Administration is not a dirty word!

September 1, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

Every business has it – the ever time consuming and usually repetitive administration tasks that eat into the valued time you could be using to create income.  Did you know that most small businesses fail because they are unable to manage the work arising from rapid growth?

There was a time that there seemed no way of avoiding this.  Many small businesses, especially in the ‘start up’ phase can’t afford a full time personal assistant.  However, as the business grows, the mountains of paperwork also grow and most business owners soon feel the frustration of having to work in their business, rather than on it.  For continued advancement, business owners need harness this growth and not feel overwhelmed by it.  With the introduction of technology, along came the idea and flexibility of the Virtual Assistant which allows business owners to take full advantage of administration support, only if and when they need it.

At first, it is probably not obvious just how much a virtual assistant can change your business life.  Run your eyes over this list and have a think about how many of these questions you answer yes to.

•    Are you throwing all your invoices and receipts in a folder to put into an excel spreadsheet later – when you have time?
•    Are your contacts’ business card sitting in a pile on your desk ready for your database you plan to create?
•    Have you been meaning to get to that letter you would like to send out to local businesses?
•    Have you got plans to run a seminar but just don’t know where to begin? And then there are invites, venue bookings, name badges etc.

These are just a few examples of the work I have been doing recently with my clients, all small business owners like yourself.  Make a list of all of the tasks that are robbing your time.  Which of these tasks, if you had support, would you be happy to hand over?  Your VA can even assist with these tasks as a once off, or can take over these tasks on an on-going basis.

It might be at only certain times of the year that you feel under pressure.  Maybe a few hours a week would give you that window of opportunity to work on growing your business.  Remember, a VA is totally flexible and not a permanent employee.  He/she only charges for the time they take to complete a task and for bigger jobs or on-going work, are able to provide an upfront project cost.

About the author:
Tina Litte is the owner of My Virtual Assistant, an Australian based virtual assistance business providing secretarial and administrative support for small to medium business owners.  To find out more about My Virtual Assistant please visit www.myvirtualassistant.com.au

3 Tips for Managing Groups on Linked In

July 6, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

It’s a steamy afternoon here in Portugal, so this is going to be short and sweet as I have a date with a pool!

If you’re not aware, I manage a group on Linked In for one of my clients.  I really like Linked In for its professionalism and ease of use and if you’re not familiar with it, you can find my tips for using Linked In here.

There are many groups you can join depending on your interests or job.  I am a member of lots of groups relating to Portugal as I want to develop my network here.

Three tips to help manage your Linked In group:

  1. Check for new requests each day. I check for new requests, i.e. people who want to join the group, each day as waiting around for a response can be quite frustrating.  You may want to post a response to a message you’ve seen on a group, but can’t as you’re not a member.  By the time your request has been authorised, you’ve forgotten your point and moved on!
  2. Check your Linked In in-box for messages from your group. If you’re managing the group the likelihood is that you will receive messages from group members enquiring about how to use the forum or from those wanting to join.  You may have rules about membership (my group members have to be members of an external organisation) or anyone may be free to join!  Answer queries and questions as quickly as you can and with good grace.  Remember, not only are you the face of your Linked In group, but you may also be the face of an external organisation and need to reflect that in your contact.
  3. Regularly Check Posts – I hope it doesn’t happen to you, but you may have to remove someone from your group because of naughty behaviour!  Check what people are posting and discussing on your group and remove anything that could be seen as lewd or downright rude.  Of course, everyone has a right to their opinion and a right of reply, but there’s no need for anyone to go overboard!  You also need to keep on the good side of the Linked In Management, who have their eyes on what is published on their site.

Hope these help!

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.

How To get Health Insurance If You’re A Freelancer

May 31, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

I took myself off to A&E this morning. Don’t panic, I’m fine! But I have been in quite severe pain for several days now and last night made the decision to go and see the Doctor to have myself checked out.

All is well; I have drugs!

