Tag Archives: Team

Why a Social Media Marketing Funnel is crucial for your Business

Your social media strategy is probably incomplete. Too many marketers create a plan designed to create a thriving social media presence with lots of followers and likes…and stop there.

Wait, isn’t that the point of social media marketing?

Not completely. It’s all well and good to have an active company social media presence. But a social media presence that is all buzz and no buying is a bust. The missing component for many marketers is a social media marketing funnel.

What the Funnel Is

The “sales funnel” is a buzzword in marketing, one that is thrown about so much it often loses its meaning. So let’s take a second to define it.

A sales funnel is the process where someone goes through the following steps:

Becoming aware of your brand
Becoming interested in your brand
Having desire for what your brand offers
Taking an action in accordance with your brand (such as buying your product/service)

The goal of course is to move as many people through the funnel as possible. In the perfect world, everyone who becomes aware of your brand eventually takes action.

But of course, that perfect world doesn’t exist. That’s why it’s a funnel – it’s largest at the top where people become aware of your brand. Fewer people eventually become interested. Fewer have desire. And fewer end up making that purchase.

Crucial action taken by you can help move along more people through your funnel.

Why You Need a Specific Social Media Sales Funnel

Social media is a unique beast. The tactics used here are not ones you would use in email marketing or when setting up a booth at an expo. This unique beast calls for a unique, tailored sales funnel.

When you create a social media sales funnel, you supercharge your social media marketing. No longer is it simply about growth. After all, growth can be overrated if that growth never leads to anything. It’s great to have 1,000 followers on your Facebook page, but what is that worth if none of them ever spend a dollar on your company?

When you use a social media sales funnel, you shift the focus. You keep that end point (making that moolah) in mind. This helps inform the work you do, making it more effective and strategic. It takes some effort. But it’s worth it.

How to Create a Social Media Sales Funnel

Building an effective social media sales funnel requires strategy at every stage of the customer journey. The first step is to generate that awareness by being where your target audience is. Take some time to identify which channels your target audience is and how to run yours effectively. All too often, marketers spread themselves too thin. It’s far better to be on two channels (but doing them right) than on five channels half-heartedly.

Once you know which channels to be on, you can work on generating that awareness. Facebook ads, for example, can help potential customers discover your page. When applicable, tag other organizations in your posts to help your posts show up on their followers’ pages. Cross promote your social channels through strategies like including the social links in your email signatures or newsletters.

The next stage is getting people interested in your brand. Create engaging posts that capture their attention (video can be a great tool for this). Showcase how you meet their needs. Push out relevant non-salesy content. Persuade them that your content is worth their precious time. Don’t make sales here yet, simply display your value.

The third stage is generating that desire for your brand’s services/products. Create posts that show exactly how you meet a given need. Promote an upcoming training event. Use your channels to push out the message that your company solves their problem.

The fourth stage is prompting that final action (usually a sale!). Make this as simple for customers as possible. Some platforms, like Pinterest, allow you to make posts that direct customers directly to the shopping cart for a given product.

Not all the sales in your social media funnel will happen directly through social media, whether it be a sale in the platform itself or clicking a link in the post itself. But social media can be a great tool getting customers to the other three stages of the funnel.

Take some time to establish tangible action steps you can take to nudge customers to each new stage of the funnel. This will help your marketing efforts be tailored and targeted, rather than focusing simply on building a presence and hoping it leads to sales down the road.

A social media marketing sales funnel is a crucial aspect of your social media marketing. If you want some assistance creating and improving yours, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We offer sales funnel services to help grow your business. Check them out today!

You Need to Train Your Virtual Team

Most businesses provide company training to their in-house team members: explaining the details of company branding, ideal methods of communication, and the proper procedures for projects. Yet, most fail to provide this training to their virtual assistants.

Why?

Think about it. Businesses recognize the importance of articulating how things are done in the organization, which is why trainings in the corporate world can take weeks. Yet, few entrepreneurs provide this guidance to their online team.

Sure, virtual assistants can get by without this training. They’ve worked for a variety of clients and know how to handle the tasks you assign. But they aren’t mind readers-they don’t know how to handle the task in the preferred way of your business unless you show them.

Why You Should Provide Training

Yes, your time is stretched thin right now. That’s probably why you hired a virtual assistant in the first place! It’s easy to want to avoid organizing a system together, documenting processes, and explaining them to the VA. But think long term.

