I was fortunate to be interviewed to discuss my knowledge on Virtual Events.  Thanks to Darlene Victoria of  True Harmony Media for again having me on A Virtual Perception.  We tackled all subjects from what is a virtual event to best practices for presenters, moderators and attendees.  If you missed it, catch it here.

In the meantime, here are five great tips for delivering your presentation.

1. Have a defined purpose. Why are you presenting and what is the goal you want to achieve?  Are you trying to persuade, inform or entertain your audience?
2. Have a storyboard or mapped process. You are telling a story so set it up as such.  I always begin with point A “What challenge do I face?”, point B “Where do I want to be?” and the all important call to action “How do I get from Point A to B?”.
3. Spice it up.  Add some drama using anecdotes, stories and the all important captivating visuals.
4. Practice, Practice and then Rehearse.  The more you review and rehearse the more natural it will be to you.  Do not turn off your audience by reading your notes, or worse yet, being ill prepared.
5. Deliver with Style. Deliver as you were in front of a room of 100.  It is possible that you are, they are just not visible to you.  Present as if your office were filled to the gills with folks and they can see every movement and expression that you make.

When presenting your own event, visualize it as you would a packed house speaking engagement.  Even though we cannot see you, we can hear you as if we could.  Next up, the role of the moderator.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Virtual Events – Five things (myofficeassist.org)
• Can You Hear Me Now? (myofficeassist.org)

According to their site, Outright is explained:  “Outright records your income and expenses automatically, categorizes the transactions to maximize deductions, and prepares your estimated and end of year taxes, so you can get back to the work you love.” After reviewing the site, I decided to put it to the test so I could recommend it to those in need.  Here is my findings:

LIKES:

First is the sync function.  Outright will import your Paypal and Merchant accounts, along with a few banks and Freshbooks, into your account.  And better yet, it’s smart feature will determine categories for those vendors that you use again and again.

Then there are the categories.  Each category is matched to a line on your end of year Schedule C tax form.  Now if you like to more specific, you can add your own categories and there is a “Not Sure” that you can choose to let your accountant determine these expenses.

Track 1099 for contractors and freelances.  At the end of the year, send out your 1099′s with ease as this category keeps track of your contractors.  There is an area to record W-9 details for those that you will need to issue for at year end.  There is also a section that briefly explains what a 1099 is and why as a business owner you may need to issue one.

Know your net profit.  At the top of your dashboard is an area where Outright calculates what you profit for the year is.  Know what you are doing right or wrong financially at the drop of a hat.  However keep in mind, your records need to be up-to-date to be accurate, and it is great to see when all your hard work is paying off.  This area can also give you an estimated tax payment due.  When you pay your quarterly taxes, you will know how much you will need to send.  Never overpay or underpay again.

Share your account.  You can easily share your account with your accountant or bookkeeper and still be able to make up-to-the-minute changes in your account without it affecting your records.  I do like that the shared access allows you to keep control but still employ help to keep your financial records in order.

DISLIKES:

No built-in billing.  There is an income section and Outright does sync with Freshbooks, however there is no invoicing program.  I went to BillingBoss to try that service as well but I wish it would be integrated to make it one complete package.

Cash business is assumed.  Most small businesses do operate on a cash-basis so this is not a big dislike.  However, being a QuickBook user, I got used to my Accounts Receivable account and miss being able to take a look at what is still outstanding and I need to collect on.  Now I know that this is what the billing program is for but again, I like it in one neat tidy package.

So bottom line here, if you are looking for a free easy to use program to keep track of your profits, Outright may be for you.  Also, if you are looking for a bookkeeping program to share with your virtual bookkeeper that you have instant access to, then Outright is for you.  If you are a big user of PayPal, Etsie, Ebay or Freshbooks, then this program is certainly designed for you.  However, remember your records are only as accurate as what is imported into them.

Next up, BillingBoss.  Is this the missing piece.

