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Planning for the New Year: Why Now’s the Best Time to Hire a VA

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 10:19:26 GMT

The end of the year always seems to sneak up on us...

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How Outsourcing Helps You Focus on Growth – Both Personally and Professionally

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 15:42:10 GMT

In business, time is money!

Yet so many entrepreneurs and small business owners spend most of their day handling admin tasks that take up their precious time instead of working towards their vision. The truth is simple: you can’t scale a business when you’re stuck doing everything yourself.

That’s where outsourcing - especially through LCVA! - becomes a powerful growth strategy. It helps you work smarter, not harder, and frees up the space you need to thrive in every area of your life.

Here’s how outsourcing can transform both your professional and personal growth.

1. Reclaim Time for What You’re Actually Good At

Every business has tasks that need to be done, but they don’t necessarily need you to do them. Admin, content scheduling, inbox management, and data entry - these are the behind-the-scenes tasks keep operations running but pull your focus away from the work that truly matters.

LCVA can ensure:

Your business keeps ticking over smoothly
Tasks are completed on time and to a high standard
You stay focused on your strengths, not your to-do list

When you stop juggling those repetitive, time-consuming tasks, you finally make some space to do the work that actually matters to you and your business - strategy, creativity, sales, and big-picture planning.

2. Reduce Stress and Burnout While Increasing Productivity

Being busy is not the same as being productive. Outsourcing helps break the cycle of constant multitasking and feeling endlessly overwhelmed.

With the LCVA team on your side, you can:

Wake up without 200 unread emails in your inbox
End your workday on time
Know nothing is slipping through the cracks

Delegating to us gives you a more balanced workload, reduces decision fatigue, and improves the quality of your output. With more energy and focus, your business with naturally perform better!

3. Strengthen Your Business From the Inside Out

Great outsourcing doesn’t just lighten your workload, it elevates your business.

We can bring structure, consistency, and reliability – and we come with specialised knowledge and experience, including:

Social media, blog and newsletter support
Inbox and calendar management
Document creation
Further admin and PA duties

You’re not just outsourcing time, you’re outsourcing expertise. So you get better quality work delivered faster, and a more polished, professional business!

4. Create Space for Personal Growth and Self-Discovery

People tend to overlook the personal benefits of outsourcing – because it doesn’t just help your business grow. It gives you room to grow too.

When your day isn’t consumed by small tasks, you finally get to ask yourself:

What do I really want out of my life and career?
What kind of business owner do I want to be?
What dreams have I been putting off because I’m too busy?

Whether it’s learning a new skill, investing in your health, starting a passion project, or simply spending more time with the people you care about, we can help you create the time and space for it to happen.

Your well-being is one of the most powerful business tools you have!

5. Move From Surviving to Thriving

When tasks are handled by someone you trust, you can shift from reactive to proactive.

Outsourcing to us can help you:

Focus on long-term goals instead of daily admin
Make decisions from clarity, not stress
Work on your business overall rather than the little bits and bobs

So There You Have It - Growth Starts With Letting Go!

Outsourcing isn’t about handing off tasks - it’s about choosing the life and business you want to build. Our LCVA team can support your operations, save your time, and empower you to focus on what matters most.

Whether your goal is to grow your business, create more balance, or finally prioritise your personal aspirations, outsourcing is one of the smartest steps you can take.

If you're ready to reclaim your time and start your growth journey - professionally and personally – give us a call or drop us an email now!

Maximising Your Productivity This Autumn with LCVA

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 14:53:29 GMT

Autumn is a natural opportunity to reset, refocus, and re-energise.

While most people think of January as the time for resolutions, autumn is actually the perfect season for productivity.

It’s a quieter, more grounded time of year – the kids are back at school, routines are settling, and there’s a final stretch before the end of the year. Which means now is your moment to take action!

Let’s talk about how you can maximise your productivity this autumn - and how working with us can help you do just that!

Why Autumn Is the Season for Getting Things Done

Autumn is the perfect time for focus and structure:

Summer distractions are over – No more half-days, holidays, or slowing down. You can finally get back into the flow.
End-of-year goals are in sight – There’s still time to hit your 2025 targets, but the clock is ticking.
It’s planning season – It’s the ideal time to get ahead of next year’s planning, strategy, and systems.

This makes autumn the ideal moment to pause, reassess your workload, and make smart changes that set you up for a strong finish and a smoother new year.

Top Tips for Boosting Productivity This Autumn

Whether you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, or just need a helping hand, here are a few tips that can help you work smarter, not harder:

1. Review and Refocus Your Priorities

Take stock of what’s left to achieve this year. What projects are truly essential? What can be paused, delegated, or simplified?

2. Declutter Your Digital Life

Organise your inbox, streamline your digital files, unsubscribe from noise, and get your tools and systems in order. Clarity = productivity.

3. Batch and Block Your Time

Group similar tasks together and block focused time in your calendar.

4. Outsource the Admin

Now is the time to stop trying to do it all. If tasks like admin, scheduling, customer support or inbox management are taking up your time, it’s time to hand them over.

What Do You Need Help With Right Now?

Ask yourself:

What’s been sitting on your to-do list for weeks (or months)?
What tasks drain your energy, even though they have to get done?
What’s stopping you from focusing on growth, strategy or rest?

Chances are, we can take those off your plate.

At LCVA, we love helping people just like you reclaim their time and work more effectively. From admin and inbox management to client onboarding, research, content scheduling, and more - we’re here to support your productivity behind the scenes, so you can focus on what matters most!

Make Strategic Changes Now That Will Pay Off Later

Outsourcing now means you’ll:

End the year strong — Finish 2025 with momentum, not burnout.
Start the new year ahead — With systems already in place and support ready to go.
Stay focused on your real priorities — Business growth, personal goals, and peace of mind.

Now is your chance to reset your work habits, streamline your operations, and set yourself up for a more intentional future. And the best part? You’ve got LCVA to help you along the way!

Ready to Work Smarter This Autumn?

If you’re ready to make the most of these next few months, let’s talk about how we can support you.

We can make this autumn your most productive season yet!

Back to Business: Why Now Is the Time to Outsource

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 17:33:23 GMT

September is almost over – this Autumn is flying by already!

We’ve definitely felt a shift in pace this month, even after a busy summer – and we’re sure that you are feeling the same!

This time of year sometimes feels like a fresh start, almost like an unofficial second new year. But with that renewed focus often comes a flood of responsibilities, deadlines, and a calendar that fills up faster than you can cope with! Admin tasks pile up, emails get missed, and those “I’ll do it later” jobs start to slow you down.

If you're feeling the pressure, you're not alone – but you don't have to do it all yourself.

At this busy time of year, outsourcing is one of the smartest ways to keep your business performing at its best. Whether you’re a solo entrepreneur juggling every task or a team in need of extra support, bringing in a virtual assistant (or a few!) can help you get organised, stay consistent, and move forward with purpose.

That’s where we come in.

Our experienced LCVA team is here to lighten your load, streamline your operations, and help you reclaim your time! With us, you can start Autumn with your best foot forward – and make the rest of the year count!

Here’s how we can support you:

Inbox & Calendar Management
From filtering and prioritising emails to scheduling meetings, managing cancellations, and sending reminders, we’ll keep your communications and calendar clear, organised, and under control. No more missed messages or double bookings.

Client & Customer Support
First impressions matter - and so does consistent follow-up. We’ll handle client queries, respond to customer emails, manage support tickets, and ensure your clients always feel looked after.

Whether it’s pre-sale questions or ongoing support, we’ll keep communication smooth and professional.

Social Media Management
Don’t let your social channels go quiet when things get busy. We can plan, create, schedule, and post content across platforms, as well as engage with your audience to boost visibility and build your brand.

Whether it’s daily posts or campaign support, we help you stay consistent and relevant!

Admin & Data Entry
From updating spreadsheets and managing databases to uploading content or organising digital files, we’ll handle the behind-the-scenes admin so you can focus on bigger priorities!

Research & Reporting
Need to know what your competitors are doing? Looking for content ideas or supplier quotes? We’ll carry out detailed research, compile reports, and present insights clearly - so you can make informed decisions without spending hours digging for information.

Outsourcing isn’t a shortcut or a cop out - it’s a smart strategy.

It isn’t about doing less - it’s about doing more of the things that you love. By handing over time-consuming (but essential) tasks, you free yourself up to focus on growth, strategy, and the parts of your business only you can do.

You don’t need to be overwhelmed to ask for help. You just need to be ready to work smarter!

Ready to finish the year in the best way possible?

September is a fresh start - but 2026 is right around the corner. Let’s make sure you’re set up to make the most of it. Whether you need a few hours of admin support or a dedicated virtual assistant to become part of your team, we’re here to help.

Get in touch today to discover how outsourcing can take your business further this autumn!

How Entrepreneurs Can Actually Take a Holiday - Without the Business Falling Apart

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 10:14:53 GMT

You’re sipping a cocktail on the beach… but your mind is still in your inbox.

Sound familiar? For many entrepreneurs, the idea of taking a holiday sounds amazing - until reality sets in. Emails pile up, clients still expect responses, and the thought of stepping away feels less like relaxation and more like risk.

But here’s the truth: you can take time off, recharge, and return to your business with fresh energy - without everything falling apart. The key is smart preparation and the right support system. In this blog, we’re going to look at everything you can do to make sure that you get the well-deserved break you need!

Most entrepreneurs either avoid holiday altogether or spend them glued to their phones. Why?

Fear of missed opportunities – What if a client needs you? What if a new opportunities arises?
No one to handle urgent issues – Without backup, even small hiccups can feel catastrophic.
Poor delegation systems – Too much of the business still relies on you.

You’re not alone: a recent survey found that 60% of small business owners took less than two weeks of holiday per year - and many reported working during their time off.

The time has come to change your mindset! Instead of seeing taking a break as a risk, start viewing it as an investment. Stepping away from your business isn’t neglect - it’s strategy.

Improved creativity – New surroundings spark fresh ideas.
Reduced burnout – Rest makes you more resilient.
Better decision-making – A clear mind makes sharper choices.

When you recharge, your business benefits too!

The best way to enjoy your holiday is to be completely prepared before you leave, and you know what that means! Checklist time!

Here’s how to prepare so you can actually unplug:

Set clear boundaries – Let clients and team members know when you’ll be away and when you’ll return.
Prioritise projects – Wrap up key tasks before you leave, or delegate them to team members.
Automate repetitive tasks – Use tools for invoicing, email replies, and scheduling.
Assign a point of contact – A trusted VA (us!) can take over the majority of tasks whilst you’re away!

Yes, that’s right! We are your secret weapon for a stress-free break. A trusted VA who keeps operations smooth while you’re out. Here’s what we can handle whilst you take some time to relax:

Inbox & communication management – They filter emails, respond to routine inquiries, and flag only the urgent ones.
Calendar & meeting coverage – Rescheduling, confirming, or managing commitments so you don’t return to chaos.
Crisis triage – Escalating only what truly can’t wait.
Social media & marketing upkeep – Ensuring posts, newsletters, and engagement continue without interruption.
And of course, any other frequent support we provide to you will continue also !

With us taking control, you can confidently step away knowing your business won’t miss a beat.

So, are you ready to make it happen? It’s time for a plan of action! Follow this simple plan:

Pick your dates and block them off in your calendar.
Hire or onboard us at least a month before you leave, so you can get to know us and set your mind at ease.
Create a “while I’m away” guide with key contacts, FAQs, and anything else we might need to know.
Fully disconnect - trust your systems and trust LCVA!

So there you have it! Stop putting off the rest you desperately need. Your business deserves stability, and you deserve the sand, sun, and fresh air!

We can make both happen — book a consultation today.

The Best Client Communication Practices for Virtual Assistants

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:40:17 GMT

Good communication is the backbone of every successful relationship—especially when that relationship is virtual!

