Virtual Harvest

Showcased In India

2011-12-06T15:47:36Z

I am honored to have been showcased and profiled on, "We Showcase Your Story," written by Mr. Ganesh Srinivasan with Ganesh Srinivasan Consulting. Click here to review the posting. I appreciate the opportunity to start building up my network in India and global partnerships.

Mr. Ganesh offers unique consulting services focusing on any or all the chains of business: delivery chain, internal chain, and supply chain. You may learn more and contact him for more information: http://ganeshsrinivasanconsulting.wordpress.com/.

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Press Release: Virtual Assistant Case Study.

2011-08-30T03:19:25Z

Peach Infotech Solutions | www.peachinfotech.com | 200 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

For Immediate Release.
Atlanta, Georgia
August 24, 2011

Virtual Assistant Case Study.

Cloud Computing is in the vogue, but how many startups and small businesses know how to use the Cloud effectively? Very few it seems, but Virtual Harvest, LLC, also known as VHVA, is definitely not one of them. VHVA, one of the leading virtual assistant services in Georgia, has pioneered some new ways of leveraging the cloud to service its demanding and IT savvy customers.

Case in point: Peach Infotech Solutions, Georgia's homegrown leader in cloud, virtualization and mobile technologies has always been on the cutting edge. Its founder, Kal Ayyar is an entrepreneur who travels a lot across Atlanta. Rather than be stuck in traffic or be stuck at the Airport, the entrepreneurial company founder has realized that everybody needs someone like Carla. Carla sends emails, coordinates calendars, sets up meetings, drafts proposals, whitepapers, press releases, etc., while her client may be stuck in traffic!

Mr. Ayyar says that ...

Joint Venture: Peach Infotech LLC & Virtual Harvest LLC

2011-08-30T02:50:44Z

Peach Infotech Solutions | www.peachinfotech.com | 200 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30303

For Immediate Release.

Atlanta, Georgia

August 16, 2011

Peach Infotech LLC & Southeast Seed Stage Partners develop joint venture & merger with Virtual Harvest LLC of Carnesville, Georgia.

Peach Infotech LLC and Southeast Seed Stage Partners of Atlanta, GA, have announced they have completed a merger deal with Virtual Harvest LLC, a company based in rural Georgia.

Virtual Harvest, also known as VHVA, is a leader in the growing $4 Billion virtual assistance market provides ISO-9002 compliant administrative support services to a range of customers from small businesses to enterprises including Banks, Universities and Healthcare companies in the Atlanta area.

VHVA will also partner with My200biz.com and market to the customers of 200 Office LLC as well as other customers in Atlanta. Peach Infotech has signed a 3 year Agreement to develop a SaaS web portal (Software as a Service) using tools such as Sharepoint and Force.com to deliver its full suite ...

July 15th, 2011 - Five Years and Thriving!

2011-08-02T21:13:08Z

As of July 15^th, Virtual Harvest is now five years old! We have experienced many ups and downs. As a young entrepreneur, I have learned a lot and have lots more to learn in developing a solid and viable business. In the past couple of years, rather than trying to take huge leaps beyond my skill level, I have slowed down to focus on delivering excellence to the few. It has been more important to my integrity as a business owner to maintain quality of service rather than quantity.

It is my hope that Virtual Harvest is going to be as strong as an oak tree able to weather the storms of various circumstances. The statistics are that 50% of all business start-ups fail within 5 years. The Bible verse I have based Virtual Harvest on is: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV) I am not giving up on Virtual Harvest bearing a fruitful and profitable harvest. Virtual Harvest is not going to just survive, but thrive!

Stage One of Virtual Harvest is to maintain clientele to support myself. This has been very challenging with changing client needs and budget allowances. As a business that supports other independent and small business owners, I have discovered these disappointing realities. ...

