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The Importance Of Self Care

I'm writing this on a Friday night, in my bed with the electric blanket, comfy pants and Spotify playlist on, away from the loud enthusiastic-ness of my xbox playing family. Self Care for the win.  It's been a particularly challenging two weeks. (not in business!) More than particularly, if I'm honest, and with no sign of it easing up soon. That's why it's so fitting we are focusing on Self Care this month. It can benefit me as well.  So. Why is self care so important when you're in bu...

10 Things You Can Outsource To OTHER Virtual Assistants

It might seem a bit weird to write an article about tasks you can outsource to OTHER VA's, but I wouldn't be a good one if I claimed to do anything and everything. Instead, I would much rather stick to what I know, and point you in the right direction for the other stuff. When I first started out, I thought I should be a Jenny of all trades, and what is more important than bookkeeping? So I spent a full weekend reducing myself to a shaky, sweaty pile of tears trying to "learn" Xero.&nb...

10 Things You Can Outsource To A Virtual Assistant

So, already this month we've talked about WHY you should outsource, in the next 3 articles, I'm going to show you WHAT you can outsource.  Today, it's 10 things you can outsource that I can help you with myself, next article it's things you can outsource to OTHER Virtual Assistants (I can even help you find the right one to fit your needs), and then, things outside of Virtual Assistants that you can outsource - life stuff. Because if we can make life a little easier inside and outside of bu...

How Do I Know If The Time Is Right To Hire A Virtual Assistant?

Have you been wondering whether now is the time to get some extra help in your business?  I kind of think of it like when you're deciding to have a child - if you wait for what you think is the perfect time, that time will probably never come. Ok, so having a child is maybe a teensy bit bigger than hiring a Virtual Assistant....  But the mindset is still true. Speaking from personal experience, if you wait until you're earning "enough" money, or you think you're busy "enough"... You'll...

10 Reasons To Outsource To A Virtual Assistant

I could make a list far longer than this as to why you should hire a Virtual Assistant, but this list of 10 are what I believe are the top reasons.  More Time, Less Stress This is a huge one. Are you feeling constantly overwhelmed about what needs to be done next, what you should be doing and then trying to do a bajillion things at once? Delegating some of the tasks to a Virtual Assistant frees you up to spend time on the tasks that really move the needle. There might be things that need d...

What The Heck Is Outsourcing?

Think of outsourcing as getting someone else to do the tasks that you don't know how to do, don't have time to do, or just don't WANT to do.We all have stuff like that, whether we're in business or not. Life just gets too busy, no matter what you do in your normal day.  Throughout the coming month, we're going to chat about how you can reduce the stress in your life by handing over the tasks in life that someone else could do faster or even better. That way you have more time to do thi...

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

So I've made a lot of new friends in the last 6 months and I realised I haven't re-introduced myself in a long time.So, hi! I'm Nikki, I'm based in Tauranga, New Zealand and I am your friendly Virtual Assistant - Nota Bene.If you've been around awhile, you will notice that I like words. Lots of words. And last year I decided it was time to niche down and put that to good use - Newsletters, blogs, social media (both content and optimising your Pinterest and YouTube) - anything you need help findi...

Introducing April's Focus

I hope you've liked the last couple of months of "focus" subjects.Let's start the new financial year fresh and ready for a new year of goal setting and growth.One way to do that is to outsource things you currently have on your plate that you don't know how to do, don't have time to do, and even just don't want to do.I'll warn you, I'm not just talking about outsourcing to ME.Outsourcing in general, to make your life easier. They aren't all things a Virtual Assistant can do, and even those that ...

How To Make Your Bookkeeper LOVE You (PT 4)

Almost at the end of March and our focus on Bookkeepers and Accountants!I hope you've gained a couple of nuggets of knowledge from my chats with Brenda Moore - Do The Sums.I personally have struggled for about 8 years now, trying to DIY my IR3, when I have no affection for that kind of work AT ALL. Just appreciation for those for whom it's their wheelhouse.Because it sure ain't mine!!I'm so glad after this month it's no longer my job, and I highly recommend, if it's something that sends you...

How To Make Your Bookkeeper LOVE You (PT 3)

Here are the last couple of questions I asked of Brenda Moore - Do The Sums, hope you find them helpful!!Can you REALLY help your clients save money?Normally yes, whether it be in tax, accounting fees, bookkeeping packages. We always look at the "big" picture and make sure our clients are getting bang for their buck!Can a client make their Accounting fees less with some DIY?Yes, but that doesn't always work for all. Some people are just not accounting minded, and this is where the...

How To Make Your Bookkeeper LOVE You (PT 2)

Hello, again! End of Financial Year is rocketing closer and closer, and I for one am so excited that this is the last time I have to work out numbers for myself. I'm one of those people who leaves financial stuff to the absolute last minute and then freaks out about it. So once this one is done, Brenda from Do The Sums will be taking over and it's no longer my problem! Up until now, I've had a Xero account that I only upgraded to get the invoicing system, which I now love, but still did the day ...

