delegate, PA Services Blog · Pink-Spaghetti

The top 3 causes of entrepreneur burnout and how to avoid it

4 February 2019 by Vicky

Life as an entrepreneur can be intense, but if you’re constantly feeling exhausted, emotional, and overwhelmed, then you could be heading for burnout.

Choosing to become an entrepreneur can be an exciting, rewarding and lucrative path to take, but the journey can be rocky and it’s important to look after yourself along the way to avoid burning out.

Entrepreneur burnout is usually the result of a prolonged period of feeling very stressed and overwhelmed at work.

Warning signs that you’re heading for burnout can include often feeling anxious, exhausted, angry or emotional. Suffering with frequent headaches or insomnia, struggling to focus, losing the passion for your business, and becoming less productive or listless are also common symptoms of entrepreneur burnout.

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Here is why you should outsource to a virtual assistant…

16 October 2018 by Vicky

Do you deserve a bit more time and money? We believe you do.

We believe every small business owner needs and deserves a great Virtual Assistant. Why? Because a great VA will save you time and make you money. Bear with us on this one…

So let’s just say you have a task you have to do each month. It takes you 5 hours. Quite honestly you hate doing it, you don’t really have the skill set for it and you procrastinate over it each month.

It’s always sat on your to do list making you feel slightly uncomfortable, guilty and let’s face it a little bit resentful that it won’t just vanish from your list FOREVER.
You have one in mind, don’t you?

If you hand this task over to a VA with the right skill set it’s likely they can do this task in a fraction of the time… or they could even automate it for you.

The task can be outsourced to a virtual assistant in 3 hours each month, saving you 5 hours. Or it could be automated as a one-off project and now your task only takes 30 min each month!

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What’s in it for Me?

19 September 2016 by Vicky

Pink Spaghetti offer support to businesses in many ways. While many people appreciate the help, there is often the question of “What’s in it for me?” and how does your service really impact our lives? Let me tell you about one case, and the tangible difference our help made. small_Bundles,

A client was due to attend a trade show on her own, and called Pink Spaghetti to see if we could help her on the day. Of course we said yes! The initial brief was for someone to be on the stand and to speak to people if she was unable to; a standing position if you will.

The service that Pink Spaghetti offered was support before, after and during the event in the end. Prior to the day we sourced and prepared giveaway items, taking the pressure off the client meaning she could concentrate on her preparation; no last minute panicking about things she hadn’t had time to do. On the day, Pink Spaghetti arrived early to help prepare the stand, and rush out to get last minute supplies. After taking some time to understand the key offerings of the business, and how they were different, we represented the business during the show.

Our practical, supportive approach provided the client with an “Oasis of Calm” from the off. Getting to know the business meant we could really engage with attendees, sell the business and explore possible relationships and collaborations; for Pink Spaghetti it was not just a case of collecting business cards.

The overall result of hiring Pink Spaghetti was that our client was able to capitalise on all the potential business opportunities. Where she was unable to talk directly to someone, Pink Spaghetti jumped in and made the connection. More connections equal more opportunities and equal increased profit; it’s as simple as that.

The moral of the story is that you, as a small business owner, don’t have to go it alone. In fact, it’s often better if you don’t. We are out there, understanding the pressures that go hand in hand with owning a business, and are more than capable of supporting you through it. Make sure you don’t miss those opportunities in your business!

Are you about to start the School Holiday Juggle?

11 July 2016 by Vicky

This month our blog has been written by the co-founder of Pink Spaghetti, Vicky Matthews, who has two children, Holly and Tom.

The thought of the long school holidays can fill working parents with dread. For myself it is very much a period of juggling, however if you plan ahead it can be a lovely time to step back a bit and enjoy precious time with your children.

My children are aged eleven and seven so I know just how challenging it is to balance business and children during school holidays. There is no ‘right’ way; you must find what works best for you. Over the years I have tried most options and this summer my kids will spend two days a week at different holiday clubs, which they love, however we have had to try lots of different ones to get to this point!

