Brain Gym Program for Schools

Hi

Our Client, Dr. Paul Dennison's, Brain Gym Program is getting recognized more and more throughout the United States for its role in elementary schools and their fitness programs. With the enactment of the requirement of 30 minutes of mandatory P.E. in schools today in many states, Brain Gym is becoming a part of school's daily schedule. Here is how one school in Michigan utilizes the Brain Gym Program.

http://blog.mlive.com/muskegon_chronicle_extra/2007/12/slideshow_brain_gym_exercising.html

If you would like information on Brain Gym, or their upcoming seminar in February, please contact me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

Also, here is a press release with more details.

Brain Gym fortunately is also utilized at a school that my daughter Amber attends, Margate Elementary, with huge success. I'd love to one day see all schools have this program and my hope is to make that happen!

Thanks!

Diana Ennen --

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Paul Dennison
www.braingym.com
(805)-650-3303
edukbooks@aol.com

Discovering Balance in Your Daily Life With The Brain Gym 101 Seminar

Ventura, CA (December, 2008) What does having more balance in life mean to you? It differs for everyone. For some it’s being able to focus more and stay organized on tasks. For others it’s reducing stress and learning how to relax. Yet, for many facing learning and behavior challenges, it can be successfully living with ADD, ADHD or Autism. Wouldn’t it be great to learn how to achieve this in just a few days? You can at the upcoming Brain Gym 101 Seminar in West Palm Beach, Florida. February 1 - 4, 2008. Are you living the life of your dreams? Are you doing the work you love? Are you and your children excited about learning and achieving to your potential? All of this and more are available to you when you have the Brain Gym Program working for you in your daily life.

If you’d like to discover an easy way to enhance your memory, organization, concentration and creativity, this workshop is for you. The Brain Gym 101 Seminar is an extensive 32-hour event presented by Dr. Paul Dennison, founder of the Brain Gym Program. The workshop is open to new students, Brain Gym 101 graduates, and those licensed Brain Gym instructors looking to further develop their Brain Gym skills. The course is centered on the simple, fast and fun 26-targeted movements that make up the Brain Gym Program. These movements consciously activate the mind/body system to release learning blocks and prepare your brain and entire nervous system for optimal learning. Participants are taken step by step through each movement with the detailed Brain Gym 101 Handbook as a guide.

The course promotes efficient communication between the brain and the rest of the body, increasing play and creativity and alleviating stress as it enhances performance, all ingredients for better balance in your life. The success of Brain Gym can be attributed to its effective movements, and balances, as well as to its addressing the physical skills of learning.

Since the 1980s the field of Educational Kinesiology, the study of movement and its relationship to learning, has touched people of all ages and cultures. Brain Gym has been introduced in homes, classrooms, businesses, and places of learning in more than 80 countries on all seven continents with rapid and often dramatic improvement in reading, writing, language and numerical skills. Many others use the work to profoundly enhance the quality of their attention and concentration, memory and organizational skills, athletic performance, and more. The popularity of brain exercises today supports the positive and dynamic effects of stimulating brain movements.

The workshop also explores the five learning principles central to Brain Gym Work. They include:

1) Draw Out: Intelligence is Inborn
2) Focus: Attention Follows Intention
3) Notice: We Learn What We Actively Experience
4) Move to Learn: Growth Is a Search for Balance, Imbalance a Search for Growth
5) Interconnect: Each of Us Is Affected by Each Other

Come and engage with others who believe movement is the key to whole brain learning and overall better health and well being. For more information please contact Dr. Patty Shackleford at 352.475.3311 or drpatty@pkconceptsinc.com. (Register Now). Stop by the Brain Gym site today to learn more about the Brain Gym Program, http://www.braingym.com. Dr. Dennison’s latest book, Brain Gym and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning is available on Amazon and other leading bookstores.

Administrative Support Quote in Family Circle Magazine

Hi

I'm so happy to announce that thanks to Ellen Parlapiano, I was quoted in an article she wrote for the January issue of Family Circle Magazine, Mothers of (Re)intervention --

"Dee Ennen of Margate, Florida owns a home-based administrative support business and often displays marketing materials in office stores."

Thank you Ellen!

I have done this marketing technique for my virtual assistant business for years with great success. I hope you find it successful as well.

Diana Ennen
Virtual Word Publishing
www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Goodbye to a legend - Dan Fogelberg

Hi

Today I sadly read the news that Dan Fogelberg had died.

He was one of my all time favorites. I have finished writing many of my books with his "Run for the Roses" song. It was my theme song for inspiration when I got tired of looking at the book and just wanted to be done. My family would hear it over and over and over and over. They would joke that they knew I was close to being done when they'd hear me do this. When I recently started on my exercise journey, that's the inspiration as well. In fact, throughout life when I needed the inspiration, that was my song.

I'd wake up in the morning to his song "To the Morning." Peace, Joy, Serenity. Often times the stress of the upcoming day would just leave as I listened. If in the afternoon, I was having a bad day, I'd listen. Take 5 and reboot. I'd feel better. He had that power.

I was fortunate enough to see him in concert once. It was the best. This weekend I even thought about it quite often as I prayed to get tickets to Hannah Montana for my daughter. Unfortunately those sold out in 3 minutes. Even though Amber had me practice typing to be quick to order (I type like 160 wpm, but that wasn't fast enough). I'll get it next time. I thought how much that concert meant to me and how much I wanted her to have that experience. I truly had no idea he was even sick.

I remember when I met my husband I had a picture of Dan Fogelberg on my desk at home. For months he wondered "who this guy was." Never asking. I just assumed he knew as often as we talked about and listened to his music. He finally one day said, "are you ever taking that guys picture down." We are now celebrating our 24th Wedding Anniversary Christmas Eve.

For all those who love Dan as much as I did, stop and say hi and leave a comment.

Good bye my friend! - Diana

Discovering Balance in Your Daily Life With The Brain Gym 101 Seminar

Ventura, CA (October, 2007) What does having more balance in life mean to you? It differs for everyone. For some it’s being able to focus more and stay organized on tasks. For others it’s reducing stress and learning how to relax. Yet, for many facing learning and behavior challenges, it can be successfully living with ADD, ADHD or Autism. Wouldn’t it be great to learn how to achieve this in just a few days? You can at the upcoming Brain Gym 101 Seminar in West Palm Beach, Florida. February 1 - 4, 2008. Are you living the life of your dreams? Are you doing the work you love? Are you and your children excited about learning and achieving to your potential? All of this and more are available to you when you have the Brain Gym® Program working for you in your daily life.

If you’d like to discover an easy way to enhance your memory, organization, concentration and creativity, this workshop is for you. The Brain Gym 101 Seminar is an extensive 32-hour event presented by Dr. Paul Dennison, founder of the Brain Gym Program. The workshop is open to new students, Brain Gym 101 graduates, and those licensed Brain Gym instructors looking to further develop their Brain Gym skills. The course is centered on the simple, fast and fun 26-targeted movements that make up the Brain Gym Program. These movements consciously activate the mind/body system to release learning blocks and prepare your brain and entire nervous system for optimal learning. Participants are taken step by step through each movement with the detailed Brain Gym 101 Handbook as a guide.

The course promotes efficient communication between the brain and the rest of the body, increasing play and creativity and alleviating stress as it enhances performance, all ingredients for better balance in your life. The success of Brain Gym can be attributed to its effective movements, and balances, as well as to its addressing the physical skills of learning.

Since the 1980s the field of Educational Kinesiology, the study of movement and its relationship to learning, has touched people of all ages and cultures. Brain Gym has been introduced in homes, classrooms, businesses, and places of learning in more than 80 countries on all seven continents with rapid and often dramatic improvement in reading, writing, language and numerical skills. Many others use the work to profoundly enhance the quality of their attention and concentration, memory and organizational skills, athletic performance, and more. The popularity of brain exercises today supports the positive and dynamic effects of stimulating brain movements.

The workshop also explores the five learning principles central to Brain Gym Work. They include:

1) Draw Out: Intelligence is Inborn

2) Focus: Attention Follows Intention

3) Notice: We Learn What We Actively Experience

4) Move to Learn: Growth Is a Search for Balance, Imbalance a Search for Growth

5) Interconnect: Each of Us Is Affected by Each Other

Come and engage with others who believe movement is the key to whole brain learning and overall better health and well being. For more information please contact Dr. Patty Shackleford at 352.475.3311 or drpatty@pkconceptsinc.com. Stop by the Brain Gym site today to learn more about the Brain Gym Program, http://www.braingym.com. Dr. Dennison’s latest book, Brain Gym and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning is available on Amazon and other leading bookstores.

Shop Online This Holiday Season - Free Shipping

Hi

Stop by our site this week for GREAT holiday savings!

Shop Online This Holiday Season With Fabulous Books at Great Prices
Virtual Word Publishing Online Bookstore Has it All

Margate, FL (November 2007) – Shop online this holiday season and with just a quick click of a mouse, get gifts the entire family will enjoy. At Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, find children’s books, matching coloring books and paint by number books, science fiction thrillers, business books, and more. From delightful children’s books like Zip, Burp and Hula, to the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, readers of all ages will find what they are looking for and so much more. Plus through December 15th, free shipping applies to many selections and Virtual Word Publishing has a large selection of ebooks available as well.

For those entrepreneurs who always wanted to start a business, nothing can beat business and how to books written by Industry Leaders who are walking the walk and talking the talk. For example, Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and the accompanying VA the Series Workbook as well as Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack is perfect for the work-at-home mom who wants to start a business or the corporate professional who wants to be their own boss. The authors, Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are also offering the following holiday specials: For the first time ever the Virtual Assistant The Series Workbook will be sold as an ebook (for a limited time only), with an added bonus a 15-minute consultation with either Ennen or Poelker and a coupon for 10% discount on a future coaching session.

