Pink Envelope Blog

A Mum at work

2011-10-04T02:22:00.000-07:00

I cycled to my office today and inspired by my trip to Amsterdam recently I decided to do so at a leisurely pace. What a glorious morning. The weather is turning, so we are told, so I could be blown off my bike by Friday but I don't really care I shall keep it up whilst there is no need for me to drive anywhere. When I got into my office I spent the first ten minutes chatting with one of the other tenants in our shared offices whilst making our cups of coffee. This is my motivation. I can get on with the tasks at hand having cleared my head and got away from being mum to being business women.

I work alone currently as a Virtual assistant providing administration and marketing support and although I can work from home, in fact I can work anywhere as long as I have a PC, I do like cycling into my office, chatting with office neighbours and then settling in front of my desk. I have all that I need around me and what’s more I can pop out for fresh air, meet a friend for coffee or just carry on through till I need to be Mum again.

Working from home for me was difficult. Distractions like the washing machine, the dog, the kitchen and more so than any of that the knowledge my children and my husband had that I was at home. That knowledge lead to lists left on the side and telephone calls or comments whilst walking out of the door such as ‘Mum, as you are at home can you just…’ ‘I AM WORKING’ was my reply, and still is on occasion!

I have been in my office for over six months now and I can honestly say it is the best business decision I have made. Yes, it is a cost I don’t necessarily need, yes I do need to be organised and may lose a bit of time travelling to and fro but I can live with that. Coming to my office is my time. Sharing my office with others and being able to invite business contacts to pop in is great. I am sociable bunny; I do like to be amongst it and keeping busy. Some do often note and tell me how busy I am with comments like 'I don't know how you do it' but that is my disposition. I don’t always help myself I know but I do like a challenge.

What gets you motivated and if a working mum, how have you found working from home to working in an office?

The Author, Hannah Faulds is founder of Pink Envelope. A virtual assistant business providing administration and marketing support locally and nationally. Portfolio includes project administration, project management, contact management and online marketing assistance.

Looking after my digital tools and equipment

2011-06-01T03:35:00.000-07:00

As my business develops, so my need for reliable IT equipment and software increases. When I started my business and wrote down business plans my thoughts were more on what the business would be and how I would make a living from it. Having a strategy in place for my IT equipment and software - my ‘Digital tools’ - was not at the forefront. Some may think me a bit daft for not doing so, or you may agree and perhaps comment ‘no, neither did I!’ Don’t misunderstand the point I am making here. Being a Virtual PA would be quite impossible without a computer! I refer on from having a Laptop, software and other accessories to having a strategy for what, when, where, how and the biggie ‘What if’.

I recently attended a ‘DigitalGoodlife’ workshop at Warwick University. Within the first hour I was feeling rather pleased with myself for having already (without full appreciation) incorporated a policy for digital security and code of conduct alongside having a resource of ‘digital tools’ within my office process but, and here is the but, I also experienced the sudden realisation that I had totally underestimated the importance of an IT strategy within my plans. Backing up data is not enough!

After attending the event my tweets reflected my learning:

How strong are your passwords? @WMGDigital_Lab introduced me to http://bit.ly/Z6PV2 yesterday. why not test your passwords

Thought my current set of #Digitaltools good but it's amazing what’s on offer in #googlemarketplace. why have I not thought to look before?

Constantly reminded about backing up data but do you back up the software & equipment used to read it? What's your disaster recovery plan?

#digitaltools: have u listed all the software & equipment u use? If your laptop/PC went 'pop' would you knw what to replace?

#Digital security: Do you have an office policy detailing what info is given out, how it goes out & how it is saved such as 'filenames'?

After reviewing all my online digital tools and data backup I brought forward my plans for a review of my IT equipment, software and associated bits and pieces! I discovered that I purchased my laptop on 2008 - I could have sworn it was last year! Yes, all my PCs are out of warranty and two items are over three years old. My thoughts were to decide what was best, upgrade or replace? Up to now it’s been a case of when I can afford and when necessary i.e. when my laptop makes a noise and goes slow. It still is to a certain degree but I would like to buy through research first rather than need to have, must have.

I reviewed the equipment I use, alongside the desktop stock pile we have at home. ‘I’ll make myself a mega computer” I said to my husband “after all, we do need to think about the environment and recycling, we spend a lot of money on IT equipment, it has to be built to last!”. Noting the performance of my other electrical appliance at home, e.g. washing machine and dryer, I should not be surprised if they are not built to last. I must just say as a side note my henry hoover is the exception. He has been in the family for 20 years and although having lost an eye and the ‘y’ of his name badge he is still picking up dust. Not as effectively as my shoes but still..!

Obviously research is required before I got out my spanner to combine the stockpile so alongside talking to others, visiting PC World and differing on-line blogs I went to IT Donut for advice and read the article ‘upgrade or buy new’ . Followed by 'Maintaining your IT system'. It worries me to read ‘if your PC is outside its warranty, it is often more cost-effective to purchase a new one than to replace faulty components’ commented in the latter. I said I shouldn’t be surprised that things don’t last however with technology changing as it is and our need to want the latest gadget, buying new does seem an easier option.

What did I conclude?
I need to set a regular date for review and possible upgrade of my computers and associated equipment including software and digital tools I know of those who change their cars every 2/3 years, maybe this is what I should be doing with my IT equipment

Did I recycle or renew?
The temptation to DIY was there but with the look of despair on my husband’s face when I faced him holding spanner, hammer and a wheel-nut (yes, not sure why I had that!) I decided to buy new and have now purchased a new desktop and printer. I have also found a battery to fit my Vostro laptop so that continues on.

