Brandon and George are two best friends who started a blog called Pants Off Entrepreneurs. They are setting out on a journey across the United States to interview fellow entrepreneurs to find out how and when they decided to take fate into their own hands and start their own business. Their hope…to inspire others to follow their dreams. In Episode 56, I talk with both Brandon and George about their inspiring project.

Show Links:

Pants Off Entrepreneurs: http://pantsoffblog.com, Pants Off Entrepreneurs on Twitter,  Pants Off Entrepreneurs on Facebook

Startupnation: http://www.startupnation.com
SBA.gov: http://www.sba.gov
SCORE: http://www.score.org
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com
Public Libraries (list of public libraries in the US): http://www.publiclibraries.com/

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Standard Podcast [15:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3)

Today’s podcast guest is Tina Marie Hilton of Clerical Advantage. Tina is a Virtual Assistant that can be found across the web on blogs, both as a writer, contributing editor and as an active participant, leaving comments and link love along the way. It is no coincidence then, that today’s episode is primarily about blogging. In this episode Tina offers insight on the benefits of blogging for your business, shares some tips for blogging and also talks about how blogging has played a part in her business success.

Show Links:

Tina Marie Hilton: http://www.clericaladvantage.com, http://www.girlygirlgeek.com, http://www.homeofficewarrior.com,

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 55 [33:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (15)

If you are new to social media and social networking chances are you have quite a few questions. Like – where to start or better yet, what is social media exactly? Sure, you probably have heard of sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, but did you know that there are tools to help you determine what network is best for you or that having a social media strategy (especially if you are a business owner) from the very beginning is important to your social media success?

In this episode Janet Fouts, social media coach, speaker, blogger and author answers those questions and more. Even if you aren’t new to social media, today’s episode may shed some light on some questions you may have been pondering about your own social media success; like the best way to separate personal and business life in social media and minding your social media manners.

Janet, many thanks to you, it was great having you on the show.

Show Links:

Janet Fouts: http://www.janetfouts.com, http://www.socialmediacoachingcenter.com,  http://www.tatudigital.com, http://www.twitter.com/jfouts

Janet’s book Social Media Success: http://bit.ly/9eUIFU

Radian6: http://www.radian6.com/
Trackur:  http://www.trackur.com/
Buzzlogic: http://www.buzzlogic.com/
SM2:  http://www.techrigy.com/
Social Mention: http://www.socialmention.com

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 54 [40:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (10)

Episode 53 is another entrepreneurial spotlight episode featuring Jeff LeRiche, owner of Off The Chain Sports  (OTCSports for short). OTCSports is an online provider of baseball and softball equipment. Just in time for spring training! Jeff and I spoke about his business, marketing (and more specifically how social media plays a role in his business marketing) and much more. It is always great hearing from other entrepreneurs how they started their business, their business strategy and how they are finding success. My conversation with Jeff was no exception.

Show Links

Jeff LeRiche -  http://www.otcsports.com
OTCSports on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/otcsports
OTCSports on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/otcsports

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 53 [26:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (17)

This week’s episode focuses on Copywriting. If you remember a few week’s ago, I aired an interview in which I spoke with Allison Nazarrian about writing copy for your business. Well, this time around I speak with Tammi Metzler, of The Write Associate about outsourcing your copywriting to a professional. Tammi and I cover such topics as, why a business should hire a copywriter, how to find a copywriter, questions to ask and items to consider during your initial consultation and more. It should be noted that many of the questions and items that should be considered when looking for a copywriter can be applied to almost any independent contractor you plan on working with — such as a Virtual Assistant.

Show Links:

Tammi Metzler – http://www.writeassociate.com

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual Assistantville: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 52 [33:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (26)

It  has been a while since I have aired an interview with a Virtual Assistant and so, I  am very happy to be sharing with you today my interview with Virtual Assistant Andrea Jackson of Action Jackson VA. Andrea and I had a nice conversation about her business, virtual assistant niches, as well as, The Virtual Entrepreneur (TVE) Ezine.  TVE is a business magazine and tool Andrea started to not only serve the VA Industry, but to educate others about the industry as well.

Show Links:
Andrea Jackson: http://www.actionjacksonva.com, http://www.tvemagazine.com, http://www.aove.org

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual AssistantVille: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 51 [24:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (27)

In this episode of A Virtual Perception, Rikki Green of Time for Life Concepts, joins me to chat about Windows 7, as well as,  audio books and digital book readers. However, because we are both users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, before long our conversation turned to talking about our favorite and most used iPhone and iPod Touch Apps.

Show Links:

Rikki Green - http://www.timeforlifeconcepts.com

Windows 7 – http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/?icid=win7van

Kindle – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T963C

Barnes and Noble  Nook – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp

Project Gutenburg – http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

iPhone and iPod Applications

Stanza – available in the App Store.

Google Reader – available in the App Store.

Audiobooks Application – available in the App Store.

Kindle Application – available in the App Store.

Pandora Box - available in the App Store.

Pandora (Music App) – available in the App Store.

I Heart Radio -  available in the App Store.

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual AssistantVille: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 50 [27:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (23)

Episode 49 is a very special episode jam packed with my favorite business resources. Resources range from project management solutions to client gift ideas and many are ones I use in my day to day business.  Below is a complete list of all the resources mentioned in this episode along with their web links.  What is your favorite business resource? Tell me about it by leaving a comment on this post.

