4h banquet follow up

I promised to tell you about the speech at our last banquet, so here goes. It was a very nice speech, but it was not as motivating as the two other speeches we heard the two nights prior. The speaker was a 4h parent and also one of the auctioneers, so he is very involved but he just didn't have the same effect on me as the other two speakers. I don't know, maybe it was just me. But I do know that we have started putting money away for next year's auctions. Some change here, a dollar there, it adds up pretty quickly. We just might get those broilers!

Until next time,

Denise
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Facebook confirmation

I'm trying to get my blog into the feed reader on Facebook but can't do that without having 15 or more readers. So please use this URL - http://apps.new.facebook.com/blognetworks/blogpage.php?blogid=34612 - to join my blog network and get me up to 15 readers. Thanks!

Until next time,

Denise
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4h banquets

Well, we've got two 4h banquets down and one still to go. We've had the small animal and horse and still have the livestock to go.

Thursday night was the small animal banquet. It was very nice and the guest speaker made some very good points in his speech. He is a parent who is also a buyer. He talked about how if each one of the people who were at the banquet just put away one dollar a week, then there would be a ton of new buyers so that when it's 11:30 at night and the auction is still going on, there will still be buyers there. This year, when it came down to the last kids, everyone was already gone. I felt terrible, but as I was working the auction, there was nothing I could do about it. One of the girls in my club actually pulled the rest of her animals out and decided not to sell them since there were no people there! So this next year I am going to invest my husband's help and have him sit out there as a buyer and bid on the end animals. Not that we need any more mind you, we have a farm full, but we will do it for the kids. We'll buy some broilers, they are good eating!

Last night was the horse banquet and again, there was a very nice speech made. The president of the horse association asked for a show of hands from all the kids who had already sent out their thank you cards. Nine kids raised their hands. She put those nine in a line, handed out envelopes, and in one of them was a $50 bill! In the other eight there was a $1 bill. She did this, as a business owner, as an incentive for the kids to get their thank yous out to their sponsors. She told a story of how one year they went to the livestock auction, purchased a steer, and never received a thank you from the child they bought it from. Never received the picture, nothing. They have never been back as a buyer since and she stated it would take a whole lot to get her to buy again.

Now tonight is the livestock banquet. We will see what type of speech is made there. I will let you know!

Until next time,

Denise
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Fun new browser

I have just found about this fun new browser, Flock and boy is it neat!  It has a little sidebar where you can have all your social network sites up and see what everyone is doing. 

Right now I have my twitter and facebook sites up there.  It updates it for you and you can post right from the sidebar.  I LOVE it!

I'm going to go play around with it and watch the welcome video so that I can get it figured out but I think that this is going to be my internet browser from now on.

Until next time.

Denise

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Relay for Life

This past weekend was Gladwin County's Annual Relay for Life event. My family participates in this event because we have had cancer touch our lives numerous times.

My grandmother was only 63 when she died of brain cancer. My father in law was 69 when he died of multiple myeloma. My sister in law's mother has just been diagnosed with cancer again - almost 5 years ago she had breast cancer that they thought was cured. Now it's in her liver, bones, and who knows where else. And I was 27 when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Now, I don't say that to try and make myself out to be some big hero, but to say this. I don't feel like I should be included in the list of survivors. Yes, I had cancer, but all it took for me to be cured of it was surgery. They found it early. I didn't have to have radiation. I didn't have to have chemo. I only had to go to my OB/GYN every three months for a check up for a couple of years, then every six months for a couple of years, and now it's every year. To look at me, you would never even know that anything was wrong or had been wrong. I'm not scarred, I'm not missing parts, I'm just me. So when the people on my team put my name in as a survivor and I got all the goodies that survivors get - a special dinner, a t-shirt, a hat or visor, a survivor sash, everything, I felt like someone who shouldn't be there. When we did the survivor lap I tried to get off the track but since I had on a purple shirt, I was urged to get back on and walk that "victory lap". People all around the track were clapping and cheering as we walked and I felt so unworthy!

I tried to tell my family but didn't have the words and still don't. And when I think of it, even now, I cry. I just kept thinking to myself - "Those people that are out there are fighting for their very lives!! This dreaded disease has taken over their bodies and they are fighting for their very life!! I didn't have to do that, so why am I out here. I feel like such a fraud."

My mother and husband both told me that I was just one of the lucky ones - that if they hadn't caught it early I could "be six feet under" as my husband so delicately put it. And my mom keeps telling me that "it was a big deal." My kids couldn't understand why, when I was making luminaria bags for other people, I wouldn't make one for myself. And I couldn't explain it to them.

So to all those people who really had to fight for their very life, I applaud and cheer you and I will just keep relaying - hoping that my small effort will help eradicate this disease forever!

Until next time,

Denise

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VA Survey press release

Virtual Assistants flock to participate in the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey

Frustrated by inaccurate media portrayals and industry outsiders miseducating their marketplace, Virtual Assistants head in droves to partake in the third annual Virtual Assistant Industry Survey.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Denise Shears

Phone: 888.439.4845

Email: denise@shearsvirtual.com

Website: http://www.shearsvirtual.com

Beaverton, Michigan, August 7, 2008—Virtual Assistants are fed up. They've had it with inaccurate media portrayals and reporters who don't get the facts right. They're sick of exploitive industry outsiders who don't understand the Virtual Assistance business misinforming their marketplace. They're tired of constantly having to explain the difference between an employee and an independent service provider. And they're having their say about it all by participating in this year's third annual Virtual Assistant Industry Survey.

