by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Sep 10, 2015 | Delegation, Virtual Assistant
Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or an established business, you can’t do it all yourself. Who can possibly wear all of the hats required to operate a successful viable business? Not many that I know of. It takes a cohesive team to manage each division of your business. You may already work with an attorney, a CPA, or even a graphic designer, but what about the balance of your everyday business operations? The daily administrative and backend details that keep you flowing, productive, and focused on your core genius?
A virtual assistant can change your life, giving you back your day so you can work on the tasks that will take your business to incredible new places. Brandon Turner
Partnering with a Virtual Assistant is a low cost, high payoff solution to enable you to work ON your business rather than IN it. This is such a cliche, but it holds true. If you are buried in the everyday, mundane activities then you don’t have the time or energy to focus real efforts on business development, client retention, troubleshooting or building relationships. And, as you know, your online presence depends on developing a human, touchable brand.
What can a Virtual Assistant do for you?
This is the simple shortlist of what you should delegate to a virtual assistant. There are literally hundreds of tasks and projects that you do within your business that aren’t the key drivers to generate income and don’t represent the best value of your time. If you’d like to see where your time is spent (not invested), keep a daily log of what you do, how much time you spend on tasks, and what is accomplished. You may be surprised at the end of the week to realize that you are more “busy” than productive.
“As all entrepreneurs know, you live and die by your ability to prioritize. You must focus on the most important, mission-critical tasks each day and night, and then share, delegate, delay or skip the rest.” Jessica Jackley
Take back your time to scale your business with a Virtual Assistant partnership.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 16, 2014 | Organization, Small Business, Time Management
We have all heard that time and again, but it holds true. If you live and work in disorganization, your mindset and output will reflect your surroundings. Sure, we have some disorder or “organized piles” of stuff, but when there is overload, it overflows.
Clutter influences the way you work and the way you live. It impacts your brain. Learn to effectively manage versus just restyling the mountains of possessions, papers, contracts, or whatever lurks in your office or home. Streamline your physical and digital environment for success and focus.
“A recent survey says a disorganized workspace can lead to decreased productivity and unprofessional behavior.” Inc Magazine.
When you create a more structured environment you become more efficient and effective. You are no longer scrambling to locate important papers, files, emails or even your keys. Your time management increases as does your personal and professional productivity. Your setting is not just about physical space but mental as well. If you reside in chaos or mayhem, it does transmit into your work habits and daily living.
Your surrounding clutter competes for your attention, distracting your focus and thought process. I personally must have a clean and organized environment or I will only be thinking of what may be in the sink or if laundry needs folding. Everything has a place and it must be there when I work. Sure, a little OCD but I run my business the same way.
“When your environment is cluttered, the chaos restricts your ability to focus. The clutter also limits your brain’s ability to process information. Clutter makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you do in an uncluttered, organized, and serene environment.” Princeton University
According to the National Association of Professional Organizations, paper clutter is the No. 1 hindrance for most businesses. Some studies conclude that the average person wastes 4.3 hours per week searching for papers, which adds stress and frustration to the workplace while reducing concentration and creative thinking. Clutter creates chaos, untidiness and ineffectiveness in every aspect your life and has the great potential significantly influence your personal productivity.
When personal productivity declines, every aspect of your life will be impacted.
Fired up and ready to reclaim your productivity?
- Set aside time weekly to manage and organize information
- Clean out your inbox
- Use cloud storage
- Put things in their proper place when you are finished – don’t merely move away. Put it away
- Always organize your desk at the end of the day
- Establish routines for clearing the mind overload
- If you must file, then do it. Don’t let items sit on your desk, counter or inbox. It is disrupting
- Don’t keep things that aren’t necessary or vital to your existence. Aunt Betty’s tattered hair ribbon won’t garner money on on the open market. Loving memories last longer
- “More” doesn’t mean more – it translates into jumble and disorder which means distractions. Clear off counter tops and desk space so you can function.
- Donate to charity
- When you bring in one new item, throw out two
- Work on one room at a time until it “feels” good
- If you haven’t used or viewed it in 6 months, do you really need it?