All the best,

Lee Drozak ~ My Office Assistant

Recently I was talking to a colleague about teleconferencing and teleseminars in which the subject came up about what is my favorite tool and some tips to go with it. My all time preference, and believe me as I have tried them all, is FreeConferencecalling.com. First and foremost for using it is well, it is FREE! But it is more than that. The features are many and they truly design and enhance their service with the entrepreneur in mind. So here are my favorite options about each feature.

1. The Basics – You receive a dedicated number for your account with additional codes for the host and guest speakers.  You also can host up to 500 callers, more I am sure if you contact them, but I have not gotten to that need at this point.  The suite of conference features such as mute/unmute, attendee features, new call tone on/off and many others covers all your participation needs.  The one feature that I do really find handy is your host code and guest speaker code can be changed as needed.   So if you get in a bind and need someone else to host for you, simply change the code before the next call and your conference line remains secure.
2. Manage Calls -  This is a feature I truly like.  FreeConferenceCalling allows you to manage your call from your computer screen.  Now this is great for someone like myself who moderates calls for others as I can sit at my computer and see who is on the call, when they joined, mute or unmute them, monitor for questions and remove them if necessary.  The best feature about managing is that you can add names that coordinate with the caller number so instead of “Hey 555-1212 has a comment, you can say Jane has a question.”  This makes for a more personalized call with your attendees, especially if you have group calls as a service.
3. Recordings – Any recorded can be stopped or started from the control dashboard on your computer screen, so there is no more fumbling with pressing numbers to start your recording.  There are also selections such as download button, a podcast and embed button and the option to make your recording private or public.  These choice are great when it comes to re-purposing your content.
4. Reporting – Archive call detail reports are available for all calls.  Reports are generated by phone, name, connect time and disconnection.  This comes in handy if you are recapping who was on the call, who joined late and who left early.

I recommend FreeConferenceCalling.com to my clients and those in my network for the reasons above.  And, the clarity of the call is a bonus to the great features that are gained with each account.

Have you tried this service?  Let me know if there are any features that I missed or overlooked.

Being a small business owner, it is tough to completely break away. Even though I do vacation, I really do not stop working. Part of my luggage includes the laptop, the air card, the portable scanner, headphone and mic and some other little goodies. Can you hear my husband’s sigh? Does this sound familiar?
Just recently I was attending an event and this very subject came up. Most of us had not had a non-working vacation in years. Some attended conferences and took the family, instant vacation. Some where like myself bringing the whole office with them. And other just simply did not take the time to break away.

One of the women at the table very boldly stated, “Everyone needs a vacation whether it be 3 days or 3 weeks. You need time to recharge, rejuvenate and recharge. This will make you more productive. Disconnect and be aware of your surroundings.”

Wait did she just say disconnect. Was I hearing her correctly? Now I do disconnect at least one day a week, usually on the weekend. Well not really disconnect as I do at least check emails and my Google Reader. So this weekend I am actually going to go away, sans computer and cell phone (not that this is a biggy since I am forever forgetting it).

Could you do the same? Will I survive? Stay tuned.

All the best,

Lee Drozak, Owner My Office Assistant

Related articles by Zemanta

• Small Business Owners Consider Vacations Again (abcnews.go.com)
• The guilt-free vacation (theglobeandmail.com)

One of my new service offerings is Virtual Events, mostly webinars and video presentations/recordings.   Running events gives you a new perspective on what works and what does not.   With any technology, you need to be prepared and here are some tips I have garnered as I provide more clients with this service.

Now keep in mind that you need to have the basics: a good program (I prefer GoToWebinar), a good headset and mic (I use an USB plug in) and an presentation. So here we go:
Ums, aahs and okays are okay. These can be edited out and you need a few in there here and there to keep you sounding more conversational and less stiff.

Practice without notes. You need to know what you are going to talk about and be able to field questions, side thoughts and comments. Also, you are less likely to read from the notes and speak as if you are in front of a crowd and not a computer.

Share what you know, not what you do. I have attended lots of webinars and teleseminars. The quickest way to get rid of me is making it all about you and your product/service. Now I am not saying not to soft sell but remember when we attend these events, we want the WIIFM factor.

