businesstip (11)

Possibly time for a break?

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Is taking a break from business a bad idea or necessity?

Running your own business can be extremely rewarding when you look at your bank account each month, have referrals coming through non-stop and seem to be constantly working but is it really worth it?

Working 80 hours a week, missing out on time with family and not enjoying all the luxuries that inflated bank account grants you doesn’t seem worth it at all. Sometimes we need to step back and take a break before we burn out, with a major study showing that individuals who work more than 55 hours a week are more likely to suffer a stroke than those who put in 35 to 40 hours. Working excessive hours can also lead to serious physiological, emotional, effecting immune systems and increasing risks of health problems.

take a break

It is understandable that in order to achieve financial goals the work is required, especially when building up a new small business however the need to delegate tasks and to take your time is just as important. If you are tired out and stressing over every aspect of your business it will impact on your approach towards customers and the service in which they receive, thus negatively impacting the perception people have of your business.

So how can we help ease those stresses and become more productive?

Dedicating an amount of time each week to chill out and focus on ourselves is one major step we can take to ease the effects of stresses.

Delegating those little jobs that drive you mad yet need doing. Hiring companies such as ourselves to help with tasks such as book keeping, data entry and even your social media means you can focus more on family on evenings and weekends.

Breaking those goals in to more obtainable goals that you can work on means you are not stressing to reach a goal that may not be obtainable within the first 3 years of business. Create yourself 6 monthly goals and work on those before you know it you will have reached that ultimate goal.

Make some excellent connections in the business world. This way if someone comes to you for something that you might not be able to assist with on your own you can look through your connections and already have a business relationship with someone who may be able to help. Taking time out to create these connections also helps you enjoy some form of socialisation outside of your customers while working.

business break

When all is said and done money is not the be all and end all of business, yes it makes things easier but it doesn’t build memories, doesn’t keep you company and can never replace your family. Take time out to enjoy the things that do.

Call us today to see how we can help.

 

language, Word Meanings, Leeds, Redrite

Double meanings in an evolving language

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A constant evolving language and double meanings

The English is a forever evolving language, like many others in the world, with around 4,000 new words added each year to the Oxford English dictionary alone! This new words included updated meanings which can at times confuse what could have been a simple message.

Oxford Dictionay Double meanings

Although many words have held a double, less than respectful meaning the list is growing with each generation and new technologies evolving. Some words that have gained new meanings in the last century are:

  • Sick – No longer just means ill or poorly, it now also means really good or brilliant
  • Bad – Now can also be used as synonym of itself.
  • Pants – No longer an item of clothing but also a rubbish situation
  • Hump – Not just a part of a camel or a traffic slowing measure but also used in relation to a bad mood
  • Chat – (An unusual one) What was once a word for a conversation is also now used when describing something gross
  • Armour – A world renowned word for protection yet it is also used for describing a person’s body
  • Hard – Does not just describe the strength of something or density of an object but can be used when describing a person’s false sense of strength.
  • Bottle – A liquid container that now also appears to describe the state in which a person becomes upon partaking of the contents of the bottle.
  • Bomb – A device people would usually run from unless an EOD expert, is now a description for highly expensive costs or a really good situation/item

Animals and food have also had their names misused in the more recent generations of language.

  • Bacon – A derogative term for the Police
  • Anaconda – Description of a male’s particular body part
  • Bird – Used when talking about a woman

If you are an individual looking to approach a professional body either for a job or to offer a service then double check the words you are using do not have double meanings. With it becoming harder and harder to earn positions and look the best out of a constantly growing crowd of individuals in the same position something as simple as using the correct and upmost professional language can work miracles.

If you are applying for a job or designing marketing materials and want to the work checked for appropriateness then give us a shout today.

Business Paperwork, RedRite, Small Business, Leeds

Plan your paperwork and stay organised

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Plan, plan and plan some more to keep yourself organised.

So now you know what paperwork is necessary in smoothly running a business (If not visit our previous post) do you know how to plan it all in to your time? Finding the time to squeeze in extra work when you are so focused on the actual income generating aspect of your business can be difficult especially if you aim to do it yourself.

The easiest way to do things is use what you already have. Set up your business pages and email on your smart phone, then you can nosey and post where ever you are when you have 5 minutes break between jobs. However set up your notifications so that you are only bothered by them between your working hours, giving you time off on an evening and weekend to chill without the ‘chirp’ of your work disrupting.

Plan, plan and plan some more, the more work you have the more likely you are something will fall through the cracks. If you do not work on Sundays then take an hour or two to sit and type up some blog posts or social media posts, sign up to HootSuite or a similar software so that you can then schedule them to post across all your social media platforms ahead of time. As emails come in during the day highlight ones that will need responding and act on the urgent important one, then dedicate on hour on an evening where you go through the non-important emails you marked earlier. Choose a reasonable time so that your customers are seeing your emails as they come in. For example emailing out at 11pm at night means for some of your customers that email will be at the bottom of the pile when they check in the morning.

