You probably employ staff. They need to go to the bathroom. They eat a muffin. They say Hi (and more) to their colleagues. Following I have compiled some thoughts about how your time and money get used or even wasted. Today it’s more important to run a lean business than ever before. Business is competitive, the marketplace is ruthless, and you need to keep expenses down. The only way to keep your head above water is maximising the return you make on business investments, especially for managing staff. Here's an example: An employee that earns $50,000 a year and wastes an hour each day will cost your company $6,250. This hour does not get wasted in hour-long blocks but in moments.
And then they need to get back on track. Each minute of interruption takes another minute to refocus on work.
This adds easily up to an hour or more per day. It will cost you around 10% of the wages you pay in actual cash. ![]() When you engage someone working for you remotely, we only charge you for the time we actually work, and NOT for: - bathroom time - checking our own email - finding a file - talking to a friend Try it out, contact me, and let's save you some money!
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Just joking... :) Most businesses use the cloud these days — the network of servers that host services on the internet — to store, manage and process at least some of their data. Examples include Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud. Read on for some of the things to consider when deciding which one to use. Access You should be able to access data anywhere and anytime you can get online, including on a smartphone. But keep in mind, if you can access it anywhere attackers can too. If you have to access sensitive information out of the office, do it on a secure connection — not an open network or public Wi-Fi hotspot. Make sure staff working from home use a secure Wi-Fi network. Security You could store your data in the cloud rather than relying solely on a hard drive. It means you won’t lose access to it if something happens to your hard drive. To keep sensitive data secure on the cloud, be sure to encrypt it, limit access to authorised people only, and turn on two-factor authentication. Some cloud services encrypt files for you. Cost Check how much storage you’ll need, now and in the future. The cloud can be cheaper when it comes to scaling up your needs. Service Cloud services offer levels of service that cater for a range of business sizes and budgets. If you don’t need 24/7 support the costs can be much lower. Changing providers Usually, it is very easy to change services. Notice times will be in your contract. Be sure to know what happens to your data if you want to switch providers, and how easy and secure it will be to transfer it. All the Best, Marion Solutionist ![]() Just some random tips Many of you probably use Gmail, either for business or privately. Either way, it pays to make life easier for you when you want to find an email. Excel is also a common software to use, so read on for some great tips. Gmail Tips - Labels You probably use labels in Gmail, which basically act as folders. How to create labels for your emails The easiest way to create a new label is to click on the big + sign on the left-hand side of your screen. This opens the basics for your new label: the name and where to nest it under (your “filing cabinet” structure). When you create names for your folders, be aware that they are sorted alphabetically by Gmail. If you want to sort them differently, an easy way to do this is by naming your folder i.e. 001 Finances, 002 Private, etc. How to colour the labels Once created, you can click on the three overflow dots beside the label to select colours and a lot of other things. Excel Tips - shortcuts Ctrl + Semi Colon This enters today's date as a value and formats the cell as dd/mm/yyyy. Double-click format painter This will enable you to copy formats to more than one cell Alt + Enter This inserts new lines within a cell. It can be used to make lots of info simpler to read and look less cluttered. Hold down Ctrl and drag the sheet to copy your worksheet Much quicker than right-clicking the sheet name, selecting 'Move or Copy', selecting a position, then ticking the 'Copy' box. Excel tips courtesy of Traci from Excel Ace Limited If you have any difficulties with those tips, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, I’m sure I can help you! As a Virtual Assistant, I sometimes make appointments for my clients, which includes sending meeting invitations to attendees. If you follow the easy steps below, you can send a great invite, regardless of what calendar program you may be using. Choose a title that makes sense to everyone This is a screenshot from Google Calendar when I open a new invitation window: The title is critical. Keep in mind that this is going to be added to the calendar of both the people participating in the meeting, so it needs to be something that is meaningful to everyone. So while “meeting with Mary Smith” might make sense to you, that’s what Mary Smith will see on her calendar, a label that doesn’t show her at a glance who she’s meeting with. My suggestion would be to use both names of the people involved. Provide specific instructions Explain the meeting type and any instructions necessary. To do this, in most calendar software you’ll need to expand by clicking More Options (in Google) or More Details (in Outlook). Look for the location field and either add the meeting address or calling instructions as appropriate. I usually check that the invite is correct by double-clicking it on my own calendar before sending it to the person. Once all is fine, I just add the invitee’s email address and choose any applicable permissions below (to modify the event, invite others or see the guest list) and click Save. Your invitee will receive an email invitation that they can add to their calendar.
