As the leaves begin to fall and we enter the last quarter of the calendar year, planning for the following one should be on your mind. Before the holidays eat up all your extra time and your client work doubles as the year comes to a close, you should spend some time thinking about how to improve your business’ online presence in the upcoming year. Early autumn is the perfect time to put together both an editorial and social media marketing calendar for 2017. Here are some reasons why these simple organizational tools can help grow your business next year. Editorial…
Read More
It doesn’t matter what industry you work in; challenging clients are something every entrepreneur will need to deal with at one point or another. (I am lucky, all of my clients are pretty darn wonderful!) It can be frustrating when a client assumes you can read their mind, or changes their expectations on a daily basis. This can especially become a challenge when you only interact with clients online, with no chance to meet face-to-face. Having run a virtual business for years now, I’m very well versed in working well with clients via online means. Even before I owned a virtual…
Read More
Getting a good start to the day can set the tone for the rest of it, make you feel happier, and improve your productivity when working. For entrepreneurs, and especially those of us who work from home, this is even more important—if you don’t have a time you’re expected to be “at the office” it can be far too easy for the morning to slip away without getting anything accomplished. Plus, the morning is such a great time for adding more “life” to your work-life balance equation, because there are rarely any demands or interruptions until the standard business day…
Read More
One of the biggest challenges facing small business owners is staying organized and finding a system that works for them to keep all those projects under control. Without some kind of organizational system in place, deadlines get forgotten, clients feel neglected, and it’s easy to waste time on less important tasks. The solution to all of these problems is to use a project management software—it helps you by dividing up tasks by client and project, setting deadlines, and providing reminders about work that needs to be finished. Modern project management systems are usually web-based, with mobile or desktop applications available.…
Read More
The slower summer months are made for taking on new employees for your business, such as a virtual assistant. While many folks are on vacations, and most customers or clients are too busy enjoying the nice weather and the many activities that come with it, you can take the time needed to help a virtual assistant become acquainted with your brand and business goals. Instead of waiting around, looking at your empty inbox, and wondering whether there’s anything more productive you could be doing than taking your third coffee break of the day, why not use this time to train…
Read More
Sometimes the dip in work during late summer can seem defeating, but it can also represent a golden opportunity to devote yourself to growing your small business. Attracting repeat customers and new clients can be done year round, and putting yourself out there now can help to improve numbers for the rest of the year. Utilize the slow season to boost your business, read on for tips to get things booming again come fall. Network LocallyIn this day and age of being able to run a business almost entirely online, and rarely needing to have face-time with clients or other companies…
Read More
Regardless of whether you’re running a small business from home, working in shared office space, or still sitting in a cubicle at a large company, having an organized work space is beneficial for both your mood and your productivity. Creating a focused, inspiring, energizing work space is important if you want to be industrious during the work day and have efficient workflow. A messy, disorganized, distracting work space will draw your attention away from the important tasks at hand, make you more prone to procrastinate, and cause low-level anxiety which is counterproductive to accomplishing your goals each day. [Tweet “Workplace…
Read More
The new year is well underway, and hopefully your business plans for the year are too. If you’ve been running your business for some time now, it’s easy to get comfortable doing things exactly the same way year in and year out. However, this comfort can be what leads to small businesses stagnating and ultimately failing to grow and scale themselves. If you’re worried that you might be taking the easy route and not doing enough to keep your business fresh and relevant to the current market conditions and customer needs, it might be time to consider looking for professional…
Read More
After reading a few posts here on the Jennie Lyon Virtual Assistant Services blog, hopefully you’re aware of what a Virtual Assistant is, what they can do for your business, and why it’s a great idea to outsource your work to one. The next step is to actually find a virtual assistant who you can work well with and is a good match for your needs. You need someone who you can trust with your business, and who has the necessary experience doing the sorts of tasks you’re planning to hand off. Now, you might be at a loss when…
Read More
There are so many little details that go into running a small business that it can be hard to keep track of as a new business owner. Knowing what you have in place already and what still needs to be done to keep your business properly organized and running smoothly is key for sustainable success. With that in mind, today we have a checklist of things you should have dealt with either when setting up your business initially, or on a yearly basis. Have you completed all of these? If so, congratulations — that’s a huge accomplishment that you should…
Read More
