Well, that answer really depends on who you ask but for us, we offer a vast range of services assisting with administrative, business development, social media, marketing, operations and many more.

By taking on recurring tasks and administrative work, we free up your time to focus on the growth & things that you actually enjoy in your business!

Ultimately, you need to make the right choice for your own business, but hiring a contractor over an employee can be advantageous primarily because of the flexibility, ease, cost transparency and experience.

I can be hired on a short or long-term basis, whatever suits you. For monthly retainer work, you can choose to terminate my services with 30 days’ notice, for whatever reason.

You only pay me for the hours I work and I cover all my own overheads, including all taxes, super contributions and you don’t pay me sick or holiday pay.

I “officially” work between 8:30am and 5:30pm AEST Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays. The majority of my work is completed within these times. However, as a mother, this is always subject to change slightly so I also open up meeting slots in my calendar up to 2 to 3 evenings a week to provide additional flexibility. I work in client “work blocks” so there are no distractions, so if we are fortunate enough to work together you will be advised in advance of the time/s I will be dedicated to you.

I also have some limited capacity for work outside of these times, so if you have some specific requirements on working times or know you will want me available for time-sensitive projects (e.g. product launches), please let me know during the proposal stage so I can ensure I can commit to meeting your requirements and that we are both clear on each other’s communication expectations and can work with them.

One of the joys of running your own business is the additional flexibility it affords, so from time to time I do adjust my schedule due to being a mum however, this will not impact any client deliverable deadlines.

To accommodate my clients’ preferred communication styles, I use phone, email and text for day-to-day communication, however happy to use any platform like Slack or WhatsApp. For video calls and meetings, I primarily use Zoom or Microsoft Teams but also have the capacity to use an alternative if the client has a heavy preference.

I do not communicate with clients about the work I do for them via social media, DMs or otherwise. These days, there are an almost infinite number of communication channels and if they are not limited, takes up more time to constantly switch between channels (not good for anyone’s productivity) and increases the chances of something being missed.

My clients also get the choice of accessing a dedicated client portal that houses all of their important documents (e.g. contract and invoices) in one easy-to-access place.

Please be aware I do not offer an “on-demand” service, which means you cannot have instant access to me at all times (exceptions can be made over short periods, such as if we are in the middle of a launch). While I will always try and “jump” whenever my clients need something last minute, I look to work with clients where “rush” jobs will be by exception only and not the status-quo. This helps me plan my work efficiently and allows me to serve my clients in the best way possible.

During weekdays I aim to respond to all forms of communication on the same day or within 24 hours. I obviously prioritise my workload, so for truly urgent requests, the time frame will most likely be shortened.

For productivity purposes, I do not check my emails and other channels of communication throughout my clients ‘work block’ periods. Instead, I allocate three daily slots to check and respond to messages, usually at the beginning, middle and end of my working day.

Ongoing clients are welcome to contact us at any time within their work block for an immediate response.

A successful working relationship requires effective communication on both sides to establish trust, particularly if you are working virtually. This is one of my first discussion points when taking on new clients to ensure our expectations are aligned.

I have worked with a lot of systems, but certainly not all of them! However, I am very tech-savvy and pick new systems and tools up really quickly, especially because I have experience with at least one system in every major category (e.g. project management tools, CRM, CMS, accountancy, email marketing platforms, social media schedulers, graphic creation tools, I could go on!)I also LOVE the opportunity to learn new things and expand my skill set as standing still is never an option for me.

Well, the good news is that I’m pretty well versed in most platforms & systems and the benefit of working with me is that I actually know what the heck is going on! So most things I can just pick up where you left off.  The downside, like as it is with bringing any new person into your business, is if you have specific processes for your project/s or tasks, we’ll need to go over these. I like to do this within our very first work block if that’s the priority so there is no time wasted. I use a process capturing system so once we go over the task once, I have the procedure with screenshots to refer to, so you won’t have to show me again! Double bonus.

Don’t worry, this is actually really common, particularly if you have been running things by yourself. We will sort through the overwhelm together by going through your business goals and journey to establish that my services are the right fit for you and how I can best support you with where you need to go.

I KNOW THAT I NEED HELP, BUT I’M REALLY STRUGGLING WITH THE IDEA OF LETTING SOMEONE ELSE INTO MY BUSINESS!

Again, this is a very normal way to feel if you’re used to doing everything yourself! I really work on building trust with my clients; the whole point of me being there is to make their lives easier and allow their business to continue down the road of success.

This starts with great communication and total transparency to build a relationship together and I will do everything I can to put you at ease when taking this massive step in your business. I would encourage you to book a free consultation call, ask me lots of questions, go away and have a think about it and then go with your gut feel.

On a day-to-day basis, I only communicate with clients via email, text, Slack, or Zoom. I am, however, open to conducting meetings in person should our geographical locations permit it.

Please be aware that dependant on the frequency of meetings required and your location, my travel expenses may become billable.

Despite the virtual nature of my work, I do love to meet my clients in person though, so if you are ever near me, let me know and let’s grab a coffee!

I will always aim to give you a minimum of 7 days notice when taking 7 consecutive days off for holiday and 14 days notice for more than 7 consecutive days off for holiday. The nature of my business will mean that I will always plan my time to complete any required work before I leave, however, I do generally retain the capacity to be able to perform urgent tasks while away, or if appropriate, will work with you to source an alternative solution during my absence.

As a contractor, I rarely have the luxury of being too sick to work! In addition, I generally organise and plan my workload to accommodate short term sickness with clients seeing little to no impact (i.e. not working too close to deadlines).

To prepare for any potential (hopefully never!) longer-term sickness, I keep documented business processes and am always working on building my freelancer network to present viable alternatives to ensure as minimal impact on your business as possible.

You do not pay me sick or holiday pay, as a contractor it is solely my responsibility to cover these costs myself.

I am a huge advocate of business continuity or disaster recovery plans. These are the things I have in place for my clients, just in case:

– I use LastPass for secure password generation, management & storage (this also allows you to safely and securely share your passwords with me).
– The data on my computer, laptop and phone is regularly continuously synced to the cloud.
– I have secondary WiFi access with a different network provider should my main WiFi fail.
– I am constantly working to develop my network of trusted Online Business Managers, Virtual Assistants and other contractors that I can recommend in the very unlikely event I am unable to complete any services.
– All of my business processes are mapped out with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), so if I unexpectedly had to take a leave of absence, my business could operate without me.