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Pharmaceutical Outsourcing - Outsourcing Drugs, Health and Healthcare

By Admin | February 10, 2009 -->456 views

healthcare_01.jpgOver the last decade outsourcing has become an important strategic issue for business firms in developed countries. This phenomenon has helped growing economies like India because majority of the outsourcing firms find it as a preferred destination. The Global Delivery Index, by IDC reports that Bangalore is the most favoured location, followed by New Delhi - mainly because of its skilled workforce. Although the IT outsourcing is expected to grow at the rate of 28% a year, India is facing tough competition from other countries especially China - because of cheaper labour. With the new wave in global outsourcing, India has come into the limelight again with the advent of Pharmaceutical Outsourcing.
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Topics: Being Organised, Industry Trends, Market Trend, Resources | No Comments »

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Sucess Mantra of a Virtual Assistant

By Admin | December 18, 2008 -->600 views

mantra_01.jpgVirtual Assistants are self motivated individuals working as businesses associates from a remote location on a long term collaboration with clients.

Need for Virtual Assistants

The advent of Virtual assistants has made smaller businesses with global presence as the greatest beneficiary. Small business owners aquire the services of Virtual Assistants towards reducing costs and global expansion by telecommuting . Assistance is provided in areas of local awareness, negotiation, support, and communication. A VA’s suport range from simple clerical support to complex project management, primary research etc. As the market expands, the utilization of the virtual services is no longer limited to personal and administrative tasks. Virtual Service Provider (VSP) would be a more fitting term to address the VAs. Their services have advanced towards project management, web development, consultancy, research, writing, public relations, marketing, training etc. With telecommuting shrinking the geographical distance barrier, Virtual service is set to expand in leaps and bounds.

Are Virtual Assistants Ready for this Expansion?The best way for a Virtual Service Provider to stay in business would be to follow these practical steps:
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Topics: Being Organised, Being a Virtual Assistant, Resources, Working with VA | 2 Comments »

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Writing an eBook - Part 2

By Admin | November 22, 2008 -->426 views

Once you have completed all necessary initial preparations for your eBook, we can move onto the second part which is choosing the format of the ebook. However, this format is much different form the Font style, and colors that you will be using to present your content. The ebook format must be chosen with your audience group in mind .
Choosing the Format for your EBook
You can choose between three types of eBook formats – Executable File, HTML File or Portable Document File. Let’s look at the specific features offered by each of these eBook formats, so that you can decide which one is suitable for you:

Executable File – In order to use this format you need an EBook compiler . This compiler will convert your document it into an exe file. The reader can read your eBook, using a built-in reader. EXE format is good because:

  • EXE files are good viral marketing tools.
  • You don’t need any special software for viewing. So no extra download.
  • BEWARE - EXE files are susceptible to virus attacks. and It is restricted to Windows users.

EXE format allowes affiliates to place their affiliate-links . However, now the more preferred version is the PDF.

HTML – Anyone with a browser can read your Ebook when it is HTML. Furthermore, since the format is sort of raw, it may seem a bit unappealing to readers.

Portable Digital Format – If you choose this option, you will be putting your EBook into a Portable Digital Format. This is today’s most popular and widely used EBook format, almost the de facto format for eBooks on the internet.

This is because PDF files are cross-platform supported and they can be even read on hand-held devices. This gives you a big advantage as your eBook can be read by people anytime, anywhere. This software places no restrictions on your audience.

They can be created easily. Navigating through a PDF document is pretty easy because of the PDF navigation structure. This feature makes way for ease-of-use Hyperlinks that can be placed and readers may use different levels of zoom to view the document.

This file format offers the following features:

  • These file requires that the recipient has Adobe Reader for reading
  • PDF is robust and the file is less likely to be corrupted by viruses
  • Different zoom levels are available for easy viewing
  • Security settings can be used to ensure that only authorized people view the file. This is of extreme importance for eBooks with very confidential information for a specific audience.
  • PDF gives you certain editing feature for editing your text and images. these features may no be extensive but they are very good for touchups and last minute changes.

