I am very excited to have Sharon Williams of The 24 Hour Secretary, The Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the OIVAC stop by on the blog tour to promote the upcoming OIVAC Convention. If you’re not already registered…hop to it!

Thank you so much for stopping by Sharon! I am looking forward to reading your answers to my questions!

Becki

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I’m glad to be here Becki, and I apologize for being a little late. This week has been very hectic, but I was determined to not let anything interfere with my stopping by, and here I am! I hope your readers are still hanging around, because your questions are very interesting and I can’t wait to dive in and respond.

1. How can the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention be a catalyst for change in one’s VA Business?

The convention offers opportunities for VAs to assemble with VAs located around the globe, they would not normally engage in conversation. It also presents opportunities to create and nurture relationships that in the future may lead to the development of partnering relationships.

It also allows VAs to experience, first hand application of VoIP technology, inclusive of white boarding, video and PowerPoint presentations, file sharing, etc., all which can potentially be marketed as a value-add service to clients.

By attending seminars conducted by intra- and external VA-industry recognized experts, attendees gain access to a wealth of knowledge, experiences and information specifically crafted to benefit the virtual assistant audience. In other words, if you have questions, these presenters have answers!

2. How is the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the OIVAC connected?

The Alliance for Virtual Businesses (A4VB) is a promotional arm of the international VA community and primary sponsor of OIVAC. OIVAC is the brainchild of the chairperson of the Alliance (me). I believed the industry had grown to where we could hold an annual event, where, regardless of geographic boundaries, VAs could come together in a relaxed setting, network, attend educational activities, and celebrate virtual assisting, as well as individual and collective contributions to the business community, virtually and inexpensively. Because of these beliefs, and my continuing efforts to promote the industry, it made sense for the Alliance to grab the mantle and make it happen.

3. How can the right VA be an asset to a client’s business?

There are many, many ways the “right” VA can be an asset to a client’s business. For instance, the VA can serve as the right-hand person, intermediary with clients and vendors, appointment scheduler and problem solver. When the right VA performs duties, she can allow the client to “relax” knowing a professional is handling the responsibility. She can assume many duties and actually “make the client look good”, at home and before clients and prospects. If the client and VA maintain open lines of communication and she understands the client’s mission, she often times brainstorms, conducts research, and has prepared answers “before being asked”, implements processes and lets the client know “after the fact”.

Value-add services are something clients always appreciate – and when the client thinks you are one thought ahead, literally reading their mind and having a solution in hand, you are, in reality, 2 or 3 ahead. Eventually, the client recognizes your true value to the business; appreciates your direct and indirect contributions and compensates accordingly.

4. Is the OIVAC geared more towards the emerging VA or towards the VA ready to take the next big leap?

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter if you are classified as “emerging” or “ready to take the next big leap”. Emerging VAs are “taking the next big leap” into entrepreneurship, and established VAs are really “leaping” all the time. Like the 2006 convention, we have something for everyone. For instance, Laurie Dart, a copywriting expert VA, is presenting Winning Sales Copy, which is a topic we all should be interested in; Cheryl Callighan’s seminar is on subcontracting, which covers the issue from the owner as well as subcontractor prospective. Janice Byer will discuss how to respond to requests for proposals, another topic of interest to newbie and experienced VAs, and the list goes on.

In addition, the schedule also includes “specialty” or “niche” topics; again, which may be of interest to both categories. They include:

What is a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant? presented by Victoria Ring; How to Use Search Engine Optimization to Get More Clients Online, with Biana Babinski; and Coke7 is More than Soda, It’s a Brand: Learn How to Identify Yours & Increase Profits, which is presented by yours truly.

General categories every VA should want to attend include: Business Ethics, given by Jeannine Clontz, The Most Important Plan of Your Business - The Disaster Recovery Plan, by Diana Ennen, and Documenting Critical Success Factors for Profitable Growth, with Roberta Eastman.

As you can see, we’ve a wide array of topics that, frankly, VAs, no matter how classified, could select. And, this list does not include our eight (8) feature presenters. So to answer your question, we didn’t plan this year’s convention around any industry group but instead based it on overall industry interest. We invite VAs, no matter the category, to attend.

5. How does the industry go from where it is today to something bigger and better than ever before?

I guess the question is what is bigger and better? Looking over the past 10 years, the industry has progressed and as the future faces us, my hope is that the disparate groups can come together and develop a cohesive bond around creating an industry plan of action. Now I know there are some who ask, who does she think she is to propose the industry leadership – and even if you deny it, there are industry leaders (self proclaimed or not and even if you, the reader, do not subscribe to the title “leader”) meet and define parameters where we can all work together. It may be to work on just one activity or component of a project – but something that everyone is willing to sit at the table for. If that ever occurs, I see it as the foundation for bigger and better and then the industry’s future will be limitless.

Well Becki, I hope I’ve provided enough insight into the how’s, why’s and who’s of the OIVAC and look forward to attending your presentation at the convention. That’s right, now I remember; your topic is Imagination, Inventiveness and the New Fangled Idea explains how to network to find the experts that you need. Kathie Thomas of VA Directory, whom we visited yesterday, is also a presenter. Tomorrow, we go back “down under” to visit Lorraine Pirihi of Office Organiser. I can’t wait to share her scrambled puzzle clue with our Australian VA readers. So stay tuned. I won’t leave here without giving today’s clue, so don’t worry! It’s aslse. Okay, time for a nap. See you in the Land of Oz, tomorrow.