7 Constant Contact Best Practices & Tips

2010-04-07T14:56:48Z

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Georgia Technology Summit 2010

2010-04-05T12:30:00Z

It was a great privilege to attend the Georgia Technology Summit, Wednesday, March 24, 2010. Forty innovative companies in Georgia were showcased and the top ten were featured and given three minutes of special time in between the keynote speakers. The keynote speakers were outstanding: Tom Koulopoulos, Carlos Dominguez, and Bert Ellis. In addition, an informative update was presented on the State of the Technology Industry in Georgia by Technology Association of Georgia President, Tino Mantella. Lastly, Kenneth Byers of Byers Engineering Company was inducted into the Technology Hall of Fame. While the entire event was exceptional with hundreds in attendance, each of the keynote speakers captivated the audience.

Tom Koulopoulos, President and founder of The Delphi Group, and also a known author, futurist, and leader in the technology industry, centered his speech on building connections. He defined an invention as an idea, while innovation creates value. He also pointed out that technology used to be what we did not grow up with and now it is what we do. Technology has become a behavior used for collaboration. It has become an experience about sharing. One major example he explained was the evolving avatars, specifically he demonstrated the Land’s End Avatar used to tailor and order clothes. In light of the technology evolution and the unpredictability in behaviors, he emphasized that leaders have to learn to adapt to the changing behaviors. Leaders must provide latitude for ...

Joint Venture Partnerships

2010-01-20T02:11:00Z

As I have been taking the time the past couple of days to read up on some articles and review some training, I have learned about a very effective marketing and networking strategy called joint venture partnerships. Joint venture partners are people who have the same type of customers as you do, but they are not competitors. For example, an effective joint venture for me would not be a virtual assistant that provides the same services as I do. Rather a profitable joint venture for me would be with small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and independent professionals that provide other services to other small business owners, solo entrepreneurs, and independent professionals.

A healthy joint venture creates complementary services and solutions to their mutual set of clients. As I thought more about this, the largest of companies have joint ventures that feed off each other. For instance, a potato chip company needs sandwich shops to help sell their product. Or restaurants need beverage companies to help their customers enjoy their specialties.

As of today, I have added it to my marketing strategy to further identify, research, network, and market joint venture ideas. I have had one in place with Shari of Smart Solutions as mentioned in a prior article. We just were not thinking in these exact terms. Today my client, who is also an author and speaker, attends various networking functions. ...

Beware of Scams

2009-11-25T20:05:00Z

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A Unique Business Partnership - Smart Solutions

2009-10-09T16:48:00Z

Shari Shipman and I first met in an online virtual assistant training course three years ago. We became instant business partners exchanging services. We have yet to meet in person, but we have been able to correspond effectively through instant messaging and conference calls.She is very creative and I have been completely satisfied with the logo she developed for Virtual Harvest. She was very sensitive to match the design to my expressed thoughts. She has applied her talents to develop images for me that I have been able to utilize in numerous other forms of documents and electronic distributions. She has been meticulous in thinking through the details as we have worked together in our shared projects. She is an excellent project manager with great interpersonal skills. She is very organized and has worked with me to accomplish my goals.Shari is very professional and dedicated. I know I will always be able to count on her to assist me in my marketing and promotional needs. She has written the following testimony about my work:I have known Carla Still for three years, when we took an online course together in Virtual Assistant Business Management. Even though we have never met face-to-face, a very close business relationship has developed between us. Carla has an extremely conscientious and professional work ethic. Her ability to find the best solution to solve a problem or make a process work better is a rare gift that she uses without hesitation. This talent has been ...

Computer Crashes Lessons Learned

2009-09-21T18:39:00Z

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Specialization in SOP & Client Development

2009-06-03T17:18:00Z

A remarkable specialization has naturally evolved in our business services. A common thread in my work with clients this past year has been developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). This skill began while I was working with the federal government. There was a need to have all the specific procedures and processes in writing.

