Month: July 2020

Having a website is an essential part of running a business, whether you’re a one-person operation or a larger company. Your website doesn’t need to be big, complicated or flashy – it just needs to be clear and usable for your customers. 

However, for most of us, building a website is new territory, and there are all sorts of pitfalls that you can fall into when setting one up. If you want to make sure you haven’t made any glaring mistakes, now is a great time to give your website a quick health check – here are 5 common problems with business websites, and how to fix them. 

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Recent research by the meditation app HeadSpace shows that while most of us wouldn’t follow the lockdown lifestyle by choice, 85% of us have been able to take positives from it.

In this blog, we look at the positive effect lockdown has had on our ways of working, and choose some lockdown strategies we’ll be taking with us as life slowly returns to normal.

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The idea of doing a digital detox – i.e. stepping away from technology to focus on real-life hobbies and in-person interactions – can seem challenging at the best of times, and especially so now, when we have even fewer opportunities for face-to-face quality time. But taking a digital detox could be even more important right now: since we’re being forced to spend so much time online, to do our work and stay in touch with our loved ones, the time we spend offline has become even more precious.

If you’re a business owner, you might be finding it particularly difficult to cut down on your screen time, as this may be the only way for you to communicate with your employees, network with others in your field, and promote your business to customers. After all, you can’t just put your phone in a box and stop checking your emails when you have a business to run! The good news is that a digital detox is still possible for you – here are some things you can do to give yourself a break from the screens, and to use them more mindfully when you need to.

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Here at Get Ahead VA, our people are everything. We’re dedicated to growing our business all over the country, so our customers can access a wide range of highly skilled professionals wherever they are. We currently have regional offices in Leeds, Berkshire & North Hampshire, South Yorkshire and West Surrey, and we’re pleased to announce our latest addition: Suffolk & Essex.

Here’s 60 seconds with our Suffolk & Essex Regional Director, Sarah Yandell

Area of Expertise: 

Managing and facilitating teams at all levels in order to achieve organisational and strategic goals.

When and why did you join Get Ahead VA?

I joined Get Ahead VA in July 2020 after working in the travel industry for 30 years.  I loved my career in travel but with the disruption caused by Covid19, I decided it was time for a change.  After extensive research I found Get Ahead VA, and following a number of conversations with Rebecca and some of the existing franchisees, I was convinced that this opportunity fitted my skill set perfectly.

What did you do before you joined Get Ahead VA?

During my career in travel, I worked in all parts of the supply chain.  This included hotel sales;  travelling all over the world to source accommodation for a student travel company and setting up and running an award winning specialist tour operator.  I took a year out from my career in 2001 to do a full time MBA which included a dissertation with British Airways on CRM and loyalty programmes.  I continue to be passionate about delivering service which is beyond expectation.

Career Highlight to date:   

I feel that joining the Get Ahead team is a culmination of all my skills and experience gained in my career so far.  I have the freedom of running my own business, while still being part of an enthusiastic and supportive team.  The role enables me to work with small businesses locally and help them to achieve their business goals; while having a fantastic work life balance.

Plans for the future:

To grow the Get Ahead business in Essex and Suffolk by collaborating with small businesses in the local community and building a team of experts.

If your business could benefit from Sarah’s help, please get in touch on 07971 655771 or 01206 625535, or email sarah@getaheadva.com. To find a regional office where you are, please get in touch on 01483 332220 or email office@getaheadva.com. We pride ourselves on being the staff you don’t see, but the difference you do.

Life after lockdown – is it time to change the way you work?

We’ve all noticed the profound effects of COVID-19, both on the economy and on our everyday lives. Lockdown forced many of us to work from home, while for others it has meant furloughing and even job loss. But a great positive we’ve all gained is the opportunity to review our working life. Was it going well before 23 March, or is it going better now? Have we been ditched by our employers, or do we feel like ditching them?!

In this blog, we look at the impact of lockdown on our working lives, and invite you to ask yourself whether it’s time for a change.

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We’ve all noticed the profound effects of COVID-19, both on the economy and on our everyday lives. Lockdown forced many of us to work from home, while for others it has meant furloughing and even job loss. But a great positive we’ve all gained is the opportunity to review our working life. Was it going well before 23 March, or is it going better now? Have we been ditched by our employers, or do we feel like ditching them?!

In this blog, we look at the impact of lockdown on our working lives, and invite you to ask yourself whether it’s time for a change.

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Many people have gone through major upheaval in the last few months due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. And even if you hadn’t had to deal with serious consequences, like the loss of a job, you’ve likely had some disruption, especially when it comes to your work.

As a result of all this, you might have started rethinking your career and be considering making a change. Of course, there is still a lot of uncertainty around, but if you’re thinking about a career change during this time, the good news is that it may be more possible than you might think.

To help you with this life-changing decision, we’ve put together some key questions you should be asking yourself, and some suggestions for how to lay the groundwork for a new, exciting career right now.

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Remember why you started your own business? It might have been because you’re a creative person and you recognised that you should be making a living from your talents instead of letting them stagnate. Or maybe you wanted the freedom to flex around the needs of your family, improving your work/life balance and being there for the people you love best. Perhaps hobbies or voluntary work are important to you and you wanted to be able to choose how you spend your time. Maybe it was just plain old maths – you realised you could make more from your profession if you worked for yourself than if you worked for someone else.

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The idea of doing a digital detox – i.e. stepping away from technology to focus on real-life hobbies and in-person interactions – can seem challenging at the best of times, and especially so now, when we have even fewer opportunities for face-to-face quality time. But taking a digital detox could be even more important right now: since we’re being forced to spend so much time online, to do our work and stay in touch with our loved ones, the time we spend offline has become even more precious.

If you’re a business owner, you might be finding it particularly difficult to cut down on your screen time, as this may be the only way for you to communicate with your employees, network with others in your field, and promote your business to customers. After all, you can’t just put your phone in a box and stop checking your emails when you have a business to run! The good news is that a digital detox is still possible for you – here are some things you can do to give yourself a break from the screens, and to use them more mindfully when you need to.

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GetAhead VA’s long-standing client, Shannon, runs a leadership coaching business. Long before the coronavirus pandemic, she had arranged an international, in-person, four-day conference with thirty delegates. When the global crisis threw a spanner in the works, she had no option but to hold the conference on Zoom instead.

Running a conference on Zoom has different demands from running one at a standard conference venue. While all the stress of catering and overnight accommodation disappears, different concerns about internet connections, hardware, software and real-time tech support present themselves instead. Shannon needed a virtual conference facilitator and we’re proud to say she came straight to us. At the time, our experienced VA Jenny Serra didn’t have direct experience of facilitating Zoom conferences, but she has used Zoom a lot and is one of our most tech-savvy VAs. She built on her existing skills and knowledge to deliver exactly what Shannon needed.

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