Quite by accident, I stumbled upon a terrific blog today and I just had to share with all of you. Sandra of ProVA by Design has her finger on the pulse and I highly recommend you go grab her RSS feed so you can enjoy her posts. Today, she posted a terrific article on how to become a life-long learner by subscribing to the 5 best podcasts for business.

Maybe you've considered working with a Virtual Assistant but you just weren't sure how to use one or what to have one do for you. A savvy Virtual Assistant can take on any and all of those tasks that keep you from your core competency - those tasks that drive you crazy and often get neglected or rushed.

Starting this Tuesday, just a simple tweet on Twitter could win you a free block of 10 Virtual Assistant hours!

Sometimes I'll run across a blog post that makes me laugh out loud and today is no exception... Now, not all clients will be this rotten, but if you've ever had just one bad egg then this post over at Web Designer Depot will surely make you LOL.

5 Rotten Things No One Else Has Told You About the Clients You’ll Work For

Ever had a rotten client say any of these 5 things to you? Tell us more about it in the comments!

Today, Mashable had a stunning 'how to' post on building your thought capital with Twitter. After soaking up the juicy knowledge shared in this post, I thought it might be nice to share how I think Virtual Assistants specifically can utilize Twitter more effectively to build their own thought capital.

Twitter has planted the magic beans and is growing in massive proportions and for any Virtual Assistant to truly utilize it to the fullest, it will be critical to build your reputation and increase your perceived value with a few simple suggestions. First, go read Mashable's post linked above and then come back.... Go ahead, I'll wait.

Just what is a Virtual Assistant and how can a Virtual Assistant save you time and money? Virtual Assistants are independent contractors who partner with you to take all that busy work off your plate and get you back out doing what you love - your core competency isn't dealing with adminitrative headaches! That's our core competency!

A Virtual Assistant provides clients administrative support from their home office, all the services you would expect from an ‘in office' secretary or assistant, plus a whole lot more. With a Virtual Assistant, you never cover payroll taxes, insurance or buy additional equipment or office space, plus most Virtual Assistants bill only for ‘time on task,' saving your bottom line.

With a Virtual Assistant, you get a support professional that can hit the ground running. By taking on several clients, a Virtual Assistant works as an independent entrepreneur partner - they've already grown their skills, thus you don't need to train them. Plus, you can be assured that their success is a direct result of your success - if you're not happy, they're not in business long.

Just this week, VirtuAllin hit the 2000 follower mark on Twitter! If you're not yet using Twitter as part of your marketing plan, you're missing out. Twitter will not only help alleviate your feelings of isolation, but is an excellent means to publicize your business, offer assistance, establish your authority and gain new clients. We've had three new prospects referred to us this week alone, all through relationships we've built by Twittering. Sign up for twitter and follow some of our followers:

If you're anywhere near as bombarded with information, tasks, projects and interactions as I am then you know how difficult it can be to carve out any amount of time each day to stay informed on the latest news and trends. Today, I have the answer for you! A terrific Firefox plugin called Feedly that will change everything about how you read RSS feeds and share with your social network.

No matter what business you're in, you know how critical it is to keep informed on trends in your industry (and the people who most often report them). RSS feeds are a great way to do this, but in the past you were usually stuck with widgets or RSS readers that were clumsy and ugly. I love Google Reader for it's bells and whistles, but even it needed a serious makeover for readability. I found myself ditching my RSS reading in favor of Twitter and FriendFeed. That now is no longer necessary due to the amazing Firefox plugin I've discovered!

In the hopes of sparking up some conversation and providing our readers with exactly what they want, I'm asking you this:

If you could ask one question of a veteran Virtual Assistant, what would it be? No holds barred, ask about getting started, billing, rates, niche specialties, how to get clients...anything!

Ask your question in the comments below or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (if you wish to be anonymous) and I'll answer everyone in upcoming blog posts. Fire away!

It happened to me again today. I innocently opened up my Feedly to check out the latest posts of blogs I'm subscribed to and I became completely distracted, lured into the vortex of time-suck. Before I knew it, a good hour had gone by and as usual, I'm very happy about it.

I was recently skimming through my FriendFeed and Robert Scoble retweeted a tweet that mentioned Twitterfall. Always curious, I went to check it out and I was really thrilled at this amazing free tool for viewing Twitter trends.