Marketing your EBook

Once the content of the eBook has been edited ,revised and finalised with the format type, it becomes essential to commence its marketing. Make it known to the reading community that you content is now availabe as an eBook format. Some Popular marketing practices that could help you are listed below :

  • eZinearticles – Write articles that convincingly draws people attention towards your EBook and publish them at eZine with a linkback to your ebook downlaod page .
  • Promote via your Website – If you already have a website, then it is a perfectly good lauchpad to start your ebook marketing campaign. Give a preamble and snippets from your book to intrigue the readers. If you dont have a website, you can launch your own There are many affordable web hosting plans available . Ensure to include keyword rich content, to bring search engines to your site.
  • Pay-per-click programs - In this model, you have someone else to promote your eBook sales. You only pay the promoter when someone clicks your advt. No click - no payment to promotor.
  • Collaboration It will be wise to collaborate with businesses, people towhom your ebook content would be of relevence. With some, you might have to pay commission , could be fixed or propotional, while some might have other requests like, link exhange, cross display of Advt banners and so on.
  • Ebook Directories Much similar to telephone directories where one would look up to locate a person, ebook directories are the first to be scanned by an interested reader. It would be rather foolish to miss submitting at email directories.
  • Affiliate Program – These programmes allows to market without been obtrusive and annoyying .Clickbank allows to set up your own affiliate program.
  • Blogging – Blogs are considered to be the fastest nework for news, views and reviews. Using blogs and requesting bloggers to promote your EBook through their site could be greatly beneficial. Sites like PayPerPost allows you place your request and bloggers will take it up from there. This is highly cost effective compared to dedicated paid campaigns.
  • Freebies - When promoting your EBook, giving freebies in the form of free chapters, that draw your audience’s attention popularizes your eBook even further.
  • Word-of-Mouth – This is the oldest trick in the book, but the one that really works. The reason being, this is based completely on the trust between the speaker and the listener. The best way to get this trick work for you is to have a compelling content. If your content is worthy of discussion, then it will certainly be talked about, naturally.

Before you market your EBook, you should note about copyright. By applying for a copyright at the US Copyright Office, you can get protection for your intellectual property. You can do this online itself for $45. Of course, this does not mean people will not copy and paste from your content, they can and they will, but you have legal rights over your contents, so if plagiarism comes to notice, you have a system in place.

Conclusion
Eventually, everything comes down to your determination to “write”. So it is more important that you put your thoughts into words before you start thinking about formatting or publishing your content. Afterall, it is the content within the book the book that matters most. It is okay if you are unfamiliar with the formatting and publishing procedures. Because, at the click of a mouse, you can get these things done via professional copywritnig service provider who would proofread and edit your content for maximum optimisation, recommend the most approprate format and get it up and running for sale.

Topics: Business, Industry Trends, Outsourcing- Best Practices | No Comments »

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Writing an eBook - Part 1

By Admin | November 8, 2008 -->420 views

One of the best ways to market your product, service or spread information on your subject of interest is through an EBook. EBooks are easy-to-make, distribute and because as they won’t go out of print, they are always available, thus enabling authors to earn money indefinitely.

There are many other advantages to publishing an EBook than publishing a book. With more and more people turning to the internet for their information requirements, an EBook is the perfect opportunity to catch attention from that section of people who are most likely to be interested in your EBook’s information and who will directly benefit by reading it. The success of any piece of writing is determined by the how well it reaches out to its target audience. An EBook gives you the ability to reach out to a large target audience and this enables you to achieve the objectives for which you published it.

One of the greatest aspects of creating an EBook is that you are not just making information on your subject matter available to people who can read it on the computer, you can also make it available to people who cannot see. EBooks have the facility to be converted into audio books, using text to audio software . This means you can spread information to that many more people. Another distinct advantage is creating an Ebook is its low cost of publication .Many would-be authors, find the EBook to be a liberating tool.

