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Stefan Töpfer
CEO & Chairman of WinWeb Email Me |
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I'm passionate about very small business, it's positive impact on personal lives and for local communities. Reducing small business failure is my aim and that of WinWeb's services. |
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Archive for the 'SME-Blog' CategoryThe Small Business Blog Makes The Top 100 Business BlogsBy Stefan Töpfer on Oct 26, 2007John Crickett compiled a “The Top 100 Business Blogs” list and I’m delighted to see, I made it to position 70 - he says:
John defines a Business blog as “one that provides business ideas, advice, commentary or feedback on business in general.” He’s excluded sites that he feels are primarily a news based site or that is merely posting content from other sources and sites that are too new or have not been updated for over a month. I would like to thank John for his work, here is his list - the rankings are correct at the time of posting:
This little list should keep you busy over the weekend, go and have a look. I’ll be checking out the competition.
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New Blog TemplateBy Stefan Töpfer on Jul 31, 2007I’m working to install a new blog template and update WordPress. This may cause some problems with displaying content. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
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Management of Mobile WorkersBy Stefan Töpfer on Jul 27, 2007Mobile working is a trend that is emerging in all sectors of the market and is here to stay. It provides employees flexible working conditions that empower them and is also beneficial to the business.
Tags: 7 Customer Service, Accountanats, AccountsOffice, BoomerPreneurs, Business Idea, Business Mentoring, Business Start Up, Business Success, Cash-Flow, CashBook, Contractors, CPAs, Entrepreneur, Freelancer, Home Business, IT, Lifestyle Business, Micro Business, MumPreneurs, Office 2.0, On-Demand Small Business Infrastructure, Online Shop, Outsourcing, Pearn Kandola, Personal Business, OnlineOffice, SaaS - Software as a Service, Sage Business Heartbeat Survey, Self-employed, Shell Springboard, SMB - Small Medium Business, SME - Small Medium Enterprise, SOHO - Small Office Home Office, Virtual Assistant, Virtual Office, Vivid Economics, VSB - Very Small Business, Web 2.0, WebOffice, WinWeb Live
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Are You LinkedIn? (Networking Online)By Kathie Thomas on Apr 15, 2007Have you been approached to join LinkedIn yet? You most likely have, but like me, knew very little about it, joined and then nothing much happened, except for the occasional email from a stranger asking to connect with you. And so for a year I’ve just let my membership sit, with less than 50 contacts, from a few people in my own database and the occasional other. But recently I read a post in Des Walsh’s blog about LinkedIn that made me sit up and take notice. I had seen a post earlier in the year by Guy Kawasaki and I began to follow that up, but it came at a time when I really was rather busy and so couldn’t spend time reading and following links. Easter and a 4 day break meant that Des’ post was better timed for me and I began to explore.What I found most interesting was the story about Stan Relihan who is Australia’s ‘most connected person’ through LinkedIn with over 5,000 connections. Stan is a Head Hunter and originally saw LinkedIn as an opportunity to view people’s resumes and find people for roles he was filling but it has grown far beyond that with the result of many overseas connections and people clamouring to get connected with him. Stan was interviewd about his experience with LinkedIn and how it has worked for him and you can hear the Podcast for this at GDay World Podcast Network. If you want to learn more about LinkedIn then listening to this podcast is a good start. Click on icon immediately under the title of the post.
Des’ post on his blog further highlighted other posts to read and other networks worth considering - which are sub-networks of LinkedIn. One is for bloggers. It is with yahoogroups and, of course, I joined them to find out more about LinkedIn and Bloggers in general. When you get invited to join networks of this kind it is worth doing the homework and exploring. I’ve been invited to join many and you don’t always see what’s under the surface on first look. So perhaps seeking out articles, Q&As or people who have been using those networks for awhile is an ideal way of learning more. The more I read the more I realise that I have been missing what LinkedIn is all about and it is a good way of remaining connected, or being reconnected, with people you have worked with in the past. Let’s face it, we all know that often it’s not what you know, but who you know when connecting in business. If you’re good at what you do, and people know it, they will refer you to others if they have the ability to do so. LinkedIn will help assist that process. One thing that Stan was asked that I had also been concerned about and that was the possibility of spammers. He told the listener that LinkedIn is about connections with existing relationships, either direct or through someone else you know. Anyone found doing the wrong thing can be reported. And I doubt that will go down very well if people are working at building a profile to help develop business or career options. Why not go back and explore it again? And if you wish, you are welcome to ask to be connected with me via LinkedIn - my profile can be found below.
