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Take the Career Change Challenge and See if You’re Ready to Start Your Own Business

January 9th, 2007 by diana

Everyone gets stuck in a rut professionally at one time or another. Sometimes it’s just a temporary state of mind, which passes quickly and you soon find yourself back on track after a weekend off or a holiday break. But what happens when that feeling inside does not pass? You start to realize that you are unhappy more than you are happy. The job you once loved, just doesn’t excite you anymore. You get up in the morning dreading going to work and once you get there, you just can’t concentrate. You find yourself becoming what you thought you’d never would when you took that job, a 9-5 clock-watcher.

Well, buckle your seatbelt. It’s time to take the Career Change Challenge and see if you need a career change boost.

Take the simple quiz below and see how many apply to you.

The Top 10 Signs it’s Time for a Career Change:

1) You no longer feel excited about going to work.
2) You find yourself daydreaming during meetings.
3) You leave a bit early or sneak in a bit late.
4) You aren’t as thorough as you once were when it comes to completing projects or meeting deadlines.
5) You aren’t feeling challenged anymore – your workday is just a routine.
6) You call in sick more often.
7) You haven’t come up with a new idea or procedure in months.
8) You go through the motions at work and put in minimum effort.
9) You surf the Internet looking at other opportunities when you should be working.
10) You make more personal calls on company time just to make the day go faster.

If you saw yourself in more of these than you’d like to admit, perhaps it’s time to consider making that change and finding that passion again. It’s time to decide if the right move for you is pulling out the classifieds and finding a new position in your field or perhaps finally taking the plunge you’ve always dreamed of and starting your own business. Entrepreneurship, being your own boss, financial independence, it sounds too good to be true. But it’s not.

For those wanting to start their business, it is important to find the right home-based business. You need to match your skills and experience with the business that will leave you the most satisfied and also one that will give you the greatest profits. One option that many career-minded individuals are turning to is starting a business in the lucrative educational industry. With the right skills and tools, you could become a home-based tutor broker and match qualified tutors with students in your area.

One of the reasons this is such a good business opportunity is the demand for qualified tutors is at an all time high. Nationwide, parents spent $5 billion to $7 billion on tutoring sessions last year, an 18 percent increase from 2005 according to the Education Industry Association. Five years ago there were approximately 800,000 tutors nationwide, today there are approximately 2 million tutors according to the National Tutoring Association. As you can see, now would be the perfect time to start your own business in this thriving Industry.

Laurie Hurley of Home Tutoring Business http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com is one such tutor broker. She contracts with qualified tutors and matches them with students in need of one-on-one tutoring. She has successfully connected hundreds of students with dedicated, professional teachers and tutors and is now offering her effective business procedures to entrepreneurs looking for a strong business with great earning potential.

So if you know it’s time for a career change, look to starting your own business. Find a business with lots of support, the tools needed to begin and succeed, and also a proven track record of success. 2007 can be your most profitable and enjoyable year ever.

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Laurie Hurley has been featured in national magazines including Entrepreneur Magazine’s Summer Start-Up Guide, Woman’s World, Family Circle, Family Fun, Parenting and more. Her site at http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com offers detailed information on getting started in your own tutoring brokering business. For additional information contact Hurley at info@hometutoringbusiness.com. Article is free to reprint as long as author’s bio remains intact.

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Working Virtually

October 17th, 2006 by diana

Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are pleased to announce their new book published by Informa, entitled Working Virtually. It’s part of a nine course module offered by Informa and details the following:

- Analyzing whether or not working from home is a valid option for you

- Evaluating your position in the organization

- Making the case to work at home

- Determinging what work is best performed virtually

- Everything you need to know to effectively work virtually

To learn more visit http://www.informacpd.com/EA/EAauthors.aspx

Posted in Publicity, Virtual Assistants, Business Start-ups | No Comments »

The journey to success in your home-based business

September 21st, 2006 by diana

How do you measure the success in your life? As a home-based working mom it’s so different than the outside corporate world. I know for me, one day it can be a call from Borders that they are accepting one of my books, where another day it can be that I finally got my 8-year-old to go on a field trip at school. The last two she had missed being too scared to attend and instead spent the day home, sick. Both days, I consider huge successes! Both days, I felt a real winner.

