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Look out when Using the Dropbox with a Big Number of Collaborators

by Francis
(November 02, 2012)

The Dropbox is not the best tool for multiple, simultaneous cooperation on the same file

The Dropbox is not the best tool for multiple, simultaneous cooperation on the same file

The Dropbox is a must have tool; hands down, no discussion.

However, in some cases, it can be more of a bother than a help. That is when you have a group of people collaborate on the same documents, files and folders; only to create a big, huge mess.

I see that from time to time when I work at the same files as my virtual assistant in a Dropbox and then a duplicate file is saved.

I can only imagine the horrors of what would happen if 10 people, at the same time, would edit this document. But to be honest, the Dropbox is not created to work simultaneously with big groups of people.

There is a much better free tool if you need to only do that.

Just use Google Documents or Google Drive, as it is now called.

It is free.

The only thing you need is a Google account and you can actually work in real time at the same document. It works extremely well.

If you are very ‘techy’, then you might remember another product from Google called Google Wave. As of now it has been discontinued but it was the first major tool that really was used for real time cooperation of multiple people within the same document.

Google Docs has this functionality and it works wonders. After you are done with your document, it is a question of two clicks of saving the finalized document again into the Dropbox.

This is what I would suggest if you regularly have teams of people working on a document in the Dropbox;

  1. Export the file into Google Document.
  2. Work like crazy with hundred people at the same time on the same document. Well, I never said a hundred. Please don’t get angry at me if it doesn’t work with a hundred. But get three people working at the same time in Google Documents and it will be fine.
  3. After you’re finished and everyone has agreed with the changes, one person takes the file and saves it back into the Dropbox which will then sync the data with everyone else.

This is the best solution I can think of.

If you have had this problem and know more about this challenge, feel free to chip in in the comments.

Comments for Look Out When Using the Dropbox with a Big Number of Collaborators

Mar 11, 2013 ARGH
by: KittycatI like drobpox as well and keep recommending it to everyone. =) But I experienced the annoying problems with duplicate files there as well – argh! I spend half an hour comparing the files and sorting out which changes to copy in which document!!Maybe I’ll give Google docs a try…
Mar 11, 2013 Stay calm… 😉
by: FrancisDon’t get too heated up ;)If things get too ugly, ask the collaborators in your dropbox to help clean up. Just don’t delete all versions of one document by mistake!

Dropbox is great for exchanges with one person. Or to distribute to many.

But if many people exchange, edit etc. a lot, then you should use Google Drive.
Feb 10, 2014 Google Docs — Two Thumbs Up!
by: DeniseWhen I first started out with online jobs years ago, I was introduced to Dropbox. I must admit, it bowled me over. Imagine getting to share documents, pictures, files simply by uploading them to a folder on your computer’s desktop — all without the hassle of emailing them. I was so amazed with it that I even used it when sharing files with my friends and cousins. Some of them weren’t patient enough to install it, but oh well, that’s their loss.However, it indeed came with a disadvantage. As mentioned here in this article, when a lot of people collaborate on a single file, a lot of copies appear on the Dropbox folder you’re all sharing. Actually, I thought it was a glitch when I first experienced it because the file names appeared with something that said ‘conflicted copy’. I just ignored it and simply went on editing the document I personally uploaded. Eventually, the files on the Dropbox folder I was sharing with my workmates back then became too many and we all got confused. We had to revert to emailing again because back then, none of us knew about Google Docs. What a hassle!

Years after that, I got introduced to Google Docs. If Dropbox fascinated me, Google Docs impressed me even more. And all you needed was a Google account! It couldn’t be any simpler! I think the great thing about Google Docs is that the changes all of you made were are instantaneous and you can see who made the last edit and all that.

However, I think we shouldn’t only be careful when collaborating with a lot of people on Dropbox but in Google Docs as well. I believe it is really important to be careful with whom we share our Dropbox folders and Google Docs drives.

Moreover, I also think it is imperative that we make back-ups of whatever we do — online and offline — so that none of our work will go to waste and we won’t end up having to redo anything at all if things get deleted or corrupted after they get uploaded.
Feb 21, 2014 Conflicting copies and confused cooperation partners = big time loss 😉
by: FrancisDenise, thanks for sharing your experience! Luckily, now when you have a gmail account – and who doesn’t – you get access to Google drive automatically.But that doesn’t replace the Dropbox, with its ability to synchronize your work across several computers, including program files or temporary files. It also has a function to retrieve past versions. That’s something I don’t think GDrive has.

