“I have had the best year end financially in a long time and I put that down to working with you in my business”
JLVA Client, Dec 18
When we start out on a new business venture, we don’t realise how much work we have to do ‘in’ our business instead of ‘on’ our business. It’s easy to get caught up in the mundane day-to-day of managing a business and before you know it tasks can quickly turn into chores, with endless to-do lists and no time for focussing on growth.
My Client’s Story
My client had recently worked with a Business Coach who had advised them that in order to grow their business, they needed to outsource some of the tasks that they didn’t like doing or weren’t very good at to ensure they could concentrate on strategy and networking. My client came to me overwhelmed with their business admin and social media management.
#Tip1 for Business Owners
Identifying what tasks take up the most of your time or cause you concern because you don’t feel skilled at them can be difficult. You can always ask a potential VA for help in identifying what to outsource! It’s not always the mundane stuff that needs to be delegated; it could be things you enjoy doing but need help with – a VA might just have more experience in that particular task and therefore can potentially complete it more quickly.
Saving my Client Time – Step 1
The first thing I need to do with any client is discuss software and access! With this particular client, as I work remotely, I introduced him to LastPass for sharing passwords. This meant I was able to access SharePoint documents on the client’s Microsoft Outlook 365 account and work my magic organising his inbox initially before taking on the ongoing management of his emails. A lot of my clients require help in managing emails – it really can be such a time-consuming task for business owners and may be overwhelming if you’ve let your inbox get out of hand!
#Tip2 for Business Owners
It can take time to adjust to having someone else working alongside you as part of your business. Part of this process is learning how you can give access to relevant company information and resolving any difficulties with this as quickly as possible.
Saving my Client Time – Step 2
I have regular catch up meetings with clients, usually weekly when we first start working together. With this client our meetings were via ‘Zoom’, meaning neither of us had to travel, saving precious time. ‘Zoom’ allows screen sharing which is a really useful tool, providing a visual aid to explanations. We had regular discussions with plenty of opportunity for us both to ask questions as we got to know each other.
#Tip3 for Business Owners
Setting up regular calls with your VA is vital as it develops good communication and quality standards. Remember your VA will generally have other clients they are working with and therefore needs to plan their time efficiently. Their scheduled meeting time for you is focussed time to discuss and update you on the work they are doing for you so always make the most of it!
Saving my Client Time – Step 3
In order to save each other time by ensuring we don’t fill each other’s inboxes, with this client I set up Asana which is a work management platform. It enables us both to assign tasks and set up workflows, document changes and have conversations.
I also set up ContentCal in order to manage the client’s social media; a scheduling tool I like to use which enables the creation and scheduling of posts on a monthly calendar format. My client is able to approve social media posts and amend wording as necessary. I save him more time by using Canva and Stencil to create engaging posts and images.
#Tip4 for Business Owners
For social media management make sure your VA has access to any brand guidelines your company may have as well as relevant company logos. Your VA will want to ‘sound like you’ across your social media platforms to fit in with company tone of voice so anything you can brief them on or send to them to help will be welcomed!
Saving time and allowing for growth
By working together, we have been able to free up my client’s valuable time to allow him the opportunity for increased creativity, exploration of new projects and development of new business. For the first time in many years he was able to take a holiday knowing tasks were being completed and the business was being looked after in his absence.
If you would like to learn more about how I can save you time, please give me a call on 07958 080856 or drop me an email on info@jleake-va-services.com.
