“If you haven’t got an Assistant, you are one”
I read with interest a tweet this week by ultra successful entrepreneur Nigel Botterill:
“If you haven’t got an Assistant, you are one”
It’s this belief that underlines my passion for helping entrepreneurs, directors and business owners to understand how much more productive and successful they could be if they got a little help.
In my many conversations with Penni Pike, Sir Richard Branson’s closest assistant for 31 years and now our special advisor, it has become obvious to me just how vital Penni was to the building of the Virgin empire – Richard simply couldn’t have done it without her. Penni even took the call that started Virgin Atlantic.
You don’t have to be a billionaire to have an assistant – getting some help doesn’t need to be expensive, daunting, difficult or even a long term commitment. Providing you use a Virtual Assistant service (plug: like ours!), and avoid the pitfalls of trying to recruit, retain and motivate a full time assistant, it’s one of the best value and easiest tools to boost your effectiveness.
So far we’ve helped more than 200 business owners, entrepreneurs and directors to save more than 7,313 working days – that’s 1462 working weeks or about 31 working years!
Could we be helping you too?
Site of the week
I often find it hard to find high quality business advice online, despite it being almost constantly rammed into my Twitter and Linkedin feeds daily.
Because there are now few barriers (such as needing a publisher) to get in the way of publishing advice there is a huge volume of it out there. A whole load of it suffers from these problems:
a) It’s written purely to promote the author or their business. Almost any small business marketing guide recommends throwing large volumes of advice out there to “position yourself as an expert” which results in a huge volume of pseudo advice, often written with a commercial motive (bad)
b) It’s written by someone who either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or have written it on a whim to fill a page, rather than being qualified, solid and time tested advice (worse)
With this in mind I’d thought I’d take the opportunity to link to a blog that feels full of decent advice, real views and solid experienced based business observations:
http://www.saynototheoffice.com/
The Art of Time Management
The whole concept of Time etc arose from the notion that time is of the utmost importance – and so is knowing how to manage it.
Working with over 200 time-poor business owners daily, we’re well aware that running a business can be an infinitely challenging job where the common phrase ‘there just aren’t enough hours in the day’ makes a regular appearance. The key to good time management is to go back to basics and apply some key time management principles, so you’re being as productive as possible. Here are just a few of our time management tips:
1. SET YOURSELF DAILY GOALS.
People are often so focused on the ‘bigger picture’ (e.g. making lots of money, hitting that yearly target) that they lose sight of what their day-to-day goals should be. While long-term goals are certainly important, it can be counter-productive to obsess over them.
Try making a list of mini-goals at the start of each day. Keep it realistic, listing only what you feel comfortable achieving. Each of these mini-goals gets you one step closer to your overall target, but will feel far more achievable.
2. BREAK DOWN YOUR TO-DO LIST.
It’s likely you’ll have a mammoth weekly to-do list. Trying to work your way through an ever-increasing list can be a little soul destroying, not to mention unproductive. So, the trick is to break it down; take each large project or task and compartmentalise into smaller tasks that are much more manageable. In turn, you’ll find this list much easier to prioritise.
Often your to-do’s can be scattered all over the place, from a post-it note on your PC screen, to hidden within an e-mail, to written in your diary. To get started, try a project management tool, such as www.basecamphq.com – you can enter projects and break them down into manageable tasks while setting yourself realistic deadlines.
3. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS.
At Time etc, we believe it’s essential that no matter how busy your day is, you give yourself some time out. Whether that’s for a walk away from your desk, having a stretch or, best of all, getting some fresh air, a break will leave you feeling refreshed and you’ll have heaps more energy and focus to get on with the rest of your day.
4. AVOID PROCRASTINATION.
Everyone does it from time to time, but procrastinating is very counter-productive.
Cut out all possible temptations that may be preventing you from getting on with what you need to do and simply get on with the task in hand – it will only become more daunting the more you put it off. Once you start, you’ll often find that it’s a lot less difficult or daunting than you expected. The sense of achievement you’ll get from completing a task is much better than the sense of impending doom you get from procrastinating over it!
5. MASTER THE ART OF DELEGATION.
Our business runs on effective delegation and we cannot stress the importance of this enough. It’s simple: look at your to-do list and select the tasks that take up your time but don’t necessarily help grow your business. Remember that handing over tasks you do every week or even every day is a great idea, because you only have to hand them over once, but you’ll continue to get the benefits.
Using social media to grow your business
2) Be selective. There are so many social media networking tools available to you for free, that it’s easy to get carried away and spread yourself too thinly. My advice is to select a key few that you can easily manage, and to subscribe to a social media dashboard like Hootsuite that enables you to update sites like your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn easily and simultaneously!
3) Engage proactively. Don’t just sign up, follow a few contacts and expect them to be interested in you. You need to engage with people and businesses by creating interesting dialogue and offering content that’s relevant and valuable.
