When I began my business, it was easy to be productive and to maintain contact with my clients. Reaching deadlines was never a problem and everyone was happy. Since then, I had another baby and my business has grown very quickly.
In the face of it all, it would be easy to lose productivity and get caught up in answering emails, returning phone calls, marketing and networking but I still need to get these things done. I still need to market my business and build my brand even though I am just about full.
So what should I do?
For me, the increase in stress levels just about did me in. I don’t like to turn anyone away, especially if they have a need and so I found myself taking on work and promising to have it done quickly. For me, I’ve always tried to under promise and over deliver, but when you are doing this for EVERYONE, something has to give. That something for me was sleep which of course caused stress.
To maintain my productivity I’ve implemented a couple of strategies that I will share with you now.
Firstly, I’ve hired myself an in-house assistant and her name is Beckie. I’ve only had her for 3 days but gosh can she work. She shows initative, completes work quickly and at a high level of quality and the best thing is, she’s completed tasks that I’ve had on my to-do list since the start. Things like creating and sending a client feedback form or tidying up my contacts. Beckie is an absolute star and I can already see big things for her. I have big plans for Beckie and together we will be tackling some huge projects that are near and dear to me.
Secondly, I’ve added three Virtual Assistants to my team. Laurie Dart, Lisa Callsen and Deirdre Shockley are all highly qualified administrative professionals and each have their own niche or speciality. I decided to become a multi-VA business simply because I don’t like to turn anyone away and although I may act like a ‘know it all’ at times, I DON’T know it all. Between the four of us WE DO!
Tilda Virtual Services can now provide a holistic approach to each client’s needs. This has been a goal for me since the beginning of my business and now after 18 months it has come to fruition.
Remaining productive is something we all need to address at various stages of the business life cycle. Whether you are in the startup phase or in the business growth phase like I am, how you deal with it and plan for productivity can often mean the difference between keeping those great clients and losing them. I plan to keep ALL my clients and growing the number of Virtual Assistants I call Associates. I want to connect clients to solutions and I can now do this without stress and without leaving anyone behind.
I’ve also begun using Basecamp again. I started using it a few months ago and none of my clients seemed to get into it. That has all changed now! My team are based in the States and to access important information about each client we needed a collaborative space in which to do it. Basecamp helps us to do this while reducing the number of emails I get daily. So how do you remain productive? Can you outsource your administration too? I have to say that being on the ‘other side of the fence’ is definitely an eye opener and I am kicking myself for not doing this sooner!
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Our start-up business is right now too small to be able to afford new staff. Here’s our solution for productivity, it’s much cheaper than paying salaries to extra people and it does save us time! I’d like to share my favorite post on productivity from their blog http://www.wrike.com/blog/9/4/2007/Getting_things_done_with_Wrike_saves_us_hours
I think the key is to share information in the most efficient way possible. Regardless if it’s Basecamp or Wrike, use what you are comfortable with – you won’t regret the time it will save you or the collaborative opportunities they give.