Setting Up Your Schedule as a Virtual Assistant

Posted under Virtual Assistants by Vivienne on Monday 30 April 2007

Being a virtual assistant requires organization. Not just organization for your clients, but organizing your needs and wants. One of the most important thing to work out is how to work your options for the organization you want. This includes setting your schedule so that you are happy with the work load you are carrying.

For some virtual assistants, work can become overwhelming. Some assistants will work from twelve to fourteen hour days in order to get everything done. This may not be possible for you, especially if you are just beginning. Remember that there are options for you to organize your time as you want.

The first thing you want to decide is how you want your time to be organized. You can define whether you want to work full or part time. You can also determine whether you want to be a virtual assistant as a way to quit your day job, or simply to supplement your income.

If you are starting out, you will especially want to determine how to work this specific aspect. You can keep your job and also work as a virtual assistant, you just need to determe the hours you want to work.

As soon as you know how you want to organize your time, make sure that your clients know. This way, they will understand when to reach you and when you are off duty. This will also help you in making sure that you don’t receive a phone call in the middle of the night asking for paper work for a business.

Being organized with your time is one of the secrets to being a successful virtual assistant. By doing this, you will be giving yourself the ability to be your own boss. It is up to you to set your own standards from the beginning, in order to ensure your success in the end.

I dream of Genie.

Posted under Uncategorized by Vivienne on Monday 23 April 2007

When selecting a costume for a fancy dress party it can take time to find the right costume and design. There are many places to check out costumes like on-line stores, Halloween stores and hobby stores. A genie costume has a great choice.

The Genie Costume:  How To Make Or Find One

When picturing a genie outfit, most of us will see the outfit made popular on the “I Dream of Jeannie” show from the 1960’s.  This show was maybe the first introduction to many people of a genie costume, or harem girl outfit.

The genie costume can be made from a pattern too.  Check into neighborhood sewing stores or hobby locations.  If you’re a novice sewer, the top can be a little tricky.  Attaching more material to a store bought bra may make the top easier to create.

The genie costume can be purchased either at stores that carry costumes or most on-line costume companies have a genie costume.  Generally these appear with a bra type top that can even cover the shoulders.  There is a clear, but colored see through material down the sides of the legs.  This generally looks like scarves flowing from the material in the pant leg.  Many times a scarf is used across the face or the top of the head.  Brightly colored materials can be placed around the hips.  Good choices include sequence or glittery material.  Sometimes the scarf material coming down the legs is then secured around the ankles; this can help keep you from tripping over the material.

The genie costume has been a first choice for many when selecting a costume.  It is versatile enough that its appearance can change by changing scarves or other accessories.  This makes it a worthwhile investment, as from party to party it can look different. 

The genie costume is fun and flirty and continues to be a popular choice as a Halloween costume.

Building Your V.A. Business

Posted under Virtual Assistants by Vivienne on Monday 23 April 2007

You have decided to make a beneficial career move. You want to make sure you can offer the best services to people while giving you a substantial income. You can do by creating your own Virtual Assistants business. Now that you have found something you would love to do for business and know that it can provide you with the freedom you want, it is also important for you to establish your look in order to bring the right customers to your site.

You also need to make sure you are verified. Finding certification programs as well as the best national and international associations to belong to can help you to attract the right customers. Start to build your reputation through the right education and networks and will begin to find customers for your business.

The first thing to any business is to make sure that everything is set up with the right effort and the right look. First impressions are everything when someone first visits a website so it’s important to make sure that all the details are taken care of and of the credentials are in place. This will help you to target the right people to use your services

If you are building a virtual assistant business, you need to be seen in a professional light. This will ensure that you get the right customers and provide you with the ability to create better quality services with each customer.  Begin this by designing a website. This is the first impression that you will give most people so it’s important you do a good job.

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It’s Mardi Gras!

Posted under Uncategorized by Vivienne on Monday 16 April 2007

Mardi Gras is the most fun and festive times of the year, and everyone dresses up for it. This means that you have to come up with a great and innovative Mardi Gras costume for yourself.

Coming up with a fun and fantastic Mardi Gras costume does not have to be hard, you just have to put a bit of time and effort into it. You have basically two options when it comes to a Mardi Gras costume: buying it or making it yourself. The choice is obviously totally up to you, if you want to take the easier but more expensive route, you can buy one, whereas if you are willing and able to take the time to make it yourself, you can end up saving a bundle.

If you have decided to buy your costume there are fantastic options to choose from. There are many Mardi Gras outlet stores which offer their costumes at  discounted and affordable prices.

If  you have decided that you are able to make your own costume, then the first thing to do is to gather the tools and materials you need.

You can probably get everything you need from an arts and crafts store, and just make sure that you do not go overboard here because the whole point is for you to save money.

Have fun, enjoy yourself, and remember not to take your outfit too seriously or spend too much money because after all, it is only for a day, and having fun is what really matters.

