When I first started as a freelance Virtual Assistant, I quickly realised that if I wanted to be effective, I needed to learn how to use a variety of new tools and software packages.
Fear of the unknown and not being a ‘techie’ made me a little nervous about new technology, but as my business has evolved these new tools and skills have become critical to my day to day life.
In this blog I wanted to explain some of the tools I use, how I use them, and how they could benefit your business.
Toggl – this system is basically a time tracking system. I use it to give my customers visibility into the work I’m doing for them, and how long it’s taken. It helps build trust with new customers and helps me block my time more effectively.
You can log different clients, projects and tasks in this system, and simply click the timer for each task completed. This system can also be used retrospectively as well as real time.
A report can be downloaded which breaks down what tasks were completed, the date and time the task was done, and the amount of time taken. The reports can be more detailed, but this is the only information my clients tend to require.
The free option of this tool is sufficient for me but also has paid for options should you require it. Packages for ‘Starter’, ‘Premium’ and ‘Enterprise’ that are on offer start from $9 per user/month.
Canva – this is an amazing tool for creating graphic design. It has a vast gallery of pictures which you can use (both free and paid for versions) that are of high quality.
I use Canva to create my social media visual content, as well as create a template for business cards as I wanted to try and create my own. You can use a variety of designs that are already available or build your own from scratch. I must warn you, once you get started with Canva, you can easily get carried away!
Canva is extremely easy to use but if you need some assistance, they have some quick tutorials that you can watch to help guide you through.
You can save up to three of your business colours in the free version ensuring that you are consistent with your branding. Being consistent with your business branding is very important so this is a useful benefit.
Again, I use the free version of Canva. But if you want to upgrade to ‘Canva Pro’, it will be $9 per month which is billed yearly or ‘Canva Enterprise’ is also available. If you want to try before you buy with ‘Canva Pro’, they have a 30-day trial.
Hootsuite – this is one of the social media scheduling systems that are available. I use this easy to use scheduling system for my social media posts in LinkedIn and Facebook.
Depending on how often or how many accounts you would like to connect to the system will depend on whether the free or paid version is suitable to your business. With the free version you can schedule up to 30 separate posts to 3 different social platforms.
It is more time efficient to set aside an hour or so to schedule your posts than trying to find time every day to post them. Scheduling tools are a must for business efficiency.
You can see on each board what content you have previously posted, and the amount of engagement received on each post. This can help you decide what content has been successful to assist you with future content.
The free version is sufficient for what I need to use it for. If you would like the paid for version, packages start from £25 per month. 30-day trials or demos are available.
Trello – this task management tool can be used not only for your business but also can be used with clients too. There are other management tools available but this one has worked well for me.
My clients are able to see my progress with tasks they have requested. They also have the ability to add tasks to the ‘to do’ list as well.
You can use this as a personal to do list if you prefer to be 100% virtual. Unfortunately, this did not work for me and I reverted back to my paper diary. You have to try to see what works best.
Trello is a free platform if you have less than 10 team boards. They paid for options are ‘Business Class’ costing $9.99 per user per month and ‘Enterprise’ which starts at $20.83 per user per month but the more users you have the lower the price becomes.
So, what’s next? I am always looking at different tools to assist with my work. I am currently looking at my website and the providers I use, so watch this space…
Zoe Marden set up ZVA in September 2017. ZVA specialises in transcription, minute taking and copy typing. For more information or to discuss your requirements further, please feel free to email info@zva.org.uk.