Data Entry!

Do you need professional, reliable data entry? In today’s digital age there are so many tasks that require data entry so it is important that you always maintain the integrity of your data. That is why an essential part of any information driven company is having a reliable and accurate method of getting your data manually entered into the desired systems. Interested in Data Entry support? Call or email me today! Remember that we work as a team, so don’t worry if data entry is not your area of expertise. Call us today (815) 886-0564 to schedule your complimentary consultation.  Visit our services to learn more about how we can help you today.

Help end PowerPoint abuse

Are you a perpetrator of PowerPoint abuse? 

If you’re you guilty of creating wordy slides, using distracting graphics, or adding distracting special effects just to satisfy your inner George Lucas, you have a problem. You’re failing to make the most of a powerful communications tool, and it’s interfering with your message. Follow this advice to use PowerPoint to communicate successfully.

Choose fonts wisely
Using too many fonts or illegible typefaces is a common trait of PowerPoint abusers. Ease eye strain with these helpful tips:

• Use a sans serif font to enable high visibility: Helvetica Bold Condensed and Franklin Gothic are good choices.
• Do not use script typefaces – they are hard to read and distracting.
• Limit the number of fonts used to no more than two per slide.
• Avoid italics with underlines, bold type with shadows, and outline fonts.
• WORDS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE HARD TO READ.

Conserve words
Wordy slides are bad for “information digestion,” so use words like a cook with chili peppers: sparingly. Text-heavy slides encourage viewers to read rather than listen to your ideas and prompt you to recite information, which dulls your speaking style. Only the core of the message should appear on the slide, so the audience has to rely on you for important information.

• Headlines should be no more than three or four words.
• Use bullet points, not sentences – only about six words per line.
• Try to limit any slide to no more than three or four bullets.

Go easy on the eyes
Many presenters cannot resist the temptation of using busy backgrounds, and too many colors. The simpler your layout, the better.

• Be sure the color of the text contrasts with the slides’ background color. The best mix is a dark background with bright type.
• Avoid color combinations that may be difficult to look at or hard to distinguish: red/green, brown/green, blue/black, and blue/purple.

Follow this advice, and transform yourself into a PowerPoint pro. Oh, and don’t forget to spell check.

Abridged: SmartBusinessMatters

Abridged: Business Mgmt Daily
Every where you go now someone is working on an tablet or their iPad. In fact, many of my clients and those that I network  with have them and are always asking me if I have tips and tricks to share with them.  Recently, I came across this article that provides great tips for getting started with iPad with business in mind. 

Here are some of the best apps to help you make the transition.

1. Office productivity

• Pages, an Apple product, lets you create, edit and view Word documents.

• Numbers, another one by Apple, gives you spreadsheet capability with tables, charts, photos and graphics.

• QuickOffice offers the ability to create, edit and save Excel spreadsheets, Word docs and PowerPoint with tight integration with Dropbox.

• GoodReader and iAnnotate allow you to look at a PDF, make comments and forward it to someone else. iBooks can also be used to load PDFs through iTunes onto the iPad.

• Dragon Dictation is a voice-recognition app where you speak and instantly see your text or emails.

• Evernote lets you save notes, web pages, business cards, photos and screenshots, then indexes them so you can find what you saved later.
• Instapaper saves web pages so you can read them later

2. Cloud storage

• Dropbox is a cloud-storage utility that allows you to keep your files in sync among several devices and computers—your file folder in the cloud. One great feature is its ability to share folders with other Dropbox users.

3. Virtual meetings

• GoToMeeting lets you host an online meeting with up to 15 people and share any application on your computer in real time. It’s helpful for displaying presentations, demonstrating products and holding webinars.

4. Presentations

• Keynote, by Apple, makes building a presentation a snap. Organize your presentation with the slide navigator—it shows a handy thumbnail view of your slides. Just plug the iPad into the projector and you’re ready to go

5. Printing

• AirPrint from Apple gives you wireless printing right from the iPad. iPad automatically locates and connects to AirPrint-enabled printers on your Wi-Fi network.

6. Virtual desktop

• Cloud Client by Leveno allows you to run virtually any desktop Windows-based application on an iPad.

• Citrix Receiver for iPad provides iPad owners secure access to all of their corporate Windows applications and desktops.

7. Business transactions

• Square handles business credit card transactions and provides a digital receipt, which is sent to the recipient’s email address.

I hope that finding this article really helps you with your iPad more. If you have a topic that you want to know more about let me know and I’ll try finding one to highlight or create one to share with you.

MS Outlook does much more than you think. It can boost your productivity … help you manage your workload … even help you stay focused on your most important appointments, tasks and projects.

Sort by Sender – This is a good first step. It allows you to easily spot and delete email from advertisers whose messages you no longer need. This also makes it easy to spot email from friends and family, which don’t have a real retention requirement.

 

Search for old emails – If you have accumulated several years of emails, start by creating search folders for each year. Search ­folders aren’t actual folders; it’s a search criteria and a way to see all email, no matter what folder it is in. The largest unit of time allowed is months, so you’ll need to search for mail that’s older than a year by specifying 12 months, 24 months, and so on. Drag all emails into a folder named for the year (2009, 2010). Add a task item to your list to start cleaning up one year at a time.

 

Mark for handling – Now that your inbox is free of old mail and advertising, you can start sorting through what to keep and what to toss. Create a category for emails you think you should delete. Assign that category a shortcut, so it’s quick to mark things for review. This method is only useful if you allow it to sort or filter by the category each day and either delete or folder the items.

 

Set up rules – If you find yourself moving the same type of email to the same folder, consider letting Outlook do that for you by creating a rule. For example, this would be a perfect solution for nightly reports or status updates that you don’t actually read, but need to reference for a period of time. You can even leave it marked unread, so you always know how many reports you haven’t seen. However, they no longer clutter up your inbox or bury urgent messages.

 

Once you know how to get calendars and tasks working for you, you’ll send your efficiency skyrocketing.

Event Management!

Do you have an upcoming seminar or workshop? We can assist you will all aspects of it including planning, organizing, registration and marketing!

To manage an event successfully there are a number of things to consider. The basics involve planning, marketing, guest lists, registration, payment processing and follow up surveys. Proper event planning and management can prevent last minute changes and ensure smooth sailing from start to finish. We are here to help you create and plan successful events. Call today to schedule your next event promotion!

Solutions for Speakers: 

Building your speaking or training business the way you first envisioned it is time consuming. As a trained Virtual Assistant I work with professional speakers, coaches and trainers like you, to take care of the “behind the scenes” areas of your business. I can help you plan a venue and tailor it to your needs.

• Managing Relationships
• Managing Your Office
• Managing Venue Logistics
• Managing Marketing and Sales

Go ahead and plan your next seminar or workshop, you’re not alone – we’re here to help!

Call us today (815) 886-0564 to schedule your complimentary consultation.  Visit our services to learn more about how we can help you today.