Home based success can mean the little things such as a day we get all our work done while attending a sick child, or being one of the only parents able to attend a school function that your daughter so eagerly anticipated. That’s what we are trying to achieve in our home-based business, the best of both worlds. And having worked at home since 1985 I can truly say, it can be done. As president of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, I’ve enjoyed working at home while watching my kids grow up and become just as motivated and determined to succeed in business and life as I am. That’s one of the perks of working at home. They get to see what you do.

So how can you achieve this success for your business and family? How can you make more good days than bad? Here are some tips:

Start Early: I find that by getting up an hour or so before everyone else, I can accomplish so much more. That allows me the extra 10 minutes of devotional time, a few minutes to enjoy my coffee alone, and then time to dig into my work. I usually save my peak work for this time as this is truly when I’m at my best.

Regroup and Rebalance: So often home-based moms feel overwhelmed and unable to accomplish anything because of this. Try breaking it all down. Take a day or two and write down your typical day. What can you change to make it better, to make it work? Often when it’s down in writing, it’s clearer to see where changes can be made. Try to lump together tasks and delegate any tasks you can. And above all else-avoid guilt.

Eliminate time-robbers! We still have to cook dinner, (I tried, it didn’t work!) but I don’t have to talk to my friend, who doesn’t work, for 45 minutes during my workday. Say No!

Also, with my kids I found some of the work I actually could take outside or in another room. There’s no rule that says I have to work at my desk. Perhaps you can create different workstations around the home. Be creative. One work-at-home mom Missy DePew, President and Founder of MomMe TV Entertainment, Inc. has a laptop she carries from room to room so she can be near her kids when she has to absolutely work on her computer. Her new internet television web site, which was created for all moms, http://www.mommetv.com can be very demanding and trying to squeeze it all in can be difficult. DePew states, “With kids, laundry, and a new company – I try but it’s very challenging. You just do what you gotta do to make your ship run.”

Shortcuts To Success: What can you do to make your business run smoother? Constantly be thinking of ways to improve upon your business. Organization is naturally a big one. The more organized you are, the better you’ll be at all things. Spend the time to organize and you’ll find you have more time than you ever thought possible.

Another shortcut for me was to create different books of materials that I frequently used so I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel each time and it was right in front of me. Thus, I created different 3-ring binder books of marketing letters, press releases, etc. Now when I want to write a marketing letter or a new press release, I can draw upon some of the quotes from my other letters and I find that often times I can use one of the letters I’ve already created.

Think about things that you can do for your business. Things that you use often, that you could print out and possibly make a collection of, and then look to as a resource. Or what other times savings tip could you think of that would help your business? Write them down. Now apply them to your business.

Another thing I do is buy paper that has 3 ring holes already in it. When I print out a client’s e-mail, or client’s article, I’ll immediately put it into their binder categorized by topic. I’m now able to find things faster and also can see clearly all I’ve done with the clients. I also color coordinate my clients files. When Client A calls, I grab my red folder and automatically jump into his work mode. It saves me so much “think time.”

Focus on Success: Continue to see yourself as a success and focus on your goals. Success is within your reach when you continually focus on your goals, both for your business and your family.

Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant: The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA. She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/and http://www.publicity-va.com/. She also is the publisher of the science fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, http://www.pauloreyes.com/ Articles are free to be reprinted as long as the author’s bio remains intact.

