From the desk Archives ~ Diligent Assistant

April 1, 2019 by Jackie Appleby Leave a Comment

Word of the year 2019

It’s no surprise to me that exactly 3 months into the start of 2019 is when I finally decide on my word of the year. Those of you that know me well, know that I am a planner, almost an obsessive planner that comes from having lived so unplanned for so many years and suffering the consequences’ of that. It probably is a surprise to you then that my word of the year exercise was not a planned activity!

Don’t get me wrong, I tried to do word of the year exercises, even as far back as October last year, but they just weren’t resonating with me. I was busy still trying to get through 2018 and big Christmas plans with family so my time was spent elsewhere and I just couldn’t muster the mental clarity I felt I needed to pinpoint what 2019 was going to hold for me and how I was going to achieve my goals.

I was also only looking at my word of the year from a business perspective and what I have learned in my business over the years is that it is a huge part of my life on so many levels and needs to be incorporated as a whole and not left as a separate entity. That’s what sets me apart from other business owners, I feel, is that my business is not a means to an end but rather a part of me. How I conduct my business, the values that I believe in can be seen across all areas of my life.

This is the second year in a row that I have executed a word of the year and also the second time the word has manifested itself rather than been the result of an exercise or planned activity. I’m taking that as some kind of sign from a higher power that some things just are. I have become aware of certain words that seem to be repeating in my conversations, in my visions for the future, in that drive action and behaviour. Last year it was DEPTH, this year my word is CHOICES.

It started manifesting in January when I had a routine doctors appointment for a repeat prescription. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 17 years ago and have pretty much lived with a significant amount of pain every day since then. I manage the pain with anti-depressants, not that they kill the pain but rather keep my mood elevated enough that I can deal with the pain. There is no cure for fibromyalgia as yet and there is still a lot of speculation as to whether it actually exists. One doctor in England told me that there was no real reason why some people suffered from depression, Chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel, muscle and joint pain, SAD and various other symptoms, so they lumped it all together and called it Fibromyalgia. My Doctor here in Canada told me it’s all in my head – but he didn’t mean I was making it up, he means that my body should not feel the level of pain it does, that my brain is telling me it hurts when it shouldn’t.

Anyways, what does this have to do with choices I hear you ask. Well at my routine doctors’ appointment we talked about how my pain levels seemed to be higher than usual – not surprising, 2018 was a heck of a year all in all. I’ve tried so many drugs and alternative therapies to combat the Fibro over the years but nothing seems to touch it and my doctor explained that there is no drug available to “fix it”. My doctor heralds from South Africa and he then explained how Fibromyalgia is a “Western disease”. It’s non-existent in poorer countries because their lives are much more physically demanding than those of us in the western world. Over in Africa they go to the doctor (if they have them available) because they got bit by a snake or some other life-threatening issue, but for the most part their bodies are physically strong because they have to be, their lives depend on them being able to grow crops and walk miles to get to schools and amenities in some cases. They don’t have a CHOICE.

Needless to say, I am now active at my local gym 4-5 days a week and making healthier food choices. We’ll see if it works but to me the message was clear – you can choose to be in constant pain or you can choose to do something about it. Will it change overnight – no but doing nothing wasn’t going to change anything either. I could choose to feel sorry for myself and use my Fibromyalgia as a reason not to do things or I could not let it control my life. Making difficult choices are usually the more worthwhile ones.

That was my first epiphany around choices. The second was something I read and I can’t remember where but the message resonated and has stuck with me. It was about managing time, which is something I struggle with. Not in the day to day as my planning helps with that, but in terms of bigger, life-changing things. The phrase is “It’s not that you don’t have time, it’s that you choose to spend your time on other things” I started to hear myself saying “I don’ have time for that” I don’t have time to go to the gym, I don’t have time to learn a new skill, I don’t have time to read a book, I don’t have time to spend with my family….the list went on. I did, however, seem to have time for Facebook, or binge-watching shows on Netflix or napping because I was up late doing nothing in particular. Now I’m not saying these are bad choices or time wasters, that’s an entirely personal opinion, but when I re-phrased my “I don’t have time to go to the gym which will help manage my pain” to “I chose to spend my time binge-watching Netflix instead of going to the gym to help manage my pain” it kinda put a new perspective on things. FYI my gym is the kind that has Netflix on the Cardio machines so I can still binge watch if I really want to!

More recently I read/listen to “Unfu*k yourself” by Gary John Bishop which further emphasized the ability to take a hold of your life by making conscious choices and accepting responsibility for those choices. He talks about choices in terms of willingness – what are you willing to do and what are you not willing to do.

You have the life you’re willing to put up with.

Conversations I’ve had with family and friends of late have been about choices, my choices, their choices, those with no choices and the fact that choices are not always easy, but you still have them! It’s been a reoccurring theme for a while and I’ve consciously noticed it’s appearance in all facets of my life over and over so that is why I am making it the word of the year 2019. That was the easy part, putting it into practice will be the hard part! Here is how I intend to make my word of the year work for me:

The list can go on but I think you get the picture. I’d love to hear about your word of the year if you have one but I’ also love to hear about the choices you are making!

April 29, 2018 by Jackie Appleby Leave a Comment

Software Review – Less Paper Co

Software solutions for small business owners is what we do best here at Diligent Assistant, however, we always run across the same issue. Where can we find a core system that does everything the client wants but doesn’t have the custom design price tag and works in the cloud for easy access?

A custom designed system is always the best way to go for long-term solutions to your business needs, yet it comes riddled with issues at the outset. With such a huge price tag (we are talking tens of thousands in many cases) it is often way out of a small business owners budget. Couple that with the fact that many business owners don’t know what they need their system to do early on as their business model is still in development. These systems are also usually installed on a company’s own internal servers and can only be accessed from set places. Cloud Software provides much more flexibility in when and how you access your business information.

The alternative is a mish-mash of systems that do various different things to give you everything you need, such as a CRM, Accounting System, Email Marketing, Project Management, appointments and e-mail and so on. These systems can add up in cost and if not seamlessly connected can result in errors, lost time through duplication and lost revenue.

I am currently working on a custom system build with a small software company called Less Paper Co, who I believe has created the perfect product for small business owners in the Field Service Segment. A completely customizable core system that doesn’t come with the huge price tag!

The system looks similar from client to client, with some standards such as dashboard and invoicing showing in the menus however the language is completely customizable as is the functionality of each module. The interface is clean and easy to use and it’s cloud-based software so you can access the system from anywhere that has an internet connection.

The process to get started was relatively easy, the only downside is that because the software is customizable there is no demo to try before you buy. Less Paper were able to send us some screenshots of what the system might look like and an important part of the process on our end was to create a wish list of our clients’ requirements and understand how they all linked together. This wish list was then sent to Less Paper who were able to advise what they could do (we got everything on our list) and provide us with the costs for the build and the monthly subscription cost.

Upon client approval of the costs, documents were signed in January and a deposit paid, then the project was scheduled for build in mid to late March. The first round of testing was completed late April, so it took about 4 weeks to build out the system to the required specifications.

Communication has been fantastic with Less Paper Co, we started off speaking to their sales team who were able to give us all the information we needed as far as system requirements were concerned and then handled all of the contract paperwork. In March we were handed over to their development team and communication has been via email, mostly with clarify questions as the development team are great at what they do but don’t fully understand every business need of their clients so they require additional clarification. Every step of the way, when one piece has been completed, we’ve been able to test and play around to get a feel for the system before going live. Sometimes playing in the system has lead to additional requests for small items such as re-naming areas to coincide with our clients’ internal language or adding email templates and automation which the Less Paper Team has been able to easily accommodate within the current scope of the project. There are a few items such as our request for an App that fell outside of the original scope and these will be revisited once the original system is up and running effectively.

As for the price – well it is also customized, dependant on your individual needs and wants but we can tell you that the build we just completed came in under $5kUS (way under) and costs $149 US per month for 5 users (field staff that do not access the system do not count towards the users but are still able to be scheduled). The system is going to probably half the time needed for invoicing, it will better enable orders to be kept track of both from a scheduling process and invoicing, it will assist with a very complicated payroll process and cut time down there and keep everything housed neatly in one place to save even more time looking for emailed orders and further correspondence. Overall the time saved on existing processes outweighs not only the monthly cost but also some of the custom build cost too.

We’ve been extremely impressed with the entire process and the end results of what Less Paper Company has been able to produce, and our clients are super happy too. We definitely recommend a look at Less Paper Co if you run and Field Service Based business.

May 18, 2017 by Jackie Appleby Leave a Comment

How to hire the best Customer Service Representatives

Is customer service an art form? Is it something that everyone should be able to do? Is it trainable or do some people just have a natural talent for it?

In a world where everyone is in a hurry, every transaction can be completed on a screen the size of a credit card and customer loyalty left the building when the www was created, it’s more important that ever for businesses to provide outstanding customer experiences to their customers. Price is no longer the main contender in the game, with service and location now ranking as the top criteria for perceived value.

So why then is it still so hard to get some good service around here? Companies spend millions of dollars every year on customer loyalty incentives, staff training programs and making it right clean up’s because it’s easier to do that than the obvious solution – hire the right people! Service roles are considered the bottom of the barrel, for the most part, especially retail – the most customer-centric industry around! Hiring staff for any CSR position usually includes making sure they can read the employment agreement and sign their name! Sure there are reference checks and the like but with such high turnover in the service industry, most businesses take what they can get! At my last employed position I had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get my position as a team leader, with personality and aptitude tests and yet, those employees being trusted to build relationships and nurture the very people that keep us in jobs, were only asked a series of questions “tell me about a time when”.

Those very same businesses spending all this money are also covering the costs of constant staff turnover because their CSR’s feel they are paid too little to receive criticism on how they could have had more oomph in their “good morning”, or because even though this is a CSR position, they are now expected to upsell credit cards, without the paycheck of a sales manager.

I remember working with a guy back in the UK in a contact centre, who was the complete opposite end of the spectrum to what the company usually employed, how he got the job, I still to this day do not get, but I remember listening to him on the phone one day. All my fellow CSR’s were cringing as they heard him address the customer as “My Dear”. “Are you having a lovely day my dear” he would say as he navigated swiftly through his computer screens, updating details like a ninja. “Now I am noticing that you have had no claims for your husband in the last little while, is he doing ok?” “oh yes,” she said, “now that he has no teeth, he doesn’t need to visit the dentist!” and how the two of them laughed – while everyone else shook their heads. What was this profounded “fun” this CSR was having with a customer, where was the professionalism? Of course, the company received a written letter from the customer a few days later, addressed to the CEO, expressing how she had very much enjoyed her conversation with the CSR and requesting in future could she please speak to only him.

I have met people like this guy before. They are the “yellow” personality trait if you do insights, or Sanguine if you have read personality plus or the “ESFP” from Myers-Briggs. They are unruly, don’t like being managed, they are unorganised, generally messy and everything you probably don’t want to hire, on paper. But in reality, they LOVE people, and people love them and they are ideal for Customer service positions. I wholeheartedly believe that some people are born to make others happy, that is their mission in life, and if you are lucky enough to find someone who just loves to talk to your customers all day long, make sure you hang on to them and pay them what they are worth – way more than industry standards, and don’t yell at them because they didn’t clean their coffee mug!

Yes, great customer service skills can be trained, but to really stand apart, you also need to have a personality. When you let these entrepreneurial spirits sore, the referrals and sales become a natural progression and more genuine too. Customers won’t feel like they were pressured into something they didn’t really want. These yellow personalities, take the time to find out more about their customers and so can more easily match products and services.

So next time you need to hire a CSR, tell them the interview is a toga party and then hire the ones having the most fun!

May 13, 2017 by Jackie Appleby Leave a Comment

Do’s and Don’t of Financial Business Management

Let me ask you something. Why did you start your business? Was it to create something wonderful that was all yours and that could potentially allow you to have a lifestyle you have always desired? Or was it so you could take advantage of the systems, like tax breaks, corporate accounts, and discounts?

Stop treating your business like it’s a regular bank account! Mindset is a huge part of your success and if you keep thinking of your business as a never ending bottomless bank account, you will never be successful. You know what I am talking about, the “I’ll just write it off as an expense” conversations you have with yourself, or the “I didn’t pay myself so this will count as wages” purchases you make. Please stop it.

Your business deserves to be treated respectfully and it needs you to have the right attitude towards it, especially when it comes to financial matters. You know the old adage “you get out what you put in”? Well, this totally applies to your business financials. Here is a list of Financial Rules to live by, to help create a healthy bank balance and a healthy attitude towards finance.

