“Train leaving on track 5 for Anaheim, Azusa and Cucamonga.”

That’s the audio clip which introduces radio and internet coverage of Quakes games at the Epicenter. According to my mom, that sound file is from Jack Benny’s original radio show. In fact, the Quakes ball park is located on Rochester Avenue. (Undoubtedly this means nothing to anyone born later than 1965.)

It’s hard to believe that son’s been been a part of the Los Angeles Angels system for over a year now. Considering how much we have learned about the minor league experience, the real thing as lived day-to-day by the players is quite phenomenal and much of it closely guarded info (as it should be).

Players really do move up and down throughout the farm system during the season, and on and off of the DL. Guys get traded out of the minors as part of big league deals, and they don’t get any advance notice. And it’s really true that they sometimes vanish from their host families homes in the middle of the night, leaving their car in the driveway until it can be transported to their next league assignment.

We’ve been fortunate our guy was assigned to Rancho Cucamonga, only about a 5 hours’ drive for us, enabling us to get to quite a few games.

Aside to just my knitting buddies: you can get a lot accomplished on roadtrips of that duration,  before and after games, and while listening to the nightly broadcasts from home! In fact, I just checked my Ravelry projects page and found I’d completed 12 items over the course of this season, not including Spring Training.

Players’ families receive complimentary admission to games and are shown a hearty welcome by the staff, booster club members and hosting and adopting families.

Here are but a few of my sweetest memories of the 2010 season:

• Meeting many of the Quakes players and their parents on the field and outside their clubhouse
• Watching Tremor bring it night after night
• Hearing the broadcast of Gabe Jacobo reaching 100 rbi
• Hanging out with son postgame
• Informal Stitch-n-Pitch with new Ravelry friends in Rancho
• Listening to some incredible renditions of our National Anthem
• A week in Rancho with my mom, who may be her grandson’s biggest fan
• Enjoying a couple of Hangers on “Thirsty Thursdays” with two of the Quake’s gals, Ms. Rubenstein and Mrs. Jacobo. (pictured at right, photo used with permission)

To you young men who played for Quakes this summer, thanks for the great time. You impressed our family with your courtesy and professionalism, and we can’t wait to watch you next year, wherever you may be. Best of luck to you all, and especially to those we were privileged to meet or reconnect with after meeting you last year in Orem, Utah, including:

Mike Piazza, Rian Kiniry, Patrick Corbin, Garrett Richards, Jeremy Berg, Matt Shoemaker, Roberto Lopez, Tyson Auer, Gabe Jacobo, Mike Trout, Luis Jimenez, Darwin Perez, Angel Castillo, Jon Townsend, and Beau Brooks.

Speaking of this, you might like the rest of the “11 Halos posts” filed under the “Baseball” category.

Here’s a little bonus on the heels of the latest episode of AZVAs the Podcast.

Friend and colleague Tara Fort and I began our podcast for entrepreneurs and virtual assistants in February 2010. Before starting that adventure we listened to as many other podcasts we could find in that same genre. Doing that was a challenge.

For instance, search for “Virtual Assistance Podcast” on the iTunes store and you’ll get a bunch of returns, but so many are defunct, some are unrelated and others are… well, you know.

Same for searches for “SEO,” or “entrepreneur,” “solopreneur,” “small biz,” etc. Very uneven results, but some gems worth unearthing.

Who listens to podcasts, anyway? Who reads your blogs? Who tweets and FB’s? You can use your analytics to find out, but when you’re the one listening it can all be quite a cacophony.

Here is a podcast for all of you who either blog, use affiliate linking, pay attention to your metrics, and who generally understand that if you have a web presence, you can always improve upon it. And all of us who are small biz owners need every effective strategy we can find to compete online with the bigger guys and girls.

Internet Marketing Podcast is available both from the producer’s website and within the iTunes Store’s Podcast Directory.  A weekly out of Great Britain, these guys, Andy White and Kelvin Newman, really know their stuff.

In fact, they pack so MUCH stuff into each episide, I suggest you print out the program notes for the show in advance and then make your own notes on that printout while listenting.

