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Whether you’re a mother or a business owner, both roles are demanding. But what if you’re both? Many women juggle motherhood with business ownership and while it can be challenging, there are also many rewards and benefits to this.

Being a mother and business owner can mean squeezing in time to work between parenting duties or scheduling meetings to work around childcare as well as managing time pressures. On the flip side of that, running your own business gives you the flexibility to attend your child’s school events, in most cases work hours that suit your family and have some flexibility to look after your sick children if the need arises.

So, how can you make juggling motherhood and business ownership easier for yourself? How do you give each of your priorities – motherhood and business the time they deserve? There are many things you can do to find the right balance between family and business commitments. 

Many would agree, organisation is key. Both motherhood and business rely on it and it goes a long way to ensuring things run smoothly but while it is important, there are many other things you can do to effectively juggle these two roles.

Create a schedule

A schedule will help you plan your day so clashes between family and work commitments are less likely to occur. Most business owners would agree, that owning your own business means there are no set hours and at times your business will have demands that just can’t be sorted out during business hours. If this is the case allocate time that is purely for family and set aside some time to focus solely on business matters.

Have a reliable support team

Having people around that can support you at home or at work will help ease some of the pressure you may face. Employing reliable staff will ensure your business is in good hands when you’re not there. The same goes for your family. Having one or many people that can help you out when you have to work will ensure your family is well looked after.

Be flexible

Kids getting sick or clients not being able to meet at a time that suits you means you may have to shuffle things around. Having some flexibility to re-arrange your day will allow you to accommodate unexpected changes.

Prioritising work and family commitments

There are elements of family and business you just can’t miss. Prioritising special family occasions, extra-curricular activities, important business meetings and anything else that requires you to be present should all be prioritised.

While these factors can help with juggling motherhood and business ownership, everyone is different and it’s important to find a system that works for you and your circumstances.

Virtual Assistants ‘VAs’ offer an array of skills and can complete pretty much any task in your business, ranging from creating/managing websites to receptionist work. A VA is there to help you in your business, by taking away the stress of completing tasks that you might not have the time (or inclination) to do. Having a VA in your business is a game changer, and you will see instant results within your business and personally.

Today I am going to share some of the tasks that a VA can take off your hands and what I offer here at Aspire Admin Services.

Tasks covered by a VA

• Website Creation/Management
• SEO
• Copywriting
• Bookkeeping/Accounting
• Email and Calendar Management
• Reception/Bookings
• Social Media Management
• Content Creation
• Graphics
• Marketing
• Sales
• Blog Writing
• Customer Service
• Troubleshooting
• Organisation
• Email Marketing

This is just to mention a few tasks, there is endless possibilities when it comes to tasks that a VA can do within your business. There are VAs that specialise in certain tasks, as they have the skills and knowledge required in that particular area of expertise.

AAS Provides

Allied health specialty

I have current experience and knowledge within the allied health industry. This is an industry that I am passionate about and is my area of expertise. I love working with clients within this field to help them organise their business and set systems in place to ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. While I specialise in the allied health field, I do have experience in other industries and am more than happy to work with your needs.

AAS can help with:

• Practice management software experience
• Patient and calendar management
• Invoicing
• Billing and claims through HICAPS Go and Medipass

Business documentation

Business documentation can be something within your business that you don’t have time or the patience to organise. That is where I can help, by ensuring everything is filed, organised and documented effectively and efficiently. Creating a seamless system that will take the pressure off you so you will feel organised within your business.

AAS can help with:

• Document library management
• Policies and procedures
• Process maps (Word or Visio)
• Staff reference and resource material
• Systems documentation

Administration Support

Getting administration support can help tremendously, by saving you time, stress and taking your business to the next level. I offer all of the administration support you need, creating a solid foundation of polices, procedures and resources. I will work with you to help your business grow to new levels.

