Susan DaffronLogical Expressions, Inc. 1. What industry do you work in? How many years have you been in that industry? I own a publishing company called Logical Expressions, Inc (http://www.LogicalExpressions.com), which is based in a small town in Northern Idaho. I have been involved in publishing in one way or another since the late 80s, but we started our company in 1994. Currently, we have 9 books and one software product that we sell mostly online. We also offer consulting and book production services like cover design and layout. I also am the founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals (http://www.naprp.com). The mission of this organization is to help people working in pet rescue or humane organizations save more companion animal lives. 2. How long have you b... 04/05/2009

 http://screencast.com/t/s3W26aDTd 03/29/2009

By Ruthie Palmatier Are you struggling with the thought of how to train your virtual assistant?  Is that preventing you from getting started?  I hear that a lot.  Maybe you are concerned with the amount of time it might take to train her.  I hear that too.  The first thing to remember is that if don't train your virtual assistant to take over those tasks, you're still stuck doing them yourself.  Are you ready to move forward and get back to doing what you do best?  If so, then let the virtual assistant do what she does best.  She's the skilled administrative assistant.  She LOVES doing that kind of work.  Now, there are a couple of ways to go about training your assistant.  While your assistant is already a trained administrative professional, you will still need to train her to your s... 03/29/2009

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® Yep, that's right, I admit it - I'm a control freak. I wonder if there's a 12-step program for that. I wanted to bring this issue up as a benefit to all of those poor people out there (virtual assistants especially) who work for people like me. And for the benefit of all of my partners in making the misery - my fellow control freaks. Being a control freak isn't as bad as it sounds. You just have to realize where your limits are and of course, it's best if you can admit it so that you can begin to deal with it. And if you're working with or for a control freak, you just need to know how to deal with us. Really, it is possible to overcome some of your control-freakishness and it is possible to work with us.I'm going to wager that most... 03/29/2009

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® I have a new favorite book that I'd like to share with you:  "The Go Giver" by Bob Burg and John David Mann (available on Amazon).  I've mentioned my friend Bob in other articles I've done on sales and marketing.  "The Go Giver" is a great, short story that truly shows the joys and benefits of networking.Have you tried networking - really networking?  You've got to try it!  Trust me, if you get into it you'll have the time of your life.  At Team Double-Click® we've always practiced networking, but more recently we've kicked it up a notch.  We're actively seeking value-added partners who offer services and products that will be of benefit to our clients and virtual assistants.While this may sound like a very bland task, it's actually ... 03/25/2009

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO Team Double-Click® You may not have the financial resources to hire a full-time administrative assistant, receptionist, or marketing assistant to join your staff, but that doesn't mean growing your business is out of the question. Read on to learn how to grow your business this year utilizing Team Double-Click® pay-only-for-what-you-use virtual assistants. Hiring a full-time assistant to join your staff may not be in the plan this year, but growing your business should be on your must-do list for 2009. Want to know the top five business-growth tasks you should be focusing on to keep your business moving forward? We asked our most successful clients what they were doing to grow their businesses right now. Here are their top picks: 1. Cold callingHow do n... 03/25/2009

Author: Victoria K. Munro Without delegating, you will never work at your maximum efficiency, and you'll limit the growth of your business. It's easy for entrepreneurs to spend all their time working very hard in their businesses, but taking little or no time to step back, gain a different perspective and work on their businesses. If you're overwhelmed, have too much to do and too little time, consider the benefits of delegation. It's tempting to put off delegating because you know that it will take even more time initially to explain and teach someone else the process and then to inspect and possibly help them make needed corrections. This can be stressful, and it's easier to simply do it yourself. For some, letting go of control is a challenge. It's especially difficult when you know ... 03/25/2009

Media contact: Cate Pelkey FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETelephone: (888) 827-9129E-mail: press@teamdoubleclick.com NATION'S LARGEST VIRTUAL STAFFING AGENCY CUTS NEW CLIENT RATES TO HELP THEM COMBAT POOR ECONOMY Team Double-Click® Drops Rates by 15% to Help Its Clients Adjust to a Changing Economy and Ensure They Can Still Get On-Demand Administrative Assistance Ouray, Colorado (March 10) - With hundreds of thousands of layoffs in the United States since the beginning of the year alone, understandably, the economy has the nation's, and the world's, full attention. This economic storm has small and even big businesses searching for solutions to high overheads and out-of-control costs. Responsible companies are cutting costs to the bone. "The caveat though," explains Gayle Buske, President and CEO... 03/10/2009