But it’s best to just have both tools and use each when it’s best. 🙂
Jul 09, 2014 Eye sore
by: JomvieI encountered the same problem for a couple of times.. And I was so worried because it is somewhat a big project handed to me. Although the changes is not too much big of a difference but it’s just annoying and sore to the eyes comparing one file to the other. I just hope that Dropbox will address this kind of problem.
Feb 20, 2015 Word Compare Function
by: FrancisI thought the Microsoft Word comes with a function that can compare differences between two documents. I guess that would have been really helpful in that case. But I agree that with all other file formats, if you have different Word versions due to conflicting copies due to the Dropbox, this can be very annoying.

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What Can You Outsource that Has Nothing to Do with Building Websites?

by Francis
(November 02, 2012)

Young virtual assistant assigned many tasks at the same time

From time to time when I talk with my friends, they ask me what they could outsource if they’re not an online business owner.

The answer is, of course, everything as long as your fantasy and imagination can handle it.

Just think of any tasks you do at the computer that is repetitive and takes a lot of time.

Are you researching something repeatedly?

Are you clicking the same links again and again?

Are you, perhaps, even playing an online game which needs something boring to do in order to proceed?

Although the last example is a little bit extreme, you could outsource all those things.

In fact, I have prepared some transcripts for a brand new case study and page section about real life outsourcing in action.

I had to do something repeatedly the last days. I won’t tell you what it is. It’s still a surprise.

But then, something clicked in my head and I decided now’s the time to outsource it. It will take less time to explain this task and have someone else do it repeatedly hundreds of time than for me to do all of these on my own.

So stay tuned. It might take a week or so until everything is ready. Until you can read about my next super-secret outsourcing project, but it will be worth the wait. Promised!

Comments for What Can You Outsource That Has Nothing To Do With Building Websites?

Oct 09, 2014 A variety of outsourcing
by: JomvieActually, you can outsource games. I do that for quite some time, especially over the weekends.I am having fun and at the same time I can get rare and expensive equipments for my own characters as well :DOutsourcing comes in many different ways and it’s not just contained in the online world.
Feb 20, 2015 Outsourcing Games? Now that’s a Confusing Concept
by: FrancisGreat addition, Jomvie. I was actually wondering if working on websites is the only thing one can effectively outsource to virtual assistants. I have heard about outsourcing games.For example, to receive bigger magical items or something of the like but I didn’t investigate on that very much. So it’s very interesting to me that you have some hands on experience on such a hard sounding work.I personally believe you were pretty lucky to land such a job that’s funny and paying at the same time especially if you are playing the game. Would you mind sharing more details about this?

If you have some screenshots from the time or could recreate something like that, I would love to read a case study of your experience in outsourcing games.

Keeping In Touch With Past Employers Is What Sets Apart Awesome Providers from Normal Virtual Assistants

by Francis
(November 05, 2012)

young entrepreneur with a thums up

I just got a nice surprise as I received a chat from Shailesh, a virtual assistant whom I have worked with in the past. He’s was one of the top three excellent contractors that I had the chance to work with, that also without any reasons took that time to drop a line and say hello even if there’s nothing new.

It may be the politeness of Indian people or it may be that this person genuinely cares about my well-being. The only thing I know is that this does make a huge difference.

If you have a virtual assistant that takes the time to write back to you even years after your last cooperation and keeps on doing so regularly even if you don’t respond; then this should give you a hint.

The next time you open a project; consider hiring the same person again. He won’t disappoint you.

Making Money with Socks: This Has To Be One of the Most Creative Fiverr Gigs Ever!

by Francis
(November 06, 2012)

I just came across a funny Fiverr Gig. You can make money as a freelancer either by doing quality work or by surprising the heck out of the reader with just fun and bizarre ideas.

This guy will explain to you how he got your missing sock in a crazy as a thousand words letter for only $5.

If you have seen his video in his crazy bearded glasses look, then you will be chuckling already.

I have to hold myself back from not ordering this gig immediately. Who doesn’t miss some socks?

Outsourcing your time with your girlfriend – a funny Big Bang Theory Clip

by Francis
(November 07, 2012)

One of my favorite series is the Big Bang Theory. When they made a joke about outsourcing, I just had to share this with you 😀

Check out this clip from the series:

Raj, being an Indian, often has to deal with stereotypical humour. But who knows what the future will bring?