There are minor differences between Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCal, but if you understand the basics, you can translate this to any software that you are using. It’s best to follow up the day before to make sure the meeting is still on track. Many of you probably use Gmail, either for business or privately. Either way, it pays to make life easier for you when you want to find an email. Excel is also a common software to use, so read on for some great tips. ![]() Gmail Tips - Labels You probably use labels in Gmail, which basically act as folders. How to create labels for your emails The easiest way to create a new label is to click on the big + sign on the left-hand side of your screen. This opens the basics for your new label: the name and where to nest it under (your “filing cabinet” structure). When you create names for your folders, be aware that they are sorted alphabetically by Gmail. If you want to sort them differently, an easy way to do this is by naming your folder i.e. 001 Finances, 002 Private, etc. How to colour the labels Once created, you can click on the three overflow dots beside the label to select colours and a lot of other things. ![]() Excel Tips - shortcuts Ctrl + Semi Colon This enters today's date as a value and formats the cell as dd/mm/yyyy. Double-click format painter This will enable you to copy formats to more than one cell Alt + Enter This inserts new lines within a cell. It can be used to make lots of info simpler to read and look less cluttered. Hold down Ctrl and drag the sheet to copy your worksheet Much quicker than right-clicking the sheet name, selecting 'Move or Copy', selecting a position, then ticking the 'Copy' box. Excel tips courtesy of Traci from Excel Ace Limited
If you have any difficulties with those tips, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, I’m sure I can help you! Are you visible to your clients?
A lot of businesses or professionals develop their websites and other communications and forget to implement a simple and obvious way for others to contact them. That’s what today’s blog is about. Some ways to make yourself and your business more visible are:
I hope these suggestions help you to be as visible as possible to your clients! Learn how to be a good leader to improve your team's engagement and success. Anyone can sit in a corner office and delegate tasks. There is more to effective leadership than that though. Effective leaders have major impacts on the team members they manage as well as their company as a whole. Employees who work under great leaders tend to be happier, more productive, and usually more connected to their organisation. This has a ripple effect that reaches your business’s bottom line. Read on for some thoughts. Signs of poor leadership If you look around and see that your team members have become disengaged or stagnant in their work, it may be a first sign of not leading your team effectively. It might be time to reassess and reform your strategies. Some signs to look out for are:
Some ideas to change this and become a better leader are: ![]() Keep a positive attitude As much as leaders wish their team’s day-to-day operations could run smoothly all the time, sometimes they run into the occasional obstacle. Whether it’s a minor miscommunication or a major error, the way you handle a negative situation says a lot about your leadership skills. “Look at three positive things about a problem before you identify what makes it dissatisfying. The more you look at the positives in a problem, the more positively people react with one another.” (Robert Mann) A positive environment is more likely to create a more engaged and productive workforce. ![]() Teach employees instead of giving orders An effective leader knows how to show others what is required, rather than simply telling them. Leaders should coach their team members toward a more collaborative, committed work environment. If you are controlling people to do certain things in certain ways, you’re not going to get the level of engagement that you’re looking for. Coach them, this is about helping the people you lead recognize the choices they have in front of them. It makes them take ownership of the direction of the project. Don't simply bark orders at team members, rather, as a good leader, encourage growth by teaching. People won't grow if leaders never teach them anything. ![]() Set clear employee goals and expectations Setting clear goals and employee expectations for your team is key to employee success. When setting these objectives, encourage employee questions and feedback. Include them in the process, this can increase engagement. If a leader wants to motivate and inspire their team, they need to keep their team in the know about their vision. This will help employees to understand the end result they’re working towards as a unit. When goals are clearly set, everyone can track progress and identify achievements in a tangible manner. Don’t let team member goals go static. Revisit them from time to time to modify or rearrange them as needed. This will let your team members know that you are present and aware of what they are working on. Learn how to be a good leader to improve your team's engagement and success. Learning to be a good leader can greatly impact the success of your team, your organisation, and yourself. To be an effective leader, you must understand your own motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. Great leaders connect with their team by facilitating open communication, encouraging employee growth and development. Read on for some ideas. ![]() Engage in honest, open communication One of the most important elements of effective leadership is creating an open line of communication with your team members. Your own honesty and transparency should serve as an example for your team members. With the responsibility of being a team leader there comes the importance to be straightforward. Your business and its employees are a reflection of yourself. If you make honest and ethical behaviour the key value, your team will follow. Great leaders are able to suit their interactions and communication styles to each situation and team member, based on individual preferences. They take the time to get to know which communication mode is preferred by each team member (text, email, phone, or face-to-face). They are also great listeners and are authentically interested in other people. When you display active communication skills and transparency this can build trust among your team. It is important though to be genuine. There’s genuine, and there’s fake. Be the genuine one! ![]() Connect with your team members Leading a group of people requires a mutual sense of understanding and trust between the leader