How To Make Your Bookkeeper LOVE You (PT 1)

I've been chatting with my own Accountant, Brenda at Do The Sums, to find out what we can do to make THEIR job easier. Don't worry, though, I also chatted to her about how to best make a Bookkeeper or Accountant work best for YOU. Have to have both sides, right?Over to Brenda... How long have you owned Do The Sums? What do you love best about what you do?I bought Do The Sums from the previous owner Rebecca, nearly 4 years ago. I love my clients and I also love working with numbers and probl...

Do I Have To Post On EVERY Platform?

There's so many places you can advertise your business these days, and the idea that you have to post on all of them can be mind boggling.Facebook? | Instagram? | LinkedIn? | Twitter? | YouTube? | Pinterest? | Google My Business?The list goes on and on, and it's easy to get sucked in to thinking you need to have a presence on them all. It gets pretty overwhelming, right?Can I just say, first up...YOU DON'T NEED TO BE ON THEM ALL AT ONCE!It's easy to think you will be seen more if you're on them ...

Do You Repurpose?

I've talked about repurposing content before, but there's good reason for mentioning it again. (This blog was written while my website was being rebuilt, so now it's catch up time!) February is all about content. And one of the easiest ways to get plenty of content is to repurpose what you have. Say you write a blog post. Easy enough, right? Do you post it, share a link maybe on your socials, and leave it at that and hope everyone sees it? Or do you reshare it all over the place in different way...

Should I Be Posting Every Day?

Continuing on this months focus on content, a common question I hear is “should I post every day?”Spoiler alert. No, you don’t. But there’s a caveat on this.In a perfect world, everyone who follows you would see everything you post, and posting every day would get super repetitive.But this is not that world. On Facebook alone, an organic post (ie, no paid ads, boosts etc) is lucky to reach 5-10% of your followers!! Sometimes you strike it lucky and a post goes off, all by itself.The algo...

How Do You Plan Your Content?

When you’re posting on your social media, planning blogs and newsletters, or anything else that requires content – how do you plan for it?• Do you sit down and plan out the week, the month, the quarter all at once?• Do you know what you want to talk about before you even get started?• Do you schedule them all at once, or just post as you go?Or, are you like the majority of people and you fly by the seat of your pants and wing it. I’ll post when I feel like it/when I remember, and wai...

Feeling A Bit Lost? That’s Ok.

Sunrise at Bledisloe Holiday Park, Little WaihiEverything feels a bit weird right now, right? What I’m seeing in so many online groups, and in real life as well, is that everyone feels a bit lost at the moment. With so much uncertainty around what is to come, it’s leaving many of us not knowing where to start. But then we don’t get anything done and we feel bad about it.For me, I can honestly say that I’ve struggled to get my momentum back since being on holiday. I sit down at my compute...

Introducing The 2021 Nota Bene – Virtual Assistant Employee Of The Year

I’d like to introduce to you the 2021 Nota Bene – Virtual Assistant Employee Of The Year.Spoiler alert – It’s me.And, why not?• I’m always the first to arrive, and the last to leave.• I’m known to work in the wee hours of the morning, to keep those around me happy during “normal hours”• I’m the chief problem solver, idea-haver, instigator, customer service rep and sales person.• I most definitely do all the work around here• And, finally…. there’s only me. So...

You Don’t Have To Be Perfect, But You Have To Be Real

There’s so much talk about being “real” or “authentic” online these days. There’s a good reason.When people buy from you, especially when it comes to services, they are in effect, buying YOU.So when they see you show up online, they want to see the real you. Not a duck face selfie (unless that’s actually how you roll) or someone dressed in a suit and tie, when in reality, you’re more a smart casual (let’s be honest here – trackies in 2021, right?) kinda person.Be real. Be you...

Notifications Doing Your Head In?

Are all those notifications doing your head in? I work across multiple platforms these days, and we all work at different times.Whether it’s time zones or just different hours we like to work, there’s always this awkward feeling about sending a message at what might be seen as a “rude” time for the recipient.With most apps, you can either stop, mute, suspend or even specify exact times you want to receive notifications!!Slack is awesome. I’ve set times I can be notified as a defau...

How To Make 10 Pieces Of Content From One Blog Post

When you write a kick-ass blog post or article, what do you do with it?Do you post it once, and wait for the millions of reads, the accolades of how amazing your writing is, how knowledgeable you are?Have you thought about repurposing your content?I don’t just mean reposting the same link a few times. I mean using that amazing content in more ways than one.So, you write a blog post.That blog post has lots of juicy stuff in it, right? Heaps of useful tips that people can use. But if they never ...

10 Reasons Why I Became A Virtual Assistant

There’s a lot of people looking into becoming a Virtual Assistant lately, and I completely understand the appeal. I’m fairly new to it, but I’ve learned a heap in the past 12 months, and am 100% sold on my decision that this was the right path to choose. Flexible Hours. I like to be able to head out for a walk during the day if I feel like it, and I’m more than happy to work in the evening. I wanted to be my own boss.The ability to work from anywhere. That hasn’t ended up qui...