Project Management
ClientSpot - http://www.myclientspot.com
Central Desktop – http://www.centraldesktop.com
Project Pier – http://www.projectpier.org
Mentioned, but not highlighted:
Smartsheets – http://www.smartsheet.com
Basecamp – http://basecamphq.com/
Staction – http://www.staction.com

Time Tracking
MyHours.com – http://www.myhours.com
Time Stamp – http://www.syntap.com/products_timestamp.htm

Shopping Carts
1ShoppingCart – http://www.1shoppingcart.com
Shopify – http://www.shopify.com
Paypal – http://www.paypal.com
ZenCart – http://www.zen-cart.com
e-Junkie – http://www.ejunkie.com

Email Marketing
Constant Contact – http://www.constantcontact.com
iContact – http://www.icontact.com
Aweber – http://www.aweber.com
Vertical Response - http://www.veritcalresponse.com
Mailchimp – http://www.mailchimp.com
MadMiMi – http://www.madmimi.com

PDF
PDF995 – http://www.pdf995.com
CutePDf – http://www.cutepdf.com
Scribd – http://www.scribd.com

FTP
CuteFTP – http://www.cuteftp.com
Filezilla – http://www.filezilla-project.org

RSS
Google Reader – http://www.google.com/reader
Free RSS Reader – Available on iPhone and iPod Touch App Store
Juice – http://www.juicereceiver.sourceforge.net

Music
I Heart Radio – Available on iPhone and iPod Touch App Store
Jango -  http://www.jango.com
Pandora – http://www.pandora.com or Available on iPhone and iPod Touch App Store

Podcast Directories
PodcastAlley – http://www.podcastalley.com
iTunes – http://www.itunes.com
Blog Talk Radio - http://www.blogtalkradio.com

Podcasts worth checking out:
Quick and Dirty Tips for the Public Speaker – http://publicspeaker.quickanddirtytips.com/
Stuff Mom Never Told You – http://www.howstuffworks.com/podcasts/stuff-mom-never-told-you.rss
How Stuff Works -http://www.howstuffworks.com/stuff-you-should-know-podcast.htm

Client Gifts
Instagift – http://www.instagift.com
Fairytale Brownies – http://www.brownies.com

VOIP
Grasshopper – http://www.grasshopper.com
Skype – http://www.skype.com
Google Voice – http://www.google.com/voice

Social Networking
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com
Virtual Assistant Forums – http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Twitter Applications
Hootsuite – http://www.hootsuite.com
Tweetie – Available on iPhone and iPod Touch App Store
Tweetdeck – http://www.tweetdeck.com
Friend or Follow – http://www.friendorfollow.com
MyVBO – http://www.myvbo.com
Mixero – http://www.mixero.com

Some additional resources not mentioned during the episode:
DimDim – webinar solution – free service for webinars with up to 20 people – http://www.dimdim.com
YouSendIt – for sending large files - http://www.yousendit.com
DropBox – for syncing and sharing files between computers – http://www.dropbox.com
Google Docs – http://www.google.com/docs

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual AssistantVille: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 The Resources Episode [38:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (20)

As entrepreneurs it is important to understand how to communicate effectively, both in-person and now with growth of social media, online as well.  In this episode,  I welcome Susan Young, Communications and PR Expert, Speaker, Author and owner of Get In Front Communications, to the show in order to share her experience and expertise on communication.  Some of the topics we discuss are: attitude and communication, body language, in-person networking and the importance of silence. By listening to the show and checking out the resources mentioned, you can begin mastering the art of communication.

Be sure to check out Susan’s site: Getinfrontblogging.com. Her posts are chock full of information and resources!

PS: Leave a comment on this post and answer this week’s podcast question — What are you learning?

Show Links:
Get In Front Communications – http://www.getinfrontcommunications.com/
Get In Front Blogging – http://www.getinfrontblogging.com/
Susan on Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/sueyoungmedia

A Virtual Perception Listener Feedback Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QDCWJB2

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual AssistantVille: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Episode 48 [33:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (32)

Without good copy and a good message — you are never going to have customers or clients if they don’t know how you can help them ~ Allison Nazarrian.

The first episode of 2010 is all about writing content for your business. Providing expert advice and information on writing your own copy is Allison Nazarian, copywriter and writing coach. Allison founded Get It In Writing, a company that provides copywriting services and internet marketing to businesses, in 2001. In 2009 Allison renamed her business Allison Nazarian Unlimited, but is still devoted to providing copywriting and marketing solutions to businesses.

It turns out that people that think they don’t have the writing skills needed to write good content for their website and business materials can indeed write their own copy. My conversation with Allison confirmed this. Allison shares great information on key points to keep in mind when writing your website copy, including the very important fact that the copy should be less about you and more about your prospective client, formatting and more. Also — Allison answers the popular question – should I use “I” or “We” on my company’s About Us page.

This episode is full of great information and resources from a copywriting pro. Thanks Allison for sharing your expertise with us!

PS: Since my conversation with Allison and later Tammi Metzler (another copywriting specialist), I have been regularly updating my blog. If I can do it, you can too.

Show Links:

Allison Nazarian: http://allisonnazarianunlimited.com/

The One Minute Copywriter: http://www.oneminutecopywriter.com/

The Copywriting Store: http://thecopywritingstore.com/

Sponsored by:
Virtual Assistant Forums: http://www.virtualassistantforums.com

Virtual AssistantVille: http://www.virtualassistantville.com

Produced by:
D. Victoria Virtual Assistance: http://www.dvictoriava.com

Hosted by:
Darlene Victoria Gonzalez

 

 Standard Podcast [34:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (43)