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Welcome to ACS News
Happy New Year!
I did manage to get a couple of weeks off though over the Christmas/New Year period and spent a lovely time with family in the country in South Australia. My husband and I enjoyed good company, pizza, barbeques and wine, a trek up a mountain, my husband did a lot of road and mountain bike riding and we got to sleep in every day. Bliss. We weren't quite ready to come back to work yet but we do feel refreshed. And he totally spoilt me with a brand new digital SLR camera so you can expect to see some pics from me periodically. I'm a real shutterbug!
Change is in the airI've been busy updating the website at www.vadirectory.net. It now matches our blog and I believe is more streamlined. I've combined information relating to the engagement of Virtual Assistants by clients so that there aren't so many pages to go through when looking up information. However, if you're stuck and can't find what you wanted, then you can visit our new sitemap. I'll be sending specific emails to my clients direct relating to services being delivered this year and another to my virtual assistant team about updates to our system. I've been updating our VA shop also - we have 6 categories that consist of: Well, this year has brought two good things to me already - which is an improvement on the finish of my year last year. There's a new magazine out called "Your Home Business" which profiles successful long-term home based businesses around Australia. I was interviewed for one of these profiles a couple of months ago and the magazine is now out. You can get your copy at the local newsagent around Australia but if you're overseas and want a copy, please contact me direct so I can organise it for you. Also, for the second year running, I've been nominated for the "Australian of the Year Awards" and I am both thrilled and honoured that others have nominated me for doing something I love doing - helping and encouraging people. In particular, assisting mothers to come back home to work. And on that note, I have a promotion on my site at the moment for the 1,000 virtual assistant team member - we're very close to that number and that person will win free membership to the "A Clayton's Secretary" team, and a number of other things. Networking FrenzyA couple of months ago I was thinking social networking is going crazy. What do you think? At that time I had received a number of invitations to attend new networks that have been established. I must be on everyone's invitation list - it's getting out of hand! And perhaps it is. However, just recently I relented and decided to join a couple more networks, actually about 3 or was it 4? Come to think of it, the number was higher. Ning.com really seems to have lent itself nicely to brand new networks on an almost daily basis and it's so easy to set up and use. And you can create your own templates or use one of theirs. Many applications to add or build onto the network makes it easy for those who don't have an IT person in the background to install and set up software for them. So I've joined 3 author networks (learning from my peers is a great way to improve myself as an author as well as promote my books) and another business group called Sta.rtUp.biz. Over 20,000 members at that one and if you consider joining, be prepared to be bombarded with lots of comments on your page within a short time of joining - they encourage people to welcome all the newbies. To me it amounts to spam but you can delete the comments on your own page and leave what you want there. And there are some excellent forums inside this network for people in all types of businesses. I've already made some worthwhile connections and only been a member a very short time. And somehow I've gained a lot of points although I haven't yet fully worked out what they're for. Some kind of ranking system for active networkers I think. Other groups I've joined are: BookMarket Network, SpeakerSite, Writer's Resource Centre, Godlinked, Author and Book Event Centre, and Connected Writers. There are more but this will give you some idea of what Ning.com can do. Feel free to connect with me if you have an interest in any of these groups. I know of some business coaches who are using this form of network for setting up private coaching clubs and it's working well for them. There is a free version but if you want to use your own domain or not have their Google advertising showing then there is a monthly rental cost. One word of warning though - the content is not transferrable to another system or service so if you decide you no longer want to use their system for your network you will lose everything that's there, or at least the time spent in developing it as you'll need to recreate it elsewhere. For me it's a simple decision and you can literally have a growing network set up in less than an hour. If you'd like to know more about Social Media, then this article by Chris Garrett is worth reading. New book and launch
The book is a compilation of real-life stories that some might call coincidences but which I refer to as God-incidences. The book is a compilation of real-life stories that some might call co-incidences but which I refer to as God-incidences. The title is “It Happened By Design”. Rob Buckingham who worte the Foreword will be in attendance. Some of you may recognise his name as a former DJ with Radio 3MP and is now the Music Director with Radio LightFM. |
Feel free to forward this newsletter on.
"Australian of the Year"
Thought for the month: When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. [Bookstore]
Great networks to join: Blogs we read: |
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Need a speaker for your event?“Worth More Than Rubies is a great starting place for moms who desire to work from home. Packed full of practical, useful information as well as the story of Kathie's own journey, I know this will bless many, many women.”~ Jill Hart, CWAHM.com Are you working for your family or because of your family? This topic really hit home for me. It made me feel good about working from home, I felt validated. Kathie's stories about her family and what it meant for her to work from home and what it meant for her family to have her there just made the whole conference worthwhile. Everything else was a bonus. Where is Kathie speaking this year?
Kathie can speak at your next meeting, seminar, conference or church and you can find her full itinerary at her site. She speaks on the following topics:
About Our Organisation…What is a Virtual Assistant? Think of a corporate office with a Personal Assistant or Secretary who sits outside the bosses' office providing him/her with admin/secretarial support. Now place that PA or Secretary in a different building - still providing that support but contact is done via email and phone instead of face-to-face. Well, that's how a Virtual Assistant (VA) works. We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own! Location no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are! However, if you need someone locally we can supply. See our list at VA Directory Manage your subscription If you received this by email there will be an edit link or a cancel link at the bottom of the newsletter. Or if this was forwarded to you, click here to subscribe. |
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Hello, my name is Kathie Thomas and you are on this newsletter list because you have subscribed to my website for services, products, or the newsletter itself. Or perhaps we've met and you've given me your business card so we could stay in touch. Welcome to all new subscribers. 
Well, 2009 came upon us in a rush, didn't it? At least it feels that way to me. With all the events that happened in the latter half of 2008, both globally and on a personal level, I feel like I'm still trying to catch up with the year that ran away from me. Do you feel like that too? 
As I've been sharing, I recently published a new book and it was launched at Amazon.com last month. I've been waiting though to launch it here in Australia (Melbourne). At last I can tell you that the launch will take place late this month in Cheltenham. If you would like an invitation to attend, please 
