Are you constantly running just to stay still?

At some point when growing a business there is a decision to make. Do you really still have time to respond to emails, issue invoices, make appointments, liaise with suppliers, follow up with clients and manage your marketing?

You probably started your business because you felt there was value in offering your products or services in a different way to what is already ‘out there’. Perhaps you have a young family and you want the flexibility to run your business at a time that is convenient to you so that you can meet your parenting responsibilities. But here you are, it’s 3pm and you’ve got to get your skates on to get to the school in time to collect your child. You’ve still got to make two appointments for next week and issue two invoices which you promised yourself you’d get done by the end of the day. You’ve got a proposal to write ready for a client meeting in a week’s time and you’ve not even started that yet.

How can this be? You’ve been working flat out all day but you feel like you haven’t achieved much. And, most importantly you’ve not been able to get to the one thing that will generate revenue – that proposal – because you’ve been too focused on responding to email queries and chasing up that supplier who was supposed to get back to you with a quote for some give-aways you want for the exhibition coming up in a month’s time.

You’re good at what you do but, when you stop to think about it, how much of what you think is ‘profit margin’ is actually time you’ve taken issuing invoices, chasing suppliers and responding to emails? All these tasks are preventing you earning the money you should be earning.

That’s when you ask yourself the question “is there a better way?”

Can I free up some of my time to work on the things that bring in the cash, and get someone I trust to undertake the routine tasks for me?

Just think about that for a moment… how would that make me feel?

• Less stressed

• I’d feel that I was constructively working on my business

• Guilt free as I would know that emails are acknowledged and handled efficiently

• Confident that the person I was working with will refer back to me if there are queries they cannot answer

• Happy that I can stop work at 3pm, having time-blocked my calendar to work on that proposal, and go and collect my child from school with an unfrazzled attitude and a smiley face

Routine tasks that are bogging me down get handled efficiently and I’ve got time to work ON my business, generating new leads, improving revenue and strategically planning the next step.

If I don’t listen to my heart and invest in my business then I won’t be able to grow my business as I want to. I’ll be stressed and I might not make the best decisions for myself or my business.

So, what now?

Enlist the help of a Virtual Assistant to help you either on an ad hoc basis or routinely. It’s not an expense, it’s an investment in your business and in your future success. If you’d like to find out more about how I can help you get those time-consuming tasks off your plate, get in touch – sue.sheppard@targetadmin.co.uk or give me a call on 07810 746669.

If you’re not quite ready to make that call then I’ve created a freesheet to help you decide whether this service is right for you. Visit https://mailchi.mp/d563765f9f4c/working-with-a-va

I promise to make a difference to your working world.