You’re limiting the growth of your business by failing to provide this training. Time is wasted as the virtual assistant reinvents the wheel and figures out how your business runs. Remember, they’re working with several clients and each one works differently. They’ll be able to figure your business out. But it will take more time than a bit of training would.

Training your virtual assistant will help you get the most out of your partnership, which helps your business run more efficiently.

What the Training Should Include

The training should cover everything your in-house team members get, and possibly more. Remember your virtual assistant isn’t in the office, so they aren’t being exposed to how the company functions on a day-to-day level. It’s harder to understand the company values, branding, etc. when you’re not experiencing them in person (which is why training online team members is so essential).

Articulate the method of communication within your business. Which avenues of communication are acceptable (email, phone calls, texting, Skype messenger, Facebook messenger, etc)? Are there appropriate contexts for these channels (for example, texting is acceptable only for after-hours communication dealing with a time sensitive project)? Is internal communication as formal as external communication, or can it be more conversational? Setting clear guidelines for communication helps avoid misunderstandings, over communicating, and under communicating. When communication runs smoothly, your business runs smoothly.

Describe the company brand. What words describe your company’s voice? What sets you apart from competitors? What company values are most important? Are there acronyms or abbreviations for your business name (and if so, when are they to be used)? When your virtual assistant understands the identity of your organization, it’s easier for him/her to create on-brand work (without resorting to trial and error).

Explain how file saving and sharing works. Are completed works to be sent by email, uploaded to a cloud service like Dropbox, or both? Should images be saved as a JPEG or PNG? When are documents saved as a PDF?

Go over the proper procedures for each project. Remember, the virtual assistant is working with several clients and each one has their own set of preferences and procedures, as does your virtual assistant. A broad term like social media management can mean anything from creating a few posts a month to creating a thorough multi-page digital marketing strategy. Start by describing clearly the end result and time commitment for the project. Discuss the steps along the way (and any checkpoints where you’ll touch base). Explain any particular methods you want them to use, especially if there are particular ways of doing things that may not be universal. Describe what needs to be documented, what needs to be sent to you or another team member, what needs to be saved and where, etc. It’s important for the virtual assistant to understand how and why your company approaches projects in these ways, so be sure to allow them to ask any questions. You want to be on the same page just like you would be after training an in-house team member.

Providing your virtual assistant training like you do with in-house team members is important to the success of your business. You’re setting up the team member for success, helping make their work more efficient and productive. It does take time, but in the long run providing this training saves more time than it takes.

If you’re ready to expand your virtual assistant team, consider Alpine Small Business Solutions! We’d love to help with any business building task you need, from administrative work to social media management. Reach out with an email or phone call today.

How to Maximize Your Virtual Assistant

A virtual assistant can be a lifesaver. He or she can help you grow your business by tackling tasks you don’t have the time, energy, or experience for. Does it get any better?

Yes, it can! Don’t just use a virtual assistant. Maximize your virtual assistant. Make an already productive part of your business even more productive with these tips.

Find the best tasks to delegate. Using a virtual assistant is like using a jack of all trades. Any task you can imagine, they can handle. Choosing the best tasks to pass on, however, can make your work with a virtual assistant more efficient. The ideal task is one you and your team lack the time/energy/experience for that the virtual assistant has the competence for. Usually these fall under the realm of administrative tasks (like scheduling or addressing envelopes). But don’t underestimate the value of using a virtual assistant to handle social media, blog writing, and other aspects of digital marketing. If they bring experience in that industry, they can really help your business grow. You can use our delegator worksheet to find the best tasks to delegate to your virtual assistant.

Ruthlessly evaluate the necessity of the task. Once you think you’ve got a task to pass on, examine it. As Timothy Ferris, author of The 4 Hour Workweek says, “never automate something that can be eliminated, and never delegate something that can be automated or streamlined.” Is this task crucial to your business or can you eliminate it? If it’s crucial, can you automate it? You don’t want to waste money on tasks that don’t need to be done, or don’t need to be done by a virtual assistant. If it’s vital and cannot be automated, then you can assign it to a virtual assistant.