- Know that your value is not your stuff. It does not define you
- Create deadlines to ensure you stick to your toss it and organize program
- Once you have cleaned and decluttered a room or space, maintain it
Decluttering and clearing out the chaos, both physically and spiritually will help you gain clarity toward a more productive life. Make the time to invest in yourself.
by Ace Concierge | Virtual Assistant | Jul 9, 2014 | Delegation, Small Business, Social Media, Virtual Assistant
Do you feel as though your day flies by without a minute to spare? Maybe you even missed lunch, got home late, or forgot to pick up something at the store? Gosh, I am sure you know the feeling. You are constantly on the go and doing something BUT is that “something” productive and getting you closer to your goals? Simply being busy isn’t results oriented.
Being productive means getting things done. As in you’ve actually accomplished something, not just filled out a fake status report marked “complete.” Learn how the work you do makes it to the finish line and how it adds to the bottom line of your company. Craig Golightly
At the end of the day have you reviewed your long laundry list and found that you still have a lot of washing to do? Well, you are not alone. Your entrepreneurial spirit is driving you to do it all and be it all, no matter what the cost. No matter what the activity.
You should seriously consider the busyness and the low payoff tasks versus the real core drivers of your business that produce the income. The tasks and projects that ONLY you can and should do.
If you are entrenched with 10, 20+ hours a week on social media management, curating content, writing, editing, proofing and scheduling blog posts, calendar management, writing newsletters, creating documents and templates or acting as the project manager, then WHO is operating your business?
Value your time!
Honor your skills!
As I mentioned in: “Leveraging Time and Your Core Genius,” when you are able to maximize your potential by focusing on your core genius, you become more productive and effective. While there are many daily business tasks that require attention, it doesn’t necessarily have to be on your time. Delegating the lower return projects and tasks gives you back your time to build your business, develop strategy, nurture relationships, foster loyalty, seek partnerships, and focus on your bottom line.
I received an email from an exceptionally valued long-time client who shared her To Do list with me. She stated: “These are just a few of the things I need to grow my business – and I am failing at doing them, but when I do, it totally pulls me away from the work I NEED to do that is billable.”
Her statement firmly relates back to leveraging time and focusing on what you do best to build and cultivate your company.
The following are some of the tasks and projects that she must faithfully devote her time doing in order to continue to expand her business. What an expansive undertaking! Remember: Time is money! Invest wisely.
Are all of these her core genius? Certainly not, however; they are must do activities for business development and progress.
- Keep my Social Media up to date for all these areas:
- Links, research, updates
- Linking to all other things I do – I.E.: when I write a blog post, making sure it is pushed out to every single place.
- Doing key word searches in Google to make sure key wording is in every article for the most relevant search terms.
- Document management systems – keep all my documents on the shared drive (in the cloud) up to date and in order by first cleaning up the mess I have going now… – including but not limited to:
- Client files
- Website files
- Corporate files
- Marketing materials
- Research documents etc.
- Source potential clients in my geographical location who are in start-up to med-sized businesses, active in Social media and who may or may not need idea sessions to get their business further along
- Requesting a meeting for me
- Setting it up
- Reviewing and updating my calendar so I keep better track because I always fail to put things in calendars
- Meet with me via Skype once a week to see what needs to be done and doing it
- Use my contract template documents for me and update them for each new client as it takes me days to get to these.
- Review and edit all files sent to all clients or outgoing parties
- Do all my research for the topics I write about so they can be backed by data
- All invoicing and receipts for clients
- All sourcing of industry related expert themes
- Managing my LinkedIn polls
- Creating my surveys for clients
- Creating templates for all my follow-up reports for each facilitated session
- Taking all of my current documentation and finding ways of repurposing it
- Taking all of my product development efforts and interviewing vendors
- Responding to and dealing with all incoming email from all websites with initial contact to let them know I am here and I did get their email, and when I will respond
- Setting up of appointments with clients, prospective clients, peers
- Researching all speaker opportunities and sending out my speaker packages and filling out the applications
- Researching all clients who have recently undergone a merger or acquisition and sending the change management brochures out to them
- Develop templates for my processes so I am not reinventing the wheel every time I work with a new client
- Updating my BIO on every single software site I have it listed (and tracking where that is) so I can ensure it is always consistent every time I change it
- Updating the company project software for me at the drop of an email – because I cannot always log in
- Managing the company project software and following up with deadlines of contractors
- Using your network to get them to post my quotes on quote sites so I continue to build credibility
- Sourcing the least expensive book editors to edit my writing of each chapter of the book I never have time to edit.
