The end of the August is here already. September and back to school are upon us. With just a few months of the year to go, now is the perfect time to review what you have achieved so far in 2017, and identify your targets for the last quarter.

Planning is vital for any business. You need to review your progress against your objectives, identify opportunities and set action plans in place. But planning isn’t always easy. Here are 5 pitfalls to avoid when planning Q4. We hope they help you plan effectively and end the year on a high!

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Here at Get Ahead VA our team includes experts in a wide variety of fields. From Accounting to Admin, Hootsuite to Holiday cover, Email Marketing to Excel, our virtual assistants can add value to many aspects of your business. In this Expert Showcase series our team are sharing some of their expertise with you, in a selection of ‘How to’ guides to help you get the best bang for your buck in your business.

In this guide one of our virtual assistants Ashley talks about how you can effectively record meetings or interviews and avoid the common pitfalls that many people make.

“Recording meetings or interviews can be hugely beneficial. It keeps an accurate record of exactly what was (and wasn’t said) at the time, which you can always refer to at a later date. It can allow you to focus on the content of a meeting without worrying too much about capturing the relevant notes. It can enable all parties to feel confident that there will be no misunderstanding.

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Car insurance, house insurance, travel insurance – even pet insurance we are all pretty familiar with. In general, insurance is fairly straightforward – you drive a car, you need insurance. You go on holiday, you need insurance. But when it comes to setting up and running your business, the type of insurance you need can be much more confusing.

Firstly, there isn’t really any mandatory insurance – unless you employ people or drive company vehicles. As most business insurance is optional, cost can be a major factor. You might think some risks are worth taking and that not buying insurance can save you money.

We spoke to Simon Drysdale, director at Hallsdale Insurance Brokers about the key types of business insurance and why they might be worth investing in:

“If you are a business owner, an independent professional or self-employed, purchasing the right insurance is an important means of managing the risks of your business and protecting it for the future.

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The term ‘hot desking’ has been around for years and we are all familiar with the idea of a temporary or shared desk. For some workers it is their normal way of life. But have you heard of greendesking?

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