So, which sites should you go for? There are *loads* out there, but I believe in keeping it simple (see point 2). We use Hootsuite to sync key social media account and keep things super-efficient. As a starting point, use Twitter to share bitesize chunks of engaging content and find out what others in your industry are saying, Facebook to interact on multiple levels such as discussions, polls and video and LinkedIn to enhance your business credibility through professional online networking. That’s not to say that other great social networking tools such as YouTube and GooglePlus should be overlooked, though.
From Virgin to Virtual: Welcoming Penni Pike to the Team
Introducing Penni
At Time etc it’s very important to us that we are the very best at what we do, being business superheroes and all that.
This means constantly bettering our service and adhering to the needs of the busy entrepreneurs and businesspeople we support. And who better to help us shape our Virtual PA service than Sir Richard Branson’s Executive PA of 31 years – Penni Pike?
As of this month, we’re proud to count Penni as our special company advisor and it’s safe to say that she certainly knows a thing or two about supporting busy, successful people. Penni played a vital role in growing Virgin and directly supporting Richard Branson in his business ventures and personal challenges – from music, planes and trains to around-the-world boat and balloon expeditions. It was even Penni who took the first call that enabled the set-up of Virgin Atlantic!
Penni retired from Virgin in 2006, but felt it was a waste not to use the expertise she had gained from working with Sir Richard, and wanted to continue supporting busy entrepreneurs to the best of her ability. Her partnership with Time etc means that Penni now supports clients, guides staff and gives advice on how to build the ultimate business assistant service using her invaluable knowledge.
So – why Time etc? “It’s a fantastic company, run by a bold entrepreneur,” Penni explains. “It reminds me of the best spirit that animated Virgin.”
We’re thrilled to have Penni with our team 
How to… do a DIY PR Campaign
Welcome to the first of our How To guides for small-medium sized businesses. At Time Etc we know what areas entrepreneurs and business owners need supporting in, so these articles aim to inform and assist…
PR can be one of the most cost-effective ways of getting publicity for your business.
Small businesses with an exciting product or service to promote are often in a prime position for getting great press coverage. Why, then, do so many businesses shy away from it?
We believe it’s straightforward and that you don’t have to be a PR professional to do it well. It’s all about identifying opportunities and creating newsworthy information that you can relate back to your business.
Here are some of our pointers on doing DIY PR:
- Identify your selling points. Think about what makes your business different, and what you do that makes you stand out in your market. List all of these ideas, and then think about how to turn them into newsworthy stories. It’s important to remember though that what might be groundbreaking news for you might not be for your target reader.
- Read the news. Keep up to date with what the media are talking about – in newspapers, on websites and on Twitter – so you can keep your content relevant and new.
- Research your target media. Spend time identifying which publications you want your business to appear in – and make sure you read them! You’ll be able to see the kind of stories they write about, and their editorial style, and tailor your press releases to suit them.
- Speak to journalists. Contrary to popular belief, journalists aren’t all to be feared, so call them up for a chat! Do your research first, make sure you have your story idea ready for them and remember that journalists are time-poor, so keep it short and to-the-point and they’ll thank you for it.
- Know what makes a great press release. The key is to keep it concise, interesting and (this old chestnut again) relevant. If you can hook your audience in with an interesting statistic or fact, even better. It’s also advisable to target your press release as much as possible – sending out generic press releases, no matter the audience, won’t earn you brownie points with journalists.
- Create news stories. If nothing newsworthy is on the horizon for your business – create it! Launch a new networking event, support a business initiative in your area or even create an award for your industry.
- Don’t just rely on traditional methods. PR is no longer just about sending a press release to print media. Don’t neglect online sites, forums and bloggers who are looking for content. You can also share your story by tweeting it, blogging about it and sharing it on business networking sites.
Looking for PR advice? Contact Ceri on 0844 561 0492.
We climbed Snowdon in record time, thank you for your support!
We climbed Snowdon in record time, thank you for your support!
It’s been just over a week since the Time etc team climbed Snowdon in record time, despite 60mph winds, constant rain and extremely thick fog. We can all walk again (just about)!
We were totally blown away by the amount of money that our clients, friends and colleagues donated to support us on our climb – we raised a stunning £4,500. If you donated and supported us, or even just encouraged, our heartfelt thanks for helping us to raise so much money for three great causes. Your support, encouragement and donations really kept us going on the day.
A special thank you must go to our official sponsor Cosmedocs, the cosmetic Doctors of Harley Street: http://www.cosmedocs.co.uk. I must also thank Lydia for being an amazing organiser and keeping the fund raising going in the weeks before the climb, and the members of the team that contributed in so many different ways from giving up time to sourcing accommodation.
The best bit is that we all had a great time, as well as raising lots of money. It was lovely to chat to colleagues we don’t normally get the chance to catch up with, spend time together outside of the office and bask in the amazing sense of acheivement at the end of the climb.
A team photo, before we set out, is below. For more photos of the climb go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/timeetc
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/timeetc
The Climb Approaches…
In just 3 days, the entire Time Etc team will be climbing Snowdon (with some trepidation but LOTS of excitement!) in aid of Acorns Childrens’ Hospice, Ovarian Cancer Action and Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.