Christian and inspirational books, books on marketing and sales, disaster recovery books, cookbooks, e-books, and more are all found in the bookstore as well. But what makes this bookstore unique is that the bookstore offers more than just the books alone. For example, the children’s book, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with a matching coloring book and paint by number book so children can delight in coloring along with the characters of the book. Virtual Assistant the Series comes with a workbook. Virtual Assistant Solution Pack comes with over 70 templates of business forms needed to start a virtual assistant business.

The fiction category features the highly acclaimed Sledgehammer, a gripping medical fiction thriller. This book sets theme in a Los Angeles emergency room where an alert ER doctor detects a potential case of smallpox but must convince the hospital staff and government officials before its too late and terrorists release it into several sports arenas, airports and shopping malls. This book has received numerous five star reviews and begs to ask the question, “What if?”

And for holiday cooking, look to the Bizymoms Cookbook. 151 pages of recipes perfect for holiday cooking as well as yummy desserts, crockpot delights, and meals the whole family will enjoy.

Stop by the bookstore today at www.virtualwordpublishing.com and experience the magic that only a good book can offer. Ennen and Poelker are available for media interviews by contacting diana@virtualwordpublishing.com. Also available are numerous free samples of business templates, booklets, sample cookbook, sample chapters of VA the Series, etc. Email for details.

Cyber Monday Sale At Online Bookstore

Cyber Monday Special at Online Bookstore at Virtual Word Publishing

Start your own virtual assistant business with this Cyber Monday Special ...

For the first time ever (and for a limited time) the Workbook Edition of Virtual Assistant the Series is available as an Ebook -- November 20 - December 1st

Special Also Includes: 15 Minutes of Free Coaching from either Author Diana Ennen or Kelly Poelker - And ... 10% Off Next Coaching Session - $24.95 (Additional coaching not required)

Also on special , 30% off all books in the bookstore at Virtual Word Publishing, at www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Also, please stop by Virtual Assistant Startups at www.virtualassistantstartups.com. We are redesigning it and our forum is operational again as well as our directory. We hope to have our monthly chats coming in January.

Happy Shopping!

Diana Ennen
President, Virtual Word Publishing
www.virtualwordpublishing.com
(954) 971-4025

Virtual Assistants - A New Breed of Work at Home Entrepreneurs

Virtual Assistants – A New Breed of Work at Home Entrepreneurs

According to a 2004 study, the Center for Women’s Business Research reports there are an estimated 10.6 million privately-held, 50% or more women-owned firms in the U.S., accounting for nearly half (47.7%) of all privately-held firms in the country. Astonishing, isn’t it?

It’s the dream of millions to start their own business and utilize their computer to make money at home. Now, with the help of Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker’s book, Virtual Assistant – The Series, 3rd Edition ($29.95, Another 8 Hours Publishing), it’s a reality! With the latest technologies, the rapid growth of the Internet, and the business community recognizing the benefits of partnering with a qualified virtual assistant, the virtual revolution has begun. And there is no end in sight!

What started out in the 80’s as home-based word processors has grown into what we are seeing today. The local limitations are gone. The boundaries are erased. Modern advancements and the sheer power of the Internet coupled with enterprising, cutting edge entrepreneurs such as these authors have skyrocketed this industry. They know the technology. They have the resources. And they’ve written the book on it! A book so powerful that it’s cited as the “bible” for the virtual assistant industry. Virtual Assistant – The Series is currently used as training material for VA courses including: Red Deer College’s VA Certification Program (in Canada); and other higher level learning organizations and colleges who are recognizing the potential for growth and continued education in the VA industry.

Priscilla Y. Huff, Author of 101 Best Home-Based Businesses for Women, 3rd. rev .ed, states, “It’s more than just a startup manual, it is written by professional virtual assistants (VAs) who combine their knowledge and experience with practical tips from other successful VAs to help ensure your own success in this exciting new venture. Virtual Assistant – The Series is an essential tool for launching one of the most exciting new entrepreneurial ventures–becoming a professional virtual assistant.”

This book leaves no stone unturned. Virtual Assistant – The Series is a complete guide to starting and running a successful and PROFITABLE practice. It covers the nuts and bolts that are the foundation of a successful practice including business and financial planning, bookkeeping, marketing, and setting up a business. Plus it offers information on domain registration, creating a web site, and most importantly, how and where to find clients.

Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA 3rd Edition Revised ISBN # 0-9742790-5-6 is available at Amazon, Borders, and online bookstores everywhere also at www.VA-TheSeries for $29.95 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. (First and second editions published under the title Up Close and Virtual).

Also available is Virtual Assistant the Series Workbook, a must have to complete the set. For a limited time the Virtual Assistant The Series Workbook will be available as an ebook, with a holiday special of 15 minutes free coaching from either author, Ennen or Poelker, and 10% off next coaching session (if requested). Authors are also available for media interviews by contacting Diana Ennen at (954) 971-4025 or diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Contact:

Diana Ennen
www.virtualwordpublishing.com
(954) 971-4025
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Holiday Marketing Magic for New Year Success

Can you believe it’s November already? The holidays are here and then the start of a new year will be upon us. Now is a perfect time to reflect on your business and see if it is all that it can be. Is it running at full speed and do you have all the clients that you need?

If not, it’s time to get those engines moving and start into action before the New Year begins. I know, it’s the holidays and there’s a lot’s going on. But also it’s the perfect opportunity to connect with your clients and get a head start on potential work for next year. You will find that communication is so much easier when you can utilize holiday greetings, holiday goodies, and holiday presents. Holiday gifts and candy will ease the way to a “Hi, how have you been? Send me more business!” Or for those new potential clients, “Hi, how are you—You need ME.”

First, reconnect with ALL your clients and let them know how you appreciate them and perhaps how you can help them with other needs they may not even know you offer. Send a personalized holiday card or greeting. For local clients stop by their office and drop off presents, popcorn tins for the staff and/or their favorite coffee for their afternoon pick-me-up. For potential new clients, drop off a Holiday cup full of wrapped candy with your business card or perhaps get your business name printed on the candy bar.

For all you Virtual Assistants or word processors out there, don’t forget to stop by any small post offices or UPS shops and offer to put your business cards there. Many of these places will add your business card holders directly to the counter. Think how much traffic is going through these places shipping out those presents and what great exposure that can be. And the best news is that they usually do allow business cards with a business card holder. Just think about it, people waiting impatiently in line, pick up your card and BINGO—New Client.

Other tips include:

Ø Read and research new things. So many great promotions are going on now with the holidays and New Year coming. Look to them and see what’s out there and how you can apply it to your business. Take advantage of the teleclasses and seminars that are offered by the pros. Yes, they are going to try and sell you something, but by golly the information you receive will be worth it and you don’t have to buy.


Ø Join Associations: Join the association that you’ve heard about by so many but haven’t made the commitment yet. Start the New Year with a firm commitment to attend at least one engagement a month or more. See what a difference it can make in your business by talking with pros in your industry or networking with businesses, who might utilize your services or products.

Ø Get moving online. Go to the message boards and chats and network. Meet people and introduce you and your business. Offer tips and suggestions and actively be a part of the forum. I’ve been in business since 1985 so this year I will be celebrating 21 years in business. I owe a lot of my success to being active on the boards and letting people get to know me and trust me.

Ø Your Website. Now it can all go to waste if they these potential clients get to your website and see a unprofessional, poorly built, error-ridden, mess of a site. Take a look at your website and see if it is the best that it can be. I constantly update mine at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com to try and provide tips and suggestions for those starting a virtual assisting and also tips on publishing and, of course, our new books in our online bookstore. I know the importance of changing it frequently, so people will come back to see what’s new.

Look to the overall appearance, the professionalism of your wording, the explanations explaining the benefits you provide, etc. In fact, everything in your site needs to convince a client to work with you. Now ask yourself, does it do that? Is this something I can be proud of? Too often we throw together a website, just to have it done. Remember this can often be a client’s first impression of you. Is it selling you well?

So this year as others are shopping and preparing for the holidays, you can instead be preparing your business for the New Year. What a gift that would be for YOU—to start your business off with a bang and lots of new clients you secured in your holiday marketing efforts.

November is a great time to reflect back on the year and plan for the next. Why not plan to make next year, your best one ever! Good Luck and Happy Marketing.

*****************
Diana Ennen, Author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and Accompanying Workbook; WordPerfect OfficeReady Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, (http://www.corel.com) and Visit Diana at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com. Diana@virtualwordpublishing.com. Free booklet available on starting a virtual assisting business, as well as other great articles and tips. Feel free to pass this article along as long as the author’s block is included.

Black Friday Sales at Online Bookstore

Hi

It's time to start your holiday shopping and there's no better place than to do it online ... Stop by Virtual Word Publishing for some fabulous books! Happy Shopping!

Margate, FL (November 2007) – Shop early this holiday season and with just a quick click of a mouse, get gifts the entire family will enjoy. At Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, find books from starting a home-based business or virtual assistant business, to sci-fi thrillers, children’s books, Christian books, cookbooks, and more. And just in time for the Black Friday Sales to save big.

From delightful children’s books like Zip, Burp and Hula, to the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, readers of all ages will find what they are looking for at the newly revised online bookstore.
For those entrepreneurs who always wanted to start a business, nothing can beat business and how to books on those topics. That’s what business books such as Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and the accompanying VA the Series Workbook as well as Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack offer. How to books that direct readers step-by-step through the entire process of starting a virtual assistant business with pros that know exactly what needs to be done to run a successful business. That’s the true power of words.

