Periodically I have the privilege of visiting a local Assisted Living Facility and singing for the Alzheimer’s patients. Today was one of those times that I got to go and sing for them. As I was thinking in my mind of the other times I had visited, I remembered that no matter how many songs or how beautiful the accompanying music was, these precious souls came back alive when I sang the old gospel songs from their childhood.

So today, I didn’t take any accompaniment music with me, I just took a songbook and we had an incredible time, sitting in a circle, sharing stories of singing these songs in school when they were little . What a blessed afternoon I received.

But it got me to thinking about the information we retain and how valuable our memory is. And how some things are never forgotten, even when a vicious disease attacks our brain and robs us of the information.

Relationships are so valuable and building a strong and lasting relationship with others is such an important role in business and in life. Whether you are building your relationships through local networking groups or through social media, give these people reason to never forget you. Do something special or out of the ordinary for them so that they remember you and your unique qualities. Being generous and helpful are tremendous qualities to have and to share.

The next time people are sitting in a circle singing the praises of someone who was helpful, generous and giving…will you come back into their mind?

<p>I had the great pleasure of being the special guest of <a href=”http://www.sandyrees.com” target=”_blank”>Sandy Rees, CFRE</a> on her <a href=”http://getfullyfundedsupport.com/” target=”_blank”>Get Fully Funded Support Club</a> call today.  We had an awesome discussion on how to utilize the many tools on the Internet for raising funds for nonprofit organizations.</p>
<p>Some of the topics we discussed were:</p>
<ul>
<li>Have an engaging and informative Website</li>
<li>Make it Easy for People to Donate</li>
<li>Utilize a Blog to stay connected to your donors more frequently</li>
<li>Keep the Blog short, simple and conversational</li>
<li>Develop an electronic newsletter/ezine</li>
<li>Do NOT make a PDF of your print newsletter and call it an ezine!</li>
<li>Take advantage of the wide world of Social Media</li>
<li>Use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote events and accept donations.</li>
</ul>
<p>Sandy is a fundraising coach, speaker and master trainer and has a wealth of knowledge to assist nonprofits in reaching their fundraising goals.  She also has programs designed to engage nonprofit boards and manage a small nonprofit on a shoestring budget.</p>

I had the opportunity to attend a teleseminar this morning by L. Drew Gerber CEO & Partner of PressKit 24/7. It was part of the Big Fish Nation program I am a member of. Big Fish empowers women entrepreneur’s to take their business to the next level through hard core business skills with a spiritual approach to success. Today’s teleseminar focused on Online Press Releases.

Drew shared with us that he defines PR as, Your Relationship with the Public and that you should begin using PR from the onset of your business. It will increase brand recognition, and boost your sales of products and services. 90 percent of reporters are getting their information from the Internet, so an Online Press Kit is essential to your Online Business Success!

As part of his company, PressKit 24/7 he has established a source to bring potential media opportunities right into your Inbox. PitchRate.com is the name of this site and it’s completely free! You can register, include a profile, select your area of expertise, along with subcategories and daily you will receive a digest of media opportunities. You can also search on the site for keywords relative to your business.

Drew loves games, and so do I! So he has offered the participants of today’s teleseminar an incredible prize for the person that gets the most people to sign up for PitchRate. That’s where I need your help! If you would like to get daily feeds of media opportunities and grow your business through online press release marketing, please sign up for this free service. And then send me a quick email to (terri.avirtualbiz@gmail.com) and put your name in the subject line. And of course, I’d love to get your feedback to share with Drew.

It’s very important that you send me an email, otherwise, I won’t know that you signed up and can’t count you in my group. I’ll follow up and let you know if YOU helped me win!

Today was so much fun. I had lunch at an incredible place with some of my closest and dearest friends. We all used to work together for a national non-profit organization and have kept in touch for the last five years as we have all went our separate ways.

Each year we gather at Christmas (and my birthday) to reminisce and just have a good time together. We have our traditional “onion strawberry shortcake” (that’s another whole blog post) and talk and laugh our heads off.

