Author: Akiko Design

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

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.

(more…)

Conferences are incredibly useful for all sorts of reasons – you can promote yourself, network and make new contacts, and find out about the latest developments in your industry. And although lockdown has put an end to most in-person conferences this year, many important events are still happening online.

If you’re planning to attend a virtual conference, it’s a good idea to be prepared, because it’s going to be different than you’re used to! The events might be pretty much the same, but you may find it tricky to get into the ‘conference mindset’ at home, so to help you out, here are our top tips for attending a virtual conference.

1. Remove distractions

There are all sorts of distractions at home that you wouldn’t have to deal with at a conference, including children, partners, pets, the ringing phone and the pile of washing up in the corner. Get yourself into conference mode by minimising these distractions as much as possible. Move to a quiet room, preferably with a door you can close, and silence or turn off your mobile phone. Giving the event your full attention will help you to get the most out of it.

2. Schedule your time

Treat this conference the same as you would an in-person one, by sitting down ahead of time and planning out your day. Choose a few can’t-miss events and some others you’d like to attend, and then build your day around them, including tea and lunch breaks. Having a few solid appointments in your calendar will help you to prioritise the most important events, and also make sure you definitely attend!

3. Learn how it works

It’s a good idea to get familiar with the technology beforehand so you don’t have to struggle with technical issues on the day. Most organisers will send pre-conference information, telling you how you can access the events and where you can find the materials/slides for each talk. Take time to read this information and have a practice with whatever conferencing software they’re using, so when the time comes you’ll be ready to go.

4. Go with a friend

Conferences are usually more fun with someone you know, so why not invite a friend along – perhaps a work colleague or a fellow business owner in your field? You can attend the events together, or just meet up for a virtual coffee break and a debrief to energise you for the rest of the day. Attending with a friend will also keep you accountable and help you avoid all those pesky distractions!

Virtual conferences could well become more prevalent in the future, so now is a great time to try a couple out and see what works best for you as an attendee.

Need someone to take care of the day-to-day jobs while you attend your conference? Get Ahead VA’s team of virtual assistants can cover your admin and telephone answering for the day, so you can concentrate on the events you really want to see. To find out more about how we can help, please give Get Ahead VA a call on 01483 332220 or email us at office@getaheadva.com. We pride ourselves on being the staff you don’t see, but the difference you do.

Keeping up with your continuing professional development (CPD) can be tricky at the best of times, and chances are that the stresses of lockdown have not made this easier over the past few months. But if you’re feeling up to it, you might find that doing some CPD from home could be beneficial for you and your business.

Of course, you shouldn’t put any pressure on yourself to be productive during this time. Lockdown is hugely stressful for all sorts of reasons, and there’s no need to add to your mental load unnecessarily. It’s essential that you take care of yourself first and give yourself a break if you need it!

However, if you do feel up to the challenge, you may find working on your CPD really valuable. Perhaps you don’t have as much to do right now and you’re in need of a distraction or something to give structure to your days. Or maybe you’re keen to feel that you’re still making progress with your business, even if your normal workload has changed. Whatever inspires you, here is our guide to doing CPD from home.

Make a plan

The most effective way to carry out CPD is first to make a plan – this will keep you on track and ensure you’re focusing on the areas that will make the most difference to you. Here are a few questions to ask when building your plan:

  • What do you currently do? List your current jobs and note down what you’re best at and what you’re worst at. Are there any skills you need to improve?
  • What are your short-term goals? If there are things you want to achieve in the next year or two, think about what training you can start now to help you get there.
  • What are your long-term goals? Consider your biggest dreams for the future of your business, and then break them down into the steps you will need to take to achieve them. If there are lots of steps, don’t be daunted – just focus on what you need to do first; the rest will come later.

Use online training

There are countless online resources you can use for training and CPD. Here are a few good places to start your search:

  • OpenLearn: This is a hub for free online training provided by the Open University. It covers a wide range of subjects, but the courses in money and business will probably be most useful for business owners. The website tells you the number of hours and the level of difficulty for each course, so you can easily pick one that fits your needs.
  • Skillshare: This is another platform for online courses, but it does require a paid subscription. Again, there are plenty of business and entrepreneurship courses to choose from, and there is also Skillshare for Teams, which will let you build custom training programmes for your employees.
  • Subject-specific training: To find subject-specific training for your area of business, start by looking at the official organisations or leading companies in your field – do they offer online courses that will fill a gap in your knowledge? A quick internet search should bring up even more training options, and you can check out the course descriptions and reviews to find the best one for you.

Attend online conferences

Although most professional conferences have been cancelled, a number of ambitious organisers have taken their events online, so if there’s an event you usually attend in person, look it up to see whether it’s holding an online alternative this year. You could also sign up for conferences that you’re never been able to go to before, either because they’re too far away or because they have a limited number of tickets, so take your search global and see which conferences you can attend from the comfort of your own home!

Keep records

Whatever you decide to do, you should keep a record of it so you will be able to look back and see what you achieved during this time. Not only is this very satisfying, it will also help you to continue to plan your CPD in the future. Make a note of what you did and when, how many hours it took, who the organiser was and the key things you learned.

If you would like someone to help with the day-to-day running of your business while you focus on your CPD, Get Ahead VA can help. We offer services including telephone answering, administration and email management to keep your business running smoothly. To find out how we can help, please give Get Ahead VA a call on 01483 332220 or email us at office@getaheadva.com. We pride ourselves on being the staff you don’t see, but the difference you do.

Google My Business is a great free tool to showcase your business, increase your online visibility and help improve your conversion rate. It’s particularly useful for B2C businesses, but B2B businesses will see advantages too.   

What is Google My Business?

Google My Business (also known as Google Local and GMB) is a free digital marketing tool. You’ve probably used it before, maybe even without realising. When you Google for, say, “coffee shops in Guildford,” Google will show you a map of Guildford with labelled pins, and a list of the corresponding coffee shops.

To feature on the list, each one of these coffee shops will have created a Google My Business page and kept it up-to-date and accurate.

(more…)

Being able to ‘pivot’ is a valuable skill in business, and especially so right now, when the world is in a state of incredible uncertainty and changeability. If you’re not sure what pivoting is, there has never been a better time to learn about it, or to apply it to your own business.

Pivoting essentially means being adaptable – it means recognising that your business isn’t meeting certain expectations, and being agile enough to find a new way to do things in order to solve a problem or respond to a need. This could be a small change, a fundamental rethinking of your whole strategy, or anything in between.

Clearly the challenges of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown have made pivoting more important than ever, as businesses are having to learn to adapt to a situation that can change daily, even hourly. So if you’re keen to know more about how to master the art of the pivot, read on for our advice about nurturing adaptability in your business.

(more…)

The UK government has recently introduced new guidance allowing people who live alone to visit and stay overnight with one other household, as part of a ‘support bubble’ during lockdown. This is good news for many single people in the UK, and an important recognition that one of the biggest side effects of the lockdown measures is loneliness.

Of course, you don’t have to live by yourself to be lonely – it’s perfectly possible to feel this way within a relationship or a family, or living with a group of friends. It’s important to acknowledge that loneliness is something everybody experiences from time to time, and it’s good to talk about it. So if you’re struggling with loneliness right now, here are some useful tips and resources to help you make it through.

(more…)

Books can be a huge comfort during these turbulent times. Whether we’re reading to learn, to laugh or simply to escape, lockdown has given many of us much more time to read, and the Get Ahead VA team is no different. So if you’re looking for something great to read right now, here are some recommendations from us for brilliant reads we have loved.

(more…)