A virtual assistant works remotely on tasks like administration, bookkeeping, event organisation, telephone answering and personal assistance. Small businesses who need admin support but don’t want an employee can hire a VA for as many hours as they want. VAs usually work from their own home and many never meet their clients face-to-face.

What are the benefits?

• You can work flexible hours.
• You can choose the type of work you’d like to do.
• With technology such as call diverting, the internet and email, you can work from almost anywhere.

Things to consider…

• Although this is a much more flexible way of working compared to being  employed, you will still need to meet deadlines (ususally for several different clients at the same time) and be available when your clients need you. This takes a high level of organisation and being realistic about the hours you you can work.
• Many people with administration and PA experience are great at their job, but are used to being ‘behind the scenes people’. This means that getting out there and selling themselves doesn’t come naturally to them. You can overcome this, but you will need to think about how you will do it.
• The concept of virtual assistance is still new to many people so you may have to explain what you do and how you can be of benefit to them.
• Having a niche is the key to building a business – don’t try to do all types of administration for all types of business.
• As a remote worker, potential clients will need to trust that you can get the work done to a high standard and on time. This means projecting a professional image at all times. If your home makes this difficult (if you have screaming children in the background when you answer the phone!), then you’ll need to create some systems to get around this. E.g. using a telephone answering service when the children are at home.

Further information

The Virtual Assistant Handbook by  Nadine Hill

The Society of Virtual Assistants

International Association of Virtual Assistants

Not convinced that being a virtual assistant is for you? Take a look at other business ideas for mums.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on March 9, 2010.

Mothers Of Innovation was created by Sarah Dawnay to bring together mums who are selling a product they have developed themselves and parents who want to buy quirky, ethical and innovative items for their children.

Sarah is the inventor of the Rockin Hood, a fast alternative to a coat for babies who object to wearing sleeves! Having wrestled a wriggling child into a coat many times, I might just get one myself..

If you’re thinking of developing your own product, check out Sarah’s blog post Hints For Mumpreneurs where she shares her own experience of developing and manufacturing the Rockin Hood.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on March 5, 2010.

How about a travel agency for  soft toys? Or the Kidspotter – a rentable device that enables you to track the position of your children when at a theme park or shopping centre? You’ve heard of mumpreneurs, how about being a retropreneur too? (That’s someone who gives an old-style business idea a new lease of life).

Brilliant for sparking a fresh idea  or spotting a new trend.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on March 3, 2010.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 28, 2010.

But beyond that I’m not so sure. Ruth Billheimer of Virtual Balance emailed me today to ask if I could fill in her survey. She’d noticed that people are seeking fulfillment in their work rather than balance and wanted to know more.

I’ve had two babies in the last two years, so I’m still trying to thrash out what my new work and life will look like. As for balance, well I’m totally unbalanced  – my life is 90% babies and 10% business. ‘Me’ time? I’m lucky if I get time to plug in a hairdryer these days!

Unable to make a meaningful comtribution to Ruth’s survey, I thought I’d write this post instead.

The times in my life that have been the least balanced have also been the most productive. Like the time when I worked full-time and studied part-time at the same time, or now, being mum to a 22 month old and a 6 month old. Intense times, but times that are really rewarding as well as shattering, frustrating and challenging (in a good way).

I’ve noticed this in other people too. When I used to hang out with physicists  (that doesn’t make me a bad person, see ‘the best advice I have ever been given‘ if you want me to explain… ) the best scientists weren’t the ones that had balance in their lives, in fact they were the ones  who were bordering on being obsessed.

I know there’s more to life than achieving things, but it does suggest that aiming for balance isn’t going to guarantee success or even satisfaction.

From time to time I read about someone who feels her (it’s almost always a ‘her’) life is out of balance. She thinks that if all the different parts of her life rolled along in harmony she’d be happier. I think that misses the point. If you put your efforts into making all the aspects of your life cancel each other out, life might just pass you by.

Much better to accept that life is a rollercoaster and enjoy the ride. During the frantic times you could feel stressed, stretched, challenged, a sense of satisfaction, confusion, fear, proud of yourself, focussed. During the quieter times you might feel relaxed, calm, frustrated, bored, as if you’re going nowhere, peaceful, demotivated.

Calm isn’t necessarily better than being frantically busy. Both states have their good parts and their bad parts. Of course you need to take care of your relationship and your health or you’ll be heading for divorce or worse.  Being a workaholic and hardly ever spending time with your children would be a terrible shame. If you’re working too hard and it’s making you unhappy, change it if you can.

But if we actually balanced our lives, I’m not sure we’d be any happier than we are now.

Live your life, don’t try to iron it flat.

Do you have any thoughts? Drop me a comment!

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 24, 2010.

Payment protection insurance

Did you sign up for payment protection insurance when you took out a loan or credit card? Payment protection insurance (PPI) is designed to help cover your repayments if you have an accident, are ill, or become unemployed. However in past years people have been missold this insurance You may have been told that it is compulsory, which it isn’t, or been sold the insurance when you have cover elsewhere. If you are a pensioner, self employed or unemployed, you may have wrongly been sold insurance against becoming unemployed. And you can be paying out pounds every month for this cover.

Check your own circumstances by reading the paperwork with your load or credit card. If you think you have been missold PPI you can reclaim what you have paid. There are template letters to help you do this on Money Saving Expert. The site can also help you work out if you are getting a good deal on the insurance that you DO need: insurance offered with a loan or card is often dearer than an independent product.

