Secretarial Services that you should outsource now

Secretarial Services that you should outsource now

21 Jun, 2017

If you’re a business owner, influencer or industry leader, we understand that you are already extremely busy and it is probably time that you look into outsourcing your secretarial services. While you might not notice it at the current moment, the truth is that outsourcing your secretarial services will do wonders for your overall productivity and profitability. It means that you can work on what you want to work on.  If you find the right person, it is someone that you can run ideas through and also someone that can take care of your business while you are on holiday.  It also takes the pressure off sorting the basic day to day things that can easily be outsourced.  Here are some of the popular day to day services that many businesses outsource:

  • Transcription
  • Typing and document formatting
  • Diary bookings
  • Appointment setting
  • Template creation
  • Invoicing
  • Customer followup
  • Travel arrangements
  • Email replies and followups

Some of the above seem quite old school for 2017 but are still popular, below are some ways that these services have been rejigged into an online format, these include:

  • Uploading Blog Posts to your website
  • Social Media scheduling
  • Transcription of podcasts and interviews into blog posts
  • Email newsletters
  • Online file organisation
  • Database updates
  • Online training maintenance, followup and technical help

How it’s done

Thanks to modern technology and ability, you can now outsource all of your secretarial work. In past decades, most of this work would have to be done in-house, but because of the new technological advances, it’s undoubtedly something that could be handled by an outsourced contractor. Secretarial services might seem like something that aren’t easy to outsource but the easiest way to think about it especially if you do travel alot is to consider the secretary being back in the office and you need to phone them or email them with the work to be completed.  Other ways to assign tasks is to use project management software such as Asana, Trello or Slack. But what about File sharing, I hear you ask.  Well, there are many file sharing options available including uploading to a project management software (as indicated), Dropbox, Sugarsync and of course google drive.

The best thing about outsourcing your secretarial services is that if you find the right person to handle the job, they normally offer a 24 hour turn around, which means that you can have the work back on your desk the next day. Too often, a lot of people that run businesses have way too much work than they can handle so by getting the initial steps completed, it frees up your time to focus on running your business.

 

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

Are you ready to hire a Virtual Assistant or online business Manager?  Take our quiz today!

Why Hiring a Virtual Assistant is Good for Business

Why Hiring a Virtual Assistant is Good for Business

13 Jun, 2017

Many businesses hire employees to perform various functions within a company.  Secretaries and administration assistants manage front office tasks which may include answering phones and offering customer support. Personal Assistants offer diary, meeting and office support to executives.  The marketing department oversees advertising, social media and public relations. Bookkeepers or accountants take care of the finances, and so on.

Many small, solopreneurs and home-based businesses don’t have the luxury of being able to hire a staff of employees. There are many reasons for this, it could be cashflow, office space or requirements.  However, that doesn’t mean you have to manage your business alone. By outsourcing to a virtual assistant or Online Business Manager, you can have specialised help when you need it and for a fraction of the cost of hiring full-time employees.

What does working with a Virtual Assistant mean?

Focus on your speciality instead: While understanding the basic concepts of what needs to occur in your business is great, there is no need to learn everything and this could include graphic design, marketing, website creation, etc. Hiring assistants who specialise in these areas will save you loads of time and frustration and this way you can focus on your speciality instead.

Balanced Home and Business Life: Business is important, but so is spending time with family and friends.  Maintaining a healthy balance reduces stress, increases productivity and ensures everyone is happy.

Increased Productivity & Profits: Knowing your assistant is taking care of the time consuming tasks allows you to stay focused on more profit-producing business activities.

In a nut shell, outsourcing to a virtual assistant really does make good business sense.

Do you really need a Virtual Assistant?

Whether you are just starting your business or have been at it for several years, you will reach a point when you cannot, or do not want to do everything yourself. This is the time to outsource to a virtual assistant. Outsourcing does not mean you are giving up control. It simply means that you value your time and want to use it in the most productive way.

Signs that you need a virtual assistant:

You feel overwhelmed: Are you working long hours in order to get things done? Maybe you feel exhausted by the long list of tasks you need to complete. Feeling overwhelmed at times is natural, but if it happens often, it’s time to take action and hire a virtual assistant.

You dislike the work: Everyone is good at something, but nobody is good at everything. If you have tasks that you simply dread doing, perhaps you always put them off until the last minute; consider hiring an assistant to do them for you.

