In honor of Earth Day, I am re-posting this post.  This is one of many solutions to help us preserve Mother Earth.

With the increasing cost of fuel and pollution, businesses are going to have to come up with alternatives for their employees who drive back and forth to work on a daily basis. One alternative could be to reduce the work week. Another alternative would be to allow their employees to perform their duties from home. Of course, there are certain businesses that cannot operate off-site, as well as certain tasks that cannot be completed virtually.

On the other hand, if you are an entrepreneur, small business, or a small business owner and need administrative assistance, you have the alternative of working with a Virtual Assistant (VA). As a result, you and your Virtual Assistant are able to “go green.” Your Virtual Assistant doesn’t have to purchase as much gasoline, because he or she works from their home office. You “go green” by choosing to work with a VA rather than hiring an administrative assistant who would have to drive to your office. Both you and your VA are helping to preserve our planet by not adding to the levels of carbon monoxide.

This is just another great benefit in working with a Virtual Assistant. “Go green” work with a Virtual Assistant.

When starting a virtual assistant business, the first item on your to do list is coming up with a business name. You should give this a lot of thought.  The name you choose should reflect your products or services, because you will promote, brand and market your business under this name.

Next, decide on a niche.  A niche market is a narrowly defined group of potential clients. In order to create effective advertising and/or marketing messages, you need to know who you are addressing.

One method of marketing is Internet marketing, also know as online marketing.  Nowadays, because of the Internet and technology, Internet marketing is affordable and popular.  Examples of Internet marketing are blogs, websites, article marketing, online networking, and e-mail marketing campaigns.  For more detailed descriptions and examples of Internet marketing, click here for a copy of  my e-book for only $3.98.

If you are considering starting a virtual assistant business, decide on a business name, choose a niche, as well as create and implement an Internet marketing plan.

Cordina Charvis, CEO of CD&C Virtual Outsource Paralegal, began her virtual book tour today and has just arrived for her first stop on her tour.  We are discussing how to start a virtual paralegal business, her new e-book, The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide, plus much, much more.  Also, after Cordina’s visit, there will be a drawing for a fr^ee copy of her  e-book.  To qualify, just post a comment or question for Cordina.

Following is my interview with Cordina:

RC: Tell me about yourself.

CC:  My name is Cordina A. Charvis, founder and CEO of CD&C Virtual Outsource Paralegal, and I have more than 12 years experience working as a corporate paralegal and notary public. I have worked with several top law firms in the nation and in-house legal departments.

RC: Why did you write this book?

CC:  Law firms have been laying off attorneys in record numbers leaving lawyers scrabbling to find work. Some are working temporary positions, working as paralegals and others are considering going solo. Attorneys who consider going solo are hesitant due to the start up and overhead costs of starting a law firm. These attorneys reduce their overhead costs by hiring virtual assistants and virtual paralegals. Virtual assistants/paralegals reduce the cost of overhead for lawyers and small businesses.

RC: What qualifies you to write this book?

CC:  With more than 12 years working as a paralegal and almost five years as the CEO and founder of CD&C Virtual Outsource Paralegal, I believe I have enough insight in the business to share some of my struggles and successes that may help others who are trying to break into the business or for those who have started their virtual assistant/paralegal business but are looking for ways to grow.

RC: What is the book about?

CC:  The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide is an e-book where I discuss how I lost my first 10 clients while starting and operating my virtual paralegal business. This e-book is a step-by-step guide to starting your virtual assistant or virtual paralegal business.

RC: What do you want the readers to get out of the book?

CC:  I am hoping that this e-book will serve as a step-by-step guide for readers who want to break into the VA or PA business and will give experience VA and PA ideas on how to grow their business.

RC: How long have you been writing?

CC:  As a paralegal, writing is always a part of my professional life. I have to draft letters, memorandums, correspondence on a daily basis. But as a hobby I have always enjoyed writing articles about the legal industry.

RC: How can the readers contact you if they want further information?

CC:  They can email me at inbox[at]cdcvop.com.

RC: How much does the book cost?

CC:  The book costs $18.99.

RC: Where can the readers purchase your e-book?

CC:  Anyone interested in purchasing a copy of my e-book can do so at my website http://www.cdcvop.com.

RC: Thank you, Cordina, for stopping by and sharing with my readers.

CC:  Thank you for having me, Rita.

Just one more day until CD&C Virtual Outsource Paralegal worldwide virtual book tour begins right here at 9 a.m. PST.  Come on back tomorrow when I interview Cordina Charvis about her newly released eBook, The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide.  In Cordina’s eBook she discusses how to begin a virtual paralegal business, and how to avoid the setbacks that goes along with starting a new virtual paralegal business.

Also, Cordina will be giving away a fr^ee copy of her eBook, valued at $18.99, to a randomly selected visitor.  To qualify for the drawing, just post a comment or question for Cordina.  I will announce the winner right here.

Come back tomorrow to meet Cordina and enter the drawing for your copy of The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide.  See you then!

