Once I get some time, I will transcribe this for those of you that prefer to read rather than to listen.

Too many ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ but I hope you enjoy it!

Red Box Virtual Office at BusiBuddies Pod Cast

Expats Portugal is run by a couple of my very dear friends, Emma Brunton and Simon Pownell, who live in the mountains with their dog & cats. Emma is an Aussie in Portugal, bless, emma’s house in portugal, while Simon has for a number of years managed & owned the forum and information site Expats Portugal.

However, it was still very nice of them to think of Red Box as a business to promote via their website! They interviewed me and a couple of other small, but perfectly formed, businesses about setting up, working and staying sane while doing so in this very bureaucratic country.

You can read my interview here, or go to their site which is full of great articles and information about living and travelling in Portugal.

Expats Live: How did you come up with the idea of setting yourself up as a virtual office manager? How did Red Box come about? How long has Red Box been around?

Red Box: When we relocated to Portugal, I knew I would have to work, but at what, or as what? I’ve no paper qualifications or letters after my name, so looking for work locally, where you need a Phd to be the typist, was not going to be an option. Neither did I speak reasonable Portuguese. In February 2005 I saw an article in Red magazine, where a woman had started her own Virtual Assistant (VA) business. A high-flying friend was staying and he thought that I would be perfect as a VA. It suited my lifestyle, drew on the experience and knowledge I already had and the start up costs were relatively small. Red Box Virtual Office came into being in June 2005.

EL: What basically do you do? Who are your clients (not necessarily specifically, just what types of businesses use your services and what types of things do you do for them?)

RB: I am basically a business administrator for lots of other businesses. I’ve worked with start-ups, SMEs and fully formed businesses. I’ve also worked with banks and human resource institutions when they needed someone to outsource short-term projects to. As an idea of who uses my services, I am currently working with a not-for-profit coaching organisation in the UK, a sales and marketing entrepreneur in Ireland and an on-line NYSE-linked trading company based in the USA.

While the individuals and businesses that work with Red Box are different, they all require someone to undertake the day to day administration that is time consuming and/or not profitable for them to do in-house. I act as the customer service department, I undertake research, maintain databases, do lots of sourcing & procurement as well as updating websites and blogs, answering emails and taking phone calls.

EL: How long did it take to get going? Until you could depend on it financially?

RB: The first 18 months were the hardest until I had two or three regular clients. At this point I was taking on transcriptions from other VAs as an additional source of income. It is, however, only in the last 12-18 months that we can depend on my income to cover all business and personal expenditure.

EL: What is the good and the bad about working from home?

RB: Good – working in my pyjamas on the cold days, no commuting, taking breaks when I want/need to, setting my own schedule & workload, ability to do those dull but necessary domestic duties through the week rather than just at the weekend.

Bad: No colleagues (I miss those ‘water cooler’ moments), can be very isolating, domesticity can be very attractive when faced with a mountain of paperwork you don’t want to do.

EL: What did you do to make it a success? What’s your advice to others starting their own business?

RB: I do run a small, successful business! Networking is key and my first couple of years were spent on the A1 up and down to Lisbon and Porto attending workshops and seminars and drinks evenings; just getting your face seen is very important. I am also very vocal on on-line networks, such as Linked In, which are a great asset if you aren’t part of a large business or work from home.

If you’re starting a business here, because you’ve relocated for one reason or another, bring ALL your contacts with you. You never know who will be useful down the line. One of my first clients was a contact of a tenant of my ex-boss… Join local and national business associations, such as the British Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, who have members that have been where you are now and are a great resource. Get your profile on line with networks such as Linked In and Facebook and use sites such as Pitch Engine and Ezine to market your products or knowledge.

EL: Anything else you’d like to add about doing business in Portugal? Earning a living in Portugal?

RB: Doing what I do has been a hard sell to the Portuguese. Determination and long-term thinking were key. The cost of living here isn’t as cheap as it once was and unless you are fortunate enough to have a sugar daddy, it is essential that you either bring with you a business that is already established or have funds that you can dip in to while you are establishing yourself.

