by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Feb 25, 2015 | Entrepreneur, Productivity, Small Business, Social Media
No, not a financial burden imposed by the state, but the tax social media can have on an entrepreneur can feel like a huge time-sucker.
Dictionary.com presents 5 ways to define the word tax, the best fit for this article is:
Too Many Hats
An entrepreneur has a lot to do in a bootstrapped business. They are the person performing the customer service or generating the product they deliver to a client AND they are also every other department such as marketing, creative design, accounting, sales, talent management, and more. Their passion is clear and focused on the service and product, but it can begin to dwindle with the burden of necessary duties to support that business.
Social Media Visibility
Add to this, there is an expectation that all entrepreneurs are online at all times providing continual content to build a loyal audience and that content must live on Social Media platforms. After 6 months to a year of generating content, responding, being conversational to build relationships, and doing everything they can to rise above the noise and be noticed, they grow weary of it all. I heard one woman entrepreneur state that because of social media, she needs a wife, an assistant, and a design team because the weight of her business does not fit into the 24 hours she is given. Some days it feels like a heavy tax and burden on an entrepreneur’s day.
The Anchor
The message seems to be, if you are not on social media, you don’t exist. Yet many feel that being tied to the responsibility of social media keeps them from living, much less working on their business. They want to be there interacting with the people who need their business, but it doesn’t always feel like they are reaching an audience when using social media. It is a tough balance, entrepreneurship, and all it entails. However, there is a strategy that can be implemented to ease the load on a business owner’s time.
Delegation. Plain and simple.
Delegating is the simple act of entrusting authority to another person. While you can’t or shouldn’t delegate every task or responsibility in your business, you should move some of the non-essentials off of your plate. The ones that are the most time consuming, don’t generate revenue and take you away from the core of your business.
According to VerticalResponse, 23 percent of CEOs and business owners spend between six to 10 valuable hours each week on social media.
In a Constant Contact market survey, they found that:
- Small business owners spend at least 20 hours per week on marketing
- 82% market their business using many different platforms, including email, e-newsletters, social media
Wow! That is a big chunk of time to give up. I bet this doesn’t even include those hidden hours when you are sucked into the black hole of searching and link clinking. Before you know it, the day is over.
Who nurtured your business and your clients?
Yes! Your social media efforts represent the architectural structure that leads to brand recognition, credibility, a positive customer experience, brand advocates, increased web traffic, search rankings, and word-of-mouth marketing. There is absolutely NO question that you do need an online presence. It is vital in today’s super socially connected world. Everyone does business online; searching brands and companies, reviews, social proof, connections, tips, tools, apps, and addresses. It is only going to continue to expand.
BUT…..
What about the commitment to your business beyond social engagement?
Are you ready to apply for your social media tax rebate and get back to building your company??
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 15, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Productivity, Time Management, Virtual Assistant
Do more –achieve more is a recipe for exhaustion and collapse. And you are probably tired of being tired right? Doing more does not make you more productive or efficient. In fact, the more that you heap onto your plate, the less you are able to effectively manage. Your proficiency decreases.
Identify the essential and eliminate the unnecessary.
Learn to think creatively to find more effective ways of getting things done is nothing new- work smarter, not harder. Putting in laborious hours into your day doesn’t necessarily equate to powerful payoffs of valued activities. Just think of the wasted hours surfing the net or scrolling through social media updates. That is time used. Time wasted. Get the things done that add value and impact to your life and your business.
1. Do LESS – ACHIEVE more
How is that possible?
It sounds pretty silly doesn’t it?
Kick start doing less:
- Learn to say no
- Set boundaries and priorities
- Resist the urge to be busy
- Slow down – be fully present in whatever you are doing
- Stop multi-tasking. It’s counter productive
- Finish projects, don’t just check off a few To Do items
- Reduce distractions
2. Do LESS – ACHIEVE more
How could you give up tasks and projects yet increase your productivity and effectiveness? Here’s the little secret …
D E L E G A T I O N
Entrepreneurs are accustomed to doing it all from changing printer ink, uploading tweets, proofing blog posts and ordering supplies to curating content, creating images, retweeting and sharing content and testing the latest social media apps.
This is just the short list of every day, mundane To Dos that eat up time and energy. Have you ever truly kept track of the hours you spend on the low payoff routine activities? What is your tally? 20+ hours perhaps?
