The Busy Buddy: May 2012

If you think you can't afford a virtual assistant, consider the costs of hiring an employee. The cost of a full-time employee may be more expensive than you think. Let's take a look!

A full time professional & business services employee hired at $27.53 per hour will incur a total compensation* of $38.53 per hour. This $11.00 difference includes leave (sick, vacation, holidays), supplemental pay (bonus, overtime), insurance (medical/dental), retirement & savings, payroll taxes (social security, federal, state) and workers compensation. Hiring a VA eliminates these expenses and provides flexibility because you can hire as needed!

With technology (telephone, computer, internet), a virtual assistant can provide administrative support remotely and effectively.

* Data Entry
* Organizing and managing contacts
* Paperwork file management
* Email marketing
* Purchasing products and supplies
* Appt scheduling

*Bureau of Labor Statistics - March 2012

Have you started using QR codes for your business? Are you considering it? QR Codes are a great tool to share information abour your product/service and understand your market. However, to those new to the technology, it can be quite overwhelming and confusing. If you are unfamiliar with QR codes, I’ve shared some details. At the bottom, I’ve shared a few companies that I’ve run across along the way.

QR stands for Quick Response and QR codes provide immediate access to information. When scanned, they can, among other uses, link to a website, share promotional events, and also save contact information onto the scanning device.

When you start researching companies that offer QR codes, some are offered free with reporting, others offer free codes but the reporting is bundled for a nominal monthly fee. There are lots and lots! When I finally made my way through, I settled on a simple and easy qr code for my business cards – SmartyTags. Since I was just getting my feet wet, I didn’t want to commit to a long term paid service so I was happy to find a company that provided free QR codes with basic reporting. With my QR code, (1) I can change the code contents when scanned, (2) the code does not expire, (3) it will be an easy transition from free service to upgrade paid service while retaining all reporting details from code creation and (4) I can sign up for month to month agreement. My reports show me when and how many people scan my code, what type of device was used and where it was scanned.

With upgraded and premium services, QR codes are used for multiple marketing promotions where you can set a campaign end date, you can incorporate images, logos and color and you also have access to more detailed reporting.

One of the greatest benefits I found is that when you create multiple codes for several campaigns, you can track codes used by different individuals or you can track the success rate of particular marketing collateral (brochures, signage, post card mailers…).

So far, I’m very excited to use one QR code on the back of my business card. When scanned, it goes straight to my website. It’s fun, techy, quick and provides another method to promote my business! While I chose SmartyTags, there are many, many others that I found.

http://smartytags.com/

http://www.qrstuff.com/

http://tagomobile.com/

http://www.qreatebuzz.com/

Please let us know how you use QR codes. Post comments on your experience.