None of the many costs associated with publishing printed material are found here. You can create it faster than a printed book. There is no need to go about finding someone to create a manuscript, check out publishing houses, and wait for responses or answer tedious questions to get the book published. If you think about the idea of publishing a book, you can do it ASAP through an EBook.

Ebooks simplify the process of creating and publishing by cutting down the middleman. This gets you the benefit of seeing more profits through your book than otherwise. Authors seeking a means of publications which will help them to spread information sooner, will find creating an Ebook to be just right for them as the publishing time is very short and is a matter of a few simple steps. You don’t have to go to any publishing house to do this as you can do it yourself. This saves you time and money.

Before getting down to the actual process of creating an EBook, let’s look into the initial preparations required.

Initial Preparations

EBooks are one of the best ways to get spread information on your business or topic of interest. If you are in a situation wherein you have the ideas ready for your EBook, or if you have all the information already written out, but you don’t know how to go about putting it into an EBook, read this three-part tutorial to find out how to do this in a simple and easy way.

Before you get into the process of preparing your EBook, your writing materials must be ready and it must cover certain important points. Let’s look at what these points are:

  • Your writing must be saved in a word processing file format such as MS Word or any other similar format. If you have not written out your ideas, begin by writing them out in a word processing file format. Ensure to have a proper flow of thoughts.
  • Your writing must be directed to a specific target audience and must provide information that caters to their requirements. It should offer informative and interesting content that is useful for them.
  • You need to have a thesis statement ready. A thesis statement is a one or two line written statement which shows your reasons for writing the Ebook and what it contains.
    If you want to use any graphics or images, ensure that these files are ready and that the images placed correctly in the file.
  • Proof read your writing so that it is free of grammar and spelling errors.
  • Prepare a Table of Contents. You can do this using the features in your word processing software.
  • Prepare an Index. Once again, the writing software you use, will offer this feature.
  • Place the First page and Last Page in your word file. You can do this using software like Adobe Photoshop or CorelDraw. There is plenty of software which offers this benefit. If you feel it necessary you can also hire a graphics design professional to create these pages for you.
  • Include reference links in the Ebook so that people can read more on the content from its sources.

The initial preparations are really important because they determine how well you book turns out in the end. Each of these points will help you create a very professional-looking EBook, one that appeals well with the people form whom it is intended.

Once you tick this checklist on each point, you can proceed to Part II of ‘How to Create and EBook’, which is about how to choose your EBook format.

Topics: Business, Industry Trends | No Comments »

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Insurance OutSourcing

By Admin | October 28, 2008 -->512 views

outsourcing_opportunity_01.jpgInsurance outsourcing is growing phenomenally, according to a new case study. A report done by the Brown-Wilson Group on the insurance industry finds that more than 75% of international insurance companies, outsource their activities to an IT outsourcer.

The insurance sector is currently occupying 33% in outsourcing activities. This figure is expected to enhance further in the coming years. There are several reasons as to why insurance companies are seeking outsourcing as a good business strategy, but the foremost reason is cost effectiveness.

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Topics: Industry Trends, Outsourcing- Best Practices | No Comments »

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Dare to be Unconventional — Learning Services Outsourcing (LSO)

By Admin | October 20, 2008 -->323 views

os_sector_1.jpgThe need for training and development has never been more vital then it is today. As mergers, globalisation, and acquisitions rule the corporate world , the need for corporate training of people on multiple topics across countries becomes imperative. Concurrently, top level directives are being fielded to deliver meaningful strategic benefits and develop existing talent within the organization. Training normally happens in decentralised business units, which can make technology, infrastructure, resources, and content redundant and duplicated many times across the enterprise. The increase in training initiatives and training cost invites C-Level (Corporate level or the top level ) scrutiny of training budgets and resources. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Business | 1 Comment »

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Resume Revolution: Exploring VisualCV

By Admin | October 13, 2008 -->361 views

Curriculum vitae (CV): A short account of one’s career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position. (Merriam-Webster Online)
A Curriculum Vitae , CV, or Resume is most definitely the job-seeker’s gate pass to establish contact within a company


visualcv_2.jpgWith the internet gaining importance in all facets of life, paper resumes evolved into Word documents. Companies began to accept resume submissions via email, provided they were submitted in Word format.

