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Specialist tasks your business could benefit from outsourcing and why

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help with business administrationOutsourcing tasks that require specialist knowledge to a virtual personal assistant could help your business grow whilst also saving you time and money.

Whilst it is necessary for small business owners to wear many hats and have a full and varied skillset, there are certain tasks that require an expert to be completed most effectively.

We’ve identified three key areas that are frequently outsourced to expert virtual PAs because they require extensive knowledge of industries that are complex and constantly changing. Outsourcing these tasks to a virtual assistant can not only free up time, but also have financial benefits and aid business growth.

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Should you outsource Christmas?

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Do you remember a time when Christmas was fun?  All you had to do was race downstairs and open your presents, and wait for delicious meals to appear on the table?

Christmas chaos

Christmas when you’re an adult can be a stressful time, not least because of the average of 302 miles driven over the festive period.  A survey found that the biggest drain on time, and one of the leading causes of stress, is the amount of time spent dealing with general household administration and other day to day chores.  At Christmas time this burden increases dramatically, with present-buying, festive food shopping and card delivering all needing to be done on top of normal day to day tasks.  If you have children, you’ll also have to find time for school concert attendance, possibly nativity costume sourcing as well, plus you don’t want to miss out on all the festive activities on offer at this time of year.

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Here is why you should outsource to a virtual assistant…

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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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Making a Success of Outsourcing

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Outsourcing is for big business, right?

Wrong!  Outsourcing can be the key to growing your microbusiness if you use it strategically.  With the advance of cloud technology, outsourcing is becoming increasingly accessible to even the smallest business, making data instantly accessible from anywhere.  This means the right person to do the job doesn’t necessarily have to be in your office.

The catalyst for starting to outsource is often a large order coming in or a sudden rush, but with careful planning, your business can benefit from outsourcing from the very start.

Being a small business owner can feel like you’re a juggler, and keeping all the balls in the air can sometimes seem impossible – how do you focus on bringing in new business when you’re struggling to meet existing demand?  You know social media is key to marketing your service but keeping on top of it is so time consuming.  Your accounting would be so much simpler if you had an organised filing system, but you haven’t the time to sort it out.  No one is good at everything, and sometimes it pays to get an expert to tackle particular jobs.

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Business as Usual On the Beach

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Juggling a small business and the school holidays can be difficult for parent entrepreneurs, and hopefully you’ve planned some holiday time for yourself and your family.  But do you check your emails on the beach?  Are you tweeting as you sightsee?  Do you fret about missed opportunities while you’re trying to relax?

 

Many people start their own business to improve their work-life balance, then find it impossible to switch off and enjoy the downtime.  The good news is that you can outsource many tasks and automate others to keep things ticking over while you’re away.

 

Tasks to Automate

Social Media posts

Are you spending all day posting on different social media sites?  It’s important to regularly connect with your customers, particularly on platforms such as Twitter where frequent posting is essential, but there are tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite and Tweetdeck which enable you to schedule posts in advance across multiple platforms.

 

Email responses

Why not set up an automatic follow up to enquiries?  We find that Mailchimp can take the strain out of your email marketing, and your Pink Spaghetti PA can always help you by setting up a template.

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Small Business Owner? Why it Pays to let your Employees Work Flexibly

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Although most small businesses in the UK employ no one but the owner, nearly 25% have employees. If your business is expanding and you are starting to take on staff, it’s worthwhile considering giving them the flexibility to work from home.

A key advantage for small businesses of having employees who can work from anywhere, at any time, and who aren’t tied to their desks means that they can be more responsive – one of the biggest advantages small businesses have over their larger competitors.

Technology such as video conferencing, social media groups and instant messenger can create a ‘virtual office’ to enhance collaboration while obviating the need for employees to be physically present in an office. If the majority of your work happens on the computer and online, the location of the person is no longer important – as long as they have a reliable Internet connection.

Studies have shown that people who work from home are happier and more productive. You may expect people to have more interruptions at home, but for many people office distractions can be a major source of procrastination: it’s often easier to focus on a task at home.

Here are some of the ways it can pay to allow working from home:

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Small is Beautiful

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So you run your own micro business, congratulations!  You may be surprised to learn that you are in the majority – businesses employing fewer than 10 people make up 95.6% of all UK businesses.

So what’s great about being tiny?  There are myriad advantages to small businesses, both to the business owner and to the customer.  Here are a few of them:

 

For the entrepreneur:

Independence – be honest, who hasn’t ever wanted to be their own boss?  People working for themselves are happier too.

Personal Satisfaction – you’re working in a field you really enjoy, and you have the creative freedom you only dreamed of in the corporate world.

Work/life balance – you can set your own hours, reduce your commute to zero and see as much of your family as you want to!

Learning opportunities – as a cog in the corporate machine you typically only perform a tiny part of the overall function.  As a business owner you have to get involved in the whole process, even when you outsource parts of it to other experts.

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What’s in it for Me?

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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.

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Outsourcing – A Customer View!

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We have recently been exploring the subject of outsourcing and how this can benefit busy people. We asked successful small businesswoman Carole who owns AlphaBake Cookery about her experience.

Alphabake Cookery Logo small CMYK

1. When did you start your business?

I started my business back in 2003, originally called Cookies for little cooks that love to bake yummy things like biscuits! It seemed appropriate! These were the days before healthy eating really hit home, Jamie Oliver wasn’t on the bookshelf and mums really didn’t like the little ones in the kitchen making a mess! As far as I am aware, we were one of the first cookery schools in our field.

2. What has been the best thing about starting your business?

The best thing about my business has to be the difference I have made to many people’s lives. Alongside working for myself, setting my own goals, making my own money, deciding what roads to take, if you ask me what the best thing is you will be met with a huge smile. I have seen people with so little confidence in themselves that have learnt, grown and developed into confident people, just through cooking! For example, Jamie who has Asperger’s. I taught him for 10 years and he is now working in a Michelin Star restaurant in London and gained an A* in catering when he was told he would never manage anything academic. Or Trevor, an ex-addict who I worked with for 10 weeks through a charity programme. He has now enrolled on a full time college course. These are just a few of the reasons I love my job and I am smiling as I am typing this!

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email help@pink-spaghetti.co.uk or click here to find your nearest team