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Articles by Denise Griffitts

Browse published articles attributed to Denise Griffitts, with full-archive search.

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By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

Offshore Virtual Assistants May Actually Hurt Your Business

My motto is and will always be, “Do What You Love and Outsource the Rest!” Now that is an easy premise for me to put forth, but what does it actually mean to the entrepreneur who badly needs ongoing assistance to build and grow their business? As a business owner you realize by now that running a business, be it a traditional brick and mortar business or an online endeavor is one of the most time-consuming things one can think of. Your life as you knew it changed dramatical

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

2,372 views2.8/5 (5)

By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

Does Hiring a Virtual Assistant Save Money?

Can you really save money by hiring a virtual assistant? According to virtual assistants’ websites, the answer is a resounding yes. As a matter of fact, money-saving is usually listed as one of the most important benefits of working with a VA. Check out a virtual assistant’s website and chances are you will find calculations pitting costs of hiring an employee against those of working with a VA. In this battle of cost-effectiveness a virtual assistant always wins, frequently

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

2,766 views3/5 (3)

By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

How to Set Your Virtual Assistant Professional Fees

Most virtual assistants start their business with a picture-perfect idea of flexible hours spent working with long-term clients on interesting and well-paid projects. Fast forward a few months and what many virtual assistants end up with are long hours, clients from hell and income that is barely enough to pay the bills. So what happens within the first few months of starting a virtual assistant business that separates successful VAs from the ones that are barely making it? I

Primary topic: Home Business

2,833 views4/5 (1)

By Denise GriffittsNov 30, 20091 topic

How Virtual Assistants' and Web Developers Can Avoid Scope Creep

Do you know what's worse than a project that never starts? The one that never ends! A quagmire project is the stuff of service provider's nightmares - countless back-and-forth e-mails, ever-changing requirements, the potential for streams of complaints from all sides, and unpaid invoices. With every passing day and missed deadline the tensions rise. Both the service provider and the client wind up dissatisfied with each other and with the end result. This is bad news all aro

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

2,189 views3/5 (2)

By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

Why Expert Help For Your New Business Is Critical

Growing a business is very much like raising a child. Both require lots of love and care, sleepless nights, excessive worrying and far more money than you originally envisioned. However, both are infinitely rewarding. Except, of course, that a business is not really your child. Or is it? Let’s do some serious comparisons and ask some pointed questions. Proper care of a child begins at the pre-natal stage when the mother is informed of both detrimental and positive courses to

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,537 views3/5 (4)

By Denise GriffittsAug 14, 20091 topic

Why Great Customer Service Is So Critical For a Virtual Assistant

Customer service is a powerful differentiator that can set a virtual assistant apart from her competitors. This translates directly into more new clients, more work from existing clients and ability to charge higher professional rates. And yet for all its potential benefits, some virtual assistants believe that simply being polite, professional, and accommodating is enough. In other words, they seem to confuse customer service with “being nice”. The truth is a business cann

Primary topic: Management Skills

Management Skills

1,571 views3.5/5 (2)

By Denise GriffittsNov 12, 20101 topic

Setting up An Accountability Partnership

Before you jump right in and ask your best friend to be your accountability partner for the rest of your natural-bo life, there are several questions you want to ask yourself before committing to a long-term relationship. These questions will help you figure out what you want in an accountability relationship. Take your time thinking through your answers; the only mistake you can make is to jump in too fast and commit to something that's not right. - Where are you in your bu

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,386 views2/5 (6)

By Denise GriffittsNov 18, 20101 topic

A Virtual Assistant Can Help You Write and Publish Your e-Book

You are giving some serious thought to producing a well written, informative e-book that will raise your credibility and trust ratings with clients or customers. You want to get your message out about your niche services to help you create ongoing, lifelong multiple streams of income for your online business services. You have the idea for your first e-book. In fact, you have more ideas than time or the necessary technical skill to get it done. However, in this electronic ag

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,781 views1.8/5 (4)

By Denise GriffittsNov 8, 20101 topic

Jot It Down Using Note-Taking Tools

Keep your mind in one place! Steno pads. Spiral notebooks. Legal pads. The back of an envelope. A cocktail napkin. Receipts. The corner of a newspaper. If you're like most entrepreneurs, you've got ideas striking you every hour of the day and night, and you grab the nearest writing implement and snippet of paper to scrawl a few words on. But how often do those pieces of paper make it into something more permanent? With today's variety of note-taking and idea-gathering softw