This is time you are not working ON your business. If you aren’t, then who will? With only one person at the helm, there is only so far that you can scale. While it isn’t easy to relinquish some of your daily demands, it is a tremendous benefit to free up your valuable time and avoid burnout.
VALUED FOCUS
As a business owner you need to focus on the items that are of the most value to you and your company. Simply put, the things that YOU and ONLY you are capable of doing. The core business activities that: generate income, build relationships, nurture clients, develop new leads or foster a positive customer experience. You get the idea. Structure your day around these key elements.
Remember that old 80/20 rule?
Apply it here. You know that 20% of your efforts yields 80% of favored results. The trick is to determine what represents that 20% and DO MORE OF IT! Live and breathe that as your core genius.
The Pareto Principle, or “80/20 Rule” as it is frequently called today, is an incredible tool for growing your business. For instance, if you can figure out which 20% of your time produces 80% of your business’ results, you can spend more time on those activities and less time on others. This doesn’t mean that the low payoff tasks and projects aren’t useful or worthwhile to your business – they are. BUT, they don’t exemplify the best use of YOUR time.
You’re the CEO not an employee. Of course it can be a challenge to step outside of that role, removing a few hats and grabbing the reins but as the President, you owe it to your company to take charge. You owe it to your clients and prospects.
If you buried deep in paperwork and social icons, how do you intend to shake hands and build long-lasting relationships? You all have a propensity to take on more work, do every task or project which leaves you overwhelmed and distracted. This cycle needs to stop before you do.
Don’t keep adding more work.
Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all. Peter Drucker
When you are able to focus on fewer things you increase your productivity and achieve better results. AND you want results. Every business owner does.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What are THE most important core business activities that you should be doing?
- What generates revenue?
- What leverage points produce the greatest results
You now have some key items or tasks that you have identified that do not need your focused attention. You have three options: do, dump or delegate. Make an executive decision on how you will manage or pass off these non-essentials. Consider what you will gain when you are no longer tied up doing some of the daily minutia.
Do less Achieve more!
What will you give up….. to gain?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Oct 1, 2014 | Entrepreneur, Small Business
Starting and growing your business is an exciting and at times, an overwhelming endeavor. The entrepreneurial spirit is a driving force to hang your shingle and as you know, it requires a specific mindset and continued effort to sustain and expand in your marketplace.
Break away: There may be several other businesses like yours and it is up to you to set yourself apart from the competition. It isn’t your widgets that generate the business. It’s you. Your service. Your commitment to your stakeholders.
Business ownership can be a 24/7 job and necessitates forward thinking and as Michael Port says, “thinking big.” Just because you opened your doors and provide a product or service, your job doesn’t end here. Build it and they will come is not enough. You must live in it, on it and breathe it.
Small business isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s for the brave, the patient and the persistent. It’s for the overcomer. Unknown
There is no room for stagnation or complacency if you intend to experience the full benefits of your company, aspiring greater revenues, satisfied customers, WOM marketing, new products/services and success. Embrace your business, your skills and your team on your journey as an entrepreneur.
Small Business Success Tips
- Have a passion for your business, service and product
- Solve an issue or problem, don’t just sell a widget
- Create blueprints to outline your goals, vision and action steps
- Set up systems for components of your business: i.e. marketing, sales channels, customer support, project management, social media and use them consistently. There is too much time and money lost searching for information or testing new tools and systems. Find one and use it
- Provide the service you expect from your own vendors
- Understand that response time to inquiries is very important. Don’t keep the prospect or customer waiting because your competitor is on your heels
- Stay connected and be available
- Never stop learning or reading for ways to help your business, network, customers or prospects
- Learn from failures and push forward, making new inroads
- Underpromise and overdeliver
- Be open to change and new directions based upon the market and your customers
- Know the difference between working ON your business, rather than IN it
- Why are you making yourself busy? All of the back end, low payoff, admin activities do not represent your core genius or generate income. It is important to allow delegation to become a strength, in order to grow and expand a business
- Social media and online marketing are here to stay – create a strong presence, understand the medium, know where your customers are
- Authenticity wins. If you aren’t true to yourself and your prospects, it is easily visible or soon to be discovered. Be real or don’t play at all
- Maintainable and consistent growth results from doing more of what produces progression and less of what seizes your time in the name of growth
- You must define the most profitable use of your working hours
- Focus your valuable time on the high payoff activities
- Limit distractions and stay centered on the task – you will be much more productive.
