As entrepreneurs, we sometimes find ourselves pulled in many directions at once. Working from home can add a whole other dimension to this challenge. It can be difficult to keep focused on doing your job from home when your family is also competing for you time. This can be especially challenging when your children are home from school on summer break! So how can you keep focused when your kids are home this summer? Read on for some of my favorite tips! [Tweet “As an entrepreneur, how do you stay focused when your kids are on summer break? “] Create…
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Here is an important question to ask yourself: How long has it been since you last had a vacation? If you need to put any thought into it, it has probably been far too long. Time away from work revitalizes us and keeps us energized and passionate about what we do. Vacations can be the perfect time to reconnect with your family and friends, see new places, or simple to explore some of your old habits like camping, hiking, skydiving… But the little voice in the back of your head is probably saying “But I am the only one who is holding…
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When you are starting a new business or scaling your existing one, everything can be overwhelming. You are now your own boss, you have to provide your own direction! That direction usually heads to greater demands, pressures, and time crunches. The pressure certainly doesn’t lift once your company starts gaining success either. There will be hundreds of essential tasks pulling you in different directions. How do you know when you have too much on your plate? A clear sign is when otherwise enjoyable or important tasks get put aside, simply because you don’t have the time. For example, if you…
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When partnering with a virtual assistant to streamline your business, you want to make the most of the time you’re paying them for. There are a number of useful tools for organizing your virtual team that can help you streamline your partnership with your virtual assistant. These range from materials you can create yourself, to apps and websites for project or schedule management. Some of the ones I use in my business are listed below, along with other suggestions to make your life easier when partnering with a virtual assistant. Procedure ManualsI’ve written about procedure manuals before in more detail,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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We all know the feeling: your inbox is overflowing, you have a half dozen separate to-do lists, online, on paper, and on your smartphone or tablet. That doesn’t include the mental one you’re constantly updating. The endless seeming slog begins to creep in and make a job you were once passionate about into something you dread. It’s time you made some changes, don’t you think? For small business owners and entrepreneurs, dealing with the endless stream of tasks required to keep your operation not just afloat but productive, thriving, and successful can be especially difficult. There are only so many…
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What’s your reaction when you hear the world “virtual assistant”? Do you think smart, strategic, cost effective, expertise, efficiency? Of, if you haven’t fully internalized the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant yet, is your gut reaction more along the lines of relinquishing control and even spending (unnecessary) money? If your associations are trusting, I get it. The idea of partnering a virtual assistant definitely requires an archetypal leap, particularly for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are used to doing everything themselves. The concept requires a shift in perspective in order to really understand why and how partnering with…
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For many, the holiday season is a time to relax, be with family, and take a break from the ins and outs of the workplace. However, for small business owners and entrepreneurs, the holidays can be the busiest time of year. It’s an excellent time to reach out to clients, wish them good cheer, and keep them in the loop as to how your business is doing, and what you’re planning for the upcoming year. With all those potential customers and clients opening their wallets for Christmas, the stress of keeping them coming back can be a bit much. This…
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