It takes you forever to…. If you burn up many hours trying to draft your weekly newsletter because you struggle with the design, stop! It is not worth it when you can outsource the task and have it completed quickly.

You don’t know how to do something. One great thing about virtual assistants is that many have knowledge in a lot of areas. If you’ve been doing without something because you can’t do it yourself,outsourcing it to a specialist is the best answer.  This means that it will be completed quickly and efficiently.

Tasks are getting pushed aside. If emails and phone calls are going unanswered, then your customer service may be suffering. Poor customer service can lead to lost sales. Regardless of the task, if you do not have time to do it, hire someone to take care of it for you.

The family is unhappy. Take your queues from family and friends. When family members start migrating to your office, rather than you to the family room, chances are, you’re working too much.

You are tired of doing it alone. It’s tough operating a one person business. You have to be the creative thinker, implementer, follow-up person and more. While doing everything is great for the ego, it’s not always great for business. When you tire of doing it alone, call a VA. Remember, even superheroes call in reinforcements when they need it.

You need to take a holiday.  As a business owner, when was the last time you took a holiday?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful knowing that everything was taken care of while you take that much needed break from your business.  Once a virtual assistant gets to know your business they can cover off most items while you are away.

When you work with a virtual assistant, you can still do the tasks that you enjoy most, but you also have a support system in place for things that cause you stress or take up too much of your time. Hiring a virtual assistant allows you to reach your goals more quickly, obtain skills that you may not have, take your business to the next level, and even enjoy some free time.

Contact us today to find out more about our services.

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

View our range of packages here

How to Find the Right Virtual Assistant

How to Find the Right Virtual Assistant

9 Jun, 2017

Having the right Virtual assistant is the first step to a good partnership. I say partnership because as you work together to grow your business, it will start to feel like you have a partner, someone who wants to see your business succeed as much as you do.  As a Virtual Assistant or Online Business Manager, I prefer to create that business partnership with my clients.

With so many virtual assistants to choose from, finding the right one is not always easy. Many times, business owners wait until they are desperate before they start looking for help. They end up hiring the first virtual assistant they find, normally based on the cheapest price but can also be on location and skills. While selecting an assistant this way can work, it can also lead to the business owner hopping from one assistant to the next and getting frustrated with the process and finding that a virtual assistant is not the right fit for them.

There’s a better method to finding the right Virtual assistant and it requires a bit of research and thought. Here are some things to consider before searching for a virtual assistant.

What skills are required of the Virtual Assistant

Before you begin your search, have an idea of what kind of assistant you need. Make a list of the tasks you want to outsource to the virtual assistant. What skills or knowledge should the VA have to complete those tasks? Do the tasks require special software or equipment?

In most cases, you will want the Virtual Assistant to have everything he or she needs to complete the work and if they are a viable business, they should have the basics set up already unless you have a specific software that you use.  In this case, it might be more beneficial to train your current virtual assistant on how to do these tasks.

Depending on the tasks, it can also be helpful if the Virtual Assistant has experience in the industry that you work in or already offers the services that you require to other businesses.

Characteristics

What characteristics would you like to see in your assistant? Which are most important to you? Here are a few to get you started:

  • Forward Thinker. They see the whole picture & offer ideas to help you reach your goals.
  • Self-Motivated. They are go-getters. They don’t wait until the last minute to start a project.
  • Takes Initiative. If they see something needs to be done, they do it.
  • Resourceful. If they don’t know an answer, they know how to find it
  • Organised. Disorganisation leads to frustration and potential mistakes
  • Good Communicator. Good communication reduces confusion and errors
  • Professional. They conduct themselves in a professional, self-confident way
  • Dependable. They complete work as requested without having to be monitored
  • Trustworthy. If they cannot be trusted, the contract should be cancelled

You may not find someone who possesses every characteristic on your list or you may just want to make sure the important ones are covered and then you can work with the rest.

Susan Wilkin
Online Business Manager

View our range of packages here

Technology and your client

Technology and your client

27 Apr, 2016

 

Making a decision regarding the types of technology and software you will be using in your business is an important decision that much thought must go into. There are hundreds or thousands of different software programs out there and many aspects of each to consider based on what the software is, what you need it to do, and what features it has to offer.

I recently held a webinar for 1-2-1 Temps (Virtual Assistant network) discussing many types of technology that a Virtual Assistant can use to help a client in their business.  Here is a replay of the webinar and some of my favourite that I use and recommend to help build a virtual relationship with a client.

