Author: Akiko Design

If you are looking to start or grow your business, then you might be thinking about using a business incubator. But what are they and what do they actually do? Are they the same as business accelerators or different? Here we try and clarify some of this growing area of business development.

Businesses incubators are usually physical spaces, available on relatively flexible terms, which provide services to support start-up businesses

Both business incubators and accelerators help new and start-up companies through the early stages of growth. The difference between the two appears to be that whilst accelerators are geared more around funding, incubators are more focussed on providing a physical space where entrepreneurs can come together to work and learn. The rent that incubators charge helps fund the services they provide.

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Here at Get Ahead VA our team of virtual assistants includes experts in a wide variety of fields. From Accounting to Admin, Hootsuite to Holiday cover, Email Marketing to Excel, our VAs can add value to many aspects of your business.

In this ‘How to’ guide one of our social media management experts Jenny shares her expertise, talking about how you can avoid these 5 classic social media mistakes.

“Social media can be a hugely powerful part of your business toolkit. But it can also be a major drain on your time. It is a constantly evolving industry, with new platforms popping up or growing in popularity, and new tools being added. It can be hard to keep up and easy to make mistakes. Here are the top 5 mistakes I see businesses making, and some tips for overcoming them:

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Here at Get Ahead VA we are privileged to work with a wide variety of clients ranging from will writers to window cleaners, financial consultants to fashion designers. All of our clients are motivated and driven business owners, with clear plans for business growth. They recognise the value of outsourcing, passing onto others tasks that either they lack skills in, or tasks that drain their valuable time.

Here’s 60 seconds with one of our clients Shannon Banks from Be Leadership who was looking for a flexible way to scale up her business:

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Google recently announced that it’s unveiling a new feed for users – a feed that will reportedly provide people with Facebook-style updates.

The latest move comes on the back of the tech giant adding a news feed to its mobile search app at the end of last year. We explore what the new feed involves and, more importantly, what it means for users.

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If you are looking to start or grow your business, then you might be thinking about using a business accelerator. But what are they and what do they actually do? Are they the same as business incubators or different? Here we try and demystify some of this growing area of business development.

Businesses Accelerators are organisations that offer a range of support services and funding opportunities for startups
Business accelerator programmes are designed to grow small businesses or start-ups in a short space of time. They usually work by enrolling you in a programme which offers mentorship, office space and other resources as well as access to capital and investment in return for equity.

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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 VAs can add value to many aspects of your business. In our Expert Showcase series our team deliver some of this expertise to you, with a series 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 Melanie talks about how you can communicate and collaborate quickly and easily using a clever piece of software called CloudApp™.

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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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