Why is it important to have systems in place?
Imagine loading up the family or your partner into the family car and I mean really loading up the car for a long journey. Everyone is strapped in and ready to go and your partner suddenly remembers that you forgot to pack the street directory. No problem you say and you start your journey regardless.

But somehow, you get lost on the freeway. Which exit are we supposed to take again? Oh no, it was the one we just passed. How do we backtrack and get back to the right exit? Panic sets in and no one is enjoying themselves anymore.

Managing your business without solid systems in place is very much the same. If you don’t have standardised systems in which to complete certain tasks and activities, you end up creating more work then is necessary for yourself and your employees, and then it all stops being fun. If you have employees or use subcontractors then you will find general productivity is low and when that happens, profits are low.

Without realising it, you may already have systems in place but because you haven’t thought about them specifically, you’re just not aware. Is there a better way to doing things within your business? What happens when you bring an employee or subcontractor onboard? Are they going to know how to complete tasks to keep your business running?

Over the weekend I received an email from a potential client asking me about my services. GREAT! What was even better was that they came through my IVAA.org listing. Perfect!!

So why this post?

In talking with this potential client she told me that she had emailed 4 other VAs in Australia from the same directory and I was the only to respond to her. I was stunned. How often do we get a hot lead like this through our websites?

So my question is, if you receive an email from a potential client, how quickly should you answer it?

I believe that even if your client roster is full you need to answer the email and let them know. Who knows, maybe you know another VA who’d be perfect for that potential client and in making the connection for them your VA friend will thank you and the potential client will remember your willingness to help them find someone else. So when it comes time for them to refer a friend, who are they going to send them to?

Business to me is about building relationships. Relationships between your and your clients. Relationships between you and your colleagues including other VAs. Relationships between you and your suppliers. You need these relationships to be able to manage and grow your business.

Educating the wider business community about the value and professionalism of Virtual Assistants happens on an ongoing basis and I still get a blank look when I tell people I am a Virtual Assistant. It’s important that we treat our email habits as professionally as possible. Especially if you are like me and communicate mainly by email.

Working from home comes with its own hazards. Friends dropping by, toddlers under the table, spouse not being supportive…..

The main hazard in working from home is the good ole ‘time stealer’. Time stealers can come in a variety of forms but typically look like your closest friend/sister/mother-in-law dropping by for a cuppa because ‘oh but you’re at home now’. It can also look like the washing waiting to be hung out to dry. It can also be you procrastinating by surfing the internet instead of doing client work.

How you deal with these time stealers will help to define you as a professional.

Begin with defining your boundaries to family and friends. Tell them you are working at to come back at 4pm. Once you do this a couple of times, not only is it liberating but they will start to understand. AND you’ll start to feel better and perhaps see yourself in a different light.
Remove all distractions. You’d be surprised at how much you can get done without that basket sitting there looking at you. If removing a distraction includes outsourcing certain things around the house, then do it.

Be mindful of the time you waste doing non-billing activities. If its to build your business or if its for educational/research purposes, then so be it. But if you are just flat out wasting time then you need to look a bit deeper and see why you are procrastinating. There is a stack of open source software out there on the internet that can log every stroke you make to enable you to analyse where you are spending your time. You might be unpleasantly surprised to just see where you time is going.

So share with us your time wasters. What are they and what do you do to prevent them from stealing your time?