Twitter just became a bit more Visual

I've always been a little envious of my friends who have businesses of their own and can use beautiful photos of their products to increase sales, entice new customers or followers on Twitter, for example.  If I see a picture of a pretty  necklace, for example, I don't want to read the text underneath, I just want to know where I can buy it.  I'm a marketer's dream!

Not so easy for those of us who are in the B2B sector.  Fortunately, Vine is an app which may go some way to solving this problem and which will enable potentially uninspiring and text heavy posts to be livened up a little.  It's available for iOS (via iTunes) and Android users (via Google Play) and setting up an account takes about two minutes. 

Vine on Twitter

Vine gives you the option to link up with your Twitter and/or Facebook accounts and then add any images or short-looping videos you want to use  to your tweets/posts.  Well, you could do that anyway, couldn't you?  You could but only a link was visible in a tweet, for example, which may not have generated enough interest for people to click through.  Vine, however, offers a 'taster' of the video attached which may make the difference between attracting a potential client  or not.

This is quite a handy tool for Virtual Assistants, in particular, to have under their belts both from the point of view of promoting their own business and that of a potential client's.  I've noticed that quite a few virtual assistants share helpful tutorials on LinkedIn.  You could now tweet a post and include a link to your video using Vine for increased visibility.  Also, if a potential client is looking to hire a virtual assistant and knows you have better social media skills, that may be enough to clinch the deal for you.

Please do sign up to my Blog at Virtuoso Assistant for regular updates or find out how I can help your business.

Nicky

Goodbye Powerpoint: Hello Bunkr

Here's some good news for Virtual Assistants & Personal Assistants!

I've never had a problem using PowerPoint; essentially it got the job done and there were no real alternatives after all.  Well I'm happy to say all that has changed!

I'm currently trialling a new cloud-based app called "Bunkr".  It's the brainchild of two Frenchmen, Edouard Petit and Alexis Jamet, and has had a meteoric rise since it's conception in 2012. 

Edouard & Jamet both had jobs with advertising agencies prior to launching their product and were always having to make presentations.  From their point of view they felt the process could be streamlined and made a lot simpler. 

Having tested Bunkr on about 300 companies in 2012, initial feedback was so encouraging that they left their jobs and worked full-time on their product.  By September of last year they'd already attracted 200 paid subscribers, mostly from France, the UK and the US. 

Bunkr has the benefit of being simpler to use than Powerpoint.  It's also possible to collect content whilst browsing the Internet and add it to a database using a Bookmarklet.  When you come to build your next presentation all you need do is draw on the content you've already saved and drag it into your slides.  Bunkr have kept the Powerpoint slide format: it worked and people were familiar with it.  

A Bunkr presentation is also incredibly easy to share and send via email, for example, which is great for us virtual assistants if, for example, your client is on the way to a meeting and needs some last-minute updates and amendments sending through.   

Here's a little presentation for you from Edouard.

"Introducing the New Bunkr"

Coffee Anyone?!

Sometimes great ideas are the simplest ones, when we sit back and say to ourselves, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

As I'm sitting here drinking my first strong cup of coffee of the morning, I thought I'd share some fun news that I read about yesterday.  

Starbucks has just made it possible to gift a cup of coffee viaTwitter; they're calling it @tweetacoffee. I think maybe Caffe Nero & Costa coffee will be kicking themselves at this moment for not thinking of this great idea first.

I think it's fun - let's hope it catches on here too! 

@Tweetacoffee

 

Co-Working & Shared Offices

Will Co-Working be the new way for SMEs, freelancers, entrepreneurs and start-ups to work independently together?

This evening I was doing a bit of research and clicked on a link, which took me to another website where I found an article about 'co-working'.  I'd not heard that term before and I wanted to know all about it.  I don't like not knowing things.

I've discovered that, despite the hardships that most of us have endured during the economic downturn, it's a recognised fact that since the recession began the entrepreneurial spirit has grown in strength.  An explosion of creative ideas was also experienced after the Great Depression in the 1930s as people tried to find a way of making their lives better.

Last summer Andrew Cave of The Telegraph newspaper wrote about an interview he had with Julie Meyer, founder of "First Tuesday" and a leading entrepreneur herself.  During the interview Julie expressed her belief that university leavers in their 20s, together with older groups of people who have felt let down by large businesses and corporations during the recession (myself included), are going to be the ones driving the economy in the future as they take control of their own lives with the help of the Internet, networking, business events, etc. 

"Business Matters" magazine stated last year,

"The number of micro companies with five employees or less which are benefiting from networking via social media has doubled since the previous quarter."

As such, I'm very excited about the idea of bringing individuals together to work.  Regus Connect are trying to make it happen and are planning to roll out 10 new sites in January 2014 (so not long to wait).  If you log onto their website you can vote for the town/city where you'd like a new Regus Connect site to be.  At the moment it looks like London has the greatest share of the votes, followed by Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Reading.  Good news as far as I was concerned - I registered another vote for Reading.  I'm not sure about their rates at the current time and will contact them for further information.  

Whilst I was doing some research on the subject I noticed that Startacus wrote an article just last month about the Regus Connect project. 

TheCube in London has a very similar set up and again acknowledge the need, since the recession began in 2008, to create new ways of working together, "The space is open plan and designed to make one feel calm and happy". 

Their prices obviously reflect their location but they have a variety of packages, depending on how little or how often you want to utilise their services.

As a virtual assistant I don't have cause to travel with my work, unless a client asks me to attend a meeting with them, for example.  In fact one of the reasons why I became a virtual assistant was because I was so fed up with having to work in stuffy, noisy open-plan offices where there is not one iota of privacy.  That said, there are definitely times when I miss chatting with colleagues, sharing a joke and bouncing ideas off them.  I believe co-working really is a great way to connect with like-minded people and to offer one another support.