Preparing for our climb has been loads of fun and we’re truly thrilled with the amount of support we’ve received from clients, friends and family alike. We’d also like to say a huge thankyou to our official sponsor, Cosmedocs! We’ve exceeded our target of £3,000 and we hope to do so even further in the run up to the day itself!
We wanted to make you, our lovely blog readers, aware of how amazing our causes are and just why we’ve chosen to do this – so here’s a bit of info about our chosen charities.
Acorns Childrens’ Hospice is a local Midlands-based charity that offers a network of care for life limited and life threatened children and their families. These children and young people are not expected to reach adulthood and require specialist care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The cost of just one bed for one child per day is £750. We were lucky enough to meet Elinor from Acorns’, who came in to talk to us all about the charity and how the fundraising can help. The work they do and the support they offer is fantastic and worthy of your support. For more information visit www.acorns.org.uk
Ovarian Cancer Action provides the UK’s first research facility dedicated entirely to ovarian cancer. 82p in every £1 they receive is invested in research and awareness campaigns for ovarian cancer (the remaining 18p in raising more funds). This charity is one is very important to us here at Time Etc. In January of this year Barnaby, our brilliant director, sadly lost his Mum to ovarian cancer. Her experience has really raised our awareness of this illness and we wholeheartedly support the research and campaigning that Ovarian Cancer Action do to raise awareness and find a cure for this disease. Visit www.ovarian.org.uk
Muscular Dystrophy Campaign lead the fight against muscle disease, funding reasearch to find treatments and cures, providing practical and emotional support, campaigning to raise awareness and awarding grants towards the cost of specialist equipment. The charity is close to Tori, sales guru’s heart – her older sister suffers from the hereditary disease and Tori has first hand of how the research and support the charity provides can help sufferers and their families alike. The charity is in constant need of donations to fund their research, provide information, support and grants towards equipment. For more information visit www.muscular-dystrophy.org
There’s still time to sponsor us to raise funds for these great causes: visit our Virgin Money Giving page.
We’ll be reporting back on our experience on our return from Snowdonia, watch this space!
To take a holiday or not to take a holiday?
Back in November it was announced that Friday 29th April would be given as an extra bank holiday because of the royal wedding, and most of the country’s employees rejoiced. Business owners perhaps slightly less so.
A lot of business owners are undeniably worried about the impact two long weekends could have on their business; April only has 18 business days so is significantly shorter than the average business month. Yet many may also be relinquishing the holiday potential – 11 days off for the price of 3!
What is most likely preventing entrepreneurs/owners of small businesses taking time off is the worry that they don’t have someone to hold the fort and will therefore lose business and money because of it.
Things are quite different with many of the business owners we work with. A fair few of our clients are jetting off for the 11 day holiday, knowing that their business is in totally safe hands and that they won’t lose anything by taking the time off. Our virtual assistants are handling everything for them in their absence – phonecalls, e-mails, diary management, enquiries and bookings – and doing so with complete confidence due to their in-depth training and knowledge.
An 11 day break from their business can be just what busy entrepreneurs need. It’s a time for them to reflect and, as many have said to us, the time when they come up with their best business ideas!
So yet another reason why, in the modern business age, outsourcing the help you need with a virtual assistant is THE way forward. Call us biased, but we’re convinced of it.
Have a great Easter weekend folks!
The Time Etc Night In
We love a good night out at Time Etc. It’s a chance for the team to catch up outside of work, reflect on the month’s events and perhaps drink a bit too much wine.
This month, we decided to change things up a bit and have a night IN last Friday – to raise awareness and money for our sponsored Snowdon Climb in association with Cosmedocs.
A lovely jubbily time was had by all; we ate pizza & drank cocktails, Oli did a rather slick powerpoint presentation on the ins and outs of climbing Snowdon, Sam’s team won the highly coveted Snowdon Sheep in the quiz, Lydia gave the team more info about our brilliant chosen charities – Acorns Childrens’ Hospice, Ovarian Cancer Action & Muscular Dystrophy Campaign – and we introduced the now-prestigious Time Etc Above and Beyond Awards. This month’s lucky winners were Alex for answering 100 – YES, 100! – calls in one day for our busy clients and Josie for being a Trailblazer of Customer Service Excellence in her new role as Client Advocate.
A HUGE thankyou to the friends, family members and clients who have helped us to raise FABULOUS £1,700 for our causes. It’s just over 4 weeks til our climb so you can still sponsor us. Click here to find out more.
We’ve got loads of great stuff going on at the moment, including newly appointed team leaders, office photo-shoots, developing our new website, Snowdon excitement, fabulous new (and existing) clients… the list goes on! We’ll be sure to keep you posted.
And finally, here are some photos of our night.
The Team Gather in the Zen Den
Alex wins her Above & Beyond Award for 100 Phonecalls in One Day!
Josie - Officially a Trailblazer of Customer Service Excellence!
The Winning Quiz Team - Star, Hannah F, Hannah M, Sam & Tori