Well-Being is Lined Up Outside YOUR Door

This morning during my morning ritual of inspirational reading, journaling and caffinating, I read "Well-being is lined up outside your door" in Ask and It is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

What struck me as a home-based woman entrepreneur, is how much help and support for our success is available to us in every moment. AND chances are, exactly what you need to grow and expand is OUTSIDE your door.

I reflected on how true this has been in my life this week. On Monday evening, my gal pal Jodi invited me to an Arbonne event www.QueenGina.MyArbonne.com, where I met so many healthy, motivated, financially successful women.

As we were leaving the event, she keenly noticed some brochures left on a table about a local success coach. Jodi handed one to me, and the next morning I was having a fabulous conversation with Michelle Paquette www.AllWaysConsult.com, who then turned me on to, www.AnEmpoweredWoman.com. I immediately contacted Pam, who generously shared with me what an incredible group it really is! They meet at a country club in the Los Angeles area and truly support the business growth of its members (and have lots of other cool events too).

Well, all of this was so much fun and I was clearly in the groove, so since I've been meaning to contact www.EWomenNetwork.com FOREVER (because I hear so many women rave about it), I decided to phone them and that same day I got an almost immediate phone call from my local chapter representative. women who work from home, at first can love the "freedom" of having the home office and getting their "job" done in lounge wear. However, if they're not careful, isolation can quickly set in. And what was once the once "grand idea" of being free, all of the sudden can switch to confinement.

Here Are 7 Ways You Can Improve Your personal & Financial Well-Being:

1. stay connected to your desire and have a clear picture in mind of exactly what you want to create. (Vision boards are great reminders of all of what you love. Also, posting sticky notes around your pad help to frequently have you focus on your goal).

2. Especially if you're a home-based woman entrepreneur, GET ON THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR DOOR! Some great women's groups that I know of include: *Arbonne international (AWESOME beauty products AND business opportunities!!!) www.QueenGina.MyArbonne.com *E-women Network www.EWomenNetwork.com *Wild Women Entrepreneurs www.TheWildWE.com *www.AnEmpoweredWoman.com (Los Angeles Area) National Association of women Business Owners www.nawbo.com *Queen Esther's Royal Strategies for Success, How to Create YOUR At-Home online Empire

Plus find additional local networking groups in your area! And if you would like to turn me on to others, email me at Gina@EstherExperience.com

3. Always nurture your femininity and continually bring out the Queen in you. Resources to enhance your feminine energy & beauty include: *"For Such a Time As This" Teleseries, teleclass@EstherExperience.com www.GoddessGift.com www.CallingInTheOne.com www.DailyCandy.com www.QueenGina.MyArbonne.com 4. Receive support spiritually and psychologically, here are some great resources: www.SpiritualMakeovers.com www.WholeSelfKnowing.com www.Marianne.com For INCREDIBLE NLP coaching on how to unhook your limiting beliefs, Alex@ResultsQueen.com

5. stay connected to friends and colleagues overseas. You don't have to lose touch with people who feed your soul just because they moved back to australia...Roxy I'll be calling you this week! :) www.CallingCards.com gives you great rates (as low as 2 cents/minute to call over seas) www.Skype.com

6. Get active...it's summer time! There's so many options: call a girlfriend to schedule walks, or join a gym, hire a personal trainer, take a yoga or pilates class are all possibilities. Here are a few of my favorite workout dvd's: www.SlimIn6.com Hip Hop Abs http://www.beachbody.com/jump.jsp?itemType=GATEWAY&itemID=239

7. Be your own best friend. Remember to take time for yourself, be with yourself and affirm all that you do and all of who you already are. You're likely to be quick with a compliment for someone else. This week make sure to spend time with you and to truly be your own best friend.

Know that all of what you desire for your life is possible and attainable. Use these 7 tips to really show up in a big way this week. Let yourself get out of your comfort zone and go discover what is on the OTHER side of your door!

2007 Gina Ratliffe

**If you would like personalized coaching to assist you in overcoming

your obstacles, call Gina at 310-773-1824 or email her at Gina@EstherExperience.comfor further details.