Every August marks the time of year when Virtual Assistants can contribute to the statistics and body of knowledge that is improving the industry's understanding of itself and the education of its market. Sponsored by the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, over 10,000 Virtual Assistants from around the globe are invited to participate. Created by Virtual Assistants (the folks who know the industry best!), the Virtual Assistant Industry Survey is the most comprehensive and in-depth survey in the Virtual Assistant profession. With 101 questions, the survey includes detailed cross-sectional data that represents every area of the industry. It offers unprecedented information about individual and business demographics, market data, and services. Other survey topics include:

• Education, experience and credentials
• Employees and subcontractors
• Clients and target markets
• Hours and services
• Pricing and income
• Training and continuing education
• Marketing and networking
• Success, profitability and entrepreneurship
• Standards, Ethics and Educating the Public

Denise Shears, a Virtual Legal Assistant in Michigan, and owner of Shears Virtual Advantage at http://www.shearsvirtual.com, made haste to be included in the survey. “I participated because I believe that the business industry needs to be informed correctly as to just what a Virtual Assistant is and what we do for our clients. This survey will help to show that VA’s are not just fly by night businesses run by stay-at-home moms, but that we are also business owners who have upper level administrative experience in our past and who truly enjoy helping clients succeed.”, states Denise Shears.

"Thousands of writers, reporters, and journalists have access to the Virtual Assistant Industry Survey. It gives them all the information they need to write the articles and profiles that more accurately portray our profession and educate our marketplace. That's why it is so very important that every Virtual Assistant take a moment to participate," stresses Danielle Keister, founder of the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce.

The 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey is open to all professional Virtual Assistants. A copy of the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey Report will be provided at no charge to every participating Virtual Assistant at the end of the survey period. Virtual Assistants can participate by visiting http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/survey.htm

ABOUT THE VACOC: The Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce is a professional association committed to empowering business-minded Virtual Assistants to grow smarter, more successful practices and providing business owners with free tools and resources to connect with reputable, qualified Virtual Assistant professionals. To learn more about Virtual Assistance and its professional providers, visit the VACOC website at http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com

2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey

It's officially here, the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey over at the VACOC. Here's more info courtesy of Danielle Keister, founder of VACOC, via her blog.

Get Thee to the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey

The 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey is underway and if you are a Virtual Assistant, you are personally invited and encouraged to participate!

Every August marks the time of year when Virtual Assistants can contribute to the statistics and body of knowledge that is improving the industry's understanding of itself and the education of its market. Sponsored by the Virtual Assistance Chamber of Commerce, over 10,000 Virtual Assistants from around the world are invited to participate.

Created by Virtual Assistants (the folks who know the industry best!), the Virtual Assistant Industry Survey is the most comprehensive and in-depth survey in the Virtual Assistant profession. With 101 questions, the survey includes detailed cross-sectional data that offers unprecedented information about individual and business demographics, market data and services. Other survey topics include:

• Education, experience and credentials
• Employees and subcontractors
• Clients and target markets
• Hours and services
• Pricing and income
• Training and continuing education
• Marketing and networking
• Success, profitability and entrepreneurship
• Standards, Ethics and Educating the Public

This year's survey focuses on how the media portrays our industry, what they're getting wrong and what they're getting right, our qualification standards and the issues that give a black-eye to the profession. Our collective voices can be heard and have a very real impact on properly educating those who work with us and write about us. That's why it's so very important that each and every Virtual Assistant take a moment to participate, be counted and have their say.

The 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey is open to all professional Virtual Assistants. A copy of the 2008 Virtual Assistant Industry Survey Report will be provided at no charge to every participating Virtual Assistant at the end of the survey period August 31.

You Can Help Spread the Word!

By participating, each and every one of us makes a difference in shaping our industry. You can help us in the effort of giving every Virtual Assistant a voice by helping spread the word. Hey, it's a great excuse for a blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn post, and if you belong to other Virtual Assistant forums and listservs, please tell everyone you can.

Feel free to copy and paste text and graphics as you like from any of these sources:

Office Press Release:
http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/releases/2008/080208.htm

Gritty VA Blog Post:
http://www.grittyva.com/the_gritty_virtual_assist/2008/08/get-thee-to-the.html

Survey Page:
http://www.virtualassistantnetworking.com/survey.htm

Until next time.

Denise

Awesome e-book

Okay. As most everyone knows, I have had a Virtual Legal Assistant business since May 2006. The other day I was proofreading a new e-book that Danielle Keister, the founder of the VACOC, was putting out. It's entitled Understanding Your Value: How to Craft Your Own Unique Value Proposition and Cash In on Value-Billing Methodologies.

Well, I was going along, proofing this book, just like I had agreed to, when all of a sudden I found myself actually reading it! This book is awesome. It so totally changed the way I thought about what I do and how I present it, that I went right in to my website and reworded my entire payment page! I can't say enough about this book. I am printing it out and going to go through the steps she suggests to get my mind, and business, in the right place to grow exponentially.

So, I recommend this book for each and every VA that is out there, whether your business is just beginning or you're a seasoned veteran. You can't go wrong with it, and who knows, you may just learn a thing or two! :-)

Until next time.

Denise