Some of their podcasts time out after a minute on iTunes (by design, I believe), so if you aren’t getting the whole episode there, just navigate to their site and retrieve and play from there. Also check out their main site, Site Visibility, which focuses on SEO.

Note: as a dedicated WordPress user who’s experienced hacks, injections and other malicious behavior, and the upleasant resultant de-indexing by Google more than once, I really appreciate the episode which discusses tactics for managing security when using WordPress or Joomla as your CMS.  Listen to it here.

What podcasts do YOU listen to regularly and why?

August 2010 Podcast Program Notes

To listen, scroll to the bottom of this post and click on the “AZVAs the Podcast” logo.

Just for you iPod users, AZVAs the Podcast is also found in the podcast directory at the iTunes Store (FREE!). Here’s that link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-looseends-net/id355550315

This episode of AZVAs the Podcast is sponsored by Loosely Speaking.

Portions of this month’s episode were recorded on site at the Raven Cafe in historic downtown Prescott, Arizona.

Contents of this episode:

• Tara and Katie dissect the topic “DIY & Your Business” in their monthly discussion: Whether you are creating a flyer for your business or a marketing campaign for a client, you’ll sometimes face the choice of whether or not to take on something you haven’t done before. You might be trying to economize or stretch your wings, believing that your can-do attitude will pay off. Unless your project falls squarely in your area of expertise, should you attempt it yourself? If you’re stumped about a biz challenge, should you try solve it on your own, or hire a coach or other advisor to help you through it? Listen in on our conversation to help you decide.

• Tips on how to get your print projects done right and why participating on LinkedIn is a good bet for professionals.

• Interview with Patty Benton, on how solopreneurs can benefit from working with a business or marketing coach. Patty is known as the “Systematic Business Decoder,” and owns The Missing Piece, LLC. Pictured right, find her online here.

• Reminder of upcoming networking luncheon event for AZVAs August 31, 2010, 11 – 1 (additional details are on the the AZVAs Facebook page, in the events section).

• August Poll Question: Tell us about your DIY successes and failures.

• How to win coffee or tea at Cuppers Coffee House on Tara and Katie: (a) respond to our poll question or leave a general comment on the show here, OR, (b) leave your comment over on the AZVAs FaceBook page, OR, (c) simply review the podcast when listening to it on iTunes)! Of course, you’ll have to come to Prescott to claim your prize!

And the Winner is…

Last month’s winning listener/commenter describes himself like this: “… the publisher of success-ladder.com,  “a 30-something French millionaire living in the city of London who believes that simple positive actions can have a dramatic influence on somebody’s life.” Monsieur 30-something is invited for coffee or tea on Tara and me at Cuppers Coffee House here in Prescott whenever he finds himself traveling in the Southwestern U.S. Congratulations!

Episode Sponsor: Loosely Speaking’s Publisher, Katie Baird

You can read more about me here, but suffice it to say I am all about bringing people together, whether here at the AZVAs the Podcast watering hole, at networking events, kayaking on a local lake, or at knitting meetups in baseball parks.

How you can be a part of AZVAs the Podcast!

Looking for a great way to get your business info in front of an audience of other small business owners, solopreneurs and VAs? You can be the subject of one of our interviews or sponsor an upcoming month of AZVAs newsletter & podcast?  Click here to retrieve the details.

To receive an announcement by email when a new podcast is available, email ktcosmos@LooseEnds.net.

AZVAs the Podcast is produced by two Virtual Assistants (VAs) from Prescott Arizona.

• Tara Fort, owner of Versatility, provides “Virtual Assistance for the Real World,” and offers a complete range of deadline-driven, expert-level proofreading, copyediting, transcription and social networking services handled and delivered professionally and efficiently.  With an eye for detail and a knack for consistency, Versatility will make your project one of perfection and pride.

• Katie Baird, owner of Loose Ends, harnesses her client’s particular talents and creative energies and provides web and social media support, layout and design services, and project management expertise. Katie is also skilled at bringing diverse groups together, think-tank style, to generate inspired solutions to challenges and discover new opportunities and directions.