WANT TO read AN ARTICLE ABOUT A SPECIFIC SUBJECT? email your requests to us at info@EstherExperience.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete tag with it: Life & Success Coach, Gina Ratliffe, publishes the Esther Experience weekly ezine. women entrepreneurs, if you're ready to live as Queen of your finances, relationships, business and health, and have more fun in your life, get your FREE report now at http://www.EstherExperience.com/optinentrepreneurqueen.html

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Avoiding Virtual Assistant Performance Pitfalls - Part 2

What's really most important when hiring a virtual assistant is doing your due-diligence before you make the hire. Just like anyone else, virtual assistants come with their own personality, life issues, and family situations. making sure they mesh with what you need are paramount to ensuring smooth sailing after youve finally agreed to work with the VA.

Virtual Houdini - The Virtual Assistant Disappearing Act

Yes, it can happen. Back when you worked in the retro bricks-and-mortar world, how often did someone simply not show up for work? They quit, right? Unfortunately this can happen with virtual assistants as well. Perhaps not as often as in the bricks-and-mortar world but it does happen. Why do virtual assistants quit, disappear, move on? The same reasons they quit, disappear, and move on in the bricks-and-mortar world. Maybe they needed more money. Maybe they became ill and could no longer work. Maybe a better offer came along. Maybe they didnt like the work. You cant entirely avoid the situation itself but there are things you can do to minimize the damage if and when it does. Protecting yourself ahead of time for when it does and realizing that it could happen is your best defense.

Online files. Not only does putting your files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) online facilitate working virtually, but it also protects you if and when a virtual assistant leaves. Simply change the passwords then shes locked out and you dont lose any files or have to go hunting them down.

Pay withholding. Why not put something in your contract with the virtual assistant that says you reserve the right to withhold pay until work files are returned?

Passwords. As soon as a virtual worker leaves or is let go, remember to change your passwords on everything he or she had access to!

What I Say Versus What I Can Do

Would you hire someone to watch your children just because they say theyre capable of doing so? I didnt think so. Then why would you hire a virtual assistant (or anyone for that matter) without first finding out what they can do and if they can do what they say they can do? I recommend several steps be taken to test a new virtual assistant contractor before contracting with them. These steps are modeled after our own companys interviewing process, which has evolved over the years. Its a lot of work on your part but very worthwhile. If you dont want to take all of these steps then look for a good virtual staffing agency, like Team Double-Click who does all of the work for you.

1) Job posting. In your case you'll either need to make a posting on a job board, such as CareerBuilder, Monster, or Craigs list. Or you can search those boards for virtual assistants looking for work.

2) Typing test. You want to know your new virtual assistant can typeaccurately, right? Send him or her to typingtest and ask for the results back. Look for a high level of accuracy coupled with high speed.

3) Computer skills test. Again, you want to know your virtual assistant can use Word and Excel. Send her to expertratings, ask her to take the free Word and Excel (and any others you want to know about) tests and send you the scores.

4) First interview. Agree on a time and date for the first telephone interview. Then give the potential virtual assistant your number and have her call you. Have your questions ready. Did she show up on time? Did she answer your questions to your satisfaction? Do her skills still fit?

5) Work personality. You simply must know if the person you are about to contract is honest, has a high level of integrity, is a team player, and so on. We recommend totaltesting, where you can ask the potential virtual assistant to take such a test. Now this one costs a few bucks. Its up to you whether you want to pay for it or require the virtual assistant to pay for it. Just remember if you ask her to pay for it and you dont hire her shes not going to be a happy camper.

6) Second Interview. The cool thing about Total Testings work personality tests is that they give you another set of questions to ask the candidate during a second interview. Have a friend, spouse, or colleague interview this person the second time. Compare notes. How does each of you feel about this person? Will she work out?

7) Contract. If youre ready to contract this person its time to pull out the non-compete, non-disclosure contract we discussed in the last article. Send it to the virtual assistant for review and signing. Be absolutely sure this is signed before putting him or her to work.

8) EIN and W9. We also discussed, in the last article, requiring the contractor to obtain a (free) EIN (employer identification number) to further protect you from possible employer/employee claims later on down the road. Nows the time to ask for this, along with a completed W9 form.

This is the abbreviated version of our process. We throw in a few things like setting up a company email account, and we have a review process, which each virtual assistant goes through. A team of three HR pros discuss each candidate and determine if a contract will be offered. Because were a staffing agency, your screening process will look a little different from ours.

Give Me All You Got

Never send a virtual worker a ton of materials (letterheads, envelopes, brochures, etc.). Its just a safeguard. While it is very rare that someone would leave and not return those materials to you, if they did, how much money would you have tied up in replacing all of those expensive printed materials? Its just better not to do it in the first place. Send a virtual worker slightly more than what they need to perform the task at hand.

