Working from home, working from a coffee shop, working on my daughter’s mommy-and-me class, working on my phone. These sound too good to be true, right? The reality is that the workforce is changing. More and more people are finding freedom from their desks and the strict office schedule of 8-5. With the assistance of programs like Google Hangouts, Trello, Slack and many Customer Relationship Management systems we are finding ways to break the traditional work habits.
Virtual Assistants have a unique opportunity to not only create their own schedule and find their passion but to create hope for business owners to get back to the bottom line of growing their business. Perhaps you want to be a virtual assistant for a side income or maybe you want it to become your primary income so you can focus more on your family or hobbies. Whatever your reason there are a few things to consider. Here are the top five things to think about as you venture into Virtual Assisting.
Here at Trusty Oak, we have all kinds of clients, from authors to agencies and coaches to financial advisors. One type of client you may be surprised to hear we support is construction companies. We proudly work alongside several builders, construction businesses, and remodeling companies, handling administrative and marketing tasks so they can focus on what they do best.
Texas-based advertising and marketing agency Cabéza Advertising was growing in 2017, taking on more clients and expanding their offerings. Founder and CEO José García knew he needed more hands on deck and wanted to hire dependable administrative and marketing help.
José wanted more marketing insight and administrative assistance, and a Trusty Oak Virtual Assistant turned out to be the ideal long-term solution to his business needs. José started out with one VA, Sonia Singh, and added an additional marketing VA, Caty Smart, as his company continued to grow.
Before You Say It...
You CAN afford an assistant. Trusty Oak offers some great options for every level of need. The best part? You're paying for only the time spent on your business. You're not paying for lunch breaks, social media breaks, or time spent chatting with co-workers—let alone 40 hour work week paychecks! Read more about how a virtual assistant is more affordable than a full-time employee in one of our most recent blog posts.
Twenty years ago, everyone was shifting from snail mail to email and from Rolodex to Excel. Then came the internet, and with it a revolution in communication and time management for businesses. However, as much as email is lauded as a revolutionary communication tool, it still has its fallbacks. According to Kira Newman, “We receive more than 100 work-related emails per day, and the rate is growing."
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can seem like an enigma to business owners, especially if it's not your expertise. But increasing organic web traffic doesn't have to be complicated, and it doesn't have to involve an enormous amount of effort. Today, I'd like to share two free ways you can create more organic traffic for your website.
As a founder who is passionate about every aspect of my company, I often catch myself talking a lot about my work when socializing. Somehow conversation always gravitates back to business because I truly love what I do every day, so much so, that I'd even venture to say I'm having fun!
One of the main questions any business owner asks themselves before making a decision is “Will this save me money?” Staffing is one of the largest expenses a company can incur, and many entrepreneurs wonder whether there's an option other than hiring traditional employees. A virtual assistant can be the affordable solution when you have staffing needs but aren't ready for traditional employees.
Emails, phone calls, impromptu meetings at someone's desk — these are all tools used daily in the office, and it works reasonably well. But when you step outside of the office to work remotely or add a remote member to your team, these tools cause chaos, and some are useless altogether. Emails pile up, phone calls are nearly impossible to fit into everyone's schedule, and impromptu meetings can't be quite so impromptu. I've run into this as a Virtual Assistant at Trusty Oak, and I'm here to share my favorite tools for improving remote collaboration.