Kern Resource Center can help you. We empower people and organizations with the information necessary to clarify their goals, make sound decisions, and achieve their dreams.

Our customized information research and research reports get the information to you. Then, our Resource Coaching service helps you clarify your goals and make sound decisions that empower you to make the decision that is right for you, your business, or your loved one.

A Resource Coach combines the empowerment of getting the information and one-on-one personal coaching to help you define your business/life goals and set specific milestones in a clear plan to achieve those goals, step-by-step. The Resource part of the Resource Coaching process takes it a step further than typical personal/life coaching in that your Resource Coach can and often does do some of the information gathering work for you. It all depends on what you decide you want out of your Resource Coach experience.

What you get with Resource Coaching:

1.  We research information for your specific needs.

2. We write a report on the information we’ve gathered.

3.  Then we coach you in 30-minute individual sessions that are designed to help you use this report, such as helping you identify the options available to you with this new information.

For more information, contact:

info@kernresourcecenter

www.kernresourcecenter.com

copyright 2010 Kern Resource Center

May all her ways between the seas
Be ways of quietness and peace.

May her good flag shine high and bright,
And all the nations trust its light.

For peace and blessing may she stand,
America our Land!

Blessings on this Independence Day of the United States of America!

Yes! You read right! Apparently, there is an increasing trend out there in the job market where employers will only consider hiring people who already have jobs! To quote the article: “Some job postings include restrictions such as “unemployed candidates will not be considered” or “must be currently employed.”

And yet, the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment) rewards employers for hiring people who have not worked more than 40 hours during the 60-day period ending on the date the employee begins employment with the company. See the IRS article at: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220326,00.html and the IRS W-11 form at:  http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw11.pdf

HIRE, enacted into law as IR-2010-33 on March 18 of this year, gives employers two new tax benefits for hiring workers who were previously unemployed or only working part time.  Here’s an excerpt from the IRS site:

“Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers after March 18, 2010. This reduced tax withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits, and employers would still need to withhold the employee’s 6.2-percent share of Social Security taxes, as well as income taxes. The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to these wages.

In addition, for each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

“These tax breaks offer a much-needed boost to employers willing to expand their payrolls, and businesses and nonprofits should keep these benefits in mind as they plan for the year ahead,” said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman.”

Maybe all those employers and recruiters out there who are discriminating against the unemployed seeking jobs should become more familiar with what’s going on out in the real world.

To all those unemployed and looking for full-time work: stay strong! Don’t let these employers discourage you. Get the information! Know the law, stay abreast of the latest news regarding employer incentives to hire the unemployed, and EDUCATE these obviously ill-informed HR specialists/managers/recruiters and headhunters. Let them know it’s to their financial advantage to hire you by sending them a copy of the IRS article on HIRE to them. Send them the W-11 form even! Maybe they’ll hire you just because you’ve shown them you are well-informed, assertive and not afraid to right wrongs.

As always, Getting the Information first usually makes step 2 alot easier!

At Kern Resource Center, VA stands for Virtual Administrator. A VA is an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis.

What does a VA do?

Here is what I do as a VA. I was a project manager and professional writer in the corporate world for 26 years. I came to be a Virtual Administrator as a result of years of project management in the corporate world and also from working with people helping them realize their dreams of owning their own businesses, writing and publishing their books, making career changes because of life transitions (such as divorce and chronic illness), and basically helping them to find and fulfill their unique, true purpose in this life. Among colleagues, friends, family, coaching clients and students, I became known as The Resource Lady because whenever anyone needed information about getting something done, solving a problem, or finding a resource, they came to me and I got the information for them.

I have this innate ability to be able to get the information that will help people realize their dreams.

So I was doing this work for many years on the side, while working full time in the corporate world helping corporations administer and manage their projects, when I learned about the new field of virtual assistance and I realized that’s what I’ve been doing – in both worlds. So I merged the two as The Resource Lady doing primarily project administration and editorial services for a variety of clients, including helping entrepreneurs launch and run their businesses.

What does a VA charge?

I charge one of three ways: by a monthly retainer plan for a set amount of hours, by the project, or hourly. My clients who need services on a regular basis like my retainer plan because they are guaranteed a certain amount of hours every month and discounts are available depending on the number of hours they contract for each month.

For more information on how a VA can help you, contact me, Sue Kern, aka The Resource Lady, at info@kernresourcecenter.com
www.kernresourcecenter.com

Kern Resource Center
copyright 2010

VIRTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE & EDITORIAL SERVICES

1. Enterprise
2. Web
3. Document Management

Many of us are familiar with Microsoft Office SharePoint, which is a commercial package on an ASP.NET platform using a SQL Server. It is often the CMS of choice for large corporations that must share many types of data and content throughout regional and global offices. Another common CMS is TWiki, used on a Perl platform. This blog site’s content is managed by WordPress, a CMS on a PHP platform.

A Web Content Management System (WCMS) is a CMS software application that is implemented as a web application to create and manage HTML content. Joomla is one of the most well-known WCMSs. A WCMS provides tools for users who have little knowledge of programming or markup languages to create and manage web content. Basically, a WCMS is the non-technical web content administrator’s answer to web-site maintenance.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because many, if not all, of you have a web site. And that web site obviously has content. Managing that content can become a burden for you, especially if you’re not in the business of web content creation and maintenance. That’s where a Virtual Administrator can help you.   A VA who knows WCMS can make a huge difference in your business because h/she can do the daily web content administration for you, freeing you up to do what you do best and love to do.

