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"These flowers, which were splendid and sprightly, waking in the dawn of the morning, in the evening will be a pitiful frivolity, sleeping in the cold night's arms."

Pedro Calderon de la Barca



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Featured Small Business Articles

10 Sales Tips for Small Business Owners
Running a business is easy compared to the act of selling. As a small business owner you started your business to deliver a superior product or service, not to become a salesperson. None-the-less you must master basic sales skills or risk losing your ...

Small Business: Raising Your Business Profile
By Ben Botes http://www.my1stbusiness.comWhenever you communicate a message you are inevitably felling a story about your business. The media has an insatiable demand for stories; without them they would have very little to write about. Public relations ...

Small Business Reaps Big Benefits Under New California Lemon Law
SMALL BUSINESS OWNER BENEFITS FROM CHANGE IN CALIFORNIA LEMON LAW Late in 2004, a Riverside jury delivered the biggest single verdict ever rendered under California's “lemon law,”also known as the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, against Ford Motor ...




1 Overlooked Key to Small Business Success
 
Is this you?

You dreamed of owning your own business, doing what you love and
enjoying unlimited earning potential. You researched. You
planned. You prepared. Finally, you launched.

Your dream was realized...and then your business started to grow!
Could it get any better? Well, yes, but if you're like many
others, you may have encountered one unexpected challenge along
the way: Are you drowning in the day-to-day administrative tasks
necessary to make your business successful?

Managing emails. Bookkeeping. Writing articles or newsletters.
Processing invoices. Answering phone calls. Scheduling
appointments. Marketing. Customer Service. Travel Planning.
They all take time. Unfortunately, time is in short supply when
business is booming.

The work needs to be done, but you don't want to do it yourself
and you don't want the cost or the hassle of hiring an employee,
right?

So what's the key? A virtual assistant.

Virtual assistants provide a wide range of administrative
services to small businesses and individuals. They are
independent contractors who work from home, use their own
equipment, occupy their own space and pay their own taxes and
benefits. Best of all, they charge you only for time spent on
your particular project(s). They typically have years of
administrative experience under their belt and most are amazingly
budget-conscious.

As an emerging industry, virtual assistance is quickly becoming a
valuable asset to individual business owners and a must-have in
the small business community at large. Handing off
administrative tasks to someone with the tools and know-how to
complete them quickly and efficiently is saving many businesses
untold amounts of time and money. A virtual assistant is
undoubtedly a worthwhile investment.

BONUS: 4 Tips for Working with a Virtual Assistant:

* Start small. Don't be afraid to "test the waters" by giving
your new virtual assistant a small project without a huge budget.
It may take time to find a virtual assistant with whom you work
well.

* Be specific. Virtual assistants like to know exactly what's
expected of them. Provide as much detail about your project and
your needs as possible.

* Forge a relationship. Establishing a strong, lasting
connection with a virtual assistant will benefit you enormously
in the long run. You will be surprised how much you come to rely
on his/her knowledge and expertise.

* Remember, your virtual assistant is not your employee; they are
small business owners themselves, partnering with you to achieve
success. This is a win-win situation because when you succeed,
they succeed.



About the Author
Find a virtual assistant quickly, easily and for free at SimplyComplete.com, owned by Amy Andrews. Search the VA Directory or post your project in minutes. Get your to-dos done!


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