Author Archives: T. Marie Hilton

Tina Marie Hilton is the owner of Clerical Advantage and head Geek at Girly Girl Geek. Her services are widely diversified with a focus on blog assistance, PowerPoint presentation assistance and WordPress & Headway assistance. If it has to do with online technology for businesses, chances are Tina can help. She's also a well known teacher and consultant, providing web-based classes and seminars on the many facets of virtual assistance ,including classes at Solo Practice University on how to work with a virtual professional. You can contact Tina Marie at info@clericaladvantage.com about her services and consulting. If you're interested in having Tina Marie give a web class, webinar or presentation for your business or organization, contact her directly at tmariehilton@clericaladvantage.com

Who’s Building Your Website?

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Just because someone knows how to build a website with WordPress doesn’t mean they should be building yours.

Should City Governments and other Businesses look to Virtual Services to Save Money?

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It’s a rare occurrence when reading an article about a city budget makes me sad, but it happened just a few moments ago.  The article discussed how the City of Hickory, NC proposed offering early retirement to 84 of their employees. Reading the details of what would be offered in exchange for taking the early…

Is WordPress Secure…is it Safe?

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Those of you that have been reading here for awhile know that I’m a believer in building your business website on  the WordPress framework (and strongly recommend the Headway theme).  But articles like this one that I read this morning always prompt people to ask, “Is WordPress Safe…is it Secure?” My answer ? Yes, absolutely. …

Looking for a Virtual Assistant? Think Cupcakes.

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Consider this scenario: You need 500 specially decorated cupcakes for an extremely important event you’re hosting at the end of the month.  You do a search for local bakers and find two that list custom decorated cupcakes as something that they offer. You  jot down the addresses and head out to check them out.   You…

I Was iPhished! How This Geek Got Hacked!

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I pride myself on internet security.  I can spot a phishing e-mail in a flash, know how to build and use strong passwords and have security on my network that makes my ISP techs proud. So how in the heck did I manage to have $284.22 stolen from my PayPal account? That’s what I asked…

Sticks & Stones; Are Your Own Words Hurting Your Business?

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Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me…. If you’re anywhere near my age you probably remember hearing the saying above.  The problem is, it’s not true.  Words can hurt you. And they can hurt your business too. Let’s say you’ve been contacted by a potential client. They point out…

Why Family is My Business Resolution for 2012

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Sometimes life has a way of taking you to task.  As the owner of Clerical Advantage, I tend to put in long hours, often working through holidays and weekends.  Even on the occasions when I travel I generally try to keep a somewhat normal work schedule.  That was my intention when I planned my holiday…

Is Too Much of a Free Thing Hurting Your Business?

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I think we’d all agree, free is good. When you’re a small business, especially when you’re first starting out, the mind is boggled by the abundance of free stuff on the internet .  In fact, it can be a big help for strapped for cash entrepreneurs.  Services like Dropbox and Skype can be budget savers…

Virtual Assistant Survival info has moved!

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If you’re a virtual assistant who has come to view Clerical Advantage as a favorite resource site for the industry, you may have been a bit baffled lately.  On Black Friday, not only did the VA Survival Guide become unavailable for purchase, the VA Survival section of the blog was inaccessible as well.  What the…

Skip the Latte, Save Your Business

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Businesses are struggling in this tough economy, and small micro and solo businesses are no exception.  Everyone is thinking twice about spending money, which means they want to see value in you and your services if they are going to spend it on you.  In order to give them that value, you need to make…