Most of the time it is a balancing act and there will be times when you have to change your plans at the last minute because something urgent comes in. However on the whole if you can try to keep things simple and not over commit you can get a good balance over the holidays. Trying to perform both roles simultaneously does not often work and I have tried working on a laptop while my kids were nearby doing what kids do and it just doesn’t work, so dedicate your full attention to one thing or the other where possible (however I know this is not always possible and I am often guilty of just quickly checking my emails when I should be doing something else!).

Here are my top tips on juggling over the school holidays:
1. Weeks (if possible) before the holidays begin start to plan out your weeks. I get a large sheet of paper and map out each day and schedule in set times for the business and the kids. When deciding which days to work I look at the rest of my team’s holidays and any regular business commitments that I have. I then look at what events are on for the children that we would like to go to and diarise these. At the end of this process I have an idea of which days I will be working and which days therefore I will need some help with the children.
2. Use a mix of paid for childcare and favours/child swaps etc. Childcare can be expensive and my children are not always keen on going to a holiday club. I have a fantastic network of friends and family who can help. Friends may have my children one day and I have theirs another. My parents and in laws are great too and are always happy to have the children.
3. On the days that I am with the children I will get up early before the children (I am lucky my children will wake up at 9.30am in the holidays) and can do 4 hours work before we start the day. I can then pick up any other bits in the evening. However if I have had a good start to the day I always feel more in control!
4. Use technology wisely. Although I think it is better to dedicate your time to either the children or the business there are times when you do need to keep in touch. My iphone is my saviour and it allows me to access my emails and any of my documents. We save all of our documents on Dropbox and I can see these on my phone too. This means I can respond to an urgent enquiry without being at my desk.
When I’m feeling stressed at the thought of how I will cope I try to remind myself why I set up my business – to have more freedom and the flexibility to spend time with my family.

Inspirational Businesswomen in celebration of Be A Millionaire Day 2016

15 May 2016 by Vicky

Friday 20th May 2016 is National ‘Be A Millionaire Day’. At Pink Spaghetti we have several inspirational businesswomen as customers who may well belong to this exclusive club. Millionaires or not though, we think all of our clients are 1 in a million and we thought we would share with you some of their successes.

One of our Pink Spaghetti Franchisees, Laura from Newbury, has the privilege of working with a very special lady who has turned a small venture into a thriving business. Romilla Arber runs Honesty Group in West Berkshire, started just two years ago. Honesty Group has gone from strength to strength in a short space of time and provides a benchmark for all women thinking of making that leap and starting their own company. We spent some time with her recently to understand how she has made it such a success:

Pink Spaghetti Q&A

1. What prompted you to start your business and how/where/when did it start?
I wanted to start a business venture in the food sector that could make a reasonable profit whilst retaining its integrity towards staff, customers and suppliers. I started it in 2014 at the Honesty Cookery School.

2. How many people do you now employ?
We now employ 30 staff across the group.

3. What has made your business so successful? Could you give us 5 tips?
My 5 key tips are working hard to hire and retain the right staff, making good customer service a priority, training and developing staff, charging competitively, having a strong and clear vision.

4. How do you juggle the work/life balance?
This is very important to me. I try to work only 4 days a week and stop at 5pm every day.

5. Do you have anyone in particular who has inspired you in business?
My husband had a very successful business so he is definitely my source of inspiration.

We also wanted to find out from Laura what makes Romilla so special and how she is a source of inspiration to her.

Romilla has rapidly grown not only a business with multiple aspects to it but also a brand in which people trust. Across all areas of the business there is a common theme of honesty and quality. Managing all of the different areas of the business must take some serious juggling and for most people running just one of those areas well would be a huge achievement yet somehow Romilla manages to ensure an exceptionally high standard across the board. The fact there is a clear vision and passion behind the Honesty brand is very evident and people buy into it. When Romilla told me it all started in 2014 I was genuinely shocked as there is such a strong ethos and brand behind it that can sometimes take companies years and years to build and nurture. It just goes to show if you have the passion and drive to put in the hard work you can achieve your vision. I am extremely honoured to work for Romilla and her drive and enthusiasm inspires me every day.