- Create collaborative teams within your company and industry
- Realize that every online action you take lasts a lifetime as your digital footprint. Your personal online brand represents you AND your company. Be cognizant of your posts and comments as your reputation may be determining your social impact
- Giving is better than receiving. Stop singing Me, Me, Me. Share the rich and relevant content of others in your network, industry, trusted circles, family, friends….. you know who. Reach out and ask how you can help. If you find a pertinent article to someone you know, email it. Go the extra mile
- Learn effective time management skills while you can’t manage time per say, you can manage yourself in terms of your priorities and scheduling. Never be late and don’t miss deadlines
- Maintain an organized office and life with productivity tools that work for you; whether it is a pen and paper, an online PM system or a spreadsheet, keep track of what you are doing, the milestones, results, action steps and To Do list
- Have some fun. Laugh a little and most of all, revel in your success as a business owner
Small business success doesn’t just happen overnight with a wish and a magic wand.
What is your secret weapon for success?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Aug 19, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Productivity, Virtual Assistant
You relish the feeling of owning and operating your own business. You are the boss. The king of your company, controlling your own destiny and driving the success of the organization. You understand the systems and processes required to prosper in the business world.
You are a visionary. A thought leader, delivering strategy and tactics to meet your goals.
Being an entrepreneur requires a mindset that isn’t just about collecting a paycheck but more about creating a thriving business, meeting needs, being intuitive and developing your company in such a way that it impacts your stakeholders. According to the US Small Business Association, there are approximately 23 million small businesses in America just like yourself, facing challenges, making innovations, adapting to change and attempting to own a piece of the market share.
Entrepreneurial mindset refers to a specific state of mind which orientates human conduct towards entrepreneurial activities and outcomes. Individuals with entrepreneurial mindsets are often drawn to opportunities, innovation and new value creation. Financial Times
This is just a small piece of the equation.
Keeping this in mind, think about all of the daily projects and tasks that you continue to add to your plate that is already overflowing. It is a meal for many. How are you able to scale your company while managing all of the day to day, routine and mundane tasks? It’s like flipping the lever on a container of jelly beans and filling up the bag until it overflows, scattering a rainbow of colors all over the floor.
What happens next?
Aside from a sugar high, you are left with an inedible mess on the floor. Sure, the colors are pretty; they may have landed in some obscure graphic design but they are of no use now. Make the most of your life, your passions and your valued time.
STOP! Don’t burden yourself with the unnecessary. It’s a liability to you and your company.
You know what you do best. You know why you started the business. You have the entrepreneurial mentality but like many small business owners or solo-preneurs, you (we) tend to wear every hat in the company. Hats that should be distributed to more than one person. To a team.
Empower yourself for higher performance!
But the essence of teamwork is not actually perfection – the essence is constant growth. One of the must-have things you will need as an entrepreneur is a loyal right-hand person who will not leave you no matter what troubles you will face in your entrepreneurial journey. Victorino Abrugar
Being an entrepreneur is no simple endeavor. It requires a 24/7/365 days a year drive, dedication and commitment to growing your business. It isn’t a hobby – it’s a lifestyle.
What makes a business owner a CEO of their company and what keeps them slugging it out alone?
In “Stay Focused on Your Core Genius,” by Jack Canfield he clearly demonstrates the power and need to delegate what doesn’t serve you and your valued expertise.
I believe you have inside of you a core genius… some one thing that you love to do, and do so well, that you hardly feel like doing anything else. It’s effortless for you and a whole lot of fun. And if you could make money doing it, you’d make it your lifetime’s work. For me, my core genius lies in the area of teaching, training, coaching and motivating. Another core genius is writing and compiling books.
Over my 35 year career, I have written, co-authored, compiled and edited more than 150 books, and I love to do it! I do it well, and people report that they get great value from it.
Compare that to the other people in the world who go through life doing everything, even those tasks they’re bad at or that could be done more cheaply, better, and faster by someone else.
They simply can’t find the time to focus on their core genius because they fail to delegate even the most menial of tasks.
Most entrepreneurs spend less than 30% of their time focusing on their core genius and unique abilities.
Read this once. Twice. Three times.
What are you holding onto that doesn’t represent your core genius? That isn’t the greatest value of your time and expertise? Anthony Iannarino believes, “The most productive people spend their time where it produces a greater return on investment. They invest their time where it produces the outcomes that they really want.”