But while I was waiting to see the Doctor, I got to thinking what would happen to Lawrence and I if I was incapacitated for some time.  As a one-income household, what I earn is very important to us and while we have a nest egg, the nest’s not that big and only contains 1 or 2 eggs.

So this afternoon I’ve done some research.  I still need to speak with people here in Portugal (so if you know of anyone offering reasonable/low cost health insurance in Portugal, please let me know).  The information below is more than relevant if you’re in the UK or USA, are a freelancer or independent contractor and really ought to have insurance in case you can no longer work.

Where To Go?

For both UK and USA freelancers, your Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start.  They may have group policies that you can join and there is bound to be at least one other freelancer in your Chamber that is in a similar position.

In the ‘States, there is something called COBRA, which will cover your insurance needs for a fixed period of time after you leave paid employment.  This is great for short term cover whilst you get yourself sorted with insurance of your own.  There is also the National  Association of the Self Employed who will have information for you.

In the UK, the Business Link website has some great information about insurance and what you need for you and your business.

Who Needs Cover?

Look at who in your family needs to be insured.  Are other people relying on you and your income?  If so, you need to have health and death-in-service insurance.  These subjects are never easy to talk about, but it’s a far easier conversation to have than one your partner may have to have with the bailiff at the front door.

What Are Your Health Care Needs?

Your age, your general health, whether you smoke, are pregnant, have a poor medical history will all affect your health insurance payments.   Can you make some positive lifestyle changes before taking out a policy that will benefit your monthly payments and your health?

Pay for High Premiums

As a freelancer, it is difficult to arrange reasonable cost insurance as it’s just for you.  Being an individual may not be a positive thing!  It’s  possible that you could get health insurance that doesn’t cost the earth if you are willing to pay high premiums.  Premiums are those payments that you make before the insurance company with cough up.  If your injury amounts to €25,000 in costs, and your premium is €5,000 the insurers will pay the additional €20,000 and not the full amount.

Group Benefits

Check out the business groups you already belong to.  There may be a group or a business link that will offer insurance or a discounted rate to other members.  I’m a member of the BPCC and offer other members 25% discount on my services.  There are insurance brokers, car hire companies and hotels that also offer similar discounts.   Check out the small print in your membership brochures.

Resources:

freelanceuk.com

finweb.com

Business Link UK

Chambers of Commerce

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.

5 Headlines to Get Your Newsletter Opened And Read

May 10, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

We all know that having a newsletter is a great way to connect with your clients and contacts on a regular basis. I have one with Red Box that goes out once a month with links to my blog posts, articles and workshops that I think may be of interest to my readership and much more!

There are also a number of companies that will mail you on a more regular basis, say once a week, or even once a day. I’m not a huge fan of the in-your-face marketing, (and ought to unsubscribe from a lot of the newsletters and updates I get) but occasionally there will be something in amongst the ‘blah, blah, blah, download this, you’ll make a fortune,’  to make me sit up and take note.

These are my 5 headlines (play around with them as you will) that may give your emails & newsletters a better chance of getting opened and read.

  1. News – “Introducing our best ever mortgage rate.” This is a great headline if you have something new and big to announce.  Maybe you are discounting all your products for 48 hours and want everyone to know, or you have just won an award.  This is real news!  Shout about it.  However, don’t try and make news out of something that isn’t newsworthy.  If you have something that your readers will be interested in, they are more likely to read your newsletter or email and act upon it.
  2. A Question – “Are you concerned about what your child is taking in his back-pack to school?” A question automatically involves your audience because they answer it in their minds.  If the question hits a nerve, (as who knows what their teenager is taking to school?!) they will read further into your newsletter to see what solution you offer.  Make sure it’s something that will interest your readers, rather than just you.
  3. A Command – “Grow your business by 25% this year.” If you can turn your unique benefit into a commanding headline, you are on to a winner.  Headlines like ‘More time and profit for you and your business,’ and ‘Get more clients now,’ are a couple of headlines that have worked for me.
  4. How To – “How to Get Rid of Stretch Marks in 15 days.” – The how-to headline works well as people just love information and how to do something without having to trawl Google.  Think of what benefits can your business bring to someone and then make these into headlines.  My golden headlines have been ‘How To Make More Money in Less Time,’ and ‘How to Hire and Fire At Will.’
  5. The Testimonial – “It’s a pleasure to work with Emma, she is conscientious, fun and consistently goes the extra mile!” Nothing sells like someone else saying that you’re great.  Let your clients and customers do your selling for you and convince others to use your services.