Make the process efficient before delegating it. Examine the process used for the task. Are there any unnecessary steps you can remove? Is there any way to make the task less time consuming? Can you batch tasks to make the process more productive? The more efficient the process, the less money it will cost you for the virtual assistant to accomplish it.

Organize relevant information into one place. Make a document with all the passwords, step-by-step instruction, and provide an example if possible. The virtual assistant won’t need to waste time searching through multiple file locations, and you won’t need to spend time explaining the details of the steps. And when you have a VA do these tasks for you. Have them write the steps and document as well. Having a little handbook of how-to do your business. Then if you ever need someone else to pick something up, there is already documentation on how it is done.

Make sure one other person can handle the task. Someone else, either another virtual assistant or a team member, should know how to complete the task. Remember that how-to manual you are creating? In the event the virtual assistant gets sick, you’ll be able to re-assign the task. That way your business process doesn’t get derailed since you can quickly readjust the assignment.

Use the right tools. Communication tools, document sharing tools, and project management tools can make a huge difference in productivity and time management. Check out our post on the tools. Find something that you like and will use to help increase your productivity. There are lots of great tools out there, but the best is the one that you will consistently use.

A virtual assistant is a great asset for your business. If you’re ready to expand your team, reach out to Alpine Small Business Solutions today! We’d love to help with any aspect of business building, just give us a call or send us an email.

What You Need to Know 5 Differences Between a General and a Technical Virtual Assistant

Looking for a lifesaver in building your business? A virtual assistant is the answer, with their ability to help you achieve work life balance and the variety of ways they can help grow your business. Virtual assistants perform tasks business managers do not want to do or should not be focusing their efforts on (like handling customer service inquiries), lack time for (like email marketing), or are not as knowledgeable in (like social media). A virtual assistant costs less than hiring an in-person employee given they do not come with employee related expenses (like paid vacation or insurance) or require you to provide and office and supplies.

Virtual assistants are a great solution to your business building needs, but before you hire one it’s important to understand the difference between the two prominent types: a general virtual assistant and a technical virtual assistant.

Traditional Office Job Comparison

Think of a general VA as the traditional secretary, receptionist, and assistant position. This is the one who the office would die without, who knows where everything is an how it all works.

A technical virtual assistant is more like the IT staff, graphic design team, and marketing team. They have more specialize skills.

Typical Tasks

A general VA is a jack of all trades, offering a range of services. They can be assigned nearly anything (including tasks assigned to technical VAs), but typically include projects like bookkeeping, scheduling meetings and travel, billing and accounting, handling customer questions and concerns, database entry and building, document proofreading, and organizational tasks like file uploading and storage.

A technical VA is more of a specialized worker, offering a narrow selection of services with more experience in each arena. They often, but not always, received training or certification in a given area (like SEO optimization). Their tasks can include website creation and management, social media management, email marketing, graphic design, and hardware and software issues.

Number of Assistants Hired

Generally, an office will hire one or two general VAs to handle the administrative tasks.

Larger organizations may hire multiple technical VAs, such as a web developer, a social media manager, and a graphic designer.

Responsibilities

A general VA focuses more on internal business aspects, ensuring the company runs smoothly by completing day to day administrative tasks.

A technical VA focuses more on external business aspects, ensuring the company is portrayed in a positive way to the target audience by completing marketing tasks.

Compensation

The compensation for a general VA as opposed to a technical VA varies depending on the rates set by the individual or the VA firm. Usually, a technical VA sets a higher rate given they offer more specialization, training, and experience.

How to Decide

Smaller businesses just starting out with a VA can benefit from a general VA, since they offer a breadth of service options. As the company grows, you can add on a technical VA to handle more specialized tasks.

There are some virtual assistants that offer a mix of this, or have a team that they work to help you’re your needs. While it may seem hard to justify the high upfront cost of adding a virtual assistant, keep in mind virtual assistants are a better bargain than an in-person employee and they free you up to focus business building tasks (like developing a new product instead of spending hours going through emails). VAs allow you to be more efficient with your time and money, making them a solid investment in growing your organization.

Ready to hire a VA? Contact Alpine Small Business Solutions today. Our experienced team of VAs are ready to help you expand your business.

5 Free Tools to Build Your Virtual Team

When you manage a virtual team, the Internet is your lifeblood. Communication, collaboration, and completing projects all happens (at least in some part) online. Fortunately, there’s an online tool to assist you at every stage of work. Here are our favorite tools for building your virtual team.

