Balancing working at home and small children

January 27, 2007 by Kylie Short · Leave a Comment

My Assistant! This is a topic that is near and dear to me. Yes I am a WAHM and I have small children. Three in fact. Damon who is 6 years old, Connor is 3 years old and Matilda is 7 months old. Crazy me even started my business and building it in earnest when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Matilda. Crazy huh?

Despite my craziness, I would not exchange my life or work for anything else. What other business allows me to work in my PJ’s if I feel like it or work into the wee hours of the morning because I have insomnia and figure I might as well be doing something? What other business allows me to breastfeed my daughter while answering emails and chatting on MSN with my client’s? NONE! I love my work and I love the flexibility of working from home. In case you haven’t figured it out by now, I love being a Virtual Assistant.

But as any WAHM will tell you, working at home has it’s hazards. From the articles I have read it can go either of two ways. Either you will become a workaholic and forget to stop for basic necessities like food and water or you become a procrastinator and don’t get anything done.

Now, I’m an over achiever, I tend to be a workaholic and find it hard to know what the time is to stop working. But I have a couple of tips to help other WAHM’s, but I won’t guarantee that it will suit your and your life, so take it or leave it.

Set up a home planner/diary: Why do this? Well it helps to take the indecisiveness out of our day if we know what is happening with the kids, after school activities, meal planning and paying the bills. There are a number of sites out there that claim to help and have THE product to plan your household but the best I have seen is www.busymothers.com.au They even have a forum!
Create a timetable/schedule: Yes! Do it now, print it off and stick it somewhere where the whole family can see it. I have mine in a spreadsheet format that blocks out time for my working hours, school and preschool, indoor soccer and other weekly events. I also have these events in my OUTLOOK calendar as a reoccuring event and have gone so far as to email my husband the appointment so he won’t miss out on attending too.
Have set working hours and stick to them!: I have even set up a bedtime alarm so when I am working late at night, it will remind me to stop and turn off the computer. It also acts as a reminder to backup my laptop to the server.
Ask for help: Remember, there is no such thing as supermum. Nope, she doesn’t exist. With all the pressure we put on ourselves to exceed at everything we do including parenting, remember to stop and ask for help when it gets overwhelming. For you this might mean going out and having a coffee with friends, for me, it was a case of hiring a cleaner to come in and do the jobs I didn’t have time for and to join Real Mums a parenting support forum with a difference.
Prioritise: Remember, they won’t be little for ever so make sure you take time out every day to play and watch them grow. After all, your children are the reason you started working from home instead of going outside the home to work (for money) isn’t it?

Filed under: SOHO
Tagged: Working with small children

So you want to be a Virtual Assistant?

January 24, 2007 by Kylie Short · Leave a Comment

Since starting my Virtual Assistance (VA) business in May 2006 34 weeks pregnant with my third child and daughter, I have had someone send me their resume unsolicited for subcontractor work and numerous emails from people who had read my profile on Business Mums Network or seen me post on a couple of forums, asking me how I got started, what did I do to get my first client and what can they do to be as successful as me?

Well for starters, I signed up my first client before I considered starting a business never mind a Virtual Assistance business. I can hear you now, pfft Kylie, that can’t be true… but it is. I was 34 weeks pregnant, restless and wanting a change (maybe I just needed to nest for the new baby… I think I was bored, there is only so many times I can watch daytime TV while the kids are sleeping and not want to throw something at the TV). I needed something to exercise my brain but I also needed to be home with my kids. I didn’t give birth to them to put them in care and have someone else raise them for me. So I had a look in the local rag and found someone advertising for a “secretary/bookkeeper, 10 hours per week, must have own laptop” and instantly thought “that’s me!” So I rang the phone number and applied for it. He took one look at my belly and asked me if I wanted to do it from home? Hallelujah, yes I did.

So what did I do then? I started researching and trawling the internet because surely there must be more people like me working from home providing administrative and bookkeeping support! And you know what? I found this whole industry of people out there, some of which have been successful in their businesses for over 13 years. We even have one of our own trailblazers in Kathie Thomas from A Clayton’s Secretary who started the first network of Virtual Assistants on the internet in Australia in 1996. And guess what newbies and lurkers? She coaches and mentors newbies who want to learn about the industry and how to start a VA business.

The first thing I did was Google Kathie Thomas. Who was this lady? Are the claims on her website true? But I have to pay money to be a member of the network; does this mean it’s a scam? Ladies and gentlemen, Kathie Thomas is no scammer! Kathie Thomas has been a Virtual Assistant for over 13 years, and I was so inspired by her story that I joined her network and then I started her VA Trainer program. This program helped me so much in changing my mindset from an employee to that of an entrepreneur. I have the technical skills necessary to provide a high quality service to my clients, I have management and small business owner experience, but I knew nothing about the Virtual Assistance industry and without this course I would never have been able to fill in the blanks without wasting a lot of time and effort.

My challenge to those out there who are thinking of starting a Virtual Assistance business, make sure you do your research. Make sure your business plan is complete because let me tell you, it’s hard to know where you are going, what your goals are if you don’t know where you have been. Visit Kathie’s VA Trainer program website and the A Clayton’s Secretary website. You will find a whole wealth of information there. And just remember that starting a VA business is hard work and not something for everyone even though you may have a computer and know how to type. Unfortunately it’s not enough and your client’s if and when you sign them up, will most definitely let you know if you are not up to scratch. And what a disappointment that will be.

Filed under: General Topics
Tagged: Virtual Assistance

What is a Virtual Assistant?

January 21, 2007 by Kylie Short · Leave a Comment

A Virtual Assistant is a highly qualified and experienced Office Professional that utilizes the latest and greatest technology to serve their client….. YOU!

Virtual Assistants are self employed business owners who provide a valuable service to other businesses on a virtual or off site basis, although there are some who offer an onsite service at a higher rate. The industry is made up of Office Professionals, Bookkeepers, Executive Personal Assistants, Office Administrators, Marketing Professionals, Public Relations, Graphic Designers and Website Designers just to name a few.
Some of the services a Virtual Assistant may offer but is not limited to: