**********************************************
The Virtual Consulting Discussion List [VCDL]
http://www.TheVCF.com/vcdl.phtml
Wednesday, January 14th, 2004 Digest #11
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List Moderator: Michael S.DeVries DeVries@cris.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS ...
---> [NEW] <---
#1 What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
- Michael S. DeVries
#2 Help! I can’t see my laptop display! :(
- Michael S. DeVries
#3 ISO Capital Resources
- Michael S. DeVries
#4 The Virtual Consultants' Corner
- Michael S. DeVries
#5 How Can I Market With Articles If I Can't
Write?
- Bonnie Jo Davis
---> [CONTINUED] <---
#6 How do you Network Virtually? -
Finding Contacts on the Internet
- Nancy Roebke
#7 What are your favorite / the best Virtual
Consulting Tools?
- PC Remote Access / Control
- Michael S. DeVries
#8 Virtual Freelancing
- Best Freelancing Sites / Links?
- Michael S. DeVries
---> [NEWS] <---
---> [INTRO] <---
---> [HELP WANTED] <---
---> [ADMIN] <---
************* [NEW] ***************
#1 What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
Well another New Year is upon us .. for which
we wish you all the best
in this New Year! :)
So …
What are your New Year’s Resolutions for this
year?
What do you plan to do differently this year
to improve your business?
What are your goals for your business this year?
We are sure that you all are already quite familiar
with all of the
expert advice and case study results out there
that show that people
that set goals are much more likely to achieve
them, right?
What are the Critical Success Factors to your
achieving your business
goals for this year?
What business “hurdles” (issues), if any, do
you need to overcome
(resolve) in order to achieve these goals?
What business “hurdles” (issues), if any, do
you need to overcome
(resolve) in order to achieve these goals?
What are your plans for achieving your business
goals?
How are you going to measure whether or not you
are “on track” with
your plans for achieving your business goals?
Let’s all share our Resolutions and business
goals for this coming
year together such that we may also be able to
help each other achieve
them! :)
Thank you for your participation in and support
of The Virtual
Consulting Discussion List this past year! :)
and …
We wish you all the best! And hope this all helps
all of you achieve
all your hopes and dreams for this New Year!
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
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#2 Help! I can’t see my laptop display! :(
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
I don’t know about you, but …
One of the potential benefits of Virtual Consulting
that I have always
“dreamed of” and look forward to fully capitalize
is being able to
work from “my beach”! B-)
Unfortunately, I have found that it is soo bright
on “my beach” that I
can’t even see my laptop display to be able to
do anything productive!
:( so …
Does anyone know of any solution to my dilemma?
Do you know of any kind of “hood”, “filter”,
etc. that I may use with
my laptop display so that I may actually see it
and be able to work
effectively outdoors?
Any and all input and assistance would be most
appreciated and shared
with our fellow Virtual Consultants! :)
If nothing like this currently exists … it certainly
“smells like” a
Great Opportunity for someone to create one! Ya’know?
Please help me and other Virtual Consultants
like me realize our
dreams of being able to work whenever and from
wherever we would like!
:)
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
-----------------------------------------------------------
#3 ISO Capital Resources
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
We are, as some of you may be as well, in search
of (ISO) for which we
would greatly appreciate your help in finding
additional venture
capital and/or other capital resources both for
various Virtual
Consulting business ventures as well as other
business ventures, so …
What sources of business venture capital and/or
other capital
resources are you aware?
Are these suitable for capitalizing Virtual Consulting
business(es) /
ventures? Why? Or Why not?
What have been your experiences dealing with
these capital resources?
Which ones would you recommend? And Why?
Which ones would you not recommend? And Why?
What are the currently available capital sources
looking for in an
opportunity in which to invest?
How would you recommend that a (potential) business
owner approach
these potential sources of capital to maximize
their probability of
securing the capital sought?
We are have begun and would be happy to share
and post the additional links you provide for
various capital resources in The Virtual Consultants’
Resource Center for our mutual benefit! :) at:
http://www.thevcf.com/vccenter.phtml#CAPITAL
Any and all help, assistance and referrals you
may be able to share
with all of us would again be Most Appreciated!
:)
Let’s continue to help each other out by finding
and sharing all of
the useful resources of which we are aware for
our mutual benefit and
success! ok?
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
-----------------------------------------------------------
#4 The Virtual Consultants' Corner
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
We are pleased to announce to you the availability
of and invite you
to also participate in a new interactive forum
just for discussions
among Virtual Consultants about anything and everything
related to any
and all types of Virtual Consulting …
The
Virtual Consultants' Corner
At:
http://www.thevcf.com/postnuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=index&c=11
We hope that this will provide you all with additional
opportunities
to network together and discuss topics related
to Virtual Consulting
for all of our mutual benefit! :)
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
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[Now back to our "regular scheduled programming"
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-----------------------------------------------------------
#5 How Can I Market With Articles If I Can't Write?
-----------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 17:02:26 –0800
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
From: "Bonnie Jo Davis" <bonniejodavis@earthlink.net>
How Can I Market With Articles If I Can't Write?
The shrewdest and most effective means of free
advertising is
through providing interesting and relevant information
to your
potential customers. You can do this easily by
writing and
distributing free reprint articles at various
web sites around
the 'net. There are literally thousands of e-zine
and web site
publishers actively searching for the interesting
and
informative articles you can craft in your area
of expertise.
Targeting the audiences of these publishers is
an essential
element of your cost-effective advertising and
marketing strategy.
I am convinced that anyone with a web site can
promote that web
site along with its business, products, and/or
services by
implementing this basic marketing strategy. Sure,
it sounds
simple enough, but what if you aren't confident
in your writing
skills? Accurate written communication is the
foundation of
this marketing maneuver.
Can you write?
My initial experience involved submitting articles
written by
other people to publishers. I was so excited when
I saw the
response generated by this technique that I decided
to use it
when I began my own business.
One day I sat down with pen-in-hand attempting
to begin writing
my own articles and spent the next half hour staring
at the
blank sheet. In frustration, I eventually put
down the pen and
walked away, later complaining to a friend that
I hated to write.
I complained about lacking writing expertise and
that my
qualifications basically amounted to the good
grades I earned in
English classes long ago. My friend gently interrupted
me pointing
out that I had been writing on a daily basis at
work. She also
brought to my attention the fact that my education
provided me with
the necessary skills to write competently and
effectively.
After kindly showing me the forest which I couldn't
see for its
trees, my friend generously offered an incredible
suggestion.
Her solution for my dilemma was that I should
try begin again by
choosing a topic and then creating an outline
representing the points
I wanted to cover about that topic in my article.
Choosing a topic
would give me a foundation upon which to build
my article. Drafting
an outline would allow me to address the issues
that I saw as
pertinent and relevant to my topic.
I took her advice, narrowed my possible topics,
and selected one that
I would reduce to writing. With that one topic
in mind, I proceeded
to create a comprehensive outline on that blank
piece of paper. After
completing my outline, I fleshed it out, added
stories to illustrate
my points, and Voila... I had right there before
me a rough draft of
my first article! That rough draft, after being
carefully proofed and
polished, became an article that was published
in dozens of online
publications. The positive result of my effort
was that my article
netted me thousands of web site visitors and rewarded
me with a
treasured long-term client.
Can't get past the outline?
If you're absolutely certain you can't write
there are at least
three options well worth considering. The first
option is to
enroll in a writing class through your local university,
adult
education program or on-line. A couple of on-line
options
include Write101 Writing Tutorials at http://www.write101.com/writewell.htm
or Writers' Village University at http://writersvillage.com/.
Many local universities, community
colleges and adult education programs also offer
on-line courses.
Your second option is to hire a ghostwriter.
Most ghostwriters
will take your topic, conduct the research and
write an article
for your review. Upon your approval of the article
the
ghostwriter will add your by-line and release
the article to you for
distribution. Offering research resources or providing
an outline for
the ghostwriter to follow may reduce the ghostwriter's
fees. You can
post your article project and take bids from ghostwriters
on-line at
http://www.elance.com,
http://www.creativemoonlighter.com
or you can
seek a ghostwriter using any search engine. You'll
find various
options that will fit your budget. Freelance ghostwriters
can
negotiate regarding their fees since they work
for themselves and
often offer reduced rates to returning clients.
A third option also requires hiring a ghostwriter
to write your
article and add your by-line but going further
to enlist that
person to distribute the article for you. This
is a convenient
and time-effective way to have the entire writing
and
distribution project completed by the same individual.
You can
review two companies that offer packaged services
at
http://thephantomwriters.com/purchase/index.shtml
and
http://www.marketingwords.com/ezinearticle.html.
Even if you honestly can't write you can certainly
still educate your
target audience, earn loyalty and establish yourself
as an expert by
using free reprint articles. You can invest a
bit more in your
advertising and promotional efforts by taking
a writing course or
hiring a ghostwriter. Whichever of the two you
may choose, you are
making an investment that will be well- returned
many times over in
beneficial results to both you and your readers.
Be willing to go the
extra mile in establishing your web site as the
definitive choice of
your targeted audience.
You'll be pleased with the rewards of your efforts.
Bonnie Jo Davis is an expert in using articles
to marketing your
business, services and products. Visit http://www.ArticlesThatSell.com/newsletter.htm
to sign-up for a free monthly newsletter to learn
everything you need to know about marketing with
articles.
(c) 2003, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights
in all media
reserved.
************* [CONTINUED] ***************
#6 How do you Network Virtually?
- Finding Contacts on the Internet
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Nancy Roebke [execdirector@profnet.org]
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Wed 1/7/04 11:24 AM
Finding Contacts on the Internet
Nancy Roebke mailto:execdirector@profnet.org
We will begin our series on Internet Networking
this week with
the first thing it takes to network and that is
contact with
people. Statistics vary but most will agree that
there are
upwards of 40 million people in the world with
Internet
accessibility. That's a heck of a lot of people
to get to know.
But we also know that we can't get to know them
all..in fact,
we don't want to. Not all those people could be
in a mutually
beneficial business relationship with us. If we
are here for
business, we need to narrow the field of contacts
down to ones
that we can help and/or that can help us.
Where do we start? First, decide WHO you need
to get to
know. Not their names, but what they do. Who can
refer you
clients the easiest? Are they Bankers? Lawyers?
Realtors?
Printers? Contractors? What fields of business
would help you
most by having associations with them? What fields
of
business are you currently looking to expand your
client base
in? Are most of you clients doctors? Would you
like more? Or
what fields of business DON'T you have any clients
in but
would like to? Would you like to START servicing
CPAs? You
need to make a list of the FIELDS of business
that would best
help you.
Once that list is made, you want to narrow down
the volume of
people you associate with to those in places where
your target
professions can be found. How do you do that?
1. Find lists that your target professionals
participate in.
You can contact http://www.liszt.com/
for Liszt Searchable
Directory of E-mail Mailing Lists. Here you can
search by
profession if you wish. If you already HAVE contacts
in the
fields on your target list, ask them what online
lists they
participate in.
2. Find Newsgroups that your target professionals
participate
in. Visit http://www.dejanews.com.
This Web Site that keeps
track of all the Internet Newsgroups and the postings
to those
groups. Using keywords for each of the professions
you're
seeking, you'll find newsgroups that discuss topics
that are
relevant to those professions via Deja News. As
with any
keyword search, the more specific you are, the
narrower the
search, and the easier it will be to pinpoint
the information
you're seeking.
3. Search on the Internet for associations that
your target
group might be members of. Chambers of Commerce,
Trade
Associations, Fraternal Groups, and various civic
groups would
be excellent places to start.
