I am a stickler for backing up after two huge computer crashes and a domain company going out of business and BOOM! all of their customers’ files being ALL GONE with NO warning.

I always rename a page on my site that I am updating as “name2.html” – always – BUT, last night, being careless and in a hurry to update my rates page, I neglected to do so and …

what happened next was a near disaster!

ONE teeny tiny error messed up the entire page AND since I had recently cleared my web cache as well, I had no previous instance of the page to copy and start over. I do USUALLY remember to update the files on my laptop, which I use pretty much exclusively for my Twitter tweeting, Facebook commenting and my Facebook Fan Page , BUT, as luck would have it, I had not updated my laptop as I had not used it except to do client work for the past week!

Thank goodness I did make a CD backup the last time I updated the site and added the new Social Media Assistance Package or I have no idea how I would ever have fixed things on that messed up page.

So, please, take a lesson from MY mess up and make sure you:

Name any page you are updating, for example, rates.html – to rates2.html and keep checking that one as you work before making it a permanent change to rates.html

Copy your web site pages, blog posts, etc. to a CD and if possible have them also backed up to another computer or spare room on your domain

Double check that your backups are correct before you do anything permanent that can not be undone or fixed.

Enjoy your wonderful web site and/or blog!

Happy 2011 to all of us! May this be our most successful and wonderful year yet of many more to come that just get better and better!

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing, proofreading
and transcription assignments along with research, blog posts, article submissions
and social media maintenance!

Why not Schedule a Project now?

Companies might consider business outsourcing for many
different reasons.

Business outsourcing is when a company hires an outside source to complete work or a project which would normally be done by the staff.

A company might consider outsourcing to save money by cutting down on costs or when they might not have the employee resources to complete a particular project.

Outsourcing gives a company the opportunity to complete a needed project that might not be a specialty of their employees.

When you outsource, you don’t have to pay a salary or provide benefits to the workers.

When business outsourcing occurs, the company will usually enter into an agreement with the outsourcing company. This is usually done with a contract.

The contract will usually include the terms of the agreement = like steps throughout the project, time the project will take, people involved, cost, and required resources from the client.

There are many different types of outsourcing.

The most common segments of a business that hire outsourcing companies for assistance include accounting services to help with payroll, inventory, and financial issues.

The biggest field of outsourcing today for companies is in the Information Technology field. This is because companies will upgrade their phones, computers, need cabling installed, troubleshooting performed and many other services.

Companies also outsource people for customer service positions, call centers, and telemarketing.

Outsourcing is a solution for a business to save money and complete projects and tasks in the workforce without having full time employees do the work.

Outsourcing is becoming more and more popular across the world every day.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing, proofreading and transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com

When you are looking to save yourself time and to make sure that your online business is running to the best of its ability, you will find that one of the things that you should look at is outsourcing. You may consider outsourcing to be something that only huge companies do, but you’ll find that online business and outsourcing are a perfect fit.

Because having an online business calls for a wide variety of skills and talents, no one person can or should tackle them all on his or her own. There are several tasks that can easily, and more importantly, beneficially be outsourced elsewhere. Here are just a few of them.

Writing

For many people, writing is not a strong point in their businesses. Therefore, putting well written, action provoking content on their websites is a difficult task. However, this is NOT an area to be skimped upon when it comes to online business. The content on a website has a direct effect on search engine rankings. Copy that is neglected will show when it comes to a company’ s bottom line. If you find it difficult to get the results you are looking for with your writing, consider outsourcing it to a qualified writer. You will find that there are a ton of freelancers who can help you get the content you want, that will help generate sales from your visitors.

Website Design

If you are running an online business, you need to put as much time and effort into your website as you would a brick and mortar store. Getting an attractive, easy to use website is not easy and you will find that there are many professional website designers who are looking to “wow” you with their expertise. This is something that is well-worth the money spent. You’ll be able to rest assured that your website design is attractive and easy to navigate, which is always a plus for turning visitors into buyers.

Search Engine Optimization

If you run an online business, you already know how important search engine traffic is to your success. In order to rank high for your keywords and phrases, hiring a search engine optimization expert or link-building service will help to put you on the map. Search engine optimization, when done correctly, will increase the traffic to your website and is an easy way to get your business name out there for the entire world to see.

Customer Support

For those who sell a product, whether it’s candles or e-books, more than likely you will need customer support. Outsourcing is a great deal easier than putting together a full support staff, training them, and then getting them set up with equipment. When outsourcing customer support, you will be making the most out of your time and ensuring that your customers get the most out of their products.

Blogging

If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you already know that Web 2.0 and all that goes with it are important parts of your business. One way to add value to your business is to create a blog. You can easily find a qualified contractor to help you update the blog and provide ghostwritten blog posts for you. A great way to keep in touch with customers, clients and others interested in your business, outsourcing your blog tasks will keep you from overextending yourself.

Outsourcing is something that all business owners, whether large or small, can do to help make their businesses more successful. Put the work in the hands of the experts and you can focus on the things that you enjoy and come easier to you.

These are only a few of the many business activities that you can outsource.

Remember, I am a Virtual Assistant who LOVES to do editing, proofreading and transcription assignments!

Jan Tallent
Tallent Agency Virtual Assistance

573-775-4520 jan@tallentagency.com