Do you have lots of business cards cluttering up your office that need organising?  Even in today’s digital world, the exchange of business cards continues to be the norm.  However, these small cards find their way into bags and desk drawers and you can never find the one you need when you need it. 
 
Contact information is fundamental to networking and business communications. By organising your business cards effectively and uploading their information to your Contacts, you’ll be able to find key people quicker, leading to long-term relationships and increased sales.
 
Before you begin to organise your cards, look through them and discard any that may no longer be of relevance.  This applies particularly if you’ve been in business for some time.
 
Once you’ve established the cards you wish to keep, here are some suggestions for organising them.
 
1.Scan cards with an App
Business card apps are very useful and suit all budgets.  Simply download the app to your phone, scan your business card and the information is instantly transferred in a digital format.  There are many to choose from and when researching you should consider these three things. Firstly consider the stability of the app (you don’t want to upload the cards, discard them and then find it loses all the data).  Secondly consider its ability to sync with your preferred cloud technology or existing contacts app.  Lastly you should consider the transfer ability of the app and whether or not it’s capturing the information adequately.
 
Apps such as SamCard allow you to exchange E-cards and the Premium version allows integration with Salesforce.  Scanbizcards is another option and allows the integration of multiple CRM services such as Salesforce, SugarCRM, Mailer and Oracle Fusion.
 
I tried scanning my own business card using the free version of SamCard and the result was pretty good

Have you ever considered that your personal assistant doesn’t actually need to be based in your office all the time, if at all?!

With the availability of apps on your mobile phone, tablet and laptop, a virtual assistant can now carry out most of the administrative tasks remotely. This flexible working arrangement can actually help streamline procedures, increasing efficiency. It is often neither time nor cost effective for a small business to employ an assistant 8 hours a day, and have them based in their office 5 days a week.

So how do you maintain clear lines of communication with a team in different locations?   With modern technology and IT systems, our ability to stay in touch remotely is greatly enhanced. Apart from the obvious verbal methods (telephones have been in use since 1876), the following modes of communication are recommended:


Written communications
Only use one form of communication. This keeps your message clear and prevents ambiguity between team members. I have found Slack a good messaging system if you need to talk to your VA about something and it requires a quick answer.  Slack allows real time messaging, file sharing and has a searchable archive.


Video calls
Schedule a weekly video call with your virtual assistant. In an office environment, we benefit from face to face verbal communication. When working remotely, we don’t have that luxury and it’s often more difficult to establish normal human interactions.  Therefore, it’s vital that time is set aside for a weekly catch up call to discuss matters, set goals and targets and discuss progress.


Daily updates
I like to share information frequently with my clients, allowing them to correspond with me at any time, which reduces the risk of re-work, errors and creates a stronger working relationship built on trust and mutual respect. Project management applications like Trello and Asana make it easier, but it’s good practice to send a daily update. I always let my clients know when I’m working on a particular assignment and where appropriate, send a daily email with an update.


Organisation
When working remotely, it’s imperative to keep everything organised and accessible.  Cloud based storage such as Dropbox or Google Drive is useful for this, so that the team can access and exchange large files quickly and easily.  If you use Gmail then it makes sense to use Google Drive and Google is also perfect for collaboration in real time.  You can also protect your company’s data with security options like 2-step verification and single-sign-on, and use mobile management to keep your data safe in the case of a lost device or if a member of the team leaves.

Are you looking for some extra help?
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​As we enter a new year, it is a time to reflect on the year just gone, and think ahead to what goals we have for 2018.
2017 was a bittersweet year.  My sister was married at the end of May and with it came the excitement (and stress!) for her and other family members in planning her wedding.  I was maid of honour and it was an incredibly joyous day that I’ll never forget. She was married at St John’s Church, Friern Barnet and the wedding breakfast was at Mill Hill School. The school is Grade II Listed, set in beautiful grounds and of historic interest.

It was also the year I ceased working as an employee as a Virtual Assistant and launched my business. Having been a business owner previously and having loved being my own boss, I knew it was something I could do, but I knew it wouldn’t be without challenges.
After several months gaining a couple of clients, networking and trying to increase my brand awareness, my Dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after only a month passed away at the end of October.  Having never lost a close family member, it was a huge shock and had a significant impact on any business development. 

We are a very close family and I will miss him dearly.  We are thankful that having reached 86 he was still leading an active life with many interests.

So what does the year ahead look like? I have started 2018 with renewed motivation, energy and excitement.  This week I’ve been registering for several networking events and on Monday attended my local FSB meeting in Finchley, where I made several new contacts and left feeling focused, ready to grasp the nettle and move my business forward.
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I became a Virtual Assistant in order to have more flexibility. I therefore wish to obtain a better work/life balance, which means spending more time with my 5 year old son, meeting new people and working from a café instead of being stuck at my desk.  Planning my day is key and I am currently working through a marketing course, which will hopefully help me focus and allow me to have more structure.
Whatever your personal and business goals are, I would like to wish you every success and look forward to working with you in 2018.

Did you know that having more time can increase your sense of wellbeing? Consider the following:
 

• Is your to-do list getting longer by the minute?
• Are you low on energy caught up with administrative tasks?
• Is your inbox full of unread messages?
• How is your diary? Is it back to back with endless meetings? Do you have all your documentation to hand?
• Is your social media presence suffering as you simply don’t have the time to update it?
• Are you behind with paying your suppliers?
• Are you working late again tonight to complete a proposal?
• When was your client and prospect database last updated?
• Do you find yourself working in the business and not on it?

 
Do these sound familiar?  If you look down the list it doesn’t take much to realise how much time you spend – or don’t spend on these time-consuming tasks.  A virtual assistant can help expand your potential, keep you focused and drive your business.
 
Recently a two-part experiment was run in Canada.  First the participants were asked to spend £30 on a purchase that would save them time. Next they were told to spend the money on material goods. The research concluded that time saving compared with material purchases increased happiness by reducing feelings of time stress.
 
Psychologists say stress over lack of time causes lower wellbeing and can contribute to anxiety and sleepless nights.  However, even though people can afford it, they remain reluctant to pay for help. Less than a third of adults questioned, spent money in this way, but those that did, reported greater happiness.
"In a series of surveys we find that people who spend money to buy themselves more free time are happier - that is, they have higher life satisfaction", said Dr Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist professor at the University of British Columbia, Canada.
 
How would it make you feel if you had more time and energy to work on your business?  Are there tasks that you keep putting off because you hate doing them? If so, research shows that hiring someone to carry out these tasks is money well spent.
 
Call us now.  Let us take those all-important but dreaded tasks off your hands.  Free up your time, allow yourself to re-focus on the growth of your business!