If you hate to use the phone or are simply too lazy to use it, will you outsource spending time connecting to your friends?

(Anyone who knows the time before Facebook can see how very possible this extreme scenario could be!)

I’m all for unusual outsourcing experiments. The more fun, the better.

But you, dear reader, will have to find the line where you cannot send the task overseas to your assistant in India or anywhere else, and have to buckle down and do it yourself.

That’s why I have the section about productivity on this site. Be sure to check it out to learn more about being the most productive self you can be!

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What Can You Outsource That Has Nothing To Do With Building Websites?

by Francis
(November 02, 2012)

busy-virtual-assistant-with-many-post-itsFrom time to time when I talk with my friends, they ask me what they could outsource if they’re not an online business owner.

The answer is, of course, everything as long as your fantasy and imagination can handle it.

Just think of any tasks you do at the computer that is repetitive and takes a lot of time.

Are you researching something repeatedly?

Are you clicking the same links again and again?

Are you, perhaps, even playing an online game which needs something boring to do in order to proceed?

Although the last example is a little bit extreme, you could outsource all those things.

In fact, I have prepared some transcripts for a brand new case study and page section about real life outsourcing in action.

I had to do something repeatedly the last days. I won’t tell you what it is. It’s still a surprise.

But then, something clicked in my head and I decided now’s the time to outsource it. It will take less time to explain this task and have someone else do it repeatedly hundreds of time than for me to do all of these on my own.

So stay tuned. It might take a week or so until everything is ready. Until you can read about my next super-secret outsourcing project, but it will be worth the wait. Promised!

Comments for What Can You Outsource That Has Nothing To Do With Building Websites?

Oct 09, 2014 A variety of outsourcing
by: Francis

Actually, you can outsource games. I do that for quite some time, especially over the weekends.

I am having fun and at the same time I can get rare and expensive equipment for my own characters as well 😀

Outsourcing comes in many different ways and it’s not just contained in the online world.
Feb 20, 2015 Outsourcing Games? Now that’s a Confusing Concept
by: Francis

Great addition, Jomvie. I was actually wondering if working on websites is the only thing one can effectively outsource to virtual assistants. I have heard about outsourcing games.

For example, to receive bigger magical items or something of the like but I didn’t investigate on that very much. So it’s very interesting to me that you have some hands-on experience on such a hard sounding work.

I personally believe you were pretty lucky to land such a job that’s funny and paying at the same time especially if you are playing the game. Would you mind sharing more details about this?

If you have some screenshots from the time or could recreate something like that, I would love to read a case study of your experience in outsourcing games.

Keeping In Touch With Past Employers Is What Sets Apart Awesome Providers from Normal Virtual Assistants

by Francis
(November 05, 2012)

proactive-virtual-assistant-thumbs-upI just got a nice surprise as I received a chat from Shailesh, a virtual assistant whom I have worked with in the past. He’s was one of the top three excellent contractors that I had the chance to work with, that also without any reasons took that time to drop a line and say hello even if there’s nothing new.

It may be the politeness of Indian people or it may be that this person genuinely cares about my well-being. The only thing I know is that this does make a huge difference.

If you have a virtual assistant that takes the time to write back to you even years after your last cooperation and keeps on doing so regularly even if you don’t respond; then this should give you a hint.

The next time you open a project; consider hiring the same person again. He won’t disappoint you.

Making Money with Socks: This Has To Be One of the Most Creative Fiverr Gigs Ever!

by Francis
(November 06, 2012)

I just came across a funny Fiverr Gig. You can make money as a freelancer either by doing quality work or by surprising the heck out of the reader with just fun and bizarre ideas.

This guy will explain to you how he got your missing sock in a crazy as a thousand words letter for only $5.

If you have seen his video in his crazy bearded glasses look, then you will be chuckling already.

I have to hold myself back from not ordering this gig immediately. Who doesn’t miss some socks?

Outsourcing your time with your girlfriend – a funny Big Bang Theory Clip

by Francis
(November 07, 2012)

One of my favorite series is the Big Bang Theory. When they made a joke about outsourcing, I just had to share this with you 😀

Check out this clip from the series:

Raj, being an Indian, often has to deal with stereotypical humour. But who knows what the future will bring?

If you hate to use the phone or are simply to lazy to use it, will you outsource spending time connecting to your friends?

(Anyone who knows the time before Facebook can see how very possible this extreme scenario could be!)

I’m all for unusual outsourcing experiments. The more fun, the better.