About Sharon Williams

Sharon is the Chairperson of the Alliance for Virtual Businesses and OIVAC, and president of The 24 Hour Secretary an administrative, secretarial and internet-based marketing support services company. She is the 2006 recipient of the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award and co-founder of Virtual Business University an e-learning environment for entrepreneurs willing to step towards their greatness.

As part of the outreach for Blogwild! A Guide for Small Business Blogging, I’m hosting a free series of expert calls with some of the top blogging brainiacs out there. Our third call is with Rick Bruner from DoubleClick.

Rick Bruner is research director of DoubleClick, a leading provider of digital advertising technology and services. Rick is widely regarded as an expert in the field of Internet marketing and advertising, a frequent speaker at industry conferences and the co-author of the book Net Results: Web Marketing That Works. He has been blogging since 2002 and is the founder of BusinessBlogConsulting.com, a group blog which focuses on using blogs for marketing.

Our call is going to focus on how to bloggers can use PR for marketing and how PR professionals can use bloggers for their marketing.

I hope you’ll join us for this free call:

Tuesday, January 24 @ 7:30 Eastern (New York)
Dial-in number is 1-712-432-2323 (long distance rates may apply)
Participant access code is 60657

To understand the blog, first of all a little history is in order. The word “blog” is short for the word “weblog”. A weblog is a word coined early in the internet age to designate a journal or diary type page mainly consisting of personal thoughts and reflections. Most of the time it is updated frequently and can range in topic from the mundane to the profound. Sound familiar? It should. What it really is when you get rid of the hype is the good old fashioned diary which has been with us almost as long as language itself.

How long have “blogs” been with us? Well, one of the first instances could easily be ascribed to a work called “Kakheperresenb’s Complaint”, written by none other than the egyptian scribe Kakheperresenb himself. (Please don’t try to pronounce the name. You WILL get a headache. We will call him “K” from this point forward.) “K” made one of the first recordable blog entries in history circa 2000 BC. Of course “K” didn’t have the resources and technology we did today and his audience was probably limited considering the fact that most of the population was illiterate.

“K” left with us the memorable phrase, “’Would I had phrases that are not known, utterances that are strange, in new language that has not been used, free from repetition, not an utterance which men of old have spoken.” Obviously even then people with a blog were STILL trying to figure out what to write!

But no seriously, the blog IS the way to reach fame and fortune and make a little money on the side. Just ask Darren Rowse , whose most recent (August 2005) income total from Adsense was a little over $16,000! Yeah, that WAS three zeroes behind that 6. Not bad for a guy writing his own comments and ramblings about everything from sports shoes to bad movies. Of course Darren went so far as to even take a course in college on “Entrepeunerial Blogging”. Needless to say he must have paid attention.

But you need not take a course to have a good blog that generates hits. Blogger extroidinairre Chris Wright started his by simply posting job openings for engineers which he came across during his own job search. Word got around and before long he realized his hit count was going up and up and up… You get the picture. If you write something interesting that people need to know they WILL come to you - invited or not. As Chris’s own story perfectly illustrates.

So run this by me again, you say? You mean ALL I have to do is just start writing stuff about - NOTHING?

No, not exactly. As always, in the internet world and in the real world, content is king. Your writing must be somehow funnier, sharper, wittier, smarter, more bizzare or just plain weird in order for people to link to you and as a result drive up the hits to your blog and hence fatten your pocketbook.

But notice how many options you have. You don’t have to depend on your education. Nor do you need a rich and lavish lifestyle that you can blog about while others read with envy. If you can make the boring, dreary life of the average nobody funny and interesting people will come regardless. As mentioned earlier - CONTENT is king.

Good content = more visitors = more banner hits = more money.

So you want to know how to get started with this blogging thing?

It’s really pretty easy. There are a number of places that will allow you to host your own blog and most of them do it for free. Blogger is probably the most popular. But there are others. Try some of these on for size if you had rather go the more individual route:

Livejournal - This is the “kinda” cool and hip virtual location for the blogger crowd. You can link to other people by topic and it has some other cool features like the ability to allow posts from only certain people.

Diaryland - Diaryland doesn’t hids it’s origins. In fact it does it’s best to try and make your weblog look as close as possible to the good old fashioned diary/journal that we all know and love. They have a smaller and more intimate community than some of the other locations.

What if you are not sure you want to get started but instead want to just read blogs of others for a while until you get a better idea of what you want to say?

Well there are PLENTY of sites that do nothing but list and aggregate blogs of other people. Here are just a few to get you started:

Globeofblogs - Globe of blogs has a real international flavor. You will find blogs from literally everywhere here.

Blogarama - Another compendium of various blogs on subjects ranging from weird to wonderful.

Blogsearchengine - This site cut’s to the chase. If you want to search for blogs they will do it for you. Just enter in the subject of your interest.

Top-blogs.com - Okay so you want to know other success stories? Check out those near the top of the listings here. You will then see what it takes to reach the top.

Well, hopefully you know enough to get started on your own blog by now. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and BLOG!

About the Author
Matt Bacak became “#1 Best Selling Author” in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets To Unleash The Powerful Promoter In You! Sign up for Matt Bacak’s Promoting Tips Ezine ($100 value) just visit his website at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or http://promotingtips.com.