4. Read sig files for everyone who posts to the
lists and
newsgroups that you are currently active on. Watch
for your
target professions.
5. Put a request at the end of YOUR sig if there
are specific
fields you are looking to make contact with. Something
like:
I am currently seeking Realtors, Bankers, Title
Companies, and
Attorneys for possible business referrals.
6. Use AUTORESPONDERS to provide information
about
who you are looking for and why (looking to exchange
referrals, expand your client base, get opinions
on new
products and services, etc.) These work 24 hours
a day for you
and are so reasonably priced, I don't understand
why
EVERYBODY doesn't use them. I have 25 running
right now.
7. Participate in online networking groups.
Copyright © Nancy Roebke
[In the next VCDL Digest we will learn more from
Nancy on Virtual
Networking regarding “On Line Sources For Leads”.
To learn “tons” more about Networking both online
and offline … We Highly Recommend! That you subscribe
to Nancy’s NetworkInk networking newsletter by
emailing to: networkink@aweber.com
]
-----------------------------------------------------------
#7 What are your favorite / the best Virtual Consulting
Tools?
- PC Remote Access / Control
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Monday January 12, 2004
In VCDL Digest #2 April 21, 2003, Michael S.
DeVries wrote:
What are your favorite / the best Virtual Consulting
Tools?
- PC Remote Access / Control
<snip>
I received further recommendations for the following
Virtual
Consulting PC Remote Access / Control Tools, which
I wished to share
with you.
3) RealVNC – an “open-source cross-platform remote
control solution”
>From the RealVNC web site:
“…VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing. It
is remote control
software which allows you to view and interact
with one computer (the
"server") using a simple program (the
"viewer") on another computer
anywhere on the Internet. The two computers don't
even have to be the
same type, so for example you can use VNC to view
an office Linux
machine on your Windows PC at home. VNC is freely
and publicly
available and is in widespread active use by millions
throughout
industry, academia and privately. …”
You may find links to the RealVNC web site, as
well as several other
PC Remote Access / Control Tool, many which offer
free downloads,at:
http://www.thevcf.com/vccenter.phtml#PCRC
What other PC Remote Access / Control software
have you had experience
with?
Which ones would you recommend to use or to stay
away from?
Why? or Why Not?
We look forward to hearing from you for our mutual
benefit.
Hope this helps!
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
-----------------------------------------------------------
#8 Virtual Freelancing
- Best Freelancing Sites / Links?
-----------------------------------------------------------
From: Michael S. DeVries <DeVries@cris.com>
Reply To: Virtual-Consulting@topica.com
Date sent: Tuesday December 9, 2003
Dear Fellow Virtual Consultants,
What are “the best” Freelancing sites / links
from your experience?
And Why?
What are “the worst” Freelancing sites / links
from your experience?
And Why?
How many Freelancing sites do you regularly participate
in / visit?
And which ones? And Why these?
What do you look for in a Freelancing site that
you would wish to
participate in?
Which ones do you “stay away from”? and Why?
We are have discovered and posted more additional
links to various
“freelancing” resources, etc. in our Job Links
web page, where you may
find links to “freelancing” sites to either offer
your services and/or
find other “freelancers” for your virtual consulting
engagements at:
http://www.thevcf.com/joblink.phtml#FREELANCE
Now also including links to:
· Bizmoonlighter.com
· Creativemoonlighter.com
·
ITmoonlighter.com
· Officemoonlighter.com
· Sourcescript.com
Please again pardon the ongoing progress of our
Job Links web page(s)
as they continue to grow and undergo major renovations
to make them
easier to use and more useful for you.
Please let us know if you are aware of any additional
freelance sites
and/or resources which you would like to see included
on our sites for
the mutual benefit of our Virtual Consulting Discussion
List Members.
We look forward to hearing from you for our mutual
benefit.
We Hope this all helps!
Your "Virtual" Moderator,
- Michael S. DeVries
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