But you, dear reader, will have to find the line where you cannot send the task overseas to your assistant in India or anywhere else, and have to buckle down and do it yourself.

That’s why I have the section about productivity on this site. Be sure to check it out to learn more about being the most productive self you can be!

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Writing Six Hundred Words in Five Minutes Using Screen Recording

by Francis
(November 01, 2012)

The only limitation of the free screen recording software, Jing, is that each video can only be five minutes long.

But in my experience, the combination of recording a 5-minute video, sending it to a transcriptionist, having it transcribed, getting it up to my virtual assistant, setting it up as a post and proofreading it one last time before publishing it; takes no longer than five minutes for me and a few hours for my assistant team.

As a website owner and a blogger, I have to follow certain guidelines in order to have a website that works well. Actually, there is a guideline from the search engines like Google and Yahoo that in order to be seen as a useful content page, any page should contain at least about 300 words.

Of course, if those words do not have any meaning, this is not recommended. But if you can convey your message in at least that much amount of words, then this will give you some boost in the rankings.

Now with the 5-minute Jing video, I have made the experience that the resulting transcribed blog posts often are well above that limit. So, this is a good thing. Also, the 5-minute limit of Jing forces you to express yourself in a condensed and efficient manner.

Since you do not have all the time in the world to talk about your pet and your grandmother, you need to get to the point quickly. So in a way, the limitation of Jing becomes an advantage of some sort.

At least for me, personally, it is a tool I use daily when I work together with my virtual assistants and I would not want to miss it anymore.

Comments for Writing Six Hundred Words in Five Minutes Using Screen Recording

Jul 31, 2014 all around tool
by: JomvieFor me, this is the best way of communicating. There’s no need of figuring things out once the task is handed over because it’s all laid out right in front of you.

And this is definitely a great tool as well to all who often blog or write posts or article to avoid writer’s block 😀
Jul 31, 2014 Fast for the employer, effective for the VA
by: FrancisWhen I started giving instructions to my VAs, I used email only.

Sending instructions via email and answering questions that come back and forth took at least the same amount of time than the task itself.

I wouldn’t have it any other way now.

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An Inspiring Discussion and the Big Picture of Things with This Website

by Francis
(October 31, 2012)

I just had an amazing discussion and I wanted to share this enthusiasm with you while it is still fresh so to speak.

If you have a dream, an online business, an idea or a product you want to create or market; it is possible but it is almost impossible to do alone.

This is a lesson I have learned and I’ve implemented in to every fiber of this very website you are reading. For example, every illustration you see on these pages has been carefully chosen, placed and optimized by my virtual assistant.

But that is only an example of what is possible when I let go of the control of certain parts of my business and give my coworkers and assistants freedom to work things out on their own.

I am most happy when my virtual assistants comes up with something on their own. Unfortunately, this is a trait that apparently not more employers of virtual businesses cherish.

I think that’s because every time I start working with a new virtual assistant, their demeanor is often extremely polite and eager to please but almost never eager to challenge my points of view. I can understand that. After all, I am the employer.

But still, real growth only comes when one more mind, one at a time in addition to the team, adds their creative input or their useful advice in order to make the whole business grow.

As I mentioned in other posts, I do have another completely unrelated website. It is older, bigger and draws a lot of traffic. Traffic is such a technical term. The website attracts many interested people, thousands, daily.

If you think about it closely, the amount of power that is behind such numbers of interested people is enormous. What would happen if I could take anyone is interested in cooperating with me by the hand and if I could teach them how they could contribute to a business that would not be only mine but ours.

Actually, I had fans from time to time contact me, interact with me and often submit their stories and ideas to me for that other website and it’s still growing.

Although, I feel that for this very young Ideal-helper site; it is too early to ask for. I want to emphasize that every helping hand is welcome. I want this website to grow and expand on the thoughts of many interested people.

It is not my motivation to teach you like a teacher in front of the class while you seat obediently in your chair and listen. A professional book would be better than that.

But if we start to discuss, communicate and even argue things, that’s when real growth happens.

Who the heck is interested in what someone else has to say?

But who on earth is not interested when there is something to gain, to grow and to learn for yourself.

That’s the distinction I want to make sure you, the patient reader of this very long post, take with you.

If you think you could contribute, challenge and ask questions to this site, you are probably right. If you don’t find the right place to submit your idea, question, challenge and follow-up; the best guess is to use the contact us form.

Almost all pages have comment fields at the bottom and I do encourage and actively read all comments you submit.