Speaking of this, here are links to earlier AZVAs podcasts:

• Episode 5: Building Relationships with other Small Businesses (July 2010)
• Episode 4: Professionalism in and outside of the office (June 2010)
• Episode 3: Prepping to Attend Industry Events (April 2010)
• Episode 2: March 2010
• Episode 1: February 2010

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

July 2010 Podcast Program Notes

To listen, scroll to the bottom of this post. Just for you iPod users, AZVAs the Podcast is also found in the podcast directory at the iTunes Store (FREE!). Here’s that link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-looseends-net/id355550315

This episode of AZVAs the Podcast is sponsored by Cuppers Coffee House in Prescott Arizona (pictured below right). Thanks to owner Karen Richmond, for her time and support. (Scroll down to read more about our sponsor.).

Most of this month’s episode was recorded on site at Cuppers charming location in downtown Prescott. Tara and I learned a LOT from this interview about considerations we should all realize when we are using the space, electricity, and wifi at cafes, coffeehouses, and restaurants for business purposes.

You’ll hear the busy background noises of a thriving local business, which we find very inspiring and believe is something to celebrate!

Contents:

• Tara and Katie’s discussion on networking/prospecting as distinct from developing true relationships.
• Tips on deciding whether or not to hire a coach (more on this in August) and why you need to use a contract for every project.
• Interview with Karen Richmond,  (this month’s episode sponsor) on how to build an amicable relationship with sort of business many of us rely on when conducting business away from our office: local coffee houses!
• Announcement of upcoming event for AZVAs August 31, 2010, 11 – 1 (additional details are on the the AZVAs Facebook page, in the events section.
• July Poll Questions: What’s your take on our discussion topic this month? Do you distinguish between prospecting/networking/building relationships? What tangible results have you seen from your efforts, whether concentrating locally or globally? 
• How to win coffee or tea at Cuppers on Tara and Katie: (a) respond to our poll question or leave a general comment on the show here , OR, (b) leave your comment over on the AZVAs FaceBook page, OR, (c) simply review the podcast when listening to it on iTunes)! Of course, you’ll have to come to Prescott to claim your prize!

Episode Sponsor:

Not many people know this, but a “cupper” is a professional coffee taster. Just as with grapes and wine, you must sample coffee beans for their quality so that you know how to best roast, blend, and brew them. This formal tasting process is called “cupping.”

Cuppers Coffee House is named for all those who enjoy the taste of fine coffee. You can grab a copy of the Cuppers menu here.

Karen Richmond, owner (pictured at right), opened the doors of her inviting historic downtown Prescott location in January 2006 and since then has won six awards for Best Coffee and Coffee House in the Prescott area. Though she has worked in several other industries, Cuppers is her true passion, along with traveling, and adopting homeless animals. Karen strongly recommends every person pursue their passions in life.

Karen displays a spirited collection of quotes about coffee on the Cuppers web site. One that sums up Karen’s commitment to coffee excellence is this: “Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee.”

Cuppers is located at 226 S. Cortez St. in Prescott, AZ. Online: www.cupperscoffee.com Phone: 928.445.1636.

How you can be a part of AZVAs the Podcast!

Looking for a great way to get your business info in front of an audience of other small business owners, solopreneurs and VAs? You can be the subject of one of our interviews or sponsor an upcoming month of AZVAs newsletter & podcast?  Click here to retrieve the details.

To receive an announcement by email when a new podcast is available, email ktcosmos@LooseEnds.net.

AZVAs the Podcast is produced by two Virtual Assistants (VAs) from Prescott Arizona.

• Tara Fort, owner of Versatility, provides “Virtual Assistance for the Real World,” and offers a complete range of deadline-driven, expert-level proofreading, copyediting, transcription and social networking services handled and delivered professionally and efficiently.  With an eye for detail and a knack for consistency, Versatility will make your project one of perfection and pride.
• Katie Baird, owner of Loose Ends, harnesses her client’s particular talents and creative energies and provides web and social media support, layout and design services, and project management expertise. Katie is also skilled at bringing diverse groups together, think-tank style, to generate inspired solutions to challenges and discover new opportunities and directions.

Speaking of this, here are links to earlier AZVAs podcasts:

• Episode 4: Professionalism in and outside of the office (June 2010)
• Episode 3: Prepping to Attend Industry Events (April 2010)
• Episode 2: March 2010
• Episode 1: February 2010

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

June 2010 Podcast Program Notes

To listen, scroll to the bottom of this post. Just for you iPod users, AZVAs the Podcast is also found in the podcast directory at the iTunes Store (don’t worry, it’s free!). Here’s that link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/blog-looseends-net/id355550315

This episode of AZVAs the Podcast is sponsored by Jeannine Clontz, owner of Accurate Business Services and Your Virtual Assistance Business Coach. (Scroll down to read more about our sponsor.).

Tara and I took this episode’s theme to heart and made sure that portions of it were recorded in numerous locations: her office, my office, a local restaurant, and in Phoenix Arizona. While we were out and about we had a terrific time and hope you’ll enjoy the varied locations, too. Contents:

• Discussion on the challenges and changing definition of professionalism whether in or outside the office.
• Our interviews with Jeannine Clontz, VA Biz Coach (and this month’s episode sponsor) and Jennifer Holstad of A Byte in Time.
• Our monthly listeners’ poll, asks: How do you cover your office when you are away?
• How to win coffee or tea on Tara and Katie: (a) comment on the show here (respond to our poll question, tell us something that helped, or didn’t, or what you’d like to hear next time), OR, (b) leave your comment over on the AZVAs FaceBook page, OR, (c) simply review the podcast when listening to it on iTunes)!

Episode Sponsor:

Jeannine Clontz, has owned her own successful virtual assistance practice since 1998.  She’s an author, writer, speaker and VA Business Coach specializing in providing professional business coaching to established and start-up virtual assistants (VA’s).

After co-authoring the successful book, Entrepreneurial Freedom: How to Start & Grow a Profitable Virtual Assistance Practice, Clontz began focusing on mentoring VAs. In 2008, she established her VA Coaching practice to reach a larger number of VAs while sharing her valuable insights and coaching expertise to help VAs improve their business success.
She is an avid volunteer and has served the International Virtual Assistants Association for more than 10 years, including service as the Association’s Board President twice, initially in the 2005-2006 term and again in 2010-2011.

Her no-nonsense approach for helping virtual assistants be accountable to themselves and their businesses has been one of the milestones of her VA coaching success.  Whether you’re looking for group coaching, one-on-one coaching, her 10-week training course (utilizing Entrepreneurial Freedom), or her products focusing on International business (Going Global) and setting up a Marketing Plan System, Jeannine Clontz, and Your Virtual Assistance Business Coach provide a ‘fresh perspective’ on your business.

She offers free information and resources through her website:  www.VAbizcoach.com, a 2-month trial in her Elite Virtual Assistance Insiders group coaching program, a 1-month trial in her Virtual Assistance Coaching Club, and has an “Ask Your VA Business Coach” section on her blog, www.vabizcoach.com/blog/ask-your-virtual-assistance-business-coach, where you can get answers to those burning questions.

How you can be a part of AZVAs the Podcast!

Looking for a great way to get your business info in front of an audience of other small business owners, solopreneurs and VAs? You can be the subject of one of our interviews or sponsor an upcoming month of AZVAs newsletter & podcast?  Click here to retrieve the details.

To receive an announcement by email when a new podcast is available, email ktcosmos@LooseEnds.net.

AZVAs the Podcast is produced by two VAs from Prescott Arizona.

• Tara Fort, owner of Versatility, provides “Virtual Assistance for the Real World,” and offers a complete range of deadline-driven, expert-level proofreading, copyediting, transcription and social networking services handled and delivered professionally and efficiently.  With an eye for detail and a knack for consistency, Versatility will make your project one of perfection and pride.
• Katie Baird, owner of Loose Ends, harnesses her client’s particular talents and creative energies and provides web and social media support, layout and design services, and project management expertise. Katie is also skilled at bringing diverse groups together, think-tank style, to generate inspired solutions to challenges and discover new opportunities and directions.