Throw a Great Costume Party

Posted under costume party by Vivienne on Monday 9 April 2007

Whether it is Halloween or any other time of the year, if you want to throw a great costume party there are a few things you want to take into consideration.  If you are planning on inviting a lot of people, you want to make sure that your party is going to go over perfectly.

Planning the Party

The first step to any good party is the planning process. Figure out how many people you want to invite, where you are going to have the party, what catering you need, whether there will be games, and whether there is somewhere that you are planning on moving the party to later on in the night.

Send out invitations to all the people you want to come to your costume party and ask them to RSVP. This way you can get at least a remotely accurate number of guests, in order to be able to plan better.

Getting Ready

The next step is to actually start preparing and setting up for the costume party. If you are holding it in your home, for instance, then you will want to decorate the house with ribbons, glitter, balloons, whatever you like.

If there is a specific theme to the costume party, such as ‘the 80’s or ‘famous people’, for instance, then you are obviously going to want to decorate somewhat around that. For instance for an 80s party you may want to include things such as life size posters of Madonna or Bruce Springsteen, while a famous people costume party would not be complete without beautiful chandeliers and fake video cameras.

Staying With Your Budget

Making a budget out for the party beforehand is crucial and you want to make sure that you stick to that budget as best as you can. After all, of course you want to throw a great party that everyone will love and remember, but at the same time you do not want to go overboard and spend more than you have to, especially considering that it is only for one night.

Have fun, enjoy yourself, and invite family members and friends so that you can be around the ones that you love.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Posted under Virtual Assistants by Vivienne on Thursday 5 April 2007

A virtual assistant takes away the headaches you may be having with your business. This may begin with some of the extra work you don’t have time to do and may even move into implementing website designs. To find the right virtual assistant, you need to make sure hey have the qualities needed to function at their best.

Just like a job interview, you want to make sure that a virtual assistant is presentable and professional in what they do. Even if they work behind the scenes, they represent your business, so you should examine their manners and professionalism before you hire them. If you don’t know where to begin, there are several practical things to look into.

A virtual assistant will begin their presentation virtually. This means that any virtual assistant will have a website. You will want to make sure the website is organized, presentable, and informational on who they are and what they do. The website is their first presentation, and often times reflect their personality.

From here, you will want to meet with the virtual assistant, or at least call them, to make sure that they are a good fit. By simply putting together some questions about what you need, you will be able to see if the virtual assistant will work for you. They should be able to consult with you at a professional level. Everything from answering the phone properly to providing you with quality answers is important. This includes everything from confidence to articulation in the conversation.

If you want to make sure that your virtual assistant will work well for you and present the company in a professional manner, then you will also want to make sure that they are confident, articulate and experienced with what they are doing. This will give you the ability to find someone who you know will work well with what you provide.

Of course, you will also want to make sure that your virtual assistant has the proper experience. This begins with education, but can also include a variety of other things. There are virtual assistant certifications that are available for serious businesses. Even if they are just starting out, this will help them to show they are professional. They should also have some knowledge or association with the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce.

Shimmy!

Posted under costume party by Vivienne on Monday 2 April 2007

Fancy dress parties let you dress up and be someone else for a while. Choosing the outfit that will feature a new persona can take some thought and discovering what will work best for you. It’s fun to be someone different for an evening. What about a 1920’s flapper, a nun or a belly dancer ?

Making your own costume for a party can really showcase your own personality. These choices flapper, belly dance costume and the nun are all fun and fairly simple to re-create. The costumes themselves are usually very comfortable and can be worn again.

Flapper, Nun And Belly Dance Costume

With these choices, an easy outfit can be created. Check out the local hobby or craft store. Finding some patterns for costumes will tell you what may be needed in the creation of the costume.

If you can sew, you have everything you need to create the best flapper, nun or belly dance costume.

The flapper is of course the roaring 20’s party girl. A short, straight dress that is not too tight is the perfect choice for a flapper. Long, beaded necklaces can are added, along with a feathered headband and maybe some long gloves. This flapper costume is easy and quickly put together.

The nun costume may possibly be the easiest. A one piece black tunic is needed. Black material with white across the front is used for the head covering. Make sure to cover all of the hair. Again, a store that carries patterns will have a picture of this simple costume to show you the look that needs to be achieved.

The belly dance costume involves a little more creativity. Finding a pattern to follow is probably the best choice. The top of a belly dance costume is like a bra. This needs to be decorated with sequins or shiny beads. A small vest can be worn over the bra in this belly dance costume. The skirt needs to be below the belly button. There needs to be several layers of skirts in order for the skirt to be flowing for a belly dance costume. A headband across the forehead or a scarf across the lower part of the face completes the belly dance costume.

Beauty | Design: NET-TEC of Kosmetik Versand. Coding: Schwedenhäuser of Holzspalter.