WE'RE MOVING!

 I've ticked a box.

I'm feeling smug! 

One of my New Year's resolutions was to move our business blog over to our website.  That's now done.  

So please, as from now, may I ask you to click over to the following page to keep up-to-date with all our news and views:

Virtuoso Blog

See you there! 

Attention All Therapists!

What is going to make you stand out from the crowd this year?

How are you going to entice customers to visit YOU as opposed to your competitor down the road?

If you're a Physiotherapist, Osteopath, Holistic therapist, Chiropractor or Psychologist, the services you offer are going to be much the same as your competitors so you need to think of a way to retain your current clients and entice new clients to visit your practice.

The key to success is very simple ...  GREAT CUSTOMER CARE.

• Be friendly: this is the most obvious point and goes without saying.  

• Offer a personalised service: get to know your clients by sending out a questionnaire for them to fill out before their first appointment.  51% of customers say that companies are generally impersonal and don't even get their names right, which gives the impression that they're unimportant.

• Reward schemes: try and incentivise your customers to re-visit you by offering rewards of some description.  

• Website & social media: 66% of new customers are influenced by a professional looking website and positive social media.  This point can't be stressed enough going forward, particularly with social media - you need to be interacting with your clients across various different platforms.   

• Personal recommendations: 82% of people will do business with a company that has been recommended to them by a friend.  They will even pay more for a better customer experience than go to a cheaper competitor who leaves them feeling undervalued.

• Complaints: if an error is made (and we all make errors) put it right straight away and turn it to your advantage by offering a gift or free treatment.  

• Be available: one thing that annoys most people is the inability to speak to somebody in person when making enquiries of a company or service.  Your customers will always appreciate speaking to real people on the phone.  An example of what not to do is illustrated on the right!

You Don't Have Time?

Most therapists I've spoken to have said they don't have time to address some of the issues above. 

So here are a few solutions: 

There are various apps available today which could assist you in streamlining your business and organising client appointments.  Some of these have payment options included so clients can book and pay for an appointment at the same time - no more chasing up unpaid invoices.

Out of all of these apps I would recommend having a look at:-

• "Booking Bug" 
• "Book it Live"
• "Cliniko"

If you want to solve the difficulty of missing phone calls whilst you're busy, there are many telephone answering services available today.

I believe Moneypenny and their sister company Penelope are the most reliable and professional.  They're not cheap, however, so make sure you shop around first to find a company that suits your budget.

Alternatively, you could consider hiring a Virtual Assistant.

Expensive you might think?

No.

If you have a budget to stick to you can decide with your Virtual Assistant how many hours a week you'd like her to work for you.  You might only need her help for 3 mornings per week whilst you're in clinic.

You may want her to do some marketing on social media platforms such as Twitter, Pinterest or Facebook to generate some more business leads, or perhaps you'd like her to design some eye-catching new business cards or flyers to put up on noticeboards?

You will simply be charged for the time it takes to carry out these tasks and no more.  

Why not give Nicky Pasquier, Founder | Director of Virtuoso Assistant, a call today for an informal chat on 0118 324 0197.   You won't be put under any pressure to follow through with a booking.  We will return your call to save your phone bill.   

Alternatively, if you want to make some enquiries via email, you can contact us at hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk.

We very much hope we can be of assistance to you in the near future.

Find us on Twitter @VirtuosoAssist, on Google +Nicky Pasquier, on Pinterest or LinkedIn. 

Speak soon!

Boost your Business, Increase Productivity & Save Time!

No, I'm not suffering from too many late nights over the Christmas and New Year period.

There really is one simple way to achieve all of the above. 

First of all, have a quick look at our short presentation by way of introduction  ...

Boost your business: Hire a Virtual Assistant! from Nicky Pasquier

A Virtual Assistant is an extremely cost-effective solution; you don't need to go to the expense of hiring a member of staff to support your business.  You won't need to provide her with an office space as she works from her own office and uses her own laptop, tablet and telephones. 

Not only is a Virtual Assistant professional and highly experienced in what she does, she's also a business person herself and understands the pressures of being self-employed.

Here's a Familiar Scenario

You need to to attend an important meeting with a new business lead who is very interested in using your services. You're going to be out of the office for most of the morning but you're expecting some emails whilst you're out that need a quick response.  A business associate is also due to ring you to schedule a meeting for later on in the week. 