Once a week or fortnight set aside a few hours to go through your paperwork that has piled up – your invoices, new client information in hard copy, receipts etc. This way you can get it all tidied up efficiently and without the piles getting too big, if you have payment terms of 28 days then you can also chase up invoices during this time that have not been paid and you can easily work out the time frame without counting days.

If remember all these set aside times and what to do when gets confusing then use a simple planner. Highlight what is done on each day and if it is the same every week have weekly reminders set up. We use Wunderlist for everything, setting up weekly alarms for regular tasks and even alarms for the certain twitter hashtag hours we participate in so we do not have to remember them all. Do you prefer paper planners? Then set up a simple week page that can list all the tasks required on each day, and if there is a deadlines looking highlight them with bright colours so they catch your eye and you are constantly aware of them.

 

If all of this is still too time consuming and you would much rather leave it to someone else then consider hiring a virtual assistant who can take all this on for you and free up more of your time to relax with family and friends.

Call today for more information about Virtual Assistant services.

Business Paperwork, What you need, RedRite, Leeds

Paperwork – What do you really need??

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Paperwork: The bane of every company owner’s existence but a necessary evil.

 

Even with the developments in technology the one thing that has not changed over the many many years of business is the need for paperwork, whether it is hard copies or electronic, every company needs to keep track of everything going on.

Every business, not matter what size or type, needs at least some form of tracking the following:

  • Income and expenditures/Receipts –
    • Even if you are a business consultant or offer a professional support you still need to keep track of all the paper, marketing tools and software you purchase.
    • Even if you have an accountant who takes care of all your finances to send to HMRC at year end, it is also good for you to keep track of all your receipts on a monthly basis, a simple spreadsheet is more than enough.
    • Another major piece of finance paperwork that needs tracking is invoices. Knowing when they are due and if any payments have been made guarantees you keep track on any overdue invoices and you are not short changed by clients.

 

  • Marketing Campaigns –
    • Keeping track of any marketing campaigns you run, i.e Google Ad words, Facebook Ads etc, helps you identify which are successful and which are a waste of your money.
    • Keeping track of newsletters sent out also keeps track of any information you have sent out and if someone contacts you regarding that information you can easily look it up.

 

  • Social Media –
    • Keeping track of social media/blog posts means you do not end up repeating yourself and looking unorganised. For example our ‘This month in history…’ posts are saved and we keep track of all facts used so next year we are not blogging the same information and boring our readers.
    • Tracking the amount of followers gained and people engaged helps you see more clearly your company grow and spread.
    • Searching your business on social media also helps track any bad publicity you may have obtained. If you do not create a page for your business before someone else does then you have already lost control of what your audience sees.

 

  • Appointments and Planner–
    • This will help you work out exactly which months are more popular and if you have repeat customers it allows you to see how often they are returning, maybe to help offer them a loyalty offer. If you reward referrals it also helps confirm the name you are given has genuinely been a client.
    • May seem an obvious one but keeping on top of everything from client appointments, business meetings and even your social media time can help you make the most of your time and reduce the risk of double booking yourself or running out of time for something.  Why not try the Business Planner offered by Educate Business, it not only helps you plan your business but also your personal life.

 

  • Potential and Current Clients –
    • Keeping track of your clients helps your business grow. Even keeping track of potential clients means you can email them at a later date and see if there is anything you can do for them or sell them. With lives so busy these days it is easy for people to forget who they contacted for help, sending a quick ‘Hi, how are you…’ email can help them remember. If you have sent a current client something it is always best to follow up when there is no response in case your email slipped through the cracks, or again they have been too busy to remember.

 

  • Hours Worked –
    • Whether you are selling handmade items or providing a service, keeping a note of all hours worked means you can compare your income to the amount of work required, it helps to see if the financial return is worth the time invested or if things need changing. If you spend an hour networking every Monday then still record it, if you were an employee your employer would be tracking every time spent at work whether you are working or not.
    • If you have employees it also helps see how the workloads are shared and work out their wages due. It also helps you understand more clearly how many hours an average job will take so when quoting a similar job you have a better understanding of the time truly required.

 

  • Current News –
    • It may seem an unusual thing to keep track of but it prevents you from making mistakes similar to those seen in our previous blog post, ones that could cause severe damage to your business. Using a severely distressing situation as an advertising ploy will not settle well with customers and followers.

 

It can be time consuming and tedious to keep track of all this as well as running the main body of the business. A simpler method to keep track of all this is to outsource it to a capable and experienced team, such as RedRite. All we require is access to invoicing and appointment systems, customer databases and any receipts obtained, if none of the databases are in place we can easily create them for you, helping to smooth out the running of your business.

No need to stress over the piles of paperwork building up, stop digging through shoeboxes full of receipts or paying your accountant a fortune to do it for you, pass it on to someone who loves paperwork and will cost you less than an accountant or an employee who needs desk space. We love paperwork and promise to handle it with the upmost care.

Call today or Email us for help digging out of the sinking hole of paperwork you have found yourself in.