I was very surprised yesterday morning to discover a Google Alert in my inbox indicating that I had won the VAnetworking Blog of the Month Award.  How honored I am especially since my blog is so new!  In addition to being new, my topics tend to be all over the board, depending upon what project I am working on at the moment or what is paining me or inspiring me.  This just proves the support and family-like atmosphere that this group projects.  I would not be where I am today without discovering Tawnya Sutherland from an article in Entrepreneur.com. (This link goes to an article about Tawnya but not the one that got me involved with her. That one is a number of years old and no longer posted.)

Are you an aspiring virtual assistant like me? Do you have an Insiders subscription to VAnetworking?  I have found this group of VA’s to be the most open, addressable and helpful people in the industry!  You don’t really even need the paid Insider subscription, if you don’t want to receive the valuable RFP’s or invitations to special classes and trainings.  It is just a great place to tips and tricks of the industry.  The response time is incredible.  I don’t think that I have ever posted a question that wasn’t answered by the end of the day.

However, I do suggest that anyone that is starting up their own virtual assistant business check out Tawnya’s Virtual Business Startup Solutions package.  There is also a Kick Start download on the website.  I should have gone this route, but, I thought that I could start my business by myself.  Yes, I was able to but it took quite a while and occasionally, I would have the horse before the cart and have to back up and improve my plans!  It would have been a lot easier if I would have just followed Tawnya’s program.

And, if you are not a virtual assistant, but think you may need one or would like to find out more information about how to partner with a VA, first, read their blog and then join the forum! This is an excellent place to hang out.  Once you easily discover the openness and honesty of professionals in the VA industry you will feel very confident by posting your Request for Proposal on this board.  You can also find out more from my webpage “Why a VA?”

Press Release: Virtual Assistant wins award for commitment to excellence and business growth

I read the best little book ever written recently, Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D. with the forward supplied by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.  These men are the Co-Authors of The One Minute Manager.   This book should be required reading for everyone, especially young people just getting out into the world.  It is an easy read with a cute story about coping with change, rather being able to anticipate change and deal with it as efficiently as possible.  The story is about two mice and two miniature people, (mouse-sized) and how every day they run through a maze looking for cheese.  The “cheese” being a metaphor for a goal or wanted situation. (more…)

My VA colleague, Jessica Maes, has just launched her book Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant and she is currently on virtual tour to promote it! Jessica operates a busy Virtual Assistance practice from her home office in Madison, WI. Additionally, Jessica has taught a class at the University of Wisconsin through the Minicourse Department called Exploring A Career As A Virtual Assistant since early 2009. The class has had great response based on the ever growing interest in the Virtual Assistance industry and the current job market conditions that have people exploring their career options more vigorously than ever before. Jessica wrote the book so that people beyond driving distance to the University can learn much of the same information she shares from the comfort and convenience of their own home. After all, this is a book about working virtually, so sharing the information offsite is a natural fit! You can read a free sample from the book by clicking here.

As part of this tour stop, Jessica is available to us today to answer your burning questions about the Virtual Assistance industry! Post your question by leaving a Comment below. Jessica will respond in the Comments section so be sure to check back!

To celebrate the book’s launch, Jessica has a few goodies to offer us. The first is a 20% discount off the purchase of the book. Simply use the promo code THANKYOU during check out.

The second is that one lucky reader will receive a free copy of the eBook version of the book! To be eligible to win, you simply need to post a question about Virtual Assistance in the comments section of this post. The winner will be chosen at random and announced here in a couple of days.

The book is currently available for immediate download via an eBook format and in hard copy. To purchase the book, click here.