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Partnering with a virtual assistant may not be for everyone. Here are some things to consider before opting in for outsourcing.

* Getting personal: If you’re squeamish about handing over personal information like user IDs and passwords, you may want to think twice about using a VA, or at least limit any personal tasks you hand out.

* Tech issues: You may have to familiarize yourself with programs like ClientSpot or Skype in order to pay and communicate with your VA.

* Time investment: You’ll have to spend some time filling out request forms and signing agreements. You’ll also have to train your assistant, and there will likely be a learning curve before you get your work rhythm down.

* Language barrier: You’ll need the time and patience to be extra clear about your expectations, and keep in mind that slang or shorthand might be lost in translation.

* Time difference: Your VA may not be at your beck and call. If you need someone who’s available during US business hours, make sure he or she can accommodate you.

Some useful sites

* International Virtual Assistants Association (ivaa.org). Allows you to post a free “request for proposals” outlining your needs, to which VAs can respond.

* Find Virtual (findvirtual.com). Offers a virtual assistant directory that you can search according to criteria like pay rate and skill set.

* Alltop (Virtual-Assistant.Alltop.com). An aggregator of virtual assistants’ blogs and Web sites.

* Assistant Match (Assistant

Match.com). An agency that, for a fee, connects clients to assistants who’ve been screened and background-checked.

* Ask Sunday (asksunday.com). One of the largest virtual assistant agencies. Others include Elance.com, GetFriday.com, Brickwork India (b2kcorp.com) and DoMyStuff.com.

By GAIL EISENBERG

I’ve been traveling a little for Hunting Square – One of our online classifieds section for outdoorsmen. We just went up to the QDMA ( Quality Deer Management Association ) and gain about 200 members from the show! Great success for us.

I’ll be writing soon to tell you about the next project I’m working on once I have the final beta site up for viewing…no sneak peeks yet. Also working hard to sell a dotcom business we’ve been working on for the past year.

Time to focus – To be continued…

I’ve been productive and I can’t wait to share with ya’ll what I’m working on right now. I’ve just made it through two brief business plans prepared for some investors and I’m starting to write a lot on the blog. Obviously not online! I’m heading to Europe for three weeks and I’m hoping to come back to the states with some fresh new ideas.

I’ll update with the new thoughts soon enough. I’ll need feedback.

So what exactly is the term crowdsourcing? It is a neologism for the act of taking a task traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing it to an undefined, generally large group of people or community in the form of an open call. For example, the public may be invited to develop a new technology, carry out a design task. (Wikipedia)

What an interesting concept to us. This phrase wasn’t really used until 2006 because the internet was still testing the waters on this type of business models. Well the two most well known companies that have defined this term are istockphoto.com and treadless.com – These two companies have built their businesses around the community of creative individuals. How can us entrepreneurs use the crowd to help improve our services and products while helping us sell them too.

My business partner and I recently won a business plan competition called FastPitch Nashville, and utililized this idea of crowdsoursing to win the votes of our crowd. We simply made it public that we would be speaking at this competition and needed the support of those close to us.

So ask yourself and your business. How can I begin to crowdsource my product? You would be suprised with what you think of.

So I’m 22-years-old and I’ve launched four successful businesses and created a name for myself. Here’s my point, I’ve always known that if there is a goal set then you are able to accomplish it (keep in mind that failure is never a mistake). My first year in business was so awful that I can hardly even talk about it. My business partner and I never set goals, spent lots of money on item in which we never had fund in the first place to pay for and thus getting into debt right at first. Well this was my first lesson – -  I now had a company at 20-years-old, dropped out of college and on my own, and successfully pulled my company 5 figures in the hole….nice. I began brainstorming how we were going to get back into the black and this is where my story of my life begins.

Why are there people that focus so much on the future that they miss the opportunities that place themselves right in front of their face?  I find it difficult to talk with these individuals that keep telling me that they’ll catch a break at some point. Rich Dad Poor Dad anyone? The rat race analogy. When we are faced in tight situations it is a great time to begin brainstorming and creating those ideas into realities. It’s about seeing those opportunities like I did and run with them –

Remember that failing is taking one step down a road that you’ll never go down again! It’s going to happen; get used to it.

This recession is earning a pretty reputable name. Let’s not let it get too cocky.

Now I understand that this time in our lives is something to look back on and say, “Remember that time when we thought it would never get better?” It’s so easy to get discouraged in a time when no one wants to throw around money. Trust me, I know. My company sells a high-end product to families and I can guarantee we’ve had to adjust our business model for the economic situation.

How do we see those opportunities that I was talking about in my last past? I strongly believe that this is the best time to launch a business if you’ve got a solid business model. At this time, there are so many great opportunities around every corner that are waiting to get launched by people like us. There is no age limit for success to happen for someone. We’ve all heard those stories of comfortable businessmen that hold great positions with firms deciding that there might be something better out in the world for them. They see that light of hope and opportunity and grab control of life and jump into the great world of entrepreneurialism…not quite a word but lets roll with it for a bit.

There is a long list of businesses that were started during  a recession and among them include; IHOP, Jim Henson Company, FedEx, Microsoft, Sports Illustrated, MTV, CNN, GE, and Trader Joes.

A Belfast newspaper wrote, “One of the ironies of a recession is that it has proven over previous historical periods to be a good time to launch a new business – both Microsoft and Oracle were launched and excelled as the world was in the midst of significant economic downturns,” a statement from Belfast City Council said.

This is a worldwide occasion that is placed in front of us. I’m writing this blog to get some recent thoughts so let me get through these topics before thinking I challenging everyone to go out and do something about it because I’m not. I’ve recently written a paper for a class where I argue that the time is better than ever to launch into a new venture.