November 2019 - Focus Guru

Will Outsourcing Your Admin Help You Grow Your Business?

If you’re a small business owner, it might seem an extravagant luxury to outsource your admin. The thought of someone else filing your receipts, invoicing your day’s work or chasing a payment, might feel too small to warrant delegating to someone else.

You might feel you can do it better, or it just takes five minutes, they’ll make a mistake, it’ll take longer to explain, or think you can’t afford it right now. These comments are extremely common, but the reality is unless you’re superhuman, you can’t do it all by yourself forever.

How outsourcing can help grow your business

There comes a point when it genuinely makes more sense to outsource the admin tasks than to persevere doing everything yourself. That mountain of paperwork can disappear off your desk. All those receipts you’ve stuffed in a box can be organised neatly by name and by date. You don’t need to worry about picking up the phone to chase for a late payment because it’s all done for you.

Warning Signs

From speaking with clients there are some common warning signs that the overload of admin is stifling the growth of their business. If you identify with any of these then outsourcing some of your admin tasks is definitely worth considering.

Have you missed meeting friends because you’ve needed to catch up with your paperwork?
Do you stay up late answering emails, sending out quotes, or doing your accounts?
Has your partner commented that you’re always working and they don’t see you as much as they would like?
Do you feel stressed about how much paperwork your business seems to need?

Left unchecked, these warning signs can escalate into bigger problems which can go on to affect your health and wellbeing and give concern to your family and those who care about you. This is the reason why it’s important to make your time count. If you can outsource your admin, you’ll find you do have more time to spend on the things you want to do.

So, my question to you is simple:

Will outsourcing your admin help your business grow?

For many people the answer is yes! I have been helping Steven Wade from Full Moon Coaching with some of his admin tasks over the last few months and he has seen some amazing results.

Example

Steven came to me saying he’d been working hard with clients to the point where he didn’t have the time to keep on top of his admin and it had built up to a mountain of receipts and a jumble of paperwork which needed sorting. He knew the end of the tax year was coming and told me he’d been dragging his feet.

“Rachael told me to ‘eat that frog’. I needed to bite the bullet and get something done about my paperwork. I know I can earn more in the time not organising and typing up the receipts than if I was to do this myself. Rachael is professional and organised. She takes the pressure off and gets the job done.” – Steven Wade, Full Moon Coaching.

Steven gave me a huge box of unorganised receipts. There were receipts for business and personal expenses to separate and receipts dating back several months where nothing had been done with them since the items had been purchased.

To enable Steven to focus on his business I separated the business and personal receipts and organised them by date and supplier into clearly labelled folders for easy accessibility. This seemingly small task made his tax return and end of year accounts much easier. It also gave Steven an easy way to add new receipts into the folders to keep things simpler going forward.

Outcome

“With Rachael’s help, the new system is efficient and manageable. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders knowing the background jobs are getting done. I can focus on my clients, meeting people and running my business.” – Steven Wade, Full Moon Coaching.

I enjoy restoring order to admin chaos and believe it’s possible to turn the most disorganised of filing systems into smart, efficient, easy to use systems which will increase your productivity. It will certainly save time at the end of the tax year knowing your receipts and expenses are available at the click of a button.

It can also help with the smooth running of your business if your daily, weekly and monthly expenses are available in graphs and charts to predict your outgoings and cashflow. When using my services, I can promise you confidentiality, accuracy and honest suggestions for improvement.

If, like Steven, you have piles of receipts that need sorting, or any admin headaches you would like cured, please get in touch on 07756 772950 or visit getfocus.guru and I will be happy to help.

How Small Social Media Changes Can Make A Big Difference To Your Life

There’s no denying social media plays a massive role in our everyday lives. It’s a never-ending source of amusement and entertainment, a bottomless pit of information, research and knowledge. You can keep in touch with almost anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time of the day or night.

Having an active social media presence for your business is almost as expected as your business having a website, email address and telephone number. Rather than contacting you by traditional methods, people want to find things out for themselves. It’s quicker for them and saves you time answering common questions if they can get what they want online. You may have already noticed that your telephone rings less and your mobile beeps more.

This leads into one of the common problems with social media. The notifications. The pings and beeps. The red dots next to your apps with numbers letting you know how many messages you need to look at. The noise and the numbers are designed to grab your attention. Even the bright red colour is psychologically designed to make you stop and look.

It's easy to stop social media overload — It’s easy to stop social media overload

Recent research indicates many of us spend up to 12 hours using our devices for social media, messages, responding to emails, gaming, streaming TV, films or radio, looking at articles, posts and status changes, every day!

Why the notifications work so well

Once the red dot with the number flashes on your phone or browser, it sets off a reaction in your brain to let you know something has happened, that something needs your attention. However, if you stop each time a notification arrives, you may find you’re losing hours each day simply from the distraction and the micro decisions you make whether you need to stop and respond, to delete it or deal with it later.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of using social media to boost your self-esteem and self-worth. The reaction from social connections and sharing news is physically and psychologically addictive. Excessive social media is said to give you a high, similar to taking an addictive substance, and the comedown can be devastating causing depression, negative body image, paranoia and loneliness.

How to make changes to be more productive

Making small changes does make a big difference. I work with clients to help distance themselves from the volume of notifications on their social media accounts. I can help analyse the time spent on social media and make suggestions for managing the incoming notifications to improve wellbeing and productivity. The results have been amazing.