About the Author:
Emma Crabtree is the owner and sole-operator of Red Box Virtual Office, a off-site business support service.  Red Box Virtual Office can enable you to free yourself from the day to day admin of your business so that you can focus on what you enjoy and what makes you money.  Find out more

I hope you enjoyed the Guest Bloggers’ Posts while I was away.  Lots of interesting information to follow up on, I think.

This post really is a bit of a Red Box plug.  While I was away, I received 2 work queries, one of which is panning out nicely, and then since I’ve been back in Portugal, I’ve had 3 job leads, all through current clients, one of which is ‘live’ and one of which I hope will happen next week.

You see, I have this unproven theory (which I guess doesn’t make it a theory at all…) which says that if your clients like you, they will talk about you, talk you up and pass your details on to their contacts and family.  Which is just what has happened to me in the last 2 weeks.

I haven’t asked specifically for these 2 clients to find me new business, but I do make clients aware that if they think they know, or indeed DO know of contacts that could do with my support in one way or another, then I would be very, very grateful for words of praise they can pass on.  I do have a referral policy, which I more than happy to apply, or I have in the past sent a gift as a ‘thank you’, which is always well received.

Similarly, but more pro-actively, I ask for testimonials.  Testimonials are my undercover weapon and my ‘Kind Words‘ page is one of the most visited pages at Red Box.  Here, prospective clients can see what my current and former clients think about me and how well we work together.  It’s better than a CV, as I am getting publicity from a third party, rather than listing my achievements & educational background, which we all know can be beefed up without too much imagination.

In a recent conversation with a prospective client, he was very enthusiastic about my testimonials page, as well as being interested in making contact with a previous client.  If I’m awarded the project, I’ll be doing similar work for him as I was for Maya, so it makes sense for them to chat about how it is to work with me!

I generally ask for a testimonial after 3 or 4 months, once the client and I have found our mutual comfort zones and I know that it’s going to be okay to ask!  I’ve never been turned down!  Client testimonials are THE best marketing tool you can have in your own personal arsenal and above all else, they’re FREE! 

About the Author:
Emma Crabtree is the owner and sole-operator of Red Box Virtual Office, a off-site business support service.  Red Box Virtual Office can enable you to free yourself from the day to day admin of your business so that you can focus on what you enjoy and what makes you money.  Find out more

But fear not.  This space will be taken up with some great guest posts from my on-line colleagues.

I hope you’ll stay tuned for insights in to social media marketing, admin tips how to’s and much, much more.

I’ll be back mid-September, with parents in tow, to a full in-box and exciting Autumn to look forward to.

Best wishes, beijos,

Emma.

I’m sure this summer has seen more mobile phones, Blackberries & lap tops on the beach than usual.  Not only is the access to Wifi and mobile broadband more prolific, (so that if you REALLY want to take your work with you, you can), but companies are still working with tightened belts, which means a number of core services are having to be performed by the CEO.

By which I mean answering the phone.

I’ve never understood it myself.  Why would you take your work on holiday with you when there’s cost effective, efficient short term management services available?

1. How to avoid Sand in your phone – get a call answering service. If you want someone to take calls on your behalf, over a long or short term period, I wouldn’t necessarily hire Red Box.  Seems crazy to say so?!  Well, that’s because I’m a tad expensive for just that one off service. I’d use someone like the team at Diamond Secretarial who are really rather good.  If however, you are outsourcing other tasks, it is something I take on as part of a bigger package.  And how good are we?  Well, my friend Emma Brunton over at Emma’s House in Portugal on overhearing a conversation on behalf of a client I was having, said she “would be stoked if I was answering the phone for her.”  And that’s Aussie for really, really thrilled!
2. How to avoid sun glare on your lap top – get a email management service. You know you’re either going to have to check your email on a regular basis or your in-box is going to be more overcrowded than the beach.  Using your lap top is an option, but then there’s the sun glare!  You could of course do what I used to do when watching Wimbledon as a teenager and that is to build yourself a little house for your lap top.  A tad cumbersome as you may imagine on the beaches of Rio…  Alternatively, you could hire Red Box to check your emails, reply on your behalf and keep the business communication channels open while you’re falling of your surfboard.
3. How to avoid ice cream on your presentation to the Board – outsource the project. If there was one thing that you could do for work, but you just can’t get around to because of all the other ‘priorities’ you have, what would it be?  Set up a Twitter account, update your website, create a power point presentation…  Why not outsource the project in the knowledge that it will be completed by the time you get back from your vacation.