How could you contribute, you ask?

If you are already interested in outsourcing or already working together with a virtual assistant, I would love to hear your stories.

The little quirks, the little accidents, the good and the bad stuff, the everyday occurrences that you think are neglectable. But that I think are hugely charming to read about.

If you are not working with a virtual assistant yet, but could you imagine it and if you have questions, that hold you from starting a journey, an experience, an adventure with virtual assistants, then I want you to ask me these questions?

Challenge me. Ask really hard questions and try to think of questions that either burn on your soul or that you think I cannot answer. Try me. I dare you.

If you think that outsourcing is not for you, then I have two questions for you.

  • First, why did you read this far in this article on this site?
  • Second, what can I do to convince you that your success is closely bound to your openness of this adventure?

I am not saying that hiring a virtual assistant is the only key to success. That would be incomplete rather than incorrect. However if you worked at a problem, any problem in your life, with two thinking heads deeply involved into your problem rather than only your own, don’t you agree that it would be natural to assume you will get results faster?

So far from me, I truly have already “talked” more than enough. Now it’s your turn; your turn to talk, your turn to ask, to challenge and to think.

I’ll see you in the comments!

Comments for An Inspiring Discussion and the Big Picture of Things with this Website

Aug 03, 2014 Two heads are better than one
by: JohnYou are probably right 😀 often it is because of feeling inferior or too shy to open an idea on the other side of the planet. Lol but I do believe in that, “Two heads are better than one.” Sharing and comparing some thoughts or ideas are great factors that can help improve from one thing to another.

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Should You Trust oDesk Workers with Your Credit Card Details?

by Francis
(October 31, 2012)

Famous Saying by Democritus
Famous Saying by Democritus

I came along this interesting question shortly and independent of whether your virtual worker comes from oDesk, Elance or any other outsourcing platform, you should be, of course, extremely careful with your credit card details.

Although it is true that big outsourcing heroes, like Tim Ferriss or others, have outsourced parts of their life to their virtual assistants which require access to their credit cards; this not for beginners and even those people who only talk about relatively little amounts of money below $100.

The problem is not so much that the worker comes from oDesk. The problem is that sharing your credit card details is a huge trust question.

Imagine if your virtual assistant would do credit card fraud, trick you out of thousands of dollars and then vanish.

How big do you think your chances are to catch him again if he lives on the other part of the planet?

It’s not only a problem of distance but also a problem of different justice systems. In the end, you will lose more money by trying to make things right than the whole incident might have cost you.

Anyway, there’s a place and time where you may trust a virtual assistant with your credit card details. I can imagine the following scenarios;

  • You use a prepaid credit card system. This means that you only have a limited amount of money on that credit card and if it is depleted, it cannot go in to the red.
  • The maximal amount of money that your virtual assistant might theoretically be able to steal from you, would need to be very much lower than what he will earn when working for you regularly and normally. You shouldn’t put such a big incentive and allurement to steal from you. It would be human nature to become weak at that moment.
  • Only trust even limited budgets to virtual assistants you have worked with for an extensive time.
  • One case where it can be reasonable for your virtual assistant to have access to your funding is; for example, when you hire a virtual assistant on oDesk, work with him for a long time and then give him the ability to act as your Hiring Manager.

There, you have two different sets of security. In one of them, your VA is able to open jobs, invite people to your jobs and manage people for you. But only you can hire, fire and give bonuses to those people.

In the second level of trust, your VA is able to do all of that for you; in this case, he does have access to your credit card funding. Not to the credit card number directly, but to the money on that credit card.

In this case, a high level of trust is absolutely needed. And even then, I highly recommend that you choose solution of a prepaid credit card. This way, even if things should go very very wrong; you cannot use over a certain amount of money. And of course, even if something should go wrong, you can contact your bank account and reverse the process of the money movement.

The good thing is oDesk sends you a notification each time you or your Hiring Manager gives out a bonus.

To sum up, if you wanted an answer to the question if you should trust oDesk workers with your credit card details; if you would trust them by giving them a bunch of money and handling them on their own in your interest, then you can go ahead and do it. Else, don’t.

Comments for Should You Trust oDesk Workers with Your Credit Card Details?

Aug 03, 2014 Security first 😀
by: Jomvie

I think you can, only if the person handling your account is with you for over years and you know him/her so well. But, in any case, it is still best to secure it yourself before anybody else. It does not regard “trust” issues, it is just to avoid any chaos in the latter.