Why is it so important to have a developed SOP? What if the time came for me to move on to another opportunity and into another position? All the other secretaries, executive assistants, and I working with the federal government understood the importance of coverage and supporting each other. What if one of us had a medical or family emergency? How would we know how to fill in and properly provide the assistance to the staff they supported? Of course, in general, we answer the telephones, arrange conference calls, set up travel, serve as timekeepers, provide the necessary assistance with training, sort mail, and other administrative duties. However, what is often misunderstood is the fact that each office has a different personality and set of preferences.

While a generic SOP of contacts and general procedures can be copied, it must be properly detailed and tailored to the needs of each specific office environment and supported staff. What are the travel preferences? What are the routine ...

Craigslist Type Sites

2009-05-26T20:42:00Z

Craigslist has been in the news recently in a negative and adverse way due to a recent slaying (http://tinyurl.com/craigslistoncnn). As a result, the advertising site has become very controversial. It’s a very diverse classified listing site, and just like most anything can be misused for wrongful purposes. I am glad they are restructuring and monitoring the ads more closely. I have found it to be a very responsive tool for marketing. The diversity generates a tremendous amount of traffic and users benefit in numerous ways – both in business and personal capacities.

There are a few other minor down sides to posting ads. I am encountering a limited amount of spam, scam mail, and phishing off sites like Craigslist. I have reduced it by "disguising" my email through an anonymous and appointed email address through Craigslist. That way they can monitor and help fight the spamming. My Web site is listed on my ad, so potential clients can view my Web site and email me directly that way. With ...

PRWeb Webinar

2008-10-20T15:19:00Z

https://admin.connectpro.acrobat.com/_a754148897/p63466681/ This past week I listened to a great Webinar that discusses a number of tools in a jammed packed one hour session. The session is very concise and informative for the small business budget. You can listen too by clicking on the above link. Three gentlemen (Ryan Hinricher, Steve Mullen, and Greg Smith) speak on search engine optimization (SEO) for your business Website, to writing press releases, to researching and getting to know your customers. You learn the importance of link gathering and unique content creation. A huge emphasis is on blog writing. They explain how to get started and offer “The Blogging Formula”. There’s a discussion on writing press releases and how it can build your business. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of getting to know your customer through proper research. I found the connections in the instruction on social media very enlightening. The connection was made for podcasting through audio files like iTunes. You can create these files simply through http://www.talkshoe.com. Likewise, video files are like YouTube loads that can be developed using a basic camcorder. Podcasting and video casting are on the rise and it is important technology in relating to your niche client base. ...

June 2008 Colorado VA of the Month

2008-07-02T21:07:00Z

I am honored to announce that I was featured as Colorado VA of the Month for June 2008. To read the feature click and open the /files/36314-33716/June_2008_CO_VA.pdf">pdf file. You may also visit the Colorado VAs Web site. ...

Approaching Two Years

2008-04-05T23:24:00Z

Wow! It's amazing how time flies. I have been busy developing my relationship with another major client. It has been very exciting. Virtual Harvest is approaching two years in business.I have expanded and now offer services that involve: Microsoft Access data entry Microsoft Publisher document development FrontPage Web site content development Outbound calling Please contact me if your project needs include these programs. Upon request, I can also send you an information packet that includes my resume. For more details on my other services and how I may be able to assist you, please see my article on: "Why Hire a Virtual Assistant versus an In-House Secretary?" I am also building a team that can assist me in these services as needed. Please remember that I am connected to organizations that offer an even wider range of specializations. I would be happy to extend or find referrals for you. Plus... I am excited to announce that I have open and flexible business hours both day and evenings out of the Eastern Time Zone. ...

