Banbury virtual assistant offers tips for small businesses facing home working for the first time

According to the latest statistics from the House of Commons Business Statistics, there are around 5.9m small or medium-sized enterprises (SME) operating in the UK in 2019.

It is estimated around 2 per cent of these operated from home pre COVID-19. This means a huge proportion are going to need to change their working habits if they are to get through these difficult times.

Ilse Berry who runs the Pink Spaghetti virtual PA services business in Banbury, said: “As a virtual assistant I am well set up to work from home, but for other businesses facing it for the first time it can be overwhelming. Many do not know what systems to use or importantly how to maintain a team environment.

“Homeworking may have once been ‘the dream’ but it’s not just a case of opening your laptop at the kitchen table for a day or two. For businesses to succeed they need to create a viable way of working with their teams as well as their customers.”

Top tips for businesses working from home for the first time

1 Establish a routine. It can be very easy to merge home and work life, but this could be a mistake. Get up at the same time, keep to your morning routine, and instead of leaving the house, you sit at your computer.

2 Take breaks. You can use a timer such as a Pomorodo Timer, to ensure that every ½ hour or hour you take a break. Go into the garden, get some fresh air, make a cup of coffee, whatever you need.

3 Keep in contact. One of the great things about going into work are the people, and yet this is the first thing that goes with working from home. Set up a virtual team. This could be in the form of a private Facebook Group, or software such as Slack. Zoom can be used for visual meetings.

Five minute business challenges to move your business forward

- Spend five minutes on your LinkedIn profile. Ask for three reviews from customers who have used your services recently. (You could leave a review for someone too)

- Spend five minutes on your Facebook business page. Update your services tab to reflect how you are adapting to the lockdown.

- See your business as a customer does. Re-read your website, check your contact forms, and see if your social media links all work.

- Keep in contact with your customers. Send three personalised emails to find out how they are doing, keep the relationship going.

- Look after your email. Go through 20 per cent of your inbox and delete, add to a to-do list or file.

Ilse works with local businesses to support them with many tasks, from administration to project management, marketing and social media. If you are a business owner needing support call 07970 496673 or email [email protected]

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