My clients outsource to me for these exact reasons. It is impossible to do it all and be it all to everyone while operating a successful business. While you may want manage every single aspect of your company from top to bottom, it will come at a price. There comes a point in time when every entrepreneur needs to realize it is time to step back from the desk, the daily activities and become the CEO of their company. The overseer who is no longer tromping in the trenches but actively running the business. Working ON it, rather than IN it, instilling the long-term vision required for your company’s growth and longevity.
“Scale Your Business Beyond Yourself.” When you choose the activities and projects you are going to delegate, commit to making the best use of these hours. Don’t simply be busy or squander your time on social media. Have a plan in place for those new found hours dedicated to working on your business, productively! This is a high payoff investment.
In fact, by the time they’ve launched a business, it often seems entrepreneurs are doing everything but the one thing they went into business for in the first place.
It takes time to create new habits and get in the flow with different systems, but once you re-establish your entrepreneurial role, you will experience greater growth in addition to deeper visions for your company. It is a future of win-wins. Live your dream as the entrepreneur, not the employee. As Jason T. Wiser of On Track Tips says:
Stop being a one man band, start being a business owner. You no longer need to do it all yourself, but you need to know how to delegate and let go of tasks.
Are you ready to take the advice of Jack and Jason to scale your business? If not, what are your roadblocks?
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | May 6, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
What IF you could free up as much as 20% of your time for responsibilities and core business needs that truly matter? Would you do it? Would you make the investment?
“What tasks do you have to do yourself and what could you have others do? Tasks that have low value for your customers and are time-consuming — such as bookkeeping or administrative tasks — are ideal tasks to outsource.” Jordan Cohen
For some entrepreneurs partnering with a virtual assistant is unfamiliar territory and you may not fully comprehend the wide scope of work that can be efficiently outsourced to help free up your time. You may create mental roadblocks or perceived hurdles to prevent yourself from seeking assistance with your business. These alleged barriers can be easily overcome with a little in depth thought and evaluation to conquer your objections. Delegating is a key management strategy that will benefit you and your company.
1. I need control: It may also difficult to give up control of something you have always done and believe only you can do and do it best. This self-limiting thought process does not allow you the time or full productivity to dedicate to the core of your business. You may be buried and merely just busy doing more menial activities that are NOT the best value of your time. Delegating to a virtual assistant is a learning process for some but I have found that once you begin delegating, it becomes more second nature and such a stress relief to hand off projects. It is certainly more cost efficient as there are no taxes, health benefits, office space, insurances, office supplies or equipment. Your costs are only project based and that is it!! Delegating is a move to expansion, increased productivity, better time management, enhanced work life balance and a little more time in your day to focus on what is important, rather than on what needs to be done.
2. I can do it faster: This may be initially true, but after clear instructions, detailed outcomes, a few tips, your virtual assistant will become proficient at your task or project. They may even have more efficient tools and systems to manage your request. If this is an ongoing task, think about how much time you will free up by outsourcing it. It is the job of the virtual assistant to be expedient, efficient and provide quality work. We do this every day, for ourselves and our clients.
3. I can only rely on myself for the best results: Unfortunately, this does not represent a growth mentality. Your virtual assistant is an established business owner who understands delegating and accountability. Our goal is 100% satisfaction – our business and reputation depends on it. Every task or project is meticulously managed, double checked and triple checked to ensure you are happy with the output. We encourage your feedback and suggestions for our mutual success. As you know, we are only human and errors to do happen, but they are rectified.
4. I don’t know what to delegate: Examine your core competencies, what are you best at or what represents your fundamental business acumen. These are your high payoff activities that only you can do. Anything that is low value or does not generate revenue can be successfully delegated. A simple exercise would be to track all of your daily tasks and projects for one week. Note the time spent, any interruptions, what was accomplished, which items generated revenue and how many things on your To Do list still remain. Upon review, you will be able to more clearly define what you should do, delegate or dump.
5. Remote business operations can’t possible work: Oh but they do. For many of the day to day business tasks, a virtual assistant is your savvy, technological partner to help drive your organizational success. VAs must be able to utilize a variety of cloud based tools, computer software and applications to communicate and manage each and every task that is delegated. We are constantly reading and educating ourselves on a daily basis. We must remain current and ready to tackle any business objective. If we don’t have the skillset, someone on our team or within our industry is will to help. Virtual Assistants are your vested partner.
