Tuesday 17 December 2013

AMG's Business Support Explained #3
Social Media & Blog Writing Services

 
We are living in an era where almost all aspects of our lives are in a digital platform. Following AMG's Business Support Explained #1 and AMG's Business Support Explained #2, this third and last article will discuss the importance of social media and blogging and how we can help your business incorporate these into your marketing business plans.

The reasons for using social media networks may be to publicize news and offers, for branding, to attract new customers, improve rankings in market research, develop new links with business partners, reduce the costs of marketing campaigns and improve product or service sales.

As mentioned on our previous articles, AMG Virtual Assistant Services is dedicated to helping businesses, and just as with the administrative support, graphic design and marketing- we will assist you in reaching new customers, keeping existing ones and standing out from your competitors via social media channels.

 
Our featured Social Media Services include:

Image courtesy of smarnad at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

  • • Social media marketing & strategy
  • • Selection of appropriate social networks for your business
  • • Set-up of social media profiles
  • • Original content creation and activities to interact with your business followers
  • • Customer service and reputation monitoring
  • • Monthly activity report and impact






Having a blog is an essential add-on to having web presence. It allows for easy publishing of statements and is also used as part of marketing strategies. A blog allows for communication with potential and existing customers by providing them with interesting and valuable information. At AMG we will research blog post topics, write blog posts, and publish them for you! We will drive traffic and leads to your website with our blog writing services.
  

Contact us for a free consultation today. Let us help!

•••

AMG Virtual Assistant Services | Business Support Specialists
(905) 808-4843 | www.amgvirtualassistant.com

 

Tuesday 26 November 2013

AMG's Business Support Explained #2

Following our first article, AMG’s Business Support Explained #1, we now present you with even more ideas on how we can assist you! At AMG Virtual Assistant Services we are dedicated to helping businesses with their administrative needs, graphic design, blogging, marketing and social media requirements. We are happy and proud to support small businesses, entrepreneurs, executives and busy individuals who need assistance with the daily operation of their businesses.

Just as the administrative support, graphic design and marketing of your company are also essential for the running of your business. The heart of your business success lies in its marketing and although it is hugely important, it can also be very expensive. This is where we step in! We provide services that are time- and cost- effective. We offer monthly discounted packages depending on the number of hours worked and we are also available for one time projects or tasks.
 
Image courtesy of ddpavumba at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Following are the Graphic Design and Marketing services that we can provide at AMG:
Logo Design: Your logo is the first image that your potential customers will see when they consider doing business with you. I will create a logo for you that will transmit credibility, trustworthiness and professionalism.
Business Card, Letterhead and Envelope Design: Your corporate image is a compilation of all your marketing materials. With the use of your logo, we will create a package that will reflect what your business is and what it strives to be.
Manuals: A manual can carry a lot of knowledge and important information. It must be well presented with a good graphic design according to the content characteristics. The design must be relevant, original and conceptual, readable and entertaining. AMG will do this for you!
Brochure Design: Corporate or company brochures are an essential communication tool for your business. We design these brochures to enhance and add value to the image of your business, product or service.
E-mail Newsletters: The great advantage of the Internet over other media is its ability to send personalized, relevant messages achieving higher response rates. We respond to the need for companies to have a newsletter. We will design and distribute the e-mail newsletters for you.
Sales Flyer Design: Flyers present a product or service in detail and illustrated, highlighting the advantages and characteristics of the offer. At AMG we will design your flyer offering affordable prices, good quality and fast turnarounds.
Advertisement Design: Between the publication of an advertisement and sale of a product or service, there are three important steps: inform, remind and persuade. At AMG we understand this and we offer designs that are creative, informative and honest. Digital or print (including newspaper and magazine, posters, etc.), we make every effort to obtain excellent results!


 
Contact us for a free consultation today. Let us help!

•••

AMG Virtual Assistant Services | Business Support Specialists
(905) 808-4843 | www.amgvirtualassistant.com

 

Wednesday 6 November 2013

AMG's Business Support Explained #1


I’ve find that in the process of trying to make my business grow, many potential customers when presented with the idea of a virtual assistant, are not aware of the type of assignments we can do for them. This is the first of a series of articles where I will describe the many services we, as a virtual assistants, can help your small business with. The idea of delegating these projects to us is to allow you time to focus on your business, your goals- leaving aside every task that you are maybe not so good at, have no time to do, or that you just dislike doing!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Administrative Support is essential for the running of your business. It can, however, turn out to be overly time-consuming and hard to keep-up preventing you from taking your business to the next level. What seems to be a very simple task, may end up stealing more time than you had anticipated as you may be attending to the phone, e-mail and the daily operation of your business. This is when we CAN help!






TASK

Solution

FORM CREATION

Scan your handwritten idea to us, or
just e-mail us the information … we will
create the form for you!

