Here’s a great “war story” about an admin saving the day. I have a friend “Kristie” who works for a large company as an administrative assistant. She helps about 5 executives of the company, so she’s quite busy; but she is very organized and does an amazing job for her bosses. She works remotely, since…
Q: Isn’t it easier just to do all these small tasks myself? A: That’s kind of the cowboy entrepreneur mindset – “I can do it all myself, and I don’t need any help.” I found that that kind of thinking gets you only so far and no further. One of the greatest skills you can…
Q: Do you do short-term, one-off project work? Or do I have to hire an assistant long-term? A: Shared Hands loves to help with your one-time projects! When we discuss your project with you, we’ll give you an estimate for how many hours it will be, and then we decide if that fits best in…
One of the old-time masters of productivity and business is Bob Bly. Bob does copywriting for a living, but writes on many topics that apply to business and making good use of your time and money. This newsletter came across my desk a few weeks ago, and I share it with you here in its…
One of the most common questions I get about outsourcing and working with administrative assistants is “What work should I give my administrative assistant?” In other words, which tasks should I keep, and which tasks should I have someone else do? I like to present this question to people and see where they are at. …
Do you use a productivity system, such as Getting Things Done, Pomodoro, or The Seven Habits, or maybe just a good to-do list? How’s it working for you? If you’re like most people, you struggle to get the important things done, and you end up accomplishing much less than you intend. You struggle to reach…
Two ideas for the mobile workforce are trending, and both are making life and work easier and more pleasant. Coworking The first one is coworking. Coworking spaces are work spaces that offer shared resources like WiFi, desk space, meeting rooms, and social interaction. Coworking spaces are attractive to small businesses, freelancers, independent contractors, and remote-working…
When small business owners consider outsourcing tasks to an admin assistant, they often worry about the cost associated with it. True, having an administrative assistant isn’t free, but it can actually pay for itself. And your life gets better. When you outsource to an administrative assistant, some magical things happen. You become less busy Things…