails and respond to the rest on your behalf, Colaiacovo says.
Such email management is easy to do remotely, but you need to provide guidance
on how to pick out key emails and ask the assistant to copy you
before sending out any responses to reduce the risk of errors. 

Social tasks: 
Virtual assistants can be a good bet to handle tasks such as writing holiday cards or sending thank you notes, says Bisharat, who notes that social chores have become a very common assignment. Such tasks can become "all consuming" for business executives, she says,
"but a good virtual assistant can take care of all of it." 

Travel Research: 
Virtual assistants are a great resource for finding hotels, booking airfares
 and mapping out trip itineraries both for business and pleasure, Pearson says.
The assistants can take advantage of the growing number of travel research tools 
and review sites on the Web. They can also deal with the hassle of navigating time zones
when booking or researching international travel options by phone.

Scheduling: 
Because many scheduling tools are available online, virtual assistants are 
managing the calendars of many clients, says Kramer Harrawood. Tasks include 
dealing with meeting invitations from others, scheduling appointments with clients 
and helping to plan events. 
"It's about being comfortable and letting go of that calendar" to a non-staff person 
working remotely, Kramer Harrawood says.

Chasing business: 
Prioritizing potential business opportunities can be challenging, but virtual assistants can help
with the process. When deciding what to sell on eBay, for example, 
O'Brien asks his virtual assistant to look around for products that can be profitable to resell. 
"I give them quite a few websites to visit, and they take it from there," he says. 
"They look for clearance items and other types of products."
Industry knowledge prep: With limited time to keep up with industry news, some small businesses have turned to virtual assistants to keep tabs on the most important happenings.
Many executives then use the industry information to update their Twitter feed
or bring up interesting developments in conversation with customers and prospects.
This helps "executives appear to have timely news," Pearson says.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225318

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