Communication

Skype: You need to talk to your team, from going over project details to bouncing off ideas. Skype offers text, audio, or video communication for one-on-one or group conversations. You can tailor your communication to your team’s needs (oh and you can even send files!) Team members can download Skype for their computers, tablets, and/or mobile phones.

Project Management

Asana. Asana is great for organizing collaborative projects. Members can make a project, then create and assign tasks in a to-do list format. Tasks can be delegated to one or more team member and can include deadlines, descriptions, and files. Tasks can also repeat (for example, social media engagement twice a week for a certain client). Team members can also view only the tasks assigned to them. It’s a great way to keep track of the many tasks your team needs to complete. The free version allows unlimited projects and tasks for 15 team members. Need even more? Of course, they have an option for that.
Trello is a great visual tool for managing the steps within projects. It’s like a virtual board where you create columns (like “to do this week” or “blog ideas”). You add cards in each column, which you can easily move around. Labels, due dates, attachments, checklists, and other team members can be added to the cards. The free website and app allows for an unlimited number of boards, cards, and teams.

Document Sharing

Google Drive. Google Drive is so easy to use. Documents are autosaved and stored in a cloud. You can grant access to members of your team for different documents, and they can make edits directly into the document (and these edits can be viewed by everyone). No more downloading, uploading, and trying to remember which version is the most recent. You can easily organize documents into folders, and the free version provides 15 GB of storage.
Dropbox has several different levels of options from free accounts to business models depending on the size you need. There are easy sharing links available and you can make folders public or private. It is a great way to store all those files that are too big to put anywhere else.

Scheduling

Trying to schedule a meeting can be a head ache. You send out an email with times
you’re available, get back five lists of times, and spend minutes trying to find the overlap. Doodle allows you to make a checklist of dates and times you’re available. Each team then clicks the bubble of times they’re free. At a glance, you can see which time slot fits every team member. Scheduling can now take seconds.

These five tools are a great starting point to growing your business while on a budget. But there are many more you should be taking advantage of! Check out my guide “32 Free Business Tools to Elevate and Grow Your Business When on a Budget” for a more extensive look at the tools you should be using.

As your team grows and your needs change, there are many paid apps that are wonderful additions to your business as well. Make sure you are forward-thinking and find tools that can grow with you.

Looking to grow your virtual team? Reach out to Alpine Small Business Solutions! We’d love to help with any aspect of business building, from administrative tasks to social media management. Give us a call or shoot us an email today.

6 Best Practices When Working with a Virtual Assistant for the First Time

Have you been thinking about hiring a Virtual Assistant? Are you at the beginning stages of exploring the idea of expanding your team to help run your business online? In this week’s blog, Jessica Granish, leading expert in the Virtual Assistant industry offers some sage advice on this very topic. Jessica has 13 years of experience in creative, social and technical Virtual Assistant tasks. Jessica helps heart-center and conscious business owners put all the pieces together for their business to run like a well-oiled machine in an online environment. She also is a Virtual Assistant trainer, as well as thought leader that educate online business owners about the power of delegation and how to successfully and efficiently build a team that is in alignment with your core values and in turn creating authenticity and trust for a long lasting partnership. In a nutshell, Jessica, helps you gets sh*t done so you can focus and shine in your zone of genius.