Do pay yourself a wage – figure out how much you need on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis and set this up as an automatic transfer if you are not incorporated. Take ONLY this amount for yourself. If you are currently not making enough money to cover what you need for a wage, then either re-look at what you are taking out, or increase your sales. But stick to the same amount every time so you can start to budget business expenses.
Do get a business credit card, or if you don’t qualify for a business card, use a dedicated personal one. This makes reconciliation much easier!
Do not make non-business purchases on your business credit card. I don’t care if it earns you extra rewards or points if you use that card for all your purchases, the mess you get into with reconciliation and then trying to figure out how much you now owe the company is not worth the extra points.
Do not try to write off your everyday meals as business expenses – The CRA allows you to deduct meals for LEGITIMATE business reasons. If you were employed, you would not claim everyday meals even if you are on a lunch break eating out so why should you make your business pay for this? Legitimate business reasons include two categories – Travel Meals, and Meals and Entertainment for wooing clients. While you can’t usually claim any of your living costs as business expenses, expenses you incurred while you were away from home if your travel was related to earning business income are legitimate income tax deductions. The general rule for tax deductions related to meals and/or entertainment is that you may deduct up to 50 percent of the cost of meals and/or entertainment, or “an amount that is reasonable in the circumstances, whichever is less” (Business and Professional Income Guide, CRA). Incidentals such as coffee and doughnuts are not included!
Do not pay for refreshments for you workers or subcontractors, these expenses are not deductible as a business expense. If you want to buy an employee or subcontractor a coffee to show appreciation, it needs to come out of your pocket.
Do take advantage of all tax credits available to you as a small business owner, but make sure you have the receipts to back everything up and that you are deducting correctly, vehicle expenses, for instance, include interest on a loan that you bought your vehicle with, but only the percentage amount that you used the vehicle for business reasons and you have to be able to prove this with mileage logs.
Do set budgets for areas of your business so that you don’t overspend. It’s very easy, especially early on to buy all kinds of business equipment, stationery items, and non-essentials and it is important to understand if you really need those items at this particular point in time. I often hear – “I’ll just write it off as a business expense” that’s fine, but you still have to pay for it! Set budgets for your Cost of Goods/Services, wages, and operating expenses. This exercise will also help you understand the bare minimum you need in sales to cover those expenses.
Do know your numbers! You should have a good grasp on what your averages are for income, expenses, and COG at the very least
Do be aware of how many monthly transactions you are conducting – banks charge fees based on the number of transactions conducted each month, so cutting down on some of those non-essential debit purchase can help lower bank fees. Also making the purchases on your credit card and then one transaction per month from your bank to your credit card will also help.
Do pay for subscriptions and re-occurring expenses on your credit card where possible – things like your phone bill will not only help you rack up points on your credit card if you have that available, but will also cut down on transactions in your bank account.
Do keep track of your business mileage – you may think you don’t use your vehicle very much and the thought of tracking it all makes it not worth it, but with apps like MileIQ it becomes a breeze and you will be surprised how often you run out for supplies or nip to the bank!

Putting these “rules” in place will allow you to have more money available in your business when you need it. So you might pay a little more tax at the end of the year because you didn’t write off as many “expenses”. But that also means you will have more money in the bank! I would recommend adding “I will only pay and write off legitimate business expenses” to your business guiding principles. If you don’t have guiding principles, then it’s about time we talked!

May 8, 2017 by Jackie Appleby Leave a Comment

7 technologies every Small Business office needs

Bookkeeping Software

Probably the most important tool for any Small Business Owner! If you are not tracking at least your income and expenses, tax time becomes a nightmare, not to mention – how do you know how you are doing? A good bookkeeping system will also manage your invoicing and in some cases, will automate that for you if you have reoccurring charges! Bookkeeping software doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, you can get by with an Excel Spreadsheet for instance. My advice with any software, however, is to think about your future plans and your growth for your company. Moving bookkeeping systems when you have lots of transactions already entered is time-consuming and complicated especially when moving from a manual based system like Excel. Also, think about whether cloud-based or desktop solutions are right for you. My top pics for cloud-based software, designed with Small Businesses in mind are Quickbooks Online, Wave Accounting, Xero, and Sage One.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management Systems are where you hold all of your customer and potential customer information. They come in all different shapes and sizes (and costs) and can do many different tasks. Choosing a CRM is, in my opinion, the toughest software decision to make. As with the bookkeeping system, it pays to choose a system that will grow with you, but it’s also hard at the early stages of business to fully understand your needs. The primary function of a CRM is to provide you with a tool that allows you to communicate easily with your existing clients and those that have shown interest in your products or services but have not yet purchased from you. Sending information to your customers and following up in a timely manner is key to driving growth in your business and the right CRM can not only help with this but also save you time and money by automating much of your follow up process. CRM’s can also perform many other functions, such as managing sales funnels, providing critical sales data, managing E-mail campaigns, Project Management, Invoicing & Bookkeeping and Contract Management to name but a few. A few of my favs for small business are Dubsado, Agile, and Timely