What do you do?

Book a Virtual Assistant to cover you whilst you're out of the office; allow her access to your emails and divert your calls to her.

She will send professional and timely responses to your emails and will put details of the meeting with your business associate in your diary.  

The Benefits?

Instead of receiving an "Out of Office" message in reply to their emails, your clients will receive a friendly and personal response from your VA.  Your business associate won't need to leave a message on your voicemail and await your return of call as your VA will take all the necessary details for the meeting and put them in your diary. 

Your clients will be impressed with the professional way you manage your office and will no doubt remain loyal advocates of your company.

The Cost?

You will be charged for the time your VA covered you whilst you were at your meeting and no more.

So why not consider using a Virtual Assistant this year to support you in your business?

We offer a friendly and professional service here at Virtuoso Assistant - give Nicky Pasquier a call on 0118 328 3018 to discuss your business needs.  Alternatively, send an email to: hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk, setting out your requirements or any questions you'd like to ask.

What have you got to lose?

We very much look forward to hearing from you.

Nicky Pasquier
Founder | Director
Virtuoso Assistant

www.virtuosoassistant.co.uk
Tel:  0118 328 3018
Email: hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk

 

"How to Blog like a Pro: Beginner's Guide"

Blogging really is becoming an essential key to any business; you need to consider starting one if you've not already done so

If you've not blogged before, don't be overwhelmed.  It really is quite easy if you bear in mind the following points:

1. Think about who you want to attract to your blog.  Who is your ideal follower? 
2. Once you've identified your niche market, ask yourself what they're likely to be looking for.  How can you be helpful to them?  What problems can you solve for them?
3. Don't blog to make money initially; concentrate on building up regular followers.

Once you've identified these key areas, I'd recommend that you do some background reading about blogging in general.  Have a look at online books or magazines and see what you can find. 

If there is only one book you read, I'd advise you to get your hands on a copy of Jeff Bullas, "Blogging the Smart Way". Personally I think he's the master blogger and his book will give you all sorts expert tips and advice.

Consider your Content

Don't write about subjects you're not familiar with as it will show.  Also, try not to write when you don't feel inspired.  I sometimes sit down to write a blog post but the ideas won't flow.   I was advised not to write on these occasions as my readers will recognise poor content when they see it and they'll start looking elsewhere.  However, try to be as consistent as you can and aim to post once or twice a week if you can to start with. 

Be passionate about your subject; it will shine through in your writing and will make your article so much more fluid and interesting.

Stephanie Frasco, from "Convert with Content", gave some very good advice when she said, "The best way to strengthen your personal brand is through a strong online presence backed by consistent blogging and social media ... blogging has been a key factor in growing my network and building my authority. With more authority comes more trust. And with more trust comes more clients. It's a simple equation".

Attention Grabbing Titles

Always try and think of a title that will grab your readers' attention and encourage them to read on.  If you don't they'll more than likely not read the rest of your post.  It's that important. 

Have a look at titles experienced bloggers use to introduce a subject.  Often you'll find variations of the same theme, such as, "10 Must-Read Tips to improve your Writing", "8 Days to Build a Money-Making Blog"; "How to ..."; "Tips about ..." etc. 

Social Sharing to Increase your Reach

Sharing your content on other social media platforms is really vital. There's really no point in writing a great article if nobody is going to see it so make sure you post your articles to as many social media platforms as you can, email them out to your clients if you have a good client list and have all the usual social media buttons available on your blog to encourage other people to read and share your content. 

Add a subscription widget to your blog and let people know that they can subscribe for regular updates, newsletters and any offers you may run.  This is an excellent way of capturing new clients and growing a client list. 

And don't forget, when you start out, blogging isn't just about you and your business; social media is all about getting 'sociable'.  So don't blog with pound or dollar signs in your eyes; don't be tempted to do the hard sell right from the beginning.  That will follow on naturally. 

Reach out to other bloggers, comment on their posts, answer questions for people on social media sites.  I'd really recommend that you build up a presence on Google+ and get sharing other people's content; they might reciprocate one day and start sharing your blog posts to people in their circles, so your followers will grow. 

Call to Action

Don't let your readers leave your blog without giving them some sort of instruction or "Call to Action".  Ask them to do something such as subscribe to your blog or newsletter, email you or schedule a telephone consultation.   When you become more experienced, ask your readers to sign up for a deal you're offering or a competition.  Make your CTAs really stand out so they can't be missed. If you have a look on HubSpot and subscribe to their own newsletter, they will often send you free images or CTA buttons you can put on your website.  When I started out I couldn't have done without these guys; they're wonderful. 