Start thinking about expanding and getting assistance now: One of the biggest frustrations I hear from business owners is that they wish they would have hired someone sooner…or at least started the process sooner. It is daunting and overwhelming when your to-do list becomes a mile long. Get ahead of the curve; don’t let the stacks of tasks pile up. Don’t fall victim to being a prisoner in your own business where it stops you dead in your tracks. You know that feeling of being so overwhelmed that you just take a nap!? Try not to get to that space. A Virtual Assistant is there to help create less stress and more time for you to focus on your passion, you know, the whole reason why you went into business for yourself to begin with. All seasoned and reliable Virtual Assistants have processes and procedures to bring you on board with ease. You should feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from your shoulders when you start with your perfect VA.
Don’t feel like you have to hand everything off all at once: It may feel like you are handing the keys to your empire over and for some that might be scary. You and your awesome new VA should work together to identify and prioritize the most important tasks. I suggest starting at a foundational level. This is so that your business is sturdy and strong. You don’t want to play a game of Jenga with your business. In many cases, people don’t even know where to start with delegation. If you are one of those business owners who have no idea where to even start, I suggest using a great tool that I built called the “Delegator”. It is a way to help identify where delegation could help with your sanity. You can access the form here >>> https://www.alpinesbsolutions.com/the-delegator/
Let go of the negative mindset: I realize delegation can seem hard at first. I teach this and can get in the same mindset that many have. You know that negative mindset of, “I want to save money, so I will do it myself”, or “if it is going to get done right, I should do it myself”, or “it is going to take too long to bring someone on board and teach them the ropes”. Don’t fall victim to these statements. Growth is all about letting go of those blocks. The art of delegation comes with great rewards that you will soon realize and will look back and wonder why you didn’t seek support sooner.
Focus on your zone of genius and let your Virtual Assistant focus on theirs: If you are just starting out with building your online presence you will find yourself inundated with new tools and terminology to help run your business in an online environment. This can seem daunting and can be extremely overwhelming and time consuming. You don’t need to know how to do everything to be successful. Being able to let go, release and trust in the ninja like skills of your Virtual Assistant, can change your entire business in a very positive and wonderful way.
Make sure that your Virtual Assistant matches your core values: This is one of the most important things that a successful and long term Virtual Assistant relationships can have in my opinion. If your core values are in alignment everything else just flows so much easier. You can usually tell on the initial conversation with a VA if the synergy is there or not. I suggest to all my clients that you don’t focus on all business in your initial conversations. It is super valuable to talk openly about what makes you both burn with passion inside as well. You can learn quite a bit from digging deeper and creating a more personal connection too. Now, don’t get me wrong, passion is important, but their credentials are extremely important too. A nice balance is a wonderful way of matching core values. Having this alignment with your Virtual Assistant will in turn create authenticity and trust. It is a beautiful thing.
Communication is key: Need I say more? All great relationships let it be professionally or personally start with great communication. Creating expectations and sharing your communication style is super important. When starting your business you will want to set those expectations with your clients, your vendors and your team. Communication is a foundational piece to building authenticity and trust as you grow and expand in your zone of genius.

I hope that this was helpful for someone reading this that may be on the fence. I also just released a new blog recently titled” 5 Reasons Why Hiring a Team Will Cost Less Than Doing Everything Yourself”

Check it out, if you want to continue to explore and educating yourself on building a team you can also check out https://www.alpinesbsolutions.com/hiring-a-team-biz/, another blog on the site that goes a little deeper into the topic.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level, for a limited time, Jessica has opened her calendar to discuss your exact needs. If you would like to take advantage of her 30-minute no cost, no obligation consultation, please fill out the intake form and schedule your call today. https://www.alpinesbsolutions.com/contact/questionnaire/

The Dirty Truths Nobody Told You About Hosting a Virtual Summit

All this talk about hosting a virtual summit has you excited. What you don’t know are the dirty truths most people fail to mention. If you dive into a virtual summit without being prepared, you will end up in over your head. Virtual Summits take months of planning and organizing to successfully execute. I can’t stress enough that you won’t be able to complete a virtual summit by yourself. You will drive yourself crazy without some additional support!

Here are a few areas that we know from experience it is great to bring in another set of eyes on.

#1 Test Equipment in Advance

This seems like a no-brainer but as a small business owner, it’s easy to put the equipment aside, forget about it and worry about all the other things on your to-do list. Then when push comes to shove, you set up last minute only to find out– %$#@! Technical difficulties! Please get your video, microphone, and programs all set-up well in advance and practice using them with friends and coworkers! That way if you come across any issues you can call over your techie friends to help you set it up and you’ll know how everything works before the big day comes. It is best to make sure you are super confident in the technology. You don’t want technology to be a stressor when you are trying to rock it!

#2 Customer Support

Summits aren’t an evening task. They take time. You will be out of office for a good period of time so who is going to hold down the fort and answer to those emails while you’re away? What all the offers or details you are selling? The people trying to connect but are having trouble? Someone needs to be on call for customer support. Your people want answers! Have help with your customer service, and make sure that person is in the loop of the product/service so they can best help your audience. Your customer support team is the first touch to the business. Make it great! Be sure to plan for this well in advance so you can relax during your summit and not worry whether your business will still be there when you get back!

