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Who's the Boss: 5 Tips for Becoming the Boss Your Business Needs

10/14/2019

By Laura Renner & Jenny Boyles

Being a good boss is about combining leadership and management. Are you guiding your team toward your vision (leadership)? Are you giving them the tools to reach that vision (management)?

If not, what are you doing to fill the gaps?

Closing the Loop

10/7/2019

By Jenny Boyles

One of my favorite lines for my 16 year old son in life is “close the loop.” In his lawn mowing business, he likes to assume a lot. He assumes that his clients know when he will be coming to mow their yard and when he will not. He assumes they see the same weather forecast that he does. I encourage him to text them to let them know he will or will not be coming today. That way, they will know he has not forgotten about them. Essentially, he needs to COMMUNICATE with them, so everyone is on the same page. Like any teen, I have a ways to go before he will consistently “close the loop.” I do hope though that someday he will look back and this advice will surface to make sense when he enters the working world.

Throughout my years of working, volunteering and coordinating, I have learned how important is to bring a conversation full circle. By this I mean, the person you are communicating with is not left waiting and wondering. You confirm with them that yes the requested task will be accomplished or yes you did receive their email. It is simple, yet for many it is a foreign concept. As a virtual assistant, I look at this as part of my responsibility and I would not be fulfilling my job if I left people hanging all of the time. But “closing the loop” is also important for supervisors. It is important for everyone. If no one is communicating, you can bet that it will affect the business one way or another eventually.

Strong Leadership When Working with a Virtual Team

9/30/2019

By Laura Renner

At first glance, you may think leadership is not necessary for working with outside contractors. After all, a virtual assistant may have their own business or work for an agency. Since they are not your employee, how much do you have to actually lead them?

Are you a manager or a leader?
This leads to the age-old question of leadership versus management. I would argue that management is more tactical; it is the ways in which a person works with you, how they communicate with you, submit requests, receive feedback, etc. Management is the “what.” By this definition, working with an outside contractor requires less management than working with an employee. Indeed, because Freedom Makers is an agency, we handle the management aspects, including selection, screening, and payments.

2020 is Right Around the Corner! What Do You Need to Do Now to Be Ready?

9/23/2019

By Laura Renner

Wow, can you believe it? 2020 is almost here! One quarter left to go!

Just today, someone reminded me that the holidays are around the corner. For her, that means she and her business will slow down. She plans to use the rest of the year to prepare for 2020, to start fresh.

2020! While it is just another year, it does seem momentous does it not? I mean, it is synonymous with “hindsight is 20/20” and “20/20 with Barbara Walters.” How can you not stop and think more about your life and your business with a year like that? We are entering the 20th year of the 21st century, I cannot think of a better reason to reflect on where you have been, where you are going, and where you want to go.

The Strength in Failure

9/16/2019

By Laura Renner

I always say there is no such thing as failure, because everything is a lesson learned.

BUT if you do not learn from it, then it is a failure.

Take this example I heard from Pradyna Leitner, a business success coach: Imagine when a baby tries to walk for the first time. What happens? She falls. Now imagine if because she fell, she believes she cannot walk. She starts to explore having surgery or getting a wheelchair.

We all know that is ridiculous. It takes a long time and many attempts to be able to walk. And even when the baby starts walking, he is not fully competent on his legs for several years! One point of failure does not mean the baby cannot walk; it is one data point on a long trajectory.

Much of life is the same way. You cannot focus on one data point of failure. Yet so many of us do. We see every fall as proof that we cannot walk!

3 Tips for Finding Mom Boss Balance

9/9/2019

By Jenny Boyles

I have never seen the show Family Guy but there is a clip that I first saw at a Mother’s Day baseball game in Washington DC. Over the jumbotron at National Stadium, the words, “Mom, mum, mamma…” rang over the loudspeakers and every mom felt the same feeling that rises when their name is called by their offspring over and over again. It is a combination of both endearment at that wonderful role and pure frustration that their children say it over and over again to get our attention.

At times as a solopreneur, I have felt that I not only hear Mom over and over again throughout the day but I also hear Jenny, Jenny from my many clients that need me. The calling of my name may come via email so it is less annoying but nonetheless present throughout my day. Both roles I love. Both roles I embrace. But both roles require 100% of me and that can be tiring.

Self Care & Remaining Sane as the Business Owner

8/26/2019

By Laura Renner

A business owner I know was having a down week. Nothing had gone terribly wrong, but a higher-than-usual number of fires had crept up.

And then she got a call from an employee…

That employee was having a down week and was reaching out to her boss for support. The business owner gave her what she thought was encouragement, guidance, and compassion.

However, after the call, she was even more drained.

As the owner of a business, you do not have a boss. Most of the time, that is exactly what we want. We relish the freedom of being our own boss. But who do we turn to when we need support? Yes, your community can be there for a listening ear or crying shoulder but they cannot step in and do your work for you. Everything rests on you, your energy, your drive, and your motivation.

Replenish Your Life Bar

8/19/2019

By Laura Renner

As we all know, starting, running, and growing a business is hard. During the many down times, we have to find ways to keep going. Some people are so passionate about their work, they live and breathe it and never falter in their pursuit. For the rest of us--mere mortals--we must find ways to keep ourselves motivated when there is nothing else to push us along.

All in the Family

8/12/2019

By Laura Renner

Many business owners start their business in pursuit of a better work/life balance. Why work for someone else when you can have the flexibility to set your own schedule and even work location? Yet, balancing family with work and life adds a layer of complexity.

Should you incorporate your life into your business?
The answer is a resounding yes! The days of keeping work and life separate are over. It is now the era of: do what works best for you. Finding balance between everything drives our success.

And if keeping your work and life separate works best for you, then by all means, do it! No judgment here.

TAKE THE TIME OFF!

8/5/2019

By Jenny Boyles

When you are a small business owner or solopreneur, you are married to your business. Your life and work are intertwined, especially if you are in the beginning stages of being self employed. For most, like myself, you work out of where you live which is awesome! But it can also mean that you never truly leave work. Yes, it means you can go the grocery at non-peak hours and work until midnight if you choose. But it also means that your definition of taking time off must be more concrete and defined.

<<Previous

Who's the Boss: 5 Tips for Becoming the Boss Your Business Needs

Closing the Loop

Strong Leadership When Working with a Virtual Team

2020 is Right Around the Corner! What Do You Need to Do Now to Be Ready?

The Strength in Failure

3 Tips for Finding Mom Boss Balance

Self Care & Remaining Sane as the Business Owner

Replenish Your Life Bar

All in the Family

TAKE THE TIME OFF!

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