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 more

Five Great Reasons for Virtual Working When There’s Chaos in The Skies

April 26, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info 2 Comments

Unless you have been living in a cave or have been on a deserted island these last couple of weeks, you will know that recently a volcano erupted in Iceland and caused complete and utter havoc across much of Europe.

Airspace throughout Europe was closed to traffic by volcanic dust, which had a knock on affect on flights worldwide. I was supposed to be on holiday, taking a trip from Portugal to Paris by air and then riding a motorbike back home.  That didn’t happen!  My husband was grounded here and couldn’t meet me with the motorbike in Paris and a friend who was holidaying with us had an additional few days in Portugal as she was unable to return to London as planned. I’m also still waiting on a shipment from China for a client in Ireland, but that’s a whole other post…

If you were stuck in an airport and couldn’t get where you were going, wouldn’t it have been great to know that you could have relied on someone like me to provide assistance?!  There are many reasons for working with a Virtual Assistant, or even being able to work off-site yourself, but here are my top five, just in case another volcano erupts…

1.    The technology available today can free you from being to be tied to an office.  My friend was unable to return home, but with her Blackberry, my computer and fax machine and an understanding boss, was able to receive emails, manage budgets and organise her team from a small village in central Portugal.

2.    Video conferencing ought to have made air travel for business un-necessary for all but the most important of face to face meetings.  The use of video, web conferencing, intranet systems & teleconferencing are all available at a very low cost.  All you need is a phone and a pin number.  I’d recommend powwownow and Oxygen.

3.    ‘Thinking outside the box’, ‘blue sky thinking’ – very ‘90’s phrases but it may be what’s needed in a crisis.  My friend’s company’s travel agency couldn’t find any way to return her to London for at least a week after she was due to leave; I was able to find an alternative by train that had her back in the UK within 4 days of her scheduled departure date because I looked at the problem flexibly and found a solution.  There’s often a solution to every problem and it may only be a phone call away.

4.    If the local communication systems are down or not accessible for whatever reason and you can’t get on-line or make a call, you know that I am constantly checking for new emails and taking phone calls when you can’t.  Similarly, if you’ve left your work contacts at home while on holiday (congratulations, so many take their work on holiday with them!) you can send me a text or make a call and I can be there for your clients while you’re struggling to get back home!

5.    Travelling often involves crossing time zones, even if that’s just moving between the UK and France, or Texas to New York.  Working with a Virtual Assistant means that you can be on the road, in an airplane ( or stuck at an airport…) or on a train, Etc., and have a back-up system in place.  While you travel, wait for a connection or sleep, I can work. If you’re in a different time zone and need to contact me, I can be available for you as I work from home.

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 more


Eats, Shoots & Leaves – The Red Box Guide to Grammar

April 5, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

Do you remember back in 2003 the book by Lynne Truss entitled ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves‘? It was both a guide to correct grammar and a rant at the dumming down of the English language. I read it and loved it. The title of the book should not  be confused with a joke about a giant panda, with the punchline ‘Eats, shoots and leaves,’ which is a bit rude, but quite fun, too!

However, it seems that in 2010, there is a growing need for such a book again. There are so many instances of incorrect grammar, punctuation and spelling out there that I thought I would get on my soapbox and let you in on some of those that particularly annoy me. If you’d like your publicity materials proof read- and this especially applies to text that’s been translated – let me know.

