When communicating via email, it’s really important to get your message across in the most professional and courteous way, while making it easy for the recipient to read.

Here are some useful tips:
• Prompt reply
• Don’t write in capital letters as this can be seen as YELLING!
• Use proper language (i.e. no jargon unless you know the recipient understands it, no abbreviations or acronyms)
• Correct use of punctuation & grammar (including paragraphs, etc)
• Spell check prior to sending (this can be automatically set in Outlook, so you don’t have to remember!)
• Be concise and to the point
• Ensure your email signature has the correct contact information, but not too much information or too busy.

Remember that your email is a reflection of your professionalism and can be the first impression to someone.

Regards,
Barb

For the month of August we are supporting a fantastic organisation, Spinal Muscular Atrophy Australia, whereby we are donating 10% of our sales for the month.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a rare, inherited disease that results in the loss of nerves in the spinal cord and weakness of the muscles connected with those nerves. It is the the number 1 genetic killer of children under the age of 2 years old.

To find out more about this organisation, please visit www.smaaustralia.org.au

What are they worth to you?

This is the average time per month spent on unavoidable administration tasks in a small business.
Typing up meeting notes, proof reading your articles, data entry, arranging travel and accommodation, following up on marketing campaigns, all of these tasks are valuable and core functions in your business but ultimately distracts you from focussing on making money.

With this in mind, is it really cheaper to do it yourself?

Imagine how much more you could get done if;

• Your prospects are followed up and qualified for you
• The actions from your first morning meeting are in motion while you attend your second
• The new leads from an event are impressed to be followed up before the week is out
• Your documents are all formatted and proof read for you

There is no end to the array of services we can provide you at a price that is affordable, and as you build trust and realise the potential of your designated assistant, you will naturally feel comfortable delegating more and more tasks.

Regards,
Barb

A study was conducted by the Bureau of Statistics profiling the Australian Business Community between late 2007 and June 2009. It found that 2,051,085 businesses operated in Australia and of those 820,803 (40%) employed staff and 1,230,282 (60%) were “non-employing businesses” – a category that includes Trusts and Sole Traders.

If you’re one of the 60% of Australian businesses “going it alone”, surely there are times when you simply can’t do everything? Maybe you’re working ridiculous hours, not spending enough time on your business or maybe you need to take a break. Outsourcing your daily/weekly/monthly administration tasks to a Virtual Assistant could be just what you need.

A Virtual Assistant usually works from their own office, so there’s no need for office space, you only pay for the hours they work (no superannuation, holiday or sick pay, etc) and they’re available when you need them. Get your valuable time back to spend on growing your business, and leave the administration tasks to an expert.

Regards,
Barb

Cheaper – It might actually be cheaper for you to outsource some tasks to a professional in that field. You might be a soloist trying to do everything yourself, or you might be thinking of hiring someone to take care of these tasks for you. Either way, in the long run, it might make more sense to outsource on a needs basis. When you outsource, you don’t have to provide any office space, you don’t have to pay superannuation, annual leave, etc.

Access to better Technology – For small businesses it’s hard to justify having the latest technology, whereas an outsourcing firm is likely to be up-to-date with technology as this is their core business.

Increase Productivity – Whether you have employees or you’re a soloist, there are only so many hours in the day. It can also be difficult to attract talented employees in every field. You can outsource tasks around the clock, if need be.

Focus on Core Business – Your business has something it does really well, that’s why you’re in business. However, to run a successful business, you need skills in many different operations. Some of these operations take your focus away from what you do best. Solve this problem by outsourcing some of those operations so you can focus on your core business.

Regards,
Barb