This year however, the conversation focused on Social Media and Internet Marketing. We were throwing around words like Facebook and Twitter. We asked each other if we Jotted or Skyped and as we walked out of the restaurant I told them they would be tagged on Facebook before the end of the day! Can you imagine what the people at the other tables were thinking? They probably thought we just landed from outer space!

There were two social media “pros” at the table and as we begin talking about our profiles, pages, posts and other such lingo, one of our friends pulled out a pen and paper and started writing it all down. Our hope is that we have successfully converted her to our new way of networking.

Of course, we will still get together every Christmas to visit, catch-up and enjoy some delicious food, but our plan is to stay close to each other all year round through Facebook, Twitter, Skype and the next big social media boom that hits.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/avirtualbiz and I’ll follow you back

Join my Facebook Page

Check out my LinkedIn Profile

My husband says, I have been “running the roads” a lot lately. That’s a southern thing if you don’t understand that phrase. But he is correct. I have been going a lot of places in the last couple of weeks and according to my calendar, I’m not going to slow down until around Christmas.

Now for a virtual professional, that’s a bit of a culture shock to actually go outside of your virtual world. But I love getting out of here. I love to visit and talk with people and network everywhere I go.

I shared a booth with one of my clients at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon in Knoxville last week and enjoyed catching up with old friends and making new ones. And of course, sharing my business and the services I provide for administrative support and online marketing. I walked away with a great list of people to follow-up with this week.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the East Tennessee Veteran’s Memorial was being dedicated this past weekend and I was honored to be invited to a reception and the dedication ceremony. The Mayor’s were there, as well as other politicians, high-ranking military personel and many familiar faces from my time with the organization. The ceremony was incredibly moving and I was proud to be an American and to have been involved in the early stages of the memorial’s planning. And it proved to be a great place to network. I was invited to be on a local radio show and several people are interested in learning more about my business.

I’m looking forward to the next couple of weeks and the many networking opportunties to share what I do and how I can help other business owners with their administrative and marketing needs.

So Honey, I have a few more “roads to run.”

My work as a virtual assistant began in 2003 with a local nonprofit organization, East Tennessee Veteran’s Memorial. When I was hired, I was the first and only employee and I worked from my bedroom office. I set-up a database, marketing materials, assisted with a website and ran the local office right out of my house. At the time, I had no idea that I was working “virtual.” I just thought I was lucky to be able to work from home and still accomplish the goals for erecting a memorial and learning center for the men and women of East Tennessee that gave their lives for my freedom.

I think back to this group and the man that made it his purpose in life to see that the memorial became reality. Retired Colonel J. William Felton, III, (The Colonel to me), is the man who walked on the beaches of Normandy with his wife Betty and reflected on the lives that were lost during WWII. As he returned to the hills of East Tennessee he wanted to thank the local men and women for their sacrifice, but could find no place in which to do that. Thus, the vision of the East Tennessee Veteran’s Memorial Association was born.

Saturday morning, November 15, 2008, the finished memorial will be dedicated in downtown Knoxville, TN. I am honored to be attending the dedication and also honored to have been involved in this extraordinary accomplishment to our brave service men and women.

Just to think, that my journey as a virtual professional began with one man’s dream of a Forever Memorial to our Forever Heros.

I have such a passion for nonprofit organizations and philanthropy. My background was in nonprofit management prior to starting my own business as a virtual assistant. I know the struggles and hardships that face nonprofits in fundraising. Now with the emergence of social media and internet marketing, nonprofit organizations have so many new doors open to them to find those all important dollars. A Virtual Business Solution offers specialized services to nonprofit organizations by utilizing blogs, enewsletters, social media and other innovative ways to reach your donors.

My client and good friend, Sandy Rees, CFRE was highlighted in an article by the Chattanooga Times Free Press where she commented on using blogs for fundraising. Follow this link to read the article and listen to Sandy’s audio interview.

If you are a nonprofit manager looking for new opportunities to boost your funding, contact me at A Virtual Business Solution and we’ll work together to develop a plan for your online fundraising success!

