One more summer weekend and one more summer festival but this time a folk festival. I retrieved the chairs from the basement, (only used for the folk festival because of low height) and it occurred to me that I should write our names on them as we would be traveling with a group this year. So off I went to get a Sharpie, and I thought I’d write my URL on the back, free advertising.

After last week’s fiasco I had learned my lesson. I knew one of the weaker areas of my business was marketing myself and had been working on a more polished elevator speech about what I do. The opportunity came shortly after we unfolded our chairs when the gal behind us asked what I did. Without hesitation the elevator speech rolled off my tongue with ease and I actually felt empowered while talking. So what if I didn’t generate a contract on the spot, I was prepared and now I know what to say. Who knows, perhaps she’ll remember my URL and contact me for some business, after all she did stare at it most of the day.

The following is what I said, comments welcome.

I help small businesses and entrepreneurs’ save money by taking care of the things they don’t want to do. I specialize in administrative...

Bernice

This past Sunday, my husband and I were getting ready to attend a summer festival so I threw a few business cards in my bag along with sunscreen, sunglasses and water. You never know when you’ll meet a potential client.



So off we go to the festival and within the first thirty minutes amid the crowds and noise I spy my husband chatting with a gal on a bike. As I move closer I see it is Karen (not her real name), an acquaintance of ours. I walk over and listen to the conversation; they are telling each other what they have been up to for the past few years. As they chat Karen turns to me and I get this feeling like a deer in the headlights, I have been thinking about my elevator speech but nothing comes out. I reach into my bag and pull out a business card which I hand to Karen.



Karen reads the card and says, “Oh you’re a virtual assistant, I could use a virtual assistant, what is it you like to do?”



Mouth open but nothing coming out, my dear husband tells Karen about a recent project I worked on. “Logistics” I mumble, “I worked on logistics.” Then I blurt out something about project work and web pages but it is weak and...

Bernice

Anyone can start a blog, anytime, about anything. I recall a few years back when I worked on a corporate newsletter, the hardest thing was to find enough interesting content for each issue. With a blog, content is not an issue, you can say what is on your mind, provide opinions on current events or discuss your passions, basically just start typing.



You don’t need a college education, a degree in journalism or be technically inclined, all you need is a connection to the internet, it can even be at the local library. You can create a blog in just a few minutes with no prior experience and you can do it for FREE.



You can write in a variety of languages, you can publish photos, video’s, music libraries or any type of catalog or tutorial for all the world to see.



So why create a blog? Well for a number of reasons, to persuade, to inform, to advise, to warn, to express or to teach. When you blog your message is published instantly. Your expressions may be considered personal, professional or corporate. Your blog may be a marketing tool which can aid in the generation of income, but if everyone is blogging, does that not reduce the significance...

Bernice

I know it is Saturday but I had some things I needed to tend to in my office. I finished my bookkeeping and set aside three things that I would get to next week during office hours. But where to put them, usually I clip them up on my file cab with a magnet ready for the next day but one look around my office and I knew that it needed a good Spring Cleaning.

Why is it that everything seems to land right in my work area. I thought my filing was done but there still seemed to be too many papers, envelopes, and well, just stuff. The wires under my desk needed some taming and my clients business cards were neatly organized scanned and verified, mine were still sitting in a pile.

Where to start. I took a look around. I needed to create more space so it is time to archive the older files into boxes. I had been using a spare drawer in my file cab as a supply area and have decided to use two rolling plastic organizers to put the extra disks, papers, clips, cards, etc. so that would also free up another drawer of my file cabinet. I took all the old files, put them in a bankers box, wrote down what was in the box, kept a record in the box and one on the computer the boxes then went into storage.
...

Bernice