The authors, Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker, are also offering the following holiday specials: For the first time ever the Virtual Assistant – The Series Workbook will be sold as an Ebook (for a limited time only), with an added bonus of a free 15-minute consultation with either author, Ennen or Poelker, and a coupon for 10% discount on a future one-hour coaching session.
Perfect for the holidays, the bookstore provides Christian and inspirational books, cookbooks, e-books, and more. But what makes this bookstore unique is that the bookstore offers more than just the books alone. For example, the children’s book, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with a matching coloring book and paint by number book so children can delight in coloring along with the characters of the book. Virtual Assistant – The Series has the accompanying workbook. Virtual Assistant Solution Pack comes with over 70 templates of business forms needed to start a virtual assistant business.

And for holiday cooking, look to the Bizymoms Cookbook. 151 pages of recipes perfect for holiday cooking as well as yummy desserts, crockpot delights, and meals the whole family will enjoy. Email for a free sample at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Stop by the bookstore today at www.virtualwordpublishing.com and experience the magic that only a good book can offer. Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker are both available for media interviews by contacting diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

Writers on Strike, Toys Recalled - It's Time for A Good Book

Margate, FL (November 2007) –With the massive toy recalls, the writers strike taking our favorite TV shows into reruns, and threats on shopping malls, families are faced with even more challenges this holiday season. Now more than ever, new traditions need to be made that strengthen family values and create more one-on-one time with each other. Families desperately need to bring reading time back into homes. Fortunately, all it takes is a few good books. Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com, has those books.

From delightful children’s books like Zip, Burp and Hula, to the fiction thriller, Sledgehammer, readers of all ages will find what they are looking for at the newly revised online bookstore. Discover the magic again of time spent exploring the adventures of favorite characters when turning through the pages of a favorite book. When was the last time a book was so good that it was impossible to put down? Remember that feeling of awe when finally arriving at the last page. It’s time to recapture that feeling again.

For those entrepreneurs who always wanted to start a business, nothing can beat business and how to books on those topics. That’s what business books such as Virtual Assistant the Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and Corel Word Perfect Office Ready Virtual Assistant Solution Pack offer. How to books that direct readers step by step through the entire process of starting a virtual assistant business with pros that know exactly what needs to be done to run a successful business. That’s the true power of words.

Christian and inspirational books, books on marketing and sales, disaster recovery books, cookbooks, e-books, and more are all found in the bookstore. But what makes this bookstore unique is that the bookstore offers more than just the books alone. For example, the children’s book, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with a matching coloring book and paint by number book so children can delight in coloring along with the characters of the book. Virtual Assistant the Series comes with a workbook. Virtual Assistant Solution Pack comes with over 70 templates of business forms needed to start a virtual assistant business.

The fiction category features the highly acclaimed Sledgehammer, a gripping medical fiction thriller. This book sets theme in a Los Angeles emergency room where terrorists are using smallpox as a biological agent, with plans to release it into several sports arenas, airports and shopping malls to maximize its deadly effects. This book has received numerous five star reviews and begs to ask the question, “What if?”

And for holiday cooking, look to the Bizymoms Cookbook. 151 pages of recipes perfect for holiday cooking as well as yummy desserts, crockpot delights, and meals the whole family will enjoy. Email for a free sample at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Virtual Word Publishing hopes the Writer’s Strike is resolved soon, the toys once again become safe, and malls have a safe and hassle free shopping season. But an ever-greater hope is that even after all this, families continue to read. Stop by the bookstore today at www.virtualwordpublishing.com and give the gift that will continue for generations to come, the love of words. Diana Ennen is available for media interviews by contacting diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

Halloween Contest

HALLOWEEN CONTEST!

Send me photos of your kid(s) dressed in costumes or you in a costume and I'll add them to my blog and newsletter.

I'll also send you a "treat' for sending it as well as enter you in our Halloween contest.

We will randomly pick a winner and the winner will receive a $50.00 gift certificate in our bookstore. Entries must be received by November 7th.

Second prize will be $25.00 Gift Certificate for our Bookstore.

Third prize $10.00 for our Bookstore.

Send to diana@virtualwordpublishing.com. We will be having a Thanksgiving and Christmas contest too, so if you don't win this one, don't dismay, you can get the next one.

Tell your friends too!

Diana Ennen
Virtual Word Publishing
www.virtualwordpublishing.com

Essential Tips for Disaster Preparedness

California Wildfires – Essential Tips on Disaster Preparedness

Margate, FL, (October 2007). As the California wildfires continue and the largest evacuation in the history of California pursues, disaster recovery planning is front and center. If you haven’t prepared a disaster recovery plan, now is the time to do so. And even for those in California it’s not too late. 30 minutes can save one from a lifetime of heartaches.

Diana Ennen, co-author of Home Office Recovery Plan: The Disaster Preparedness Guide for Your Home Business witnessed eight hurricanes in Florida including a direct hit from Hurricane Wilma. Ennen advises, "Being prepared for a hurricane or any natural disaster takes away the stress and anxiety. When timing is critical, I want to focus on the safety of my family, not on taking an inventory of my business, or deciding where I need to go. I also need to know that my family members will know how to find me after the disaster.”

Dr. Paulo J. Reyes, a First Responder in California and author of the fiction thriller Sledgehammer has firsthand disaster recovery experience and participated in various disaster relief efforts in California including the major earthquake in L.A. in 1994. He advised, "Loss of lives can be greatly reduced if everyone has a complete plan of action prior to the event. Not only with the reduction of heart attacks and stress related illnesses, but people tend to get to safety quicker if they have already planned ahead and know what they are going to do.”

Here are some steps to take to prepare:

Step One --Identify a safe place for everyone to meet. This pre-determined place should be discussed with family members prior to an emergency. A second location should be discussed. Also, out-of-town relatives should be advised of this location. Additionally, each person should have a list of phone numbers for immediate neighbors and family members. 3X5 index cards work well.

Step Two – Take an inventory now. Write down insurance policies including insurance company and contact information, policy numbers, group numbers, date of births, coverage, etc. Write down an inventory of valuables. Take photos.

Step Three -- Write down a complete family medical history. Include any medical conditions, medicines and dosages, doctors names and contact information, where medical records can be found, etc. Be specific. A life can truly depend on this one step alone.

Step Four – Get a copy of all important information, wills, trusts, mortgages, deeds, birth certificates, contracts, medical records, even household bills to help get things restored quickly, etc. Back-up your computer. Get extra cash. Often ATMs are down so cash is needed.

The time to prepare is now. Stop by our site at www.virtualwordpublishing.com for a free sample of the Home Office Recovery Plan today that has forms for all the above information. Diana Ennen is available for media interviews by contacting her at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com or (954) 971-4025.

Rave reviews for the Bizymoms Cookbook!

Bizymoms Cookbook is getting some rave reviews! Check it out.

http://hubpages.com/_1ndem9wo6ullo/hub/Bizymoms_Cookbook
http://hubpages.com/hub/Dip-Recipes-Made-with-Beans

If you’d like a sample of the cookbook, e-mail me at
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

What’s the Bizymoms Cookbook?

Need a great recipe for dinner tonight. Look no further!!

Bizymoms Cookbook is full of delicious recipes guaranteed to please. In
addition to mouth-watering desserts it contains quick and easy dinner ideas, as
well as original dinnertime favorites, crock pot recipes, casseroles, appetizers and breads, and so much more. It’s 132 pages of recipes and tips submitted from bizymoms all across the country. Their unique and delicious recipes can make preparing meals for your family fun and easy and have them raving about your cooking - definitely wanting more!!

Authors Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker know the time constraints bizymoms
often face and have put together this cookbook in hopes of making the time spent with your family so much more pleasurable and hassle free! Enjoy!

A guide in learning, creating and living as a Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA receives another great review. You can read it here:

http://www.theworkathomecenter.com

“It is very easy to read and understand because it is so straightforward.” says the reviewer and also states “Not only is the author well versed in her knowledge, but there are also helpful ideas from other Virtual Assistants, most of whom have made a very good living from doing this type of work.”

Grab your copy of Virtual Assistant The Series today!

Look Speak & Behave for Men and Women

Hot Moms Club congrats resident style and image expert, Jamie Yasko-Mangum for her two new books - Look, Speak & Behave For Men & Look, Speak & Behave For Women

Profiled by Home Office Weekly

Home Office Weekly has profiled Diana Ennen. Read the interview here, http://www.homeofficeweekly.com/HOW-Profiles/Diana-Ennen.html

Back-To-School Tips

Diana Ennen was quoted on the Kaboose website in an article on back-to-school. Read the article here, http://education.kaboose.com/education/back-to-school-sleep.html

Summertime Reading - Great Children's book

Summertime!! The kids are home and us moms are looking for ideas to keep them busy. We have a great solution. Zip, Burp and Hula is a delightful Children's book with an accompanying coloring book and paint by number book. If you order the book, we'll e-mail you the paint by numer book and/or coloring book FREE. Just e-mail me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com -- Enjoy!! Diana Ennen

Here's some additional information on it, but I encourage you to stop by our site too!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Ennen
(954) 971-4025 phone/fax
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com
www.virtualwordpublishing.com

A Children’s Book Delight – The Newly Released Zip, Burp and Hula

Margate, Florida (June, 2007) Have you been searching for a wholesome children’s book and coloring book that sparks the imagination, is fun to read, and works to develop reading and coloring skills? Well look no further. Kids of all ages will enjoy the newly published, Zip, Burp, and Hula. This book is a delightful 32-page educational tale that helps children understand that it is sometimes hard to be yourself; but with the help of a few wonderful friends, it can be done. This beautifully illustrated book is perfect for beginner readers at the 2nd grade level. The colorful pictures also make it the perfect bedtime story book.