Isn’t that the reason you started your business — to do what you’re passionate about? Don’t get bogged down in the admnistrative details of running your business. Give that job to your VA.

For more information on web content administration and how Kern Resource Center VAs can help you, please email us at: info@kernresourcecenter.com.

Happy Holidays!
Sue Kern

What if you want to finally write and publish that book? Your Author’s VA can help you by researching potential markets, editing your material, coaching you through the traditional or self-publishing process, writing and editing your query letters and book proposals, and writing and placing press releases in the media about your book, upcoming tours, and workshops.

Your Author’s VA can organize and coordinate your workshops and speaking engagements that are part of your book marketing. She can also do customized mailings for you.

In addition, a VA can offer you as an author the same services he offers other client audiences: financial management and bookkeeping; correspondence and email management; scheduling; travel arrangements, and more. It really depends on what the VA specializes in and what you need.

Do you want to add an online radio talk show to your marketing plan? Your Author’s VA can get that done for you! Your VA can coordinate daily the correspondence and scheduling that must go on behind the scenes to ensure that guests are booked for available slots, that potential guests’ books are sent to you for review, and that any questions guests have are answered promptly. In addition, your Author’s VA works with you, the host of the show, to find additional ways to market the show so as to ensure a steady flow of guests on the show.

An Author’s VA is not a publicist, however. A publicist specializes in advertising the author’s books to target audiences, whereas a VA coordinates all those details between you the author and the publicist. In fact, both you and the publicist can each have a VA helping them coordinate and manage all the administrative details and projects that go along with them doing their core work, be that writing a children’s book or publicizing one.

There are some other things you should not expect from your Author’s VA. For example, do not expect a VA to define your vision and mission statement for your writing and publishing career. Do not expect a VA to write your book for you, unless you are hiring that VA for ghostwriting services. Do not expect a VA to be your assistant, agent, publicist, and editor all in one role. Although some VA’s might offer publicity, editing, etc. as one or more of their VA specialties, you can’t expect one person to do three very different specialized jobs for you, unless you and your VA are very clear that these are the expectations and they are written out in a contract that you both have signed. Do not expect a VA to read your mind. One of the key parts of the VA-client relationship is communication. So you have to show up for meetings just as the VA does in order for both of you to make sure that you are communicating about the work and the expectations around the work.

A VA is paid hourly usually, unless his client retains him for a basic number of hours per month and in that case, he will be paid a flat monthly retainer rate (usually discounted off of the VA’s hourly rate). Any hours over that contracted amount, he bills at the end of the quarter to his client. A VA can also charge a flat rate by the project or service. It really depends on what works best for the client and the VA based on the work that needs to be done.

For example, as a Virtual Program Director for several clients’ blog talk radio shows, I charge for my services on an hourly basis, $40/hour. I keep track of my time in quarter-hour increments and bill each client weekly.

When hiring an Author’s VA, make sure that you and she can work well together, that your work personalities and mindsets blend well together. The best way to find that out is to ask for a half-hour free consultation where you can tell the VA what you need and ask her how she would go about accomplishing those tasks or managing those projects, be they on an ongoing basis or one time.

Also, make sure that the VA specializes in the particular services that you need. Some of the questions you can ask include: How long have you been a VA? Why are you a VA? What do you love most about your work as a VA? Who are some of the clients you have helped or currently work for? Can I have their names for references and testimonials?

I have found it helpful for my new clients to do a “trial” period of one or two months. We sign a contract for this time period that says I will provide these services at this hourly or project rate for this amount of time. I have found that after that contracted trial period is complete, both the client and I know whether we want to make this a “permanent” ongoing working relationship.

If you’re interested in a free half-hour consultation to discuss my Author VA services, please check out my sister site, The Writer’s Cottage, and email me at: sue@thewriterscottage.com.

Kern Resource Center can also help you with information on careers, networking, and career testing.

Knowledge is power and in this economic climate you want all the power you can get working to get you back on the job.

Contact us to find out how we can help you today:
info@kernresourcecenter.com

Get the information for your business and your life!

Kern Resource Center can help you. We empower people and organizations with the information necessary to clarify their goals, make sound decisions and achieve their dreams.

Our customized information research and research reports get the information for you. Then, our Resource Coaching service helps you clarify your goals and make sound decisions that empower your personal or organizational vision.

A Resource Coach combines the empowerment of getting the information and one-on-one personal coaching to help you define your business/life goals and set specific milestones in a clear plan to achieve those goals, step-by-step. The Resource part of the Resource Coaching process takes it a step further than typical personal/life coaching in that your Resource Coach can and often does do some of the information gathering work for you. It all depends on what you decide you want out of your Resource Coach experience.

What you get with Resource Coaching:

1.  We research information for your specific needs.

2. We write a report on the information we’ve gathered for you.

3. Then we coach you in a 30-minute individual session that is designed to help you use this report, such as identifying the options available to you now that you got the information.

For more information, contact:
info@kernresourcecenter
www.kernresourcecenter.com

copyright2009