DATA ENTRY

Send us your notes, scanned pages, faxes …
we will organize and type all of your information.

DOCUMENT FORMATTING

You may have all the data already in your system …
but want the document to look elaborate, impressive
and organized … we can do that too!

COST ESTIMATES AND PROPOSALS

A phone call or e-mail with the details
is all we need to complete.

REPORTS AND MANUALS

Proficient in Word and Excel … we will complete your
reports and manuals in a timely manner. Let us help!

FINANCIAL SPREADSHEETS

Charts, Graphics, Formulas,  
Macros & more!

POWER POINT PRESENTATIONS

Not only can we help with content creation,
but we can make your presentation
look outstanding!

HANDOUTS FOR PRESENTATIONS

No time for photocopying, sorting, stapling?
We can help!

CREATE AN ADDRESS BOOK

Print or Electronic, we will use your business cards to
create a contact book for your use.

OTHER SERVICES

Mail merge, Burn CD’s, Respond to Request for I
nformation, Update of customer information,
Scanning, Resume writing, etc.
 

Contact us for a free consultation today. Let us help!
•••
AMG Virtual Assistant Services | Business Support Specialists
(905) 808-4843 | www.amgvirtualassistant.com

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Modern Administrative Solution: Outsourcing

In business, outsourcing is the contracting out of a business process to a third-party (Wikipedia). It is the act of using an outside agency to operate a function previously carried out within a company.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The main objective of the company is to reduce direct costs based on a subcontracting or outsourcing of services that will not affect the main activities of the company. It is an alternative that achieves high performance in specific areas, thereby obtaining time- and cost- effective results. When companies outsource, the major problem that they may face is finding where to start. Tasks are determined by the type of responsibilities that can be outsourced. In terms of management, we can separate tasks that can be delegated into two categories, divided according to their level of impact on the company and its potential as a key to success.

1 - Basic Tasks. These tasks often revolve around managing documents or files and are low-risk activities for the company. We are talking about activities such as: Writing, design or proofreading documents; Presentations, newsletters and brochures; Online research, data collection, analysis of competition; and, Spreadsheets.

2 - Specialty Tasks. These tasks are most often outsourced by small businesses as they do not have the experience or skills needed to carry them out every day. These may include: Accounting and economic consulting; Marketing; Legal consulting.


Benefits and Risks of Outsourcing

Benefits greatly outnumber the risks when outsourcing administration support. Some of the main advantages include: minimization of investment and cost reduction, greater flexibility within the organization, more efficient operations, better control and greater security and faster development of business objectives. Some risks may include: unsuitable negotiation of a contract, difficult choice of provider, excessive dependence on external companies, plus confidentiality can be threatened.



The need for trust and reliability by the hiring company is clear. Virtual assistants understand this and are open for communication with their clients at any moment. At AMG VA Services we provide valuable assistance in tasks ranging from administration to design and marketing to social media management. The internet and the advancement of all methods of communication and transmission of data is a point in favour for us, outsourcing companies. It allows for a connection and immediate contact with our clients.


In summary, delegation and outsourcing of some assignments will allow businesses to focus on their business goals and most important activities. While the reasons may vary for a company to undertake outsourcing, the success is visible among corporations where outsourcing has become a core component of day to day business procedures and strategies.



Friday 6 September 2013

Mothers: Work & Family

In our days, women want to become super moms trying to do everything- from being the best mothers to obtaining deserved professional recognition. They have come to realize though, that this situation is unsustainable: work 8 hours away from home and another 8 in it is more than anyone can bear. The stress and nerves can take over for many of them.

Even though all moms are different, following the full integration of women into the business world has made it increasingly difficult to balance work with children. Many of us feel frustrated, guilty and helpless at the lack of time to spend with our babies, about leaving their education in the hands of third parties, and of course not being able to participate and support them in their activities.

Different situations challenge us to choose the best for our children, but there are no rules to the most suitable arrangement. Today, many new mothers prefer to leave work and care for their children before going crazy trying to do everything and to avoid feeling guilty for not being good mothers. However, if you are currently working or considering returning to work, to successfully overcome the tensions between work and family, it is important that you follow some of these guidelines:

• Be less demanding. Recognize that you cannot do everything. Ask for help!• Establish priorities. Cleaning can wait … babies don’t keep!• Give your children your full attention.  Stop and really listen to all the things they have to say.
• Build on weekend and days off activities for them. Participate.• Oversee the education they receive at school. Oversee people who are dedicated to take care of them while you are busy.• Accept your children’s opinions, even if they are different from yours. They need to know that even if their views are different from their parents, they will always have your support.• Cultivate patience and a sense of humour; qualities that will make any type of problem more bearable.