“Investments pay off over time – and that is what delegation does.” Kevin Eikenberry
A greater fear to consider is how much are you holding on to that is stopping you from focusing on the core of your business? What isn’t getting done? How many hours do you put in on a weekly basis?
Embrace delegation, don’t run from it. It is a low cost high payoff tool to help you scale your company and focus on the core of your business – what ONLY YOU can do.
In a recent article Harvard Business Review article: “The Skills Most Entrepreneurs Lack” by Bill Bonnstetter, he discussed a study which showed that entrepreneurs are lacking in self-management and planning and organization.
“Entrepreneurial-minded people are not proficient in managing themselves and their time. Often they need assistance managing everyday tasks and should hire or delegate them to someone who has mastered this skill. Similar to self-management, if entrepreneurs spent time planning and organizing every task or meeting, they would never get anything else done. Once again, hiring someone to keep their calendar, organize meetings and events, keep the office de-cluttered, and help keep them on schedule can put them at an advantage.“
Think long and hard about the value of your time and your daily To Do list. What should you begin delegating today?
The best way to figure out how to utilize a VA in your life, however, is to take 3 days of your life and for every task that you do, stop for a moment and ask yourself, “Can someone else do this for me and if so, can it be done online?”. You’ll find there are a tremendous amount of tasks that can be accomplished by a VA in this manner. An extremely valuable added bonus with this exercises is that once you start thinking in this manner, you’ll also gain a stronger appreciation for your time and value it more. This may be the most important lesson that you can learn! Stefan Pylarinos
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Apr 22, 2014 | Delegation, Entrepreneur, Small Business
Entrepreneur, solo-preneur, small business owner; while each comes with its own clarifying distinctions, one quality remains significant, the opportunities to build and scale your business are better performed with a team.
Your team is available to listen, brainstorm, collaborate, build, generate, troubleshoot or otherwise help you to achieve your dreams a little faster than if you remain a single entity.
“As the business owner, your time is extremely valuable, and you should be focusing on the items that only you can do! If you have the resources, consider hiring a virtual assistant to take care of these administrative tasks that are holding you back”. Brett Relander
Scale Your Business Beyond Yourself with Jason T. Wiser and Rebekah Radice highlights the benefits and value of partnering with a virtual assistant to effectively grow and manage your business.
This isn’t anything new to you, nor is it rocket science. Partnering with a virtual assistant is a simple solution to enable you to expand your company more cost effectively than hiring an in-house team. Where else can you find an entrepreneurial spirit that doesn’t cost you insurances, benefits, office space, training, taxes or supplies? Think of how much that alone will save you on a yearly basis.
However, the world has changed, you don’t need to hire a regular full-time or part-time employee. You can leverage a virtual assistant (VA) for a fraction of the cost. Time Management Ninja
You only have so much time in your day; when you leverage the power and expertise of a virtual assistant, you have just added more hours to work ON your business. More hours to engage with your audience, clients and prospects. Toss the tedious and time consuming to do more of the work you love. The real core and guts of your company.
You can’t do everything that you need to do on your own. It’s impossible. There are not enough hours in a day. And as a business owner, your main focus should be on your clients and customers, how to obtain more of them and networking so you have a growing list of leads to nurture and eventually convert to future clients and customers. M. Shannon Hernandez
Why fill your day with menial administrative and day to day operations that gnaw on your precious time? If it doesn’t produce revenue, consider delegating it.
Can you afford to be buried in;
- Social media management
- Content curation
- Scheduling posts
- Editing and proofing your blog
- Optimizing blog posts
- Drafting content
- Calendaring and appointments
- E-newsletters
- Brand monitoring
- WordPress updates
- Image search/creation
- Daily business management
These are just 12 of the necessary business “nuisances” that you may be doing on your own but don’t generate any income for you. So could they actually undermine your hard work and efforts?
Consider this, each time you are involved in one of these tasks, how many times do you encounter some sort of distraction or roadblock? Are you sidetracked? Does something else come up, like a software or tech issue, and you end up spending even more time on the project which means less time ON your business, building relationships and speaking with clients?
Honestly! Is this the MOST productive use of your time?
In a recent online survey of more than 460 small business owners, proprietors and CEOs, 63% said that they spend 1-5 hours on social media every week. The rest are spending much more, with some business owners spending 21+ hours a week on social media alone – that’s HALF of the normal working week – how are they getting anything else done? Chris Ducker.
Ready! Set! GROW!
Let’s hear your thoughts on building a remote team and taking your business to the next level.