Terri Brooks is a Certified Internet Marketing Specialist and owner of A Virtual Business Solution. With more than 35 years of professional experience, including eight years of nonprofit management, she assists many nonprofit organizations with their online marketing and fundraising.

How many signs have you seen lately for Fall Festivals? In my neck of the woods, they are around every corner. Especially around Halloween. There’s apple festivals, tomato festivals, water festivals, you name it, there’s probably a festival for it.

I was blessed to be asked to coordinate our church’s Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat event last Sunday. As a former event coordinator for several non-profit organizations and a virtual event planner, it was a perfect fit for me. I love planning and coordinating events and working with the incredible volunteers. I had a fabulous team that helped with the event. Although many of the aspects of this event was “hands-on”, a large majority of the work was done virtually. We communicated through email and phone. We ordered supplies and this cute banner online and we submitted our press release through email.

I’m pleased that we had around 120 families attend our event and served more than 240 hot dogs, caramel apples, nachos and cheese, and popcorn. We had blow-up games, hayrides, pie throwing, bluegrass music, cake walks, Kids on Parade Costume Parade and great door prizes.

I love my virtual job, but sometimes it’s nice to be hands-on and work closely with others to make things happen.

Need help with an event? Contact A Virtual Business Solution

Do you love to network, but don’t have time to follow-up? You’re not alone. The majority of networkers love to mix and mingle with potential new clients at various events, but when they get back to their office, they toss those valuable business cards in a drawer and plan to follow up tomorrow. For most busy professionals, tomorrow brings its own new projects and before you know it, several weeks or even months have gone by with no follow up. Hundreds, or maybe thousands, of dollars in potential revenue has been laying in your top desk drawer!

We have the solution to keep you on top of your follow-up and make you a leader in business prospecting. Our Prospect Follow-up Service – Cards to Cash, provides a quick turnaround to those new business acquaintances and presents a professional image of your business.

Our package offers:

• Each business card scanned into a working database
• The design of a real Follow-up card with your logo or business card imprinted on the inside flap
• The card is mailed to the new prospect on your behalf
• One telephone call is attempted to the new prospect to set an appointment
• Business cards and database file will be mailed back to you for future reference
  

And the best part is that this service is very affordable, around the cost of a nice cup of coffee.

Are there business cards right now laying in your top desk drawer? Have you been too busy to follow-up with the contacts you made at the last Tradeshow? Contact us and we will get your name back in front of these potential new clients. Visit our website at www.avirtualbiz.com, or email to info@avirtualbiz.com.

One of the first clients I contracted with when I started my virtual assistance business last year was Ingrid Gee. She is a sweet, petite blond that called me up one day and said, “I really need your help.” To say that the last year has been an adventure for us would be an understatement.

Through many obstacles and setbacks, she has developed an incredible new concept in the way we listen to Talk Radio, and it is about to launch in September. The Cherries Internet Cafe, will officially open it’s doors on September 8th in downtown Knoxville Tennessee. There will be nine live shows produced daily, and a “live” web feed will allow Internet users to not only hear the radio show, but to watch it in “real” time!

Visitors to the cafe will have the opportunity to bring in their own laptops and connect to the Free WiFi, or use one of the Cafe’s computers with full Internet connections. There will also be iPod and iPhone chargers at every booth.

Feeling a little hungry? They’ve gotcha covered! The Lunchbox will be providing tasty meals for purchase, as folks come down to view the live shows taking place behind a floor to ceiling 500 square foot glass studio. And if you’re not hungry, try a freshly brewed cup of tea at the Daisy Pot Tea Bar.

There will also be a daily talent, cooking, charity and health show, as well as several others. For more information about the shows and all the great fun taking place on Market Square in downtown Knoxville Tennessee, visit their website at Cherries Internet Cafe.

One of my responsibilities as Ingrid’s VA is to virtually plan the Grand Opening of this amazing Cafe. So if you are in the Knoxville area, stay tuned for a fun-filled week of Grand Opening specials and surprises.

Do you have Grand Opening ideas? I’d love to hear them.