But the magic doesn’t stop there, Zip, Burp and Hula comes with an accompanying Coloring Book and Paint by Number book that allows your children to get to know the characters even more by coloring along with the characters in the book.

The story takes place when the main character, a Chameleon, tries to discover who he truly is. He knows he’s a Chameleon, and Chameleons are supposed to change colors, but he doesn’t have a clue how to do it. That’s when he befriends a zippy dragonfly, a burping bullfrog, three dancing wasps, and a wise moth. The Chameleon looks to his loving friends and the adventures begin as together they search for the answers.

Author, Cindy Johnston, has written several children’s books. Johnston had two books selected in the top four finalists in the Heartland Writer’s Conference in 2000, with Zip, Burp, and Hula awarded second place.

Zip Burp and Hula, published by Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing. Virtual Word Publishing also offers an excellent selection of children’s musical CDs by Grammy Winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, who among their many accomplishments were part of the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Kids today need more books with good inspirational messages and Christian values. Zip, Burp and Hula is just that book. Discounts are available for schools, churches, etc.

Our book is available at Amazon and Kids Books and More, www.kidsbooksandmore and the publishers website at Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com. Also, look to our other selection of best selling books on our site.
###

Hurricane Season Begins

Hurricane Season started with a bang yesterday with Tropical Storm Barry. The first time in years that a named storm formed on the first day of the season. It's going to be a long season! We've already had tornado warnings and we've already lost our patio screen over our pool, and of pool is flooding, Bummer!! Even worst is it's going directly to my son in Gainesville. Double Bummer!

You need to be prepared. As many know I'm the author of the Home Office Recovery Plan. Disaster Preparedness for your home-based business. It is my best help when stressful situations like this happen. I'd be happy to send anyone a sample of this plan for emailing me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com.

Also, here's some additional information you might find beneficial. Thanks ... Diana Ennen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Diana Ennen - (954) 971-4025
http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com
diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Hurricane Season is Here and Already Paving a Destructive Course
Follow These Tips to Prepare Now and Save Your Home-based Business

Margate, Florida, The 2007 hurricane season began with a bang with Tropical Storm Barry. With the memories still vivid of last year’s four major hurricanes and many homes and businesses still not repaired, many are wondering what can we do to protect ourselves? How can we prepare? Fortunately, the answers are as close as a new book on Disaster Recovery, Home Office Recovery Plan: The Disaster Preparedness Guide for Your Home Business.

Home Office Recovery Plan: The Disaster Preparedness Guide for Your Home Business offers a complete resource guide on contingency planning with customized forms enabling you to write down all the vital information necessary to keep your business functioning in case of a disaster. It includes essential information that is often left out, but critical to safeguarding your business, including outlining your corporate structure, who your clients are, any subcontractors, web information and hosting, and personal details as well. You’ll be able to file insurance claims easily, learn ways to back-up your computer, have the information readily available and be able to have someone ready and able to come in and take over. This peace of mind is what you need this busy hurricane season.

Co-Author Diana Ennen, lives in Margate Florida and like many Floridians witnessed four hurricanes last year firsthand. Patty Gale had the unique experience of writing a contingency plan for clients in New York after 9-11. Both are successful home-based business owners. And both know how importance of this plan. Together they wrote this book on Disaster Recovery utilizing all their personal experience in an effort to prevent the alarming statistics that face home-based businesses. For example, did you know that 40 percent of all businesses hit by a natural disaster fail to reopen and 25 percent that reopen close within a year. This is according to the June 27th issue of the Sun Sentinel Newspaper in a column by Robyn Friedman.

You need to prepare and you need to prepare NOW, not only for hurricanes but also fires, earthquakes, floods, computer crashes, theft and anything else that could harm the survival of your small or home-based business.”

Here are some tips that Ennen recommends all businesses follow to ensure their safety:

Keep client contracts, wills, important papers, etc., in a safe location.

Document where all your important papers can be found.

Back-up all your files and keep a copy off site. Pay special attention to your client files. Check this back-up to make sure it’s working. Fed-Ex copy out of state if necessary.

Do an inventory of all your business property and take photos. Attach receipts to the inventory if available.

For additional disaster recovery tips and a free sample chapter of our book, stop by Virtual Word Publishing, www.virtualwordpublishing.com.
***************************
Media -- Diana Ennen is the author of several books on starting a virtual assistant business including Virtual Assistant the Series (http://www.VA-TheSeries.com). She’s the President of Virtual Word Publishing (http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com) is available for media interviews by contacting her at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Surefire Ways to Pack a Punch With Your Ezines & Newsletters

Newsletters are such a vital part of a virtual assistant and small business' marketing ... I thought you would enjoy this article.

Newsletters, or ezines, can be extremely effective marketing tools for your business. They put your name in front of your potential clients, regular clients, and peers while showing your expertise and professionalism. They are an excellent means to both market and grow your business and also show your existing clients your creative abilities.

What’s an ezine? It’s short for electronic magazine. It’s those e-mail newsletters that you receive on a regular basis. If you are not sending one out now, seriously consider doing so. It can make a big difference in both your business and your bank account. For example, I know one life coach who sends out regular ezines. Lately she acknowledged that she started getting 30+ people signing up every day! When you think about that, 30+ new potential clients a day. Now doesn’t it make sense to utilize this as a regular part of your marketing?

Now the only drawback is to ensure your newsletter is worthy of being read. I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, but find I regularly only read a few upon their arrival. When I decided to create my own newsletter, one of the first things I did was to look at those newsletters I regularly read and determine what it was about them that made me want to read them. What sets them apart from the rest? One of the most important things I discovered was that they provided me with valuable information to help me in my business. They often provided information I didn’t already know. For example, some newsletters provide tips on search engine optimization, affiliate programs, or software shortcuts. Since I’m always looking to grow my business, this information is valuable to me. You normally have knowledge in a given field that others don’t, when preparing your newsletter, think about what expert knowledge you have or can obtain that would interest your targeted market. Now that’s what you want to add to your newsletter.
In writing your newsletter, keep the following points in mind:

Your Readers

Know your readers and what they want.
Ask your readers for feedback and how to improve.
Talk to your readers. Don’t just put information in your newsletter, think about that audience out there reading your newsletter. How do they feel after reading what you’ve prepared?


Your Writing Style

Use short, simple sentences; keeping paragraphs short.
Write clearly and avoid slang or profanity.
Use humor and keep a refreshing tone to your writing.
Keep your tone friendly, but also professional.
Have white space between the paragraphs.
Use small graphics whenever applicable.
Include your logo for business recognition.
Use bold or italics for emphasis, but don’t underline.
Use plain text. (12-14 point)

Headings

Entice the reader with your heading to ensure they read the article.
Headlines should be slightly larger than the other text.
Use bold or italics and a good font, but don’t use all caps.

Content of Newsletter

Content is king! Just like on your website, it’s vital to have your newsletter or ezine packed full of useful information.
Provide articles written by you and other experts.
Provide any new services or features you’ve added to your business.
Provide links of relevant press releases, articles, other sites, etc. This gives readers more information that they can review.
Provide case studies, facts not known, etc. Sign up for Google News so that you can get information your clients might not have seen.
Provide a collection of valuable small business tips, testimonials, etc.
Provide a personal message from you. Many enjoy hearing how you are doing and what’s new happening in their life and business.
Provide humorous quotations or jokes.
Contests / Polls / Freebies / Quizzes / Games!! Let the fun begin. Why not include something that makes the reader look forward to taking a break from their busy day to read your newsletter?

The Final Step -- Proofing

Make sure everything is 100% accurate with no typos.
Make sure you have permission for any copyrighted material.
Make sure if you have sources, you have credited them correctly.
Most ezines are “opt-in,” which means that everyone who receives it has actually registered to receive it—they want it already. Now the only thing you need to do is provide them great information that keeps them wanting it every month.
***********************
Diana Ennen, Author: Virtual Assistant the Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA (co-author: Kelly Poelker - http://www.VA-theSeries.com), Words From Home: Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business (http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com) and the Home Office Recovery Plan (co-author: Patty Gale - http://homeofficerecoveryplan.com) -- Contact her at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Publicity Hound University New Class

Hi everyone!

I'm very excited to be a part of Joan Stewart's, (THE PUBLICITY HOUND) new class. It's going to be awsome for any Virtual Assistants, Interns, or others who want to learn more about publicity or specializing in publicity if you are a virtual assistant.

Here's some details from Joan. Any questions, please post here or e-mail me at diana@virtualwordpublishing.com

Publicity Hound University will teach assistants, virtual assistants and interns how to help their bosses or clients with publicity. It will be held June 11-15.

Registration is $497.

Your assistant can do so much more!

Wouldn't life be a lot easier if you could work with an assistant who is fully trained on how to handle most of the day-to-day tasks of your publicity campaign? If you already have an assistant who does little more than administrative chores, it's time to turn your assistant into someone who can assume many of the duties of promoting your product, service, cause or issue.

Publicity expert Joan Stewart will train assistants, virtual assistants and interns June 11-15, via a series of teleseminars.

Joan has recruited her own army of guest experts to join her on the calls. They will be teaching assistants how to research media outlets, ghostwrite articles and post them to online article directories, use reprints multiple ways, update print and online media kits, find bloggers who can write about you, find podcasters who can feature you on their podcasts, use editorial
calendars, form valuable relationships with journalists, and write press releases not
only for journalists, but for the search engines.