- Kicking my butt and making sure everything I say I “want to do” becomes an actionable item in the company product software and is due to YOU to review for me – rather than my leaving it in there without a date and just “wishing” it would happen
So, after reading this list, how many of these tasks do you hold on to that keep you working IN your business rather than ON it? We sometimes don’t realize all of the day to day activities that go into growing our companies, as they have become second nature while we are on autopilot.
All of these tasks and projects are NECESSARY but divert your attention from the most important facets of your company which ONLY you can do. These are the low payoff, non-income generators that aren’t the best value of your time.
ACTION ITEM: Record every single task, project or activity for one week, noting which line items are income producers, core genius or something that was a time robber and should have been outsourced.
Come back to me in one week and share your list. Let’s talk strategy and outcomes.
“One of the most critical was the ability to learn how to effectively delegate. It is a skill that every upstart entrepreneur must master if they wish to grow their business. Without delegation your business will be limited by your own time and energy.” Matthew Swyers
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 | Mar 4, 2014 | Delegation, Virtual Assistant
The Virtual Assistant Industry is a vast network of professional entrepreneurs engaged in helping your business meet its goals for growth, increased revenue, online branding, image and exposure. We are your long term vested partners who are truly part of your team, your daily business operations and your second pair of hands and eyes to ensure everything is successfully managed to your satisfaction.
When you are looking for a vested partner, your goal should be someone with an entrepreneurial mindset who understands what it takes to not only get up and running, but who knows how to thrive in business and in the digital marketplace. While you can certainly choose an offshore call center to help manage day to day tasks, you will be missing out on the bigger part of your business success, a trusted like-minded entrepreneur.
My personal network is comprised of amazing women, dedicated virtual assistants, who are so willing to help one another, answer questions, provide assistance, referrals or even brainstorm. There aren’t too many industries with such a tight group of people who don’t fear competition or sharing of information. The client/virtual assistant relationship is based upon many different factors for each individual partnership and there must be a resonance along with the skill set to make them a cohesive productive team. Speaking from experience, my clients and I all work well together – communication, feedback and accountability are key components for success. Being in business since 2002, I have been very fortunate to engage with some amazing entrepreneurs. I think I learn as much from them, as they do from me. I hope so anyway.
Choosing to delegate is not always an easy step because you feel you are giving up control, but when you partner with an established virtual entrepreneur, you are choosing someone who is in business for themselves and know what it takes to succeed. The 365/24/7 mentality of a driven business owner will have a greater impact on your success, than an offshore call center who has one off task managers. Give careful consideration to your long term needs, your goals and what you expect from your delegatee. Established virtual assistants go above and beyond the request. We are always “on” in terms of your business. A task manager does that one task and nothing more. You may be asking about price and cost effectiveness. Just remember the old adage, “You get what you pay for.” Value, effort, dedication and commitment are priceless.
When I chose to build my team, I had several criteria that I would not compromise because my name goes behind every project, every task. I needed dedicated, focused entrepreneurs that I knew I could trust on many levels. Be patient and invest the time to build your team of like-minded experienced business owners to help you scale your company to the next level.
Tips to help you find a virtual assistant
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are just three of the online platforms to help you find the perfect virtual assistant for you and your company. Due diligence is very important and shouldn’t be a shortcut to save time because in the long run, it will cost you.
- Ask questions about their business, history, why and when they got started.
- Review their website/blogs.
- Look for social proof.
- Ask for references.
- Request writing and portfolio samples.
- Follow and engage with them.
- Watch their writing style and shared content
- Are their emails professionally written?
- What software and tools do they use, both online and off?
- Do they respond to your email inquiries in a timely manner?’
- How do you perceive their online brand image?
- Are their social profiles sending cohesive messages?
- What are their greatest proficiencies?
- What are their hours and availability?
- Do they have off hours to meet your needs?
- Schedule a call or two.
- Did you feel a connection on the call?
- Were they engaging?
- Were all of your questions answered to your satisfaction?
- Did you get a feeling of authenticity?
- What are their strengths/weaknesses?
- Do they have an entrepreneurial mindset?
What attributes helped you choose your virtual assistant?