So, if I can help you any further please do get in touch with me at Virtuoso Assistant.  You can call me any time on 0118 328 3018 or email me at hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk.

If there is a subject you would like advice about, please drop me a line in the Comments box below and I'll sort something out for you. 

If you've enjoyed reading my post please do give me a +1 in the box below and do share with your friends. 

Thanks!

3 Super-Deals for December!

At Virtuoso Assistant we're celebrating the start of December (which also coincides with Cyber Monday and the run-up to Small Business Saturday UK on 7th December) with the launch of 3 discounted retainer packages

Retainer packages give you the chance to hire one of our virtual assistants at discounted prices; your assistant will be available to support you at the drop of a hat.  Buying a retainer also allows you to budget in advance and plan exactly what you want to outsource.

Choose from the table below and simply click on the link at the end of this article to submit your details and the choice of package.

To kick off the New Year on a positive footing we're also extending our discounted retainers through until 31st January 2014.

Each retainer is valid for one month and are as follows:-

BUCKS FIZZ £200.00	CHARDONNAY £300.00	CHAMPAGNE £400.00
10 hours’ virtual assistance	15 hours’ virtual assistance	20 hours’ virtual assistance
1 update | posts on a social media platform of your choice	3 updates | posts on social media platforms	5 updates | posts on social media platforms
	Email management	Email & diary management
		FREE scheduled Christmas email to your clients with Mail Chimp (using your business logo/design)
		10% off a bundle of 10-hours’ work with Virtuoso Assistant for 2014

So all you need to do is click on the link which will take you to our booking form! 

Get to the top of Google!

How do you get your page to rank high on Google?  That's the $million | £million question!

Yesterday I visited the Business Show at Olympia in London.  It was the first time I'd been and it was absolutely buzzing.  I'd booked myself into a workshop run by a bunch of young entrepreneurs called Go Up Ltd in order to learn how to better optimise my website; time extremely well spent.  These guys know their stuff!

We only had an hour in which to cover an awful lot of topics but some of the key points they wanted to impress upon us were the importance of backlinks to your website, good use of keywords and most importantly of all GOOD CONTENT!

Community.Dynamics.com

You've probably heard "Content is King" being said over and over again.  For good reason, because it cannot be stressed enough.  It's vitally important that the content on your website is well-written, that it's unique and that you DO NOT SPAM! 

Backlinks

These are seen by Google as endorsements or recommendations.  Do not buy them; Google will penalise you.  Quantity does not mean quality.  Do ensure that your banklinks are also relevant to your business; there's no point in having a recommendation from a used car salesman if you're in the business of making chocolate goodies. 

Keywords

Do your research well; search on as many keywords as you can think of that are relevant to your website.  Use the Google Keyword planner to see which words rank highly per month.  DO NOT cram your content with keywords; Google has changed the way they rank websites in order to crack down on people who cram keywords into their content at every available opportunity.  You should aim to write naturally and don't use your keywords more than twice in one page.

Content

Make sure that what you write is relevant, it reads well and it's kept up-to-date.  If possible have a blog page on your website as Google loves fresh content! 

If you want to know more or if you need some help with your content optimisation, please do get in touch with me here at Virtuoso Assistant.  You can email me, hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk, or use our Contact form to send me a message.  

Thanks!

Brush up your Business Blog!

Do you spend hours and hours writing on your blog without seeing any positive results?

If you have your own business a good rule of thumb is to write on your blog ideally three if not four times a week.  That can be quite demanding, particularly if  (like me) you have writer's block every other day and the ideas don't seem to flow!  It can also be frustrating to see that, despite your best efforts, people aren't reading your articles or sharing your content. 

I don't know how I got to read about Shama Kabani, it was one of those occasions when I'd clicked on so many links that I'd lost track of where I'd originally come from. 

In a nutshell Shama was born in Goa, India, in 1985; her family moved to Texas in 1994 where Shama went to school and eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Austin.  Okay, so lots of people go to school and graduate from University, so what?  The thing that I found quite amazing was the fact that, when studying for her Masters, Shama wrote her thesis on Twitter which, back in 2008, was still in its infancy.  Shama had such an understanding of social media that she could already see how Twitter was going to become a major player. 

