Focused On Your Business Virtual Office Blog

An interesting conversation with Betina Frisone of Spanishworks sparked this blog post.  Is finding your contact information like going on a treasure hunt?  We, the consumers, like convenience; we are too busy; we are lazy!  You only have a few seconds to capture our attention and if it’s too difficult, you will lose us…. unless you are the only company that offers what you offer!

Example:  Two business acquaintances are referred; one has all the talent, a great service and many years of experience to offer, the other  also has a lot of skill, but is not quite as experienced.  Both of them send in a proposal.  The first proposal is written so well that the client is drawn to it and wants to hire the company on the spot.  However, the proposal does not list a phone number!  The client decides to go with the second proposal, simply because it is easier and more organized in the fact that it lists the contact information.  Convenience wins!

Your contact information should be included in all on-line and printed materials!  Whenever I design a layout, the first thing I put on the page is the contact information!  It becomes such a routine that it’s like waking up in the morning and brushing your teeth . 

• Website:  Is your contact information easily accessible?
• Blog: Does your blog allow easy access to your website?
• Social Media: Is it easy to find your profile and does it list your contact information or allows for easy access to your website?
• Printed Materials: All proposals, marketing pieces, estimates, forms and templates, your letterhead should always list your contact information!

 This blog post is almost too simple, but sometimes it’s the simple things that can make a huge difference!

My passion is to receive the written word from my client and organizing it into online or offline documentation; a promotional piece, a flyer, a report, a proposal, a manual, forms, a newsletter, an ebook, a blog….. I enjoy making you look good!

Even though I offer many services, I’ve tried to narrow it down to what my true passion is.  Then one day a client emailed me after he received the promotional piece I created for him:  “A splendid organization of materials…” and that’s when it hit me!  That is my niche, that is my passion and that is what I love to do.  I’m always passionate about creating something exciting for my clients.  Time stands still for me when I work on organizing your materials into a nice looking document. 

Finding your true niche is half the battle.  Once you do, finding your target market and directing your marketing efforts correctly comes easy. What are you passionate about in your business and what are you doing to do more of it?

One of the biggest struggles business owners face is time management.  Time and time again, I hear that business owners find it very difficult to take time out.  Weekends, Holidays and vacations should be spent with family and friends.  It is a time to relax, recharge and to spend quality time with loved ones.

While this is said easily, it becomes very difficult for business owners to follow through.  We depend on our income; many business owners use the weekend to catch up on administrative tasks, social media strategies, blogging, and many other tasks that should be handled by an employee. 

I just had visitors in town and decided to take a week to myself to spend time with them.  Did I feel guilty?  Sure did!  However, my web presence didn’t change while I took time out.  All the prework was done before hand.  Checking my stats, I had the same amount of visitors as if I was working and the same amount of requests for information or work.  I now feel energized, refreshed and recharged and in a very short period of time, I accomplished more than I would have before.

Today’s technology allows for us, the business owners, to take time out.  Hiring a virtual assistant to handle some of the daily or weekly tasks does not have to cost a fortune, but will buy you time and peace of mind.

http://focusedonyourbusiness.com

Today I came across a discussion on what lessons you have learned from previous jobs and I’d like to open this up for discussion.

Here is my story: When I was very young, I worked as an apprentice in a somewhat large firm in Germany, while going to school. Throughout the three years, I moved through all departments to learn every aspect of the business.  One of my early jobs was to do all the filing.  One day my supervisor asked me for a specific file.  She had come across it and I had filed it in the wrong place.  For five days straight (8 hours a day) I looked for this file.  All my begging did not help and at the time, I was quite upset.  I eventually found the file and to this day I’m extremely grateful to this particular teacher for teaching me to do it right the first time and to pay attention to detail.

I’d love to hear what lessons you have learned! Feel free to post your answers here.

Posted by Betina Frisone:  (lost the comment when blog was transferred):

Great story, Birgit! Yes, sometimes it’s the most painful events that teach us the most useful lessons.

You took me back to my first paying job… I worked part-time as a clerk at a car rental agency in Mexico City. The business was a gold mine; the business/owner came up with the concept of renting only VW bugs – low maintenance, economical, and they flew off the lot. Friday nights were especially crazy-busy and, even though we all operated full-throttle, we’d sometimes get behind. His adrenaline would start to rise and we could all tell that he’d eventually let loose and yell and scream at everyone because we weren’t moving fast enough for him. It didn’t hurt his business in obvious ways at the time because he offered a great deal, but you knew from the customers’ faces and their comments that they’d lost respect for him and didn’t appreciate how he treated his staff or having to witness it. Lesson learned: No matter how right you might be, when you lose your temper, you lose face… and it’s never worth it. Always best to step back, breathe, think about the situation from the others’ point of view, and reconsider appropriate response. Easy to say, but in the heat of the moment, best to step back if only for a moment.