In this webinar, I take you through all the different types of technology including Skype, Dropbox, File sharing, basic computer maintenance and a few other technical tips and tricks.  If you are a client, looking at working with a VA (virtual assistant) these are the types of technology that you can use to build your team and work with a virtual assistant. They are also some of the technology that you can expect that a Virtual Assistant should know about and can use.  If you are working with an Online Business Manager, the OBM will be able to advise you on the types of technology as well as show you how to set some of these up, depending of course on their expertise.

The software discussed during the webinar normally has a fantastic help section, videos or you can find a host of tutorials on YouTube that discuss in depth how to use the specific technology.  We hope that you enjoy the webinar as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you.

Software links and references from the video

If you would like to attend a future webinar, sign up here for further information

Are you organised for May?

Are you organised for May?

25 May, 2014

I always find that May is the month of Mayhem for my business so I thought I would share some of my strategies with you for finding the right Virtual Personal Assistant.

What is a Virtual Personal Assistant?

A Virtual Personal Assistant is a person that is an independent contractor that provides office support of an administrative, technical and or creative capacity from their home based office.  A great Virtual Personal Assistant has good interpersonal skills, good IT skills and can think like you.

A great Virtual Personal Assistant should have the following attributes

Good interpersonal skills – now this may sound silly from a virtual aspect but the Virtual Personal Assistant needs to be able remain calm and think on their feet and be able to liaise virtually on many means of communication – Face to Face, Skype, Telephone and Email.

Good IT skills – A Virtual Personal Assistant regularly needs to use a variety of mediums to liaise with clients and for diary management and other tasks.  They should have a good grasp on the software that you require in your business.  To start with;

  • Knowledge of an email program – Outlook or Gmail.  Both also have great calendar sharing options.
  • A file sharing program such as sugarsync, dropbox or google docs.
  • Advanced knowledge of the Microsoft Office programs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint

To think like you – A good Virtual Personal Assistant should develop the skills to become an extension of you and be able to reply to emails on your behalf, prepare documents and correspondence, organise events, make complicated travel bookings, conduct research, prepare presentations, update websites, source information and office supplies.

Create order in your business

Well you know the saying; Messy Desk, Messy Mind.  So when was the last time that you de-cluttered your life?  I’m not talking about just cleaning your desk, but also your email inbox, your files, scheduling those meetings in advance and contacting those potential leads that you met at your last networking meeting or that came through your website.  How much time do you really spend on these items or thinking about these items?

Yes I’m talking about procrastination!  Most of us are prone to it and expend energy thinking, rather than doing or delegating.  It is proven that if you are organised, you are more likely to be focused and efficient in your everyday life.  So why not delegate these tasks today?  They will free up your head space so that you can think about the important aspects of your business and focus on what is really important.

Contact us now to discuss how a Virtual Personal Assistant can assist in your business, we have some great package specials to get you ready for your month of May Mayhem.

Brand your Emails; the importance of an email signature

Brand your Emails; the importance of an email signature

23 May, 2013

Email signatures, when used correctly, are a powerful tool in marketing and branding your business and, directing traffic towards your website.  What is interesting is that not too many people or small businesses use them.  Without an email signature, it can be difficult to return a phone call without needing to search records or websites for contact details.

Think of an email signature as being similar to your business card.  Business cards are normally well thought out, well designed and contain all of your relevant information.  Email signatures should be developed in the same manner, ensuring that they remain consistent in branding across your business and contain all of your contact details.

Email signatures only require a few lines and should include at the minimum your full name, business name, phone number and website address.  To brand your business further, you can include your business logo, job title, social media links (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Skype) and an alternate email address.  Some people also include quotes or affirmations but we recommend staying away from political and controversial quotes.  A simple email signature template is below:

First and Last Name
Job Title
Business Name
Phone number
Website address

If emails become too long when you are replying or forwarding a particular email chain, consider using a smaller signature but stick to the rule of including your full name, business name (this can be hyperlinked to your website) and phone number for easy contact.  This will ensure that you are contacted easily and that there is no delay in a response.

There is no excuse not to use an email signature as most email programs, tablets and smart phones include an option to setup your signature to automatically append to the bottom of each email.  If you have different businesses, you can create more than one signature file to use for each business or email account and you can append these when selecting which account you are using or append for a reply or a forward option.

So get started today, set up or update your email signature files and watch your business grow!