Sharma is now CEO of her own company, Zen Marketing Group, which has grown annually by 400% since 2009! 

Great Content Advice for your Blog 

So, if you're struggling with your blog, here's an article which you might find useful.  It was written for Zen Marketing's own blog by Angela von Weber-Hahnsberg called, "Using Earned Media to Promote your Content".

The steps Angela suggests you take are really simple and easily done.  It's just a question of sitting down and thinking who you're writing your articles for and creating content which is useful and interesting enough to be shared. 

I hope you enjoy it.  You never know, you might be the next Sharma Kabani in 2014!

As always, please feel free to share with your friends or leave any comments you may have.  If you'd like me to write on your business blog, please do click over to my website, Virtuoso Assistant, and get in touch using my contact form.  

Thanks!

"The Power of the Pin"

Today it's all about Pinterest and how you can boost your business profile with some VISUAL social media.

 

Here are a few statistics to whet your appetites and get you onto your Pinterest boards:

• Conversion rates for Pinterest traffic are 50% higher than conversion rates from other traffic

• 80% of Pinterest pins get re-pinned, which means you stand a very good chance of having your own information re-pinned.  Imagine the business potential in that! 

•  Pinterest drives more traffic than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn COMBINED!

So far I admit I've really neglected Pinterest as a social media platform.  I thought that, because I fell into the B2B category, my time was better spent with LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+.  Mistake #1.  That's fine, they're incredibly important, but what I didn't appreciate until fairly recently was the 'power of Pinterest'!

I want to introduce you all to a lady, Cheryl Stinchcome, who really knows what she's talking about with regards to marketing your business on Pinterest.  I actually 'met' up with her virtually via Google+ and today I'm going to be reading some of her articles and blog posts. 

I won't say anything about Pinterest myself but I'm attaching a link to one of her blog posts, which I hope you all find informative (I'm sure you will).

"Top 10 Biggest Pinterest Mistakes to Make"

Check out our boards at Virtuoso Assistant; we have an interesting selection to choose from, including "Pretty  Stuff", "Crafty Creations" and "Christmas", as well as our own business board, "Virtuoso Assistant".  

If you've liked any of my blog posts please take a moment let me know and always feel free to share my articles.  

Thanks!

Working Remotely: Is my Information Secure?

Security and confidentiality are big concerns for companies who want to outsource; so how secure is working remotely?

I believe security and confidentiality are understandable concerns for anyone thinking about outsourcing even the most basic of admininstrative duties to a virtual worker. 

To begin with, how do you know that your virtual assistant is reputable and can be trusted to deal with your business documents? 

Virtuoso Assistant: Professional virtual assistants

Finding a Trusted Virtual Assistant

Here at Virtuoso Assistant we run a pretty tight ship; we are graduates and professional virtual assistants with years of office-based experience between us.  Please do refer to our website for details, our qualifications and by all means contact us if you wish to talk about any issues that may concern you. 


 There are plenty of websites both in America and here in the UK where you can find registered Virtual Assistants such as The Society of Virtual Assistants, run by Caroline Wylie.  In order to register as a Virtual Assistant and use the Society's badge, Caroline insists on applicants adhering to a strict set of rules "... to promote best practice in the virtual assistant industry and help UK VAs find clients".   If you're a client looking for a virtual assistant there are some useful articles that Caroline has written, which are available to read on her website, such as, "Top Tips for Outsourcing: Test your Virtual Assistant", and "More Proof that Hiring a Virtual Assisant Saves you Money".

LinkedIn is a wonderful place to find virtual assistants as it allows members to showcase their skills and work history under the Profile section.  Clients can therefore assess whether a potential assistant has the right aptitude and skills to match their job requirements and can read any recommendations that person may have from previous clients or contacts.  

Security & Confidentiality

So, you've chosen your virtual assistant.  Next is the nagging worry about how safe it's going to be to outsource confidential documents over the internet to him/her.

Over the past few years there's been an absolute explosion of cloud-based apps which enable files (both paper and audio) to be 'shared' between users.  This means there's no longer the need for files to be physically transferred from person to person via memory sticks or CD-roms.    We've all heard horror stories of such items being left on buses and trains - this will no longer happen with apps such as DropBox.

