I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Mostly about the current work market and environment.
Things have changed so much. Everyone I talk to is stressed and under pressure. Has so much on their to-do list and never seem to have time to get to it. It just keeps growing and growing. So many things they must do but they’ve completely lost their motivation, and just getting the energy to even think about where to start is all too much.
And then of course there’s the pandemic impact. Revenue isn’t what it used to be. You’ve had to let some, all, or most of your staff go. But you still need to keep your business running. Unless of course you’re in real estate, or medical! They seem to be the two industries that are booming right now. Well, that’s certainly the case where I am.
What’s interesting though is that just about everyone I talk to is thinking about what to do next, where to go next. Asking themselves is it time to have a complete rethink about what I’m doing, how I’m doing it, can I do it better?
There are so many small business owners around me who are pondering all of this and more. I’m one of those too.
When I consider all these things, and take that proverbial step back, one thing keeps coming to mind. Pretty much everything I see, and read, everything I come across as I’m doing my daily scroll through my social media is that for all those small businesses who are trying to keep their business going, who are doing their best to keep their customers, and keep their customers happy are doing all these things while their mind is somewhere else. They know what they’re trying to say, and what they’re trying to do, but they just aren’t motivated at the moment to give it the attention it deserves. Mistakes creep in. The message isn’t clear. They’re doing what they’ve always done, how they’ve always done it.
That got me thinking. I keep thinking about all the skills I have that aren’t being used now. I keep pondering what I could do with those skills. I look at what is coming into my inbox, into my letterbox, the things people are writing about on their social media.
What I’ve realised is that I have lots of skills that could be put to good use. What really brought that to the front of my mind was a chance interaction that a local business owner had with a friend of mine. That business owner needed help updating several Excel spreadsheets, adding some formulas to update their product pricing and they needed a hand to get that done. My friend knew that I could do this for them, so they suggested they contact me. It was a quick and easy job that I had the time to do and they didn’t. So, there it was! My first client, and what was even better, a very happy client. They got what they needed, when they needed it, and bonus points for me, I got it right first time. They were so happy they paid the invoice literally within 10 minutes of receiving it.
How can I help you?
I’ve realised that there is a really long list of ‘stuff’ I can help people with, practical, real help. Help you can source without having to add someone to your payroll.
- Temporary office admin when you need it.
- Proof reading copy before it gets to the printer.
- Helping you put a presentation together.
- Fixing your Excel spreadsheets or doing whatever updates you need done.
- Copy typing, whether that’s a report, a manuscript, a draft.
- Doing data entry.
- Doing your weekly or monthly invoicing in Xero.
- Answering the phones and making appointments for a short-staffed medical practice (never imagined that would ever make my list, and I’ve discovered I’m really, really, good at that).
- Having a good look at what you do in your business, how you do it, and can the way you do it be improved, and then documenting that for you.
- Pulling together that procedure manual that’s been on your to-do list forever.
- Workshop facilitation.
Why me?
Sure, there are lots of online services where you can outsource this sort of stuff to. Lots of people offering ‘virtual assistants’ for a lot of these things. So, what’s my point of difference? (Not a term I particularly like by the way). I’ve been the secretary, the accounts person, the receptionist, the manager, the presenter, the trainer, the documenter, run the workshops, developed, and documented the processes and procedures.
What next?
I’m most definitely not a ‘virtual assistant’, I’m local in the NSW Southern Highlands, a real person who can help – a real life reality assistant if you will. So, if you’ve been thinking about some of the above, or all of it, or stressing about just when you’re going to get to that thing or things on your ever-growing to-do list, chances are I can help you. So, contact me here. I promise, I’ll be in touch with you before you know it and I’m pretty sure that whatever you need, I can help. If I can’t there’s also a very good chance that I’ll know someone who can.
baileybird.com.au 