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Do You Need a Virtual Assistant?By Kathie Thomas on Apr 06, 2007I saw a post on a ‘Start a Home Business Blog’ recently that indicated engaging a virtual assistant was an expensive option. He ended up hiring someone else but didn’t explain what it was he wanted done or any indication of what he was looking to pay.It is true that there are VAs at the high end of the market and others in the low end so you can shop around. You could engage a high school student or a uni student at the low end rate and providing they have good computer skills, and know their alphabet and numbers, then you could get a reasonable job done. You will, however, need to spend time supervising and checking the work, to make sure it is done as you wanted it. It really depends on whether you’re seeking someone to do some (basic) typing and filing for you, or whether it’s work that involves a lot more thinking and planning, and knowledge such as bookkeeping, database management, transcriptions, website management, graphic design, internet research and so on. When you engage a VA you need to consider a few things such as:
1. What are YOU earning per hour and is it worth sacrificing this if you either do the work yourself and/or engage someone with low skills and then have to spend time to monitor or supervise the work? 2. What is the work you want done? Consider that a VA is usually someone who has worked in the corporate world in a senior role. This means that after you’ve spent some time explaining your business and how you do things, they can be left to get on with the work, make decisions, and even suggest better ways to do things. They will usually be able to complete the work in much faster time than you can. So what might take you 3 hours to do at whatever your hourly rate is, could take a VA half that time at their rate. 3. VAs do NOT need micro-managing. That is, you don’t need to be constantly checking on every little aspect of the job and watching over their shoulder. For this reason VAs do not need someone sitting by their side dictating how the work should be done. These are just three reasons why a VA can help your business but there are many more. However, just looking at these, I encourage you to do your sums and see how a VA can save you time and money - not cost you time and money. Engaging a VA is a good investment for your business and remember, they are also in business. So they become a taxable expense providing a business service, and should not be considered an employee. KMT virtual assistant, work at home, typist, computer trained, virtual support, VA, PA, business owners, happy customer
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Discovering Your NicheBy Kathie Thomas on Mar 29, 2007As the virtual assistant industry grows and develops VAs are beginning to discover that they either have a passion for a particular area, or they need to find an area to get passionate about. Whilst many do run ‘generalised’ businesses and offer services to a wide range of clients, many are finding more satisfaction in specialising in a particular service or industry type to provide a service to. My own interests have related to Association Management and servicing Public Speakers and Business Coaches.
Enter Beverley Neil who is an internationally accredited and certified resume writer. She has also been a winner and finalist in international awards for resume writing. Beverley has written a course designed to teach VAs how to become expert resume writers and who better than Beverley to teach you? So, if you’re interested in exploring this niche area to expand your VA business, why not visit her site detailing the course at ResumeWritingCourse.com. KMT resume writing, writing course, virtual assistant, niche business, resume course
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Suitable or Eligible?By Kathie Thomas on Mar 28, 2007I was listening to someone speak recently about recruitment and how people who apply for jobs think they’re suitable for a role, but would the employer actually think they’re eligible? I had to think about that. ‘Suitable’, according to the Collins English Dictionary means ‘appropriate, proper’. ‘Eligible’, according to the same dictionary means ‘fit, worthy, or qualified’.How often do we hear about someone who has decided to become a VA because they have a computer, internet connection and know how to type? (I have heard of some that couldn’t even type - just tap the keys). In this case they have the appropriate or proper equipment to operate a VA business. But, how fit, worthy and qualified are they?
It is true that there is much ‘on-the-job’ learning in becoming a VA but it is becoming considerably easier today because there are so many who have already trodden the path, and can help hold the hand of a newer VA. I don’t mean telling them what to do every step of the way, but I do mean that through the various VA forums and networks there are always willing members keen to give you pointers to help you in the right direction. And then there are a number of VA trainers and coaches today, and some institutions that have been established to give qualified training for this particular industry. Check out Essential Tools for VAs on the menu of this blog for a list of VA groups. And if you’re interested in training, shoot me an email for details. So, if you’re planning to take this new journey, are you suitable or eligible for the VA role?