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Spring Into Action this April: How LCVA Can Help You Refresh Your Business

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:05:37 GMT

Spring is such a lovely season – flowers are blooming, the days get longer, and everyone starts to get excited for the warm weather! But spring is also the perfect time for refreshing and renewal in our homes and lives – and with LCVA, you can refresh your business too!

In this blog, we’ll explore how working with us can help you spring into productivity, streamline your workflow, and prepare your business for a successful year ahead.

This season is an ideal time to streamline, organise and reset your business branding, strategies, or even just have a good old clean out of your inbox – and we can help with that!

Spring Cleaning Your Business

In a lot of ways, businesses are like homes! They can benefit from the same decluttering process – just as you might clear out some old clothes from your wardrobe or weed your garden – you can organise your digital space or clear out your OneDrive folders in an effort to run your business more smoothly.

But we know all of this organisation is time-consuming - many entrepreneurs find themselves buried under a mountain of administrative tasks that take away from the important work of growing their business. We can help clear away that "clutter" by offering services such as organising your digital files and managing your inbox.

Here are some specific ways LCVA can help with your spring business cleaning:

Organising Emails: We can manage your inbox, sort through emails, set up folders, and filing away correspondence so you’re not constantly overwhelmed with communication. By supporting you in these areas, we can ensure your days run smoothly.
Managing Calendars, Projects & Tasks: LCVA can take over administrative tasks like scheduling meetings, setting reminders, or updating project management systems, giving you more time to focus on important business matters.
Clearing Out Old Data: If your OneDrive or Dropbox are cluttered with outdated information, we can help clean that up, ensuring your files are up to date and easy to access.

Spring cleaning isn’t just about clearing your physical space; it’s about creating room for the growth and success you want in your business. With our help, you’ll be able to focus on what really matters!

Rejuvenating Your Workflow for Maximum Efficiency

Spring isn’t just a time to tidy up—it’s an opportunity to rejuvenate. Just like your home gets a deep clean, your business workflows can also benefit from a thorough refresh. Are you spending too much time on administrative work? Are there tasks that feel repetitive and slow down your productivity? If so, it's time to rethink.

We can step in and take over the tasks that slow down your day-to-day operations. By offloading these responsibilities, you can focus on more strategic aspects of your business!

Here’s how LCVA can help rejuvenate your workflow:

Customer Service: With the help of LCVA, you can delegate customer service tasks, whether it’s responding to inquiries, conducting market or business research, or ordering products. This frees you up to work on more creative or strategic initiatives.
Social Media & Content Creation: Managing your online presence is crucial, but it’s also time-consuming. We can support you with content creation, scheduling social media posts, and managing engagement across platforms.

By rejuvenating your workflow and letting us manage the day-to-day tasks, you’ll create more space for innovation and business growth.

A Time for Renewal and Fresh Strategies

Easter represents a time of renewal, fresh starts, and growth. It’s a time to reflect on where you are and where you want to go—and your business can benefit from this same mindset! With spring in the air, now is the perfect time to refresh your business strategies!

This season isn’t just about clearing out old habits and processes; it’s also about embracing new opportunities and ideas. We can help you revamp your marketing strategy, plan for new product launches, or refresh your brand’s message.

Here are a few ways LCVA can help you prepare for growth this season:

Marketing Campaigns: Whether it’s creating product promotion or launching a new service, we can help you execute your marketing campaigns. We can handle the behind-the-scenes work—writing content, designing promotional materials, and tracking results.
Website Updates & Content Creation: Keeping your website fresh and up to date is essential, and we can support you in this area too. From blog writing to updating your offerings, we can ensure your website reflects your current business goals.
Customer Engagement: We can also assist with customer outreach, sending personalised emails or letters, and gathering feedback. This engagement helps foster loyalty and sets the foundation for long-term success.

Just as Spring symbolises new beginnings, your business can benefit from a renewed approach to marketing, customer outreach, and strategic planning. Let us help you embrace these opportunities and move your business forward!

Preparing for the Busy Summer Season

While we’re in the heart of spring, it’s important to remember that summer is just around the corner. For many businesses, the summer months are a peak season for sales, growth, and activity. So, now is the time to get ahead of the game and prepare for the busy months ahead!

By outsourcing tasks to us, you can focus on revenue-generating activities and avoid burnout when the summer rush begins. You’ll set your business up for success and avoid the stress of juggling too many responsibilities during the summer months.

Conclusion

So, are you ready to spring into action?

By working with us, you can ensure your business is organised, efficient, and ready to thrive. With the right support, this spring could mark the beginning of your most successful year yet - let’s work together to give your business the fresh start it deserves!

If you want to find out more about how we can help you, email us at info@lcvaservices.com or DM on social media now!

Step-by-Step Goal Setting for 2025: How We Can Help You Achieve Your Ambitions

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 12:11:49 GMT

New year, new business goals and targets!

As 2025 kicks off, we know that most businesses are thinking about what they want to achieve this year, and how to do it. Our last blog covered reviewing and planning for the year ahead, looking at the sort of areas that normally need reflecting on after a year of business.

But we thought we’d follow up with a blog that delves into the exact art of setting goals and sticking to them – because we know that setting ambitious but achievable can be difficult.

The excitement of new possibilities that a new year brings can make anything seem possible – but without a clear roadmap, new goals can become overwhelming and eventually unattainable.

That’s where we come in! We can support you as a strategic partner to not only set your 2025 goals but achieve them! This blog will take you through the steps of setting goals, how we can help you, and give you some quick tips to get you started on your journey!

Step 1 - Reflect on the Past Year: Where Are You Now?

Although we covered this in our last blog, it is one of the most important steps of goal setting – and it can’t be skipped!

What makes this step so important? Well, it helps identify the areas of improvement, successes, and lessons learned. And LCVA can support you in recognising and using these areas to improve your approach to 2025. We can help you compile data, organise progress reports, and even create surveys to gather feedback from clients, and team members. We can also liaise with you to gain your personal reflections and target areas that you feel need to improve.

If you want to make a start on this step now, try reviewing your achievements, challenges, and key learning moments from 2024. These will be essential in guiding the 2025 goals

Step 2 - Define Your Goals: Set Clear, Specific Objectives

This step is important to provide you with a clear direction and, as a result, measurable outcomes.

We can help break down your broader goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. This way, you can work on each section at a time, rather than getting overwhelmed by a larger project or objective. Breaking down these tasks will ensure each step is actionable and measurable. From there, we can further organise these goals into categories (business, finances, personal), so you know exactly what you are working towards at all times.

Using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal frameworks to define each goal is the best to make sure your objectives are clear!

Step 3 - Prioritise Your Goals: Focus on What Matters Most

Not all goals are equal – some are more important than others! Prioritisation ensures your focus remains on the most goals that will be most impactful to you and your business.

Here are LCVA, we can help you outline your priorities and from there, rank your goals by urgency and importance. By doing this, we can support you in the areas that matter most to you in 2025, so you achieve the goals that will directly benefit your business. We can also manage your deadlines and or organise reminders for you, so you can keep track of what you are focusing on.

We know that sometimes it’s hard to prioritise certain goals over others – our brains tend to want to flit from task to task – but here’s a quick tip to figure out which goals are more important than others. Consider the 80/20 rule – which 20% of your goals will give you 80% of the results? The goals that will generate the most or biggest benefits for you are the ones you should be putting your time and energy in to.

Step 4 - Create a Detailed Action Plan: Map Out Your Path to Success

The best goals become a distant dream without a clear, comprehensive action plan – so get your notepad out and start planning!

We have plenty of experience working with businesses to create action plans for their projects, social media campaigns, or websites – so we can support you with this step too! Whether this is through creating a timeline, project managing tasks, helping to implement tracking tools to help you stay on track or scheduling regular check-ins – we can make sure you follow your plan of action!

Again, breaking down goals into actionable steps, as well as assigning deadlines, and then determining the resources needed to achieve them should be your first thoughts when creating your plan.

Step 5 - Set Up Accountability and Support Systems: Stay Motivated

The best way to stay motivated is through encouragement from others – and staying motivated will dramatically increase your chances of success.

We can set up set up regular check-ins or send reminders so you can track your progress as you work through your goals – and we are always happy to reevaluate with you and make changes to action plans if your goals change or need adjusting.

We are also more than happy to organise meetings with mentors or peers for added support – so you can discuss your goals for the year with people who know your business and know what you want to achieve with it.

Here’s a tip to get you started – identify someone to be your accountability partner… like us! We place a lot of focus taking the time to celebrate small victories – this always boosts morale and motivation!

Step 6 - The Power of Delegation: How We Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

As we’ve established, achieving ambitious goals always requires support. Delegation is key to this support – and outsourcing is the perfect way to delegate!

You can outsource to us, so we can assist you with the execution of your 2025 goals. Whether this be carrying out research for you, taking on admin tasks, managing client communication, creating social media campaigns – we can take over these smaller tasks that contribute to your broader goals.

For example, if one of your goals is to grow your business, we can take over time-consuming tasks like managing emails or scheduling meetings, freeing you up to focus on growth strategies.

So there you have it!

We hope this blog has emphasised the importance of clear, well-defined goals, and how a step-by-step process gives you a higher chance of success for 2025.

We know that LCVA can provide the continuous and collaborative support you need, not only with setting the right goals but also in executing them consistently – so give your business the best start in 2025 and drop us a message!

If you would like to receive this kind of support from us or want to learn more about what we can offer you, contact us here now.

Reflecting on 2024: How Your Virtual Assistant Can Help You Plan for the Year Ahead

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 10:38:54 GMT

We’re in the final few weeks of 2024 – and Christmas is right round the corner.

We know that everyone is finishing up their last tasks of the year and looking forward to a lovely Christmas and New Year. But the next month is also the perfect time for reflection and goal setting!

It is so important to wrap up the current year on a strong note because it will guarantee a clear and direct start to the new year. So, our last blog of 2024 is all about reflecting on 2024 and planning for 2025 – and how a VA can help you through this transition!

We’re going to cover some reflective activities that will allow you to take stock of everything that has happened over the last year, as well as some proactive planning tasks that will set you up perfectly for the year ahead.

The Power of Review

The value of reviewing your achievements, challenges and growth over the course of the year shouldn’t be underestimated. It allows you to understand what worked well for you, what didn’t work so well, and what you could do to improve in the future.

Let’s look at some areas to reflect on in these next few weeks.

Key accomplishments are a great place to start. Not only are they normally stand-out moments for you and your businesses, but you also get to reminisce on the amazing things you have achieved professionally this year. Review how your business performed against your goals – are there milestones or projects that really stood out?

The next thing to consider are your challenges and learnings. The only way to improve and grow is to recognise where you might have underperformed and missed the mark slightly. Where they any obstacles that you faced this year and how could you. Have handled them differently? These reflections shouldn’t be done in a negative way – you should only see these challenges as opportunities to improve in the future!

Client and customer feedback is also a great thing to reflect on. Gathering and reviewing client testimonials or reviews is essential for gaining insight on your services or products throughout the year. Is there a certain product or service that clients loved? Are there common complaints that keep cropping up?

And of course, reviewing team and personal development is the perfect way to consider how your team has evolved over the year both individually and in terms of teamwork. This gives you the opportunity to highlight the great work everyone has done and praise them for specific tasks and projects – as well as thinking about whether you might need to make some adjustments for 2025.

Now, you may be thinking that all of these reviews and reflections will take up a lot of your time – especially during the new year period where you’ll be booked and busy after Christmas! That’s where we come in! Virtual Assistance services are great for offering support with these reflection and progression projects.

VAs can help you with various reflective admin and paperwork. For example, gathering and organising data from your past projects and campaigns, producing a comprehensive year-in-review report. We can also handle client surveys, gather and compile your reviews, and collect feedback from your customers – in order to provide data on your services and products.

