General

I attended a Cyber Security Awareness Seminar last week as part of the National Cyber Security Awareness Week.

It was a very informative session with speakers from SOPHOS, our local Department of Commerce, Midwest Community Services Network and the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.

It was a very informative evening and I learned a lot about keeping my computers safe, both in a work environment and at home.

I can highly recommend the Stay Smart Online website which has lots of great information for small/medium business along with tips for how to keep your mobile phone safe and discussion points relating to your children using the internet.

It was actually quite scary listening to the lady from SOPHOS talking about how the internet hackers change and adjust according to the habits of web users.

The main thing I learned was NEVER click on anything you are unsure of. Malware is everywhere and definitely not something you want infecting your computer systems.

I would encourage you to go along to a Cyber Security Awareness Event if there is one being held near you next June.

Fiona

My poor blog has been sadly neglected in recent months. I think it’s time to dust off the keyboard and start afresh.

The first term of this year has certainly been a busy one for me. I have taken on 2 new clients and have been getting used to new routines for myself, and my children. Juggling a business and motherhood (I’m a single parent) has its challenges at times, and I’m seriously thinking about taking on a permanent sub-contractor to help with some of my workload.

I find myself working nearly every evening of the week, and whilst I CAN do it – I’m thinking that perhaps I don’t WANT to.

I have someone in mind who I am hoping will take over some of my transcription duties. I will still need to check the work, but this will take a lot less time than actually typing everything as well. So I’m going to give it a go and will soon find out whether the reality of employing a sub-contractor meets my expectations. My main aim is to have more free time to enjoy life, rather than being a slave to my business.

How about you? Do you use sub-contractors to help with your business? I would love to hear your experiences.

Fiona

Well it’s time for me to head off for a bit of a break with my family.

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and hope that the New Year ahead will be a great one for you.

See you next year …

Fiona

p.s.  In the end I did decide to get Christmas presents for my clients.

Well Christmas is nearly upon us.

Do you buy Christmas presents for your clients?

I have had some personalised Christmas Cards printed with my business name and I will definitely be sending a few of those out to my clients, and also to other Virtual Assistants I have worked with, or been in contact with over the past year.

I read a post recently on Flying Solo which talked about whether Christmas presents for clients were hot or not.  I’m still undecided, but probably leaning towards providing a little bit of Christmas cheer to my clients to let them know I’ve appreciated working with them this year.

How about you?  Will you or won’t you?  I would love to hear your thoughts …

Fiona

Well the month of November is almost over, so I have been reviewing this past year and looking ahead to 2010.

It’s always good to reflect on your business and the year just past (or still passing as the case may be here).

I started my business in June of 2008.  I have gone from a “potential” business to a “thriving” one which has been wonderful.

Part of the reason for starting my own Virtual Assistant business was to be available and involved with my children.  I didn’t want to be “tied” to a job where I “had” to go to work on days I would rather be attending something special at school, or going on an excursion etc.

My focus in looking forward to 2010 has therefore been on making sure that I have this flexibility, whilst maintaining accountability and excellent service to my clients.

I will be doing a bit of juggling with my schedule, and choosing clients who I know will allow me to be flexible with the hours I work.  It’s great to be busy – but not if it’s at the expense of your personal life.  As a sole business owner, it is easy sometimes to get sucked into the “busy is best” mentality, but you can fall into a trap of neglecting your family and your own personal well being if you are not careful.

So 2010 will see a few changes for Swift Online Secretarial, but also a return to some “me” time and I hope a bit better balance between my business and personal commitments.

How about you?  Are you planning ahead for 2010?

Fiona

We have had two huge electrical storms where I live over the past week or so.

The latest was on Wednesday night, and when I turned my computer on yesterday – I had no internet connection.  Oh no!  Running a virtual business without being connected to the internet is a bit like trying to bake scones in an oven with no electricity.

I rang my service provider, who is always very helpful (thanks Westnet), and it seemed my modem was malfunctioning.  We tried turning it off and on again.  Then we tried plugging it into a different phone jack in the house.  Still no joy.  The technician suggested I take it to a friend’s place to see if it would work on their phone line (otherwise to call Telstra out would cost $105 if it was found that the modem was faulty, not the phone line).

I left it for a while, then decided to try the modem again in its second location later in the day.  It worked perfectly?!  So I plugged everything back in, rang my provider and got it all reconfigured and up and running again.  Phew!

However, this morning my modem was fine, but I had no internet access again.  I went back to the service provider and we did a few things differently, and hopefully we have fixed the problem for good now.

It brought up a few issues for me though.  I don’t know if it was a coincidence that my modem went out the night after some very big lightning strikes nearby?  I was speaking to a computer friend and he said it’s generally busy for him after an electrical storm with people’s computers being fried because they’ve been left plugged in and turned on.

I have a heavy-duty surge protector board which I plug my computer in to, and I turn everything off at the wall whenever I’m not using my computer.  However, my friend pointed out that I should really unplug the board from the wall as if you get a massive lightning strike on your house and all that voltage surging through your electrics – one small switch turned off might not be enough to stop the damage.

So I’m now unplugging the surge protector from the wall each time I turn the computer off.

How about you?  Do you have systems in place for protecting your computer and electrical goods?  It’s definitely worth thinking about… better to be safe than sorry!

Fiona

It’s been a wet winter this year in Western Australia which has resulted in a bumper crop of wildflowers.  These pictures were taken at a friend’s farm in the middle of August.

These pink daisies are Everlastings, sometimes also referred to as Paper Daisies because they rustle when you touch them and almost feel like paper.

This is a Tall Triggerplant (often known by its genus name Stylidium)

Fiona

Well after some research into the local market regarding advertising, and weighing up the costs versus the exposure, I’ve decided to take out a 12 week package in the Trades & Services Section in the Geraldton Guardian Newspaper. Now I just have to decide on the text I want in it! The advert will run twice a week (Monday and Friday) and is 6 x 1 in colour (40mm x 65mm).

It’s difficult, as a new business owner, deciding where you want to spend money in order to be able to make money. To date I haven’t done much to get my name out in the local market place, so I’m hoping that this advertisement will get the ball rolling.

This advertising gives me an opportunity to let business owners know how I can assist them as a Virtual Assistant; and I look forward to getting more local clients as a result.

Fiona

This week I’ve made the decision that I need to start getting my business name out more in the local market.

I’m in the process of writing a Press Release which I will send to my local newspaper. I did a lot of googling and came up with some great sites for information to help me write my Press Release.

I’m also going to explore the possibility of either doing one large advertisement in the paper, or several smaller line ads each week. I will have to weigh up the costs and try to decide which option would be most cost effective for me.

What this space… I’ll report back soon with how it all goes.

I hope you’re having a great week.

Fiona

http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/

The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, based in the USA, recently organised a survey which could be completed by Virtual Assistants. I took part in their Survey, along with many other Virtual Assistants from around the Globe.

The results will be collated, and reports sent to the participants. It will be interesting to see what the trends are, and perhaps I will gain ideas on how I can change or grow my Virtual Assistant business.

It would be interesting to know the actual number of Virtual Assistants currently working around the World. I’m sure it’s an industry that will grow exponentially in the next few years, especially as the cost of living sky-rockets with fuel prices etc. The ability to work from your own home office will be especially appealing.

I hope you have a great week.