  • There, They’re, Their – Yes, 3 different words with 3 different meanings that all sound the same.   A nightmare if you’re transcribing! There is ‘over there’, describing a place, for example.  They’re is an abbreviation for they are, as in ‘they are in the playground,’ or, ‘they are having dinner’. Finally their is the possessive form for belonging to, so ‘we are going in their car,’ ‘their hair is too long for the army,’ and so on.  It’s so easy to get wrong, but writing the wrong form could put a whole new meaning to your sentence.
  • The same goes for You’re or Your. Someone recently wrote to me, ‘Your fantastic…’  My fantastic what?  Hairstyle, office management?  He meant ‘You’re fantastic’ as I’d managed to persuade a bad debtor to finally pay up!
  • Ditto for Where, Were, Wear.  Where is ‘Where is the cat?’ Were is ‘We were able to drive through the snow,’ and wear is ‘What are you going to wear to the party tonight?’ or ‘Did the service reveal any wear to the engine?’.
  • Apostrophes and Plurals.  There is a difference between Peaches and Peaches’.  The first is the plural of peach, the second is something that belongs to Peaches ( the car of the daughter of Bob Geldof perhaps…).
  • Beware of words that are spelt differently but sound alike, such as hear and here, stationery and stationary,  Etc. These words are not interchangeable, they have diferent meanings and therefore it is important to opt for the correct option. Further confusion can be sown by words that are spelt the same but sound different depending upon meaning, which can be discovered by the context in which they are placed in a sentence. Examples of these are row ( to propell a boat with an oar or to argue ) and refuse ( to turn down or garbage ). The pronunciation of these words changes depending upon their meaning, even though they are spelt identically.
  • Be aware of the differences in UK and US spellings of the same word.  Happiness (UK)/Happyness (US), Organisation (UK)/Organization (US), Colour(UK)/Color(US) and so on.

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.

Transcriptions – Why Speed isn’t Everything

March 29, 2010 Virtual Assistant Info 2 Comments

As you may know, one of the services that I provide at Red Box is digital transcription services.  I’ve written some tips before on what to do and what not to do to get the most out of your transcriptionist.  One of these tips is the clarity of the tape can make or break a good transcription.

At the end of last year, I started working with Debra Stamp at America At Work Stories.  Debra interviews stalwarts of American industry, such as Martha Stewart and Dave Thomas (founder of Wendy’s)  and lesser known entrepreneurs who are successful in their chosen field and gets them to tell her, amongst other things, what has been the most important, intrinsic or satisfying part of their career, how they started and why they do what they do.  Her interviews are then uploaded on to her website for us all to take inspiration from.   Debra is a broadcast professional, working in television and radio. She’s hosted shows, interviewed CEO’s and celebrities of various shapes and sizes, voiced countless commercials and video presentations, and talked to audiences large and small.

Debra and I met through Linked In after I responded to a question Debra had posted about transcription software.  I made some suggestions and we got chatting about, what was at the time, an idea that Debra had to make her interviews available in text form.  I offered to undertake some transcription work for her, for free, to show her what I could do for her to get this idea of hers off the ground.

When I wrote to Debra, I said that I wasn’t the fastest typist around, which is true!  My WPM (words per minute) rate is quite slow, around 65wpm, but I am meticulous and thorough and my work is not delivered full of typos, spelling mistakes or time stamps.  My rate is reasonable (at €1/spoken minute) and that rate includes proof reading and editing the transcription before sending it to the client.

I do know that I am really lucky to work with someone like Debra.  The tapes that Debra sends me are clear, free of background noise and already edited to contain the dialogue that Debra requires for her site.  There are no ‘umm’s, ‘err’s or long periods of silence.

But don’t let that put you off sending me your tapes.  If I can’t understand what is being said on the tape, I’ll ask for clarification, just as I would if there’s a place or name that I am not familiar with.  I’m happy to provide a free sample of my work to you if you want to check me out before hiring, but I’d like to think that you wouldn’t be disappointed.

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.

How To Work From Home & Not Go Nuts

March 8, 2010 Virtual Assistant Info 2 Comments

Okay, so may be ‘Going Nuts’ is a bit over the top, but it got your attention, right?!