Additionally, VAs can also offer support with analysing data from these project or feedback reports, as well as social media and newsletter performances for the year – assisting with compiling performance metrics and identifying trends and opportunities.

Planning for the Future

Now that we’ve talked about reflecting back, it’s time to think about looking to the future! This is crucial if you want to have a great 2025 – it helps businesses align their efforts and resources effectively and lays out the benefits of goal setting and preparation.

Let’s talk through some of the areas you may need to plan for as a business.

Think about your business goals. What are your objectives for the new year? What are you looking to achieve for your business as a whole? Are there new products or services you’d like to offer, or do you feel like a branding review needs to be carried out? Start to plan for these changes or additions well in advance – so everything goes smoothly when the time comes.

Marketing is essential to plan and organise ahead of schedule. Having reviewed your marketing efforts, it’s time to plan out your campaigns, promotions and content. Co-ordinate these with your wider plans for the business. If there is a new product launching, make sure to drum up excitement on social media. If you are attending an awards evening – be sure to add the date into your marketing calendar to remind your to capture and post content of the evening.

Financial goals and budget adjustments also need to be considered when planning ahead for the year. What goals are you going to set for your business in terms of money in 2025 – and how does this match up against the marketing or product plans? Make sure your budget is clear, realistic and sensible!

Prioritising employee wellbeing and personal development definitely needs a large amount of planning as the new year begins. Think about whether you might need to hire a new member of the team to optimise a certain area of your business or invest in team training to strength cohesiveness across skillsets. Individual skills such as time management or issues like work-life balance need to be considered when having those first few team review meetings of 2025.

And, of course, organisation and admin tasks are always a great way to start the new year. Make sure your digital files are cleaned up and stored away accessibly, prepare your calendar and inbox for 2025, and set up your lines of communication with clients, employees, and audience.

Planning ahead is exactly what we at LCVA are here for! We pride ourselves on supporting businesses as they plan ahead for exciting projects, social media campaigns, or admin tasks – and this coming year is no different!

We can help with general planning and organisation like decluttering inboxes – the Inbox Zero method is always one we recommend, filing away folders and documents, and making sure everything is findable and in the correct place. VAs can also create and manage goal tracking documents or spreadsheets – so your projects or employee goals are managed to ensure milestones or deadlines are met and celebrated. Whether these documents track financial expenses or planning budgeting, VAs can keep everything on track whilst you focus on the projects at hand!

We also excel at creating content plans for social media, blogs, and newsletters – as well as creating and scheduling them – so you have a comprehensive plan of your marketing strategy for the year ahead. We can also co-ordinate your team development approach by researching, recommending and booking professional development opportunities, training, workshops, and events – the perfect moral boost for you and your team!

Bring on 2025!

Now that you have a structure to help you review and reflect on 2024 as well as plan ahead for 2025, bring it on!

We hope this blog has helped reinforce the importance of leveraging a virtual assistance company – like us! – to support you as you transition from 2024 to 2025.

If you would like to start reviewing and planning now – get in touch with us on info@lcvaservices.com or book a consultation. We can collaborate with you to being your initial plans and develop a full strategy from there! Don’t miss the chance to plan for success with us this coming year!

We are so excited for what this next year will bring for LCVA – and we wish you all the same successes and progress for your own business!

Let’s embrace the new year with clarity, organisation, and a solid plan!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

5 Common Misconceptions About Hiring a Virtual Assistant

Fri, 29 Nov 2024 19:33:09 GMT

And why we don't agree with them!

In the business world of today, there are so many to-do lists to complete, services to promote, and emails to file – and no time to do fit everything in! More and more businesses and individuals are turning to virtual assistants (VAs) for help with everything from administrative tasks to specialised project management.

As a virtual assistance business ourselves, we pride ourselves on providing great support to all of our clients – and we love what we do! However, we know that there are still many misconceptions that can hold people back from making that first point of contact with a VA.

In this blog, we want to address some of the most common myths about hiring a VA – so you have more of an understanding of what we can do for you. We want to set the record straight, so you can make an informed decision about whether a VA is the right fit for you!

Let’s get straight to the point!

Myth Number 1 : VAs are just too expensive!

We understand that finances are a huge part of why many people don’t engage with VAs. Some people believe that VAs are a luxury for large businesses with big budgets and are unaffordable for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

We want to emphasise that this is not true! VAs can be very cost effective, especially when compared to hiring full-time employees. In fact, VAs have been found to actually help save money, by reducing the need for office space, equipment, and employee benefits. The value that a VA can provide often outweigh the costs. By getting a VA on board with your business, you can expect improved efficiency, and more free time to focus on your core business activities.

This is not to downplay your financial concerns, of course. We fully understand that some people are not in a position to set aside a huge budget for a VA, which is why we offer flexible packages and charity packages – so you pay only for the services you need!

Myth Number 2 : VAs can’t provide the same quality of work as an in-house employee…

Many people seem to think that VAs lack the skills or expertise to deliver the same quality of work as someone working in the office full-time.

We believe that not only is this not true, but the reality is the complete opposite! VAs specialise in specific areas such as admin, customer service, social media management, or even specific projects like marketing or website launches. Here at LCVA, we all have different areas of expertise – and we all come with years of experience, strong endorsements and portfolios. Hiring specialised VAs can actually improve the quality of work in areas – because you have an individual or team of people on board who are experienced in the exact areas you ask them to focus on!

Myth Number 3 : It’s just too complicated!

In terms of communication, task management, and supervision, some people might say that a VA is more complicated than they are worth – but we don’t feel like this reflects our client relationships at all!

We pride ourselves on prioritising clear communication with our clients, so they know that we are there to support them whenever they need it. Utilising tools and programmes such as Trello, Planable, and Teams have been essential in maintain these relationships, as they allow us to stay connected with regular check-ins, assign and receive tasks, and track progress and expectations!

Our enthusiasm for our clients’ success, alongside these great collaboration tools, make working with us as seamless as having an in-house team!

Myth Number 4 : VAs are not trustworthy and so my information won’t be secure…

It is understandable that many people may have concerns about data security and confidentiality, and this often deters businesses who are dealing with sensitive information.

As a reputable VA services, your data protection and security is a huge priority for us. We follow strict security protocols, use encrypted tools and have contracts in place to protect client data if you choose to work with us. We are experienced in working with a variety of industries and understand the importance of privacy. We will discuss security practices with any new clients such as using LastPass and SharePoint to ensure your information is safe and secure.

Myth Number 5 : VAs only do boring admin tasks!

The most common misconception about VAs is that we stick to basic tasks like data entry, scheduling, or email management. And at LCVA, we do provide all of these services to several clients.

But we can handle a wide range of tasks beyond administrative duties, including specialised services such as event management, social media content creation and management, graphic design, and project management. Our wide range of services can make a huge difference to your business and strategic goals. We are a team of versatile professionals who can support businesses in areas that help scale and grow rather than just maintaining day-to-day operations.

As we’ve mentioned, our team members are experts in these admin tasks – and we receive glowing feedback about our inbox management and minute-taking. But if you want any further support in more creative, management, or large-scale tasks – we absolutely have the capabilities, endorsements and expertise to support you through these tasks as well.

There you have it! We hope to have convinced you that hiring a VA can be a game-changer for both business and individuals and that we at LCVA are a team cost-effective, skilled, professionals that can handle a wide range of tasks and integrate seamlessly into your business.

By debunking these myths and exploring the true potential of a VA, we hope we can encourage you to unlock valuable time, reduce stress and focus on what truly matters – whether that’s growing your business or enjoying more personal time!

If you want to schedule a consultation to find out more about how we can support you, get in touch using social media or email us at info@lcvaservices.com

Online vs Offline Business Networking

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:36:51 GMT

World Online Networking Day: Online vs Offline Business Networking!

29 ^th October marks World Online Networking Day – which is a celebration of developing relationships and creating business opportunities through networking online across the world.

In this blog, we’re going to look at what exactly online networking is, and how it compares to offline networking. We’ll explore how each may help you, and how to network (both online and offline) effectively!

What is online and offline networking?

So, what does online networking mean? Online networking is the process of connecting with people and organisations that are associated with your industry or professional career in some way. For example, you might want to connect with individuals who can assist you on your career pathways or establish a relationship with a business that may need your support.

You can create these connections in multiple different ways! Setting up a professional profile on social media platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn are a great way to connect with professionals and businesses – and making sure you have a website, email, and phone number details on your page is essential for making contact with others.

On the other hand, offline networking refers to the process of building professional relationships and connections in person, rather than through digital platforms. These connections are more commonly made in conferences, workshops, and seminars. These events bring together professionals from your industry to share knowledge, showcase products or promote services.

These are perfect places for you to offline network – so keep a business card or a pen handy to hand out your details and jot down other peoples! Local events, such as fairs, exhibitions, or charity functions can also be great places for you to promote your services to the local community and create connections that may blossom in the future!

What are the benefits or drawbacks of online and offline networking?

Firstly, networking online can help you connect with more people over a wider area. The online world is unlimited – which means you can come across some huge opportunities that you may not find when networking in person. It also saves time and money – you don’t have to sit in the car or on the train to get to your meetings which means no travel expenses, and you’re left with a more open timetable when scheduling meetings!

However, offline networking emphasises personal interactions and can lead to deeper connections compared to online networking. Being able to chat in person does often foster stronger relationships, allowing for more genuine and trusting conversation. Meeting people in various physical settings can also lead to unexpected developments and collaborations that might not occur in a structured online setting.

It could be argued, however, that meeting online takes the pressure off. If you are someone who gets nervous when meeting new people, which is the case for many people who might have anxiety or stress disorders, you can break the ice with your new connection before meeting in person. As well as helping with mental disabilities, online networks can prove easier for people with physical disabilities too – those who struggle with mobility or chronic pain can still build those professional connections whilst prioritising their health in their own offices or home.

Offline networking also has the capacity to help those with disabilities. If you have difficulty reading verbal cues or verbal reactions, meeting in person gives you the opportunity to study nonverbal communication. Body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions can enhance a conversation, and help convey sincerity and engagement. These discussions allow for instant reactions and responses, facilitating dynamic and understanding chats.

Overall, both online and offline networking allow you to establish yourself as an authority in your field. The more connections you build, the more opportunities there are to strengthen your reputation within your industry. Fostering strong relationships with people and businesses in your career field will lead to referrals and job/project offers – which is perfect for furthering your career!

How do you build an online and offline network?

Now that you’ve set up online your profile or printed out your business cards – how do you build your network? Although offline and online networking are different in lots of ways, they have very similar approaches to building up a network.

The key is don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! Don’t be afraid to interact with people’s posts as much as possible – and don’t be afraid to post frequently yourself! Liking and commenting on posts is a great way to build relationships with people on your timeline, as well as using strong calls to action and asking industry-related questions on your own posts. As for offline networking, don’t be afraid to attend local events or fairs, and don’t be afraid to approach people and tell them how your business might benefit them! Even creating leaflets to leave at local shops or to post around your neighbourhood – you never know where your next connection might come from!

Also - don’t be afraid to message someone for an online chat or ask for a in person meeting. Sending a friend request or posting a leaflet can sometimes feel impersonal, so explaining who you are and why you want to connect with this particular person feels more personal and genuine and is more likely to start up a conversation that leads to a meeting or a wider network of friends!

Once you have secured an in-person meeting or signed up to an online networking event, make sure you are prepared! Think about using a virtual background so you don’t have to stress about tidying your office or any kids/pets appearing around in the background. Make sure you are on time and dressed appropriately if you are meeting in person.

Do your research on the people or businesses involved in the meeting – what are their areas of expertise? What might they need help with? What can you offer them and vice versa? Make some notes that you can refer back to during your meeting – and have your own business information to hand so your mind doesn’t go blank when you are asked about yourself!

