Tilda Virtual | Virtual Assistant & Bookkeeper » Virtual Assistance

What happens to your business when you get sick?

Kylie Short — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 12:18:34 +0000

I’d just like to ask you a quick question… what happens to your business when you get sick? Do you have a team of rockstars that look after everything for you or are you still doing everything yourself? If you have a team, can you rely on them to get their work done and keep your business running?

At the end of August I was knocked down with a cold but with a home-based business, a family and a sick little girl I persevered and kept going. Surprisingly the next week I was better and back to full steam. The following week the cold came back for a week but left the week after. This coming and going of a seemingly mild cold happened for 4 weeks and finished up being a rockin’ chest infection that kept me down for 3.5 weeks. I woke to drink some water, visit the bathroom, take my medication and then go back to sleep. I was useless to my family and to my business. My poor long suffering husband had to pick up the slack and take time off work just to look after me. It was a horrid time for us as a family but as a business owner I coped. Why? Because I have rockstars on my team.

Now I’m not saying everything was perfect and that everyone (clients and team members) were completely happy, but the business kept going and it still brought in money. I’ve spent the time on my systems and I have great team members who know exactly what they need to do for me. This is what made it easier for me to recover from a chest infection that ordinarily would have sent me to the hospital.

Getting sick should be part of your contingency plan and if you work by yourself consider what being really sick would do to your business. How would this down time effect client satisfaction? Who would look after your role for you while you take that much needed time off? How would using a Virtual Assistant on your team help alleviate your stress while you’re off sick and how can they help you generally within your business any other time?

Start thinking about your contingency plan and assess the risk of your business failing simply due to you being sick. Take the time now to figure out how everything will work without you BEFORE you get sick or need the time off. I promise, you’ll thank me for it!

Australian Branch – IVAA

Kylie Short — Mon, 23 May 2011 02:23:14 +0000

As most of you know, it was announced at AVAC this year that IVAA is opening a division for Australian based VAs. Kathie Thomas will be heading up the Australian division and is looking for helpers – they must be IVAA members to assist. Things have been happening behind to scenes to get this all happening, as you can appreciate, it does take some time to organise the legalities and make sure everything is as it should be.

In the meantime, we want to share with you that IVAA has extended its membership registrations for a little while longer so that Australian VAs can join to help grow our Australian membership and discuss how we will be developing Expert of the Month sessions, Peer Discussion groups and Summits geared towards the specific needs of Australian VAs, as it relates to topics and speakers that align with your businesses.

Also, programs will be timed more favorably to Australia and that they will be eligible for ALL IVAA benefits (many of which are here: http://www.ivaa.org/?page=MemberServices) and that Australian volunteers will be working on getting discounts and programs of benefit outside the US – for example – we have some discounts on long-term care insurance and through an attorney – this would be for US members only – we would be looking to establish similar discounts that would be available to our Australian VAs.

To join, please click here!

Everyone who joins as a ‘regular’ member, through June 30, 2011, will receive $10 off their 2011 Online Summit registration as well as a copy of the audio from the 2010 Online Summit panel discussion, “Pricing Your Services in a Down Economy!” We are so excited to offer this opportunity to new regular members – spread the word.

Kathie M. Thomas, Australian Rep – kathie@ivaa.org

I’ve been elected…

Kylie Short — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:06:04 +0000

… to serve on the Board of Directors for the International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA)!!

This year (May) marks 5 years in business for Tilda Virtual and in some ways I’m really excited but in other ways I’m completely stunned. Who could have predicted 5 years ago that I would create a business that not only financially supports my family but also the families of my employees and subcontractors.

Statistics can be quite scary but most small businesses in Australia fail within the first 2 and 5 years of business and it’s my belief that a business will fail simply due to a lack of resources, support and information.

The day I discovered the Virtual Assistant industry I got so excited. I had already been working from home supporting my husband and his business partner in their IT business at that time for 3 years, I had found a local client needing my bookkeeping and administrative skills and I’d been asked by other business owners to help them out too over the years. But it wasn’t until my youngest was about 4 months old that I realised that starting my own business was something I needed to do, that it was something I was driven to do. So I created the business name Tilda Virtual, designed my first website and went on to achieve my 5 year goals in 18 months. In 2008 I won the Janet Jordan Achievement Award and everything was full steam ahead.

However, I’ve made mistakes. Yup, it’s true. I’ve made some big mistakes and trusted some people that have cost my business a lot of money and nearly brought it to its knees but I came out of those situations stronger knowing fully what I needed to do to ensure those mistakes never happened again.

But here is my question to you, would I still be here today if it wasn’t for organisations like IVAA, A Clayton’s Secretary (ACS) or VA Networking?

I joined these organisations looking for information and I got so much more than that! I’ve been extremely lucky to learn from experienced Virtual Assistants who thought nothing of sharing tips with the ‘newbies’. I attended as many webinars as I could, subscribed to all their newsletters and I joined and participated on their forums. In my eyes, I needed to learn from the best so I hung out with the best. And it’s thanks to them that I’ve been able to achieve so much in just 5 years. I also gained some very close friends who live on the opposite end of the earth from me. Now, it’s my turn to give back and I am fortunate to be able to do that in serving on the Board of Directors for IVAA. So thank you everyone in the Virtual Assistant industry for helping me to make my dream come true!