I started working from home when Red Box was born 5 years ago and couldn’t afford to rent any office space.  To be honest, I didn’t know whether Red Box would see out the Summer of 2005 and finding office space was way down my list of priorities.

Now I work from home out of choice, but it’s been tough to get it right.  I thought I would share my tips on keeping a sound mind and healthy body while you work from home.

  1. Get up at a reasonable time. Yes, really, it helps.  Set the alarm each day for the same time and get into the habit of getting up and starting your day off in a positive way.  Lie-ins are for the weekend.
  2. Develop a routine or structure to your day. I tried doing any old thing at any old time and that didn’t work.  But getting up early, going for a run, shower, breakfast & in to the first tasks of the day really put me on the right footing.  If I have a bad night and don’t run or take a yoga class, the rest of my day is screwed. Não vale a pena faz nada, as they might say here in Portugal.
  3. Allocate an hour to each task. I tried just working through on a project or a task, plodding on with it even when I was bored or banging my head against the proverbial brick wall.  Not the way to succeed.  So now I allocate time to each client through the day, revisiting tasks if I need to.  Some days a job will come in that throws this plan out of the window, but generally I split my day up into sections and won’t check my emails or allow other things to distract me.  It works 90% of the time!
  4. Tell your Mum you’re off limits 9-5. And not just your Mum.  This includes anyone that may think that working from home equals being around for a chat and a cup of tea at any hour of the day!  You are working.  Would your Mum call you up when you were on civvy street and expect you to be available for 10mins while she discussed Aunt Rose’s hip replacement?  Well, maybe, but you get my drift.
  5. Take regular breaks. It’s a strange one, this one.  I’ve found I’m less inclined to take a break now than when I was working for someone else.  But it’s important to have lunch somewhere other than your desk each day.  Try and not sit at your PC for longer than 40mins without taking a break.  Just getting up and making a cup of tea is useful; even better is walking to the letter box to check the mail or going around the block with the dog.  See my blog post on a healthy work environment.
  6. Do chat to other people. Yes, engage in conversation with strangers in the Post Office.  Working from home can be a lonely existence and some days I may not speak to anyone except my husband.  On-line forums and networks are a great way to expand your social community and can be a source of new business, too.
  7. Exercise. Yes, dull, but as Alex James recently said, the thought is worse than the doing.  It’s a mood lifter, stress buster, heart attacker stopper all rolled into one.  I’m a yoga bunny by nature but have recently got into running.  And I feel great for it (and have dropped a dress size!).
  8. Plan your chores. When I first started out as a VA, I read somewhere that if the thought of a stack of washing up was going to drive to distraction or that not getting the laundry done each week would end in divorce, then I should hire a cleaner.  Lovely idea, but with what?  Eggs?  I didn’t have the money then and now I’d rather spend it on a horse riding lesson or an evening at the cinema than pay for someone to clean my floors.  But the chores do need doing, so plan time in your day for them.  The bathroom on Monday, kitchen floor on Tuesday & so on.  And delegate tasks; I’m sure you’re not the only one in your household that creates dirty dishes or wet towels…
  9. Reward yourself. It is important to remind yourself that you are fab and what you are doing is worthwhile.  If you’re your own boss, giving yourself a raise because a client loved your project is hard to do, but do take some time out for yourself and do something you enjoy that isn’t work related.  If I’m broke, I’ll have a cup of tea in the sunshine on our patio; if I’m feeling flush, I may buy myself a new lippy.  Little things that reinforce the message to yourself that you are great.

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

Those Freelancer Sites – My Top 12 Tips

January 28, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info 3 Comments

How many of you use sites like People Per Hour (PPH), Elance and Guru etc?  Yes, I thought so!  And how many of you have been successful in obtaining work through them?  Me neither!  I’ve been contacted a couple of times after placing a bid, but I’ve never been successful in contracting work through them.

But still I persist.  Mainly because they are free to sign on to!  I also use them when I’m recruiting for clients.

I have some tips that you may want to consider using, either as a provider or as a buyer.  You may think, “What does she know if she’s not been successful,” but you never know and these may help you land a job.

