Link Your Files with DropBox

Have you ever spent all day in the library, researching and crafting the perfect paper for your Victorian literature class and get a call from the girl you’ve been interested for a study date at a coffee shop? You want to go, but there is no way to transfer your files and research documents onto your MacBook from the library’s PC. With the innovative DropBox software you can easily pick up from one location to the next. By placing files in the DropBox, you can pick up work from any location or device without a lot of complicated USB drives, wires, or technical support.

Connect with Call of Duty

Instead of going to lame social functions sponsored by the dorm room association, one of the best ways to meet new people on campus is through online gaming. You can meet people who share the same interests as you just as easily through playing online games than by attending casino nights or Hawaiian luaus in the cafeteria.

According to a report on ABC News, more women are playing online games than ever before. If you are not into the party scene or have a difficult time engaging strangers at the rec center; hooking up to an MMO or first-person based shooter is a sure-fire way to meet people of the opposite sex and spark a romantic relationship. You might also find that people playing games online are more attractive than others because the same report stated that gamers have a lower BMI and better exercise habits.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage

When you go to a frat party or popular bar, there is a good chance that someone is going to snap an unflattering photo of you and post it on Facebook for everyone to see. The worst part about this is that professors and instructors can view your profile and discover that the reason you weren’t in class isn’t because of a stomach ache, but because you were out all night (and probably because of a stomach ache).

The best way to use social media to your advantage at campus is to set your privacy control options so only selected individuals can view your information. You can also use Twitter to make it sound like you are really getting into a course. You can create entire Twitter domains dedicated to a specific course and make it sound like you are becoming an authority on the subject matter.

By using these methods to stay networked on campus, you can improve your classwork productivity and your social life with ease; all without the hassle of talking with sorority girls all day.

One of the great things about Twitter is that you can find all kinds of people on the site from all kinds of different industries. As students head home for the summer or stay at school, majority of them are looking for jobs or working somewhere.

If they are working PLUS starting a business, it can be extremely difficult to maintain a hard effort and push for a long time. So, instead of wearing yourself out completely when trying to build your business, consider getting an assistant. A virtual assistant is someone who helps you our with your work in order to expedite the process and free up your time. I use one and you should too – it’s not as extreme as completely outsourcing your work to another country, but yet getting the assistance that you need, when you need it.

So without further ado, I present to you 60 Virtual Assistants That Are Utilizing Twitter for Business.

The list is formatted with Twitter name linked to their profile page as well as their short bio next to it.

1. EsteDiaVA – God, LovingWife, SuperMom, DomesticDiva, Girl Scout Leader, Salvation Army Bball Coach, College Student, $$$ & Time Saver, Virtual Assistant Extraordinaire
2. AprilTara – A li’l of this, a li’l of that – blog designer, writer, social media and PR junkie, blogger, Mom, rebel
3. sundi_moz – Bringing sanity and calm to entrepreneurial speakers, coaches and trainers everywhere!
4. TracyCollinsCVA- Confidential Virtual Assistant, family history buff, mother, wife, many things to many people.
5. walkerva – Business owner, entrepreneur, virtual assistant – provides professional office support to small businesses on as-needed basis.
6. InnovativeVA – Creative virtual assistant, neat freak and mom w/a sense of humor. Background in advertising and PR. I provide practical solutions for modern business.
7. moniqueterrell – Owner and New Media Expert of Sparkle Internet Image Solutions.
8. merrickmgt – Eco-Friendly/Mac Virtual Assistant. I assist earth conscious persons and Mac entrepreneurs.
9. maryhruth – Virtual Assistant specializing in writing/editing, small business administration, and social media marketing.
10. eshorebizgal – Bilingual Virtual Assistant and lifetime learner
11. KathyCrofoot – Dedicated to assisting business owners follow their Vision by freeing their time from boring Admin tasks.
12. telemill – Virtual Assistant, Author/Writer, Ebay Seller, Social Media Enthusiast, Student of Wealth, who took the dare at the worst.
    
