The Virtual Assistant Industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Thousands of virtual assistants worldwide provide services ranging from Realtor® support, administrative operations management and transcription to Web site services, on and offline marketing and event planning. One reason for the growth in this exciting industry is the economy and the threat of recession. Another is because savvy business owners understand the value and advantages gained over their competition by working with dedicated, experienced, professional assistants focused on their business growth and development. Virtual assistants save entrepreneurs’ time, money and sanity, and allow them to concentrate on income-producing responsibilities that fuel their passion.

The Alliance for Virtual Businesses and the Online International Virtual Assistant Convention (OIVAC) invite you to attend the first Internet-based Introducing the Virtual Assistant Industry to Savvy Business Owners series. These complimentary sessions occur during the annual industry online convention, Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, 17, 2008 (US).

The agenda will include a short presentation, followed by a roundtable discussion led by veteran VA industry experts eager to answer your questions. Attendees can learn how to select the right VA, tasks VAs can perform, etc., ask niche-specific questions, and much, much more. If you ever considered working with a VA or are curious about exploring the potential, be sure to attend.

The virtual assistant industry is growing enormously because smart business owners are quickly realizing the advantages and savings of outsourcing to a VA. Select the session that best fits your schedule:

* Session 1 – Thursday, May 15, 2008, 1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. EDT

* Session 2 – Friday, May 16, 2008, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. EDT

* Session 3 – Friday, May 16, 2008, 3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. EDT

To learn more about this exciting, one-of-a-kind activity and to reserve your complimentary seat at one of the three (3) Introducing the Virtual Assistant Industry to “Savvy” Business Owners sessions, visit OIVAC. Attend from the comfort of your home or office; via computer and headset mic. Mark your calendar for this informative event. We look forward to seeing you.

Please contact info@oivac.com or call Sharon Williams at 1-410-521-7001 if you have questions!

PS - Feel free to invite your associates to this one-of-a-kind event. They will thank you for sharing this smart business decision.

Time is running out! Only one week remains to order passes to the 35+ seminars being conduced during the 3rd annual OIVAC.

This year, we’ve scheduled seminars covering topics everyone is asking questions about and discussing on list servs and forums. Here’s an opportunity to “ask the experts” and obtain informative answers from experienced VAs as well as professionals outside the industry that walk the talk every day, and are willing to share their knowledge, experience and skills with you.

Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with expert resources, all from the comfort of home and your desktop or laptop computer. The information and training they share may help clarify a situation, open a door to new business, gain more clients and increase profits. To have a seat in these educational sessions, you must register soon. The last day to register is Tuesday, May 13, 2008 at 12 midnight EDT ( US).

This year’s schedule includes topics any virtual business can benefit from. Visit the Speakers Profile page for details about each session.

Jonathan Bailey
Dealing with Plagiarism: A Realistic Guide to Fighting Content Theft

Laurie Dart
Increase Your* Income by Establishing Yourself as an Expert with Article Marketing

Annie Jennings
Create A Website To Showcase Your Talent, Land BIG New Clients & Build A Powerful Community

Jamie Lee Mann
The Importance of Follow-up

Becki Noles
Creating Multiple Streams of Income: Affiliate and Internet Marketing in a Nutshell

Dale Noles
Target Markets and Niches: The #1 Success Ingredients

Victoria Santiago
How To Make Your Home Based Business Sound Like A Fortune 500 Company

Tawnya Sutherland
SEO, Let’s Rank It!

Yvonne Weld
Setting Up Processes for Your Business

Sharon Williams
Be Your Own Brand and Stand Out from the Crowd

OIVAC…it’s not just for Virtual Assistants anymore!!

Hope to see you there,

Becki

PS - Don’t forget registration ends Tuesday, May 13th!

Life is like a road. There are long and short roads, smooth and rocky roads, crooked and straight paths. In our life many roads would come our way as we journey through life. There are roads that lead to a life of single blessedness, marriage, and religious vocation. There are also roads that lead to fame and fortune on one hand, or isolation and poverty on the other. There are roads to happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards victory and jubilation, and roads leading to defeat and disappointment.

Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in life. Perhaps the most perplexing road that you would encounter is a crossroad. With four roads to choose from and with limited knowledge on where they would go, which road will you take? What is the guarantee that we would choose the right one along the way? Would you take any road, or just stay where you are: in front of a crossroad?

There are no guarantees.

You do not really know where a road will lead you until you take it. There are no guarantees. This is one of the most important things you need to realize about life. Nobody said that choosing to do the right thing all the time would always lead you to happiness. Loving someone with all your heart does not guarantee that it would be returned. Gaining fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness. Accepting a good word from an influential superior to cut your trip short up the career ladder is not always bad, especially if you are highly qualified and competent. There are too many possible outcomes, which your really cannot control. The only thing you have power over is the decisions that you will make, and how you would act and react to different situations.

Wrong decisions are always at hindsight.

Had you known that you were making a wrong decision, would you have gone along with it? Perhaps not, why would you choose a certain path when you know it would get you lost? Why make a certain decision if you knew from the very beginning that it is not the right one. It is only after you have made a decision and reflected on it that you realize its soundness. If the consequences or outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly. Otherwise, your decision was wrong.

Take the risk: decide.

Since life offers no guarantee and you would never know that your decision would be wrong until you have made it, then you might as well take the risk and decide. It is definitely better than keeping yourself in limbo. Although it is true that one wrong turn could get you lost, it could also be that such a turn could be an opportunity for an adventure, moreover open more roads. It is all a matter of perspective. You have the choice between being a lost traveller or an accidental tourist of life. But take caution that you do not make decisions haphazardly. Taking risks is not about being careless and stupid. Here are some pointers that could help you choose the best option in the face of life’s crossroads:

Get as much information as you can about your situation.

You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know so little about what you are faced with. Just like any news reporter, ask the 5 W’s: what, who, when, where, and why. What is the situation? Who are the people involved? When did this happen? Where is this leading? Why are you in this situation? These are just some of the possible questions to ask to know more about your situation. This is important. Oftentimes, the reason for indecision is the lack of information about a situation.

Identify and create options.

What options do the situation give you? Sometimes the options are few, but sometimes they are numerous. But what do you do when you think that the situation offers no options? This is the time that you create your own. Make your creative mind work. From the most simplistic to the most complicated, entertain all ideas. Do not shoot anything down when an idea comes to your head. Sometimes the most outrageous idea could prove to be the right one in the end. You can ask a friend to help you identify options and even make more options if you encounter some difficulty, but make sure that you make the decision yourself in the end.

Weigh the pros and cons of every option.

Assess each option by looking at the advantages and disadvantages it offers you. In this way, you get more insights about the consequences of such an option.

Trust yourself and make that decision.

Now that you have assessed your options, it is now time to trust yourself. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions are always at hindsight. So choose… decide… believe that you are choosing the best option at this point in time.

Now that you have made a decision, be ready to face its consequences: good and bad. It may take you to a place of promise or to a land of problems. But the important thing is that you have chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a passive audience to your own life. Whether it is the right decision or not, only time can tell. But do not regret it whatever the outcome. Instead, learn from it and remember that you always have the chance to make better decisions in the future.

About the Author
Becki Noles is the virtual business manager and online marketing dynamo of the Virtual Accuracy Companies. She and her associates work with the top business and marketing coaches in the United States and the world over providing SEO, Pay Per Click, website development and technical virtual assistant services. Get the free 9 part series “How to Market Your Business” by visiting The Selon Group (a division of the Virtual Accuracy Companies).