Also, remember that networking is about finding a community as well as professional help – it doesn’t have to all be serious! Think of some icebreakers and keep the conversation flowing, if you can establish a friendly atmosphere, you are more likely to stay in touch and grow your network!

And lastly, possibly the most important tip, is to always follow up on this meetings! Drop your new connection a message thanking them for their time or arrange a time for the next in person meeting – this way, you can keep the momentum growing and strengthen your network!

If you want to include us in your online network, check out our Facebook , Instagram , or LinkedIn !

If you want to book an offline or online meeting with us to hear more about how we can help you, email us at info@lcvaservices.com or check out our LCVA Store here !

International Week of Happiness at Work: 5 ways to create a happier work environment!

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:34:07 GMT

Last month, we celebrated International Week of Happiness at Work!

We know that a lot of people out there wouldn’t put ‘work’ and ‘happiness’ in the same sentence, but here at LCVA, we make an effort to ensure that the whole team have a positive attitude and outlook towards our work.

In this blog, we’re going to talk through some of the ways that we create a happy and stress-free work environment, so you have some tips and tricks to improve your mental wellbeing at work. We’ll be looking at five main principles that you can instil into your team that promote positivity.

The first main principle is a focus on work-life balance. If you constantly pile work onto your employees and interrupt the time that they should be spending at their leisure, your team will be overwhelmed with work-related stress, and this could lead to a resentful work environment. But by respecting that people have certain working hours and checking up on people’s workloads, you can ensure that your employees are on track and happy with the amount of work they have to do. And spending more time on their interests and hobbies means that your team will come to work happy and motivated for the week ahead!

We focus massively on work-life balance here at LCVA. We work flexible hours so that our team can spend time with their family, focus on their studies, and deal with the pressures of life. These flexible hours allow us to dedicate time to our other responsibilities, whilst also making sure that our LCVA workloads are being completed as well. As a team, we are respectful of each other’s time and working hours, and we’re always happy to lend a hand when some needs extra time or support with a project!

The next principle is consistent praise and recognition. Recognising when your employees have worked well or reached a milestone, and praising their achievement is essential to creating a happy work environment. This boosts their motivation and engagement with their work, and they are more likely to stay committed to their tasks and strive to do better because their efforts feel valued.

We make sure to celebrate our achievements at LCVA or praise each other when we’ve done a good job or received good feedback. Our teamwork and collaboration help build a culture of appreciation and support – we work together on projects and so we celebrate each other’s achievements like they are our own! This creates a positive work environment, where we are excited to share our feedback and praise amongst ourselves and motivate each other to go that extra mile for our clients!

The third principle is giving your employees a purpose. This helps people feel more engaged and ties their work back to the company’s mission – which will improve productivity and motivate. This might be as simple as explaining why things need to be done a certain way rather than just giving orders. Make sure you are communicating the company goals and values to your employees and explaining how this is affected by how they work.

At LCVA, we hold regular meetings, both with individual team members and with the whole team, so everyone knows exactly what they are working on at all times. By holding these meetings together and updating each other on our work, we can all understand how everyone’s work fits into the big picture and connects with the whole team. This encourages us to do our best for the team, our clients and to represent LCVA, and also gives us an overall purpose to strive towards.

Another essential principle is to invest in your team. Showing your employees that you have faith, trust, and belief in them is the perfect way to create a happy work environment. If your employees know that you value and rely on their work, they will have a reinforced sense of competence and confidence. This can empower them to take on new challenges and contribute more effectively, which will ensure better overall performances and outcomes for your business!

Lora is great at motivating our team by affording us the time and effort to explore different avenues of our industry and expand our knowledge to different areas. If one of us wants to learn more about social media content creation, or engage in more face-to-face meetings with clients, Lora has trust in us and allows us to explore these areas. By supporting us in this way, Lora gives us the confidence to not only nurture our strengths but also tackle and improve our weaknesses!

And last but not least, make your work environment fun and communicative! We know that every single moment at work isn’t always fun and full of happiness – sometimes seriousness is the best way to get the job done! But make sure you set aside time each week to connect and have fun with your employees. Fun and relaxed environments often encourage creativity and innovation, as well as strengthening team relationships and improving overall well-being and productivity.

At LCVA, we prioritise the emotional and mental wellbeing of all of our employees. We check in on each other, share stories about our lives, and laugh with each other all the time! We organise team co-working days or volunteer days where we can connect and bond, but we also organise fun days together where we can join each other for lunch and chat! We are one big family, and this contributes to our positive work culture, where we feel valued, respected, supported, and motivated to do our best for our work family!

So there you have it! 5 principles that can create a happier and stress-free work environment amongst your employees!

If you want to find out more about LCVA and what we do, feel free to message us on social media or email us at info@lcvaservices.com

Work vs Play: How to be productive in the summer!

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 14:32:32 GMT

Summer is here… and you know what that means!

Time to make the most of every sunny day we get – trips to the beach and picnics in the park, packing the sun cream and sunglasses everywhere you go!

But…

What happens when you have to balance a summer of work and fun at the same time?

Many people, including our LCVA family, are working from home throughout this summer. We know how hard this can be – when the weather is great and it feels like everyone else is out enjoying the sun, it’s hard to have the discipline to stay inside and work.

This blog is all about why working during the summer can be difficult, and how to overcome these challenges.

Let’s start with exploring why many people find it hard to be productive in the summer months, especially when working from home.

The most common reason why people struggle at work in general is due to mental blocks. A mental block is a barrier that stands in the way of your creativity, motivation, and productivity. They can prevent you from performing to the best of your ability at work, or even stop you from being able to carry out your tasks at all. Mental blocks are commonly caused by a lack of rest or sleep, cluttered or chaotic work environments, and overflowing workloads.

But why are these mental block so common in the summer? Well, mental blocks can also be caused by mental exhaustion and decision fatigue. This occurs when your brain has too many decisions and ideas to think about, and so it chooses to procrastinate rather than deal with them. Summer is such a busy time, where we not only have to consider workloads, but also plans with family and friends, holidays, and weekends away, and childcare. With so much going on, mental blocks are more common than ever!

Another cause of summer mental blocks is the desire to forget about work and make the most of the good weather! There’s no denying that it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out on a summer of fun when you’re sat at your desk day after day. Sacrificing an afternoon cleaning out your inbox for a trip to the park or missing out on tidying up your home workspace in favour of sunbathing can seem like a good idea at the time – but soon these moments add up and result in a workload that will have you working through a nice sunny weekend!

So, how can you create a good balance of work and play?

We’re going to focus on how you can stay productive over this summer. Productive is one of our favourite words here at LCVA. Many people think that working long hours and sacrificing plans with the people you love is the only way to complete your summer workload. But being productive means getting the most out of your time – effective and efficient is key. If you are productive with your time, you can complete your workload and have time left over to spend doing the things you love!

Let’s take a look at how to be productive over the coming summer.

First things first – embrace the power of setting specific and realistic goals.

Studies have shown that individuals who set clear and well-defined goals tend to perform better and stay motivated for longer. Breaking big daunting tasks into smaller and more manageable goals is a clear roadmap for success. For example, rather than writing “50-slide presentation on this year’s finances by August” on your to-do list, trying writing “3 slides on January’s finances by Friday”. That way, you’ve broken down a big task into little weekly chunks and before you know it, the big task has been completed!

Up next is time management methods!

Managing your time wisely is super important! Otherwise you’ll end up frantically typing away at your computer for hours in the evenings, trying to cram everything in. Working in small blocks of time with short breaks in between has been proven to be the best way. It capitalises on our brain’s ability to maintain focus for shorter durations and rewards us with a short five-minute break to reset the mind and return to work with fresh eyes. Research has found that this improves concentration, prevents burnout, and increases productivity. You could even use a timer to maintain this strategy – as long as you don’t end up counting down the seconds until you can make your next cup of tea!

Another great tip is to create a good working environment.

This is essential to productivity, as our environment strongly influences our behaviour. Make sure your workspace is organised and clean, and that you have everything you need. This can be your laptop, work phone, and notebook – but don’t underestimate the power of a water bottle and snacks! These will keep you hydrated and full of energy for the working day ahead. The next step is to remove distractions. Any books or magazines should be out of sight and out of mind, switch off the TV, and most importantly, set clear boundaries with those you live with. Make sure they know when you are working and don’t want to be disturbed! There’s nothing worse than losing your train of thought when you’re in the zone! These small changes will make a big difference in creating an environment that supports your focus and minimises the urge to procrastinate.

Next up is budgeting your time!

The previous two tips will already make sure that you are spending your time wisely, but you can never be too prepared with time budgeting. The key thing is to have your time budget reflect your work priorities. Take note of each task’s deadline and urgency level to help you pinpoint high-priority tasks you need to focus on. Then, set aside a block of time that matches each task’s duration – the more skill and effort requires, the more time you should allocate to that task. Track your time and more notes of how long you spend on each task, and as the weeks pass, you’ll have a solid understanding of how much to set aside for different tasks.

Another big tip is to manage your stress levels.

This is crucial for optimal productivity. We know that when workloads are overbearing and deadlines are looming, work can become extremely stressful and have negative impacts on mental health. In fact, numerous studies have shown that high anxiety and stress levels hinder our ability to concentrate and perform effectively. A great way to combat stress is to try out management techniques such as mindful meditation, deep breathing exercises, and physical activities – these techniques can help regulate your emotions and reduce anxiety. Nurturing a clam and focused mindset is the best way to create the mental space necessary for productivity to thrive.

And last but by no means least, practice self-compassion!

Self-compassion is a great thing to practice throughout all areas of your life, but it has been known to significantly improve motivation and productivity at work. When faced with setbacks or challenges, treat yourself with kindness and compassion rather than being overly critical. Making a mistake or having an unproductive day is all part of the learning process – you can’t grow or improve in your career without them!

The best way to be self-compassionate is to think of yourself as a friend or loved one. Would you criticise them for spending longer than usual on a particular task? Would you chastise them for taking a break when things get too overwhelming? Of course not! You would offer them encouragement and understanding! So next time you have a bit of a rubbish day at work, make sure to practice positive self-talk and remind yourself that everyone has an off day. You’ve got this!

So there you have it! We hope this blog has given you some tips for being productive over the summer, which will help free up some time for you to spend having fun with the people you love!

If you want to find out more about how to stay productive, or take advantage of the resources that we offer, our online store is the best place to look!

Our Project Plan can offer you the templates to make sure your work is organised, complete with weekly, monthly, and personal planners – the perfect purchase to make sure you achieve your summer work goals!

And our Summer Holiday Planner is the ultimate summer must-have for working parents who need to balance their workload and making sure they have a summer of fun ready for the kids!

Check out both of these products and much more here: https://www.thelcvastore.com

Conquering Loneliness: Tips for Staying Connected While Working from Home

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 11:01:21 GMT

Plus, Our Team’s Personal Strategies for Battling Isolation!

Welcome back to our LCVA blog!

Our blogs are now back monthly, bringing you the latest tips, advice, and updates from us!

June’s blog is going to focus on Loneliness Awareness Week , which falls on the 10th – 16th of this month.

We know that working from home can sometimes feel isolating – each of here at LCVA have had our own worries about staying connected with the world whilst working at our desks at home. But feelings of loneliness are something everyone can relate to, especially since the Covid 19 pandemic.

In this blog, we’re going to focus on loneliness due to working from home. Let’s start by exploring what loneliness means in this context!

This type of loneliness refers to the feeling of isolation and disconnection that arises due to the lack of in-person social interactions and physical presence of colleagues.

Some of the common causes of loneliness when working from home can be the absence of spontaneous office conversations, reduced opportunities for collaboration, and the overall separation from the social environment provided by a traditional workplace.

This feeling of missing out on social and office culture can lead to a sense of being emotionally and socially detached, despite being digitally connected.