13. IVAProfessional – Virtual Assistant Guru-Admin, secretarial, data entry, doc prep & more at IVAP
14. dcvirtualoffice – An Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant who has a passion to assist small business owners, efficiently manage their online marketing needs.
15. vipvirtualsols – Virtual Assistant who loves connecting with people that constantly challenge themselves and the world! Keeping it real in real time. Carpe diem!
16. heatherbachman – Publicity Strategist looking for new contacts and clients
17. londonva – I’m a cool mum,blogger wordpress website & blog designer and social media coordinator
18. thevenotk – Providing virtual administrative support to entrepreneurs, speakers, coaches…..
19. KarieD – Your Dependable VA
20. pdost – I’m a Virtual Assistant working with other Virtual Assistants and Small Business Owners.
21. vanetworking – The VA EXPERT – VA MotiVAtor! – Founder of the Social Network for Virtual Assistants to connect, share, discuss and promote virtual assistance. Hire a VA today!
22. virtualkathyh – Virtual Assistant to Coaches and Solopreneurs, Travel Agent & World Wanderer, and Dog Lover
23. lauraleesparks – EVP/COO- Family Wealth Planning Institute; Online Success Manager Extraordinaire, Queen of The Simple Solution, Legal Marketing Maven, Paralegal
24. kim_m – Here to help you be more productive (and to chat)! Together we’ll be Partners in Productivity. Watch for tips, quotes and other good stuff.
25. DediKatedVA – Internet Marketing Virtual Assistant who is passionate about helping people–loves dogs, beaches and country living!
26. awesomeassistan – I am the Awesome Assistant, a Virtual Office Administrator, helping you grow your business w/online marketing
27. TargetStars – A savvy entrepreneur that owns a consulting firm that specializes in providing marketing and virtual assistant services to small companies. www.targetstars.com
28. bradhassett – Web Fanatic. Entrepreneur.
29. AdayVA – Executive Virtual Administrative and Marketing Assistant ♦ Online Business / Office Manager to Busy Entrepreneurs and Professionals
30. VAgirlfriday – Virtual Assistant, Social Media, Blogger, Internet Marketing, Tastefully Simple Consultant
31. yoursavvyva – AKA @Missbookkeeping, Savvy Virtual Assistant, Awesome Bookkeeper, Small Business Owner, A Mom, Love 2 Help Others, Computer Geekette, Luv My Dogs (3)
32. rbuscemi – Owner of Virtual Assistant with Creative Virtual Office, WAHM of 2 kiddos, Creative Memories Consultant, Police Officers Wife, Crafty Girl, Avid Reader
33. vickieturley – A VA enhancing extraordinary consultants and mentoring peers
34. raj_bokdia – Founder: Cubesquare (VA service), Blogger, Positivity personified, Optimist, Believer and avid Twitterer
35. redboxva – Chief Organizer, Virtual Assistant and destresser of your in box, admin and social media
36. qpms – Certified Social Marketing Specialist, Internet Marketing VA, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, PTO Mom, Wife, Virtual Assistant, Dog Lover, Dallas Cowboys Fan
37. vsolution – A Queensland-based group offering remote business support to companies and individuals. We provide creative, marketing, virtual assistant, IT assistance.
38. tunes2901 - Virtual Assistant,Translator,avid reader, passionate singer, good sense of humor, good listener, goal oriented, fun loving
39. virtuallygerry – Virtually Gerry provides virtual administration to businesses to suit their needs and timescales on either long-term projects or on an ad hoc basis.
40. RealEstateVAs – Real Estate Virtual Assistant specializing in Online Marketing, Social Networking, Listing Coordination, Lead Management and more. Home based business owner.
41. AndreaKalli – Certified Internet/Social Marketing Virtual Assistant, Podcast/Audio/Teleseminar editing, Outlook / SharePoint Training. Lover of gardening.
42. Denise3010 – Virtual Assistant, Web Designer, Online Researcher
43. DLMVirtual – http://www.dlmvirtualsolutions.com/
    
