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!

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.

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!

Rachel Rasmussen of the Virtual Assistant blog, Rescue Desk has a terrific post on her blog about Virtual Assistance. If you're thinking about starting a Virtual Assistant business, this may be an eye opening post - a must see! Rachel mentions, "But, if I read one more article that focuses on the “home-based” part, or that it’s a great “part time” work, or advises would-be VAs that all they need is “an Internet connection, organizational skills, and MS Office,” I think I’ll hurl." Ha! How can you resist? Run on over to Rachel's blog and check this out - oh, and subscribe to her feed!

What you really need to know about becoming a virtual assistant

You don't have to sign up for a ponzi scheme or buy into some goofy MLM scam to make some extra cash from your website.  In this post, we'll cover a few ideas to help you generate added income from your website

Create & Sell a Product

Back when search engine optimization was in super high demand by real estate agents (about four years ago), I was getting flooded with requests for the same basic SEO services; link building, keyword optimization, maintaining link directories. Since that was all that many of these clients wanted, I decided to create an 'SEO Maintenance' package and offer it on my website. It included a set number of hours per month that I would handle their SEO and detailed monthly tracking reports of links, ranking, etc. Since I had invested in top of the line SEO software, I was quickly able to sign several new clients to the service. It was a win-win on both sides.Do you have a particular skill set or knowledge that you could use to create a product? Perhaps if you're a wiz with MS Publisher or Photoshop, you could create graphics or templates to sell on your website. Are you a terrific copywriter? Perhaps start a Newsletter service where clients pay a monthly fee for your custom newsletter content. The possibilites are endless.