There are both physical and mental effects that can occur as a result of this feeling – so let’s take a look at these effects and how they manifest.

In terms of physical effects, studies have found loneliness to be linked to higher blood pressure, heart disease, and an increased risk of stroke. Social isolation can also lead to a weakened immune response, making individuals more susceptible to infections and illnesses. Incredibly, feelings of loneliness can also manifest physically through headaches, gastrointestinal issues, and muscle tension.

As if the physical effects weren’t enough, there are also huge mental effects to loneliness. Depression and anxiety have been closely linked to loneliness, along with feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and insomnia. A lack of social interaction can also lead to increased stress levels, as individuals may feel overwhelmed without a support network. Low self-esteem can affect individuals in a similar way, negatively impacting their self-worth and confidence.

Understanding these effects highlights the importance of addressing loneliness, especially for those working from home, to maintain their physical health and well-being.

Now, let’s take a look at how we can prevent or overcome some of these challenging effects – and how we can stay connected with people whilst working from home!

Make sure to maintain a healthy lifestyle! We know that we give this advice a lot in our blogs and on social media, but it really makes a difference – exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, and having a regular sleep schedule will have you feeling better in no time!

Another way to combat loneliness is to create a structured routine. This could be as simple as taking breaks, but it is important to establish clear boundaries between work and personal time to prevent burn out, and to make sure that you have time to spend with friends and family every day! A great way to help with this is to create a dedicated workspace that is separate from your living areas, in order to distinguish work time from personal time.

Make sure to stay connected! Schedule regular activities and meet-ups with family and friends, so you don’t feel disconnected from the outside world! You could even attend coffee mornings, church services, or local fairs, to foster a sense of community. Also, don’t forget to spend time on any hobbies or interests you may have – this is great way to get out and meet new people, whilst also doing something you love!

By incorporating these strategies into your daily life, you can mitigate the effects of loneliness, maintain your well-being, and create a more fulfilling work-from-home experience!

Now that you have a few tips on how to combat feelings of loneliness, we’d like to share how we as a team have worked on overcoming this together!

Here at LCVA, we make a huge effort to ensure that the team is happy in themselves and in their work.

We make sure to schedule weekly check-ups with each other, so we don’t end up spending all week just typing away on our own! In these check-ups, we catch up on any work-related business, but we also chat about day-to-day life, and share any fun news or even challenges that have happened to us during the week!

They are great for staying connected with each other, especially as we don’t have an in-person workspace where we see each other every day. We also have a group chat that we message on every day if we need help or clarification with anything.

We also make the effort to meet up in person whenever we can – whether this is for lunch or a volunteering day to help one of our clients – and this is great for team bonding and moral!

So there you have it! We hope that this blog has helped you learn a bit more about loneliness, it’s causes and effects, and some practical and mental strategies to combat loneliness.

Just know that you are not alone, we are here for you!

If you want to hear more from us, make sure to follow us on our social media!

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If you want to take a look at what services we offer, click here

LCVA supporting National Inclusion Week 2023 💖

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 20:26:35 GMT

It’s National Inclusion Week!

National Inclusion Week 2023 is a dedicated to creating and celebrating an inclusive culture in the workplace and society in general. Its aim is to unite individuals and communities all over the world to take action towards diversity and inclusion.

We would like to take the time to say that LCVA views inclusion and diversity in the workplace is an integral part of any company, and the values celebrated in this week are ones that we wholeheartedly believe in.

Not only do we share the values of National Inclusion Week, we also actively work towards creating a more inclusive environment, whether this be within LCVA itself, or our relationship with clients. Throughout LCVA’s business journey, we’ve worked with many people who need additional support to enable them to run their business or to work to their best of their ability.

After being diagnosed with ADHD, one client reached out to us for help with their business. We were more than happy to support them in any way we could, such as creating processes and systems to help keep work organised and managing their time in order to stay on top of their workload.

This is one of the mains reasons we advocate for home-based working and flexible working hours because this can make such a difference to some entrepreneurs and employees with certain disabilities. By working virtually with these individual really allow us to provide a bespoke service to meet the needs of each individual when needed. Recently we stepped in to help a client with Cerebral Palsy with PA duties, diary management, and admin support. We provided a lot of assistance with note taking in meetings, due to the client having written communication limitations – however due to speech to text software our client was able to work alongside us in these areas as well. Technology is such a smart tool to help ease the load which is why we are always keeping our eyes peeled for useful software that will benefit our clients.

Additionally, a handful of our clients claim our services through Access To Work which is a government funded scheme within the UK that provides support people with diagnosed physical and mental health conditions in the workplace. Through this, they are able to apply for help based on their needs – which is where we come in to help!

We are very proud to be able to take part in this scheme and help people feel accepted and more comfortable at work.

We passionately believe that having any disability or any other diagnosis shouldn’t limit what you can do in your professional life – whether it’s running your own business or keeping organised as an employee. If we can create an accommodating environment, we can create opportunities for people to achieve great things!

If you feel like you need any of the additional support we’ve talked about in this post, just send us a message via our social media channels or contact us via email - info@lcvaservices.com

Mon, 15 May 2023 13:47:56 GMT

Meetings… like it or not, meetings are a part of life and trying to remember what happened in each meeting can be a bit of a nightmare!

Now, I know that sounds obvious - don’t all meetings have minutes?

Well usually, of course, but how effective are those minutes?

Do you read minutes after the event?

Can you easily see what actions you had?

Are you the person writing the minutes, and finding it overwhelming to write them?

Meeting minutes are important to keep an accurate, summarised record of the meeting and any actions. It doesn’t have to be 20 pages long - in fact, that is exactly what you don’t want to see!

Now, here’s the important thing: this is not your opportunity to produce your best script or to put your own creative spin on what happened in the meeting. It’s essential to provide an impartial, summary. Your friend will be the meeting agenda and minutes template. If you don’t already have a Minutes Template, Project Plan can help!

Project Plan has a Minutes Template set up and ready to use. It’s a permanent fixture in our notebook and one that we can whip out at a moment notice and help us note down the important things and stay on track.

So, first things first - who was there? You don’t want to frantically wrack your brain to remember attendees because you forgot to write it down there and then!

Don’t worry - your template will remind you to note the names down. If someone joins or leaves part way through the meeting, note in the body of the minutes when they joined or left. In the attendee’s section write the attendee’s full name and then initials after the name – that way, that person can be referred to by their initials for the remainder of the minutes.

Next, make sure you have the agenda with you. Meetings should follow the agenda - it will help remind you of the subject being discussed. When you write the minutes, refer to the Agenda Item Numbering and copy the Agenda Item exactly - this will help your minutes to be easily read.

Your notes are purely for you to be able to write your minutes, so how you choose to write your notes is completely up to you. The important thing is to make sure that your notes are legible and concise! Remember, this is just a summary.

Throughout the meeting it is likely that actions will be allocated to attendees. It is good practice to note the action when it occurred in the meeting, as well as who is doing it, and a deadline date – all of this will help to form your actions log. If the meeting is a one off, add the action log at the end of the minutes. If the meeting is part of a series of meetings, create an Excel Spreadsheet - a rolling sheet that tracks the progress of Actions and when they’re closed for the meeting series. We have suggested a format below that works for us, this can be used in either situation (see Appendix 1).

It is important to have a separate Actions Log as it is often the section that attendees need to pull out quickly. Having a clear, easy format helps actions to be kept on top of and future meetings to run smoothly. If you use the rolling Excel Actions log, once the action is completed, a completion date can be added, and the action can be moved to the ‘completed’ sheet. This enables an accurate audit log to be kept for future reference.

Unless otherwise agreed, aim to distribute the minutes within a week of the meeting, but always try to write the minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. Minutes are a bit like homework – it is always best to do your homework the day it was given because the work is fresh in your mind. Stroppy teenagers obviously know better and will leave homework to the night before (usually the morning of) and then struggle, trying to remember what they are supposed to be doing! Turns out, if you do the work straight away, it makes life a lot easier in the long term!

And that’s it - a whistlestop tour of writing minutes! It’s hardly the most exciting part of any day but one that is unavoidable and dare I say it, essential. No one will thank you for mixing up action owners or waffly minutes!

Take a look at our Project Plan on Etsy for our Meeting Notes template – so you can apply all of these tips and tricks to record minutes to the best of your ability!

Appendix 1 - Example Action Log

It’s Stress Awareness Month...

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 19:16:39 GMT

Let’s talk about stress in the workplace.

Stress in the workplace is a growing problem that can affect any worker, from interns right up to CEOs. This Stress Awareness Month, we’ve decided to put together a blog on the causes and effects of workplace stress, and what we can do to manage and reduce it - creating a happier and healthier work environment.

Stress has a huge effect on the UK workforce – 76% of UK employees reportedly have moderate-to-high or high levels of stress as a result of their job. 33% reported that the high levels of stress had a negative impact on their productivity. These statistics highlight that stress is majorly damaging – to the employer, the employee, and the standard of work.

So, what are the different causes of stress in the workplace?

The most common cause is related to workload. Workers feel unable to cope with the demands of their job – whether this be long and inflexible hours or coping with an overwhelming amount of work – and this leads to feelings of inadequacy and pressure. Additionally, many people also struggle with not receiving enough information and support, leaving them feeling out of control and not fully understanding their roles and responsibilities.

What effects can stress have on workers?

There are many adverse effects of stress that manifest in a multitude of ways. There are physical consequences – aches, chest pains, headaches, high blood pressure, and fatigue. But there are also emotional and mental consequences. High stress levels leave people vulnerable to anxiety and depression, as well as other mental health problems. These problems can develop until they result in social issues such as spending less time with family and friends and growing isolated and lonely.

How can we manage and reduce our stress?

To ensure that stress doesn’t develop into the more severe symptoms above, we need to be able to recognise the signs and causes of our stress. This is a personal journey - figure out what you find stressful and how stress manifests itself in your behaviour or feelings. Maybe dreading an important presentation at work leads to sleepless night? Perhaps bad customer feedback leads to skipping lunch or snacking on junk food late at night? Once you identify these behaviours, you can change them to healthier and productive ways of dealing with stress. An important step is to look after your physical health – stay hydrated, eat a balanced diet, and make sure to get at least 8 hours sleep. A small amount of exercise (even just a walk for some fresh air) goes a long way as well.

Once you have nailed these physical steps, you can start to learn different coping techniques – again this is personal, figure out what you find helpful. Mindfulness is a great way to combat stress, as it promotes clarity, calmness, and focus. Practicing deep breathing can also help if things get overwhelming. Mastering your time is a great way to help with this – make sure to prioritise what’s important, take breaks if you need to, and don’t be afraid to say no. The key is to adopt a positive mindset - think encouraging thoughts throughout the day to give yourself the confidence you need to approach problems in a productive way!

How can LCVA help?

As a virtual assistance services, we provide a depth of expertise and experience in many different areas – for example event planning, bookkeeping, marketing, admin work, and business planning. By outsourcing to us, you can prioritise the parts of your business that you enjoy and leave the rest to us! This leaves you with more time to spend time with friends and family, and more time to do the things that make you happy – knowing your workload is in safe hands with LCVA. Send your planning, coordinating, organising, and handling our way – and we’ll reduce your stress as well as supporting your business! Prioritising your health and wellbeing will allow you to work to the best of your abilities!

If you’d like to learn more about outsourcing and how you can use it to your advantage, take a look at our outsourcing e-book here

Our Project Plan e-book is also available to help you with organisation and time management here

If you would like to book a consultation or Power Hour, take a look here

Hopefully this blog has given you a better understanding of stress in the workplace – what it is, what causes it, and some of the things you can do to overcome it. If you are feeling stressed this month, don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help – sharing your feelings is an essential part of positive mental health and wellbeing!

What Mother's Day means to us...

