Why I love having a virtual business

by Anne Clark | Jul 29, 2021 | Business, Virtual Assistant

Once upon a time, pre-children, I worked in the blue-collar corporate sector. I was a Personal Assistant to the Managing Director and the Chief Financial Officer, along with supporting the Executive Team and liaising with the Board of Directors.

I also wore the hat of Office Manager, attending to all things office-related from corporate events, office maintenance and renovations, and the day-to-day functions. I liked my job, but truthfully I never really loved my job. Like all jobs, there were functions you had to do that you didn’t like, and occasionally working with people you didn’t necessarily see eye to eye with or enjoyed being around.

Whilst on maternity leave, I was getting nearer to returning to work. For various reasons, I decided to explore the avenue of becoming a virtual assistant. My thoughts were ‘I can type, surely anyone would want that skill’, but there were many lessons to be learned along the way.

Things I learned along the way

Boundaries (mine and clients)
Networking (the good, bad and interesting!)
Working to meet my needs in business, family and clients
Saying ‘No’
Getting back on ‘the horse’ when you’ve fallen off
Learning to identify what I want for me, my business and what direction I want to head in
And the list goes on.

Like with any journey or adventure we take in life, there are some cringe-worthy moments, some high five (or fist pumps) and some enlightening moments.

I have had my virtual business for 5 years, and I can easily say I LOVE who I work with, what I do in and where I’m heading.

The things I love most about my business are

I’m fulfilling a dream
Being readily available for my children
Staying at home with my children and not missing those special moments
I get to be a role model for my children
Work the hours that meet my needs
I work with the most amazing clients
I earn my own income
I get to stay in my casual or pyjamas some days
I am not being questioned by a boss on what I’m doing, or not doing
I am recognised for my skills, services and expertise
I have created my own brand, which of course is 100% me
I get to choose who I’ll work with and what services I offer
I can work from any location with the assistance of a mobile, Wi-Fi and laptop
I get to create the vibe and feel for my business that resonates with me
I work harder now than I ever did in a corporate job and I love every single minute of it, even the crazy ones.

Running your own virtual business isn’t for everyone, and it does take commitment and openness to always learning. You need to learn and understand your customers and their needs, along with establishing your own boundaries. You need to create support around you that meets your needs, and you need to have the drive to see it succeed.

If you think you’ve got what it takes and want to establish a virtual business, and avoid the ‘time wasters’ I experienced, please feel free to visit my ecourse ‘How To Become a Virtual Assistant‘, or my 1:1 private VA mentoring, and together we can get you on the road to success.

Perhaps you are unsure of your direction, then let’s chat and get some clarity happening for you.

30 Blog Topic Ideas

by Anne Clark | May 13, 2021 | Business

Writing a blog can feel daunting for business start-ups, or even those who are frequent bloggers and finding themselves block on topics to write about. Here are 30 blog topic ideas to help you get your blogging on track.

For the start-up business, you feel you want to write blogs for your business but you don’t feel confident in doing so. Many people have the perception that blogs need to be lengthy masterpieces, but that is not necessarily the case. The purpose of blogs is to educate, inspire or communicate your audience about your expertise and to help drive traffic to your website.

To help you get started or back on track, I have put together ideas and suggestions you can use to help create content for your website without having to be an award-winning writer.

Before you start going crazy, determine what type of information your target wants to learn from you. What is that they are most likely going to seek from you, or what is the expertise they need from you.

How To Instructions

Give instruction on how to do something that is relevant for your business and audience. Include things like screenshots of what people can expect to see.

Latest Industry News or Information

Share with your audience important information that is relevant to them.

Topical Latest News

I was listening to a podcast by Darren Prowse from Probloggers, and he talked about how he wrote a blog predicting the winner of the American Idol show (or maybe it was Australia Idol, whichever!). Because the show was nearing its end and people were dying to find out who won, and of course, searching the net for answers, his blog traffic was huge. So don’t be afraid to add completely un-business-related topics, you never know how they might pay off.

Lists

People love lists and quick and easy ones at that. Here is a blog I wrote which is 50 call to actions phrases. Quick and easy.