44. nhbs – Virtual Assistant specialization in Events and Travel
45. ckpa – Virtual Assistant, Serial Entrepreneur, Author, VA Trainer, Athena Regional Director and busy mum
46. hermedia -Blog/Community Management and Business Development for Internet Entrepreneurs
47. backcountrygirl – Virtual Assistant with passion for the outdoors and social media
48. margiemiguel – oDesk freelancer (virtual assistant, transcriptionist), small business owner wannabe, short-term missions volunteer, and lifelong learner. I love JESUS!
49. kirsty_wilson – Business Support Services/Virtual Assistant. Here to partner and assist small businesses and the busy entrepreneur. Traveller, Gardener, Wine lover.
50. thedetailqueen – Virtual Assistant- I take care of the details so you can build your business!
51. susanmccool – An experienced Virtual Assistant, Web & Graphic Designer and Marketer – single mom of 2 (one autistic), proud learn-a-holic and blushing twitterholic
52. MarketersVA – Marketing/Social Media Virtual Assistant to Internet Marketers, Coaches and Entrepreneurs. “Maybe you’re the same as me. We see things they’ll never see.” Oasis
53. virtualfastlane – Owner of Rescue Desk Virtual Assistant Services, co-founder of the Wisconsin VA Network, small-business blogger, and general fan of anything fabulous
54. grittyva – Virtual Assistant guru and leading expert on Virtual Assistant business success. Founder, VACOC: http://twurl.cc/e11
55. KenaRoth – Virtual Assistant, Wife, Mom. Lively, Creative, Knowledgeable & a little Sassy. Interested in Social Media and Marketing.
56. Krislegalista – Freelance Paralegal, law student, ex-ballerina, literature snob
57. TheLegalVADana – Dana Fortier, owner of Fortier Business Solutions The Academy for Legal Virtual Assistance. A virtual legal assistant & trainer/mentor.
58. RainShadowVA – PREVA, Virtual Assistant, Copywriter, Blogger, Resume Writer, Mentor, Wife, Mom, A Very Young Grandma, Your Friend in Cyberspace
59. VirtualSharon – Virtual Assistant – Your Virtual Solution – Creative Outsourcing for your Administrative, Editing, Desktop Publishing, Real Estate, and other needs!
60. DianaEnnen – Virtual Assistant Industry Leader and Co-Author of VA the Series. Niche – Publicity

If you’re looking for an affordable way to get some work done or need some assistance with administrative tasks, definitely consider bringing on a virtual assistant to help you out. For the service and price, it is definitely worth it to your business!

Below, you will find our quick interview and some of Chris’ business tips for you to check out. If you are a current college student, and have not picked up your book for the upcoming semester (maybe you start Monday or already started?) then check out Skoobit and look into renting your books this time around!

Start off by telling everyone about yourself – age, location, education, etc.
I was born and raised in Jamaica and came to the US to pursue my college education. I am an alumnus of both University of Miami where I earned my undergraduate degree in 2005 and Nova Southeastern University where I did my MBA in 2007. I just turned 25 in September and I am located in Weston, Florida.

What sparked your interest in starting a business? Was there one event in specific that made the light bulb go off or was it a string of events and then things just came together?
I always wanted to start my own company and to be my own boss probably since high school. I was inspired by the .com startups like Sergey Brin and Larry Page from Google, Jeff Bezos from Amazon and the future of social networking Mark Zuckerberg of facebook. It has always amazed me how powerful the internet is and how far of a reach it has, being accessible to everyone across the world at one time is still mind boggling.

Your business, Skoobit, is in a pretty tough market, textbooks. What made you want to enter the textbook arena and how did the idea of Skoobit come alive?
Textbooks are a pretty tough market especially with textbooks changing on average every 3 years. However with the huge market some outdated textbooks are still used by the smaller Universities which make it a very lucrative market. Skoobit actually came to mind when I was pursuing my undergraduate degree at UM. I was in my last year and I was taking a strategic management class, doing some cases on dell and netflix. After doing these cases I realized that a lot of the traditional business models are changing and eventually the bookstore on campus would be mostly online. To take it a step further I wanted to save students money and I thought that setting up an online book rental company would be a great opportunity similar to netflix. In this case students won’t be stacked up with books they don’t need and if they want it at the end of the semester they will always have the option to purchase the book if they want.

What are a few lessons that you have learned since starting Skoobit and growing it?
I think having access to funding was the most difficult because of what is going on in the market right now and the economy. It was very difficult to get off the ground, but thankfully I got help from my parents who believed in my company. However as the business continues to grow this will definitely be one of the major challenges I will face.

From your experiences, what is one thing that you think every entrepreneur needs to know or remember for when they are starting their business up?
Make sure they are able to finance it, whether it is from personal financing or loans and investors. Secondly, pitch the idea to friends and family and brainstorm your SWOT analysis ensuring you cover your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Your friends and family might also point out something to you that was overlooked, so that is very important, to consult with them and get their advice. Once your strengths and opportunities outweigh your weaknesses and threats and you are able to overcome them you are in good standing and it is a viable venture. Finally make sure your heart and soul is in it, it shouldn’t just be about making money, it should be something you love to do and have the passion for, once the passion is there whatever it is you will make it work.