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 17:49:01 GMT

It’s Mothering Sunday – a very special day to LCVA!

For many people, Mothering Sunday is a last-minute card, a bunch of flowers, and going round your mums for a Sunday dinner . Don’t worry – the day has crept up on us with minimum notice a couple of times over the years too!

But here at LCVA, Mother’s Day has a very special place at the heart of our business. Mother’s Day is about championing and celebrating different mothers all around the world and sharing the stories that have inspired us – so today we’ve decided to share our success story with you!

Today, we are a proud successful business with a range of clients who we do incredible work with – but it has taken a lot of hard work and effort to get to this stage. So, let’s go back to over a decade ago, well before Lora founded LCVA.

Lora was a teen mum who left school with very few qualifications but was determined to create a good life for her and her son. However, she found that for women like her, employment opportunities were extremely limited, even impossible at some times. She was told she was going to live on benefits and not make anything of her life at all

Lora began doing temporary work through an agency – but the hours and travel involved were inflexible and she found it difficult to balance this as a single parent. It became very apparent that most workplaces were not accommodating to single mothers. There was a lack of understanding, a constant feeling of being underestimated and overlooked.

In 2010, Lora decided to return to college and get more qualifications. After this, she went to university and achieve her degree – all whilst working to bring in money to support herself and her son. However, Lora faced another challenge to overcome when she was made redundant from her job of five years. She decided that it was time to start her own business.

Lora wanted to create something which meant something to her, and which would help other people in her position because she knew first-hand how hard it is. She wanted to change the perception that single motherhood prevented people from achieving their career goals. Her main priorities were flexibility and a friendly, accommodating work environment, ensuring she was able to be there for her son and create a business that her upheld her own values.

And so, Lora created LCVA Services! As many of you know, at the heart of LCVA is our staff. We are so proud to employ women from different backgrounds and stages of life who bring with them a wide range of expertise. We make sure to offer our staff flexibility and fulfilment and a job that prioritises a work-life balance – so that parents don’t miss any of those important childhood memories, but still feel valued at work. The main ethos of our business is promoting growth and development – both personally and professionally – and we are proud to achieve that every day at LCVA.

We decided this Mother’s Day was the perfect time to share this story to celebrate mothers who feel undervalued at work and let them know that we see and support you! We hope to continue expand LCVA and in doing so offer more opportunities and inspiration to other women across the UK.

So, there you have it! From a teen mother to the director of her own company, Lora has proved that if you believe in yourself enough you can achieve anything – and if something doesn’t work for you, take the initiative to change it!

If you want to learn more about Lora’s story, check out her interview with ITV News:

If you would like to find out more about LCVA and what we do, check out our website and socials!

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

How To Stay on Top on Social Media

Tue, 14 Mar 2023 19:27:44 GMT

Do you sometimes feel like staying consistent with your social media is impossible?

With so many other tasks on the daily to-do list, a post is missed here, uploaded late there. Do you begin to feel overwhelmed when you haven’t posted in a few weeks? Don’t worry – you’re not alone! Lots of businesses struggle to maintain a steady output of valuable content over a long period of time.

So, what can you do to stop social media stress creeping up and taking valuable time away from your business?

Well, there’s nothing like a good plan to help you stay organised – and social media is no different.

Planning and scheduling your posts in advance is a great way of staying on top of your social accounts.

Let us take you through our steps to get you social media back on track!

Planning out your content

When planning your content, make sure you have a strong sense of your brand. Think about consistent across your posts – you want people to recognise your brand across platforms. A good way of keeping all your colour schemes, templates and fonts organised is to use Canva. Through Canva you can create consistent content which can then be sorted into clear folders – ready for you to access whenever you need them. But as well as planning the creation of your posts, make sure to plan out when your content is being uploaded. Making a spreadsheet of your uploading schedule is a great way to visualise when things need to be posted – and where the gaps are in your weekly posts!

Scheduling your content

Now that you have a clear schedule in your mind, there are plenty of ways to put this into action. Hootsuite is a really efficient way of scheduling your posts which means you don’t have to worry about pressing ‘post’ yourself! Hootsuite allows you to schedule from multiple accounts across different platforms for months in advance – so you can prepare your content and turn your focus to other areas of your business. Editing or reviewing the schedule allows you to make any changes you might need to make closer to the time.

How will this benefit you and your business?

Planning and scheduling a head of time will help solidify a clear brand in not just your mind, but the minds of others. It will ensure you upload consistent content and therefore build a confident online identity – one that serves as a worthy personality of your brand. And now that your social media content is taken care of, your overwhelming feels of stress will lessen, leaving you more time to focus on the parts of your business you need to dedicate more time too! A happy and healthy mind leads to a happy and healthy business!

So, there you have it!

Remember – Planning and scheduling is key to maintaining a relevant social media presence, and a sense of control over your business image! Take a look at our social pages for any other tips and tricks on how to manage your workload or to learn more about virtual assistants and how they could help you!

5 Ways to Manage Productivity While Working From Home

lora@lcvaservices.com (Lora LCVA) — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 14:52:55 GMT

5 Ways to Manage Productivity While Working From Home

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many of us work, with a much higher proportion of us working from home. Even now as we (hopefully) come to the end of this time, many people will not be making a full return to the office, due to the increased popularity of hybrid working; a combination of working from and the office.

For many managing productivity can prove difficult when working from home, people may feel distracted, unmotivated, stressed and anxious when working from home. However, there are ways to keep on top of these feelings and stay productive when working from home.

1. Create a Functional Workspace

Creating optimal working conditions is essential in facilitating productivity. As appealing as working from a bed or sofa may sound having a dedicated quiet space, perhaps in another room can help create a psychological distinction between work and leisure.

The room should have a good amount of natural light, personally I find it helpful to be near a window as it gives me something to look at while I work. Working by a window may also have a positive effect on health and productivity. Lights act as our biggest cue for our internal body clocks, meaning to stay in sync with the external environment we need natural light. This allows our body to perform essential functions such as sleep at the best possible time. Other benefits include improved mood, attention span, less strain on the eyes and headaches associated with looking at computer screens for prolonged periods.

In this space clutter should be kept to a minimum, sticking with just the essentials for your working day, which may include a pens, a note pad for ideas, some snacks and a planner.

2. Plan, plan, plan

Creating a plan is a great way to manage stress and ensuring you complete tasks on time through knowing what exactly you need to do and when you need to do it.

This plan could be a weekly plan and/or a daily plan due to the unexpected nature of many modern job roles. Creating a plan prior to the day ahead will allow you to manage tasks and be ready to work on time knowing exactly what you are aiming to achieve. Planning to leave enough time to eat and get ready before working will also enable you to better ease yourself into the day and feel comfortable - in a professional mindset before your working day.

If your job gives you flexibility in when you work it is also a good idea to plan to work when you are at your most productive, some people are more productive earlier in the morning, where as some hit their productivity peak in the afternoon.

Planning breaks away from the screen is also important in order to destress and to give your eyes a rest after looking at a screen. Planning when to take these breaks will give you structure and something to work towards.

We'd also like to take a moment to announce that we are launching a brand new resource...Project Plan. Coming this August, it will be the perfect planning and organising tool you need for business! If you're interested in purchasing this, please register your interested here and we will contact you soon with more details!

3. Limit Distractions

Although working from home provides many benefits in terms of flexibility, no dreaded commute, and an overall better work life balance, working from home can also come with many distractions such as household responsibilities, your phone and social media apps.

Although social media is now a part of many jobs, it is important to not lose too much time to social media due to its addictive nature perpetuated without the boundaries set within an office. Therefore, to be the most productive you may need to set these boundaries yourself, for some people this may mean turning off notifications, logging out of personal social media accounts, or putting your phone in another room (if a phone is not required for your job).

You may also need to set boundaries within your household. This could mean asking others not to disturb you during working hours to be more productive. This could also mean ensuring you have time to take care of any household chores or responsibilities around your working hours.

4. Stay Connected

However, when working remotely, staying connected to colleagues is essential for productivity in order to ask quick clarifying questions you may ask in an office, providing explanations and training and holding remote team meetings which are essential in setting and meeting objectives as well as boosting team motivation.

Staying connected while working from home may require an intra organisational emailing system as well as cloud service such as one drive, in order to share current projects and information with colleagues. A group messaging service such as WhatsApp is a great way to ask those quick clarifying questions, or contact co-workers outside of working hours.

Zoom can be used for training purposes, catch ups and group meetings, but additionally is a great tool for building essential rapport with colleagues, making them feel comfortable in the team and therefore having more motivation and work productivity.

Read our previous log posts and learn how to work Zoom here and how to set up break out rooms in Zoom here .

5. A soundtrack to your day

Choosing music that matches the type of task you are working on can boost productivity. The iso principle is a technique used by therapists to alter the mood of a patient. This principle states that you should match music to how you are feeling, and then gradually alter to songs until they match your desired mood state.

This has been applied to productivity and would suggest that you should ease yourself into motivational music which will facilitate a productive state for the day. Other research has found that faster music can increase productivity, so why not jam out to some dance music while you work?

�� The Key Takeaways:

A functional workspace should be separate from where you relax, have lots of natural light and be tidy with everything you need for the day.

To manage stress and get everything done, create structure through a plan for the day / week ahead, wake up with plenty of time, take regular breaks and if possible work when you’re most productive.

Limit distractions and set boundaries for yourself. If you’re distracted by social media consider turning off notifications or keeping your phone in another room. Make sure household responsibilities are completed around work and communicate boundaries with other members of the household.

Stay connected to colleagues and perform essential team functions and boost morale through communication and sharing services such as, email, cloud services, WhatsApp and Zoom.

Use music to increase productivity and motivation through matching music to your desired mood.

Zoom Tips: How Do I Set Up Breakout Rooms on Zoom?

lora@lcvaservices.com (Lora LCVA) — Fri, 19 Mar 2021 11:04:11 GMT

Zoom is one of the best ways for professionals to meet with colleagues and clients digitally. There are many features Zoom offers that allows you to recreate the experience of meeting with people in real life; from waiting rooms, to raising hands. As well as features we can only enable digitally; from video on/off or muting participants. Zoom is designed to help your meetings run as smoothly as possible.

We have previously gone over the essential features and workings of Zoom on our post How Do I Work Zoom? , and today we will be looking at one of Zoom’s lesser-known features – the breakout room.

What is the Breakout Room feature?

The breakout room feature essentially allows the host to group participants into virtual “rooms”, allowing a smaller number of participants to have a discussion. Breakout rooms can be useful for networking discussing, collaborating on projects, and educational seminars.

The host has the ability to choose the duration of the breakout rooms as well as who to group up together. When a breakout room ends, all participants will be taken back to the large meeting.

It should be noted that you can only create breakout rooms if you’re using the desktop version of Zoom. Mobile users can join the breakout rooms but can’t create or manage them.

How to enable Breakout Rooms in Zoom

Make sure you either create an account or log in at zoom.us , the website and not the application itself. You cannot enable the breakout room functionality from your computer application. Once you have created an account or signed in, head over to your account by clicking “my account” in the top-right corner.

Under the “personal” heading in the left sidebar, click under “settings”. A “meetings” tab is selected by default, and you want to scroll down to the “in meeting (advanced)” category. Under “in meeting (advanced)” will be a switch to enable breakout rooms. Once enabled, you can also pre-schedule breakout rooms by selecting the checkbox “allow host to assign participants to breakout rooms when scheduling” – this will let you manually assign who should go into what room before the meeting starts.

How to create Breakout Rooms in Your Zoom call

To create a breakout room, either schedule an upcoming meeting or begin one there and then - either way, you must be the host to create breakout rooms.

When the meeting begins, you’ll be able to see a “breakout rooms” icon in the bottom toolbar. The icon is four small squares in the format of a big square – similar to the windows logo!