If any of the above rings a bell, ice cream van or otherwise, do get in touch.  I’m on Skype, too, if that helps.

About the Author:
Emma Crabtree is the owner and sole-operator of Red Box Virtual Office, an off-site business support service.  Red Box Virtual Office can enable you to free yourself from the day to day admin of your business so that you can focus on what you enjoy and what makes you money.  Find out how working with a Virtual Assistant can help your business.

I will be putting names into a very large straw sun hat & pulling out 2 lucky winners on 3 August 2010.

Please email me at ecrabtree@redboxvirtualoffice.com with the subject ‘Holiday Discount.’*

Feel free to pass this on to any potentially interested friends & colleagues.

Best of luck!

Emma xx

* Terms & Conditions:
1.The discount vouchers have been issued by Glen Travel & are redeemable against selected tour operator packages, usually sold through ABTA travel agents in the UK.
2. All email addresses will be added to the Red Box Virtual Office mailing list.  I hate spam, I guess you do too! Under no circumstances will your email be sold or distributed to 3rd parties.  Even for £1m!!

Espaço Ávila provides physical office space for individuals and enterprises who don’t require full time, serviced offices for their business.

Located in central Lisbon,Espaço Ávila also provides a Customised Business Telephone Service, answering calls when there is an overflow at your company’s HQ, or filling the role of telephonist during holiday periods or other absences.

If you’re in Lisbon and looking for space to work for a few hours, or even a few days, Espaço Ávila can provide a calm and inspirational environment from which to work.

As part of an intergrated network of office space providers, Espaço Ávila can connect you with partners in cities such as London, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, New York and Rio de Janeiro, amongst others.

Contact Espaço Ávila for further details.

An email arrived in my inbox this morning from Jonathan Ledger, who knows a thing or two about SEO, internet marketing and the tools for the job.

Today’s email took my interest as it was around the usefulness of key words and how you can manage their effectiveness.

MSN has this great tool which measures the commercial intention of your website visitors.  Or, in English, whether those people visiting your site are looking to purchase services/products or are just looking for information.

It’s called the Commercial Intent Tool.  Click here to go and see for yourself.

As the MSN site says, “This tool can detect customer intent to acquire information or to purchase products based on their search queries or recently visited URLs. For example, if a customer searches for “canon digital camera”, it is likely that they want to purchase a canon digital camera; therefore, the online commercial intent is strong, with a confidence level larger than 0.5.”

Times the 0.5 by 100 and you have a 50% chance that someone searching for “canon digital camera” is looking to buy.  Just enter in your key words, hit ‘Go’ and the results come up in a box below with their commercial or non-commercial intent rating.

I’ve tried this out with VA related key words and it’s very interesting.  For ‘virtual assistant’ the non-commercial intent value comes back at 0.56, whereas ‘virtual assistant services’ returns a commercial intent value of 0.61.  Those searching on ‘virtual assistant’ are more likely to be looking for information that those searching on ‘virtual assistant services’, who may be looking purchase my services!

Try it our for yourself and remember to use this great tool next time you’re working on your key words.

About the Author:
Emma Crabtree, Virtual Assistant and Chief Organiser, is the owner and sole-operator of Red Box Virtual Office, an off-site business support service.  Red Box Virtual Office can enable you to free yourself from the day to day admin of your business so that you can focus on what you enjoy and what makes you money. Return to the main website to find out more

I pre-ordered a DVD for a friend’s Christmas present at price £X and it was sold to me at £X-£6.  And I got the refund without having to ask for it.

Very good customers sales.  They could teach Portugal’s Customs and Excise a thing or two…