What’s next for you? Say short term (6 months) and long term (1-5 years). Where do you see yourself, doing what, involved in what, etc?
In the short term my goal is to heighten the awareness of my service showing students how much money they can save by renting textbooks. In the long term I look to building more relationships with schools and publishers so that I will be able to offer my books online for reading because I believe that’s where the market is heading and I want to be able to capitalize on it. Most students prefer to have the physical book now but in a few years or less all that might change, where students would prefer to have the e-books accessible on their computers or listening to audio books.

Now for the fun stuff-

Chris is a regular Dorm Room Biz reader, so if you have other questions you’d like to ask, go ahead and leave them in the comments and I bet he will be more than willing to respond!

I hope you were able to gain something from this interview. If you are an young entrepreneur and would like to participate in an interview on Dorm Room Biz, then please do not hesitate to contact me about yourself and your business.

So I wanted to touch on a few different key points about running a student entrepreneur club in a blog post rather than by just emailing him directly. I figured this would be a little more helpful to everyone.

Here are a few things that I would consider looking at when beginning a club on campus.

Faculty involvement – I’m sure your school requires that you have some sort of staff or faculty member sponsor your club when starting. So when you pick you sponsor, make sure that you look for someone who has an interest in entrepreneurship and business, as well as helping students. If you can get your faculty members involved and excited about the club and what your working on then they will easily be an advocate for the club and spread the word. Faculty involvements also opens doors to other resources or opportunities that you may not know about. Faculty are always having meetings with committees, departments, and councils. Having an ‘in’ to these can be a huge help when you get to the point where you need to have something signed off, given a blessing, or are looking for money to support a trip.

Focus on Student Growth – I think this is one that a lot of organizations miss out on. They get in a rut doing things a certain way and it never changes. This has happened to me when I was running our own Collegiate Entrepreneurs club at Radford. We got set on doing a few things – recruitment, fundraising, and more recruitment, that we never really did much teaching or learning. If a student is interested in starting a business, the organization should want to help foster that growth and learning. This can be accomplished by having guest speakers, holding start-up business focused workshops, taking field trips, traveling to conferences, and also going to different classes. Some things we have done: held workshops on knowing if your idea was a good idea or not, participated in a workshop about writing an effective business plan, brought faculty and other business people in to speak about their entrepreneurial experiences, and hosted events such as the Entrepreneurial Summit. Bottom line – don’t just be another club, help your members grow and learn.

Actually Start A Club Business – Now, the way you go about doing this is going to depend on the rules that your school has as well as your local laws and regulations. However, as an entrepreneur club, you should have plenty of ideas floating around between your members. Brainstorm to come up with the most viable one for college students to start and run, and start it. Begin with the planning process, develop a mini-business plan, get feedback, and continue to grow the idea into a business. As a club business, any money made from it should go back to the club and also “pay” the members that worked on the business. This is a great model because if your group is big enough, you could have a few different businesses being started at the same time and everyone could be working on something different. Use the business you are starting as a chance to continue educating your members through topic specific workshops (i.e. bring in a professor to talk about putting together a marketing plan, and then have your members actually work on writing one.

Network, Network, Network – One of the best things I could have done while at school was get to know the Dean of the College of Business, a director of Alumni Relations, and also a director of the schools Foundation. This gave me the opportunity to meet all kinds of people, be invited to all kinds of events, dinners, speakers, and meetings where I was the only student present, and also to network with a lot of local business people, alumni, and big name Vice Presidents (as in from Google and Yahoo). Through the connections that I was making, I was then able to connect my friends and other members of the organizations that I was in. This lead to great opportunities for many people.

I hope these few tips will help you in putting together your organizations, help you to be successful, but most of all learn new things and help educate others!

If you’re apart of a student entrepreneurship organization or are a leader of one, I’d love to hear your comments. And I’m sure the other readers would as well!

Follow me on Twitter to stay up to date with what’s going on!

However, the Collegiate Entrepreneurs club and the College of Business and Economics at Radford did an excellent job of putting the event together which included 2 rounds of 90 second elevator pitch competitions, 3 guest speakers (each speaker had 2 sessions) and a luncheon with a keynote speaker. For full details on the agenda for the summit, you can check the website.

Two of the speakers I was extremely impressed by – both RU graduates – Brian Cork and John Signorello. These guys have stood the test of time in the entrepreneurship race and have been incredibly successful in their ventures…and incredibly unsuccessful in others. However, their experiences, attitudes, and knowledge has helped them be very successful business people. They both had a lot of great points to make in their presentations and over the next week or so I will be touching on a few of them in posts and in videos.

