Say 'NO' to the fakeation!

Many small business owners look upon holidays with horror. How much business will I lose because I wasn’t there to take the call? What happens if a client needs urgent support while I am away? If the only solution is to take the laptop to the poolside then think again. That’s not a holiday, that’s a fakeation!

What you need is a Business Babysitter. Someone who will take care of your incoming calls and emails while you’re away, giving you complete freedom to savour the sunshine. 

Miss Moneypenny’s business babysitting service is pretty straightforward. Thanks to modern technology, it is easy to set up email forwarding and divert your calls to one of our dedicated phone lines. When you arrive back from the pool or the beach, we can then simply provide you with a daily update. We can also arrange to contact you immediately should an urgent matter arise.

Before jetting off on your holiday, we will talk to you about all of your requirements. For example, you can specify how you would like your calls answered and if you would prefer to receive your daily updates by text or email.

With everything taken care of on the business front, all you need to do now is decide what to pack! 

For more information on holiday cover or a bespoke quote call Miss Moneypenny on 0845 5196 007 or send an email to info@missmoneypenny-bss.co.uk

To Tweet Or Not To Tweet – That Is Today’s Question

‘Should I be on Twitter?’ seems to be the question du jour when we talk about Social Media. Most of us are on LinkedIn, have a Facebook page and read interesting blogs- like mine.  But Twitter always seems to be the last social media to add to that list. Why is that? 

Perhaps the question should read ‘How do I make the most of my Twitter presence?’ Well, here are five good reasons to use Twitter as a tool for your business.

1)      Networking – you don’t need to leave the office anymore to connect with potential customers.  Search topics to see who is talking about the products or services you provide and simply follow the followers. If they post questions, answer them. Pretty soon you will have your own dedicated following. 

2)      Influencers – Social Media is all about influencers. Tweeting information about industry related topics will set you up as an authority and other influencers will connect with you. Ask them to re-tweet your tweets and you have free publicity from a well-respected source.

3)      Face-to-face / Tweet-to-tweet – Twitter also provide a platform for personal interaction between you and your customers or potential customers, that otherwise may not have taken place. 

4)      Brand awareness – Having a Twitter account helps with SEO driving more traffic to your website. Increase brand awareness by putting your name out there, engaging with people and building a reputation.

5)      Keep up - As of June 2010, about 65 million tweets were posted each day, equaling about 750 tweets sent each second, according to Twitter. With the number of users increasing exponentially each day your clients and competition are already there. 

I asked myself 'to tweet or not to tweet' and my answer was yes. I signed up to Twitter today. Why don’t you do the same and follow me on @MyrtheEdney . See you there!

10 things we can do in one hour or less

So, you've been reading through the extensive list of services on our website and now you find yourself thinking 'But what exactly can you do in, say, one hour?' If you are not an administrative expert like us then it may be tricky to imagine how productive a virtual assistant can be in such a short time. 

So here is a list of things we can do for you in one hour - or less.

• Research travel, hotel and meeting facilities
• Mail merge 50-100 letters
• Edit and proof a minimum of a five page report
• Create multiple listings in online business directories
• Enter 75 business cards onto your database
• Edit and post multiple blog entries
• Build a custom spreadsheet 
• Research and shortlist possible suppliers of a product or service
• Type handwritten notes from seminar or conference
• Create a basic blog in Blogger
• Prepare monthly invoices
• Create a newsletters template
• Delete spam in your inbox and sort, answer or redirect remaining messages
• Chase outstanding invoices
• Book and confirm your meetings
• Create a PowerPoint presentation

Each example in the list above has been completed by us within a 60 minute times frame. 

Pretty neat, huh?

Miss Moneypenny for Hydromel Events

And with the signing of this new client we have embarked on a very exciting adventure! Miss Moneypenny will be looking after Sales and Marketing for Hydromel Events - a fabulous boutique bar events company. First assignment: co-ordinate an event for 800 guests in a Chateau in the South of France. What a great project to sink my teeth in. Very exciting!

www.hydromelevents.com

10 questions to ask yourself...

Think hiring a virtual assistant is a daunting task? Not sure what to look out for? That's understandable. After all hiring a VA is not something you do every day. That's why I wanted to share this fab article with you. It offers food for thought and will help you sail through the process.

10 questions to consider before hiring a virtual assistant