I'd be very interested to hear your comments about the idea.  I shall be sharing this post on my LinkedIn page if you'd like to comment there.  Perhaps we could start a group together so that we can keep each other updated with news and possible venues? 

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Nicky

Halloween v Guy Fawkes

It's that time of year again; the nights are really creeping in, the clocks go back this weekend, and we'll soon have ghoolies and ghosties roaming the streets on Halloween.  

I think it's a fun time (although next door's dog wouldn't agree with me) and I love to see kids walking about excitedly in their handmade costumes.  Halloween is something that's celebrated a lot more over the Pond than here, although we're catching up pretty fast.  New York traditionally holds their annual Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village and sees thousands of street artists, circus acts, floats, bands and other musical acts.  Dressing up and getting into the spirit of things isn't optional! 

I discovered a fabulous app the other night called Brit + Co, which has a whole section on Halloween.  I love how these pumkins have been carved out.  There are some great ideas for parties too, if you have the stomach for it! 

 

Personally, I'm more of a Guy Fawkes fan.  I love the thought of wrapping up warm on a clear, chilly night with hats, scarves and gloves on and going out to a good old fireworks display.  I think it's the memory of having toffee apples, roasted chestnuts and baked potatoes wrapped up in tin foil straight from the embers of the bonfire that swing it for me. 

So, if you're looking for some displays to go to, here are my pick of the bunch ... In London we have the return of Alexandra Palace Fireworks Display.  

According to TimeOut magazine, "Ally Pally returns (after 4 years) with 'Back with a Bang': the biggest combined fireworks, laser and music show in London".  For full details click on the link to take you to the TimeOut magazine write-up Ally Pally 2013.  A note of caution - it's bound to be a busy, busy night so book your tickets NOW!

If you live in the South East, make your way over to the tiny village of Brockham, near Dorking, and experience one of the best bonfires and firework displays possibly in the South East.  Brockham is usually such a small, unassuming village but this annual event is stunning and begins with a parade of torch bearers leaving the village hall at 6.15pm.  The bonfire is lit at 7.45pm and the fireworks start at 8.15pm.  Again, another note of caution - DO NOT DRIVE there as you won't be able to park for love nor money.  For details about this and everything else, click on Brockham Bonfire 2013.

That's all for now folks - have fun!

Virtual Assistant: Top 3 Apps

In February of this year I left behind years of working for niche groups of lawyers and, as such, I had acquired a niche set of skills.  Transforming myself into a freelance Virtual Assistant has been an extremely busy and exciting time and has opened my eyes to the colourful array of apps and software available on the Internet, other than legal case management, billing, database and digital dictation software. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourite apps, get some feedback and maybe start a discussion on what works best for you as virtual assistants.

As I can't really let go of all my legal experience and because I enjoy the fast-moving, deadline-orientated world of UK Civil Litigation, I still offer legal PA support here at Legal Virtuoso.  As such, my main priority is to find software which ensures that confidentially sensitive files can be transferred quickly and easily, so my #1 app is DropBox.
Once a shared folder is established between myself and a client, a document or audio file can be accessed simply by uploading it into the folder.  At the moment I'm using the non-paid version which gives me 4GB of cloud storage before I have to upgrade.

App #2 is most definitely Harvest.
Again, because of my legal background, I'm minded that when working for clients and as a virtual assistant I need to record time spent for each client accurately.  Harvest allows me to personalise my account, upload details of each client, the projects I carry out, my charging rate for each project etc.  A stopwatch is then used to record time spent on each task.  I can also record any expenses I may have incurred for a client.
At the end of each month I'll submit a professional-looking invoice, including my company logo, various payment links (including one to my PayPal account) which itemises hours spent per project.  If a client wishes, I can upload a more detailed spreadsheet if they want to see how my time has been spent.  Couldn't be easier or more streamlined. 

App #3 has to be the social media app Hootsuite.  There are so many pieces of software similar to Hootsuite and they all do similar things but this works for me as I tend to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook at the moment for my social media. 

I can't finish this without mentioning Blogger.  It's been an absolute breeze for me to set up and upload posts onto my new Blog so thank you!

So, there are my top three apps; I could go on and on but I'm hoping that you can add to this list with whatever works best for you.

Nicky

Outsourcing Legal PA Work

Virtual Assistants aren't a new concept and have taken the US and Austalia by storm over the past 5 - 10 years.  So why haven't UK firms recognised the benefits of outsourcing administrative work?

Firstly, outsourcing to Virtual Assistants is highly cost-effective; you pay for the work that we do, usually on an hourly basis, so no paid lunch breaks, sickness and holiday cover, no equipment to provide and no binding employee contracts.

Secondly, confidentiality is no longer an issue as, over the past few years, there has been an explosion of software and apps which allow files and documents to be transferred securely from one person to another.  Here at Virtuoso Assistant we use DropBox or Hightail (formerly You Send It).  A folder will simply be shared and documents/audio files can be uploaded and accessed in seconds. It's that simple. 

Outsourcing to Law Firms

I have worked as a legal PA for 16 years for firms in Bristol and Reading and I know firms outsource to companies in India, for example. They're lovely people and are very hard-working; however, I've had to check files that have been returned with large gaps where the typist simply hasn't understood legal terminology.  Frankly, by the time I've gone through the document and amended it, I might as well have done it myself.  Result?  One frustrated PA.

We understand the Court process, the timetables and the need to prioritise certain documents and correspondence. We therefore work outside core office hours so your PA doesn't have to; she needs a break!

So, why not outsource those long legal attendance notes and statements to us?  We promise to return them quickly and without errors. Please take a look at "Legal Virtuoso" for further details of how we can help you and your PA reduce that typing backlog.