Hello ladies,
As we begin to plan for 2021 in our business one of the areas that you may be considering is to expand the team or bring on new team members.
What I would recommend first is to outline what parts of your business need the most support and then secondly where do you as the CEO need the support. With this, you will identify the first positions to bring into your business either as a consultant, freelancer, or intern.
Shemeka Brathwaite
on November 10, 2020 at 2:02 pm
I have been using virtual assistants for some time. I just signed up to receive an intern. I want to get a lot of my basic administrative, social media marketing, lead generation and uploading content to my client portal.
LaDawn Townsend
on December 8, 2020 at 1:02 pm
Hi Shemeka,
Interns are a great support for that area in your business. I would recommend using Lastpass to share passwords and also set clear expectations on deliverable dates.
Shemeka Brathwaite
on December 8, 2020 at 10:08 pm
My new VA is now on maternity leave so it would be a year until I can hire her again. In the meantime, I do have back up assistants when needed for bigger projects. I recently was approved by the mayor’s office to receive some interns that they would sponsor to work for me. It is through their M/WBE office to help businesses grow. I am excited because it would help me off load a lot of the basic tasks that was taking up my time.
LaDawn Townsend
on December 9, 2020 at 7:36 am
Congrats on the back up solution to get interns and especially from the Mayor’s office. Sounds like a open door to a prospect in the local city government. Go for it!
Shemeka Brathwaite
on December 23, 2020 at 12:14 pm
Now that I have three interns, I realize how much work it is to plan and delegate the work out. I the past I made the mistake of giving out busywork. Now I need to be very strategic on the assignments since I only have them until March.
LaDawn Townsend
on January 22, 2021 at 10:03 am
I completely understand. Having the help is great and I have found for me it causes me to get more disciplined in my own work so that I know what to give the team.
LaDawn Townsend
on June 25, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Hello ladies,
Here is an update on the Adam.ai project management tool. I love it! If you are looking for a tool to keep your own work and/or team members organized check out this tool!
Hello ladies,
Here is an update on Adam.ai. The tool is a great all in one place to organize your tasks however the only downside I’ve seen so far is that I’ve encountered and because of that I’ve decided to keep searching for a tool.
I’ll keep you posted on what I find.
LaDawn Townsend
on June 24, 2020 at 4:17 pm
As we navigate many areas of priority in our business I know that operations may seem to be low on the list. If you are new in creating systems and structures for your business here is what I used when I first launched my company.
A physical checklist. I created a checklist for each new client, printed 50 of them and once a new client came onboard I would complete the list and move it to my “inbox” physical folder. I know this isn’t the most tech-savvy way to do it but in the early stages I had limited budget and time and by having the visual on my desk it reminded me of where I was at and the work I completed. If the paper is not for you creating the checklist in a spreadsheet and complete it as you go.
This helps to ensure consistency with all of your clients and a positive experience that can turn into referrals.
My challenge is that I love building out operation systems however I do not like selling.
LaDawn Townsend
on July 22, 2020 at 12:59 pm
Totally understand! Sell them on the importance of the operational plan for what it is you offer. In other words find a lane that is works for you to highlight your expertise. Be of service and then offer your service… It’s a different way of selling.
You’ve got this!
LaDawn Townsend
on June 20, 2020 at 4:43 pm
Hello ,
I’ve been on the hunt for a online project management software. This search has taken me to: Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Microsoft Project Planner and more.
Today I came across a online tool that is free for a limited time and the features are very impressive, check out Adam ai.
For those who are now starting out their business and looking to get their systems and software in place, I recommend SUITEDASH it is currently on sale for a life time deal of $79 on Appsumo. It is usally $99 a month so you are getting it for life at $79. Get it now before it is gone. You do have to take time to set everything up, but once you do you will save so much time and money in your business. It literally covers almost everything you need to run the administrative side of your business. I have been using it starting today and love it! Up until today, I was using zoho CRM for my CRM, espeakers to track my speaking engagements, asana for task management, wave app for billing, Google drive for files, mail chimp for email marketing, youcanbook.me for scheduling and finally planning on using docusign for contracts. As you can see it was a lot managing passwords and different software account. Nearly all of the tools I mentioned I was on the FREE plan so I was very limited on how much I could do. Now I have everything in one place.
Hi ladies,
I hope all is well. Here is a tip that I’ve started to use over the past few months that has helped to save time when bringing on interns or team members.
When it comes to training I use the screen share feature in Zoom to record a video of how to complete a specific tasks. The videos are then saved to a shared folder and the team can access them to get instructions on how to complete the tasks.
When questions come in I use the same method to address the question in a video so that others can also learn from that.
This has reduced the amount of time that previously I would use to create policy guides.
Deneen Troupe-Buitrago
on June 4, 2020 at 12:38 pm
I love this. Thanks for the idea.
LaDawn Townsend
on June 16, 2020 at 12:20 pm
Your welcome! Let me know how it goes! Here to help with any questions.
Shemeka Brathwaite
on June 16, 2020 at 10:08 pm
Hello LaDawn,
That is a great idea for something unique just for my business. If it is something general, I attached a YouTube link that best represents the way I want something done.