Speaking of this, here are links to earlier AZVAs podcasts:

• Episode 3: Prepping to Attend Industry Events (April 2010)
• Episode 2: March 2010
• Episode 1: February 2010

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here’s an  interview with Tara Fort, Versatility, and myself, recorded by our colleague Candy Beauchamp (the brains behind both “Two Minutes with a VA” and OffAssist) during the recent IVAA Live Summit in Phoenix, in April 2010.

One of Candy’s listeners asked her, “How do you see social media changing the face of conferences and live events?” Thanks for the opportunity, Candy. Watch the interview now!

Candy will answer your questions about the virtual assistance industry, too. Just visit the “2 Minutes With a VA FaceBook” page.

By the way, Tara and I also manage AZVAs a network for entrepreneurs, small biz owners, virtual assistants and other SOHO workers who live and work in the Southwestern US. For more on that, check out AZVAs here, or listen to some of the recent AZVAs podcasts here, now!

Speaking of this, here an article on live blogging while attending an industry event from the Loosely Speaking archives:

Calendar of Events for Bloggers and VAs (send me names of annual events you find invaluable!)

It’s highly recommended that you upgrade for the usual reason (security). Auto upgrade didn’t work for me, so I performed the upgrade manually and that went off without a hitch. In reviewing the blog’s functionality afterward, I discovered that my categories, blogroll (links) and tags were all missing from sidebar, posts and the backend admin area.

The host of this blog no longer permits customers to use phpmyadmin to access the database directly, so flying blind and depending on a lot of time and assistance from the tech support guy at the host who responded to my ticket, we put our heads together to sort it all out.

Three days later, after scouring the WordPress Codex, The WordPress Forums, and taking a look at the minimum requirements for installing, tech guy and I discovered it was an older version of MySql running on their server that created the inability for blog to communicate fully with the database. Moved to another server, problem solved.

Thank you, tech guy.

It’s worth mentioning that the info on minimum server requirements I found on WordPress.org might be outdated with regard to 2.9.2. That info says the server must be running MySql version 4.1.2 or greater. Host had my blog on a server running 4.1.7 already, but when he moved it to another one running MySQL 5.1.33, that fix worked and solved all database related issues.

That tip was not easily found in my searching, but here’s hoping this will help someone else who runs up against the same issue.

Baseball at its best: the minor leagues.

The third week of April has us watching the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in the California League.

The heart of the game is this great crowd of little leaguers, knitters & crocheters at an impromptu stitch-n-pitch and, best of all, watching our very own third baseman signing autographs for little kids before the game and then going yard during the game.

Priceless.

A huge welcome and a big hug for Sharon Williams, president of 24-Hour Secretary! Sharon’s been hopping around the blogosphere answering industry questions and promoting this year’s Online International Virtual Assistants Convention (OIVAC). Today, she’s hanging out on Loosely Speaking while I am winding down here in Phoenix with other VAs at the 2010 IVAA Online Summit.

Hi Sharon!

Katie, thanks for the invite and I’m happy to pull in to your stop. I know you’re multitasking, attending the IVAA Summit and hosting my visit, so let’s get started so you can enjoy the rest of your trip to Phoenix.

1. In this economy, do you still think it’s a good time for people to try launching a new VA practice?

Absolutely! If the new VA has created a business plan and marketing strategy inclusive of identifying their ideal client and narrowing their niche, there is no reason why this new practice should not be profitable. Along with other vital steps required to establish any new business, the VA should conduct research and answer the following questions about their ideal client and target audience before they launch their new enterprise:

Who are they?
What do they like?
Where do they hang out to learn or gather information?
What hobbies do they have?
What’s their biggest fear?
What’s their biggest desire?

Armed with this information, the new VA should be able to create a business around what the client needs most that they can provide. This will help lay a strong, informed foundation for business growth and development.