Whenever you’d like to start your breakout rooms, click on the icon. From here, you can either allow Zoom to automatically sort your participants into the number of rooms you select, or sort put each room manually. Once you have finalised the details or are happy with Zoom sort automatically, click “create breakout rooms”.

It should be noted that you can’t use two features at once i.e., you will not be able to set up and create the breakout rooms if you are currently sharing your screen.

How to manage Breakout Rooms in Your Zoom call

Once the participants have been sorted, a dialogue box will show the room(s) you’ve created. You can click on a specific room to see who’s in it, or hover over to move, rename, delete or reassign people from various room.

If you click on “options” button you’ll be able to set the duration of the breakout rooms, decide how much control participants have over their time in these sessions, and set a countdown timer to let participants know how long they have left before it expires, or the host decides to close it.

Make sure you select “open all rooms” to officially start the sessions. And just like that, you are now in breakout rooms! You can also select “recreate rooms” to shuffle the participants in any order you choose for future breakouts.

�� The Key Takeaways:

Breakout rooms in Zoom let you to group participants into virtual “rooms”, where they can have separate group discussions and then join back together later.

Though you can join breakout rooms from mobile, to create and manage them you must be on desktop.

You can create a breakout room in any zoom meeting, as long as you’re the host.

Before you can create breakout rooms, you’ll need to enable the feature in your account settings on the Zoom website – not from the application.

Once the feature is enabled on your account you will be able to see a “breakout rooms” icon in the bottom toolbar.

How Can I Have a Holiday from My Business but Not Shut Shop?

lora@lcvaservices.com (Lora LCVA) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 14:00:37 GMT

Making a holiday work when running a business can often seem impossible. Nobody wants to shut the door on existing or potential clients, if that’s for two days or two weeks.

We all deserve a break, however maybe you can’t imagine taking any time off as there is no one to look after your business while you’re away. Or perhaps your employees have organised some time off and you’re unsure how you will cover their work whilst they are absent. As an employer, you may put your own holiday plans on hold in order to cover your employees’ workload. It can be even more difficult for small businesses to do this if there are only a handful or employees, or if you are your business!

Instead of fretting, the alternative is hiring a virtual assistant (VA) to provide cover for your business. A virtual assistant can provide great holiday cover so that you can be permanently open for business no matter where you are and what you’re doing.

Why you should hire a VA to provide holiday cover

Virtual support can help take the weight off your shoulders whilst you take a much-needed break or holiday and be rest assured that you have somebody capable and competent in handling your work.

A VA will meet you first for a handover, where you can brief them on the tasks that will need completing. When you’re confident that your holiday cover is in place, you can put your feet up and relax knowing that your business is in good hands.

So, what can a VA do?

A VA can respond to email enquiries while you’re gone, organise and filter your main inbox and manage conversations on your behalf – allowing you to take a break from your inbox. If you don’t want to be inactive on social media, then a VA can also create and schedule your social media posts – keeping your marketing strategy on track despite your absence.

A VA who takes on personal assistant (PA) tasks can also help you with organising and planning your trip, such as booking travel and accommodation arrangements. They can also notify clients, employees and anyone else necessary that you have a holiday/break booked in.

What can LCVA do for you?

At LCVA, we work to improve the quality of life for busy people. You may be hugely busy with work or a business, as well as keeping things running smoothly at home. We’re here to take the burden from your shoulders, helping you enjoy your time with family and friends.

We are we often busy bees looking after the fort for our clients who are enjoying a break away – which they deserve! Some of our clients have enjoyed their time away so much that they have pre-booked our holiday cover for their next break away! Having our support will help you spend more quality time with the people you love and take the break you need.

We can help you with:

Household administration
Event organisation & management
Wedding planning & organisation
Utilities management
Bookkeeping
Making travel arrangements & booking holidays
VA & PA duties – including diary management
Holiday cover - including telephone answering, email & diary management

If the task you’d like help with isn’t covered here, please get in touch to see if we can assist you - info@lcvaservices.com .

�� The Key Takeaways:

Everyone deserves a break or a holiday, whether they are a small business with only a handful or employees, or if they are the business.

Hiring a virtual assistant can relieve you from your workload and let you enjoy your time off and enjoy quality time with your family and friends.

A VA can cover a variety of tasks dependent on the services they offer, from administrative tasks and day-to-day activities to social media content creation and management.

VA’s can also help book your holiday along with sorting travel arrangements.

At LCVA, we offer holiday support to all of our existing clients however we always welcome new businesses! We can help you cover administration, event organisation and management, bookkeeping, PA duties, social media management, dairy management.

Who knows, the virtual support over your break may become a more permanent fixture to outsource your workload!

3 Years of LCVA - Happy Birthday!

lora@lcvaservices.com (Lora LCVA) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 13:30:52 GMT

Wow! I honestly cannot believe I am writing this!

3 years ago , I was sitting in my living room of my overly priced rented house fed up being in a job where I felt under-appreciated. I was a single mum who just wanted to spend more time with my son. Fast forward to right now… I am currently sitting on the sofa of our own home with my family and our cheeky little puppy (Yes! It’s like having a baby all over again!) with total job satisfaction.

Looking back.. I knew setting up a new business was going to be tough with zero funds, but one thing is for sure… I am determined and passionate! Don’t get me wrong it’s been a tough few years and a roller-coaster of a ride but I am so SO proud of what LCVA Services has become and where we going!

When I set out back in 2018, I knew I wanted to continue to do what I love everyday but still create opportunities for others to do the same too. Why can’t we all have a flexible work/life balance, right? Well, you can! .. And that’s what I did! I took that jump into the business world. Yikes! It was scary but I have loved it really!

I am so excited and proud to sit here and say, “Happy 3rd birthday to us!!” , I honestly don’t know where the last 3 years have gone!... AND that’s not the only thing we have to celebrate! After her impressive work during a recent internship with us… Saskia is now officially a permanent LCVA team member!

The teamwork the fingers to the bone (not literally) most weeks to help those businesses in need and I am super proud! It makes my heart glow! We are looking forward to continuing to deliver our highest standard of work over the coming days, weeks and years but mostly we cannot wait share with you more of what LCVA has to offer too!

Thank you for reading this, visiting our page and taking an interest within our journey is greatly appreciated! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you <3

Love LC x

New Year, New Way of Thinking – Welcoming 2021

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 11:56:41 GMT

“You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.” – Marianne Williamson

New Year resolutions often come with a lot of pressure. They carry high expectations of what habits we should be giving up and which new goals we should be taking up. This pressure often leads to unrealistic ideals of what we should and shouldn’t be doing, triggering anxieties and negative thinking to make us feel guilty.

In reality, most of us slip back into the old ways after a week. In fact, 80% of New Year resolutions don’t make it past mid-February . Nonetheless, this time of year is one of the best times to make that change/habit or even just explore your options and goals.

We encourage you to look at New Year’s resolutions in a different way. First by starting with being a little kinder to yourself rather than setting yourself up for failure. Look into habits and goals which are realistic and healthy – rather than trying to over-achieve, look for improvement.

For 2021, we believe that changing your way of thinking is a great resolution to take on. If you’re a business that needs support, rather than pushing yourself into stress or burnout you could try training yourself to say ‘stop’ and outsource some of your workload.

Outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant means that you can spend your time on the tasks you enjoy and are good at, you can spend more time engaging with clients and customers, and also spending more time away from your business doing the things you love to do!

In our bid to support businesses we offer a no obligation chat to help explore those options going forward and to see what support may be worth looking into deeper going into the new year.

In 2018 LC met one of our now long existing clients that had come to breaking point and was seeking additional support. The first initial meeting was tearful – The client was at breaking point trying to balance all those plates but over two years on this client is no longer going it alone and has a team of experts to call on whenever needed. She has enjoyed a number of holidays knowing that the business is cared for in her absence, her health which had severely suffered has now improved greatly and feels comfortable bouncing business development ideas in confidence with us.

Remember, the key to a new way of thinking is that change doesn’t happen until you are prepared and ready for it!

How Do I Work Zoom?

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 16:41:33 GMT

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual meetings have been the new normal. There are many applications and web services that allow people to connect by video, however it is Zoom that seems to be the most universal.

This may be because of how user-friendly it is, the collaborative features it offers such as screen sharing, and the fact that it is free! Zoom is rich of useful features, and for that reason we will be looking at some of the most essential features Zoom offers and how to use them.

W hat is Zoom?

Zoom is a web-based video calling tool that allows users to meet online. Zoom users can choose to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and shareone another’s screens. User’s also have the option to call with or without video and to mute their audio, ensuring that any disruptions in their own environment may not disrupt others.

Zoom is best known to be used for video conferencing and virtual meetings, though it can also be used for distance education and social relations. Zoom is available on both desktop and mobile, both with applications.

Where do I start?

Though you don’t need an account to join meetings, it’s very useful to sign up. Creating an account means you can create a profile so then the hosts of meetings know who you are and so then you can create your own meetings too.

To sign up to Zoom: https://zoom.us/signup

Don’t worry, it’s completely free to sign up and join/host meetings. However, there are priced plans if you’re looking to host longer meetings with more participants – it really depends on your business needs.

How to join a meeting.

There are several ways in how you can join a meeting, depending on what information the host has sent you. Some hosts will send you a direct link to the meeting, meaning if you simply follow the link then you will join the meeting! Others may send you a Meeting ID and a password (case sensitive). If so, go to https://zoom.us/join or your app (on desktop or mobile) and enter these details. And you’re in!

How to create a meeting.

When creating a meeting, you have the option of either starting an instant meeting or creating a scheduled meeting. To create a meeting, toggle over the “host a meeting” tab on the top right-hand corner of the webpage. Here, you can choose how you would like to call – with or without video. Sign in using your login information or create a new account, launch the Zoom application and open! If you already have the Zoom application downloaded, you can start and schedule meetings directly from there too.

When you start or schedule a meeting, a personal meeting ID will be assigned for you to share to participants. You may also choose to send an invitation, meaning that you can distribute a link that asks potential participants to ‘sign up’ to the meeting. This means that the meeting ID and password will only be sent to those who follow the link and ‘sign up’ – perhaps some extra security if that’s what you’d prefer. Alternatively, you can create a meeting link which means if sent to someone, they can directly join the meeting.

As a host you have special privileges to record a meeting and mute any and all participants. A host can also mute everyone as they join or anywhen during the meeting if desired – no static interrupting during conferences!

How do I share my screen?

If you wish to share your screen, simply click “share screen” at the bottom of the window. It should be noted that only one person can use screen-share at a time, and one person must click “stop sharing” before someone else can start.

Alternatively, if you would like to host a meeting with only a screen share and no other form of video from your end (useful for professional webinars and lectures), you can do this by clicking on “host a meeting” and selecting “screen share only”.

Extra Information

As said, there are so many great features that Zoom offers. A host is able to record a meeting, both video or audio only, if they’d like to distribute or re-purpose. You can also create breakout rooms, so as a host you can designate times for small group collaboration without ending or restarting a meeting. They may leave the breakout rooms and re-join the main meeting whenever you set the time for. Participants have the option of virtually raising their hand for permission to ask a question or speak to a group.

Whilst these features are free to use, there is a meeting duration cap of 40 minutes on the basic un-paid plan. This is of course, upgradable using a paid version.

�� The Key Takeaways:

Zoom is a web-based video calling tool that allows users to meet online. Zoom users can choose to record sessions, collaborate on projects, and share one another’s screens.

It’s best to create an account and download the applications to your desktop or mobile – it will be easier to join meetings and you need an account to host one.

A meeting ID and password or a direct link to the meeting is sourced by the host and will be shared with participants.

Any participant is able to mute, turn on and off their video, share their screen, join breakout rooms and virtually raise their hand.

A host has the ability to mute all participants, record the video and/or audio, share their screen and create breakout rooms with a designated amount of time.

