Smartlife

Design-to-HTML/CSS services deliver cheap, fast, quality results.

Last week, Smartlife wrote a review of CSSRockstars and found that there are plenty of other HTML/CSS conversion companies out there worth a look — for example, XHTMLizers, XhtmlMagic, PSDChopstick, W3 <MARKUP/>, and many others.

Given the large number of companies who perform HTML/CSS conversion as a service (i.e., transform website designs into hand-coded markup), it’d be a challenge to narrow the playing field down to just one that meets everyone’s unique requirements across the board. (Although, over time, as the service becomes even more commoditized,…

Secure Personal Outsourcing

Some virtual assistants are more than happy to handle tasks for you that require personal information. But is it really necessary to go around handing out information like the password to your email or your credit card number?

How personal is too personal?

You may want your virtual assistant to purchase something on your behalf. Most assistants will want your credit card to make the purchase. Perhaps you want your virtual assistant to respond to emails for you — but she’ll need to get into your email account to do…

You design, CSSRockstars codes.

Several weeks ago, I wrote a review of 99designs, which hosts an online designer marketplace where you can crowdsource your design needs such as logos, graphics, website designs, and business cards. One question that came to mind while reviewing 99designs was, after you receive your new website design, then what? I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to spend the time coding it myself. Thankfully, this is where HTML/CSS conversion companies come in handy — they take your web design and transform it into a…

"Be concise in your writing and talking, especially when giving instructions to others." ~ Epictetus

The key to successfully outsourcing tasks is effective communication: if you aren’t able to clearly describe the tasks you want completed, it’s only a matter of time before a virtual assistant can’t complete a task to your satisfaction.

Talking about tasks

When you’re laying out a new task or project for your virtual assistant, it’s important to be specific. Say that you want estimates on a new fence for your home. Rather than telling your virtual assistant that…

I better delegate some of these to-dos so I can see where I’m going.

When you work with a personal assistant, you have to choose which tasks you’ll delegate and which you’ll choose to tackle yourself. On the surface, it may seem like an obvious decision — surely you’re vital to getting the majority of your work done. But when you look at the wide variety of services different virtual assistants offer, you’ll realize that there are plenty of others who can get things done for you. The challenge becomes figuring…

Where’s my assistant?

If you plug “virtual assistant” into Google, the results you’ll get are overwhelming. There are thousands of virtual assistants out there who are more than happy to take on your to-do list. Choosing between them can be a little difficult, but there are several basic ways to shorten the list.

Start with what you’re looking for

You probably have a few tasks in mind for your virtual assistant before you even start looking. With those ideas in mind, you can treat your virtual assistant hunt like the search for a…