Controversial Topics

Something bugging you, why not write about it. But be warned, social media does bring out the worst in some people!

Checklists

Give your audience a checklist of what they need to ensure something runs smoothly. A little freebie download always helps too.

Cheat Sheets

We are always looking for a better way to do some of the things in our business, so got a hack on how they do it, share it!

Case Studies

Case studies are a great way to teach people things and give examples to enable them to learn and understand better.

External Resource Lists

Have your own list of going to’s for your business, why not give your audience one.

Interviews

Interviews are a great way to build exposure for your business, those you interview will share your post with their audience too.

Reviews

Using a product or service you love, rave about it. Or perhaps you want to review two products against each other weighing up the pros and cons. Also, this is an effective way to review a product that you have an affiliation with.

Advice

Find out what your audience wants advice on, and write about it.

Monthly Summaries

Write a monthly summary on those who have been inspiring you, or teaching you new things.

Problem Solving

What are the most likely issues your audience has, problem-solve for them. Give them suggestions on what they can do to resolve the issue.

Video Blogs

Create a video if you don’t like writing/typing. Or create a stream of videos you find inspiration and share them with your audience.

Guest Blogs

Invite others to come and guest blog on your website.

Inspirational Stories

Everyone loves to be inspired, so share real life inspirational stories. Yours or others.

Quiz

Give them a quiz to complete relevant to your expertise.

Facts / Statistics

Share the latest important facts and statistics relevant to your audience and/or industry.

Contests

Prizes!!!!! Yes every sure does love to win something for nothing!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most commonly asked questions you receive in yoru business? Answer them. Feature one per week or month and make it a series.

Event Summaries

Attended any events? Talk about them, link to them and share photos from the event. (psst….links are good for SEO!)

Infographics

Sometimes pictures tell a thousand words, rather than type a 1000….draw it! Pictures are great for giving people overviews or quick summation on topics. You can use free online tools like Canva to create infographics….they even have templates.

Podcast Show Notes

Got a podcast, post it on your blog page with additional notes or references for readers.

Round Ups

What’s been happening? Do a monthly round-up of what or who you’ve been dealing with, watching, talking to, learning from, following, stalking (just kidding) and admiring.

Behind the Scenes

People love to learn and gain an understanding on how things happen. So why not share with them.

Quotes

Looking for quotes to share with your audience? I know I always go searching. So why not do one better, and create a list of your favourites so when others go searching for quotes, they land at your website.

Affiliate Product Review

Affiliate products are a great way to get extra money in your pocket. So why not write about the product or topic and embed the affiliate links so you can convert sales.

Blog Series on a specific topic

Got a big juicy topic, don’t just write about it. Break it down down down and make a series on the topic. Keep them coming back for more.

Your own real-life story

Nothing connects better than real-life adventures or stories, so don’t be afraid to share them. Be a storyteller.

I hope this blog has given you lots of ideas. Psst…wish you to outsource them, then please check out my blogging service here.

5 ways I use Evernote in my business

by Anne Clark | Mar 9, 2021 | Business

Evernote is known as the modern day workspace, and it is definitely a program I use daily within my business and highly recommend it my clients.

How Evernote has helped me in my business.

Accessibility and Control

I operate form a desktop, laptop, ipad and iphone. Evernote allows my notes to sync across all devices, so I always have all my data available to me at all times. It allows my clients and I to share specific projects with teams, and always have the information at our finger tips.

If you’re a business and have multiple team members working on a project. Under an Evernote Business account, you can control who is accessing what information, and if anyone was to leave the team, the information collated by that person remains with your business (not them). Which is always a great reassurance for businesses who could be at risk of losing their valuable research information and time.

Taking notes whenever and wherever

I attended an event recently and wanted to captures note and pictures from the event. I had left my writing pad and pen behind and then remembered I had Evernote on my phone. So, rather than having pieces of paper, and then photos on my camera. I was able to use Evernote on my iphone and capture everything, and house it all in the one location (no more searching for where I had put them). Time saver and definitely efficient.

Sharing Research

Working with clients and conducting research on their behalf, we are able to collaborate together compiling all our researching the one spot. This allows all those involved in the project to know what information has been collated to date and what is still outstanding. Reducing double on work and opening the communication doors.