This allowed the candidates to follow up on their interview status and other verification queries without having to rely on the mail-man ,postal delays, or make multiple trips to the company, especially if the company and the candidates are not located in the same place.

But this came with its own set of problems. The once welcome Word attachment was now beginning to clutter HR’s mail box. The candidates would send a copy of their “fresh resume” (read: most recently updated) every now and then, adding to the clutter.

In addition, the job-sseker was apprehensive about the content of his resume, which was now in an editable format. More enterprising minds switched to Pdf format using Pdfonline.com, yet this did not solve the problem of cluttering and having multiple versions of the same document.

As the internet began to evolve, the web-applications were also put on a path of developmental evolution. These evolutionary changes were driven by needs of internet users, growing in mammoth proportions. Keeping this in mind, VisualCV.Inc has reinvented the resume format to suit the World Wide Web.

Virtual Assistants have a hard time drafting their Resume (or) CV to cater to the kind of client base they are targeting. When job hunting was done the old fashioned way, ( before internet), emphasis was placed on the paper resume. The resume was usually handwritten and re-written several times until one became satisfied with the content and the presentation. Finally, when all was in place, it was written once again in a more neat and professional manner so that it is now ready to be submitted to various companies. Those who were a bit more affluent , would give their final drafts to “data entry people” to get it typed or printed out so as to give a professional / official look. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Being Organised, Resources | 1 Comment »

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Outsource or not :- Can you really do it all ? ? ?

By Admin | October 3, 2008 -->305 views

businessready_1.jpgMost business experts believe that a business has a better chances of doing well if the core competencies are kept within their four walls, i.e. they focus more on what they are best at doing. Core competencies can be understood as specialized capabilities that enable a business to offer something unique to its customers and helps it differentiate its offers from the competition.

 

Once the basic plan of the business is charted out, and a start-up or a small sized business is out of the danger zone of survival, outsourcing certain functions can be used as a catalyst to boost up the pace of business. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Being Organised, Outsourcing- Best Practices, Productivity & Work-Life Balance | No Comments »

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Outsourcing vs. Insourcing - What’s best for business?

By Admin | September 25, 2008 -->1,003 views

What is Outsourcing?
oso_0001.jpgGenerally the early eighties were regarded as the beginning of the outsourcing era when organizations commenced delegating their non-core occupations to an outside organization that expert in providing a skilled service, product or function. In outsourcing, the outside business would take on the management of the outsourced function.
 
Many of organizations choose outsourcing because it provided huge benefits. When organizations outsource to countries such as India, they profit from cheaper prices and premium quality services. Moreover organizations can focus more on core purposes once they outsource their non-core tasks. Even better utilization of resources, time, and infrastructure are also done through the help of outsourcing.
 
In outsourcing, the outsourcer and the outsourcing associate maintain a great relationship when compared to the relationship between a consumer and a vendor. The outsourcer relies on the outsourcing associate with essential information. Outsourcing is no longer restricted to the outsourcing of IT services. Presently, outsourcers in the United States and United Kingdom outsource fiscal services, creative services, engineering services, data entry services, and much more.
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Topics: Industry Trends, Outsourcing- Best Practices | No Comments »

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Anchors Aweigh: Heading Offshore

By Admin | September 11, 2008 -->343 views

What is Offshore Outsourcing?

Presently the word outsourcing is just like a new catchphrase which is rocking the worldwide economic milieu. And in particular, offshore outsourcing has recently transformed current business techniques

Generally offshore outsourcing is regarded as the application of appointing an external association to execute some business functions in a country other than the one where the services or products are essentially manufactured or built up. Literally, offshore outsourcing means outsourcing own activity to one who is not on own shore or who is outside owns shore. Offshore outsourcing is a concept in which the outsourcer of the service is situated in some other country then the service provider. Read the rest of this entry »

Topics: Business | 1 Comment »

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