As a Virtual Assistant I am a business owner who loves to help other business owners grow. But this love of serving other business owners is not the primary thing that jazzes me.

What jazzes me is what I can bring to the transformation of business practices, business quality, and business owners with all that I now am!

And I am the compilation of all of the skills I have ever learned, honed and perfected! I get to add value to peoples' businesses and to raise the quality of business marketing, communication, internal processes! What a rush! So many things to bring to those who want to make a difference with their businesses!

I am the Software Expert, and when I say "expert", I mean it.

I am the Copywriter whose skills rescue CEO's, Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses from imprecise, unexciting, inauthentic presentations, speeches, webinars, website copy.

I am the Communicator who brings that personal-plus-professional touch to interactions with Sponsors, Affiliates, B2B contacts; the one who makes sure that your "contacts" have a far greater potential of being asting business relationships.

I am the Idea-Factory who brings not just one, but several, perspectives to the project at hand, offering the kinds of input that one would expect from a Partner, but not ordinarily from an "Assistant" of any kind. (Which is why I tend to call myself a Virtual Contractor. Words matter.) I get to surprise people with the depth and breadth of what I bring to the table!

Most importantly, I get to make a bigger difference because I am so in love with raising quality through creativity, integrity, authenticity and service, my joy supercharges my work, and stimulates my clients. I get to use my voice to bring my unique perspective and experience to those who need help in the short-term, and the long-run. I get to connect with CEO's, entrepreneurs and small business owners who, like me, have a business Vision - people who want to bring their best to the world, and not only for money (and we all know how important money is), but for the betterment of others, and the satisfaction of doing business well.

This is fulfillment at its best. This is helping business to have an impact that goes beyond business.​
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For information about working with The Project Cheetah, contact Lori Kirstein at ProjectCheetahHelp@gmail.com.

The idea of a “temporary” worker is actually an old-fashioned one: the idea that someone with a specific skill can come into an established business and, without independent thought, simply do what anyone else can do, in exactly the way the boss desires, and there will be no noticeable difference in the work.
 
A Virtual Assistant is, by her own definition, not a temporary. She is a business professional and a business owner.
 
To her work, a Virtual Assistant brings her professionalism, her expertise, her opinions, her strengths and skills, her vision and her professional viewpoint to your project, business or task.
 
The Virtual Assistant knows that she has business savvy that goes from the ground, up, and she offers that savvy to you as her client, and not as her boss.
 
Where you see the need for a database to be set up, she sees the need for you to know which aspects are critical to consider before setting it up. She wants to save you  trouble not just now, but down the road, which also saves you money.
 
Where you see the need for social media help, she is able to tell you how that actually works, what kinds of ongoing communications are necessary to form ongoing business relationships.
 
Virtual Assistants come in all sizes and shapes, women and men, I.T. and Social Media Professionals, Document Specialists and Copywriters, Accounts Payable Professionals and Website Designers.
 
The important thing to understand when hiring a Virtual Assistant is who you are hiring: a professional whose expertise you welcome, or a cog in a wheel. When you know which you need, you can choose appropriately, and wisely.

I'm a Facebook junkie. But even with my love of Facebook and its Business Groups, I have recently become aware of just how incredible LinkedIn is.

Even as job seekers or professionals looking for referrals and connections, LinkedIn is for many not the first place that jumps to mind. That seems to be due to lack of training (or a lack of pursued training) about this powerful platform. Allow me to point out a few ways in which you can increase your "footprint" and your actual person-to-person connections on LinkedIn.

(1) Requesting a Connection
(a)When you request a connection with someone else, at the very least take the time to write a short, personal note. Clicking the "Connect" button does nothing to introduce yourself to the person you would like to link with.
(b) When you connect, don't "sell" yourself - just make a connectionl It may be difficult to be patient, but it will pay off in the long run, and it can net you an actual friend.

(2) Join a Group
(a) Again, you will want to take the long view here, and show up and respond to others' needs as well as sharing your own. But as your network grows - and by "network" I mean those people you actually create some kind of relationship with - and you (i) stay in touch over time, and (ii) maintain a genuine and relaxed tone that reflects who and what you truly are, you will become the kind of person that people refer others to.

This is the merest glimpse of what LinkedIn is useful for, and how to use it better than you may have already been using it. I hope this information gives you some new thoughts about how to use LinkedIn more to your needs, and more to your style.