Primary topic: Home Business

1,458 views2/5 (4)

By Denise GriffittsNov 8, 20101 topic

Work From Home Time Wasters

Those of us who have created our own businesses and who work from our beautifully appointed home offices can find some serious time wasting going on during the day if we don't reign in and control our time wasting activities. And no, I'm not talking about getting the kids up and ready for school and then greeting them at the door when they get home. I am talking about the time you spend online and on the phone. Here are some helpful tips to help you use your time more effic

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,410 views1.8/5 (4)

By Denise GriffittsNov 12, 20101 topic

How to Build Your Virtual Assistance Team

Looking to Outsource in Your VA Business? Plan Ahead to Keep Yourself Sane When you started your virtual assistant business you had a plan, a business plan. You gave your plan a lot of thought, shared it with family and friends for feedback and just generally polished it to a fine sheen. Your perfect business plan very likely mentioned something about future expansion. Now is the time to put those plans in place. The best time to think about expanding your business is befor

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,634 views2/5 (2)

By Denise GriffittsMay 28, 20101 topic

How Good Are You At Setting and Attaining Goals?

What have you done this week that got you closer to a goal, big or small? We all have goals that we set on a number of different levels. Some are simple, but persistent thoughts, others may be mapped out on a vision board or written down on a clearly defined list. I have learned during my time on this earth that by setting sharp, clearly defined, and WRITTEN goals, that I can measure and take pride in attaining my goals. In fact, one of my favorite personally made up quotes

Primary topic: Goal Setting

1,689 views

By Denise GriffittsNov 12, 20101 topic

How to Manage Messy Spaces

"I have never found a better way to enhance the communications process than by reinforcing the points or concepts I wish to make with timely, memorable quotations." ~Carolyn Warner Cleanliness is next to Godliness. This saying, while simple, has a very deep meaning. When you are knee deep in projects, client calls, social media marketing, etc., it may seem easier or more expedient to leave your surroundings messy and out of order, but an organized home and home office space

Primary topic: General Self Help

General Self Help

1,469 views1/5 (1)

By Denise GriffittsNov 8, 20101 topic

All About Cookies - The Computer Kind

"What is a cookie and why do I need to know about them?" As a web developer this is a question that I hear from clients all the time. And if they don't ask the question, I answer it anyway. Cookies are a small text file composed of alphanumeric characters, which is created on your computer when your browser accesses a website that uses cookies. The name cookie derives from UNIX objects called magic cookies. These are tokens that are attached to a user or program and change d

Primary topic: Entrepreneurs

1,356 views

By Denise GriffittsNov 18, 20101 topic

Tips for Starting your Home-Based Service Business

The current trend is towards more home-based businesses. They require lower overhead and startup money making them easier for entrepreneurs with limited funds. If you are thinking about starting a home-based service business, here are a few tips for getting started on the right foot. What is a service business? Service businesses are those that provide help to others. This can be anything from mowing the lawn to managing business accounts. The basis of a successful service

Primary topic: Business Start-up

Business Start-up

1,214 views

By Denise GriffittsJan 23, 20101 topic

As a Virtual Assistant, How Do I Find a Niche?

Niche: A place or position suitable or appropriate for a person or thing: to find one's niche in the business world. Question I recently lost my job as an Administrative Assistant in a small company and decided to become a Virtual Assistant. I have been trying to find clients and recently downloaded one of your teleseminars where you were talking about niches. How do I find a profitable niche? Karen, Bronx, NY Answer (by Denise Griffitts) Good morning Karen. This is a qu

Primary topic: Coach Training and Certification

Coach Training and Certification

2,306 views

By Denise GriffittsOct 13, 20091 topic

Entrepreneurs... Remember to Breathe!