Australian Virtual Assistant Conference – 18/19 March 2011

Kylie Short — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 04:37:15 +0000

As you know our next Australian VA Conference (AVAC) will be held in Melbourne, Australia on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 March 2011. This conference is open to all VAs from any country.

It’s not too late to get involved!

We are excited to be putting on a conference for VAs by VAs and we promise you that the lineup will include names well known to many as well as the Virtual Assistant industry. Speakers such as Melinda Brennan SuperWahm, Judith Field Direct Speech, Michael Licenblat Bounceback Fast, Paul McCarthy Business Support Network, and Cris Popp Laughter Works just to name a few. And our wonderful MC from last event, Warwick Merry, will be returning for the whole event in 2011.

Other speakers will touch on a variety of topics that relate to looking after ourselves, our health and welfare, social networking and media tools, how to market our businesses, gaining more clients, selling our services or products online and so on. Something for everyone, whether you’re an experienced VA or just starting out.

Plus you get to meet face-to-face many names you will know from the VA forums, probably for the first time in many cases.

Make sure you visit our website to see all our sponsors and check the program for the event.

Tickets are $299 (inc GST) and include a choice of sessions, morning and afternoon refreshments, a networking lunch and the chance to mingle with sponsors and speakers. There will also be a separate Friday night event for those who would like to come along and enjoy the nightlife of the City of Melbourne.

If you would like to make contact with us, provide suggestions, become a sponsor or want more information, please fill out the contact form at our site and either Kathie or Anita will get back to you very soon.

The links below will give you more information.

We love our sponsors as they help ensure we keep our registration costs low so you can attend our event.

Only 9 Weeks to go!

Kylie Short — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:01:43 +0000

The countdown is on for AVAC with only 9 weeks to go. So, where are you with in your planning to attend this great VA event?

Have you booked yet? If not, then please go to http://australianvaconference.com/registration/

Have you organised your accommodation if coming from outside Melbourne? We have suggested accommodation at http://australianvaconference.com/venue/ or perhaps you might like to be hosted by a Melbourne based VA? Why not fill out our contact form to find out availability?

Have you thought about who you want to meet while there and what other things you can do visiting Melbourne? The conference is Friday-Saturday with a Friday night dinner for those interested. That leaves Saturday night and Sunday to go shopping, take in some theatre or a movie or just enjoy a night on the town!

Why not let everyone know you’re coming so we can all see?

Finally, if you have a product/service you’d like to promote or know someone who would like to provide a giveaway for our delegates, a speakers gift, or even have a trade table or sponsor our event. Why not let them know? Send them to our sponsorship page.

AVAC Committee

Announcing AVAC – VA Conference, March 2011

Kylie Short — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:19:19 +0000

The next Australian Virtual Assistant Conference (AVAC) will be held in Melbourne, Australia on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 March 2011. While it’s called The ‘Australian’ VA Conference it doesn’t mean you can’t come if you’re not Australian, it simply means it is being run in Australia and everyone is invited.

We hope by now you’ve heard about this exciting event, but if not, then it’s not too late to get involved!

Coordinators for AVAC are Kathie M. Thomas from “A Clayton’s Secretary” and Anita Kilkenny from AKA Virtual PA, along with team members: Sally McIntyre, Karen Nankervis, Maree Carroll, Kylie Short and Charly Leetham.

Tickets are only $299 (inc GST) which includes a choice of sessions, morning and afternoon refreshments, a networking lunch and the chance to mingle with sponsors and speakers.

The links below will give you more information.

We are still seeking sponsors for the event so if you are interested, or know someone who would be please visit Sponsorship for details.

Australian VA Conference

Kylie Short — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:31:11 +0000

Melinda, the girls and I are madly getting ready for the Australian VA Conference. As a major sponsor via Tilda Hosting, we are able to do inserts in the goody bags and have an expo table too. We’ve got the DL flyers ready, business cards ready and we haven’t forgotten the chocolate frogs either!!

The conference is only next week but it isn’t too late to register. Please go to the website and register. You won’t regret it!

Announcing the Australian Virtual Assistant Conference

Kylie Short — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 14:23:20 +0000

The Australian VA Conference (AVAC) will be held in Melbourne, Friday 12 and Saturday 13 March 2010. While it’s called The ‘Australian’ VA Conference it doesn’t mean you can’t come if you’re not Australian. It simply means it is being run in Australia and everyone is invited.

We are excited to be putting on a conference for VAs by VAs. We promise you that the lineup will include names well known to the Virtual Assistant industry.

Co-ordinators for AVAC are Kathie M. Thomas from “A Clayton’s Secretary” and Anita Kilkenny from AKA Virtual PA.

Early bird tickets are just $140 (inc GST) and include a choice of sessions, morning and afternoon refreshments, a networking lunch and the chance to mingle with sponsors and speakers.

If you would like to make contact with us, please click here.