I will be presenting with Joan as well and look forward to meeting everyone. For additional information,

http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?Clk=1980221

Teachers Become Part-Time Entrepreneurs

Teachers and educators, are you finally ready for a change? You have successfully handled a classroom full of rambunctious kids all year and successfully taught them their lesson plans and how to do their ABCs and math. You encouraged, taught, and showed them exactly what it takes to learn and to be the best they can be. But now it’s your turn. Time to put yourself first and start on your journey to do what’s right for you. Time to finally begin your entrepreneurial dream of starting your own business or perhaps adding a supplementary income to your teacher’s salary. Time to do something just for you. And with summer right around the corner, the timing couldn’t be better. Plus, parents will spend over $4 billion nationwide this year on academic tutoring, with a predicted growth of 12 to 15 percent a year. You can see that now is the perfect time for teachers and others to consider starting their own home-based business in the hot educational industry.

The problem is finding the right business. One that can use your expertise and skills and will afford you the opportunity to not only make a great income, but feel the personal growth and satisfaction that comes with owning your own business. You want a business with a proven track record of success and one that can easily help you achieve a six-figure income. But perhaps the most important component of becoming an entrepreneur is finding a business that gives you the same personal satisfaction that teaching does, allowing you to help others, especially children. You know you can make a difference and you want that same feeling of gratitude and pride to continue outside of the classroom.

Is there such a business? The good news is, there is. Starting a home tutoring business is a perfect match for teachers and educators, women or men entering the workforce after staying home to care for family, or people who worked in Corporate America for many years and want a change. Whether you want to earn extra money or leave teaching all together and start your own business, starting a home tutoring business is the right choice. There is nothing better than being your own boss and making great money, even surpassing the income you made when employed by someone else – all from your home office on your own schedule.

So what exactly is involved in starting your own home tutoring business? Here are some of the facts, but we also encourage you to stop by our site, Home Tutoring Business, http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com for additional information.

By starting your own home tutoring business, you become a tutor broker, where you manage a network of professional teachers and educators, matching them with students in need of one-on-one in-home tutoring. In a sense you are establishing a home tutoring referral network in your community. The owner of the business, you, becomes a matchmaker, or broker, matching qualified tutors and teachers with children in need of individualized tutoring. Revenue is earned by splitting the fee for tutoring services with your tutors and teachers. The more hours you bill, the more income you will make. The potential for making money is virtually only limited to the amount of students for which you are willing to provide tutors.
All of the tutoring is done in the privacy of the child’s home. Clients love the convenience of this service because they do not have to drive anywhere to have their children tutored. Kids love it because there is no peer pressure to perform. They are in the comfort of their own home with the undivided attention of a dedicated teacher/tutor. Our experience has been that children learn better from individualized, private instruction. One does not get that at a busy learning center. You will be taking the time to get to know the student and family and matching them with a tutor who can help them with their academic needs, personalities and learning styles. This one-on-one attention is effective and offers parents the convenience of not having to drive their children anywhere to get quality, individualized tutoring.
The tutors you hire enjoy it because you have it all set up for them. They don’t have the expense of advertising for students, they can work with families that have signed a tutoring contract and have been “pre-screened” by you. The tutoring is consistent (we suggest at least one hour a week per subject per student) and they can pick and choose their clients and make their own schedules based on how far they want to travel and what subjects and grades they can tutor. Tutors love the flexibility and the constant stream of business being offered to them. It’s a win/win for all.
Laurie Hurley, the president of Home Tutoring Business, has been matching tutors with students since 2001 connecting over 150 qualified tutors with pupils throughout Southern California, and successfully assisting hundreds of students by matching them with dedicated professionals. During the peak school months, Hurley’s list of qualified instructors is extensive, and her clientele upwards of 200 kids tutored on any given evening during the school week. And, since 2005 Hurley has been offering her Home Tutoring Business Package to entrepreneurs wanting the same opportunity, to start their own tutoring referral business. Hurley offers entrepreneurs a program that provides all the necessary tools including a website and access to a customized accounting software program, as well as a detailed business manual.

Hurley states, “When I started out I made some mistakes, learned from them, and developed a distinct style of marketing myself and my business. At times I learned the hard way what didn’t work. It often cost me money, but I used every opportunity to improve upon my service and expand my home-based business. In the Home Tutoring Business Manual© I share my successes and failures and give the buyer the knowledge and business ideas to build a successful company. One of the hardest aspects of starting a new business is feeling like you are doing it alone. With HTB, our business packages provide on-going support and advice, which is like having a personalized business coach and mentor to help you grow your business.”

Home Tutoring Business Packages provides the personal accomplishments and financial freedom of being a business owner with its easy step-by step format. You don’t have to be a tutor or have any background in education. HTB gives you the entrepreneurial edge to create a lucrative tutoring service, matching qualified educators with students for private in-home tutoring. Hurley has been featured in various periodicals from Entrepreneur Magazine and Woman’s World Magazine, to Inside Business Newspaper to name a few and is receiving national recognition for her works.
One tutor broker, Jane Saeman, from Orange County, California had this to say about the program, “I was looking for a business that was “All ready to go” and all I had to do was implement it and continue to work it, but that I wouldn’t have to pay monthly franchise fees. Another requirement was not to pay an enormous amount for the business that I would be starting. Add in an ability to create my own flexible schedule and an unlimited amount of money I could make (depending upon how much time I wanted to put into the business) and I had found what I had been looking for. Now that I have bought and implemented the business, I am very much impressed by how thorough Laurie has been in putting it all together. The concept, the manual, the forms, the website, the marketing materials and suggestions and the ability to know that any question I need answered is “just an e-mail away” have all contributed to my being able to build a substantial business that is continuing to grow.”

Resolve to make a difference this year and fulfill your dream of being more financially independent by owning a business that contributes in a positive way to your community. Don't wait any longer to make your dreams come true. Home Tutoring Business may be the opportunity you've been looking for. For additional information contact us today at www.hometutoringbusiness.com.


Laurie Hurley has been featured in national magazines including Entrepreneur Magazine’s Summer Start-Up Guide, Woman's World, Family Circle, Family Fun, Parenting and more. Her site at http://www.hometutoringbusiness.com/ offers detailed information on getting started in your own tutoring brokering business. For additional information contact Hurley at info@hometutoringbusiness.com. Article is free to reprint as long as author's bio remains intact.

NCB Airs Segment on Virtual Assistants

Hi

It's so exciting. NBC aired their segment today on Karen Reddick and the Virtual Assistant Industry. Here's the link.


If you missed it on TV, here is the link.

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=fda5aec6-5250-43c2-936f-dfac1ec2033d&f=00&fg=

And here's our release that we had on the show. Congratulations Karen!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen L. Reddick, MVA
Tel: (720) 870-6435
E-mail: Karen@VandEServices.com
Website: http://www.vandeservices.com

NBC Today Show Showcases Colorado Virtual Assistant

CENTENNIAL, CO (April 2007) – Six years ago if anyone had told Karen Reddick that the growing industry she has been working hard to promote would finally receive its day in the limelight with a segment on the NBC Today Show, she wouldn’t have believed it. It’s a dream come true to see the industry she is passionate about get national attention. Reddick is a Virtual Assistant (VA) who helps small businesses successfully run their businesses virtually from her home office. When an NBC correspondent got wind that there was such a business, they became intrigued and decided to pursue the story. NBC flew to Reddick’s home office in Centennial to film a typical day at the office. They also set up a crew at one of Reddick’s client’s office 850 miles away in the St. Louis area to show how easy and efficient working with a VA can be. The piece is scheduled to air in April.

Reddick, owner of V-And-E Services, is a former executive assistant and originally conceived the idea for her business in October 2001 immediately following 9/11. Starting her new career was her way to put family first and be home for her then pre-teenage daughter. Reddick helps clients by working remotely and uses the latest technology to deliver creative administrative support and technical business services to busy professionals. Projects are often handled over the phone, by fax, e-mail and instant messaging.

Most attractive to her clients is perhaps the fact that Virtual Assistants are responsible for their own taxes, training, healthcare, insurance, and overhead costs that make hiring an in-house employee expensive. Reddick states, “My clients pay only for the time actually spent working on their projects. They don’t pay for my coffee breaks, visits to colleagues or other things that happen in a normal office environment. This is a great benefit for them to pay on an as-needed basis.”

Reddick is also the author of The A-Z Guide: The Best Ways to Work With a Virtual Assistant, which shows businesses exactly what a VA can do for them. In her A-Z Guide, Reddick starts with the letter A and highlights typical services such as administrative assistance, ad campaigns, appointment setting, auto responders; B--bookkeeping, branding, brochures, bulk mailings; C--concierge services, copywriting, contact list management and so on. It clearly helps businesses and virtual assistants see exactly what a VA can do for them and highlights tasks they might not have even considered.

“I think this industry will just continue to grow,” Reddick adds. “This used to seem like a radical concept; and now hopefully with this national recognition it will allow other business owners to realize how using a Virtual Assistant can streamline their administrative tasks and save them time and money.”

As proof that the industry is growing, Diana Ennen of http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com recently landed an interview in Reader’s Digest, where she was able to spread the news of the Virtual Assistant Industry. The article talks about making money while working at home, stating “If you possess word processing, transcription, bookkeeping, public relations, or website design skills, you may want to try employment as a virtual assistant. Ennen is quoted as saying, “There is so much work for VAs that the field is thriving. It is absolutely booming.” And Ennen believes this with all her heart.

Look for this segment airing on NBC sometime in April. Stop by Reddick’s site at: http://www.vandeservices.com for additional information on the VA industry and her services.
About V-And-E-Services: V-And-E-Services specializes in “taking the administrative weight off the shoulders” of the small business owner and/or entrepreneur so they can concentrate on making their business grow. Visit http://www.vandeservices.com for more information. Reddick also offers a weekly newsletter entitled Grammar Tips From The Red Editor, a division of V-And-E-Services. http://www.theredpeneditor.com.