Romilla’s company, ‘Honesty Group’ features a Cookery School, Pub, Restaurant, Accommodation, Bakery, Coffee Shops and Catering Company. Romilla is also a published author of two cookery books and founder of the Food Education Trust. For more details visit www.honestygroup.co.uk.

Get In Sync!

25 February 2014 by Vicky

Like many working parents, my week can often feel like a whirlwind of school runs, business meetings and grocery shopping, a quick dash to a yoga class, with a few appointments, after school clubs and birthday parties thrown in for good measure!

And in amongst all this I do a full time job too!

So how do you keep on top of it all? Do you trust to luck and a good memory, or do you take advantage of everything the technological age has to offer? The latter option gets my vote!

You may already use the calendar on your smartphone, but it can still be all too easy to miss things when there are so many family members to keep up with and both you and your partner are juggling complex lives, independently and together.

Most businesses use a shared calendar facility across their teams, so it’s not a stretch of the imagination to see how this might help make it possible to plan, organise and synchronise family life too. A favourite tool of ours here at Pink Spaghetti is Google Calender.

There are so many benefits to using Google Calendar:

Many internet enabled calendar services allow users to only view entries, but Google Calendar allows users on any of the linked devices to create and update them as well.
Scheduling is so much easier if you know there and then when everyone is free or busy – no more double bookings!
If, like me, you like to receive reminders, you can choose to be notified by email or receive text messages sent to your mobile phone.
Everyone can access the calendars on the go, and you can check your calendar wherever you are because there is offline access too.
You can choose to share calendars with whoever you like; if having your childminder or dog walker included makes sense to you, go for it!

And…IT’S FREE!

But don’t forget, even if you become the most synchronised family on the planet but still struggle to fit everything in – you can give Pink Spaghetti a call! Pass those necessary but tedious and time consuming tasks to us and free up your precious time for something more rewarding!

Written by Pink Spaghetti South Hampshire

We Go Together like Ice and a Slice…

28 January 2014 by Vicky

Pink Spaghetti’s customers often approach us to do a little job they don’t have time to do and before they know it are using us regularly to help move their businesses forward by providing an extra pair of hands as and when needed.

One such customer is Tiffinie Pride who owns The Wiltshire Liqueur Company just outside Hungerford, on the Wiltshire and Berkshire border.

Wiltshire Liqueurs are a fantastic company that has gone from strength to strength due to its unshakeable ethos of offering high quality products supported by great customer service and a slice of fun. They produce Sloe Gin, Wild Strawberry Liqueur, Damson Vodka and Blood Orange Liqueur – with the added bonus of complimentary personalised labelling.

Tiffinie first approached Pink Spaghetti for help with her social Media: “When we set up our business it was very clear to me that we really had to embrace social networking. Rather than spend hours fiddling around and getting it wrong it was a great help and peace of mind to get someone like Suzi at Pink Spaghetti to set this up.”

As Wiltshire Liqueurs got busier and busier, Tiffinie began to use Pink Spaghetti for their broader marketing needs:

“Suzi sent out my first customer newsletter at Christmas as I was snowed under in pre-Christmas orders; she wrote the whole newsletter, managed my contacts database and sent it out to the database as well as posting it up on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally Suzi has taken over the role of keeping our website up to date with forthcoming events and news items. She has also really helped me formulate our marketing ideas so that I can actually sit down and do them!”

By delegating tasks as and when she is busy, Tiffinie has been able to grow her business by spending more time on the road, meeting new customers and stockists. New business has also been developed as a result of Pink Spaghetti building and maintaining Wiltshire Liqueurs’ online network, which as an over-stretched business owner, Tiffinie wouldn’t have had time to do. Every newsletter results in orders, activity on Twitter has generated new trade accounts and there is a great buzz around the brand on Facebook, driving increased consumer awareness and purchasing.

Wiltshire Liqueurs and Pink Spaghetti now have a really cohesive working relationship:

“Suzi really understands our brand and business and gives me complete peace of mind so that when I am stuck or have run out of time, I can pass her my mess and she somehow gets it back on track. To be frank I’m not sure I would have got any social marketing or newsletters done without her. I have also finally learnt how to spell spaghetti!”

