If only we knew the answer of how you can save time and money! Keep reading because there is a chance there is...
Are you a business owner that has too much to do and you don’t know where to start?
Do you wake up feeling anxious or overwhelmed because the mounting ‘To-Do’ list irritates you?
How are you going to get your next client when you can’t keep track of your existing ones?
Prioritising effectively is the first stage of working out how to move forward in anything in life, whether it is related to work or within our personal lives. This can be a conscious thought but it is often subconscious – and that is exactly why it’s difficult to plan your priorities and workload when you so desperately need to.
“But I don’t have enough time to do anything at the moment, never mind prioritising things I need to do!”
This should not be disheartening, feeling this way is surely a good sign?
You are busy enough to have reached a crossroads at which you can continue doing what you are doing, literally running on auto-pilot and continuing to work as you have done up until now.
The danger that you might find yourself in is that your processes and procedures to cope with the additional business are not up to scratch. Having these set in stone early on in your new business can help save you a huge amount of time as you get busier.
Imagine making money without doing as much work...
Imagine spending more time with family or doing the things you love instead of working around the clock to fit in admin and client support.
Would you go to the gym? Spend time with your partner on the sofa at night? Have a long soak in the bathtub by candlelight?
It will cost you more than you think if you burn yourself out and become resentful of what you started out doing what you loved. Your family life might be negatively impacted because you never spend quality time with them. Your health could suffer because you are not looking after yourself properly.
By taking a small step to prioritise what is important to you and leaving behind (for now) the things that are hanging over you like a dark cloud, you will get clarity, that grey will clear and your mind will become more focused on what needs to be done now (yes, now, not in a day or two).
Imagine not waking up with that dreaded feeling of looking at your phone to see the never ending e-mails mount up.
Would having someone organise your inbox and draft responses for you lessen the anxiety you feel when you know today is another day that is so busy that you won’t get the time to respond to the person that e-mailed you a few days ago?
Ignoring your e-mails will likely damage your business by weakening relationships and lessen your credibility. E-mails are the gateway to your front line of communication and apart from keeping up to speed with what you are up to, they can easily be managed by someone experienced in doing so.
Set time aside to weed out the rubbish, then direct your attention to the things that really matter now (yes, now, not in a day or two) and then you can action those things more easily.
Refocusing will save a huge amount of time and when you pick up your phone to find all your e-mails taking up only the amount of screen it takes to scroll down once or twice, it will feel liberating!
Imagine how productive you would feel if you ticked off a number of things on your to-do list.
Would the objectives you have set yourself feel more realistic, giving you a moral boost, knowing they are all in sight and easier to achieve if they were set out clearly?
The feeling of tiredness, constant running around and not achieving the tasks on your ‘to do list’ will lead to disorganisation and inefficiency, wasting your time and losing your business money. This lack of productivity will negatively impact on your business and personal life.
Categorising your list into three sections is the key to success of saving time and being able to prioritise effectively:
‘Must Do, Firefighting’ tasks
‘Need to Do, Regular Deadline Driven’ tasks; and
‘Would be Good to Do, not urgent, need to be done but can be done later’ tasks
How can I help?
I have been told I have always been a very helpful person. I always strive to do things better for people and that changes all the time.
People change, businesses change, we are all changing as we grow – and we need to be adaptable and flexible in everything we do to keep up and one step ahead.
Who You are and How You Work
The first thing I do is work out who you are: what makes you tick, what business you are in, what your values and goals are, how you want to achieve them and how you can do that. I have decades of experience and can offer services to suit you.
You think that it’s only you in the business that knows where things are and how things work.
I say that when you become busier, you will have less desire to set systems up with more information that you know what to do with.
I can set up systems and procedures for you, creating a ‘go-to’ handbook for you to follow and onboard new recruits so that there is uniformity and a standard set in your business.
Once the foundations have been set, it is much easier to concentrate on what needs to be done.
You think that because you are the face behind the business, the brains behind the concept and the engine room that you got it all started you hold the key to your success.
I say you run the risk of limiting your opportunities by keeping control of everything and not delegating the things other people are expert in – to help support you in your venture.
I can support and help you brainstorm on the next steps you wish to take in your business and what I can take off your hands including admin tasks and client relationship building.
Lack of Time
You think that because you lack time, trying to explain what you want, exactly the way you want will waste more time.
I say that you need to invest in yourself so that I can understand what you really need and how I can support you.
I can take on a number of tasks that you dislike or find yourself doing during an evening when all you really want to do is tuck your child into bed without hurrying them or watching a Netflix series that it seems everyone else has the time to enjoy watching.
About Me
I am always listening and have heard most of the things you are saying and why you feel things are holding you back.
I am experienced in upward managing in a positive and non-overbearing way. I am the strategist who suggests different ways of doing things and build upon what you have worked so hard to achieve so far.
I am willing you to do well. I am a team player and want to be part of your success. I am invested. I am the organiser, the sequencer, the one that likes things to go according to plan.
I am also the person that has contingencies up their sleeve – when things don’t go according to plan!
I am keen to be one step ahead so I think of the solution to the problem before you do.
I am your support that hypothesises about hypothesising and am often found working out things that haven’t happened yet.
I am not your average assistant. I make your business my business and I take on responsibility and treat it as seriously as you do.
I am the solution to a few of your problems.
How can spending money save you money?
A simple calculation will answer how spending money will save you money.
If your hourly rate that you charge a Client is greater than what I charge, you should not spend your time on the tasks I can do for you.
If you spend your time on any of the services I offer, not only do you erode your valuable time when you could be doing something that your expertise is better well served, you are losing money that you could be charging your Clients because it will take you longer to do the things I can do for you.
Invest in yourself now.
Contact me to discuss how I can alleviate your workload, save you time and money so you can concentrate on what you set out to do and what you love doing. AKA Virtual Assistant can make your life easier.
Anna