How to Find a Virtual Assistant to Help with Your Publicity Campaign

Hi

I'm thrilled to be part of this exciting teleseminar next Thursday with Joan Stewart, the Publicity Hound. We will discuss virtual assistants and how they can help with publicity, but also you'll get to know more about the VA Industry in general and how they are great for so many businesses. Come join us!

Time: 1 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, May 17 (The teleseminar will last about an hour)

Cost: $39, which includes a copy of the CD - http://publicityhound.com/teleseminar.htm

If you're struggling with all the heavy lifting in your publicity campaign or other office chores, it's time to stop. Why not hire a virtual assistant--a person who can work remotely on your campaign, even from thousands of miles away? The V.A. industry is exploding, as more and more authors, speakers, coaches and experts learn that using a V.A. for as little as a few hours a week can free them up to really concentrate on the tasks that generate revenue.
My special guests will be virtual assistants Cindy Greenway and Diana Ennen who have a long track record of helping their clients make more money, generate more publicity and be more successful.

You will learn:

The best places to look for a virtual assistant, including trade associations and other business groups for V.A.s

How they charge for their services, and why hiring a V.A. is worth 10 times more than what you'll pay

The types of chores a V.A. typically tackles...you can give them far more than just publicity-related duties!

The types of publicity duties a V.A. can perform...just wait until you see all the grunt work you can unload.

The one task that's best done by you and not your V.A.

How to know which V.A. would work best with you so it's a win-win for both of you

Why it's perfectly acceptable for your V.A. to live thousands of miles away from you
Tips on how you and your V.A. can get off on the right foot

Examples of how Cindy and Diana have made their clients' lives so much easier...and how your V.A. can do the same for you!

How to respect your V.A.'s time and not make unreasonable requests

How to set your own boundaries so your V.A. respects your time and doesn't make unreasonable requests

The one thing V.A.s want more than anything from clients

How to get your V.A. up to speed very quickly on how to take over a large part of your publicity campaign

....plus, we'll be accepting questions via email. So come with plenty of them.
Register for the telseminar and free CD

Mothers Day -- Give Yourself a Home Business

Hi guys!

This Mother's Day why not start your own business. Wouldn't the gift of a home-based business be the gift that just keeps on giving! And who knows better that the mompreneurs. I'm now their Virtual Assistant Blogger there. Hope to see you there!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Ellen Parlapiano & Patricia Cobe
The Mompreneurs
914-472-7322
mail@mompreneursonline.com
www.mompreneursonline.com


For Mother’s Day—Give Yourself the Gift of a Home Business

Scarsdale, NY—Breakfast in bed prepared by the kids, hand-drawn cards, and bouquets of flowers are all wonderful ways to celebrate Mother’s Day. But this year, as you revel in those cherished gifts, think about giving yourself something special: a home-based business.

In researching and writing their books, Mompreneurs: A Mother’s Practical Step-by-Step Guide to Work-at-Home Success and Mompreneurs Online: Using the Internet to Build Work@Home Success, co-authors Patricia Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano talked with countless mothers who achieved professional and personal happiness by combining work and family under the same roof. These are just a few successful Mompreneurs who gave themselves the gift of a home business—and discovered a way to balance the best of both worlds.

Diana Ennen
www.virtualwordpublishing.com
“I love to be home for my daughters when they come home from school. That’s when you really get their day’s events. Being able to share a snack together and bond is just priceless. Also, my kids get to see what I do working at home. It has instilled in them passion and the knowledge that dreams do come true when you work for them. Working from home for 23 years, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

Renee Wood
The Comfort Company
“One of the best ‘presents’ I have given myself and my four daughters is my ‘presence’. Despite the challenges of running a home business, having the flexibility to work around the kids’ schedules is certainly a plus. But more importantly, it allows me to be present for those stolen moments...the unscheduled times when one of the girls will share a story, need a hug or decide to invite me inside their world if only for a little while.”

Jennifer Manriquez
The Bilingual Fun Company
“Being able to spend my days with my precious children, while I learn and grow professionally, has been so rewarding. Starting my own home business really is my dream come true.”

Sue Kirchner
Chocolate Cake Club.com
“Owning my own business, I can set a flexible schedule and participate in my kids' lives. I spoke to my son's first grade class the other day about my career. Just seeing how proud he was of my business and my accomplishments was so rewarding. I want my children to know that there are alternatives to the corporate career path and they can look to their mom as a successful role model.”

Tammy Gibson
InStyleMoms.com
“Having my kids see me on a daily basis at ‘work,’ they learn to respect my work time and celebrate my little and big successes. It’s so gratifying to see my 5-year-old jump around and chant ‘Mommy made a sale.’ Sharing these moments with my children wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t have a home business.”

Debra Cohen
Home Remedies of NY, Inc.
“Working from home for the past ten years has afforded me an ideal balance between career and family. It has also shown my two young daughters that women can be successful at their careers and still put their families first.”

And here’s a mom who is so happy with her work-from-home choice, she is gifting her own mother with the same business: “I am having such success with my YTB Travel Business that I wanted to give my mom exactly what I had. She retires this year so I bought her a travel booking website business. Now she can ‘earn more and travel for less’ too.” - Tina Hicks, Hickstravelweb.com

Ready for your Mother’s Day gift? Find more information and tools for starting and running a home business—plus valuable resources and an incredibly supportive community of work-from-home moms—at www.mompreneursonline.com.


###

Wall Street Journal and Reader's Digest Explore VA Industry

Wall Street Journal and Reader’s Digest Explore the Thriving Virtual Assistant Industry

O’Fallon, IL (May, 2007) The Virtual Assistant Industry shines this month when two major publications recognize the profession and provide tips for getting started. The Wall Street Journal quotes best selling author Paul Edwards as saying, “Virtual assistants provide services ranging from administrative support to consulting via e-mail, fax and phone.” The article continues recommending several books for getting started, including Virtual Assistant–The Series by Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker. http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/workfamily/20070504-workfamily.html

In the May issue of Reader’s Digest, an article entitled New Ways to Make a Bundle states, “If you possess word processing, transcription, bookkeeping, public relations, or website design skills, you may want to try employment as a virtual assistant. Ennen of virtualwordpublishing.com
is quoted saying “There is so much work for VAs that the field is thriving. It is absolutely booming.” The important thing is to use your own skills and expertise to build your business. Starting a virtual assistant business isn’t a get rich quick scheme. It takes time and talent, but those who succeed can’t imagine doing anything else. Clients are grateful to have talented, highly skilled, and motivated virtual assistants to support their business growth.

Ennen and Poelker’s book, Virtual Assistant – The Series has become what many call the Bible in the Virtual Assistant Industry inspiring readers and providing priceless tools on everything from choosing the right specialty, to promoting your business, to daily operational procedures. Along with its accompanying Workbook Edition, it is quickly becoming a staple in colleges as more add VA Certificate Programs to their curriculum. Randi Tucker Barr, an Instructor at Raymond Walters College, states, “I incorporated their book and workbook as required text. The book guides students from the basic concept of the Virtual Assistant Industry to creating a workable business plan, marketing plan, and web presence. The workbook encourages students to integrate material from the book into their personal goals and objectives. My belief is that Virtual Assistant – The Series has given my students the necessary foundation to become successful entrepreneurs.

Virtual Assistant – The Series is available at http://www.va-theseries.com/ as well as through online retailers. The authors are available for media interviews via e-mail at: authors@VA-TheSeries.com or by calling 954.971.4025 (Ennen) or 618.624.3080 (Poelker).

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Readers Digest Explores the Thriving VA Industry

Reader’s Digest Explores the Thriving Virtual Assistant Industry

Margate, FL, (April, 2007) Diana Ennen knows how to make a business successful in today’s marketplace. Working from home since 1985, the entrepreneur has been highly successful in helping others reach their business goals for over two decades. Ennen’s most recent accomplishment was landing an interview in Reader’s Digest, where she was able to spread the news of the Virtual Assistant Industry, which she is so passionate about. The article talks about making money while working at home, stating “If you possess word processing, transcription, bookkeeping, public relations, or website design skills, you may want to try employment as a virtual assistant. Ennen is quoted as saying, “There is so much work for VAs that the field is thriving. It is absolutely booming.” And Ennen believes this with all her heart.

The article focuses on work that can be done on a part-time basis. Ennen contends that while most start their businesses on a full-time basis, many have been very successful working part-time, before growing their business into successful enterprises. According to Ennen, “The important thing is to use your own skills and expertise to build your business. Starting a virtual assistant business isn’t a get rich quick scheme. It takes time and talent, but those who succeed can’t imagine doing anything else. And clients today are grateful to have talented and highly skilled personal assistance for all their business needs. A VA business is not one that can be started overnight, but it is a business that has tremendous potential.”
Ennen has been helping entrepreneurs start their businesses since writing her first book back in 1996, Words From Home: Start, Run and Profit from a Home-based Word Processing Business, which she updates on a regular basis. Also, Ennen and co-author Kelly Poelker have recently completed the Virtual Assistant-The Series: Workbook Edition that accompanies their main book Virtual Assistant – The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA, which is considered the Bible of the VA Industry. With these books, aspiring readers are provided with priceless tools on everything from choosing the right VA business and specialty, to advertising and promoting your business, to daily operational procedures. Other books by Ennen include
the WordPerfect OfficeReady Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, which comes complete with a 81 page ebook and over 70 templates on starting a VA business.
As an instructor of emerging virtual assistants, I have incorporated Diana Ennen and Kelly Poelker’s book, Virtual Assistant, The Series, and accompanying work book as required text for my students. The book guides students from the basic concept of the virtual assistant industry to creating a workable business plan, marketing plan, and web presence. The workbook encourages students to integrate material from the book into their personal goals and objectives. My belief is that Virtual Assistant, The Series has given my students the necessary foundation to become successful entrepreneurs.