LaDawn Townsend
on June 18, 2020 at 5:05 pm
Hi Shemeka,
Glad this helps. Can you repost your video link I don’t see it.
Shemeka Brathwaite
on May 14, 2020 at 11:24 am
I have added a copyright plugin to my wordpress site. It prohibits and prevent people from saving your images and also copying and pasting your text off your blog and site.
This is awesome! Definitely something to have for the website. Good job!
LaDawn Townsend
on April 20, 2020 at 11:42 am
Hello ladies, I just wanted to share a tip that may help when you are creating your internal business processes. I ran into this issue last week and the exercise helped greatly.
When it comes to responding to customer emails or phone calls I have found that by creating a “Standard Response” time frame helps my team and I know when tasks need to be completed. Our goal is to respond within 2 hours of receiving the customer inquiry and as a backup we check all emails and voicemail an hour before the office is scheduled to close that day.
By having these steps in place it helps bring control to what can be chaotic.
Deneen Troupe-Buitrago
on April 21, 2020 at 10:32 am
Thanks LaDawn! I love all your systems. Keep sharing. 🙂
LaDawn Townsend
on May 2, 2020 at 11:20 am
Glad to hear that! I’ll keep sharing
Shemeka Brathwaite
on May 14, 2020 at 11:17 am
Great. Do you have an automated email that states that emails will be answered in two hours or is that just internal for your team?
LaDawn Townsend
on May 19, 2020 at 1:49 pm
Good question Shemeka,
There are two schools of thought on this. One, is that you have the standard and execute to that internal rule within your business and the second is to send a notification to the customer advising them of the timeframe to respond.
I would recommend only responding with a time frame if you will take more than 48 hours to respond to an email.
LaDawn Townsend
on May 19, 2020 at 1:50 pm
Thanks Deneen! I’ll share more
LaDawn Townsend
on July 29, 2019 at 7:34 am
Hi Ladies,
I’m looking for suggestions for a online project management tool? We have tried many different options but none that seem to be a good fit. I’m specifically looking for:
-Chat feature for the team
-Full view of project and individual task
Hello ladies, I just wanted to share a tip on creating operational excellence in your business. Here are a few things to consider for a company, at all stages. The experience for your customer starts before they become a customer. As business owners we place a great amount of focus and resources into our marketing, the key is making sure that the experience you advertise online matches the experience your customer will receive. The tips below can be used if you’re selling a product or service and delivering that in-person, online or a combination of the two.
1) What is the welcome process for your customer? Will you make a phone call to thank them for their purchase, send an email or old school card
2) What is the next step in on-boarding your customer? What will they need & when will they need it? Make sure that you are communicating what the customer can expect next.
Thank you for sharing these tips. I loved the welcome experience for enrolling in this program and past programs from Lethia Owens. I am building as I am growing my business. I aim to provide exceptional customer service.
LaDawn Townsend
on August 20, 2020 at 11:34 am
You will do it Shemeka! Keep going! Your customers will be blessed to work with you.
Hello ladies,
As we begin to plan for 2021 in our business one of the areas that you may be considering is to expand the team or bring on new team members.
What I would recommend first is to outline what parts of your business need the most support and then secondly where do you as the CEO need the support. With this, you will identify the first positions to bring into your business either as a consultant, freelancer, or intern.
I have been using virtual assistants for some time. I just signed up to receive an intern. I want to get a lot of my basic administrative, social media marketing, lead generation and uploading content to my client portal.
Hi Shemeka,
Interns are a great support for that area in your business. I would recommend using Lastpass to share passwords and also set clear expectations on deliverable dates.
My new VA is now on maternity leave so it would be a year until I can hire her again. In the meantime, I do have back up assistants when needed for bigger projects. I recently was approved by the mayor’s office to receive some interns that they would sponsor to work for me. It is through their M/WBE office to help businesses grow. I am excited because it would help me off load a lot of the basic tasks that was taking up my time.
Congrats on the back up solution to get interns and especially from the Mayor’s office. Sounds like a open door to a prospect in the local city government. Go for it!
Now that I have three interns, I realize how much work it is to plan and delegate the work out. I the past I made the mistake of giving out busywork. Now I need to be very strategic on the assignments since I only have them until March.
I completely understand. Having the help is great and I have found for me it causes me to get more disciplined in my own work so that I know what to give the team.
Hello ladies,
Here is an update on the Adam.ai project management tool. I love it! If you are looking for a tool to keep your own work and/or team members organized check out this tool!
I’m not a affiliate just a fan 🙂
https://appsumo.com/adamdotai-freebie/
Hello ladies,
Here is an update on Adam.ai. The tool is a great all in one place to organize your tasks however the only downside I’ve seen so far is that I’ve encountered and because of that I’ve decided to keep searching for a tool.
I’ll keep you posted on what I find.
As we navigate many areas of priority in our business I know that operations may seem to be low on the list. If you are new in creating systems and structures for your business here is what I used when I first launched my company.
A physical checklist. I created a checklist for each new client, printed 50 of them and once a new client came onboard I would complete the list and move it to my “inbox” physical folder. I know this isn’t the most tech-savvy way to do it but in the early stages I had limited budget and time and by having the visual on my desk it reminded me of where I was at and the work I completed. If the paper is not for you creating the checklist in a spreadsheet and complete it as you go.
This helps to ensure consistency with all of your clients and a positive experience that can turn into referrals.
My challenge is that I love building out operation systems however I do not like selling.
Totally understand! Sell them on the importance of the operational plan for what it is you offer. In other words find a lane that is works for you to highlight your expertise. Be of service and then offer your service… It’s a different way of selling.
You’ve got this!
Hello ,
I’ve been on the hunt for a online project management software. This search has taken me to: Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Microsoft Project Planner and more.
Today I came across a online tool that is free for a limited time and the features are very impressive, check out Adam ai.
https://appsumo.com/adamdotai-freebie/
Grab it while you can!
For those who are now starting out their business and looking to get their systems and software in place, I recommend SUITEDASH it is currently on sale for a life time deal of $79 on Appsumo. It is usally $99 a month so you are getting it for life at $79. Get it now before it is gone. You do have to take time to set everything up, but once you do you will save so much time and money in your business. It literally covers almost everything you need to run the administrative side of your business. I have been using it starting today and love it! Up until today, I was using zoho CRM for my CRM, espeakers to track my speaking engagements, asana for task management, wave app for billing, Google drive for files, mail chimp for email marketing, youcanbook.me for scheduling and finally planning on using docusign for contracts. As you can see it was a lot managing passwords and different software account. Nearly all of the tools I mentioned I was on the FREE plan so I was very limited on how much I could do. Now I have everything in one place.
I appreciate the tip Shemeka! Thanks
Hi ladies,
I hope all is well. Here is a tip that I’ve started to use over the past few months that has helped to save time when bringing on interns or team members.
When it comes to training I use the screen share feature in Zoom to record a video of how to complete a specific tasks. The videos are then saved to a shared folder and the team can access them to get instructions on how to complete the tasks.
When questions come in I use the same method to address the question in a video so that others can also learn from that.
This has reduced the amount of time that previously I would use to create policy guides.
Hope that helps
I love this. Thanks for the idea.
Your welcome! Let me know how it goes! Here to help with any questions.
Hello LaDawn,
That is a great idea for something unique just for my business. If it is something general, I attached a YouTube link that best represents the way I want something done.
Hi Shemeka,
Glad this helps. Can you repost your video link I don’t see it.
I have added a copyright plugin to my wordpress site. It prohibits and prevent people from saving your images and also copying and pasting your text off your blog and site.
This is awesome! Definitely something to have for the website. Good job!
Hello ladies, I just wanted to share a tip that may help when you are creating your internal business processes. I ran into this issue last week and the exercise helped greatly.
When it comes to responding to customer emails or phone calls I have found that by creating a “Standard Response” time frame helps my team and I know when tasks need to be completed. Our goal is to respond within 2 hours of receiving the customer inquiry and as a backup we check all emails and voicemail an hour before the office is scheduled to close that day.
By having these steps in place it helps bring control to what can be chaotic.
Hope this helps.
Thanks LaDawn! I love all your systems. Keep sharing. 🙂
Glad to hear that! I’ll keep sharing
Great. Do you have an automated email that states that emails will be answered in two hours or is that just internal for your team?
Good question Shemeka,
There are two schools of thought on this. One, is that you have the standard and execute to that internal rule within your business and the second is to send a notification to the customer advising them of the timeframe to respond.
I would recommend only responding with a time frame if you will take more than 48 hours to respond to an email.
Thanks Deneen! I’ll share more
Hi Ladies,
I’m looking for suggestions for a online project management tool? We have tried many different options but none that seem to be a good fit. I’m specifically looking for:
-Chat feature for the team
-Full view of project and individual task
Thanks!
Hello LaDawn, I am using Asana, but I just signed up today to try out process st. after watching the May Audacious Faith session.
Shemeka Brathwaite – that is excellent to hear! Welcome to the tribe
Hello ladies, I just wanted to share a tip on creating operational excellence in your business. Here are a few things to consider for a company, at all stages. The experience for your customer starts before they become a customer. As business owners we place a great amount of focus and resources into our marketing, the key is making sure that the experience you advertise online matches the experience your customer will receive. The tips below can be used if you’re selling a product or service and delivering that in-person, online or a combination of the two.
1) What is the welcome process for your customer? Will you make a phone call to thank them for their purchase, send an email or old school card
2) What is the next step in on-boarding your customer? What will they need & when will they need it? Make sure that you are communicating what the customer can expect next.
I hope these tips help you!
Cheering you on
Hello LaDawn,
Thank you for sharing these tips. I loved the welcome experience for enrolling in this program and past programs from Lethia Owens. I am building as I am growing my business. I aim to provide exceptional customer service.
You will do it Shemeka! Keep going! Your customers will be blessed to work with you.