#3 Design/Marketing Campaign & Promotion

Let’s face it, you’re not a jack of all trades, and you are definitely not a designer! Designing and digital marketing are really in-depth processes, and when they are done right, it is very successful! Leave this to the pros to help promote your virtual summit. This will be the face of your summit and you want to look professional and have eye-catching branding and design.

#4 Website & eCommerce

You will be busy planning content for your upcoming interviews and you’re not about to dive into all that code jumble! It is important that your summit/membership website and ecommerce for both are all set up and running correctly well in advance. Find a developer who can support you and execute this correctly. The last thing you need is frustrated customers who can’t buy your All-Access Pass which means lost revenue for you!

#5 Schedule Planning and Organizer

Different States, Countries, and Time zones – Oh my! The number of guests you will be interviewing during your summit may be shocking. Four to Five speakers will not suffice. Expect to be interviewing around 25-30 people in your industry. Trying to schedule and plan interviews with this number of people from all around the world is no task for you! Let someone else take this lead and set up these meetings for you.

#6 The Aftermath

Congrats you successfully made it through your summit, which means you get to jump right back into your normal routine. WRONG! You still need to consider sending out thank you notes to all the speakers and make sure your all-access pass members have sufficient customer support. Did they get their log-in information? Can they log-in? Can they access the content? This is where a customer support specialist will aid you otherwise you will lose your mind trying to answer all the tickets. Not to mention the thank-you letters…that’s 30 letters you need to write! Maybe that is best handed off to an assistant who can help execute those letters.

Whew! Exhausted yet? This is what I am saying, you need to enlist help to make sure the overall summit is outstanding and you look amazing. Make sure you have the right team in place to manage that-you can always contact us at Alpine Small Business Solutions.

5 Things to Do When You Feel Overwhelmed in Your Business and Life

As an entrepreneur, life can get overwhelming pretty fast. Projects pile up, crucial staff members call in sick, clients impose unreasonable deadlines…and that is just on the work end. Somehow you also need to find time to do a grocery run, take the dog to the groomers, shuttle the kids to soccer practice, all while dealing with being sleep deprived, of course.

It is common to have periods of time of being utterly overwhelmed in your business and life. Heck, it is almost a rite of passage for entrepreneurs to face…again and again. When you feel the stress and tension headache bubbling up, get into action with these five things to do when you get overwhelmed.

Get Rid of as Many Stressors as Possible

If you have too much on your plate right now, clear off the plate! As go-getter entrepreneurs, we can find ourselves overcommitted quickly. Maybe we hate saying no. Maybe we underestimated the time commitment when we said yes. Maybe when it rains it pours and you find yourself now drowning. Whatever the reason, you do not need to resign yourself to struggling to bear the weight of everything needing to get done.

Ask yourself if everything needs to be done. Then ask yourself again. Much of what we do can be automated or streamlined. Can you batch tasks to get them done more efficiently? Is there a low-cost service you can invest in to automate these repeating tasks? Is the output on a task really worth the time and effort cost? Ruthlessly evaluate everything on your to-do list and then eliminate, automate, and streamline.

Then look at what’s left and delegate everything you can. It can be tough to hand over the reins to someone else, but you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel once you do. It’s an immediate solution to getting more off your list. Sure, you may stress a bit wondering if the person will get everything done. But reassure yourself that they will (or worst case scenario someone else can pick up the slack).

Sit Down and Write It Down

When life gets overwhelming, we often find ourselves scurrying about trying to get it done. We feel we have no time to waste, so we resist taking the time to pause and create an effective plan of attack. We launch ourselves into tasks immediately, failing to stop and prioritize. This results in us mismanaging our time and energy.

Taking a few minutes to write everything down makes a world of difference. Seeing everything in black and white makes it instantly less stressful. A list can be tackled. A list has an end point. A list means we are no longer wasting precious mental energy trying to keep track of everything in our mind. Writing it down helps us “clear our heads” and see the full picture, allowing us to more effectively strategize.

Once you make your list, prioritize tasks and attach deadlines to everything. It will help you feel less like things are hanging over your head, which helps reduce feeling overwhelmed.

Get Up and Go Out

Now that you have eliminated everything possible from your list and articulated everything you need to do, step away from the chaos for a moment. But I don’t have the time you may think.

Here’s the thing. You do.

You can spare fifteen minutes to go for a walk outside and clear your head. Nature has a unique calming effect on our bodies and our brains. Study after study shows the near healing power of being outside. Spend a few minutes walking around in nature and do not obsess over your to-do list. Focus on the sights and sounds around you, your breathing pattern, a fun memory from a recent time with a loved one, whatever it takes to think about anything other than what you need to be doing next. Clearing your head will help stop your stressed-out fight or flight mode and return your body to a healthier state, allowing you to get started on your to-do list with a focused mind.

Be Proactive in Managing Your Stress

Now that you have returned to the grind, ready to tackle your projects, it is important to proactively manage your stress. It is not sustainable for your physical and mental wellbeing to go from overwhelmed, to workaholic mode, to feeling fine for a few days, only to return to feeling overwhelmed. When our projects pile up, it can be hard for us to justify taking breaks. But breaks help refuel our energy and help make us more productive. Breaks help us get more and better quality work done in less time.

It’s important to not wait until you feel overwhelmed to take a break. It will take longer to return to a state of calm than if you instead proactively take breaks before you feel overwhelmed. There are many break time strategies, with the Pomodoro method being a steady favorite. Work for 25 minutes. Take a 5-minute break. Repeat four times and then take a 30-minute break. Repeat until the work day is done. This proactive managing of your stress will help prevent future feelings of being overwhelmed.

Practice Daily Self Care

Caring for yourself is one of the most important things you can do, both for yourself and your business! To perform at your best capacity, you need quality sleep, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and time for yourself. Journal your feelings. Get massages. Read in the backyard. Find one or two habits designed just for your self-care, not for being productive, and engage in them every day. It will help you feel better overall and fight those feelings of being overwhelmed.

Should a Virtual Assistant Have Insurance?

One nitty gritty detail about working as a virtual assistant is insurance. But how do you know which you need when there are so many choices? Errors and omissions insurance? Business owner’s policy insurance?

There are a plethora of options. There’s insurance most people get through their companies, like health insurance. There’s insurance common for people who work from home, like business interruption insurance. And there’s insurance for every scenario and disaster under the sun.

With so many options out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. (Or even talked into insurance you really don’t need!) But, you can be fine with minimal insurance (unless you’re running your own company). Below are the basic insurance options most likely to benefit virtual assistants.

Business Personal Property Insurance

You can’t work as a virtual assistant without your tools. Your computer, phone, and desk are some of the invaluable resources you use to get things done. But, what happens if these are stolen or damaged in a natural disaster?

Unfortunately, most home insurance policies do not cover your home business office. It’s worth a check of course (hey, maybe you’ll luck out), but odds are you’ll need to buy this separately. You can add coverage of business related property as a rider to your home insurance policy.

In most cases, this is a worthwhile investment. You can skip this one if your equipment isn’t worth much or the odds of theft or natural disaster are low.

Business Interruption Insurance

This insurance protects you if your business premises and equipment are temporarily unusable (like after a fire). You’ll get compensated for your loss of income and your operating expenses. Sometimes, the insurance covers expenses for temporarily re-locating to a new location.

This insurance is added to a property insurance policy or is included in a package policy.

You’re fine skipping this option if it’d be easy for you to work from somewhere else or get replacement equipment (like temporarily borrowing someone else’s computer). But for those who would be stuck if anything happened to their office or equipment, you’ll want to be sure to make this investment.

Disability Insurance

Accidents happen. A car wreck, illness, or other outstanding circumstance can hit you out of nowhere, and leave you unable to work.

That’s where disability insurance comes into play. Disability insurance helps you when you can’t work due to illness, injury, or accident. Hopefully, of course, those scenarios never happen! But if they do, you’ll get income replacement checks so you’re not temporarily out of a source of income.

Disability insurance is especially important for virtual assistants. You can’t rely on vacation days or sick leave to buy you time while you heal like you could in a traditional job.

If you’re in the early stages of being a virtual assistant (and making minimal income), then you can hold off investing for a bit. But, you’ll want to buy disability insurance once you start relying on your virtual assistant income. It’s one crucial step toward preparing for the unexpected in your work life.

