Ok, you think I am mad now, but hear me out.
Winning an award can bring your small business some really good PR and expose your brand to the right kind of audience. It can really help you to grow your reputation and enhance credibility.
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In the second instalment of this PR series I am discussing examples of networking and how a Virtual Assistant can help.
As in any form of business creating a network serves two purposes. Firstly it is useful for contacts, for getting your name out there and for helping you to find (and give) help.
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In the first of a series of posts on the benefits of using a Virtual Assistant for some FREE PR, I am going to touch on how I have used a VA to help with getting in the news.
Nobody doubts the need for a long term online strategy, such as Search Engine Optimisation, for example. However, whilst you wait for a few months for your SEO strategy to kick in it doesn’t mean you cannot also be pro-active in bringing your story to the attention of the world?
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Why fix it when it ain’t broken? Why fool around with a redesign, when everything works just fine? Why jeopardize our conversion rates just for the sake of a refresh? “Old, but gold”…
These are all perfectly reasonable reactions to a question whether your website needs improvement - a little facelift. Even though somewhere in the back of your mind you keep a number of reasons why you actually should redesign your website, you feel like there’s too much at stake. A redesign could make your business grow and bring you success, or it could fail discouragingly.
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We never cease to learn and one way we can do this is by listening to our clients.
Certainly our clients are using their assistants in ways that we probably did not predict and in fact the variety of clients we have; using VAs for professional and personal tasks is beyond anything we ever imagined.
It is with this in mind that we are undertaking some case studies and we start with Simon Cyrus from Cyrus Healthcare and Locum Blueprint.
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Why is it important to map your customer journey? Well, simply because it’s good to step into your customers’ shoes from time to time and see your business from their perspective. If this sounds like a complete cliché to you, here’s another question.
Have you ever lost your sleep because one of your customers wrote a bad review online about your product or service? Or, better yet, do you find yourself losing more and more time trying to figure out why your prospects are buying from your competitors, when you’re offering them such a good product?
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Happy people are more likely to enjoy their job and people who enjoy their job are more likely to be good at it as well.
Typically they care about the company’s goals, they see themselves as a part of bigger picture and are more compelled to work. Happy people are more engaged in the work they do, more present and more likely to stay with their employers for the long term. They may even have no problem with putting in a few of those overtime hours...
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In order to lead a satisfying life, there needs to be a balance between our work and life, but not in a good vs. evil kind of way, where work is on one end of a seesaw and life on the other. The term balance should be viewed more as a consistent action in both professional and personal field that will gradually help us reach our full potential in life as a whole.
So, before you start googling ten steps for successfully pulling a sickie and not showing up for work tomorrow, have a look at these 5 tips on work-life balance.
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During one of my usual trips into the unknown on the world wide web I stumbled upon a mum, a pretty tired one I presume, saying “I wish I were a little kid so I could take a nap and everyone would be proud of me“.
It got me thinking of that, ever so present, sinking feeling when there’s too much on your plate. When you’re juggling various priorities and challenging responsibilities, but it all seems impossible. When you’re trying to prioritize, but everything seems important... find some "me time".
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Owning and running a business is a frightening thought for most people, especially when you consider how many problems you might face along the way.
Having the idea is often the easy bit. Starting and managing it successfully along the way is the hardest and scariest part. The first two years of your business are crucial and most small companies do not make it. Those brave enough to do it have to manage every aspect from employees, marketing, admin, accounts and, perhaps most importantly, making sure they don't miss out on any leads!
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It’s a new year, and trend forecasters have been predicting the marketing trends that are set to transform 2018.
Throughout last year, we saw an explosion of A.I tools that can be implemented at every stage of the production cycle. Everything from automated customer service bots, to smart RFID tags, are going mainstream.
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"A good way of deciding whether to embark on some project, start up or venture is to look at the worst case scenario and what you can learn from it, even if it is not ultimately a financial success."
If you have embarked on your portfolio career or have started introducing elements of it to your existing professional life, then here are 8 tips to make sure you manage it properly.
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If you find traditional jobs and the nine to five concept as a bad fit for you, a portfolio career can bring you what you’re missing in regular employment and that is a better life-work balance and you being the boss of your time and your work.
If this sounds interesting, here are 8 tips that may help you on the road to starting a "portfolio career".
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Are you looking for ways to earn some cash on the side? Perhaps to supplement your income or perhaps looking to take the first step towards building your own business empire?
A side hustle can be the best way to test the water. Not only can you try something without giving up the security of your employment but in some cases you may be able to cheaply outsource the labour and build something that will deliver you the financial freedom you desire.
As a start hear are 50 side hustles that can boost your income...
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Entrepreneurs often ignore the need to document everything as they work frantically, all hours, to build up their business.
But a VA is not automatically on your wavelength and does not have the intimate knowledge of your product or business that you have...
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Picture yourself sitting in your favourite chair watching your favourite series in the middle of the day. You've had your green tea lesson with your Japanese tea master and soon it will be time for kettle bells on the lawn... oh, and all this time you are earning money.
That is pretty much the idea of Passive Income Streams.
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Here are ten practical examples of work a Virtual Assistant can do with a quick and easy illustration of how to go about doing it.
I should point out, in this day and age of Top 10 lists, that these are in no particular order and represent fraction of what a VA can do. Right, o point waffling let's dive straight in...
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I have tried various but if you do decide to hire directly, either through a local job site or through a freelance marketplace it is crucial you get your job posting right, to ensure you get the best candidates...
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Whichever way you look at it - whether as a percentage of your time or your clients - you want to be concentrating on the 20% that brings the greater financial benefit or perhaps in a personal interpretation; the 20% that brings the greater feeling of mental wellbeing.
Here is a simple process to come up with some simple answers...
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Regardless of your technology or platform choice (Magento, Prestashop, Opencart...), or the maturity of the custom eComm solution in use, ensuring your development keeps pace with your growth is crucial.
Here are the key areas in which "nearshore" outsourcing this development in Europe, can help you...
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