For more information on Wiltshire Liqueurs see www.wiltshireliqueur.com

Comfort and Joy…

10 December 2013 by Vicky

For most of us busy worker bees Christmas seems to start on 30^th November and last right up till the day the kids go back to school in January. And when you’re trying to juggle work, hyper-excited children, fretting mothers-in-law (we all have them!), shopping for gifts, planning Santa’s surprises, figuring out the catering for those insane two days when the shops are shut and everybody eats their bodyweight in chocolate, those 40 days can seem a LOT longer!

Unless you’re a super-hero (and there are a few of them out there, making us feel inadequate!) then it’s easy to lose sight of the wood for the Christmas trees and your usual perfect planning and preparation policies can fly right out of the window, leaving you a quivering mess of half-done jobs and partially ticked lists.

The solution? No, you can’t have an extended duvet day – try the 4Ds. If these don’t work for you, we’re not saying you’re a lost cause, but perhaps you should give us a call!*

Do – only what needs to be done, right now. Yes, that does mean throwing a sickie and spending the day in the wine bar, then rolling home giggly, but happy. A happy parent is a great parent.

Delegate – don’t even try to do it all. In fact, do as little as possible. You know you’re going to look like Speedy Gonzalez on a double shot of Red Bull on Christmas Day, so for now, take it easy.

Defer – go on, put it off! Unless it’s life-threatening (or business threatening) it can definitely wait till January!

Delete – now really, are you absolutely sure that every item on your to-do list is really necessary? Couldn’t you simply delete a couple?

Here at Pink Spaghetti we work every day to help our clients bring some balance to their working and domestic lives, and this is never more important than at Christmas, and being serious now, perhaps the biggest piece of advice we can offer however is that Christmas really is what you make it. Go into the festive season feeling like Scrooge with a bad case of the Grinch’s and all your nightmares will come true. On the other hand, if you decide to have a good time, then the chances are you will. Don’t sweat the small stuff, and that way you’ll appreciate the big stuff – and that’s what Christmas memories are made of.

Do You Hear Voices?

6 November 2013 by Vicky

Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting you’re losing the plot! But if you’re anything like us, little internal nagging voices are a regular occurrence in your life.

Picture the scene: It’s Sunday evening, you’ve had a fabulous weekend and are ready to snuggle down on the sofa to catch up on the latest from Strictly or Sky Sports (or whatever your guilty pleasure is!), but there’s a small voice niggling away at you and despite the relative calming influence of a glass of wine you just can’t get your mind to tune out and relax.

Chances are your mind is much more active than your body feels and it’s already subconsciously steaming ahead thinking about the tasks that await you in the week ahead.

Your choices are two-fold:

Option one: ignore your instincts, fight back and hope that you can tune out the little voice urging you to start your week now.

Option two: find yourself 15 minutes before you take another sip of wine to concentrate on what your priorities are for the week ahead.

The sensible approach is, of course, Option Two. Dedicate 15 minutes every Sunday evening (or any time over the weekend that’s convenient, of course) to silencing that little voice. Here’s our advice on how to structure that time to maximise your effectiveness.

1) Review your diary: make sure you know what fixed appointments you have, and where, and work around these in the best way to make your time more efficient and rewarding.

2) Organise key tasks: identify those activities you must achieve this coming week to meet your personal or business needs.

3) Optional extras: line up a couple of tasks that, if completed, would make you feel like a superhero by next weekend.

4) Time out: if you possibly can, find a bit of space for some ‘me’ time. This will really help recharge the batteries and energise you for the week ahead.

My guess is that a quarter of an hour each Sunday will lead to you enjoying your evening more, enable you to sleep more soundly, and get you off to a cracking start first thing in the morning.

In fact, you might want to celebrate your organisational prowess with another glass of wine!

Written by Pink Spaghetti York, Harrogate and Surrounds

Life as an entrepreneur can be intense, but if you’re constantly feeling exhausted, emotional, and overwhelmed, then you could be heading for burnout.

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