“Rachael showed me how to turn off notifications on some of my Facebook groups and set up a timer so I can check how much time I spend online. It feels more manageable now. I’m less anxious and I don’t feel like I’ve missed anything.” – Alison Stead, Spiritual Medium and Copywriter.

My top tips for managing social media

Look at the groups you have joined – do you gain anything from being in them? If not, simply turn off the notifications or leave the group altogether.

Use a timer to measure how long you are on social media. It’s easy for “just a quick look” to turn into half an hour or longer. Ask yourself, “has this been a productive use of my time?”.
Aeroplane mode is your friend – I spoke to a client about this, she removed all shortcuts to social media from her phone and used areoplane mode when going to bed. She texted me the next day

“So grateful for your flight mode tip. I actually slept last night and haven’t even looked at social media today! Fx”

When working with clients I always ask, “what do you hope to achieve from your social media platforms?”. I can help clear the online clutter and enable you to make the best use of your time to achieve your goals.

If you want to interact with more clients or prospective clients, I can help.

If you want to stop using your time unproductively, I can help.

If you have FOMO or are addicted to checking your phone and friends and family have commented, I can help.

Please get in touch on 07756 772950 or visit getfocus.guru.

Do You Need To Update Your Contract For 2020?

As the end of the year draws closer it’s a good time to review the different elements of your business. You can check your stock and your sales, your products and your people. In fact, there are many areas which can be analysed at the end of the year and it’s important to check you’re using your time and your resources efficiently and effectively.

By carrying out a review, you may discover what’s worked well, where you’ve found new customers, which events were worth attending, which products were popular and which services were profitable. You may also find things which didn’t go so well, and these may be areas which can be improved for next year.

One of the key things I recommend checking is your terms and conditions, your contract of business with your customers. Many people consider their terms and conditions as something they do once, they get them written and that’s it. However, if something has changed during the year, it’s really important to check your contract is still up to date.

There are 3 key times when you need to update your contract.

These are:

Any changes to your business structure.
Any changes to your location or trading name.
Any changes to your products and services.

You’ll also need to advise your customers and suppliers of changes to the contract. Not only could this influence their decision to use your products and services, but you may have invalidated your existing contract with them if something major has changed.

When changing the terms in your contract, it’s usual to send notifications in writing, either with the changes or directing people to your website. If using your product or service relies on the customer agreeing to any changes in your contract with them, then they will need to sign the contract again either in writing or electronically.

Updating your terms and conditions and contract doesn’t need to be scary. Contracts can still be robust and reliable without being complicated or over-wordy. In fact, having a Plain English straightforward contract is the preferred option for many customers and suppliers. Everyone knows what’s included and it makes sense.

If you’re unsure whether your current contract contains everything you need to protect yourself, your business and your customers, or if you don’t have a contract at all, please contact me on 07756 772950.

I specialise in writing terms of business for companies in many different sectors. I can look at your existing contract and make suggestions or write a new contract from scratch.

If you’re introducing new products or services in 2020, or if you’re changing your business in any way, you may need new terms written into your contract and I would be happy to help with this.

Please visit rachaelchiverton.co.uk to get started.

Are You Looking for Amazing Christmas Gifts for Your Awkward Family and Friends?

Now the Halloween parties are over, and Bonfire Night has come and gone, many of us are turning our attention to Christmas preparations. For those of us who celebrate Christmas, the month-long frenzy of buying presents, organising food, drink and accommodation can be overwhelming.

It can be worse if you have an annoying friend, or awkward partner, who has either got everything or doesn’t want anything. Yet if you don’t get them something, that will be wrong too!

My solution to this is simple. Don’t even think about trawling the shops in the rain to see what’s available. I can guarantee there will be something online to satisfy them and match their needs. Even better, I can suggest amazing gifts suitable for any member of the family, and you might find there’s something you’d like too.

It’s ok to buy a treat for yourself. I’ve been known to buy myself a small gift when shopping for other people. At Christmas there are plenty of special offers and it’s nice to be able to have a little luxury treat, especially at the end of the year.

My favourite treats come from the Arbonne Festive Collection. I’ve found amazing gifts for friends and family, even those who are the most awkward to buy for. The products are vegan and gluten free. They’re not tested on animals. They contain pure ingredients and are high quality, luxurious items, perfect for special presents at any time of the year.

So, if you have someone to buy for who is hard to please, the Arbonne range is based around botanical ingredients, scientifically tested products for a pure and healthy lifestyle.

For children, there is a fun bath-time range of hair and body washes in deliciously sounding Sugar Cookie, Snickerdoodle and Gingerbread scents. These are popular with adults too!

For ladies, there are extremely soothing hand lotions, perfect for protecting your hands in the cold weather and tempting body butters in a range of sumptuous flavours including vanilla, rose and coconut. There are candles and facials, foot care, makeup and gift sets with everything you’ll need for everyone you can think of.

There’s also a suave choice of festive products for men, even the ones who complain about pampering, there’ll be something they might like. This is the perfect One-Stop-Christmas-Shop which ties in with my philosophy of using my time efficiently and effectively, just what’s needed at this busy time of the year.

If you would like any help with your Christmas shopping, or even to have it all done for you, please get in touch as soon as possible. All I need to know is who you would like to buy for, and your budget per person, and I will make it happen for you.