Category: Business Blog

There’s a time in every entrepreneur’s life where things start going really well, and whilst this can be an exciting time filled with optimism, it’s also a phase in your business that should be approached with caution.  This time of prosperity is somewhat precarious for a fledgling business and the most important thing to consider at this stage is outsourcing key tasks in order to keep you in the position to working “on” the business rather than “in” the business.

See, no man (or woman) is an island and if you feel the need to do everything yourself – you’re robbing your business of the growth it craves and denying yourself any kind of life outside of working.

Today, there’s a plethora of specialist companies you can offload specialist tasks onto, as an example AM 18 Consultancy could help with all your data analysis needs; or if you’re on a together budget you could choose to work with virtual assistants.  

The great thing about virtual assistants (VA’s) is that they often live on faraway shores where the price of living is much lower, thus offering you great value, and they can help with a wide variety of time consuming tasks such as content marketing, social media management and business research.

The question, is whether you should hire a virtual assistant (most likely a lot cheaper and an overseas country such as the Philippines or India) or a local based physical assistant?  

The answer will most likely boil down to an equation of budgetary constraints, what you require the assistant to do, working hours, and your personal working style.

On the one hand, there’s a feeling of reliability knowing someone is available in the next room, yet this ‘traditional’ way of hiring a personal assistant comes with a substantial administrative and financial burden in the sense of sick pay, holiday pay, taxes, and specialist equipment.

Working with a ‘virtual assistant’ is easy to set up.  Essentially, you offer them the job and they are good to go.  There’s no set-up cost in terms of supplying equipment and there is a sense of flexibility about the relationship, in that you can have it as on-demand service where you are only charged for the work undertaken each week; whereas with a physical assistant would most likely require a minimum term contract.

Communication can, of course, be much easier when dealing with someone face-to-face and there are social benefits in terms of the camaraderie and friendship that can come from having a live assistant; however, flip this on its head and the social vibe could head toward ‘office politics’ and resentment.

There is a sense of commitment from a physical assistant that you are unlikely to feel with a virtual assistant, in part because you are sharing the same physical space, but that does not mean a virtual assistant cannot be equally, if not more, committed to you and your business.

Your concern is possibly more justified that the virtual assistant may not always be available when you need them, whereas, the live assistant in the next room to you – is reliably going to be around for when you need them, but the fact that someone is local does not in itself mean they are better qualified.  Indeed, many virtual assistants in countries like India have Master’s Degree and charge a fraction of the cost of a more local inexperienced assistant.

Creating your very own business is both exciting and overwhelming. There always seems like there’s so much to think about, many plates to spin, and things to do to make your business grow. After all, there’s always that underlying worry that your business might fall at the first hurdle. However, making good choices and decisions will only help your business to strive for success, but could you be missing a trick somewhere along the line?

Many trends have come and gone with businesses and customer experiences, but one thing that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon is the power of shopping small and supporting local businesses. This is an area you can tap into with the right level of marketing and communication. Being the local expert in your field can help you create a whole new customer database, and often focusing on this area alone could really make your business a success. One way you could consider doing it would be to hold a local event. But how do you get started with that? I thought I would share with you some of the things to consider if you want to create a local event for your business.

Where and when will you hold this event?

Deciding on having the event is the easy part, the organisation side of things can be quite tough. One of the first things you’ll need to consider is when you want the event to take place and, of course, where. Some businesses like to keep things intimate, perhaps using your business location maybe. But some like to take advantage of a wider space like an outdoor playing field or village green. You may need to think about power sources, and this is when companies like Rental Power could help you out. You will also need to think about getting the right level of permissions which could be obtained by local council offices. They may want some involvement, but this could also work in your favour in terms of marketing and advertising of the event.

What would be the goal for your organised event?

The next thing to consider would be the end goals for your business event. What would be the point of holding it? What do you as a business want to get in return? It could be something like a bigger customer database. If so then things like online ticketing will enable you to collate email addresses which could then be used as a form of contract, subject to the relevant tick boxes being ticked etc. It could be that you want to gain more sales, so you may want to include big discounts for attendees of the vent, or perhaps a deal that just can’t be missed. Think about your goals and find solutions to help you achieve them. Which will ultimately help your business become a success.

Could you collaborate with other local businesses?

If you are really focusing on the local community, then perhaps you should be speaking to other businesses in the area. Of course, this isn’t with direct competitors, but perhaps other businesses that would work well with you, or even just come together to create one big local community that other businesses can benefit from as well as you. This can help in terms of costs, and can also help you be in front of customers you may not have been able to bring to the table as those businesses will approach their own customer database for attendees. This could create a larger audience. It will also make the event seem less direct and a big sales pitch, as not only could you include businesses but also entertainment for family and other things such as music or a VIP guest appearance.

What to think about when it comes to customer experience?

Once all the organisation is done and the big day comes around, your one big focus for that day is going to be your customer experience. You need to consider how they are going to feel on the day, how much they are going to get out of it, as well as giving good communication. The point of the event is going to be to make people feel good and happy, and so in turn you then look favourable as you discuss who you are. After all, the purpose of the event is to create more opportunities for sales with your business, and these relationships that you are going to be developing with potential customers are going to play a huge part in that.

How are you going to market the event?

One of the biggest factors of your event is going to be advertisement, and advertising it is going to be one of the only ways to bring customers to your event. You can do this through your platforms on social media, speaking out to existing and potentially gaining new followers and fans in the process. But it can also be done through your main website, and turning that website traffic into attendees should be a huge priority for you. Your website needs to be sleek and informative, and your event page needs to entice people to want to come to your event. Include pictures and good descriptions, appeal to the emotive side of your customer. After all, at that moment they are deciding whether or not your event is worth their time, so make it so.

What happens once everything is done and dusted?

Finally, once the event is done the hard work is really just beginning. You may have managed to get some sales on the day and that would be a fantastic result, but the key is going to be in the follow up. During the event you should have offered some great deals and discounts for attendees. You now have something to discuss with them. Following up on the vent, gaining feedback and discussing the deal is going to lead to future sales and also help you to determine whether the event worked for you and if you should consider doing it again.

I hope that these tips help you to consider creating a local event for your business and brand.