As a Service Provider

  1. Be specific in responding to the ad placed.  Two lines on how great you are doesn’t cut the mustard.
  2. Set your bid at a reasonable level and consider justifying your bid.
  3. Respond to individual points in detail.
  4. Send (when possible) links to previous work you’ve undertaken or add files to your profile.
  5. Be quick!  If there’s been 87 bids for a typing job, do you really want to be #88?
  6. Sign up for email alerts on new jobs posted; it’ll save you time looking through each site individually.

As a Buyer

  1. Think clearly about what or who you want to hire.
  2. If the website doesn’t give you the catergories you need to be able to pigeon hole your requirements, list them in the job information section.
  3. Be reasonable in setting your fee.  Either an hourly rate or by project and consider who is going to be reading your ad.  If you use PPH, for example, it’s UK based so the response is going to be mainly from UK based service providers.  They are not going to bid £1/hr for transcription work and you’ll be disappointed when no-one bids or you get a shoddy transcript.
  4. Close your job after you receive 10-15 bids.  Are you really going to go through all 57 bids..?
  5. Do choose your supplier carefully.  Ask for previous work and/or testimonials.
  6. Shortlisting candidates makes it easier to finally select the right one and contacting them directly helps to get a feel for their skills and experience.  Do follow through, though and keep them up to date on what’s happening with the project.

Useful?  If you’ve got a thought on using these kind of sites, do get in touch.

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

Being Virtual – A BBC Radio 4 Interview

January 22, 2010 How to Work Better, Virtual Assistant Info No Comments

I recently read Maggie Berney’s post on her reaction to the Radio 4 Woman’s Hour interview with Emma Walker, Justine Curtis  and eminent sociologist Dr Brendan Burchell.

While I didn’t hear the interview myself, the comments and reaction to this interview had me thinking.  I’d like to address a number of points that come up regularly for me and may be of interest to you, whether you’re working from home or not.

1. Missing personal contact with others.
I’ve said before that I do miss the water-cooler moments of a regular, office based job.  Saying that, however, there are so many forums and on & off line networks that one can join, being ‘lonely’ for me is not an option!  And if I’ve got Skype up, being alone can sometimes be difficult too!

2. Not being in a team or part of a work-based group.
Well, what’s not being part of a team when working with and for others is your bread and butter?  At least in my job, running my own business, I can pick and choose who I work with.  There are many examples I could give where I’ve felt as though I was excluded from the clique, (too high-school for words) and all the good gossip and office politics, as well as the hiring and firing, was done in the smokers room!  And I don’t smoke.

3. The client not being able to trust me & vice versa.
It is true that the majority of my clients, past & present, I have never met.  And this may be a restricting factor in hiring virtual personnel for some.  However, as someone who holds credit card details for a number of clients & has access to suppliers’ bank accounts, trust is something that is mutually developed over a period of time.  I wouldn’t ask a client to leave me his credit card details on day 1; instead I take the time to develop a relationship with them, showing them that I can be trusted in all matters and that hiring me & Red Box was a positive thing to do for them and their business.

It’s about mutual respect.  I have been stung a couple of times with late or non-payment from clients and so with new clients have a retainer system which is a win-win for all involved.

4. Juggling the work/life balance.
As you may know, I originally relocated to Portugal to regain my work/life balance.  It wasn’t as though I had a hugely stressful job; but I rarely saw my husband, who did.  We made the joint decision to move away from London and get our marriage back on track.  Having an incredibly supportive partner is a bonus and takes the pressure off being the bread winner/housekeeper/vet/personal shopper that many women face.  I greatly admire those who work from home and also have demanding children/parents/partner/friends/pets.  I’m not sure I would be as disciplined as needed to run a business from home and still be on speaking terms with my loved ones.

In the end, working from home is something that must be considered in the cold light of day and not something to rush into after a bad day in the office.  But it works for me and my family (all 3 of us) and for my clients, too.

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

« Previous Entries