Tips for Working with a Virtual Assistant: Delegate Something Neglected
There are probably projects and tasks in your business that get neglected – either because you attach an idea pain to getting them done, or you just never seem to have enough time to get to them. The emotional stress and cognitive burden of these tasks should not be underestimated, and the positive impact of having these tasks consistently handled makes them a high-leverage assignment that can set you at ease and strengthen your business. Even if you don’t know where to begin, simply opening up a dialogue with your virtual...
read moreTips for Working with a Virtual Assistant: Lead Time
A virtual assistant’s time is divided among clients. Obviously, this means that they’re not sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for a particular client to send in work. Rather, they are constantly busy and managing different deadlines. This works well as long as every client is not sending in urgent work. By giving us plenty of lead time on projects, we are able to complete the work on time – and do a better job (as opposed to rushing). A good rule of thumb is to give us a day of lead time for every hour of work...
read moreTips for Working With a Virtual Assistant: Communication, Communication, Communication
At LongerDays, we realize that part of hiring a virtual assistant is rooted in convenience. We do our best to keep a client’s time obligations to a minimum, and bug them as little as possible. However, it is inevitable that we will (at times) need things from a client to complete a task they’ve delegated… Typically, we need more information. Whenever a LongerDays team member asks a client for clarification or additional information, they have already tried their best to answer the question on their own. They have probably...
read moreThe Best Time to Book Flights
Should you book flights early or wait until the last minute? Is it cheaper to book flights on a certain day of the week? Is there a secret to finding the best flight prices, no matter where you want to go? To find the answer we turned to Rick Seaney, one of the country’s leading experts on airfare. Rick has given interviews and analysis to news organizations such as ABC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, Bloomberg, etc. According to Rick, you should start looking at flights about 4 months before...
read moreComparing the Costs
You’re a savvy business owner, right? You’re here reading, doing your homework and comparing the cost of a ten dollar-an-hour part-time employee, to a 30+ dollar-an-hour virtual assistant, it might seem that the employee is the obviously cheaper option. Well… Read on, and learn why hiring a LongerDays virtual assistant might be the savviest business decision you’ll ever make! Listed below are the “hidden” expenses you need to consider when hiring an employee, that you don’t have to worry about when...
read moreWhat is a Virtual Assistant?
Most people haven’t even heard of the term “virtual assistant” and those of us who have still hold widely varied ideas about what a virtual assistant is, the level service a virtual assistant should provide, and the position they should hold within a company. Whenever I meet new people, it is always a challenge to explain to them what our company does. With most businesses you say “We’re a construction company” or “I have a car dealership” and people understand what it is you do and the...
read moreGoogle URL Shortener – goo.gl
Last December Google released a URL shortener as part of Google Toolbar and Feedburner. Today, they gave it its own website: http://goo.gl A URL shortener is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: You enter in a long website address, and the shortener provides a shorter link. .gl is the country code top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet for Greenland In plain English, every country has it’s own URL endings. For example: United kingdom is .UK Austrailia is .AU Libya is .LY Most people are after .com so instead of...
read moreFive Ways Google Instant Search Will Change SEO
If you haven’t put any thought into how Google’s Instant Search will change SEO efforts, you may want to start now! Here are a five things from David Felfoldi that you might want to consider: 1. Brevity is the Soul of Wit: Search engine users now have a reason to reduce their attention time even further — instant results as you type. Keep your copy brief, to the point, and able to grab their attention. If a searcher can’t scan and find what they are seeking, they are only one keystroke away from an entire new search results page...
read moreUnderstanding Virtual Assistant Rates
Many virtual assistance companies charge variable rates. A few, like LongerDays, charge a “flat rate” for all services. When looking at the rates on various virtual assistant websites, you come across phrases like Basic, Premium, Executive Assistant, and other rates. This means the rate charged by the virtual assistance company varies, depending on what type of task is assigned. What are the pros? With a variable rate plan, the billing rate will change depending on the skill level required. In essence, you pay less for simple...
read moreWays to Use a Virtual Assistant: Meal Planning
What a terrific task to assign your virtual assistant: having them create and plan your meals. Recently, a client assigned this task to us – and the more I think about it, the more I’m appreciating just how smart it is! It will save that client a considerable amount of time and money. We created an Excel document that breaks down the menu for the week – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – taking his dietary preferences into account along the way. He also asked us to create a menu that would have leftovers, and we...
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