Keeping Up With Technology - Part 5 - Speeding Up Your Computer

2007-12-21T03:50:00Z

As technology advances, so do our expectations for our computer performance. The average life a computer is only three to four years. What can we do to maximize the speed of our computer as it ages with the speed of these advances? The following is a troubleshooting checklist:¨ Run disk cleanup and defragment the drive. The disk defragmenter is located on PC's under the Control Panel. Click on Administrative Tools then Computer Management. The disk defragmenter is under the Storage option. Disk cleanup can be added as a Scheduled Task. Scheduled Tasks are located also under the Control Panel. ¨ Run a full anti-virus and anti-spyware scan. The computer picks up changing types of viruses through the Internet. It is vital to the computer's performance to maintain an updated anti-virus and anti-spyware scan software on the computer that serves as it's immune system. Just like human viruses, computer viruses mutate and change to penetrate computer systems. These viruses can cause a range of damages from simply clogging up the computer to causing a complete crash of the computer's hard drive. For this reason, it is encouraged to backup the computer frequently for easy restoration and to minimize the loss of data.¨ Delete old network connections. To find out if the computer is attempting to connect to shared hard drives that may no longer exist, go to the Windows Explorer. Click and delete on any ...

Happy Holidays! :)

2007-12-06T21:28:00Z

I have just wrapped up my projects with a major client. My availability has opened up. Please contact me about more information on how I can help you with your projects.I have also relocated to Georgia. One of the greatest advantages of a virtual business is that you can operate from anywhere. The following is my new contact information:PO Box 1562Blue Ridge, GA 30513303-330-1104 Check back in the coming weeks as I am working on additional articles to post. ...

Virtual Harvest Turns One!

2007-07-31T01:16:00Z

Virtual Harvest is celebrating it's first year in business!

The past year has been a wonderful learning experience setting up and getting Virtual Harvest started as a virtual assistant business. As the business owner, it's been a great experience so far and I am only looking forward to growing more with Virtual Harvest. I am restructuring temporarily and only accepting short term job opportunities.

Please feel free to contact me and check my availability. If I am unable to help you, I can refer you to someone that can meet your needs. ...

Keeping Up With Technology - Part 4 - Networking Online

2007-04-28T16:45:00Z

As small business owners and independent professionals, sometimes we get so focused on meeting the needs of our clients that our business marketing and networking needs fall to the back burner. It is very difficult to figure out the right formula of time between the needs of clients and business development. With an online business, it is important to stay consistent with blog entries and networking with others online. I am learning just how easier said than done that is! I continue to build my online networking avenues. It can be overwhelming to learn them all and stay active in them all. It is taking some time to figure out which ones are the most effective and worth my time. You can explore them with me and see which ones may help your business the best. The first few are very similiar in their setup and what they have to offer. They offer free classifieds along with a networking community. You can set up a profile and chat in online forums. You may get bombarded with emails to connect with others in the community. You also have to be careful as some may want to sell you their product or service, but that is why is it called networking. AdlandPro DirectMATCHES - the Business Space version of My Space. BizPreneur Other networking sites: LinkedIn - free site ...

Why Hire a Virtual Assistant versus an In-House Secretary?

2007-02-11T15:38:00Z

Hiring a Virtual Assistant (VA) versus an In-House Secretary can be beneficial to you in many ways. If you are a small business owner, independent professional, or entrepreneur, it makes perfect sense. I have already wrote an article on "Why Hire a Virtual Assistant over a Temporary?" for your short-term, office overflow, and other occasional projects. The following are my list of benefits you can have to hiring me as your VA: You'll Save Time - You can focus on the core of your business while I can help you with the more routine tasks. You'll Save Money - No need to worry about paying associated payroll taxes and benefits. Please open my /files/36314-33716/5_Virtual_Harvest_Cost_Comparison.doc">Cost Comparison Spreadsheet for more details. You'll Save Space - I work from a fully equipped home-based office. You'll Have Access - You can travel with your business anywhere and work with me using the latest telecommunications technology. My services are available across the nation and internationally. You'll Get Reliability - I will work hard to meet your needs efficiently, accurately, and professionally. If there is a task that I am not familiar with, I will either work to learn it or use my networks to find someone that can. You'll Get Availability - I have extended business hours for evenings and weekends for your convenience (Mountain Time Zone). This is a benefit to you as most ...