Re-blogged with permission

Your IVAA.org Ethics Checked VA

Kylie Short — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:33:20 +0000

Recently I decided to sit my Ethics Test and Certification with the International Virtual Assistant Association as a way to prove that I do in fact manage my business on a day to day basis that is ethically sound and in accordance with codes of conduct for the various associations of which I am a member.

Needless to say, I passed and have the honour of adding this badge to my website.

So what you do you think about ethics? Is it important to be independently tested as being an ethical online business owner or is it unnecessary in your humble opinion.

Either way, I’m happy!

Running a Business with kids and how it changes as they grow up

Kylie Short — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:57:06 +0000

Ask around in your online or offline community and chances are you know someone who started their business to be at home with their kids. Some of them may have even started their business while on maternity leave only to be told that they were ‘stark raving mad’. We all know how hard it is to start a new business, to write that business plan, to pay for our licences and to find that first client. But how many of us truly understand how having children and working from home will affect our businesses to the extent that it does?

I started my business 34 weeks pregnant with my third child while building our new home and studying at university for a degree in education full time. My boys were 6 and 3 and I’d been having a difficult pregnancy. And yes, I was told that I was stark raving mad to even think about a business. My husband was extremely supportive but most of my extended family was very negative and frowned upon working when raising a family. All I knew was that my studies were less and less fulfilling as time went by. All I knew was that to be a great mum, I needed something besides child rearing. All I knew was that I wanted something more.

I applied for a job 33 weeks pregnant, started the following week working from home as a subcontractor and that’s when my entrepreneurial spirit showed itself. I stumbled upon the term Virtual Assistant and my head just about exploded with the information that was so readily available. But nothing really prepared me for working from home with small children.

Yes there were the articles about how to manage one’s time, how to work alongside your child and how to set up a play office so they could play and be with you. But nothing prepared me for what ultimately happened. I gave birth to a beautiful girl who was very sick. Instead of taking a few days off (pfft, what do people know, I can ‘pop’ out this baby and be back at the computer in no time) we had a short stay in the NICU and didn’t leave hospital for two weeks. I had systems in place, my mum became my assistant and looked after my one and only client but even then, I wasn’t prepared.

No one tells you about breastfeeding while typing one handed and talking with a client on Skype. No one tells you about how segmented your day will become. No one tells you that you’re supposed to sleep at night. And there’s no one to keep a close eye on you for post-natal depression (post partum).

The first thing you’ll need to discover is what type of schedule works best for you and then to not feel guilty about it. If you’re a morning person that’s great and if you’re a night person, that’s great too. Figure out what part of the day you are the most productive, map it against your family’s needs and try to stick to it.

The next thing is to understand that it’s ok to have nanna naps, even if there are no kids at home. If you need 10 minutes or 30 minutes to recharge, do it! It’s part and parcel of taking care of yourself so you don’t fall apart. I personally am a night person but my husband is a morning person so he gets up to the kids in the morning, feeds them, dresses them all before leaving to go to work. But I’m the one who gets up to the kids in the middle of the night and puts miss M back to bed 4 times between 1am and 4am.

Set up a default schedule where you block in everyone’s commitments including your own. Colour-code the schedule for each person in the family. One thing I have noticed with two children in school now is how busy we are. They don’t do a lot of after school activities but remembering which child has library day and which child has ICT (information communication technology – fancy pants term for information technology) is a lot easier now with the family schedule on the wall.

Create a support circle of business mums. They don’t necessarily have to be in the same industry as you or even have children the same age as yours, you just need to surround yourself with people who understand what it is like to be a mum in business for herself. Family members won’t understand and your partner may not understand. You’ll receive all sorts of advice from all corners and I promise it will all conflict with what you are trying to do. Having your circle of cheerleaders’ means you have people to share your highs and lows with.

Try to understand that running a business with a newborn is vastly different to running a business with a 9 year old or even a 19 year old. Your child has needs, wants and desires that changes, as they get older. My billing record is at an all time high that dates back to when miss M was less than 6 months old. Why? She slept a lot so I was able to put in the extra time. I was also post-natal at the time. Recognise what your family needs from you and be prepared as best you can for when it changes.

Each child is different. What works for me won’t work for you. I don’t have a play area in my office because I can’t handle the mess. I need a clear and tidy workspace to be able to work and kids are made to be messy. So we have a separate playroom for them to be messy to their heart’s content. All three of my kids are pretty independent and so I can snatch 10 or 20 minutes to make a phone call. But there are days when I can’t do that, so I don’t. We go outside instead. Listen to your kids and you’ll soon figure out what you need to do.

Trust in yourself. We all do a great job with our kids AND our businesses. While owning a thriving business and raising children is no easy thing to do, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Don’t think that one size fits all. Find the solutions that suit you and your family and you’ll notice the difference it makes to your business immediately. Your children are only young once so make the most of it.

About Kylie Short:
Kylie Short, owner of Tilda Virtual Services specialises in providing Internet Marketing Support, Administrative Support, Hosting and Website Design to coaches, consultants and small business owners working from home. Visit her website at http://www.tildavirtual.com.au