You’ve got a few choices in choosing a disability insurance provider. If you’re married, you may be able to buy a policy through your spouse’s carrier. Also, you can get insurance from an individual provider or the Freelancers Union.

Health Insurance

Your health should be a priority in your life. Being able to afford treatment, doctor’s visits, and medications is a crucial part of that. Even if you’re a young and healthy person, these costs out of pocket add up fast. Since you’re not able to get health insurance through an employer, you’ll need to get this one on your own.

Fortunately, you have several options. If you’re married, check out your spouse’s policy. You can join the Freelancer Unions’ National Benefits Platform. You can go through a faith based health care sharing service. Check out your state’s health insurance marketplace. Look into an individual private insurance company.

When choosing a plan, keep in mind what medical services you need and what prescriptions you need covered.

At the end of the day, the insurance you need depends on where you’re at. Brand new virtual assistants can wait longer. Once you start taking in more clients and income, consider getting coverage. Insurance is a tedious topic, but it is important to know what your best options are. It’s just one of the many pieces to get into place during your virtual assistant career journey!

“Wrapping Up the Year” Checklist for Small Business

A quick glance at the calendar can send a shock of stress to the small business owner…how can it be the end of the year already? With so much screaming for your attention, it can feel overwhelming. Don’t worry, with a little organization you CAN get it all done. Follow our checklist to ensure everything is wrapped up nicely by the end of the year.

Team Member Management

Conduct end of the year team member reviews. Provide constructive feedback to your team members. Praise their successes. Encourage reflection on their struggles and setbacks. Ask if they are happy with the direction of their role, and if there’s anything you can help them with. Talk with them about their life apart from work. Do everything you can to support them and ensure they feel valued, both as your valued team member and as an individual.
Team member appreciation. Even a small gesture can make a big impact. Show your awesome team member(s) how much you value them. Give a holiday bonus, a thoughtful gift, a memorable holiday party.

Client Relations

Write a thank-you note to all your clients. A handwritten card or letter helps your business stand out in a world of mass emails. Express how much you value your clients, and how you look forward to working with them next year.
Assess every client’s worth to your organization. Evaluate whether it’s beneficial for your business to move forward with every client relationship. Weigh a difficult client’s benefits against the time, emotional exhaustion, and stress required to deal with him or her. Sometimes it’s not worth the income. When the costs are too high, it’s better for you and the client to part ways.
Review financial records. Meet with your accountant to ensure your books are complete and up to date. Preliminary work now can save a huge amount of time come tax season (or in the event you get audited).
Conduct a profit and loss report. Put in writing the financial state of your business. It’ll be a good analysis of this year’s progress and serve as a benchmark when you make financial goals for next year.
Collect outstanding bills. Go through accounts and see which clients still owe money. If possible, get the payment before the year ends.
Review payroll. Make sure all accounts are covered and there are no outstanding payments. It’s easy to forget about bills such as transportation reimbursement, so double check to be sure everything’s taken care of.

Business Management

Backup all data. Save all your documents and contact information in the cloud or on an external hard drive. It’s tedious, but incredibly important.
Write an end of the year memo. This memo for your wonderful team members is two-fold. First, celebrate the past year. Highlight accomplishments and successes of the organization as a whole, and spotlight individuals who went above and beyond. Mention notable changes, like welcoming new staff members or new clients. It’ll be a good refresher for you and your team. Second, build up enthusiasm for the year to come. Talk about goals and the vision for the upcoming year to provide a concrete direction for the business.
Prioritize projects. Determine which projects need to be finished before the year’s ends. Tie up the loose ends for projects nearly completed, projects where it would be difficult to pause for the holidays, or projects for impatient clients. Set aside projects that can be easily started again after the holidays, or ones that benefit from a fresh perspective after the new year.

Self-Care

Really relax and rest. Entrepreneurs can be the worst at self-care! But burning yourself out is terrible for your health (and productivity!) Be sure to set aside time during the scramble to take care of yourself with massages, a night of Netflix, whatever you need to fully unwind and recharge.
Enjoy the holidays unplugged from work. By this point, you’ve done everything you need to do. Now enjoy your holidays!

If you need assistance accomplishing your end of the year administrative tasks, Alpine Small Business Solutions is here for you! We can handle short-term (or long-term) projects, freeing up your time to focus on other projects. Give us a call or shoot us an email today.