2. How can a new VA develop the needed credibility and experience so as to be entrusted with referrals from established practitioners, especially in these difficult times when new clients are hard to come by?

I highly recommend that a new VA join groups/forums/associations and/or networks to connect with other professionals and establish valuable relationships. By contributing to these groups, the VA can showcase their expertise and become a “go-to-VA” in their specialty, amongst these groups. Eventually, VAs will seek them out for input, potential subcontracting and the building of collaborative relationships.

Additionally, the VA may choose to volunteer on various committees and participate in industry-related activities, again as an opportunity to showcase their expertise and overall commitment to their business development and growth.

Finally, this new business owner may choose to participate in local community-based and/or hobby-related causes to showcase relevant knowledge, skills and abilities and become a key stakeholder associated with the organization/cause.

3. What are the hottest VA niches you see on the horizon, for those new to the field who understand that developing a focused practice can be a great key to success?

Ah, with so many “hot” or “new” niches developing on a weekly basis, it’s hard to say what the VA should focus on now, as tomorrow, that same “hot” niche may have fizzled out. But, I’m positive that the following categories will stand the test of time:

Video production and distribution
Keyword research and SEO
Creation of mobile applications
Author assistance
Social marketing (Web 2.0, etc.)
Website creation and maintenance

4. I often recommend VAs keep up with professional development but meet with resistance, usually over cost or time. What tactics do you use to convince peers of the need to participate in educational events regularly?

Katie, this is an ongoing problem. For many, there is a misconception that VAs can learn all they need by asking questions on forums and listservs. This is wrong! Sure, you may receive advice (based on the respondent’s experience, which may or may not relate to YOUR specific situation), but that is not enough training for the inquirer to become “an expert.” Experts participate in continuous learning and training, most of which there is a cost associated with, and VAs should look at education as an extension of their overall business growth and development.

My philosophy is you have to spend money to make money, and if you aren’t abreast of the trends and newest technologies you WILL be left behind.

In direct response to your questions, all we can do is inform VAs of the opportunities, and promote the benefits (not only for them but also for their potential customers) in participating. We add incentives, like bonus giveaways, extensive PR, prize drawings, etc. However, even with all these elements, VAs still often use the EXCUSE that they don’t have the funds. The bottom line is training and education should be a part of your overall budget and continuing education is a lifelong process.

Okay, off my soapbox.

Relative to time, the majority of online courses are available for download and replay. In addition, trainers are creating “home study” courses that can be completed at times convenient for the student.

So, other than beating VAs over the head (literally) with positive messages, incentives, reasons why they should learn from people who have been there and done that, and keeping costs as reasonable as possible, there isn’t much more we can do.

OIVAC is in its 5th year, and with so many educational opportunities surfacing each year, sometimes it’s difficult to differentiate one learning opportunity from another. We can proudly say that the industry’s convention is the only activity where any VA, no matter the locale or income, should be able to participate and take advantage of training from industry and other business experts, in one setting, from the comforts of home.

Okay Katie, time to move on to the next stop.

Sharon, really? Is it over already?! I know you’re busy, and I hope to catch up with you again soon.

(Sharon speaking) Well, yesterday, I took a break and stayed at our home station, OIVAC. Now I’m back on the tracks and have enjoyed my visit here at Loose Ends. Tomorrow, I travel over to Amy Blesser’s blog at  Virtual Services 4 U. Don’t forget to stop over and see what she has in store for the Podcast and Blog Hopping VA.

To visit the other participating Blog and Podcasts on the tour, hop to this list of participants.

This is the last full day of IVAA Live Summit 2010 in Phoenix.

Whatever your industry, getting together for some face-to-face with your industry peers is more important than ever in this virtual world.

Summit sounds like: inspiration, motivation, challenges, friendship, and clicking knitting needles and slurped lattes.

Summit looks like: long lost friends hugging, shrieks of recognition, networking questions and answers, and glowing laptops in dimmed rooms.

See you next year?

Stay in touch, everyone, and best wishes.

Here are more events happening throughout the year where you might want to put in an appearance: