Jun 282014
 

Eagle Waves Radio is based within VIVO Cafe and is the only one of it’s kind in the world!

With new research showing that working in cafés can actually boost your creativity, former Telstra Businesswoman of the Year, Angela Vithoulkas, has taken it to the extreme by launching the first global radio station based inside a café. Eagle Waves Radio brings together the best of what business people and entrepreneurs want from their working day: a dose of topical, relevant information in a buzzy, creative environment.

“There’s been a pronounced geographic shift in where corporate and entrepreneurial folk are choosing to do business,” says Angela. “Bland and sterile workplaces are proving to be a turn off for many workers and with research showing that ambient background noise can actually help people to concentrate better, it’s no surprise that the café is the new office.”

EWR+Logo+Web+Tagline cropAccording to Angela, the trend for working in cafés has reached new heights with the rise of the ‘coffice’ worker – business people and entrepreneurs who prefer to work in a café over a traditional office.

A survey of almost one thousand small businesses across Australia, found that 15% of small business owners prefer to work in a cafe, or even a hotel foyer, for the ambiance and convenience. So what can small businesses learn from this trend?

“You certainly don’t need to launch a radio station in your shop or office – although it would be a great talking point,” says Angela. “What small business owners can learn from this shift is that their customers are always on the look-out for ways to simplify their working day and increase their productivity. So put yourself in your customer’s shoes, be curious, look at what’s challenging for them, and be ready to embrace change if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition.

“For example, café owners who recognise that ‘coffice’ workers see their venue as a de-facto office, a place where they might work for a few hours a day, can offer services such as wi-fi or even a tailored ‘work day’ menu for customers who stay for breakfast and lunch. Not only will this demonstrate they understand the needs of their clientele, it will also give customers a reason to come back – and in business that’s often the difference between success and failure.”

With six weekly programs featuring expert and specialists hosts across fields ranging from accounting and finance to marketing and PR, Eagle Waves has already attracted a strong following amongst the small business community. To tune into Eagle Waves Radio visit www.eaglewavesradio.com.au.

“Recognising this trend, it made absolute sense to me to launch Eagle Waves Radio at the hub of where my audience finds it most productive and creative to work – a busy café. After all, how many times have we found it easier to finish a difficult task when we’ve had our favourite radio program playing in the background?

“Eagle Waves allows business people and entrepreneurs to get up close to the action. They can pick up relevant information at the same time that they’re dropping in for their morning latte.”

 

Eagle Waves Radio a World First‘ was posted on Eagle Waves Radio Blog.

Eagle Waves is Australia’s first and only radio station dedicated to empowering small businesses. Our commitment, and our passion, is to level the playing field by giving you direct access to the very best business advice guaranteed to inspire practical and profitable solutions.

Listen to Eagle Waves Radio online via the website – www.eaglewavesradio.com.au.

For the opportunity to be a guest on Eagle Waves Radio click here.

 

 Posted by at 6:17 pm
Apr 092014
 

You glance up at the clock and wonder where the time has gone and then you realise that you did not achieve as much in your day as you would have hoped. This is a common scenario for small business owners. We wish we had more hours in the day to accomplish our workload; however the good news is that we do. Here are our top 10 ways we have found we can get more time in our day.

1. Reduce your hours
You might think this sounds a little odd but in truth, if you shorten your workday you will soon find you accomplish just as much as you did before and more. Reducing your hours will force you to focus more on the work that needs to be done and less on the other non-essential tasks which can chew up your time.

2. Know your strengths
No two people are the same and we all have certain times of the day when we perform at our best. Some people are naturally early birds and work best in the morning, others tend to find they work better later in the day. Work around your own schedule to get the most out of your working day.

3. Plan your phone calls ahead of time
Making telephone calls can be timewasting, particularly when the call can easily go off topic. Before you make a call, take a minute to jot down the main points you want to get across and try not to veer too far off course.

4. Use a VA
You have probably discovered this already but the simple fact of the matter is that you can’t do it all. You try; you drop a ball or two, miss deadlines and get stressed. Using a Virtual Assistant (VA) in certain parts of a business can really save time and money, particularly when that area is not particularly one of your strengths.

5. Centralise your social media
Centralising your social media such as Linked In, Twitter and Facebook through Hootsuite is a great way to avoid time wasting sessions on social media pages while you are at work. There is nothing wrong with browsing pages and socialising but save the non-essential work stuff for your downtime.

6. Get mobile
There is a reason that Smartphones and tablets are so popular – they allow business owners to work from wherever they happen to be. Familiarise yourself with some of the latest gadgets on the market and identify which ones will work for you when you are out and about.

7. Minimise meetings
Similar to phone calls, plan your meetings ahead of time. Know what you are going to say and try to stay on topic. Only schedule meetings that are crucial to your business growth, and limit the number of meetings that you attend.

8. Pick your hour
Determine one hour each day in which you are not to be interrupted. Turn off the phone, switch off the social media and just do it. You will soon find that you achieve more in that one hour than you do in any other hour out of your day helping you to get ahead.

9. Be prepared to take notes
The best ideas really do come when you are not expecting them. For this reason we advise you to jot them down in a notebook (either paper or electronic) so you can pay them the proper attention they deserve when you are in full work mode.

10. Just say no
When you are busy, sometimes it is best to just say no. You don’t have to do something just because someone asks you to. Learn to only accept the tasks which are most beneficial to your business and require your particular core strengths. Being overworked will not do you or your business any favours at all.

Start small. Pick two or three ideas which appeal and try them out. Soon you will start to see that time can really be on your side allowing you to create that work/life balance that all small business owners set out to achieve.

 

Thanks to Heather Bienefelt of Integrated Consulting Solutions contributing this article for our blog.

Leveraging Your Time:  The Top 10 Ways Small Business Owners Can Get More Time in a Day‘ was first posted on Integrated Consulting Solutions Blog.

ics_logoIntegrated Consulting Solutions (ICS) specialise in taking the pain out of the certification process, reducing the paperwork, and giving you a system that’s guaranteed to get you certification fast and cost effectively, so you can go on and grow your business.

For a free no obligation consultation to assess how compliant your system already is

Visit ICS Website at www.iconsultingsolutions.com.au or CALL on 1300 132 745.

Mar 272014
 

Recently I attended the 5th annual Australian Virtual Assistant Conference (AVAC 2014), which was in Brisbane this year, and I’m grateful I did.  I have been privileged enough to attend every AVAC, and like previous years it was a jam packed 2-days full of info; the organisers did a great job.

Like every conference/seminar you come away with long lists of ideas and things you should be doing, and want to be doing.  Over the years I have discovered that if you try to do everything you learn, or works for others, there is no time for actual business, so you need to determine what works for you, and implement/try one thing at a time.

While I learnt a lot, here are some of the key things I was reminded of or learnt at AVAC that I have/can put into action straight away:

  • It’s the small things that make a difference – start small and add things as you go, you don’t have to do it all at once – Kaizen Exercise Physiologists
  • Take time to enjoy your food; and “Do it Now”, don’ keep putting things off until everything is perfect, this will help reduce stress – Happy Healthy Groovy
  • ‘Spend less than you earn, borrow less than you can afford’; and put a some away for an emergency – On Your Own Two Feet
  • Own your brand/brand colour and communicate your message consistently – Sassy Branding
  • Remove ‘Yeah but’ and ‘I know’ from your vocabulary; and Write down ‘BIG’ dreams, link personal and business dreams, and then break the BIG dreams down into achievable dreams, i.e. break 10 year dream into 1 year dream – Warwick Bidwell
  • Make sure every page of your website has a ‘Call to Action’ and if you don’t already, check your Google Analytics regularly and learn how to decipher them – Paul Barrs
  • Communicate regularly with Facebook, Newsletters & Website and get people off Facebook to your Website/Mailing List – Natalie Alaimo
  • Take 5-15mins every 1 ½ hours away from your PC to relax and reset, and empty your emotional garbage every day – Creative Evolution
  • Removing ‘emotional’ clutter unless it can be used, can free up space for better things, click to watch TED Talk – Less is MoreClutter Rescue
  • Learn your numbers – Do you know your true hourly rate?  Bring value to your clients in the packages you offer – Southern Cross Accounting
  • Turn off all new message alerts, and allocate 4 times a day to check email, this will allow you to focus on the task at hand – Taming the E-mail Tiger
  • Allow your brand to reflect the real you, not an online version of yourself.  Repurpose your content – i.e. social posts become blogs, blogs newsletters etc – Cas McCullough
  • We learnt about 53 Cool Tech Tools, of the ones I aren’t already using I’m going to investigate: Evernote, Cam Scanner, Prezi and HouzzTwo Cents Group
  • Most importantly I learnt I need to be aware of what’s going on around me, i.e. stop using my phone while walking the streets – Phil O’Brien

If you ever have the chance to listen to any of these speakers, I recommend you do.

The best part of the conference is networking with other VAs, you have the opportunity to make great friendships, and pick up some great tips on how others handling different things.  Networking is important for business whether it be with people in the same industry or other industries.

Already looking forward to AVAC 2015 –bring on March 2015 – if you’re a VA it’s time to start saving now.

AVAC 2014

Dec 042013
 

 

Give the gift of time to family and friends and save this Christmas.

For all gift certificate you purchase for Christmas we will give you a 20% discount.

Purchase a block of hours or we can tailor a package gift certificate to a particular person this could be for:

  • Resume overhaul or update
  • Website Creation
  • Website updates
  • Data Entry
  • Social Media Business Page Set-up
  • eNewsletter Set up
  • See our list of services and packages

 

Terms & Conditions:

  • Available for purchase from now up until the 20 December 2013
  • All services or hours must be claimed and used prior to 30 April 2014
  • No limit to how many vouchers you purchase
  • Contact paula@wynbs.com

 

 

 

website updates, formatting, or some data entry, or you can purchase a gift certificate for a block of hours, and we will give you a 20% discount on all gift certificates.  *Conditions apply – contact us for more details.

 Posted by at 8:00 am
Dec 032013
 

Your Secretary/Assistant is overloaded or taking leave and you need a solution to ensure administration doesn’t pile up.  There are a couple of options for you to consider – a Temp or a Virtual Assistant (VA), but what’s the difference?

  • Temporary (temp) employees are just that, temporary. You may get a different temp each time you require work done. Whereas, a VA on the other hand, is available on an on-going basis, and can be called upon at short notice.
  • VAs take a vested interest in the success of their clients and their businesses. VAs believe that the absolute best job will not only help their own reputation but will also help to build the client’s business, with the hope of generating themselves more work. A temp, however, may look at the assignment as just a means of padding their resume or getting paid.
  • VAs have many years of experience in the workforce, which allows them to provide a wide range of services. Temps may have little or no ‘on the job’ experience.
  • Although a VAs rate may seem higher, when you take in to consideration that you don’t have to provide office space or equipment, or pay the minimum 4 hours that a temp agency would usually charge, a VA is more cost effective.
  • VAs charge for actual time worked, whereas a temp is paid for the time worked, and any time they sit idle waiting for more work.
  • A temp has loyalty to the agency they are contracted through, a VA is usually and entrepreneur and works with and for the client.

 

Ask yourself  these questions:

  • Do you know if you have enough work to keep a temp busy for the required hours?
  • Do you have the workspace for a temp?
  • Do you want to have to train someone new each time you need extra help?

 

If you answered no to any or all of these questions, then a VA may be a great solution to  ensure your administration is kept under control.