and their team. To achieve this, leaders need to learn to connect. Look at it this way: being a “more human” leader requires positivity, purpose, empathy, compassion, humility, and love. This will put you on the road to genuine connections with the members of your team. When you build a real, personal connection with your teammates, the trust necessary to build a strong culture of accountability and exceptional performance comes naturally. If you know your team members’ personalities, interests, strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, and preferences, this will give you some insight into their goals and motivations. ![]() Encourage personal and professional growth Be the cheerleader of your team! This is an important part of being an effective leader. You need to be invested in their success and growth. A small budget (could be very small) to dedicate to the growth of your employees pays off hundredfold. There are so many options today, like on-demand, virtual (and) in-person learning, there’s a great opportunity to continue learning new skills or further developing existing ones. Empower your employees to take the time to learn. Employees like challenges and feeling the satisfaction of overcoming them. If it’s a tough client, a difficult sale, a hard situation, or whatever the case, it’s always good to let them take on these challenges. When leaders believe in their employees and give them the opportunity to learn and grow, they might be surprised at how much they can accomplish. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks and encourage freedom and creativity. Yes, you might think you can never ever have some time off. After all, you are your business and it is nothing without you – or is it? 1) Taking care of yourself is taking care of your business It’s no news to us that your business is only as good as you are. If you don’t let yourself relax every now and then, you’re not doing what’s best for your bottom line. 2) Enjoy quality time with your friends or family It’s no secret that spending quality time with family and friends is important, and business owners don’t seem to get enough of it. If anything, you deserve some time to sit back, relax and enjoy the people around you who make life worth living. 3) Distance creates perspective Getting away will allow you to get out of the rut and gain some new perspective. Meeting new people, experiencing new things, and just getting some time to think can give you some much-needed distance from your business. Now that you understand that it’s better for you and your business to take a vacation, let’s look at five steps to prepare your business for your well-deserved break. ![]() Check your calendar Summer might be your busy season. Still, find a time in your schedule that has the least amount of meetings and deliverables due. Select those dates and block out the time you need to get away. ![]() Prepare your employees Select someone you trust to be in charge in your absence. Your vacation is an opportunity for that team member to step up and prove themselves. They’ll want it, and they won’t want to let you down. Make sure that person knows what decisions they are allowed to make and what needs to wait until your return. That person should also know where you are and how to reach you, in case of an emergency. ![]() Let your clients know about you taking a break If you have a client-based business, let them know that you’re leaving for a short period and when you will be back. Make sure they know whom to contact in your absence and make sure that person knows about any current issues your clients are facing. ![]() Wi-Fi is everywhere There aren’t many places left in the world where you can’t get online if you need to. If there is an emergency, you’ll be able to get in touch and address the issue. ![]() Schedule check-in times I know it could be seen as counterintuitive to everything else in this article. But - 15 minutes of checking your email in the evening will keep you up to date on any issues and will give you peace of mind that your business isn’t burning down without you there. Select an agreed-upon time of day and, of course, a time limit of checking in before you leave to avoid any squabbles during your vacation. If you don't know where to start, contact me, I can help you prepare for your well-deserved break.
Business processes are the bones of your business. They need to be clearly defined, well tested, and documented. Do you have your processes written down? Why? Or why not? Improvement or not? Process improvement can help you streamline your workday and do things in an automated way, without, of course, being a robot! Where could you do with an improved process? Let’s dive in! ![]() What is a business process? A business process is a set of tasks that supports your business to achieve a goal. It helps you to deliver a product or service in a manner that is consistent, cost-effective, and clear to follow through, even when personnel changes. If you have a business process in place, you know exactly what to do in any given situation, because you have thought about it once, tested it, and can utilize your insights all over again. We do need business processes to prevent costly mistakes, and also to save some time, and standardize tasks. When we do things, most of the time we just do them, without thinking much of it. It's routine, and it's in our heads. And then comes the time when you can't do the jobs in your business and you need to have someone else do them - and then - what? How can you explain to someone else what you are doing and why you are doing it the way you do it? That's when business processes come in handy. At the basics, they cover the main steps and tasks for a specific process, written down, and accessible to the staff members you chose. Once written down, they usually become clearer and quite often you discover that a step or task is really obsolete or could be done differently. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. This has been attributed to Steve Jobs, and I love it. ![]() When you start to describe a problem, you think about it, and possibly from different perspectives. You become more aware of your current situation, of your goals or desires. And once you realise that a solution is NOT impossible, you have achieved so much already. Talking it through with someone helps as well, as getting it out of your head, hearing your voice saying the words, makes it real. Just don't stop there, discuss the solutions as well. This will lift you up and make you determined to work on your solution! |
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AuthorHi, I am Marion of Marion Metz Solutions Archives
February 2025
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