DropBox

DropBox is my cloud-based app of choice for file sharing.   Being 'cloud-based' means that all your data is stored remotely and requires an account to be set up with login details.  It's worth going through the 2-minute process of setting this up simply for the peace of mind it will give you to know your data is secure and can be accessed from any laptop, PC or tablet.  And it needn't cost you a thing!  Here at Virtuoso Assistant we've been using the free version, which allows an incredible 2GB of storage, but there are two further paid plans available with added features and security settings. 

Do read about what DropBox has to say; it will definitely put your mind at ease!

Passwords

Here at Virtuoso Assistant all our laptops, tablets and mobile phones are used in designated working areas so there is no risk of them being stolen or damaged and files therefore remain confidential. 

Our passwords are changed regularly and no files are stored for longer than 7 days (unless requested to do otherwise).

Confidentiality Agreement

Nicky Pasquier, who heads up "Legal Virtuoso" is an experienced legal PA herself and is used to handling files in a sympathetic and confidential manner, partiuclarly when dealing with personal injury or medical negligence claims.  A Confidentiality Agreement is available at the start of each new assignment so please do ask to see it.  There is also a privacy policy in place on the Essential Information page.

Email us at hello@virtuosoassistant.co.uk or ring Nicky on +44(0) 7585 337 145 to discuss any of these issues in further detail. 

An Offer you Can't Refuse!

Corazon Latino Silver Jewellery 

I want to introduce you to a client of mine who has been running her own jewellery business for several years now and has an amazing entrepreneurial spirit!  Jewellery can be much of a muchness most of the time and not particularly original.  However, Cath has turned silver jewellery into a real art form at "Corazon Latino" where every piece of silver is handcrafted in Mexico by skilled artisans.

Read what Cath has to say:

"If there was ever a brand that truly understands the male shopping mentality it is Corazon Latino. Men of all ages have trusted Corazon Latino to help them find the perfect gift for the lady in their life for the past 8 years, and now with the launch of the new look site, things just got even easier.

Diana Set

Whether you’re looking for something extravagant for your 25th wedding anniversary, a token of esteem for a valued member of staff who is moving on or something right on trend for an 18th birthday, Corazon Latino’s new Find a Gift section provides suggestions for every possible occasion. It couldn’t be easier…

Whatever you are looking for, the friendly staff at Corazon Latino can help you every step of the way. With phone and tablet friendly versions of the site also built in, you can shop anytime or anywhere.

If that wasn’t enough, they also offer a custom gift wrapping service, free UK delivery within 3 working days (and if you ask nicely they’ll do it in 1!) and best of all, a no quibble money back guarantee so if it doesn’t fit, doesn’t suit or she just doesn’t like it, you can send it back for an exchange or refund, no questions asked."

CHRISTMAS OFFER

Cath has now launched her beautiful Christmas range and is offering my followers a 10% discount on any purchase.  Just use the following code when checking out: VIRTUOSO.  This offer starts from today and runs until 23rd December, their last date for deliveries before Christmas.  So head on over and get shopping ....! 

Cupid Silver Hearts Collection

Fun, one-minute Marketing Presentations

Would you like to know a great way of marketing your skills/company in a quick, light-hearted way? 

Being a bit of a novice at marketing, I was conscious that I had to try and make my posts on social media sites more interesting - photos, videos and infographics catch the eye, right? I also wanted to add a another string to my bow at Virtuoso Assistant and help my clients with their social media & marketing. 

Marketing with PowToons Presentations

I've always admired Richard Branson for his marketing skills; he has such a knack of mixing business with humour.  So it was with a bit of luck that I found a great way to make short, fun presentations.  I've posted a couple of these on LinkedIn over the past week or so and have had some very encouraging messages in response (thank you!)

So if you'd like me to go into more detail and post a "How To" tutorial over the next week or so just let me know in the Comments box below.

I look forward to hearing from you

Law Firms: you need a Virtual Assistant!

Here's why I think law firms need to outsource to a Legal Virtual Assistant

 

After reading this please sit back and watch my fun presentation (it only takes a minute, literally!).

I used to be an office-based legal PA for 16 years, specialising in civil litigation such as personal injury, medical negligence, family and child law and, as such, I know exactly how much work there is to plough through every day.  It's never-ending, or so it seems.  I think I can count on one hand how many days in all of those 16 years I could safely say I had cleared my Inbox and had ticked everything off my To Do list.  I used to prioritise my work into three categories; "Extremely Urgent", "Urgent" and "Not-quite-so Urgent", leaving the other work to pile up as I simply didn't have time to deal with it. 