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Virtual Assistants can Revolutionize Your Business

July 10th, 2006 by diana

10 Ways a Virtual Assistant can REVOLUTIONIZE Your Business

For those of you who are still in the dark, a Virtual Assistant, or VA, is an executive level, administrative professional who works from his/her own office to support clients using some of the latest available technology. The Internet has brought many skilled professionals out of the corporate environment and back into their homes, enabling them to create a better work-life balance, while still performing in the roles they love. The VA is one such professional. Working from their home-based offices and making use of the Internet, telephone, fax and email, VAs are able to offer small and medium-sized businesses a quality of administrative support, previously only available to the corporate giants, in a cost-effective manner.

A Virtual Assistant’s service offering may vary, but you are guaranteed to find one out there who is able to perform the exact functions your business needs. You will find that hiring a VA will REVOLUTIONIZE your business.

A VA brings invaluable work experience and training to the table. You may even find that they will teach you a trick or two. Be it software, hardware or grammar, you can be sure that your VA knows his/her stuff!

2. Because VAs run a business themselves, they have a unique understanding of what your needs as a small business owner are. They will be able to assist and advise you on matters pertaining to Marketing, Branding, Web Design and e-Commerce. What avenues of advancement have you not yet explored with your business? Are you sure that you have all your bases covered? Your VA can help.

3. Get organized. If you attend conferences and AGMs I’ll bet you have a ton of business cards cluttering up your desk. Let your VA scan and enter them into a database for you. Future mail campaigns will be a breeze with a ready-made contact list all neatly stored on a CD.

4. Is there a special project boiling over on the back-burner that you’ve been wanting to do? Your VA can help with research, planning and coordination, leaving you free to continue your focus on your core-business function.

5. If you’re too busy to remember important dates, anniversaries and meetings, your VA, with a tailored reminder service, can assist. From ordering flowers for your mother, to sending a thank you note to a client and even arranging gift baskets for investor, they aim to please.

6. Conceptualizing marketing items can be agonizing if you don’t have the know-how, equipment or creative flair. Most VAs have a wide range of software packages at their finger-tips, as well as experience in creating flyers, brochures and business cards for their own company’s. Put your ideas to your VA, they will dazzle you with the results.

7. Planning a much-needed break with your family? Let your VA take care of the details; flights, car hire, accommodation, even a list of “must-see” places of interest. Your VA can handle it all, down to the very last detail.

8. If you’re on the road a lot, chances are your cell-phone is often out of signal range and there is no one in your office to take a message should that all-important client call. With the call answering service provided by many VAs, you can divert your calls and rest assured that your client will receive the personal touch rather than dealing with an annoying automated answering device. Your messages will be passed on to you in order of importance and you won’t need to sort through lengthy messages on voicemail.

9. Conferences and networking functions can take a lot out of a small business owner. It is imperative that you attend and make a dazzling show of it, but in order to do so, you have to neglect existing clients. This will no longer be a problem with a VA. They can handle all your conferencing arrangements; table-hire, banner design and creation, even gift bags for client samples. It’s that easy!

10. If you have a lot of correspondence, and you’re a bit of a “keyboard klutz”, your VA can help. Many VAs offer a fully digitized transcription service. Simply record your memos/letters onto your computer and email them to your VA, s/he will have it neatly typed and ready for mailing in no time! Other VAs may provide dictated typing as a service, so that urgent e-mail is just a phone-call away.

Now that you’ve heard all that a VA can do, where can you find one? That’s easy. VANetworking at http://www.vanetworking.com/ is an invaluable resource when looking to partner with a VA. With over 2,300 professional VA members you are certain to find exactly the service you are looking for. According to Tawnya Sutherland, founder of VAN, and author of the Virtual Assistant Start-Up System states, “Our forum is leading the way in revolutionizing the VA Industry by offering expert advice to VAs on how to be the best VA they can be. That’s why partnering with one of our VAs can help your business grow and operate on a more proficient level.” And Diana Ennen, president of Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com/ and Publicist for the site states, “Our team of VAs are varied with different skill sets and different visions for their business. That’s why teaming up with a VAN VA can give your business all the support it needs.”

