After the first 3 years in business (and what a great time we had along the way!), we are so proud to announce that TJConsulting Virtual Assistance have made it through to the final round in the Virtual Business of the Year Awards 2010.

It is a great achievement for us to be nominated and we would be grateful if you could support us. Voting is very simple and literally takes 2 seconds of your valuable time by following this link and clicking the VOTE button:

http://www.vbawards.com/2010/11/tjconsulting-virtual-assistance/

There are no forms to fill in, no registration and no personal details to disclose. It really is simple!

Who should be the Virtual Business of 2010? PPH are looking for “rewarding, young, fledgling companies that make progressive use of the web and technology in the way they operate, innovate and compete, looking for companies that can demonstrate how they have used the web in innovate ways to remain lean, efficient and competitive.” And we absolutely stand by every single word in that statement.

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It seems like in today’s economy general day to day expenses mount up in just trying to keep the business running. Cash flow is always an issue, as is staffing. Employ too many staff and your costs will be too high, employ too few staff and your business efficiency will be affected and that can lose you business!

A way around this is to ‘outsource’ where possible your office and business requirements. So let’s look at the different areas of Outsourcing.

Secretarial and Administration Services

• Secretarial and Administration services can be found in a variety of companies, from a firm that simply takes your phone messages, to a company that will deal with all your daily requirements, from diary management to online marketing. Draw up a list of your requirements and expectations before you start your research to make it easier to find the right provider.
• You may find that you will need to hire more than 1 virtual assistant to cover all your needs: someone can be answering your phones while another VA could specialise in copy writing.

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Bookkeeping doesn’t have to be completely awful. It can be easy. Yes, trust us… it really can! First of all you need to use a good and easy system to maintain your business accounts. After a lot of research and testing we recommend all our clients to switch to either KashFlow or Xero and use those systems to do the bookkeeping online.

Secondly, it’s all about the process and self-discipline. Keep your books up to date and avoid piles of receipts and invoices stacking up in the corner. Tackling books a little and often would reduce your fear and overwhelm when dealing with it. You can also employ an accountant to keep an eye on your records. This will be much cheaper than getting them to do it all for you, but you won’t have to fear making a mistake and being fined by the “tax people”.

Finally, realise why you are doing it. Bookkeeping is a wonderful practice helping you as a business owner understand where you need to reduce the expenses and how you can gain more profit. Bookkeeping is a core area of your business, it’s the blood pressure measurements of your cash flow lifeblood. If you don’t do it regularly you may miss the warning signals of your business running out of cash. As a solopreneur coach or consultant you would really want to avoid that at all costs!

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Freelancing and consulting can often seem like an impossible juggling act, but if you keep these seven practical business tips in mind, your business will go from strength to strength.

Work out what you’re best at and express it clearly on all marketing material – niche marketing is a simpler and more profitable way to grow your business, rather than trying to be everything for everyone. The more detailed your customer avatar is – the simpler it will be for you to find them, connect with them and offer something of value. To start creating your customer avatar think of the following questions:

• Who is my ideal customer? Who would I like to work with?
• Are they able to pay my fees? Will they be willing to pay my fees?
• What problem do they have in life, that my offering will help them solve?
• Why is it important to get it solved?
• How many of those customers are out there in the marketplace?
• WHERE… (do they work? Where do they study? Where do they live?)
• WHAT… (do they eat, drink, read, listen to, are interested in?)
• HOW… (do they look for new products or services, do they choose their suppliers, do they pay the bills?)

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How do you rate your time management skills? Do you feel you get a lot done every day? Do you plan your day to the last detail or just “go with the flow” and deal with whatever landed on your desk/in your inbox? Whichever category you are in, it’s important that you take time to analyse what’s working for you and make adjustments where necessary.

I’m someone who’s fond of written to-do lists. I’ve got my hardcover diary where I scribble every day my lists and feel great emotional empowerment once all items on my to-do list have been ticked off. I add my meetings there too, any trivial household tasks like getting the shopping or doing the school run. In this way I know exactly how much time I’ve got between “fixed” commitments and can schedule and organise the rest of the tasks in between those.

Here are some tips from the born organisers (aka “virtual PAs”) for organising your day:

1. Write it down.
Make a list and write everything down – on paper, on computer, in Excel, on iPhone or Blackberry. It doesn’t matter where but it’s got to be written! You may be shocked, surprised and overwhelmed looking at your list of ‘to do’s’. But don’t despair – as they will all get done, if you follow the steps below. Also, don’t forget to schedule lunch in your diary, especially if you find yourself often working through your lunch break!

Another tip I’ve picked up from Nigel Botterill (UK top entrepreneur) – “this day isn’t over until tomorrow is planned”. Don’t stop the work until you’ve done the list. In this way you won’t waste time in the morning and you will be more likely to stick to your list/plan rather than changing everything because of an email that landed in the Inbox overnight. continue