Team Double-Click® Develops Direct Placement Virtual Assistant Program For Small Businesses Who Want To Work With a Virtual Assistant WITHOUT the Ongoing Agency Fees Ouray, Colorado (March 3) - The use of virtual assistants by small and home-based businesses has received a great deal of attention in the news in recent years.  In June 2008, Bridge Consulting released survey findings showing that 50% of survey respondents claim that 25% of their workforce consists of virtual employees and 25% of respondents have up to 50% of their workforce working from virtual locations. The popularity of virtual work can be summed up in one word: benefits. Both employers and employees polled about virtual work often speak of the convenience, flexibility, and financial benefits of remote work. The glowin... 03/02/2009

Here is another wonderul guest article! By: Kelly Robbins If you're anything like me, you've got a million goals, plans and ideas and not enough time in the day to put a dent in any of them. I may pick one or two of my ideas and go gang busters working to get it going, and then another fun thing comes along and I get excited and go gang busters getting that one up and running. There are a few downsides to this. The biggest being I am in the middle of a bunch of really great projects that aren't done! It's easy to see how this can happen next year too with all of us excited about our New Year's resolutions. What happens to a lot of us is either my scenario above or the opposite happens - nothing because you don't know where to start. With that said, I have a recommendation on how to hand... 02/28/2009

Here is a great guest article that I came across!   Nelson Tan Twitter is still a relatively new social networking site, and there are still thousands of marketers who are not using it to its full potential. Some are not using it at all. As with just about any other social networking site you can mention, you have to put in the work at the start to establish yourself as a credible, helpful contributor who is there to do more than just give a sales message and win customers. Using Twitter is an art form all of its own, and is totally unlike anything you will do anywhere else. The short length of the messages you are allowed to send means that you have to approach the task in a completely different way. The underlying principle does not change, however, and if you are looking to build a l... 02/28/2009

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® I have a new favorite book that I'd like to share with you:  "The Go Giver" by Bob Burg and John David Mann (available on Amazon).  I've mentioned my friend Bob in other articles I've done on sales and marketing.  "The Go Giver" is a great, short story that truly shows the joys and benefits of networking.Have you tried networking - really networking?  You've got to try it!  Trust me, if you get into it you'll have the time of your life.  At Team Double-Click® we've always practiced networking, but more recently we've kicked it up a notch.  We're actively seeking value-added partners who offer services and products that will be of benefit to our clients and virtual assistants.While this may sound like a very bland task, it's actually ... 02/21/2009

By Ruthie Palmatier For many clients, getting started with a virtual assistant can be difficult.  Many of my clients are solopreneurs and small business owners who are used to doing everything themselves.  They tend to want to maintain doing things for typically one of two reasons:  either they have fears that someone else isn't capable of doing what they do as well as they can, or they fear that the time it would take to teach someone else how to do it would take more time then them doing it themselves.  Let me ask you this.  Now that you have a virtual assistant, doesn't this defeat the purpose?  How can anyone expect to grow a business if they hang on to those time draining administrative tasks?  Let's address the first hurdle of delegation.  Can someone else do what I do as well as ... 02/20/2009

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® If a client starts that all-important dialogue with you, or you start it with them, be sure to respond as soon as possible to their messages and questions. Dropping the ball during that client-gaining process is a sure way to let your competition get their foot in the door. Admit when you don't have an answer, but offer to find out. This practice shows, not only your honesty, but also your willingness to help. Respond quickly. If you give the conversation time to cool off, you stand a good chance at losing the client's interest. Do what you say you are going to do. This sounds like something your mother would say, I know. But it's so important and so true. If you tell someone   you're going to do something -even something as simple a... 02/12/2009

Are you still wondering what in the world a virtual assistant can do for you? Below you'll find some helpful suggestions. Keep in mind that our VA's have been through an extensive interview and training process: Only about 30% of interested VAs are added to the Team Double-Click® roster following their interviews. In addition, our real estate assistants undergo extensive industry-specific training, so they know how to support your growing real estate business! And, we offer you two free hours to train your VA on your specific needs! What can our virtuals do? General: • Enter your leads into your CRM (contact relationship management) program. This may be Top Producer, ACT!, or some other program. • Set/cancel/confirm appointments. • Work with Excel spreadsheets to organize your leads and... 01/31/2009

  Hello, from Ouray, Colorado!Here is a recent article in the Ouray County Watch and Telluride Watch revealing where I am coming from and what I'm about!  This is my first Blogging experience, so look for more to come...Please visit www.CoolMountainProperties.com to find out more about Real Estate in the San Juan Mountains and Ouray County Colorado.  Has anybody seen John Wayne's movie "True Grit"?  It was filmed in the Ridgway area where my office, San Juan Realty, Inc. is located.  My family and I live in Ouray which is just 10 minutes away.  Ouray,Colorado is known as "The Switzerland of America" and we are getting ready for The Ice Festival in January.  It is very exciting when the Ice Climbers come to town. Telluride is only 45 minutes away for GREAT skiing!  We are blessed to have... 12/23/2007