With Evernote all the file note written can be created into a table of content for easy access. You can create project specific tags. And keep them all in the one folder.

Business Evernote also allows you to add and remove people from various projects.

Writing notes/drafting reports & blogs

Our ideas often come to us at the worst time, and prior to Evernote I was forever forgetting those brilliant ideas. (Drove me crazy!) Now, I’m able to voice record my notes, type my notes, add articles/research, photos, whatever I find to my ideas folder in Evernote.

I can then go back to my ideas folder later and then convert my notes into a project folder and get things happening.

Presentations

Need to quickly show a client or colleagues an update on a project. Rather than spending hours creating a Powerpoint presentation, you can actually use Evernote to create the presentation super fast. This is a fantastic function, than save you time, doubling up on work or replication what you’ve already create, and you can present it from your computer, phone or iPad…wherever you have Evernote installed.

Evernote Consultant

My love for using Evernote, make me take it a step further and undertake training so I can help others utilise the benefits like I am. If you’re interested in learning more or signing up to Evernote. Please let me know.

No more waiting download you copy of Evernote today.

How to archive your mailchimp contacts

by Anne Clark | Mar 1, 2021 | Business, How To, Mailchimp

Struggling to keep your Mailchimp costs down. In Mailchimp you are paying for your contacts, not subscribers. An important action to regularly undertake is archive contacts that are not subscribers, as you can’t email them, so save your money and simply archive. Do not delete them (that is another post for another day!)

Here are simple instructions to archive contacts in your Mailchimp.

Click on your Audience Icon
Click on All Contacts, or on the right-hand side button ‘View All Contacts’
In sub-menu, click on New Segment
Click on Email Marketing Status is the status drop-down menu to show options
Select Unsubscribed, Non-Subscribed and Cleaned
In the next window view, in the first column click the arrow and select all
A new menu will show up on top, click on the Actions drop down arrow
Select Archive

Please note that you can always unarchive people later if needed.

If you need help managing your Mailchimp account, then please contact me today to chat about your needs.

10 steps to ensure you correctly take risks in your business

by Anne Clark | Jan 21, 2021 | Business

One of the biggest blocks business owners face is not willing to try something new or take a risk. Some of the best risks do pay off. Taking a risk is about doing something in your business that truly resonates with you and that you are confidently willing to try to see how your audience feels. It doesn’t mean doing things that you don’t wholeheartedly feel is right.

Tony Robbins says

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

For business owners, sometimes taking risks can just feel overwhelming and another added pressure they don’t want to deal with. But risk isn’t a big ugly scary thing, risks can be small steps towards an end goal. Taking risk is about trying something new to see how it’s accepted or not accepted by your target market.

Stepping outside your comfort zone and trying a new thing in business can actually be an exhilarating journey and one that has you asking why on earth you never tried it earlier.

In taking risks it’s about ensuring it’s done in a practical and safe guarded manner.

Being patient

For heaven sakes, taking a risk isn’t about taking your clothes off right this minute and running the streets naked. It’s about patiently waiting for the right time for YOU and when it feels right take the leap.

Be aware that any setbacks or blocks are not ones you’ve created because you’re scared of failure. Remember it’s better to have tried than live with the regret you never tried.

Having risk assessment plans

What if? It’s a bit like planning for an event, whilst it might be a glorious sunny day, you still make sure you have a contingency plan for ‘in case it rains’. Back up plans are smart and strategic. They help eliminent any panic and reduce your stresses because you know you have it covered….just in case.

Gather your intel

Don’t just do something without at least doing your research on potential risks, what your audience possible reactions may be and how you can counter-measure them. Gathering intel can be in the form of surveys with your target market, or market research to see what the latest trends are.

Identify your variables against your controls

As with many projects there are some risks that are 100% controllable and others that are variable and non-controllable. Doing a risk assessment plan should enable you to clearly identify possible solutions for all.

Be ready and willing to step outside the norm

Take a deep breathe and be okay with doing something outside of the norm. We are always looking for the next best thing and you might just have it. So no more thinking inside the box. Go on, you CAN do it.