Direct Debits

Another way to save money is to look through the direct debits and standing orders that you have. If you have online banking you should be able to check this instantly, or simply take the time to go through your bank statement. If you can’t identify where the money is going, ask your bank to help. You my find that you are still paying out for subscriptions that you no longer need. Cancel these by writing to your bank.  The Direct Debit guarantee also means that if the originator or the bank/building society makes an error you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid. So, get in touch with the bank if you think that money is coming out of your account in error.

Council tax rebanding

Council tax takes a big chunk out of everyone’s monthly income, and it is relatively simple to see if you are paying a fair amount or whether it is worth asking for a council tax reband. The first thing to do is check out your neighbours’ banding to see if you are all paying around the same amount or if some houses on your street are in a lower band than yours. Look on the Valuation Office Agency website in England, and in Scotland use the Scottish Assessors Association. Then, work out what your house was worth in 1991 to get an idea of the correct band.   If you think you are paying more than neighbours with a similar property, get in touch with your Local Listing Officer. Make sure that you’re sure that your property is overvalued, though, as they can also put you up a band!

This article is by Gemma Johnson, co-founder of www.babeecard.com

Winner of Mumpreneur of the year 2009 sponsored by WBMN

BaBeeCard Winner of Best Gift Card Award 2009 by Prepaid365.com

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 22, 2010.

But what if you can’t afford one or don’t want to use childcare? Is it really possible to run a business with babies or toddlers in the house?

I thought I was pretty good at managing my time before I had my daughter. It’s  far harder now with tiny children demanding my attention. All the time. (Stressed? Who me?). The normal time management rules just don’t apply any more.

So I was delighted to find not just one, but four articles on working around small children this week. All written by mums who have been there, done it and got the (carrot puree splattered) t-shirt.

The first three are from Natalie Lue at Self Employed Mum:

• Getting work done with kids at home: Offload and Outsource
• Getting work done with kids at home: Managing Your Time
• Getting work done with kids at home: Quick Tips For Survival

And the fourth is from Lexi Rodrigo of Freelance Folder:

• Productivity tips for freelancers with toddlers underfoot

These articles are packed with useful advice, but the most important message for me is to “have realistic expectations”. How about you?

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 19, 2010.

This is a great chance to get new readers for your blog, plus get a backlink and some comments too. Check out my post ‘Introducing the Business Mums’ Blog Carnival‘ for everything you need to know about how the carnival works.

Please email posts to antonia (at)  familyfriendlyworking (dot) co.uk by  19th February and the carnival will be posted on the 25th February.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 17, 2010.

Take a look at Mums’ The Boss Leicestershire Launches for all the details.

Not in Leicester? Here’s my list of business mums’ networking groups around the country.

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 16, 2010.

You could look at every single purchase you make and try to get it cheaper, but this takes time and all that penny pinching can get depressing. Why not be smart with your time and your money by finding ways of saving the most money in the least time?

1. Change tariff and save a wad of cash

I just found out we could save £25 a month on our gas and electricity by switching to a different tariff without changing my supplier. It took me about 3 minutes on the web to find that out, I can’t believe I didn’t do it months ago.

Money saved: £300 per year

Time taken: 3 minutes

2. Insurance just got more interesting

When your house or car insurance is up for renewal, phone up the insurance company and ask if you can get a better deal. I’ve saved £100 off our house insurance twice in the last two years, again without moving companies. It’s far easier for an insurance company to retain you than it is to get a new customer to replace you. So they’ll usually give you a discount if you ask nicely.

You’ll probably save a bit more by going to a price comparison website, but if you’re pushed for time this is a great alternative.

Money saved: £100 per year

Time taken: 3 minutes

3. Don’t forget the loyalty card

I used to think that loyalty cards were a waste of time, but it really does all add up. Despite being on a fairly tight budget (going on maternity leave twice in two years does that to you), we still make about £150 per year on loyalty cards, almost all of our points come from the basics like toiletries and the weekly food shop.

Money saved: £150 per year

Time taken: about 3 seconds longer at the till

4. Get a credit card to suit your spending style

If you’ve got an outstanding balance, get the lowest interest rate you can. If you pay off your credit card balance every month, get a card that pays you points or cashback when you use it. We do both – we have a low interest card with an interest free period for our outstanding balance and a points card that we pay off every month. You need a bit of self-discipline to do this, though.

Money saved: anywhere from £50 per year if you use a points card to £100s if you lower your interest rate

Time taken: 10 minutes to apply for a new credit card

5. Cook like you’re takeaway

We used to grab takeaways on a regular basis because we were tired and lazy. I don’t mind the occasional takeaway if we’ve got a burning desire for a decent curry, but if it’s down to laziness, it can be an expensive habit.

Why do you get takeaways?

If it’s because you’re hungry and the fridge is empty, try cooking a double portion and freezing ahead for a day when you’ve not got time to shop or cook. Cooking double takes the same time as cooking a single portion.

If you love the food, see if you can get a cheaper but  quick alternative. You can throw together a chinese dish in minutes using a pack of pre-prepared vegetables, a pack of pre-sliced chicken, a jar of stir fry sauce and some dried noodles. If pizza is your thing, you can keep pizza bases in your freezer (find them in the supermarket with the chilled pizza),  plus  grated mozzarella, pepperoni and a jar of passata. Much cheaper, takes minutes to prepare, tastes good and it’s healthier too.

Money saved:  £15 per week on a takeaway = £780 per year

Time taken: if you’ve planned ahead, this is actually faster than going out for a takeaway

6. Go for supermarket own brands

You won’t even notice the difference. And if you do, switch back to the non-own brand for just that item.

Money saved:  £15 per weekly grocery shop = £780 per year

Time taken: 0 minutes

Do you have any tips that save money in minutes?  Drop me a comment!

This post originally appeared on Business Plus Baby on February 15, 2010.