One of the cool things that did happen this year, was that one of the local TV stations in the area picked up the story and broadcast a quick segment in the morning on Tuesday before the Summit events picked up again. The video wouldn’t embed right, but you can see it here.

Also, here are a couple pieces of press/mentions that the Summit got. I am sure over the next few days and week there will be more including the Radford University student newspaper, and more. I’ll update the post as I come across them.

• Radford University Entrepreneurs
• It’s Still Who You Know
• Young Entrepreneurs Get Real World Advice
• Radford University Entrepreneurial Summit Wraps Up
• Entrepreneurial Summit Wraps Up Today in Radford
• RU Announces Winners of Second Annual Elevator Pitch Competition
• RU Hosts Second Annual Entrepreneurial Summit

Some people may think of young entrepreneurs as dreamers who happened get lucky. While this may be true of some, it is far more likely that the young entrepreneur in question has put a lot of time and hard work into their ideas, ultimately resulting in success. What kinds of practical skills separate the young entrepreneur from the pack? The following short list of practical skills should help to shed some light on the subject.

Research

Although it may not sound very appealing, research is one of the biggest aspects to getting started out on the right foot. Whether you want to believe it or not, you don’t know nearly enough when it comes to the market and the skills you will need to acquire in order to get where you want to be. Learning everything you can about your idea, any variations of it that may exist, and what you’re going to need to do to take it to the next level are all part of the process.

Organization

After you have figured out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it, it’s time to get organized. Get all of your information in order and set up a series of lists and goals related to the implementation of your idea. This process will take time and chances are you will adjust things multiple times to get things just right. Remember that this is a process, and that rushing through the process will only serve to harm you in the long run. Take your time and get things ready.

Communication Skills

Working on your communication skills is going to be very important, especially if you are going to need investors to help bring your ideas to fruition. Practice your written and verbal communication skills, and make sure that you come across as educated and professional. You must be able to talk the talk, whether it is in emails, business proposals, or in person.

Networking

Start meeting people and growing relationships online and in person in order to build a network of people that will be able to help in various ways. Word of mouth, positive or negative is the fastest way for people to learn about you and your endeavors, so make sure that you cultivate relationships with a wide variety of people to help move things forward.

Goal-Oriented

Being a successful entrepreneur requires that you set and achieve goals regularly. Make goals for yourself on a daily basis and track your progress. Setting both short and long-term goals will help to ensure that your success is demonstrated, not just talked about.

This post was contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who writes on the subject of a Canadian business school. She invites your feedback at kellykilpatrick24 at gmail dot com

I think it is interesting how closely golf in the workplace can be compared to drinking and partying in college. Being on the golf course with clients, potential clients, or co-workers allows for a great networking opportunity that you probably can not get anywhere else. The 3-4 solid hours that you are with someone will allow for all kinds of discussions beyond anything you would get in the workplace, over the phone, or via email. The social interaction that comes from golfing with co-workers, people you spend most of your day with, allows for you to make better connections with them as well as build great friendships.

On top of networking, it is a time to cut loose and have some fun out of the office. Golf can be a relaxing activity for some or it can be just as bad as working. It depends on how competitive you are and who you are playing with. I’m playing with a couple co-workers as well as my managers boss (in otherwords, my top boss). They are all experienced golfers, enjoy it, and like to win. I like to win but I have no experience, this will lead to a good time I hope.

All of the advantages that come with playing golf (mainly networking, social activities, and a release from the office) can be directly compared to that of drinking and partying at college. Students make some of their best friends at college parties. In classes, you may work with people in a group, but never hang out with them until you all of the sudden see them doing a keg stand in the closet at an apartment. Your network can increase exponentially at a single party and keep multiplying throughout the full school year. I even liked to talk business at parties. It is great because people are more loose due to the alcohol and willing to open up more – it really allows for more interaction and real conversation. On top of that, partying is a way to release the stress of classes, projects, and tests just like golf is a way to get away from work for a couple hours.

The difference between the two? Your head will probably hurt a little more the day after partying then after playing golf.

Hopefully I’ll be able to find out the difference between a 9 iron and a wedge before hitting the course. I guess I don’t have enough time to read a Golf for Dummies book, do I? Google can only help me for a few minutes this time. Thank god we are playing best ball, so it does not really matter how far or where I hit mine.

Here goes nothing – time to hit the range…FOUR!