In just two days, Cordina Charvis will begin her worldwide virtual book tour.  She will make her first stop here on Friday, November 20th at 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. PST.  I will be interviewing her about her newly released eBook, The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide.  Cordina’s eBook includes tips for starting a virtual paralegal business, as well as pitfalls she suffered when she first started her business and how to avoid them.

Cordina will also be giving away a fr^ee copy of eBook, valued at $18.99, to a randomly selected visitor.  All you need to do to qualify is post a comment or question for Cordina on Friday, November 20th, to be entered into the grand drawing.

So come on by on Friday to learn more about Cordina, as well as ask her any questions you may have about operating and starting a virtual paralegal business.  You can also be the lucky winner of her informative eBook, The Ultimate Virtual Paralegal Guide.  See you on Friday!

If you’re an entrepreneur or service professional, you may be wondering “what’s next” for your business.

I want to introduce you to Maria Simone, an amazing woman who over the years has launched several businesses and has helped countless others do the same.

She’s appeared in the media in publications like Success Magazine, Business Week and many others.

Thanks to the help of her husband Michael Murdock, a 30-year technology veteran, Maria has also become an internet marketing and social media marketing expert over the past few years.

Starting July 30th, Maria will be offering a FR^EE 4-part Passionate Business teleclass.

Click here for more details:

During the series, you’ll learn:

*Instant revenue and funding strategies.
*Zero to low-cost marketing techniques that will help attract customers 24/7.
*How to create a solid online presence.
*Abundance strategies including creating multiple revenue streams.

…and so much more. Just follow the link for details and to register.

So, you are still not quite sure exactly what a Virtual Assistant (VA) is or what they do. Think of a Virtual Assistant as your online administrative assistant. Your first thought may be, “Geez, they are expensive.” When you pencil out the benefits you reap from working with a Virtual Assistant, your thought will be, “Wow, they are not as expensive as I first thought.”

When you work with a Virtual Assistant, your business operations will run as smooth as silk. Your VA becomes familiar with how you operate your business and, as a result, are able to complete the tasks you hand over to them. Remember, virtual assistants are also business owners and have to deal with their own business operations. Therefore, are very versed in this area.

You won’t have to worry about time-consuming tasks, such as, your e-mail marketing campaigns, maintaining your website, following up with your clients, bookkeeping, creating a new blog, to name a few. Being able to take back your life is priceless, while at the same time, your business is booming.

Next time you hear the term Virtual Assistant and are not exactly sure what that means, just think of what an administrative assistant is and the tasks they complete; except, they are online.

Those of you who have been following my blog posts know that when I discover useful information I like to pass it on to other small business owners. If you need to create an online survey, I recommend using SurveyMonkey.com. It is very user-friendly, and the basic service is free. Although the basic service is limited, there are a lot of features included with the free version.

The survey is very easy to design and includes option of templates, as well as over a dozen types of questions; for example, multiple choice, drop down menus, and rating scales. You also have a choice of how you want to collect the data. You can put a link on your blog or send the link via e-mail. I used Aweber for one of my clients to send out e-mails because we needed to set up an auto responder follow-up e-mail. You can also send your e-mails through Survey Monkey. If you use Survey Monkey for your e-mail distribution, you can see who responds to your survey, as well as send follow up reminders to those who don’t.

Another feature is you can analyze the results as they are collected in real-time, including filtering and cross tabulation. In addition, you can download the results in multiple formats.

Remember, if you don’t have time to create your survey, outsource it to your Virtual Assistant(s).

I finished my first virtual e-book tour on Tuesday, and I met some interesting readers along the way. I virtually traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast, spending the day at various bookstores (blogs) promoting my new e-book, “Online Marketing Tools for Today’s Small Business.” I also held interview sessions with the blog owners. My plans are to do another virtual e-book tour early next year. So, be on the lookout for that.

On Wednesday, it was my turn to host a virtual book tour stop for Karen M. Pina, author of “Is it the job, the boss, you . . . or are you an entrepreneur? Find your career stressors and the success that God intends.” Karen is also a coach for Christian leaders and entrepreneurs.

With the cost of airfare and gas, traveling from blog to blog is more practical. It saves time, money, and you reach a larger audience. If you don’t have time to coordinate a virtual book tour, outsource this task to your Virtual Assistant. Hope to see you on my next tour!

Today, my virtual tour stop was at Sue Canfield’s bookstores (blogs) located here in California. Sue has two locations, http://suecanfield.wordpress.com/ and http://awesomeassistant.blogspot.com/. Everyone who came by her blogs thought a virtual e-book tour was creative and cool. They also enjoyed Sue’s interview of me. Click here to read it.

My last tour stop will be Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at Karen Pina’s blog. Her address is http://www.gemnewsletter.blogspot.com/ in Connecticut. She will also interview me. If you have any questions for me, come on by and ask. Anyone who makes a comment or ask me a question will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a free copy of my e-book. Click here to read more about my e-book. Read what others are saying, plus an excerpt. Hope to see you on the tour.