Image courtesy of digitalart at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Remember, it is normal for parents to face conflict between work and family priorities. The way parents address this conflict is what will dictate positive or negative responses of all involved, yourself, your family, and your employer. Our behaviour will be determined based on our sense of control, the flexibility of our jobs and our family, and our willingness to enter a sound commitment to our loved ones. Remember, the essential core of a family is parenthood, and a family forms the core unit of our society. Balance is the key! Do not give up ♥









Friday 30 August 2013

Management and Leadership


Image courtesy of Master isolated images
at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
People tend to spend most of their working time trying to plan how they will develop their activities and how they will achieve their goals. Sometimes they spend more time trying to organize their time rather than focusing on productivity. There are also methodical people, LEADERS, who manage to organize their time so that they achieve their goals and develop their business effectively.

Management is complemented adequately with leadership because a good leader recognizes the fact of not being able to deal with all of their obligations; therefore knowing when and how to delegate, to recognize what is important, its urgency, thus, having  an excellent command of priorities.

To keep a good control of time and a good time management of your business, you should be clear where you want to go, hence, the importance of developing a vision, mission, objectives as well as recognizing  weaknesses and strengths. Among the characteristics of a true leader is the ability to visualize the future and bring out clear actions to battle that future and achieve goals that will benefit their team.


An important action that may help you achieve your business goals is hiring virtual assistants, assistants who are equally as busy as the leaders they serve. An assistant such as us, AMG VA Services, who will assist YOU- busy leader, with high-quality administration and office support in order to help your business grow. Consider the outsourcing of a VA and get help today!




Friday 16 August 2013

Persevere and you will conquer!

Perseverance is a quality that every entrepreneur must have in order to move forward with the goal of bringing their business to success. Perhaps it is one of the most important aspects to achieve your objectives; however, 90% of entrepreneurs fail because they give up too early, not knowing that success may have just been around the corner.

Wanting triumph instantly can be disastrous; we must first fight for it. It is human nature to accept and appreciate challenge, completing tasks that others say are impossible to do; but sometimes, when things get ugly we choose to give up. Here is where we leave our company and our plan behind and forget about “entrepreneurship”.
Successful people take failure as experience, they convert defeat into victory. They begin to succeed when others feel defeated and they do it by themselves with courage to achieve that success. So, if you feel you're about to give up, or have lost hope, don’t! hope gives you the ability to see beyond your expectations.

Image courtesy of chanpipat / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Take steps, identify your goals, and develop a plan to achieve those goals. Train yourself; mentally and spiritually prepare to face the challenges. What happens if your business fails? Try again! Look at your mistakes, correct them and try again … and again!

This is perseverance. Insist until success arrives at your door, but most importantly try not to make the same mistake over and over again so that you can achieve a faster and gratifying success.
Persevere and you will conquer!
Good luck!

Friday 26 July 2013

The challenge of being a woman and an entrepreneur


Being a woman means commitment, dedication, caring, wisdom, unconditional love, endless patience, deep understanding, harmony, warmth, strength, courage. Being a woman means to be supportive, protective, resourceful, a multitasker, a source of life. These are just a few facets of women who know the importance of managing their time well. As a woman, in addition to being updated and connected to each activity performed during the day, I am aware of both my work life and my family, and therefore know exactly what my children are doing as well as how the market is doing in my industry. A worthy challenge nonetheless!
 
 
Did You Know … 96.8% of all Virtual Assistants are women and that 69.3% of these are married of whom 76.1% have children. 59.2% have college or trade school training with 82.5% starting their businesses after being in the workforce for some time.

32% of the VAs surveyed charge $31-40 per hour for their services with the majority of VAs putting in 31-40 hours of work per week. Amazingly, 43.6% of the VAs surveyed normally work on weekends.
93.7% of the Virtual Assistants surveyed stated that their clients are found through word of mouth referrals with 80.1% of VAs also marketing through a website online.
 
 

 Image courtesy of watcharakun / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Being a woman entrepreneur may not be the easiest path to follow when looking for your career path, but as independent women, we are taking control of our careers and enjoying supreme satisfaction and freedom.
Being a woman entrepreneur has taught me to:o Be optimistic.
o Be persistent.
o Have patience, but never stop acting.
o Be creative: daring to go where others believe that there is a limit.
o Continue and follow, look forward correcting past mistakes.
o Investigate, study and educate myself to be the best in my business undertakings.


Being a virtual assistant has been an excellent choice of entrepreneurship. As one I have been able to bring my experience to different areas of the business spectrum, such as translations, graphic design, development and maintenance of web pages, general office administration, marketing and social media management among many other specialties. I have been able to provide my clients with ideas, alternatives and a vision for the success not only of their businesses but also of mine.
I’m so proud to be a woman, and even more so to be a female entrepreneur!
Success comes when you meet the objectives and targets set in life. You can become a successful woman and carry that all of your life!