Leanne Nelson+ by | Aug 26, 2013 | Business
Today I read a newspaper story about one man’s experience hiring off-shore virtual assistants. It wasn’t pretty. A virtual assistant is supposed to save you time and give you peace of mind that your business is being properly taken care of. Instead, this man found himself spending mental energy sifting through his workload to find the most mundane work that he felt he could pass on, because his VA had demonstrated that was all he could be trusted with. He wasted money by prepaying for a service that didn’t deliver. Ouch! So what went wrong? This man fell for the much hyped message that a $7/hour VA from India (for example) would be the answer to all his prayers. He also failed to do some basic due diligence. The unfortunate thing is a virtual assistant can be a great benefit to you and your business. Your virtual assistant can handle items that are unpleasant or difficult for you, or things that you don’t have the expertise to do yourself. Finding the right VA Finding the right VA for you can (and should) take a little research: do they have experience in the tasks you’re seeking assistance with do they have the tools and resources to do the job correctly do they understand you and your business what are their contract arrangements and payment terms are they a good fit for your working style You could ask for references or initially hire a VA for a smaller, easier job to determine these issues. No matter how attractive that $7/hour rate seems, you should consider if language is going to be...
Leanne Nelson+ by | May 24, 2013 | Business
This week’s happenings across my Twitter, Facebook & Feedly streams that caught my eye. “The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination” via Havard Business Review Surfing is the key according to Peter Bregman. But don’t worry. You don’t actually need to get wet, or even go anywhere near the beach get this antidote. “Teen Develops Computer Algorithm to Diagnose Leukemia” via Mashable The good things we can do with computers are just astounding. What’s even more astounding is the age of some of these kids doing these good things. Stories like this never cease to uplift me. “How to Generate More Leads With Your Blog” via Social Media Examiner According to a recent survey by Social Media Examiner, many businesses are looking to increase their blogging activities in the future. This is a grea t little how-to for achieving some real results from your blogging efforts. “Why you should ban email (sometimes)” via Inc. As a little add-on to my email management tips earlier this week: Is email free Friday, better than casual Friday? What do you think? I hadn’t heard of email free days before, but I like the idea! Margaret Heffernan reports on the successes some (large) companies are having with email free...
Leanne Nelson+ by | Apr 12, 2013 | Business
Over the last 10 or 15 years many companies have been discovering reasons for outsourcing that will improve their business. It has become increasingly common for companies to send various business processes out to a third party for completion. Like many other organisations, the manufacturing companies I worked at during the 1990’s started heavily outsourcing processes in order to capitalise on external resources and expertise as well as to cut costs. Many other industries have since taken advantage of outsourcing all sorts of processes from call centres to product development to, you guessed it, administration. While large companies have already discovered many reasons for outsourcing, small and micro business owners are very well placed to take advantage of this trend. Outsourcing business processes where the business owner may not have the time, expertise, resources or passion required makes perfect sense. Time Small and micro business owners in particular are often “jacks of all trades”. And it’s no secret small business owners are strapped for time. It’s not unusual to find them preparing a sales presentation one minute, screening resumes the next and then later in day (or usually night!) tweaking their website to add new products. That’s before you even look at the day to day phone calls, emails, to do lists … Time is a valuable resource for us all, perhaps THE most valuable. Why waste it doing something you don’t enjoy, or that takes three times as long because it’s not in your skill set? Outsourcing business processes that are not where you’d rather be spending your time, but still need to be done is a great...
Leanne Nelson+ by | Aug 3, 2012 | Business
It’s easy to slip into the mindset that the way we’re doing something must be the best and only way to do it. Or perhaps we can see that something needs improving but aren’t confident to try a new way. In this fascinating TED talk, Tim Harford discusses the importance of trying something different, even if we don’t know the outcome. What do you think? Are you brave enough to make a...
Leanne Nelson+ by | Mar 22, 2012 | Business
You’re probably familiar with working with contractors in other parts of your business, but have you ever considered using an independent contractor for your administration work? Outsourcing administration tasks to a virtual assistant (VA) is a smart business decision that can free your time to focus on the areas of your business that you enjoy. Working with a Tacit Business Services will enable you to make better use of your existing resources: time, space and money. I work from my own office and only charge you for the time and expenses related to your project – no payroll expenses or hassles, no strain on your office resources and no wasted hours chatting around the water cooler. Perhaps more importantly, I’m a small business owner too. I understand business pressures and can suggest solutions that will add to your business success. Contact me to discuss how I can give your business a Tacit...