Financial backing or fallback

Perhaps your idea is needing financial support, think about how you can fund it if you personally can’t pay for it all yourself. Perhaps a loan, if you believe in your project, and are will to back yourself with a loan then why not talk to your banks. If they believe it’s a good risk, and they’ll do their own risk assessment, then provide the financial support. However, be aware of what you’re up for if it goes south!

Doing it alone versus bringing in a partner or investors

Sometime business owners can feel it’s just too overwhelming to do it alone, so consider others who might benefit in the project (how are not a competitor to you business) to join the venture. Psst….don’t forget to make sure an agreement is signed and all is protected, so don’t share anything with anyone without having legal protection for you and your idea.

Safeguards

Of course, depending on your idea do you need to speak to your insurance provider for extra coverage for this project. As it might not fall within the scope of your current insurance. Insurance adds the extra security that you are covered for the worst possible scenario. It adds great peace of mind.

Taking your time

Don’t rush things because everyone else says it needs to be there yesterday. When you feel you have everything covered and are ready to go, then go for it. You are the one it will fall back on, not those telling you what to do.

Assess

Every step of the way you should be assessing and re-assessing how the projects is progressing to ensure you are clearly identify any ‘changes’ that might have occurred or any unexpected obstacles.

AND, make sure you enjoy the ride. This is your adventure and one risk you might come to love and encourage you to take further for the love of your people!

Risk assessments do not just apply to one area in business, it applies to ALL areas. Consider adding this to your ‘To Do’ list as a priority and conduct a full risk assessment of your business. You might learn some amazing things about you and your business that you hadn’t realised.

You can find out lots of information on these websites.

www.riskmanagement.com.au/

www.standards.org.au/

www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/

https://www.saiglobal.com

What does a virtual assistant do?

by Anne Clark | Oct 5, 2020 | Business, Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant is a business owner that works remotely providing services from administration through to desktop publishing and website development, to other business owners. Virtual assistants work from their homes, providing support to businesses across the world. Virtual assistants are paid generally for the time spent working for businesses, at an hourly rate or project rate.

As many business owners start to grow their business, they can find themselves at a turning point where their focus truly needs to be on the business growth and development, not being weighed down with various administration tasks or business functions that could easily be outsourced and managed by external parties, giving them back their valuable time.

A virtual assistant is a great stepping-stone for the business owner who isn’t quite ready to hire a full time or part time employee, or have the needed finances to cover overheads such as computers, wages, insurance, and so forth.

In Australia, Virtual Assistant rates range on average from $30 to $70, depending on their skill and industry knowledge and experience. In my role as a virtual assistant, I work with multiple businesses providing a range of services from administration, email/diary management, social media and online business strategies, blogging, newsletter, desktop publishing and website updates.

Virtual assistants can be hired hourly for a one off project, or for a set number of hours per week or month. When it comes to hiring, don’t allow yourself to be blocked by the price of a virtual assistant, as it is important that your business needs are being met. It is important to know, that whilst a virtual assistant might cost $50 an hour, that task that takes you 2 hours is mostly likely going to take a virtual assistant 1 hour or less.

Virtual assistants work remotely, and use programs such as Skype, Dropbox, project management software, to enable them to work for businesses across the globe.

Business owners can source overseas virtual assistants, which can have many pros and cons. If your business need a 24 hour service, having a virtual assistant both locally and overseas can enable you to provide a 24 hour service. There are many programs that can be used to streamline processes between your virtual team and ensure smooth running of your business.

When you feel you are ready to bring a virtual assistant into your team, but may be unsure where to start and how to hire one.

I recommend reading the following articles:

How to start working with a virtual assistant

How can a Virtual Assistant help you in your business?

Then seek referrals from colleagues and friends, on virtual assistants they recommend. Another method is to review testimonials on virtual assistant websites to see what previous clients have to say. Be sure to talk to several virtual assistant businesses, to ensure you feel comfortable with their ability to meet your business needs and understanding. Also, see if they offer a trial period so you can be sure it’s going to be a perfect match!

If you have any additional questions on what a virtual assistant does, please feel to connect with me.

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