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Tag Archives: Virtual Office business

Working From Home With Kids – Survival Tips.

Friday, 08 May 2020 11:55
Richard Cooper
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working from home with kids

 

In the course of our working week we speak to many clients who are adjusting to working at home with kids around.  What has become apparent is that most of them set the bar way too high.  I can assure you from having spoke to so many homeworkers that you need to be realistic in how you organise your time and your parenting.

It’s All About Survival

Now is the time to embrace what work-from-home parents discovered long ago– it’s not about winning the gold; it’s about aiming for the bronze. This is a perfect moment to finally recognise just how much you’ve been coached to perform parenting. To occupy those little minds with creative and imaginative games.  To turn out Nigella-style brownies and then to head into  Highgate Woods and make daisy chains or whatever it is you’ve been doing out there. YOU are NOT the ‘Domestic Goddess.’  You are just a parent working from home with kids.  It’s time to be basic.

Set a Realistic Schedule

The other day a Hold Everything client who has been homeschooling her kids for a more than a year explained it all to us. So now we can explain it all to you.

Depending on your kid’s age, the support their school is able to deliver, and what your kid can reasonably put up with or do on their own, make a basic, manageable schedule you all can follow (because it’s not only their schedule now, it’s yours, too). Bottom line: You are not an authentic school. Nobody expects you to be a real school. You are just a mum working from home with kids. The very best you can aim for is your kid having something a bit educational or enjoyable to do on the days you work. My homeschool “days” were more like a few hours. I repeat: This is not real school. You can’t replicate a real school. Stop trying.

Food, Water, Fresh Air

The most important items on that timetable, she explained,  are activities that seem incredibly boring but are unquestionably critical and somehow also easy to discontinue, she needed  to recognise that while she would ensure her kids were fed or they went outdoors to play she  would be having a cup of coffee for a meal while hunched over her monitor for hours at a time.  Then, not at all surprisingly she’d really lose her temper with her children by 11 a.m. or even earlier. You need to eat, drink and stretch your legs. Eating can be a sandwich, a drink can be water, outside time can be walking the dog  or a quick trip to the corner shop.. You might believe you can’t afford the time to do those 3 things, but as my client said, you really need to do them.

mum working from home with kids

Reboot Your Brain.

If you take away nothing else about this advice on working from home working from home (with or without kids) let it be this– your brain really needs breaks to work well. Our work experiences from the day we first set foot in an office is we should be grinding away in front of a screen in order to do our jobs well. But that is really nonsense..

We don’t understand that office jobs actually have some breaks included, even if they don’t feel like breaks. A colleague passes by to chat, you pop out to pick up lunch, even meetings take you away from having a constant focus. Working from home with kids we try to replicate what we believe is the nonstop focus we have at work (again: we don’t) and wonder why it doesn’t, well, work. It’s because it is not possible and bad for you. So rather than thinking of helping your kids or making them a snack as taking time away from your own work-related tasks, acknowledge these moments as brief breaks that will allow your brain to reset, and will eventually make your work time a bit more productive once you return to it.

All in the Same Boat.

If distance working from home with kids is a novelty for you then you’re benefiting from a time when so many others are experiencing more or less the same level of disruption. Everyone has kids peeping in on their video calls. Everyone’s dogs are barking loudly in the background. That’s what on/off buttons are for on webcams.   We all know work is going to suffer and parenting will  also be negatively affected we can’t escape from any of that.. There is no glittering prize waiting for us at the end of this.  On the plus side, you know that that you have the amazing support of the team at Hold Everything to help you through, to answer your phone and check your mail.  As all our clients know, we make working from home, with or without kids, a workable solution.

 

 

 

Tips to Avoid Legal Problems in Your Small Business.

Thursday, 06 June 2019 08:51
Richard Cooper
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We all know that law firms make lots of money from litigation and one of the most profitable areas is business law. This ranges from everything from libel suits (defaming a competitor) to mishandling customer data. Fortunately most of this expensive problems can be mitigated by a combination of common sense and correct insurance cover.

Follow our tips to avoid expensive legal costs.

Here at Hold Everything on Regent Street we have heard many stories over the years from companies who have fallen foul of legal guidelines, be it HMRC or for data protection failure. Even simple things like GDPR compliance need taking seriously to avoid costly solicitor’s letters.

If you are setting up a new business it is well worthing appointing a business solicitor to be on call for any troubles that might arise, prevention is an excellent strategy in this area. We are always here to discuss business problems with our clients and if we don’t know the answer ourselves we can certainly put you in the right direction.

How to successfully run a Virtual Office…

Wednesday, 10 December 2014 14:12
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virtual office boardroom table on beach, working remotely from home or on holiday

Virtual Office is the future. Numerous studies and articles have reported a rise in productivity for your employees and positive results for businesses who choose to operate outside of a traditional work environment. In other words, if you’re running a Virtual Office then ‘you’ are the future.

To those used to a conventional business set up, Virtual Office can be daunting. So here are some helpful hints and tips on how to successfully run a Virtual Office and most importantly how to make the most of it.

One of the key benefits of a Virtual Office solution is the ability to employ a diverse and talented workforce. Without the constraints of specificlocation, you can hire your employees from anywhere in the country, allowing you to pick the most qualified and enthusiatic rather than the most convenient.

So you’ve got your extended team of skilled individuals spread across the country, now the first challenge:

How do you manage your team?

First and foremost Virtual Office is all about social collaboration. Communications channels such as Skype, FaceTime, Google hangouts and other online instant messaging platforms are a fantastic way to keep in touch with your team. Although Virtual Office allows a flexible working approach it is important that you are still seen as the boss. Confirm some ground rules for your staff with a regular scheduled catch up using a platform of your choice. This allows you to keep on track of their goals, progress and keep connected to your employees.

Another key tool for a successful Virtual Office business is using an appropriate file sharing service. The emergence of cloud hosting platforms has allowed businesses to share and update documents in real time without the need of single server. All you need is an internet connection and employees from around the country can be sharing and working on the same documents, therefore keeping up to date and on track with your schedule. This allows you as the business owner to track progress within a common area.

Keeping up appearances

Although Virtual Office is all the rage, the concept of running your business from home can be seen as unprofessional and associated to less established businesses. To make the most of your Virtual Office you can utilise the registered London address on Regent Street as your offical business contact. Not only can you use the address but you will also have a dedicated London telephone number for your company. This gives off a professional vibe to potential clients putting their mind at ease that the business is both recognised and trustworthy.

You then need to use the service to your advantage clearly setting out a guide for mail forwarding, so all your business mail can be sorted through and sent on to an address of your choice. Hold Everything also offers a telephone answering service, this means not only do you have a London number to use but your virtual assistant will answer the phone on behalf of your company, take messages and direct important calls on to the correct contact. This means you will never miss a call again and save critical time getting distracted by sales calls.

Many people think that running a business from home can only related to a one-man job however I hope to have shown how Virtual Office gives a solution for all companies, big or small, with benefits to cost, flexibility and efficiency when managed well to make the most of your Virtual Office package.