Social Media Tools

If you are in business, you need to have a Social Media presence. From building your brand and reputation to communicating with customers and creating Super Fans, Social Media is a critical part of any business marketing plan. The sheer number of social media marketing tools available make this a difficult choice for business owners, however, unlike the previous categories, it is very easy to move between social media platforms if you don’t gel with your existing platform. Key tools to look out for in a platform are the ability to schedule or queue your social media and have it post automatically to your platforms. A system that can “listen” or monitor responses from your audience is a good advantage, as well as one that can help generate content ideas. My recommendations are E-clincher, Post Planner, and Social Pilot.

Document Creation

From writing letters to creating marketing materials, all small businesses need some kind of document creation software. If you have the budget I always recommend that you get your key marketing materials produced by a qualified Graphic Designer to ensure brand continuity. That said, not every business is in a position to do that so having tools available that can help you with document creation is necessary. The Microsoft Office suite of tools is probably the most popular and widely used option and gives you everything you need for Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Presentations and Desktop Publishing, but it does have a steep learning curve f you are a beginner. Canva is a great tool for creating marketing materials and social media posts and is much easier to learn with plenty of tutorials and help available. If you already have your business e-mail running through Google, then you have access to Google’s take on Document Tools with Google Docs.

Note Taking

You know when you wake up in the night with an epiphany, or when you have a genius moment in the shower? You need a place to store those thoughts until they can be developed. The trouble is that usually, those thoughts happen when you are away from your notepad or computer, so it’s essential to have note taking software that you can take on the go, i.e on your phone or tablet. As with most modern software thought, note taking apps are so much more that just a place to store ideas. Many have the ability to integrate with other applications and allow the automation of certain tasks. From helping you to plan out your social media to storing key business information, processes and ideas, note taking software has become a key tool to small business owners. Evernote, OneNote, and Trello are probably the biggest players in this field right now and I have used and loved all three!

Project Management

From client projects to in-house projects, managing the individual tasks and deadlines that make these up has become a complicated process. Knowing which part of the project is due next, what your time restraints are, who is involved, and what the costs are, along with many other details can be hard to keep track of. Note taking apps are generally not robust enough to keep you on time and budget when it comes to large projects so it may be that a larger project management application is required. Some CRM systems come with Project Management Built in and some Project Management Tools can double as a CRM. There are also standalone Project Management Tools that are easy to move between until you find one that suits your needs. As always, budget plays a role and often you get what you pay for in this category. Great costs effective tools for small business, includes Asana, Basecamp, Zoho Projects and Trello. With a little bit if work in setting up correctly, Evernote and One Note can also be used as effective project management tools.

Communication

Every business owner needs an effective way to communicate with staff, teams, and customers. With more people being mobile, it is essential to be able to communicate “on the go” and many prefer the option of instant messaging for quick questions and decision making answers to be able to move on immediately with tasks. Probably the most widely used Instant Messenger application outside of Facebook Messenger is Skype. Skype is downloadable on any cell phone and tablet as well as Mac’s and PC’s. It is a better option than Facebook Messenger as it is more secure and the notifications from people who are not your Facebook Friend, don’t tend to get lost. You can send documents through skype as well as host video meetings with multiple people. Hot on Skypes heals is Slack which is becoming a preferred communication tool amongst teams. Zoom Web Conferencing also has an instant messaging feature that works well.

Whether or not you are comfortable with software applications, it is the way of the world and many will choose to do business with you or work for you based on how easy you make it to do so. These 7 types of essential tools are a great starting point to bring your technology, systems, and processes into the 21st Century! Bear in mind though that there are no one stop shop solutions for business software and all of the solutions out there have different pro’s and cons dependant on your individual business needs.

If you need help choosing technology solutions for your Small Business, feel free to e-mail me at jackie@diligentassistant.ca and we can work together to find a fit for you!