The Five Finger Discount - Identity Theft/Credit Card Number Theft

One of our clients biggest concerns has always been identity theft and credit card number theft. In all the years weve been staffing virtually, weve never seen this happen. It may be that the work personality profile is weeding out the people who might be tempted and our HR department is further ferreting out those who are less-than-desirable, but the other half of it is the contractor mentality of a virtual assistant as opposed to the employee mentality of anemployee!

You can minimize your risk by not giving out your credit card information to a virtual assistant. If you need to give the virtual assistant a credit card number for ordering products or services on your behalf, get a separate card that is used for nothing but items the virtual assistant orders for you. Its much easier to check over your bill for erroneous charges this way.

Hours availability

When hiring a virtual assistant, not only do you need to make sure their skills and abilities mesh with you and your business, but you must also be sure the virtual assistant has enough time to take care of your needs. Very simply ask the potential virtual assistant how many other clients she has, how many hours per week she is working, and how many hours she has to devote to you. Does it work with what you need? If not, move on.

The rate

I dont know about you, but Ive never bought something without first knowing what it was going to cost. Important questions to ask before contracting a virtual assistant:

1) What is the rate per hour?
2) Are there different rates for different tasks?
3) If so what are they?
4) Do you round to the nearest hour or the nearest minute? To the nearest minute is the most desirable.
5) Is there a start up fee?
6) If so, how much?
7) Is there a termination fee?
8) If so, how much?
9) Is there a minimum usage?
10) If so, how much?
11) Can you work within my budget? In other words, if I can only afford 10 hours per week, what happens when youve reached 10 hours? How is that handled?
12) What are your future plans? How long do you intend to be a virtual assistant? Is this a career for you or a short-term venture for some extra cash?

My philosophy when hiring anyone, virtual assistants included, is to hire slowly and fire quickly. Trust your gut. If you dont feel that a virtual assistant is working out, let her go immediately and dont look back. Your gut is probably right. But do take your time hiring. Go through the paces to determine if he or she is the best fit for YOU; itll minimize the risk that he or she wont work out for you later.

Gayle Buske is the founder, president and CEO of Team Double-ClickSM, the countrys foremost virtual staffing agency. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 19,000+ virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid clients growth through virtual outsourcing as well as speak to the ins and outs of the industry. Gayle enjoys spending her free time with her husband, business and life partner, Jim, their daughter Madison, practicing Yoga, reading, off-roading, hiking, flower gardening, and playing with the familys three dogs and two cats.

Team Double-Click, Inc. provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double Clicks Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or phone 888.827.9129. Click to receive your free report, 101 Ways To Work With A Virtual Assistant.

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Two Way Radios - Cost-Effective Means of Staying Connected

two way radios are slowly becoming an integral part of our lives. The benefits of using them have been realised not only in the commercial sphere but in personal interaction as well. Despite the fact that they are limited by a fixed frequency, which limits their range of functioning, they are still emerging as a popular communication device. The reason probably is that the price range of these handsets is substantially lower than a mobile phone, and the user also does not need to pay for any of the calls made to the other handset.

There are numerous two way radios available in the market with frequencies ranging from one mile to 15 miles. In fact the technology used in radio handsets that are used for commercial purposes (in offices, etc.) and the ones used by a family are completely different.

The General mobile Radio service (GMRS) is the type of two way radios that are used for outdoor or commercial purposes. They have been in use since the 1940s and the major advantage of using these is that they have the ability to transmit between five to ten miles. Because of the greater range covered by them, they are ideal for professionals who have a travelling job profile, like people in sales and marketing. Even police men and soldiers find great use for this type of two way radios. They transmit at higher power levels of one to five watts and are more expensive than other types of radio handsets.

The other type of two way radios is the one used for personal/family communication. This type is called the Family Radio service (FRS) and was created in 1996. They are specifically used for communication within a small area, and that is why their frequency range is a maximum of two miles. They are also less expensive than GMRS bands and have a maximum power output of watt (500 milliwatts). Generally radios sets these days have only FRS or a combination of FRS and GMRS.

One thing to be kept in mind while using FRS and GMRS two way radios is that while no license is required to use the FRS band, the user of the GMRS band service requires a GMRS license.

Dennis Jaylon is a renowned business writer who has years of experience in writing technical reviews, product descriptions and product feature analysis of technical gadgets and gizmos. He has won appreciation especially for enlightening people about the latest communication gizmos...the Two Way Radios

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