As a business owner, time management becomes a major issue.  Do you save money by doing it all yourself or is it wiser to outsource?  If you are a business owner, I’m sure you have debated more than once what makes the most sense.  Here are a few helpful tips to help you decide what is right for you and to assist you in making the best of your time and work efficiently:

1. Take the time to sit down and make a list of all the tasks you (the business owner) perform.  If this seems too much of a chore, keep a pen and paper near you at all times and make a note every time you complete a task of what the task was and how long it took to complete.  Now, prioritize them. Think about what your hourly rate is and then determine if a virtual assistant’s rate would be higher or lower.  By outsourcing mundane office tasks you can concentrate on building your business by creating marketing strategies, making sales calls and spending your time on things that actually bring you more income instead of things that are necessary to keep your business running as it is right now.
2. Always plan a few minutes at the end of each day to plan for the next.  Quickly make a to-do list for the next day. Make sure this list is the first thing you look at in the morning.
3. Keep your office organized. It does not take much to get your office organized and once this job is done, keeping it organized is simple.  Make sure your bills, invoices (incoming and outgoing) are organized so that you will not forget about them and end up paying late charges or not receiving the payments you deserve.
4. Create a system for processing paperwork.  An inbox, an outbox, a system for accounting, a “to be read” file are a necessity. Make it work for you.
5. Make sure you have a filing system and use it.  Too often we waste valuable time by having to look for a certain file.  Make sure you create a filing system that works for you and that the filing is done on a regular basis.  It is very easy to set up a filing system, but then slack on the actual filing.
6. Don’t dismiss your email as a great way to have a to-do list.  These days, it becomes difficult to keep track of all the emails we receive.  Create a filing system within your email system to keep you on track.  Delete emails that are completed or file them away.  Keep your open emails to a short list if possible and this can turn into your to-do list.
7. Leave time every week for you to learn.  Go to networking meetings and keep up with social media to learn from others.  Do some strategic thinking and see how far you can take your business.

Organizing your office, keeping track of your tasks, your files and your time is critical in being successful.  Just think how much more you could achieve if you had more time.  Being organized will also help you to focus and stay on track.  Many business owners can handle this on top of everything else, but remember there is help out there.  Hiring a virtual assistant takes away some of the pressure.  The biggest advantage is that the right assistant will hold you accountable to do what you said you would do.

Hiring a Virtual Assistant allows the assistant to take care of certain tasks, that the business owner is not very interested in doing, doesn’t have the knowledge to do or simply to gain more time to focus and to increase the business owner’s time in growing a business. 

Outsourcing might not be for everyone, but if you’re interested, here are some tips:

1) Why do you want to hire a Virtual Assistant. It is important to think through why you want to hire a virtual assistant to determine what you are trying to achieve.  If your answer is to have more time, think about how you would use that extra time. If your answer is to get more done, think about what projects you need to get done.

2) What tasks do you want your VA to accomplish. This will help you determine the skill sets your VA must have.  For example, if you want your VA to assist you in marketing strategies, this requires a different skill set than if you would hire a VA for a simple transcription job.

3) Provide specific guidelines for the project. The more specific details you will give your VA, the better the outcome of the project.  Time is money for both the assistant and the business owner.  Valuable time is lost when a VA has to constantly interrupt and track you down for decisions that need to be made.  Make sure you are available or at least get back with an answer as soon as possible.

4) Clarify your time line for each project. Since most VA’s work on an hourly basis, it is important for you to think about the task in terms of hours.  Determine the amount of time the task should take and inform your VA. In the beginning it is best to set multiple milestones to assure the project is proceeding as planned..

5)  Don’t forget that you have more time now! You hired a VA to give yourself more time to focus on your business. It is easy to replace “stuff to do” with more “stuff to do.” Make sure you are spending your additional time as you had planned.

6) What should I use a Virtual Assistant for?  If you hired a full-time office assistant, what would this person do? It is the same with a VA; the only difference is that you will not pay a full-time salary plus benefits and time by the “water cooler”.  A VA will work on your projects without interruptions and will only charge you for the time actually worked on your project. 

Here are a few ideas for both personal and work-related tasks:

Presentations— Use a VA that has the right skills to make your presentations look more polished and professional.

Update Address/Contact List/Database - Have your VA update your address list, contact information and even create labels and reminders in advance.

Online marketing and social media – Create blogs and keep them updated with content along with your LinkedIn or Facebook account to free up valuable time for you.

Market research – Identify and research your target market, recipients of press releases, and other areas that are important for your business.

Newsletter / Logo / Advertising Design – Some VA’s also offer design at very reasonable prices. If you need assistance in creating or updating your own designs (logos, newsletters, ads, advertising materials, etc.), make sure you consider this in your choice of hiring a VA.

Event Planning—Have your VA research the perfect restaurant or conference room and manage all the logistics, including creating and mailing invitations, presentations, workbooks, registrations, etc.

On-Line Newsletter – Are you still creating your own monthly campaigns?  Many VA’s have a creative mind and will do well handling the creation and scheduling of your monthly newsletters.

Mass Mailings – Sending out mass mailings, such as Newsletters, direct mailings, even Holiday Greetings are very time-consuming.  Shouldn’t you, the business owner be worth a higher hourly rate than your assistant? Have your VA handle the process from A to Z and save yourself the time to spend more wisely. 

Organization – It takes an organized person to become a VA.  Let your VA help you organize your office, your daily routine and benefit from their knowledge on how to multitask, simplify and work more efficient.

The list could go on and on, but this should give you a few ideas. 

http://focusedonyourbusiness.com

“In Greek mythology, Chaos is the name of the goddess of emptiness and confusion, a shapeless void who gave birth to the universe.  Yet chaos also provides the opportunity for growth and change and creativity. And chaos—both the goddess and the state of being—is fertile and alive, unlike order, which is sterile and inanimate.”

However, when it comes to our office space, organization means a “clutter-free” mind.     When you approach your desk in the morning and all you see are piles and piles, the feeling of being overwhelmed can diminish any possibilities of great results.  Your energy that should be spent on completing important tasks will be drained immediately. With a few simple steps, you can create a system that works for you and that gets the piles of your desk. 

As with all things in life, the answer is in finding a balance between chaos and order.

http://focusedonyourbusiness.com