Category: Top Tips

There’s no getting away from the news at the moment – the coronavirus pandemic is making headlines everywhere, and more and more countries are taking measures to slow the spread of this flu-like disease.

At time of writing, the UK government has not closed schools. However, Boris Johnson has advised that anybody who can work from home should do so, and he has also recommended against public gatherings in places such as pubs and theatres. Given the measures already in place, it seems likely that the schools may close, in which case children will be joining their parents at home for the foreseeable future.

Here at Get Ahead VA, we are very fortunate to have a team of experienced home-workers, many of whom also have children, and so they have a wealth of advice to share about juggling work and family under the same roof. So if you’re concerned about how you’ll handle the next few weeks, don’t worry. Here are our top tips about working from home with your kids.

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It won’t have escaped your notice that coronavirus is having a huge effect on businesses, with direct implications for the retail and travel sectors. And as you’ll know if you manage a team of office-based staff, the effect of self-isolation is becoming apparent too. As more people choose to self-isolate, more team leaders are finding themselves having to manage people working from home, which can be a new experience, and not always an easy one.

Virtual assistants nearly always work from home. I’ve been managing my team of virtual assistants for nearly a decade – a lot of what I’ve learned may help other businesses as workplaces are forced to flex around coronavirus.

Here are my top tips:

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Have you ever considered outsourcing for your business? Whether you’re struggling to stay on top of your social media, or you need someone to get your accounts in order before the end of the financial year, outsourcing can be really useful for busy business owners. To get you started, here is our comprehensive guide to how outsourcing can help you.

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When a news story breaks, many business owners leverage it in content marketing. We might be blogging about workplace bullying in the wake of Priti Patel’s dismissal, or crafting a really engaging meme for International Women’s Day (which is on Sunday, by the way). By and large, this is a good thing. Current content with an immediate appeal offers value for clients – it’s helpful for them to hear a different opinion, and it’s a great opportunity to show that your business takes a humane and inclusive stance on issues like workplace behaviour and equality. It’s good for SEO too – people Googling for the news story may find your content too and hey presto, lots of lovely conversions.

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Get Ahead VA is very proud to have branches across the country, and we’re always on the lookout for ambitious, business-minded people who are interested in opening a new branch in their local area. Our Regional Directors are brimming with good advice about being your own boss. Today, Kristy and Suzanne, co-Directors of our Berkshire & North Hampshire office, are here with some advice about working together as a partnership.

When we set up our branch of Get Ahead VA in 2019, we decided to do it as a pair. There are all sorts of benefits to going into business with another person – companionship, shared workload, complementary skills – so if you’re thinking of doing this, here are some tips for how to make your business partnership work!

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Running a business is something many people to aspire to do, but once you get there, the reality can be much more stressful than you might have imagined – and this can have an impact on the whole of your life. In fact, research by Xero has found that one in ten business owners admit that the stress of running a business has negatively impacted their mental health.*

But running a business can also be hugely rewarding (and lots of fun!) – so how can you ensure that you get the best out of entrepreneurship, while also learning how to deal with the stressful parts in a healthy way? Well, you have to be realistic about the challenges involved, and you must take the time to look after your mental health. Not sure where to start? Here are 4 of our top self-care tips for business owners!

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Get Ahead VA is very proud to have branches across the country, and we’re always on the lookout for ambitious, business-minded people who are interested in opening a new branch in their local area. Our Regional Directors are brimming with good advice about being your own boss. Today, Fiona, Regional Director of our Leeds office, is here with 5 quick tips to help you level up your franchise.

I started Get Ahead VA Leeds in January 2018, and over the last couple of years I’ve found all sorts of ways to take my business from strength to strength. Here are 5 of my favourites!

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Get Ahead VA is here to help business owners. Our team of virtual assistants (VAs) can take on the jobs you don’t have the time or the skills for, freeing you up to focus on what you’re best at. In order to get the most out of your VA, you will need to provide a good brief, but what should you include? In this series, we look at how to write a useful brief for every kind of job, and this month we’re looking at content writing.

Written content is a vital part of any marketing strategy, whether you’re updating a blog, posting on social media or writing copy for your website. In order to keep up with the demand for regular, quality content, it can be useful to outsource your writing to a professional copywriter – if you do this, here are a few important things to include in your brief.

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Get Ahead VA is very proud to have branches across the country, and we’re always on the lookout for ambitious, business-minded people who are interested in opening a new branch in their local area. Our Regional Directors are brimming with good advice about being your own boss. Today, Kristy and Suzanne, co-Directors of our Berkshire and North Hampshire office, are back to share more of their organisation tips for business owners.

We’ve already shared with you some of the ways we stay organised (see our previous blog post), but we have plenty more where they came from! So without further ado, here are three more things you can do to keep your business running smoothly.

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New Year’s resolutions are tricky things: we all know that most don’t last beyond January, and the enthusiasm we feel for them at the start of the year can quickly fade when the day-to-day realities of life set in. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set them – especially if you’re a business owner.

All good businesses operate on clear goals. Unlike resolutions, we don’t limit ourselves to setting these goals just once a year, and if we fall behind with them we usually extend the deadline rather than abandoning them forever. This is a good approach to take to New Year’s resolutions too, so with that in mind, here are four resolutions to set for your business in 2020 that you can actually keep. They’re achievable, specific and you can keep working on them throughout the year!

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