AAS can help with:

• Document creation and formatting
• Agreements and contracts
• Advanced skills across the MS Office suite
• Adobe Pro documents and forms
• Database creation and maintenance
• Excel automation and VBA
• Mailbox management
• Calendar management and appointment scheduling
• Survey creation and analysis

Automation and efficiency

Having the right systems in place within your business is key to success. I help by setting up automation systems to save time and help with increasing business opportunities. I am highly efficient and can set up emails or promotions on auto pilot. This is beneficial as it takes the pressure of you and you now have time to focus on your area of expertise within your business.

Financial Processes

In business our finances or accounting can be daunting and something that can often be left to the last minute. I can help with ensuring systems are in place for things like reporting and invoicing, taking the stress away from you.

AAS can help with:

• Federal government wage subsidy expert
• Agreement management
• Evidence preparation and submission
• Invoicing and quotes
• Payment schedules and monitoring
• MYOB, Xero and Reckon One experience

If you’re an Allied Health practitioner or small business owner, you know how valuable time is, and how much of that time can be taken up by paperwork and other behind-the-scenes tasks.

If you’re ready to grow your business to the next level, and need help with your business planning and administration, but aren’t in the position to hire a full time staff member, a Virtual Assistant is the solution!

We take care of the mundane so you can take care of the creative.

If you would like to get in touch with me to discuss how I can help, you can contact me here.

Policies and Procedures.  Not exactly the sort of topic that gets many people excited.  However, these business documents are a crucial detail for any business, of any size.  Let’s take a closer look at why they are so important.

Why do we need them?

Policies and procedures are the skeleton that holds a business together.  You can’t see them, they’re not pretty, but without them, everything would fall apart. 

Every business has policies and procedures.  Whether they’re written down, or just in your head is another matter.  Knowing what you do and how you do it is great, but if you want your business to grow, and have stability for unforeseen situations, having your P&Ps documented is super important. 

Nobody wants to think of the worse-case scenario, but what would happen if you were suddenly in an accident, or taken ill, and unable to be hands-on in your business for an unknown period of time?  Would someone else be able to step into your shoes, keep things on track, and not make a royal mess before you get back?

Policies – the What and Why

Policies are simply an explanation of what your business does, and why it does it that way.  For example, a standard Financial Management Policy would have clauses such as:

• Company XYZ is committed to honesty and integrity in all aspects of its financial management process.
• Financial decisions are made within a sound accountability framework, using robust and transparent systems.
• The organisation undertakes regular reviews of financial systems and engages in independent audits.

This makes it clear that this business is operating within a legal and ethical framework, with openness and honesty, and that all staff or contractors engaged are expected to act in the same way.

Each business will have different policies that are relevant to them, to their industry, and to their product or service offerings, however some standard policies that many businesses would have include:

• Privacy Policy
• Financial Management Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Workplace Health and Safety Policy
• Human Resources and Recruitment Policy
• Customer Service Policy

Procedures – the How

Now that we know what the business expects, and why, we need to spell out the ‘how’.  This can be the tricky part, and it can feel a little overwhelming to begin with.

One easy way of starting is to literally record a process being completed from start to finish.  If it’s a task completed on the computer, using a tool like Loom or Zoom to record your screen can be really useful.  If it’s a manual task, having someone take notes while you perform and talk through the task can be helpful.  Otherwise, you can simply write down each step as you do it.

These notes or recordings then form the basis to develop your procedure, where each step is summarised clearly and simply, in a logical format that is easy for people to follow.

There are a couple of different ways procedures can be documented. Some of the main ones are:

1. List – a simple step-by-step list of instructions
2. Infographic – written instructions combined with screen shots or images to demonstrate different steps
3. Process map – a diagrammatical flow chart that includes decision points and conditional logic

The complexity of the process, as well as the target audience, will help determine which format will be best.

The process of documenting your procedures can itself be a learning experience, and highly valuable.  It’s a great way of identifying inefficiencies and potential areas for improvement.  Hand-off points, opportunities for automation and system integration, delegation or outsourcing can also be easily highlighted.

Once you have policies and procedures in place, the tasks of onboarding new staff, expanding your business, and taking time off all become a whole lot easier!

Whether you decide to tackle documenting your P&Ps yourself, or decide to engage a virtual assistant to help you out, getting these fundamentals right will help your business now, and into the future.