So if you’re looking for a Virtual Assistant or want to start a virtual assistant business, now is the time to stop by VANetworking and see everything they have to offer.
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Tawnya Sutherland, founder of Virtual Assistant Networking (VAN) (http://www.vanetworking.com/) and author of The VAS System, a Virtual Assistant Startup System, is a Certified Internet Marketing Specialist sharing much of her online marketing experience at VAN to help aspiring and successful VAs turn clicks into cash at their websites. Contact her at tawnya@mediamage.com or the Publicity Rep for VAN, Diana Ennen at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.
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Home Office Organization Tips

June 29th, 2006 by diana

HOME OFFICE ORGANIZATION TIPS
By Laurie Hurley

Working at home is great, but has some definite drawbacks if you are not organized. Here are some handy tips to keeping the office neat, clean, and uncluttered.

1) KEEP THE OFFICE, THE OFFICE!
As tempting as it may be to bring non-work related materials into your office, don’t! Have a separate place for mail and paperwork that is not related to your job in a separate area of your home, away from your office. This approach helps to keep your personal life and all its paraphernalia isolated in a different location.

2) DON’T OVER FURNISH THE OFFICE
Most home-based businesses need the obvious – a desk and chair, telephone, filing cabinet, computer, printer, bookshelf, and maybe an extra chair for visitors (if you have them in your office for business meetings). The bare minimum, tastefully furnished is sufficient. Too many plants, extra knick-knacks, excessive art work, etc. only takes up valuable space. Utilize your space efficiently and you will be less apt to lose paperwork or misplace an important document. There will only be one or two places to look!

3) IF POSSIBLE, LOCK YOUR OFFICE WHEN YOU ARE NOT THERE
This is especially important if you have children or if your office is in a high-traffic area of your home (not recommended!). It is too tempting for others to walk into your private sanctuary when you are not there and plop down at your desk, “borrow” a pen or paper or use the computer. Before you know it, things get shifted around or your neat desk has an open soda can on it that you did not leave there. If you can’t lock the door, or don’t even have a door to your office, there should be strict rules in the house as to who has your permission to enter when you are not present – and they should be enforced!

4) EMPTY YOUR GARBAGE CAN NIGHTLY
This might sound like a lot of work, but it helps to maintain the cleanliness of your office. Have a wastepaper basket and a recycle box. If you have a shredder, even better. Shred and dispose of everything nightly. Take your small recycle box to the bigger recycle area in your home. If you print a lot of documents for your use only, recycle the paper and use that in your printer. It cuts down on paper costs.

5) END THE DAY WITH A CLEAN DESK
There is nothing worse than coming into your office at the beginning of your work day and facing a messy, disorganized desk. Schedule time every night to put everything away. Do not make exceptions to this rule because before you know it, you will have four days of unkempt papers lining your desktop and things WILL get lost or misplaced, just when you need them the most. Schedule clean up time on your daily calendar or to do list. This is one item that shouldn’t be postponed.

6) MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE ACCESSIBLE FILES
There will always be items you don’t get to finish at the end of your work day. Keep file trays on or near your desk labeled in the following way: (a)To Do Tomorrow, (b) Completed & Need To Be Filed, (c) High Priority – Do First Thing Today. Have one file tray for items that come up during the day that can be put in the (d) Future File that have a date on them. Some people call it a tickler file, but it is important to prioritize what needs your attention and when. Many items are probably stored on your PC, but most every business has paperwork associated with it and the visual filing system is a good one. Sticking things in drawers that you might not open because they are not right in front of you can spell disaster for any business.

Laurie Hurley is an entrepreneur and has worked out of her home for eight years. She runs a tutor referral service in Southern California. She also is President and Founder of Home Tutoring Business, her company that sells complete business packages to individuals who want to learn how to begin a tutor referral service in their community. She generates volumes of paperwork daily, but she goes to bed every night with a clean desk, and she doesn’t have a door to her office!

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