Your Extra Hand

Tool of the Month: Dropbox

lindasiniscal — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:00:19 +0000

Dropbox is software that syncs your files online and across computers – an ideal tool for virtual teams. It’s easy to install and works on PC, MAC and Linux. After installing Dropbox, there is a folder placed in your My Documents named “My Dropbox”. Then all you need to do is put your files into your Dropbox on one computer and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on. Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox’s secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device through the Dropbox website.

Some features:

With dropbox, your files are always in sync
Any file that is put into your Dropbox folder is automatically backed up to their servers
Dropbox keeps track of changed documents so if you need a version from the last 30 days, you can get it.
Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite
Mobile device access

Pricing:

2 GB – FREE
50 GB – $9.99/month
100 GB – $19.99/month

I have been using Dropbox for about 2 months now and I can’t tell you how easy it was to set up and how easy it is to use. I have tried many other file sharing sites over the years but Dropbox is by far the best one I have used.

Would love to hear from you on tools you can’t live without.

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The Benefits of Working with a Virtual Assistant over a Temp

lindasiniscal — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:03 +0000

In this present state of economy, many firms have had to make the hard choice of laying off key employees in order to keep costs in line with their profit margins. With eliminating employees, companies also save on health care costs, no 401K contributions to be made, and no vacation, holiday or sick pay to administer. But just as the savings may outweigh the benefits, the work is still there and still needs to get done so they pass it along to other overwhelmed staff or decide to contact a temporary agency.

Many businesses are not aware of an alternative to hiring a temp and that would be to hire a Virtual Assistant. You will find many well-qualified virtual assistant professionals, who in most cases come from the corporate arena, and are very well qualified for the tasks needed to tackled.

The benefits to working with a virtual assistant over a temp are:

If you hire a temp, you may have one temp one week and another temp the next week which means overwhelmed staff will need to take more time away from completing tasks in order to retrain the new temp. Working with a virtual assistant, they can be your “permanent temp”, there when you need them, with the client always receiving work from highly skilled professionals.
Virtual Assistants charge their clients for the amount of time it takes them to complete the task. With a temp, they are paid for the time they spend in the office either working sitting there with nothing to do.
Virtual Assistants are small business owners who are highly skilled and educated. They regularly attend software webinars learning new tools and resources to make the client / virtual assistant relationship run even better. No need to have an office equipped with all the latest equipment and software – this is something that the virtual assistant already has in place.
Working with a Virtual Assistant will result in you receiving the best job possible from highly skilled professionals. They are small business owners who want to make their clients happy and can be an integral part in helping that client build and grow their business. A temp usually looks at the job assignment as a paycheck and another company to add to their resume.
If there is a project that the Virtual Assistant is not familiar with, the Virtual Assistant can tap into their resource network and find the right Virtual Assistant for the client rather than having a temp attempt the project with not so great results which have then cost the client time and money and possibly a client.

Temporary agencies have been used by many firms, both Fortune 100 and small business companies, for many years now but they are not the only solution in handling administrative overflow in the workplace. Virtual Assistants are proving to be a cost saving option.

If you have used a virtual assistant, what have you found to be the benefits?

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Are you looking for a good book?

lindasiniscal — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:00:05 +0000

If you are a small business owner looking for a good book to read then check out this site – http://www.onlineuniversities.com. They have put together a list, 100 Non-Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read.

Onlineuniversities.com has put together this comprehensive list on a variety of subjects including Communication, Leadership, Success, Personal Development, Relationships & Personality, Psychology, Finance and Strategy & Innovation. This collection will help you in your education and growth in business.

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Twitter Resource: Tweetscan

lindasiniscal — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:00:49 +0000

Tweetscan.com – If you are a looking for a back up tool for your Twitter account then Tweetscan is for you plus it’s very easy to use.

All you do is click on Twitter Backup once you are on their site. Select the fields you would like to have archived which include:

Your Tweets
@Replies
Friends
Followers
Direct Messages
Favorite Tweets
or Full Archive

Then select Go To Twitter; click Allow; enter your email address (download link will be emailed to you); agree to their terms and hit continue. The next screen will provide a link for downloading a zip file containing both a csv and html file.

Tweetscan’s index goes back to December 2007 which provides the most complete and convenient backup available.

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MAC Tip of the Month: Mail Older Than One Year

lindasiniscal — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:00:30 +0000

If you have mail that is older than one year, it is clogging up your inbox and taking up some valuable computer space. There is a feature in Mail called Smart Mailbox which helps you do some fast email house cleaning.

Control-Click on the email account (of your inbox if you don’t have multiple accounts), choose New Smart Mailbox from the contextual menu. When the Smart Mailbox appears, choose Date Received.