Talk to the audience. This goes back to the first two tips. Talk like you are in front of a room of 100 instead of a screen or phone. Remember to smile, because believe it or not, we can hear that.

Close all computer applications. First they are a distraction and you have enough going on with your presentation. Open programs also each up resources and affect your audio quality. And finally when I see your instant message or email notices popping up during your presentation I stop to see who wants to connect with you. It becomes a total distraction for a multi-tasker such as myself.

Do you have a good tip for presenting at virtual events? Or better yet as an attendee what are your pet peeves?

All the best,

Lee

I originally planned to add some audio and video posts to take some of the burden of writing and this is still in the game plan. I have loads of tips, resources and tricks to “show” you. And I also feel that sometimes it is nice just to hear another voice. Especially if you are an at home office worker.
So it is here that I pledge to finally get it together. I have amassed information to post based on articles I have read, questions I am asked and resources I have found. I have a schedule of postings so that it will not be months before I post again. Now I have a great strategy and game plan and most importantly I am going to take my own advice. I am going to concentrate on my business, my clients and those who I can help.

Thanks for sticking with me as I continue on this journey. Please let me know if there is something you would like to see, a questions that you have or any comments to join in the conversation.

All the best,

After completing the video I posted to the Forums.  I was challenged to live outside my comfort level and share myself with others. While I got over my being on film fears, I was also inspired to make additional videos.  For these reasons I am thankful that I took up the challenge.  It allowed me to use my creativity to get my message across, tweak my speech and think of new ways to present myself to the world.

Even if you have a rock solid commercial, you should make a little recording to see how others view your speech.  Doing this exercise may help and it may not, but it will certainly give you insight on how you are viewed by others as you present your business.  Feel free to post you links should you too decide to take up this small challenge.  In the meantime, here is my elevator speech so that you can see how I did.

All the best,

Click on the ScreenCast to start the video

Good luck on creating your own Facebook Fan Page.

All the best,

I have been following the Kevin Smith/Southwest debacle because it is what is happening in the Twitter universe.  I have been asked who do I think is right and quite frankly I have no opinion.  Why, because I am not sure of all the facts despite all the comments being tweeted.  What I do know is that this sure puts customer service and bad PR into a whole new realm.  Regardless of the reasons that Kevin Smith was removed from the plane the fact remains that he was savvy enough to share it easily with the world.  And then Southwest was able to respond as quickly.  This whole conversation gives great reason that all businesses should become social media savvy.

What I do not agree with is the way Southwest handled the written apology to Mr. Smith via a post “No So Silent Bob” on their blog.  It was great that they gave a public apology but then they proceeded to outline the situation and why they felt they were correct in removing him from the plane.  They should have said, we have a policy, we stand by it, it caused an unfortunate situation and we apologize for the inconvenience to Mr. Smith.  By addressing all the details, makes that apology seem less than sincere and as if it was more of a PR positioning than an apology.

This brings up two great points for all business owners, large and small.  First, you need to know the working of social media and reputation management.  You should be familiar with the platform and when to address the situation, good or bad.  Second, you should know the rules of protocol and etiquette.  Especially, how to give a proper apology and when to apply common sense rules to certain situations.

I would love to know your comments on reputation management and the business rules of protocol and etiquette.

All the best,

Related articles by Zemanta

• ‘Oversized’ Kevin Smith ejected from flight (msnbc.msn.com)
• Kevin Smith Oversized? Ejected From Flight (abcnews.go.com)
• Kevin Smith oversized? ejected from flight (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

The January topic was If you could meet anyone from the past or present or future who would that be and why? This was a tough one because there are so many people that I would love to meet.  However in the end I chose my mother-in-law and if you would like to know why you will need to read it here.

Thank you to VAF for allowing me to be creative, build on my blogging skills and be part of a great like-minded community.  If you are a virtual assistant, aspiring virtual assistant, small business owner or someone who just loves great resources, be sure to check out the Virtual Assistant Forum community.  There is no need to register for any of the public areas and lurkers are always welcome.

All the best,