Is it about time you thought about your IT Strategy?

Helping with homework

2010-10-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

First Year 6 project on Canals, 4 weeks to complete.

Week 1: "it would be a good idea for you to do a bit of your project every night, that way you won't have to do it all in the last week" pre-teen replied ""aahhhhhh".

Week 2: "have you started your project yet?" pre-teen reply "ahhhhhhh".

Week 3: slight variation, "you do know you need to take your project plan into school this week don't you?" pre-teen reply "ahhhhhhhh". Now the dilema. Do we help him with the plan in the hope that it will kick start the interest in writing the project, or do we let him have a go himself? We opted for help after all it is the still the first term of a new year and we would like pre-teen to start with confidence. we suggest creating a mindmap and supply flip chart paper and pens. First words written, lines entered, showing promise.

Week 4: "so has the mindmap helped you with writing your project" pre teen reply "sort of" prompting "do we need to visit a canal and locks?" "yes". So we visited locks, took photos, went to the library, he surfed the internet and gather all the information required. "OK, have you started writing the project" pre-teen reply "aahhhhhh"

Weekend of week 4 before Monday hand-in date:
Friday. "can I go to athletics?" to which Mummy and Daddy reply "have you written your project?" pre-teen reply "sort of", "ok, lets see it then" pre-teen reply "aahhhhhhhh". Mummy and Daddy then inform pre-teen that unfortunately he cannot go out on Friday night as he needs to get his project finished before Monday. "aaaahhhhhhhhhh, it's not fair!"

Daddy helps saturday morning and pre-teen having given-in the fight sits and writes. Mummy feels sorry for him for having spent the morning working and agrees to take him out for the afternoon to take in fresh air. She later regrets this decision.

Sunday morning is as normal, all out of the house by 9.15am and off to the Rugby club for minis sessions. Back in the afternoon. Mummy agrees to type up pre-teen notes. Mummy agrees to help pre-teen complete the project. Mummy learns quite a bit about canals and gets quite enthusiastic making suggestions for content from pictures to key facts and figures. Mummy types whilst pre-teen dictates. Pre-teen suggests we have a break and makes Mummy a cup of tea. It is hot and drinkable and accompanied by a jaffa cake! Argument ensues between other sons and pre-teen over how many jaffa cakes each should have, Mummy settles argument by eating the lot. Pre-teen reads through document, checks through notes to make sure nothing is left out and then presses print. Project is bound, smoothed, flicked through and smoothed again. Pre-teen is very happy and annouces he may cry. Mummy is very proud. Pre-teen declared love for Mummy and cannot be more helpful, Mummy pushes it abit too much by suggesting pre-teen spends just a bit of time before bed finding his bedroom floor. Pre-teen reply "aahhhhhhhhh"

Normality restored.

Strange but routine?

2010-07-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

My husband awoke the other morning and asked me “did you put my slippers on my feet in the night”? After I had stopped laughing hysterically and regained composure I replied “what a strange question where did that come from, did you have a strange dream?” “no, I thought my feet were getting hot and when I looked I had my slippers on. Have I been next to you all night?”

It has come to my attention both personally and in business that people do the strangest of things, from tweeting about everything they do to blowing up balloons and then letting them go. Yes that’s right, blowing up balloons and letting them go! My late Grandmother used to watch a gentleman from her window overlooking a local park. He would come along every morning at half past eight, open his case, take out three balloons and one at a time blow them up and then let them go. Perhaps it was an exercise that helped him to face the day, perhaps there was something symbolic about the act? Whatever the case this gentleman had his routine, without fail every morning he would be there. For all its’ strangeness the gentleman kept to a routine and I have found that routine in everyday lives gets jobs done.

In business it is the same, we take time to clear emails, to open post, to do the accounts, to network. Sometimes we have a routine whereby we need to first get a cup of coffee or on a Monday morning fill up the car with fuel for the week. Ok, some will be more disciplined than others and have a clear time management plan in place but for many you just don’t know what the day will bring. You have meetings in the diary but need to fix up more or fit on something that now takes priority, you have projects to complete but you still have housekeeping jobs such as emails, contact management, customer follow up, marketing plans, accounts. The strange thing is we all put pressure on ourselves by letting our ‘to-do’ list grow with tasks we don’t have time to complete.

I don’t know about you but those who write about ‘sticking to a plan’, ‘managing time effectively’ just seem so smug! Are they not busy? There is occasion when the type of work you do or the tasks you have taken on mean that no matter how much planning you do there is never going to be enough time to get them done. And yet, strange as it may seem we do nothing other than let it mount up until it becomes a necessity to do it or to cross off the list as it’s a nice idea but in reality just not feasible. We are strange in that we set ourselves goals, we listen to the ‘gurus’ who tell us what we need to do to have a successful business and then we try and do it all ourselves?

Try noting down what you do for the first two hours of every morning for one week. Is it the same? Do you procrastinate! Do you spend 10 minutes looking at what is a priority? Do you immediately assign particular tasks to tomorrow?

One way of helping to get into a routine, or to stick to a routine is to outsource tasks. The costs involved can be offset by the extra time you now have to apply to business development, project management or simply getting out working with your clients or meeting new.

Pink Envelope provides administration and marketing support via virtual office. Take a look at our website www.pinkenvelope.co.uk or give me a call on 07970 433452. Short term or long term, additional support can be beneficial.

We never did establish why my husband awoke with his slippers on; he checked the doors to see if they were still locked just in case he had gone for a walk in a state of undress, well apart from the slippers!