My blog theme is constantly changing as I’m trying new themes for myself and for clients so I can determine which themes are good for those with little coding experience, for those who need an out-of-the-box ready to go site and for those who can find their way around the backend of a theme without crashing their site

My current theme (as of today, 30 Oct08) is a theme called VibrantCMS from WooThemes.com.

There are several great features about this theme, and it’s out-of-the-box readiness is a big plus for those who really don’t know a thing about coding.

Some of my fave features include:

• 20 different color schemes which can be changed with the click of a mouse
• Featured area slider on the front page with is super easy to set up by creating pages to use with content highlights and an image
• Blog page has Popular and Comments section on the right, with a tab style look
• Advertising space is easy to set up and use for affiliate links, self-promotions and such
• A short About Us section on the front page of the site to give potential clients a quick overview of your services - a 30-second elevator speech in print
• Easy to add your Google Analytics code through the VibrantCMS Options page within the theme
• Easy to add your Custom Logo - simply input the URL in the VibrantCMS Options page and the theme does the rest

To see a demo other than this site, head over to www.woothemes.com and click on VibrantCMS.

I’m in the process of upgrading all the WP blogs I work on to 2.6.3.  Late yesterday a new WP version was released to upgrade and fix a potential vulnerability in the Snoopy library.

Snoopy is what WordPress uses to call the feeds you see when you log in to your WP Dashboard.

Get your copy here

I’ve read more than one Virtual Assistant blog post extolling the virtues of this, that or the other VA organization. And I’d venture to say that the majority of VA organizations are well-intentioned, promote the VA industry in a professional manner and are more interested in their members well-being than in their pocketbooks.

But for some, if you’ve got the money, honey, they’ve got the time!

When you are looking for a credible Virtual Assistant organization to join, if you so choose, you really do need to do your homework and investigate the organization with a critical eye.

(1) How long has the organization been around?

(2) Who started the organization?  Why were they qualified to do so?

(3) How is it governed?

(4) What are the requirements of membership? [One organization I investigated asked the question "Why did the chicken cross the road?" on it's membership application, saying that if you didn't have a sense of humour, you wouldn't succeed as a VA. WHAT A CROCK! *lol]

(5) What is the fee structure and how does it compare to similar organizations? [Not all VA organizations are there to help promote our industry - some are a straight up way for the founders to make money!]

(6) Is there a Code of Ethics? How are members disciplined if a complaint is found to be true?

(7) How are members supported in growing their business? [i.e. teleclasses, regular Board meetings, roundtable discussions, etc.]

(8) Is membership open to all Virtual Assistants, or only to a specialized group? [i.e. The founders friends, those who only adhere to a narrow definition of Virtual Assistant, etc.]

(9) Is the Board of Directors accountable? How so?

(10) Do you feel comfortable with the information on the organization website? Is it clear and concise and open about the organization?  Does it do a good job of answering your questions about the organization?

Answer these ten questions about each organization you are investigating to make sure that the one you pick is the RIGHT one for YOU!

UPDATE: I tried to log on to the link below this morning and the site was “busy”.  And as of a few minutes ago, the site was completely crashed.  So we’ll have to wait until later on to sign up

ORIGINAL: For all of your who are tired of the endless telemarketing calls, your relief is on the way!

Starting tomorrow, the National Do-Not-Call list launches and you will be able to put a stop to pesky telemarketing calls.  Political parties, charities and polling firms are exempt from the regulations.

Staring tomorrow, go to www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca or call 866-580-DNCL

I am a Virtual Assistant and have been since 1999.  My practice is not limited to providing administrative support to clients, but rather to providing the services that my clients need, virtually.

If you want to split hairs about VA’s, then use the term Virtual Administrative Assistant.

For my business, I’ll keep using the term Virtual Assistant, because I assist entrepreneurs virtually.  Simple as that.

In the good old-fashioned off-line world, my work as an Administrative Assistant was NEVER limited to administrative support. I did reception, bookkeeping, publicity, marketing, sales and so on and so on.

So why should I have to stop using the term “Virtual Assistant” because some big-mouthed blowhard says I should?

I think that going round and round like this is silly but really - someone has to stand up to this loud mouth and say enough is enough.  We get it - you think that YOUR definition of VA is the only one.  Great - go preach that to your followers.

But I for one, would like you to leave me out of it.

I’m a Virtual Assistant, and I approved this message.

Attention all VA’s - the Canadian Virtual Assistant Network store is now open and full of audio downloads aimed at helping you build and grow your Virtual Assistant practice!

You can find the store HERE!

Enjoy!