For sole traders, freelancers and self-employed entrepreneurs, the ability to multi-task is a key characteristic – an essential attribute in the job description.
When people are working alone, they have little choice but to juggle various balls at once. They are responsible for business development, sales, marketing, finance and administration, plus any other tasks which need completing.
Clearly this puts a great strain on their time, both in and out of working hours. If self-employed people try to do everything themselves, they often find there simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
Hiring employees and building a business is one way to get around this problem – suddenly there is someone else with the same goals who can assume part of the workload.
But this isn’t necessary possible – or desirable – for every person working in self-employment.
Many professional people enjoy the challenge and extrinsic rewards of working on their own. Rather than taking on an employee, they may simply desire external support in a few specific areas.
In order to make a living, freelancers and sole traders need to focus on attracting clients and meeting their needs – after all, this is how they make a profit.
Their primary focus needs to be on the development of products and services, ensuring they are delivered to the required standard.
Getting bogged down on the telephone or handling endless paperwork is not at all conducive to the primary goal of the business.
So this is one area where self-employed people may wish to seek external professional support, allowing them to concentrate on what they do best – generating revenue.
Rather than acting as their own PA-turned-secretary-turned-customer services assistant, they can use virtual office services to reduce the burden.
They can gain access to an elite city address for their business, telephone answering services and other professional support.
Phone and email enquiries are received by a virtual office assistant, who offers an initial point of contact – helping to impress potential customers.
Enquiries can be forwarded on to the self-employed individual, enabling them to respond at a more convenient time.
This is far better than seeing the phone ring out because the intended recipient is unavailable.
Where this occurs, and the consumer is unable to establish contact, the next call they make may be to a rival trader or enterprise.
Posted by Steve Moore