Stop by Virtual Word Publishing, http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com for additional information on starting a virtual assistant business, to visit our online bookstore, or receive our free information on business startups. And don’t forget to look for the May issue of Reader’s Digest http://www.rd.com/content/best-quick-cash/1/ to learn more about starting your own virtual assistant business.

Release - NCB Today Show Showcases Colorado VA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karen L. Reddick, MVA
Tel: (720) 870-6435
E-mail: Karen@VandEServices.com
Website: http://www.vandeservices.com


CENTENNIAL, CO (April 2007) – Six years ago if anyone had told Karen Reddick that the growing industry she has been working hard to promote would finally receive its day in the limelight with a segment on the NBC Today Show, she wouldn’t have believed it. It’s a dream come true to see the industry she is passionate about get national attention. Reddick is a Virtual Assistant (VA) who helps small businesses successfully run their businesses virtually from her home office. When an NBC correspondent got wind that there was such a business, they became intrigued and decided to pursue the story. NBC flew to Reddick’s home office in Centennial to film a typical day at the office. They also set up a crew at one of Reddick’s client’s office 850 miles away in the St. Louis area to show how easy and efficient working with a VA can be. The piece is scheduled to air in April.

Reddick, owner of V-And-E Services, is a former executive assistant and originally conceived the idea for her business in October 2001 immediately following 9/11. Starting her new career was her way to put family first and be home for her then pre-teenage daughter. Reddick helps clients by working remotely and uses the latest technology to deliver creative administrative support and technical business services to busy professionals. Projects are often handled over the phone, by fax, e-mail and instant messaging.

Most attractive to her clients is perhaps the fact that Virtual Assistants are responsible for their own taxes, training, healthcare, insurance, and overhead costs that make hiring an in-house employee expensive. Reddick states, “My clients pay only for the time actually spent working on their projects. They don’t pay for my coffee breaks, visits to colleagues or other things that happen in a normal office environment. This is a great benefit for them to pay on an as-needed basis.”

Reddick is also the author of The A-Z Guide: The Best Ways to Work With a Virtual Assistant, which shows businesses exactly what a VA can do for them. In her A-Z Guide, Reddick starts with the letter A and highlights typical services such as administrative assistance, ad campaigns, appointment setting, auto responders; B--bookkeeping, branding, brochures, bulk mailings; C--concierge services, copywriting, contact list management and so on. It clearly helps businesses and virtual assistants see exactly what a VA can do for them and highlights tasks they might not have even considered.

“I think this industry will just continue to grow,” Reddick adds. “This used to seem like a radical concept; and now hopefully with this national recognition it will allow other business owners to realize how using a Virtual Assistant can streamline their administrative tasks and save them time and money.”
As proof that the industry is growing, Diana Ennen of http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com recently landed an interview in Reader’s Digest, where she was able to spread the news of the Virtual Assistant Industry. The article talks about making money while working at home, stating “If you possess word processing, transcription, bookkeeping, public relations, or website design skills, you may want to try employment as a virtual assistant. Ennen is quoted as saying, “There is so much work for VAs that the field is thriving. It is absolutely booming.” And Ennen believes this with all her heart.

Look for this segment airing on NBC sometime in April. Stop by Reddick’s site at: http://www.vandeservices.com for additional information on the VA industry and her services.
About V-And-E-Services: V-And-E-Services specializes in “taking the administrative weight off the shoulders” of the small business owner and/or entrepreneur so they can concentrate on making their business grow. Visit http://www.vandeservices.com for more information. Reddick also offers a weekly newsletter entitled Grammar Tips From The Red Editor, a division of V-And-E-Services. http://www.theredpeneditor.com.

Publicity and Marketing - Perfect niche for a Virtual Assitant

I hope you enjoy this article I wrote on the niche publicity for virtual assistants. That's what I do and recommend to all VAs. -- Thanks! Diana Ennen

We all realize how Virtual Assistants have revolutionized the way we work today. Most businesses now count on their Virtual Assistant the same as they used to count on their secretaries, only so much more. VAs are a prized and respected part of their client’s team, and unlike secretaries, who often were taken for granted, Virtual Assistants are praised for their professionalism and skills. Most businesses today can’t imagine where they would be without their VA. And as the potential for success in a virtual assistant business continues to explode, so does the need for good Virtual Assistants.

Today’s Virtual Assistants need to take pride in their business and also to learn as much as they can about their niche, which is the specialty they have chosen to specialize in. One niche that I highly recommend is to offer publicity and marketing services to clients. This is an area that is growing in leaps and bounds as more and more authors, businesses, and other professionals realize the need to market their business to get good publicity. A business can expand tremendously when hiring a Virtual Assistant to help them spread the word about their products or services. Also, authors today aren’t aware that once they write a book, that’s when the real work begins. They need to get the word out about their book in order for it to be successful. That’s where a good Publicity VA comes in.

Publicity and marketing is thrilling to say the least. There’s such a great rush when your client gets recognized in national magazines, or a TV station wants to do a segment on them and you helped them achieve this success. Or better yet, when your efforts start resulting in substantial increased sales for them. Clients will not only keep using your services, but also tell others about this new positive addition they have to their business. And best yet, you too get to feel that satisfaction as you are helping them achieve their goals.

One of my most successful tips is learning how to effectively use any publicity that a client receives. When clients get national attention in a magazine, newspaper, or TV Segment, or even on a popular website, it’s important to make sure that everyone is aware of this. A press release should immediately go out to announce their accomplishment. This release should be added to their website and also should go to all their local papers, radio stations, and TV networks. Media loves to highlight a success story of their locals, so make sure you get this out there as soon as you can. And you don’t have to wait for the publicity to happen. If your client lands a major TV segment, you can start sending this press out beforehand in order to get more media for when the event happens. You just want to make sure that the client is fairly confident the segment will air. Also, don’t worry if the segment gets bumped back, that often happens as breaking news takes priority. This can almost be a blessing, as then you get to do more publicity before the airdate.

It’s also important to follow-up with the reporters and let them know how much you appreciate the acceptance of your quotes for an article. When you go the extra step to show them your appreciation, they remember you when the next article comes up and they need help with more expert advice. Many reporters work for multiple magazines so one good ally can lead to lots of media exposure. Always keep your PR hat on. Learn to take any situation and turn it into good press for your clients and your business as well. Stay on top of current events and see if you have anything to offer. Whenever a story hits the press that any of my clients would have a connection to, I’ll send it right away. Having press releases already prepared for clients on their business is always a great help. How do you know about these events? Sign up for Google Alerts under the topics of interest and then whenever a story is written, you can follow-up with your press release or article to the reporter. It works! I also use ProfNet from PRNewswire, which allows me to get daily leads from major news outlets. You can also consider PRLeads.

It’s also important to learn how to write a good press release and article and also where to send those. Make sure that your press releases and articles are newsworthy and also something that interests the readers. When I write a release, I always think would I read this release? Would it interest me? If not, I doubt your target audience would be reading it either. Plus, be careful to sound too promotional. You can easily get your message across without sounding like an ad.

Publicity is a great niche for VAs. I hope you have found these tips beneficial.
##

Diana Ennen is the author of numerous books including Virtual Assistant - The Series, Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and accompanying Workbook; Corel Word Perfect Office Ready, Virtual Assistant Solution Pack, and Words From Home, Start, Run and Profit from a Home-Based Word Processing Business. She specializes in publicity and book marketing and is president of Virtual Word Publishing http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com and http://www.virtualassistantstartups.com

ADHD in the Spotlight

One of my clients, Dr. Paul E. Dennison, offers a safe and educational tool for those with ADHD. I think you'll enjoy this article - Diana

ADHD In the Spotlight - Safe and Effective Tools Are Available Including the Brain Gym Program

After years of psychiatrists reporting that ADHD stimulants are safe and effective, in February of this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced that all ADHD drug manufacturers must warn the public that the drugs can cause serious psychiatric and cardiovascular problems. These problems include heart attack, stroke, mania and even sudden death. Parents of children with ADHD were left with the agonizing decision of what to do. Is it safe to keep their children on these potentially harmful medications? What would happen to their children when they take them off these medications? Is there a safe alternative?

Dr. Paul E Dennison believes there is a healthy and safe alternative. A solution that is already being used in classrooms, workshops and homes throughout the world for not only helping with ADHD, but also helping with other learning and reading challenges, stress reduction, and overall better health and well being. The profoundly simple Brain Gym activities offer tremendously positive results and often eliminate the need for dangerous prescription drugs completely. For parents looking for an alternative to starting or continuing a medicine regime, this can be the answer they longed for.

Dr. Dennison contends that nobody really knows the true harm done to those who do take the prescription drugs. He feels only five percent of the children undergoing medication for the illness actually need the prescribed treatment. Dennison believes that ADHD is not a Ritalin deficiency, but an insufficiency in the ability to focus attention, one that can be illuminated by processes that integrate the functioning of the brain and the body.

