We've moved

We've moved to shiny new premises here: www.judesach.co.uk.

Please update your bookmarks - we'll be pleased to welcome you to our new home.

Thanks

Jude

Farewell AimHigher Kent and Medway

One of our clients, AimHigher Kent and Medway, a Higher Education project aimed at widening participation in University comes to a close at the end of this month.

We've been working with them making web updates for some time now and we will be very sad to see it come to a close.

This note is really just to say that the AimHigher Team in Kent and Medway have made a great impact in this region and it's been a pleasure to work with them.  We wish them well.

Virtual contact is all very well....

Working "in the cloud" I have found, suits me very well.  Unlike many commentaries on working virtually, I am not left wanting by the lack of an office to visit regularly.  I find that I can focus better, respond more creatively to client requests and the peace and quiet gives me time to mull over my next blog.

However, I wouldn't go without the face-to-face and telephone meetings that I enjoy with my clients.  There's no substitute for human contact, particularly when working to establish the goals of an assignment or the finer details of a project.

The human side of communication pertaining to feelings and emotions is what is so easily lost when you are communicating remotely or asynchronously. Mehrabian's commonly cited work on the transmission of mean in spoken communication underlines this well (thank you to the handy BusinessBalls website for the details):

• 7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
• 38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).
• 55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.

Recently I've been working with two new clients and we're learning about one another quickly.  With all the different modes of communication available to us, I'm glad that we still rely on good old-fashioned conversation much of the time.

Surveys, surveys, surveys...

So, the survey that I posted way back in February revealed some interesting information about outsourcing preferences.

Online research, customer surveys, preparing mailshots, document preparation and formatting all featured highly as tasks that people would outsource given the chance.

This confirms my suspicion that organisations and individual consultants all feel the need to hand a job over to someone from time-to-time without wishing to go as far as taking someone on directly or even engage a VA on a retainer.

The good news is that here at Jude Sach Virtual Assistance we're happy to take on ad hoc pieces of work however big or small they may seem to you.  It's always interesting to take on a new assignment and to know that we're helping someone out when they really need it.

The bad news is that I want more!  I would dearly like to hear from a larger cross-section of people and would welcome your views on the services we should offer - there is no obligation to leave your details but the information will be tremendously helpful in shaping our services.

Take a look at the (exceedingly short and swiftly completed) survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5PJYQ3L

You're always welcome to get in touch directly by email jude@judesach.co.uk too though.

Thank you!

Been slacking on this blog lately

It's been a busy couple of weeks.  I've been working with a new client who is developing her fledgling business.  She's a great customerand it's really exciting to be in at the beginning.  I'm gaining a great insight into the rationale and philosophy of her business and this is helping me, in turn, to fine-tune my approach.

I've been producing press releases, blog entries, conducting online research and generating content for the company website in preparation for the official launch of the venture.

Varied, interesting and collaborative - just the sort of work I love.

More on this soon...

Things your VA could do for you - Part Five: Inbox Management

Whether you're out of the office for a couple of days at a trade show or even sunning yourself on the beach for a week or more (ooh, that sounds good), it's unlikely you've perfected the trick of being in two places at once. Keeping up with your inbox when you've got your hands full (or even when you're just trying to relax) can be a real headache.

Many businesses call upon a Virtual Assistant to look after the inboxes of key staff. This could be on an ongoing basis or just from time-to-time when the need arises. A Virtual Assistant is here to offer you flexible support that releases you to get on with the most important stuff and to help you manage the rest.

We can respond to email enquiries, clear out spam and unwanted mails and pick up on urgent messages that need a response and put together a digest on either a daily or weekly basis, highlighting actions that you need to take where appropriate.

For more information on how this could work for you, drop us a line: info@judesach.co.uk or call 07971 490462.

Things your VA could do for you - Part Four: Research and Surveys

Knowing your customers and competitors is fundamental to building a sustainable business. A key tool available to even the smallest business or inedividual entrepreneur is to conduct research. Customer research can take the form of satisfaction surveys and post-event feedback, while competitor research may include evaluations of products and service to identify points of competition and strengths and weaknesses in your own product range.

We have conducted training needs analyses, event feedback surveys, learner surveys, market research and competitor data gathering for clients and can even produce reports providing analysis of results.

Whether you need an online survey or a more detailed telephone interview carried out, talk to your Virtual Assistant about how we can help you. Drop us a line: info@judesach.co.uk or call 07971 490462.