The traditional company structure has undergone significant changes – less hierarchy and a more self-sufficient workforce managing their own diaries and admin. However, what happens when that style of working is a false economy, when you recognise you should be spending your time differently and you need to learn to delegate. The thought of working with a virtual assistant can feel like a leap of faith but at Bay Tree we use our experience to guide new clients.
The first thing we do is to get an honest understanding of the client’s requirements and the current situation.
Business coach and Acting COO at Norfolk based Floorbox Ltd, John Burroughes, explains the behaviour pattern of many entrepreneurs or founders of new businesses:-
“The typical entrepreneur starts a business based on his own competencies – essentially what they know, and getting it done the only way they know how. They become successful very quickly but have never had the most appropriate support around them. Most of what they want to achieve remains in their head. They are working extremely hard but operating inefficiently”.
Ideally Bay Tree get involved before a state of over trading or burn out begins to seriously undermine the reputation or growth of the business. In the case of Floorbox, Bay Tree were introduced well in advance of getting a VA in place.
“We knew the time had come to bring Bay Tree in when Floorbox missed out on a tender which was really important to the business” explains John. “Spending time on the wrong things, working late at night, making wrong decisions. Co-founder John Davy was ready to meet the VA that would change the business for the better”.
One of our Bay Tree VAs explains how she helps a new client adjust to working with an assistant and gains their trust:
“I find that just by asking questions and making suggestions I can soon take ownership of some of the tasks and free up my client’s time. As soon as you start to build a bit of trust and demonstrate your understanding, things begin to shift and that’s a great feeling for both parties.”
A virtual assistant’s role has the benefit of being able to bring a different perspective and often better solutions to specific projects or tasks. Being a sounding board is often part of our role, helping clients to formulate plans and approaches to take. Working with a wide variety of clients, across sectors means we see what software tools work well together and can advise and set up new systems to use.
A final word from Floorbox Ltd, John Burroughes “A Bay Tree VA has been the breakthrough for us and transformed the business. We couldn’t manage without Chantelle. She is currently working on our ISO accreditation which we would never have been able to contemplate before.”
Jane Cattermole
Founder & Managing Director
Get in touch and let us know what you need assistance with. We’ll suggest how we can help, what tasks we can take off your hands and a way forward.
Lisa Hamon
Business Development
BAY TREE is a registered trade mark of Bay Tree VA Limited
