So, I am writing this as Covid-19 is really getting to grips with the UK and there is no doubt that we are facing challenging times that are completely unknown to us as it could not be predicted or prepared for.  So as business owners we are just going to have to do what we can and as for me it will be business as usual for as long as I can.

There is no doubt we are all going to experience a fair amount of downtime in our businesses but should look at the positive as this will give us time to have a look at all those jobs that we have been meaning to do but not had the time or the inclination to do them (usually stuff you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant!).  I know I have some of these to do but thought I could suggest some:

• Accounts Admin – are your accounts up to date? We are fast approaching the end of the financial year and that won’t change even for the virus.  A good time to look at going online if you’re not already, to a cloud-based system. Organise all those receipts and get them entered into your system, record your mileage, have you recorded all your income ready for the accountant or self-assessment? Is there anyone owing you? Time to chase up and get that money in so you know where you stand.

• Website review – have you taken a good long hard look at your website recently?  Is it up to date with all the relevant policies attached? Why not look at the SEO there are plenty of specialists out there to help with this, you could update the pictures, test the links, ensure the contact details are correct, get your designer to do an over haul perhaps?

• Content writing – following on from the website review, do you have enough content on there? Why not sit down and write some blogs to add to the site, let me people know how knowledgeable you are on your business and how it can help them.  If you need some help you could get a Virtual Assistant to help! Even if you write get it proofread by them.

• Social Media– do you have a presence on social media? Linkedin– go through your profile does it need an overhaul? Get it refreshed to help you stand out from the crowd. What other channels would work for you? If you’re on Twitter have a look at your profile and update and get some tweets scheduled, you can do this through Tweet deck or any scheduling platform – Buffer, Hootsuite, Meet Edgar for example.  Why not set your Tweet deck up to follow the relevant hashtags and people that you’re following so you don’t miss anything they post. Facebook – do you have a page, and would it be relevant to your business? If you think it would set one up or if you have one revamp again schedule some posts, these can be done on the page with “publishing tools”. Instagram – this is great for products and anything visual and use plenty of hashtags! Again, you can schedule through a scheduling platform.

• Contacts– have you collected a big pile of business cards from your networking meetings that you just keep meaning to add to your CRM or connect with them on LinkedIn? How are you going to keep in touch with them? Why not sit down and do this, make up a spreadsheet with their details on to add to the CRM or your marketing platform to keep in touch. This is something you could pass on to a Virtual Assistant!

• Newsletters – been meaning to write this? When you have sorted your contacts why not send out a letter to say hello, remind them of who you are, pass on some tips and knowledge and reassure them you are still operating during this bizarre time.

• Inbox clearing– do you have hundreds or even thousands of emails in your inbox that you just haven’t got around to clearing?  Why not spend some time unsubscribing from the stuff you don’t need, set up some folders and sub-folders for the stuff that you want to keep?  If it is organised, why not go through those folders and see what is still relevant and clear out what is no longer needed.  You could outsource this to a Virtual Assistant if the task is too unbearable!

• Decluttering– does your office look like a bomb has hit it? Why not have a good clear out see what is still relevant and what isn’t– it is Spring after all and we love a good spring clean it could even help work production having it clearer and cleaner.

• Business Plan– if you have a plan why not review it and reset the sails as recovering from this pandemic is going to take some time and people are going to have to rethink how they operate and how they get back on their feet after this strange situation.  If you don’t have one why not write one and if you need help, there are good business coaches out there to give you a hand.

Looking at your business going forward and you are looking for help growing it in the future, a task you can look at doing – write down all the tasks you do in your business on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis – really break it down and put them in a list.  Cross out all of those that need to be done by a specialist, those that need to be done by you and those you like doing, any left? Maybe some of those can be done by a Virtual Assistant.  Just another little thought of something you could do.

Hopefully there is something there that you find useful, I know that we are a big networking community here in the UK and with groups and meetings being cancelled it’s great that the groups are responding by going online so a great way to keep in touch and keep growing your business and look for a buddy/sounding board to bounce your ideas or concerns with.  In the meantime, stay safe and well – keep calm and carry on!

Sharon Vickery is a very talented Virtual Assistant with many years of experience in Administration and office management covering different industries including Health & Social care, Local Government, Leisure and Tourism and the recruitment industry.

Sharon offers a complimentary consultation to talk through your needs and can be contacted here:

www.sharonvickery.co.uk

sharon@sharonvickery.co.uk

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