Take a deep breath... Being an entrepreneur is not easy. It is rewarding, it is exciting, it is occasionally exhausting and tears inducing, but what it is not, is easy. Today, many people live in stress mode all the time and entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs, tend to top that list. By learning to identify your "stressors" you can decide to face them, change them and move towards calm. Overloading your "to-do" list This is a huge one. Even if you do self ident

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,877 views

By Denise GriffittsNov 10, 20101 topic

Virtual Assistants Hiring Other Virutal Assistants

As you build your Virtual Assistance practice you will find that sometimes your workload as a virtual service provider can get quite heavy. One of the best ways to handle it is to outsource some of your work to other virtual assistants. But, where do you start? Let’s dig a bit deeper to get your mind wheels spinning. If we can get you out from under some of that heavy load of working all the time, life will be a whole lot easier, right? And let's be very realistic here. There

Primary topic: Business Coach and Business Coaching

Business Coach and Business Coaching

1,714 views

By Denise GriffittsNov 8, 20101 topic

From Mom to Supermom - Tips for Work From Home Mothers

Do you work from your home office as a Virtual Assistant, Web Developer, Business Coach, Fill-in-the-Blanks here? Do you find that balancing your business and home can sometimes feel like an exercise in futility? Life is a balancing act for many people, but this is especially true for working moms, particularly those who work in their own home office. Trying to juggle your work-from-home business, your duties as a wife, and the responsibilities to your children can be challe

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,623 views

By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

How You Can Become Active On The Internet Without Breaking Your Budget?

As a busy virtual assistance industry expert and web developer one of the questions I am often asked is, "How can I get the word out about my business or services without breaking my budget or losing my mind?" I am not kidding, that is often how the question is phrased. I can think of two things immediately that will help you launch yourself into the incredible world of social marketing. Are you an expert on something? Cat nip toys, Library operations, power of persuasion?

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,596 views

By Denise GriffittsNov 12, 20101 topic

Accountability Partners For Internet Marketers

Internet marketing can be a lonely lifestyle. Sure, there are hundreds of forums, blogs, and conferences where you can connect with others, but even when you've been around for a while you can feel like you're all alone in your business. When you have little or no in-person connection with others who are in your position, you can start to feel like you are the only one on the Internet who's worried about how Google's latest decisions will affect your page rank, or who's havin

Primary topic: Virtual Assistants

Virtual Assistants

1,485 views

By Denise GriffittsAug 30, 20091 topic

How To Choose and Purchase Great Domain Names

You have spent a good deal of time deciding what your online presence is going to look like. You know what your niche is, you have decided on a business name and a tag line. You may even have your artwork and logo complete. But, did you spend much time deciding what your domain name is going to convey to visitors and search engines? Your domain name is a critical part of your web presence and the choosing of your domain name is more important than it may seem at first. Here

Primary topic: Internet Marketing

Internet Marketing

1,370 views

By Denise GriffittsFeb 8, 20121 topic

Curing Shiny Object Syndrome: Clarifying the Outcomes

Distractions are everywhere and for professionals who have “Shiny Object Syndrome” (SOS) the world is a dangerous place. Slick, pervasive marketing campaigns attract even the most educated and otherwise disciplined executives to chase the next best thing. This segment of the market buys into and then often pays for the promises of new technology, coaching or other products and services which seem to answer their problems. It is important to recognize which of your clients ha

Primary topic: Business Consulting

Business Consulting

1,232 views

By Denise GriffittsMar 12, 20111 topic

How to Create Websites That Sell

Your business website is essentially your storefront, business card and most significant marketing piece all rolled into one. How it affects your visitors and customers is critical to your success. Provide a memorable experience and customers are sure to return time and time again. And above all remember that people come to your website or blog for one reason, and one reason only. What’s in it for them? You need to be sure that you are providing answers to questions and solut

Primary topic: Business Start-up

Business Start-up

1,150 views

By Denise GriffittsFeb 16, 20121 topic

How To Find Great Content For Your Website

Not so long ago I read a post called “The Mystery of Writing,” posted on 12/14/10 by Michael Hyatt, President of the publishing company Thomas Nelson, Inc. Here’s what he wrote: “A few nights ago, I sat down with the intention to write a blog post. I had been mulling a specific idea over for several days. I thought it was a slam dunk. I should be done in 30 minutes, I thought, 45 minutes — max. “Not so much. “The first paragraph came quickly. But then I got stuck. I wrote ano

Primary topic: Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy

954 views

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