Author: Akiko Design

The Get Ahead team has been growing steadily over the ten years we’ve been running. Now, in addition to our virtual assistants, we also have an ever-growing team of regional directors. The regional directors are all experienced people managers who have come away from the conventional workplace to run their own teams of virtual experts and manage client accounts. Valuing all the members of the Get Ahead family is an important part of our business – we’ve thrived and grown in the last decade because we’ve invested in our team.

In this blog, we look at why your team is important, and some ideas for showing them how much you value them.

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We can all benefit from time off from work. It’s been harder during lockdown, without the structure of a booked holiday or seeing friends, and some of us have slipped into working “all the time.” In turn, this has led to stress and working from home getting some very bad press! The reality is, however, that working without a break can undermine our productivity, as well as giving us no time to enjoy the rewards.

At Get Ahead, we believe that taking a complete break from work can be very beneficial and even boost productivity. Here are five benefits of taking time off work:

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By Mark Rawson

Most businesses need a website, or so we are told. But it’s not enough to simply have a website – it should deliver against your business objectives, as South Yorkshire web designer Mark Rawson explains. 

How do I choose the most effective website for my business?

I believe it’s important to start from your business objective. By identifying what it is you intend to achieve, you and your web developer can decide how to create the most effective website. 

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When we run our own businesses, we often give them our hearts and souls. The business can become an extension of who we are. For some of us, when asked “could your business survive without you?” it’s tempting to proudly reply, “no it couldn’t!” We might see ourselves as the lifeblood of the business – without our input at every level, everything would fall apart.

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Email marketing is a valuable tool for any business, large or small. Studies show it’s one of the top ways of driving conversions, as well as being a great means of building your brand. Let’s take a closer look at why email marketing is so effective for businesses…

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Thanks to the pandemic, many of us are doing more online shopping than we used to. We’re also spending more time on social media: Facebook Instagram and WhatsApp all report a surge in social media activity while we’ve all been stuck at home. So it makes sense for social media platforms to bring these two phenomena together and provide Facebook and Instagram shopping. This is a trend that has gained momentum during the last year, and we believe retail businesses should be seizing the opportunity to showcase their products to a new audience.

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Many people seized opportunities to start their own businesses after being furloughed. This has made for an exciting year and Get Ahead have been blown away by how quickly new entrepreneurs have taken up the reins. For many new businesses, 31st March 2021 will be their first ever year-end – time to time to get the accounts in order, balance the books and make sure you get what you’re entitled to. Even if you’re an established business it’s still good to have a reminder – while we may have adjusted our daily routines, it’s easy to lose track of long-term tasks during lockdown.

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There were mixed feelings among the Get Ahead team last week as schools reopened. While many of us were glad to be able to work without interruptions again, getting back to normal after lockdown is still an upheaval for us all. Fortunately, by being mindful of the change and embracing the new opportunities it brings, owners of “non-essential” businesses can get ready for reopening in April or May and have the successful summer they’ve been hoping for.

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A report by the Financial Times at the end of last year showed that small business numbers surged during 2020. Many embraced a new opportunity life had thrown at them, starting up the business they’d always wanted to run. We know what it’s like to be a start-up, and the Get Ahead team are thrilled to be providing outsourced services for some of the pandemic’s newest entrepreneurs. Our services include admin, marketing and business development, all of which are crucial for any growing business.

For many new business owners, the time will come when you have to start taking your business processes seriously. You’ve stopped being a start-up; now you’re a scale-up. Usually this happens because your business has achieved a size where carrying information on a basic spreadsheet no longer works. Sometimes you have to change your processes in response to a problem, or you might be trying to look more professional in order to attract the right clients or finance.

Here are four things you can put in place that will streamline your systems and support business growth:

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The team at Get Ahead have talked to a lot of business owners over the last ten years. We’ve found that while many know what business support they need, just as many don’t. However, it is often the case that the people who don’t know how to ask for help are the ones who need it the most.

In this blog, we look at how to recognise whether you need help and how to access the right support.

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