My experience led me to set up "Legal Virtuoso"; a specialised legal virtual assistant service which is aimed at barristers, solicitors and legal executives so that they can outsource standard document and correspondence production to us on an ad hoc basis in order to manage workloads.  It's so simple; set up a secure and confidential shared DropBox folder and share any documents and audio files you wish us to use.  Being experienced in civil litigation, we also understand the need for a quick turnaround of documents; we're happy to work outside core office hours in order to enable our clients to stick to strict  Court timetables.

So have a look at my presentation and then get in touch!

Why Your Business needs a Virtual Assistant: in 50 seconds!

Let me explain in this short presentation why virtual assistants like us are invaluable in supporting your business

We will deal with your paperwork, your admin, liaise with your clients using our first class communication skills, chase up invoices, post blogs on your website, increase your reach on social media sites and undertake marketing for you.

Hire us with a retainer to suit your budget and use us on an ad hoc basis.

Click here to watch this 50-second presentation. 

Twitter just became a bit more Visual

I've always been a little envious of my friends who have businesses of their own and can use beautiful photos of their products to increase sales, entice new customers or followers on Twitter, for example.  If I see a picture of a pretty  necklace, for example, I don't want to read the text underneath, I just want to know where I can buy it.  I'm a marketer's dream!

Not so easy for those of us who are in the B2B sector.  Fortunately, Vine is an app which may go some way to solving this problem and which will enable potentially uninspiring and text heavy posts to be livened up a little.  It's available for iOS (via iTunes) and Android users (via Google Play) and setting up an account takes about two minutes. 

Vine on Twitter

Vine gives you the option to link up with your Twitter and/or Facebook accounts and then add any images or short-looping videos you want to use  to your tweets/posts.  Well, you could do that anyway, couldn't you?  You could but only a link was visible in a tweet, for example, which may not have generated enough interest for people to click through.  Vine, however, offers a 'taster' of the video attached which may make the difference between attracting a potential client  or not.

This is quite a handy tool for Virtual Assistants, in particular, to have under their belts both from the point of view of promoting their own business and that of a potential client's.  I've noticed that quite a few virtual assistants share helpful tutorials on LinkedIn.  You could now tweet a post and include a link to your video using Vine for increased visibility.  Also, if a potential client is looking to hire a virtual assistant and knows you have better social media skills, that may be enough to clinch the deal for you.

Please do sign up to my Blog at Virtuoso Assistant for regular updates or find out how I can help your business.

Nicky

Co-Working & Shared Offices

Will Co-Working be the new way for SMEs, freelancers, entrepreneurs and start-ups to work independently together?

This evening I was doing a bit of research and clicked on a link, which took me to another website where I found an article about 'co-working'.  I'd not heard that term before and I wanted to know all about it.  I don't like not knowing things.

I've discovered that, despite the hardships that most of us have endured during the economic downturn, it's a recognised fact that since the recession began the entrepreneurial spirit has grown in strength.  An explosion of creative ideas was also experienced after the Great Depression in the 1930s as people tried to find a way of making their lives better.

Last summer Andrew Cave of The Telegraph newspaper wrote about an interview he had with Julie Meyer, founder of "First Tuesday" and a leading entrepreneur herself.  During the interview Julie expressed her belief that university leavers in their 20s, together with older groups of people who have felt let down by large businesses and corporations during the recession (myself included), are going to be the ones driving the economy in the future as they take control of their own lives with the help of the Internet, networking, business events, etc. 

"Business Matters" magazine stated last year,

"The number of micro companies with five employees or less which are benefiting from networking via social media has doubled since the previous quarter."

As such, I'm very excited about the idea of bringing individuals together to work.  Regus Connect are trying to make it happen and are planning to roll out 10 new sites in January 2014 (so not long to wait).  If you log onto their website you can vote for the town/city where you'd like a new Regus Connect site to be.  At the moment it looks like London has the greatest share of the votes, followed by Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Reading.  Good news as far as I was concerned - I registered another vote for Reading.  I'm not sure about their rates at the current time and will contact them for further information.  

Whilst I was doing some research on the subject I noticed that Startacus wrote an article just last month about the Regus Connect project. 