Before commencing an exercise program, Dr. Dennison recommends that you consult your family physician. Dr Dennison has found that most doctors will welcome the Brain Gym movement program as an alternative as no one really knows the true harm done to those who do take the prescription drugs. Dennison believes that ADHD is an insufficiency in the ability to focus attention and to tune out distractions, one that can be illuminated by processes that integrate the functioning of the brain and the body. As a professional educator and a pioneer in the field of applied neuroscience and a world authority on cognitive skills and reading achievement, Dennison has done extensive field studies research in this area. During the last twenty-five years, Dr. Dennison has taught workshops in movement-based learning in more than fifteen countries, being presented with numerous honors, including the Reading Excellence through the Arts (RETA) Award from the International Reading Association. He has also written eight books, including his latest, Brain Gym and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning. His books have been distributed through eighty countries’ bookstores, with a total sold of over 415,000 copies. These books have also been translated into more than forty languages.

What makes the Brain Gym special?

¨ It reactivates whole brain function via the intimate connection with body movement.
¨ It achieves the necessary focus of attention with activities that relax the tendon-guard survival reflex and help children feel safe in their body.
¨ Sometimes one Brain Gym session can help a person do linear and recognition tasks simultaneously, thus overcoming the reading impediment labeled as dyslexia.
¨ Children will naturally enjoy reading, as good stories activate the imagination.
¨ Children learn to read words other writers have put together to express their thoughts, emotions, and observations, starting with the writing of their peers.

Methods to create fundamental structures for learning include:
¨ Music and dance.
¨ Tapping things out.
¨ Developing active listening.
¨ Receiving visual, kinesthetic, and tactile input simultaneously.

If you or your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, look for an alternative to the medications that are being too readily prescribed. Parents need to carefully reassess the situation on a case-by-case basis to see what is the best for their family. Stop by www.braingym.com for additional information on the Brain Gym Program. Also, Dennison’s latest Book, Brain Gym and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning is also available at his site and Amazon and provides useful exercises and information on Brain Gym basics and how it can benefit you and your family. Your kids deserve the best, let our program help them achieve it.

****
Educational Kinesiology, enhanced learning through movement, was created by Dr. Paul E. Dennison and his wife Gail E. Dennison through their visionary insight into the learning process. Today these techniques, which Paul continues to develop in partnership with his wife Gail, are taught in a variety of settings, including schools, corporations, and athletic training programs. The Dennisons have coauthored a series of books and manuals including their lates, Brain Gym and Me: Reclaiming the Pleasure of Learning.

BizyMom Cookbook - Sample Recipes

APPETIZERS


VEGGIE PIZZA
Submitted by: Nancy Johnson (She sells Discovery Toys, DTNancy@aol.com)

Crust: Press 3 cans of crescent rolls onto a rectangular cookie sheet and bake (375°) until light brown Filling: 2 - 8oz cream cheese softened 1/2 cup sour cream 1 envelope powdered Hidden Valley Ranch mix

Beat together until mixed Spread over cooled crust Topping: 3 or more of your favorite veggies, chopped: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, green onion... Grated Cheddar cheese (just a little, or sometimes I leave it off) For a Christmas version, I use just Broccoli and red bell pepper

VEGGIE ROUNDS
Submitted by: Christy Edwards (www.helping2save.cjb.net, & www.youravon.com/christyedwards)12 oz. cream cheese (can be low-fat if desired) 1/3 c. mayo 1 tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix (powder) 1 tsp. Dillweed 1 cup of each desired veggie (try to be colorful such as finely chopped broccoli, cauliflower, and red peppers, etc. -- be creative) Shredded Cheddar cheeseRound pastry cups (in frozen foods section) Mix the cream cheese, mayo, Ranch mix, and Dillweed until you have a smooth consistency. Fill pasty cups half full with mix and top with veggies and finally cheese. Theses are so yummy you won't be able to stop eating them! MMMM!

AVACADO DIP
Submitted by: Karen Southard

1 Avocado
2 packages 3 ounce cream cheese
2 teaspoons lime juice
¼ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Cut avocado in half lengthwise. Remove pit. Peel skin from halves and mash pulp. Add remaining ingredients and beat with electric mixer until smooth.


SPINACH DIP
Submitted by: Connie Corodimas
Mother to: Angel (My beautiful niece!!)

1 pkg. frozen spinach
1 container Vegie soup - Nors
Helmans mayo (enough to cover)
Sour cream

Mix all ingredients together and chill. Serve with Hawaiian bread. For a lower cal version use low cal mayo and sour cream.

POTATO SKINS
Submitted by: Connie Corodimas

Potatoes
8 ounces Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Soup Cream
Chopped Green Onions

Cut potatoes into quarters lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. Spray potatoes in cooking spray and bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes, turning twice. Remove from oven and top with dressings.


SIX LAYER DIP
Submitted by: Debby Levine, OH BABY!! Baby Shower Specialists, www.ohbabyshower.com

1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups of salsa
1 8 oz container guacamole
1 3/4 cups Shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 can (5 ¾ oz) drained large ripe pitted black olives, sliced
Tortilla Chips
1 Pyrex bowl

Preheat oven to 350°. In bowl mash beans until chunky, then stir in 1/2 cup salsa until combined. (I don't mash I put in the blender) Spread mixture evenly over bottom of oven proof 6-cup glass bowl. Spoon guacamole over. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of cheese. Top with remaining salsa; arrange olives over salsa and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake until cheese melts and begins to brown slightly, about 25 minutes. Serve with chips.

I always make a double batch and just repeat the layers. And boy do people get fooled into thinking I spent hours doing it!!!


DILL DIP
Submitted by: Charlotte Ennen

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo
2 ½ tbsp. dill seasonings
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate.

THREE CHEESE BALL
Submitted by: Kelly Poelker

8 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. Cheddar cheese
4 oz. port wine Cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. minced onion
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Soften cream, Cheddar and port wine cheeses to room temperature. Place into mixing bowl and blend together with Worcestershire sauce. Roll in chopped nuts.

Chill 3 – 4 hours

SAUSAGE CHEESE BALLS
Submitted by: Kelly Poelker

1 lb. hot sausage
2 cups extra Sharp Shredded Cheddar cheese
3 cups Bisquick

Let sausage and cheese set to room temperature. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl by hand. Make small balls with mixture and place on cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes at 350°. If making ahead of time to freeze, bake only 12 minutes and then 5 minutes when ready to serve.

LITTLE LATIN MEATBALLS
Submitted by: Kelly Poelker

2 jalapeno chilies
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
½ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup milk

¼ cup Shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper

Remove stems, seeds, and membranes from chilies, chop. Mix chilies, beef, egg, bread crumbs, milk, cheese, onion, salt and pepper. Shape into one-inch balls. Place meatballs in ungreased oblong pan (13 x 9 x 2). Cook uncovered at 400º until brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Place in chafing dish. Cover with salsa.
Salsa:
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp. snipped parsley
1 tbsp. vinegar
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. salt
Heat in saucepan until hot, stirring occasionally.

MINI MEATBALLS
Submitted by: Sharon Simoncini
Mother to: Renee and Todd, Grandmother to Alex

1 pound ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. minced onion
Dash garlic salt
Dash ground ginger

Combine soy sauce, 1 tablespoon water, sugar, onion, garlic salt and ginger. Mix meat and crumbs and then stir in the soy sauce mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls. You can then deep fry them or bake them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350.

QUICK AND EASY SALSA
Submitted by: Jolyn Dickerson (PARTYZ – Fun for Kids - www.partyz.net & www.1800partyconsultant.com/6083)
Mom to: Stephanie and Diane

5-6 fresh ripe tomatoes (from your garden or farmer's market) - diced into pieces
1/4 - 1/2 onion finely chopped
1/8 cup cilantro (fresh) finely minced
1/8 - 1/2 tsp. garlic (fresh) minced
Salt and pepper to taste
2 shakes chili powder

Combine all ingredients gently. Adjust seasoning to suit your family. Serve with tortilla chips.

ONION RINGS
Submitted by: Diana Ennen, Bizymoms Host, Author: Bizy’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Word Processing Business and Bizy’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Virtual Assisting Business

6 large white onions
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tbsp. cooking oil

Cut onions into ¼ inch slices and separate into rings. Combine all ingredients and then coat onion rings until well battered. Fry in deep fryer. (Onion rings are done when they float to the top of the oil).

BBQ SAUCE
Submitted by: Heather Malecha (http://greatestnetworker.com/is/heathermalecha)
1 cup catsup 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon salt 3 dashes Tabasco sauce Mix all together.

BBQ SAUCE
Submitted by: Diana Ennen

1 can tomato puree
¼ cup molasses
¼ cup vinegar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. sweet basil

Simmer for about 15 minutes.

BBQ SAUCE
Submitted by: Camry Thomas

My husband loves to BBQ and claims every time he does it that it is his cooking that is so great. I tell my kids it's in the marinade/sauce that of course "I make". All he does is cook it on the grill which I think is boring. This has been handed down in my family of Texans. Hope you enjoy. We BBQ a lot so I make up a large mayonnaise jar up at a time. I buy a large gallon size bottle of store brand sauce and add my own stuff to it. I don't use the whole bottle but just enough to fill the jar until next time. I add brown sugar, catsup, worsteshire sauce, diced onions, Tabasco, salt and pepper and liquid smoke. Fantastic!! I hope you enjoy. Camy


CHILI CHEESE DIP
Submitted by: Kelly Poelker, Bizymoms Host, Author: Bizy’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Virtual Assisting Business

One can Armour Chili without beans
One jar Cheese Whiz (or Velveeta loaf)

Combine chili and cheese, mix well. Heat in microwave for 3 minutes, remove and stir. Heat in microwave until hot, stir and serve with tortilla chips or Doritos.

LOW CAL SALSA
Submitted by: Diana Ennen

2 tomatoes
1 small onion
½ jalapeno chili
1 green pepper

Dice up all the above and mix.