From the next pop-up menu over, choose “is before the date” and in the last field, enter a date that is approximately one year before today’s date. Click OK and all your email which is one year old (or older) will appear in the new Smart Mailbox. If you wish to delete old email messages, click on the Smart Mailbox, press Command-A (to select all) or highlight the messages you wish to delete and then press the Delete key.

Going forward all email that is more than one year old will appear in that Smart Mailbox so your Inbox will never have more than one year of archived messages.

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Tool of the Month: GMail Notifier

lindasiniscal — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:00:30 +0000

GMail Notifier is a handy tool that sits in your system tray and alerts you when you have new messages in your GMail account. When you see the icon in your system tray, new messages have arrived. Just right click on the envelope, go to “View Inbox” and you will be taken directly to your GMAil inbox. You may be asked to log in to your GMail account if you have not already signed on.

As new messages arrive, you will see who the messages are from along with the subject and snippet flash on your screen without you having to open up your browser. If you miss these notifications, simply left click on the icon and go to “Tell me again” to see your new mail overview.

GMail Notifier also available for the MAC.

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MS Excel Tip: Transpose Rows and Columns

lindasiniscal — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:00:12 +0000

You just spent time setting up a new worksheet and realized that you want the columns to be rows and the rows to be columns. Well don’t fret, you do not need to start from scratch.

Just highlight the table, click Copy, then go to another area of the worksheet and select Paste Special. On the Paste Special screen, check the “Transpose” box, and hit OK.

The rows are now columns and the columns are now rows.

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Social Media Marketing Tips – Boost Sales with Social Networking

lindasiniscal — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:00:50 +0000

If your sales are lagging, it’s time to take some proactive steps and sign up for social networking sites.

The following social media marketing tips will help you outshine your competition as well as increase traffic to your website and perhaps increase your sales.

Sign up for social networking sites – check out Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other niche social networking sites and sign up for them. Sign up is free and these sites are easy to navigate and user-friendly.
Fill out the profiles. If you leave your profile blank, you aren’t helping yourself when it comes to social media marketing. Include links to your website and blog (this is how to get backlinks to your site). Fill out your business contact information, email, etc. You WANT potential customers to contact you.
Keep them coming back for MORE. Offer a freebie, valuable information, the latest and greatest news in your industry, etc. Analyze your target markets and create your message accordingly. People want value so give them what they want so they keep coming back for more.
Include your photo. People want to do business with a face and name they trust. Include a professional photo – a photo connects you with your business name/company – a great branding trick.
Don’t “over” sell/market. Remember less is more. You want to reel potential customers in with social media/networking messages. You don’t want to scare them away. Stop tweeting about what you ate for breakfast. Get back to the basics of your marketing message and don’t over sell your message. Stay away from “spam” messages or you’ll get blocked (not only by the sites, but by other users). You want a fan base, not an “I hate your business because you spam me too much” club.
Keep it simple. Showcase your knowledge but don’t “talk down” to your audience. Learn what works and what doesn’t work for potential customers. Remember to keep your message informative and friendly.

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The Great Organizing Giveaway is Here!

lindasiniscal — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:30:35 +0000

Go to http://www.AskTheExpertOrganizers.com/signup.html and sign up to get resources such as e-books, tip sheets, audio programs, complementary consulting and more! You can also enter into drawings for amazing prizes. Stephanie Calahan, Calahan Solutions invited her colleagues to participate and they really stepped up to the plate to deliver quality content just for you and it will cost you nothing!

Information is categorized into three main categories: your office, your time and your home. Business professionals, parents and students will all find expert material that fits their personal productivity and organization needs.

Please share this great Get Organized Month event with your friends!

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Twitter Resource: HootSuite

lindasiniscal — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:00:12 +0000

Deborah Smith, a social media expert, got me hooked on HootSuite. If you are looking for a tool that will really help you better manage Twitter and save you lots of time, then HootSuite is what you are looking for.

Some of the features you will love:

Ability to manage multiple twitter accounts
Customization of their interface through columns. Columns can be display your profile feed, keyword tracking, groups of individuals such as your clients or prospects allowing you to easily follow their tweets
You can drag and drop between columns so if you want to create a column for clients, you can easily drag them from your profile feed to your customized client column
Integrated URL shortener
Send now or schedule for later. You can create Twitter messages and schedule for later launch times. There is also a column showing you all your pending tweets
You can attach a file or photo to your Tweet
Support of your other social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Just select which social media source you want your Tweets to update
Track statistics. Graphs show not only a summary but also individual Twitter statistics.

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