Whilst Zoom is free, there are priced plan options if you think you and your company would benefit from extra features – longer meeting, a higher volume of participants, stored date etc.

LC’s Top 5 Apps to Help Increase Productivity

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 17:15:25 GMT

LC’s Top 5 Apps to Help Increase Productivity

Many companies and individuals are constantly looking for ways to improve productivity which will in turn improve quality, reduce downtime and increase inputs of work. At LCVA, we have found that simple changes to processes and operating can increase productivity, and the biggest gain often come from adopting new technologies…aka. Apps!

Top 5 Apps for Productivity

Some of these apps we have been using since the start of LCVA, and others have been recently picked up. All of these apps are great for getting things organised and online. The best thing is that all these apps are free to download, however there are subscription options if you’d like to get more benefits out of them.

“Master Your Strengths, Outsource Your Weaknesses” – Toggl

Toggl essentially is a time recording app and desktop browser, and what’s great about it is that there are different ways you can use it. Some use it for calculating work hours (useful if you or an employee work from home), others to calculate how much time they are spending on specific client’s work.

TOP TIP – Try using it for a few days, maybe a week, and record yourself doing every task you need to do for your business. You’ll be able to see how much time exactly you are spending on different aspects (scheduling social media posts, creating content, emailing, client work, travelling). At the end of this time period, take a look at the time report that is available to you and it will show you how much time in total you spend on certain tasks.

You’ll be quite surprised at how much time you are spending on tasks and how much time you could have saved if you were to outsource some work and where you could have fit more client work in.

COST

Basic Package – FREE

Then from $10 a month – Find more details here .

“Plans Are Nothing, Planning is Everything!” – Trello

Managing a lot of clients and project work means that planning is important to keep on top of things. Trello is planning board app and desktop browser, and just like Toggl, you can use Trello for many different reasons. Trello is one of the most user-friendly project management tools out there.

Trello offers a variety of board templates which you can use for almost anything, or you can create them yourself. You are able to add cards within your board – such as work hours availability, social media content, client work etc.

You have the ability to share certain boards with others – great if you’d like to designate a new task to your team member. It also makes it easier if your team or clients are online, or if you’re always on the go.

“An Hour of Planning Can Save Hours of Doing” – Hootsuite or Later

Hootsuite and Later are social media scheduling apps and desktop browsers. There are hundreds of social media scheduling apps out there however these two apps are user-friendly and great for beginners! – they keep things very simple.

If you have a load of content you wish to post and are still logging in and posting manually every day to all your platforms.. STOP! You can plug all the content into either of these apps, and it will automatically post it for you. You can schedule specific times and dates, add images or videos, enter any hashtags you would want to use.

Hootsuite covers all social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and has some additional features if you wish to monitor your accounts. They have even recently added Instagram Stories scheduling to their packages too! Later does exactly the same too but I will say that it is a better tool for those fans of very coordinated Instagram grids!

COST

Hootsuite Limited Plan – FREE

Then from £25 per month. Find more details here .

Later for individuals – FREE (Limited)

Then from $15 per month. Find more details here .

“Business Locked, Business Security” – LastPass or Google Authenticator

Gone is the little book of usernames and passwords for important websites! Whilst you can save them on your computer, you can also use LastPass and Google Authenticator for added security.

Google Authenticator can be useful for saving personal details, passwords and credit cards – for ease of logging in or making payments. LastPass, however, is bigger and better than google! Rather than searching back through paperwork you can store additional details such as passport numbers or your driving license information which may be needed in the future when you’re not near that paperwork.

There is one thing which wins over LastPass for me – When using Google Authenticator, it links this information to your Google account. If you sign into your google account on your phone, laptop, ipad, etc… This will share your passwords over multiple devices… Yes, I agree this is great for productivity but what if one of these devices got lost or fell into the wrong hands? That person then has access to a lot of your Gmail information resulting in a greater security risk.

If you are working with a team who need to know certain logins you have the ability to share them over LastPass securely – rather than messaging or emailing them over.

COST

Google Authenticator – FREE

LastPass – FREE (Limited Access)

Then from £2.60 per month, per user. For more information click here .

“One Thing We All Have in Common…ART” – Canva

Canva is essentially graphic design but simple! Canva is great for jazzing up documents, creating graphics for social media posts, building your own leaflets or posters. They offer millions of templates which you make your own. It is very user-friendly, with an app and a desktop browser.

You have the ability to set up branding colours and fonts, whether you’re starting from scratch or upload your logo where it will simply extract the colours and create a palette.

It is such a vast database of templates and elements, it’s best to go in and have a play with creating some content! It’s very practical and you can learn as you go.

After recommending these apps to other business owners, we have received some great feedback on how these have helped others!

Jane Chesterman of Vale Wills recommends both Canva and Trello, “Canva is really user friendly and great if you want to create a quick leaflet.

I use Trello on a weekly basis to plan and design my social media posts. It’s a great way of planning and pulling the images, copy, hashtags and links together. I also use it to communicate with my social media designer as we can share access to it.”

Andrew O’Leary of F9 Films said that though he was aware of the apps beforehand, “I really didn’t appreciate how useful they could be in my day-to-day work.”

COST

Canva – FREE (Limited Access)

Canva Pro – From £10.99 per month. For more information click here .

�� The Key Takeaways:

The five free apps we recommend are Toggl, Trello, Hootsuite (or Later), LastPass (Or Google Authenticator) and Canva.
Toggl can be incorporated into your business as a time recording tool, allowing you to produce timesheets or evaluating how much time you spend on specific tasks or clients.
Trello is one of the most user-friendly project management tools which can help you plan like a pro.
Hootsuite or Later are two of the best social media scheduling apps out there, they keep it simple for beginners however have great features which can enhance your social media accounts and organise your posts.
LastPass and Google Authenticator keep any details, logins, finances secure – including any paperwork details you may need in the future.
Canva can be used to create practically anything – from brand logos, to social media graphics, to fancy pdfs and documents. The templates are especially useful if you struggle with starting from scratch and are looking for some inspiration.

What is a VA?.. 🤔

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 10:43:16 GMT

When I first set out on my new path as a VA one of the most common questions I had asked within the first year was... "What is a VA?".

My parents had never heard of it before and they have run very successful businesses for many years. I was a single parent who relied on a regular income to cover the bills but needed a better work/life balance to be there for my son and improve my health. I had this amazing business plan... And I knew I could make it work full time for me and other individuals who needed to find a good work/life balance too.

In February 2018.. L C Virtual Assistant Services was Launched! ��

So, what is a VA?

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is generally known as a person who provides support services to a business from a remote location. Typically operating from home and heavily relying on the internet, the ‘Virtual Assistant’ emerged in the 1990s with technological advancements bringing about reliable internet to more homes. Businesses soon realised that they could now employee assistance without bringing them directly into the office – something which we’ve seen an increase during the pandemic.

In a tech-savvy environment, virtual assistants are more commonplace in businesses and can offer their services for a variety of tasks. Administrative tasks are most common for virtual assistants; however, they can also assist with any other elements required by the business. Many small and mid-size business (SMEs) use employ virtual support, especially for specific tasks including social media management.

At LCVA, we aim to help other businesses reach their full potential. We can tailor our assistance services to meet your business needs, dreams and goals. We pride ourself on building working relationships with clients to ensure that we understand their business, plans and ambitions.

How can a VA help me?

Hiring a virtual assistant will free up your time and allow you to focus on optimising and improving your process for maximum growth. As previously said, virtual assistants can assist businesses with relatively any task.

Virtual support duties are not limited to clerical work. They can assist with marketing, web design, social media management, bookkeeping, cliental relationships, events etc. In some cases, virtual assistants specialise in a specific skill set and only perform duties related to those skills. Others may specialise in an industry, such as a virtual assistant whose niche is assisting local jewellery businesses.

VA’s can also assist with employee relations and offer administrative human resource services virtually. Which ultimately means no HR headaches for you, and more time to focus on what you do best!

Virtual assistants can be of great assistance and are an affordable way to outsource. They can boost your productivity, take routine tasks off your hands, manage your social media pages – and the list can continue.

No matter the size of your business, virtual support is great if there may come a time at which it's impossible to do everything by yourself, or with the team you have. If you are still able to do everything yourself, you may lose the ability to do it all as efficiently and effectively as possible. With VA experience, you may find that your virtual assistant is more proficient at certain tasks. It’s more efficient and less expensive in the long run to hire out duties you’re not skilled at.

�� The Key Takeaways:

A virtual assistant is a person who provides support services to a business from a remote location.
Whilst administrative tasks are most common for virtual assistants, they can perform any virtual tasks that your business may need.
No HR headaches.
Any business, no matter how big or small, can benefit greatly from virtual support and assistance.
VA’s may have more experience with certain tasks and software’s which may leave you feeling less stressed.

Free Download:

Download the FREE '20 Tasks You Can Outsource Today' PDF below!

Make the most of the season by following these simple guidelines

grant@blam.online (Blam Websites) — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:46:05 GMT

The new season is a great reason to make and keep resolutions. Whether it’s eating well or cleaning out the garage, here are some tips for making and keeping resolutions.

Make a list

Lists are great ways to stay on track. Write down some big things you want to accomplish and some smaller things, too.

Check the list regularly

Don’t forget to check in and see how you’re doing. Just because you don’t achieve the big goals right away doesn’t mean you’re not making progress.

Reward yourself

When you succeed in achieving a goal, be it a big one or a small one, make sure to pat yourself on the back.

Think positively

Positive thinking is a major factor in success. So instead of mulling over things that didn’t go quite right, remind yourself of things that did.

Keep in touch with site visitors and boost loyalty

grant@blam.online (Blam Websites) — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:46:05 GMT

There are so many good reasons to communicate with site visitors. Tell them about sales and new products or update them with tips and information.

Here are some reasons to make blogging part of your regular routine.

Blogging is an easy way to engage with site visitors

Writing a blog post is easy once you get the hang of it. Posts don’t need to be long or complicated. Just write about what you know and do your best to write well.

Show customers your personality

When you write a blog post, you can really let your personality shine through. This can be a great tool for showing your distinct personality.

Blogging is a terrific form of communication

Blogs are a great communication tool. They tend to be longer than social media posts, which gives you plenty of space for sharing insights, handy tips and more.

It’s a great way to support and boost SEO

Search engines like sites that regularly post fresh content and a blog is a great way of doing this. With relevant metadata for every post so search engines can find your content.

Drive traffic to your site

Every time you add a new post, people who have subscribed to it will have a reason to come back to your site. If the post is a good read, they’ll share it with others, bringing even more traffic!

Blogging is free

Maintaining a blog on your site is absolutely free. You can hire bloggers if you like or assign regularly blogging tasks to everyone in your company.

A natural way to build your brand

A blog is a wonderful way to build your brand’s distinct voice. Write about issues that are related to your industry and your customers.

Tips for writing great posts that increase your site traffic

grant@blam.online (Blam Websites) — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:46:05 GMT

Write about something you know. If you don’t know much about a specific topic that will interest your readers, invite an expert to write about it.

Speak to your audience

You know your audience better than anyone else, so keep them in mind as you write your blog posts. Write about things they care about. If you have a company Facebook page, look here to find topics to write about

Take a few moments to plan your post

Once you have a great idea for a post, write the first draft. Some people like to start with the title and then work on the paragraphs. Other people like to start with subtitles and go from there. Choose the method that works for you.

Don’t forget to add images

Be sure to include a few high-quality images in your blog. Images break up the text and make it more readable. They can also convey emotions or ideas that are hard to put into words.

Edit carefully before posting

Once you’re happy with the text, put it aside for a day or two, and then re-read it. You’ll probably find a few things you want to add and a couple more that you want to remove. Have a friend or colleague look it over to make sure there are no mistakes. When your post is error-free, set it up in your blog and publish.