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Virtual Assistance DefinedBy Kathie Thomas on Mar 27, 2007Recently there's been a number of articles on news type websites and posts on blogs about what it takes to be a Virtual Assistant or what a Virtual Assistant actually is. If you believe the news type websites and all the advertising hype, it's anyone who has a computer, can type a little and has an internet connection. It's promoted that to set up is very cheap and almost anyone could become a VA. And there are many out there who still don't know what a VA or Virtual Assistant is, so let me enlighten you, the reader! A Virtual Assistant is someone who operates from their own office (usually a home office but not always) and provides virtual office type support to their clients. They usually don't see their clients face-to-face, although some services provided requires that does need to happen. VAs are usually someone with a minimum 5 years experience in office based work, the corporate world, bookkeeping, computer troubleshooting, graphics design, web design and a heap of other computer based skills. Whilst initially those who had a strong secretarial background embraced this new industry as their career path, the reality is there are many now operating as VAs or VPs (Virtual Professionals) who do not have a secretarial background but might have worked in Human Resources, Banking, other financial institutions, engineering, IT and heaps of other types of business. The emphasis is on 'assistance' - the VA is providing assistance to a business owner/operator and providing the support they need so they can focus on the things that bring in the money, not the things that need doing daily to keep it operational. For anyone to set up in this type of business the fact remains that there are costs involved, computer equipment, software, furniture, insurances, advertising, some ability to manage and run a business and so on. The software is important - they really need to know and understand it - no client wants to be paying for someone to learn how to do something when they should already know, particularly if they're promoting that type of service. Is it true that some VAs charge only $10USD an hour and others over $50USD? The answer is 'yes' and 'no'. Those charging at the low end of the scale most likely are hobbyists looking to earn some extra money at home and have some idea of how to do what they're promoting. Very few at that price range are serious about building a business and developing it, and their skills. Those who charge at the higher end are highly skilled and most likely worked in Senior roles in the corporate world before setting up business. Many others are middle of the range - $25USD - $45USD and again, are working at building their businesses and increasing their skills range. You do pay for what you get, or should I say you will get what you plan to pay for. But remember, that paying someone who is at the higher range will save you a lot of problems - you are not paying for an employee and all that means in the way of insurances, taxation, etc and you are paying for experience and skill. Someone at the lower end scale will mean you'll need much more input into the work that is produced and will need to be following up, checking and correcting things - based on my own personal experience of what I've seen take place in the industry. The following articles will help those looking for more information on this industry: Business Operator or Employee? Advice to those seeking to use a VA Virtual Assistants, Home Business, Customer Service, working virtually, virtual support
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What can winweb do for you?By Jason Holden on Mar 14, 2007It struck me today what incredibly good value for money the winweb new pricing structure offers, don’t get me wrong it was well priced before, but now … For £119.88 per year for a single user licence you get a lot for your money, mind you always have, and that’s when I realised, you get so much with winweb I am sure a lot of people out there don’t realise what it can do to help them with their business or how it can help them get their business up and running. I know I am often told about features I didn’t know existed, so I thought over the coming weeks, and depending how much more I discover it can do, the coming months, I would look at winweb and how its business infrastructure can help you by looking at all it does. I would welcome input from other users on features you have discovered that others may not know about, or if you are a user who is not getting the full benefit then let me know what you want covered, and lets see if together we can’t unlock the true potential of the winweb business infrastructure together. One reason many small businesses fail is a lack of structure to their business, winweb is offering you that structure, it is already packaged and priced at the ‘incredible’ value end of the market. Tags: Winweb, Accountants, Accounting, AccountsOffice, AccountsVision, Bookkeeping, Bookkeepers, Business Development, Business Infrastructure, Business Start Up, Business Tool, Client Relations, Customer Service, E-Commerce, Entrepreneur, Home Business, Self Employed, Working for yourself, OMB, SME, Small Business, Small Business Infrastructure, SaaS, Software as a Service, Virtual Assistants
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Road pricing policyBy Jason Holden on Feb 12, 2007You may have all seen in the news recently the petition to have the Prime Minister scrap the planned vehicle tracking and road pricing policy, and you may wonder why on a blog for small business I bring it up, well quite simply put, if this government gets its way then this will be yet another tax that the small business will have to endure. To add your voice to over 1.2 million others who are against it please use the link below and say NO! Link to E-Petition on Downing Street website. Tags: Small business, SME, Self Employed, Working for yourself, Road pricing policy, SMB, OMB
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