TheCube in London has a very similar set up and again acknowledge the need, since the recession began in 2008, to create new ways of working together, "The space is open plan and designed to make one feel calm and happy". 

Their prices obviously reflect their location but they have a variety of packages, depending on how little or how often you want to utilise their services.

As a virtual assistant I don't have cause to travel with my work, unless a client asks me to attend a meeting with them, for example.  In fact one of the reasons why I became a virtual assistant was because I was so fed up with having to work in stuffy, noisy open-plan offices where there is not one iota of privacy.  That said, there are definitely times when I miss chatting with colleagues, sharing a joke and bouncing ideas off them.  I believe co-working really is a great way to connect with like-minded people and to offer one another support.

I'd be very interested to hear your comments about the idea.  I shall be sharing this post on my LinkedIn page if you'd like to comment there.  Perhaps we could start a group together so that we can keep each other updated with news and possible venues? 

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Nicky

Virtual Assistant: Top 3 Apps

In February of this year I left behind years of working for niche groups of lawyers and, as such, I had acquired a niche set of skills.  Transforming myself into a freelance Virtual Assistant has been an extremely busy and exciting time and has opened my eyes to the colourful array of apps and software available on the Internet, other than legal case management, billing, database and digital dictation software. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourite apps, get some feedback and maybe start a discussion on what works best for you as virtual assistants.

As I can't really let go of all my legal experience and because I enjoy the fast-moving, deadline-orientated world of UK Civil Litigation, I still offer legal PA support here at Legal Virtuoso.  As such, my main priority is to find software which ensures that confidentially sensitive files can be transferred quickly and easily, so my #1 app is DropBox.
Once a shared folder is established between myself and a client, a document or audio file can be accessed simply by uploading it into the folder.  At the moment I'm using the non-paid version which gives me 4GB of cloud storage before I have to upgrade.

App #2 is most definitely Harvest.
Again, because of my legal background, I'm minded that when working for clients and as a virtual assistant I need to record time spent for each client accurately.  Harvest allows me to personalise my account, upload details of each client, the projects I carry out, my charging rate for each project etc.  A stopwatch is then used to record time spent on each task.  I can also record any expenses I may have incurred for a client.
At the end of each month I'll submit a professional-looking invoice, including my company logo, various payment links (including one to my PayPal account) which itemises hours spent per project.  If a client wishes, I can upload a more detailed spreadsheet if they want to see how my time has been spent.  Couldn't be easier or more streamlined. 

App #3 has to be the social media app Hootsuite.  There are so many pieces of software similar to Hootsuite and they all do similar things but this works for me as I tend to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook at the moment for my social media. 

I can't finish this without mentioning Blogger.  It's been an absolute breeze for me to set up and upload posts onto my new Blog so thank you!

So, there are my top three apps; I could go on and on but I'm hoping that you can add to this list with whatever works best for you.

Nicky

Outsourcing Legal PA Work

Virtual Assistants aren't a new concept and have taken the US and Austalia by storm over the past 5 - 10 years.  So why haven't UK firms recognised the benefits of outsourcing administrative work?

Firstly, outsourcing to Virtual Assistants is highly cost-effective; you pay for the work that we do, usually on an hourly basis, so no paid lunch breaks, sickness and holiday cover, no equipment to provide and no binding employee contracts.

Secondly, confidentiality is no longer an issue as, over the past few years, there has been an explosion of software and apps which allow files and documents to be transferred securely from one person to another.  Here at Virtuoso Assistant we use DropBox or Hightail (formerly You Send It).  A folder will simply be shared and documents/audio files can be uploaded and accessed in seconds. It's that simple. 

Outsourcing to Law Firms

I have worked as a legal PA for 16 years for firms in Bristol and Reading and I know firms outsource to companies in India, for example. They're lovely people and are very hard-working; however, I've had to check files that have been returned with large gaps where the typist simply hasn't understood legal terminology.  Frankly, by the time I've gone through the document and amended it, I might as well have done it myself.  Result?  One frustrated PA.

We understand the Court process, the timetables and the need to prioritise certain documents and correspondence. We therefore work outside core office hours so your PA doesn't have to; she needs a break!

So, why not outsource those long legal attendance notes and statements to us?  We promise to return them quickly and without errors. Please take a look at "Legal Virtuoso" for further details of how we can help you and your PA reduce that typing backlog.