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NZ VA Awards Winners!

On Saturday 25th September the NZ VA Awards were held. These awards recognise hard-working and dedicated virtual assistants across 10 different categories.  If you have been following us on LinkedIn or Facebook, you may have seen that 2 of the Savvy team, Leanne and Teesha, were finalists for awards - and we are now so proud to announce they have both WON their categories! Leanne is the winner of the 'Top Performing VA Team Member' award, and we aren't surprised!Going above and be...

NZ Virtual Assistant Awards Finalists!

We're very excited to announce that 2 of our team members at Strictly Savvy have been selected as finalists for awards at the NZ Virtual Assistant Awards 2021.These awards are split across 10 different categories, and recognise and give kudos to virtual assistants across the country putting in the hard work for their clients, their communities, their teams and for their agencies....

How To Speed Up Your New Team Member Induction

In this episode of 'Get Savvy with Teesha and Jo', our topic is how to speed up your induction process. Here at Strictly Savvy, we have a specific and documented process for hiring employees and contractors. It's all about streamlining and automating as much of the induction process as possible. Obviously, you still need to spend time with your new team members and have one on one training with them. So if you have a think about all of the things that you need to teach new team members...

Should You Do A Facebook Live In Landscape or Portrait

In this episode of 'Get Savvy with Teesha and Jo', we want to talk about whether you should film your Facebook live in landscape or in portrait mode. There's not actually a right answer to this question, you can do either for different purposes. So let's break down the purposes for each videos. So for portrait videos, these are mostly targeted at your viewers that are watching your live on their mobile phones. It is best used for instant reach to your viewers and if you also don't need the video...

How To Not Look Like A Toe In Photos

Welcome to our first episode in the new Get Savvy series with Teesha and Jo! Our first topic is: 'How to not look like a toe in your photos'. We know that some of you out there are probably wondering how you can turn your 'blah' selfies to Instagram-worthy ones! Our head of creative team/photographer, Teesha, gladly shares her tips on how to take your photos to the next step! Here's a breakdown of the tips:  The first thing that you want to make sure that you do is always take photos (and t...

The End Of An Era

This is our very last Savvy Session - hear why...And watch until the end... Welcome to Savvy Sessions #30.  This is going to be the very last "Savvy Sessions with Joy and Jo" because our lovely Joy, who has been really getting into property investment lately, has now joined a property investment team.  After seven years at Strictly Savvy, where she started as a Virtual Assistant and moved into the Business Development Manager role when we realised that she was better at talking than a...

What Can A Virtual Assistant Do For You

Here, we walk through a sample of some of our clients so you can see how a VA might be able to benefit YOUR business. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #29. In this episode, we're going to be asking the question 'What can a virtual assistant do for you?' Sometimes one of the hardest things to work out when hiring a virtual assistant is what they can actually do for you? So we're going to cover off a few of the clients that we work for and the types of tasks that we help them with. Hopefully that will pr...

Five Security Questions To Ask When Hiring A Virtual Assistant

Security and confidentiality are paramount when allowing others to access your files & systems. You'll hear the important questions to ask surrounding security when hiring a virtual assistant. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #28. In this episode we're going to be covering off five security questions to ask when hiring a  virtual assistant. Now, disclaimer here, we're not IT experts, but we have been doing this for quite some time in conjunction with IT people. Some of the things we'll go over are...

Top Tips For Delegation

With the set up of a few simple systems, you can get off to the best start with your virtual assistant. Find out what they are in this episode of Savvy Sessions. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #27. In this episode we are going to be talking about delegation. We've got Lance Jensen along with us again. Lance, how about you tell us a little bit about how you choose to delegate,  your best tips for encouraging others to be able to delegate and how you've refined that process over the time. I guess ...

Client Case Study - Coach

Lance Jensen of Red Hot Business Coaching gives us some insight as to how he's found using Virtual Assistants over the past 6 years. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #26. In this episode we're going to be talking to Lance Jensen of Red Hot Business Coaching and Consulting about his experience using a virtual assistant. Not only is Lance a director of Red Hot, but he's also the CFO right here at Strictly Savvy. Thanks so much for joining us Lance. Cool, looking forward to it. Lance, before using a ...

3 Systems for Virtual Assistant Success

With the set up of a few simple systems, you can get off to the best start with your virtual assistant. Find out what they are in this episode of Savvy Sessions with Joy and Jo. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #25. In this episode we're going to be discussing three systems for virtual assistant success.  Now first up is the all important email and this can often be the first thing that a potential client sees about your business. So you want to make sure it looks as professional as possible. Havi...

How To Create A Brief For A Designer

In this episode of 'Get Savvy with Teesha and Jo', we want to talk about creating a good brief for a designer. It can be for a logo design, collateral design, brochures, or even web design. The first thing to do is to make sure that you choose a reputable designer. Someone who is a professional like Strictly Savvy's very own Teesha. Check and make sure that it's not someone who has just watched some YouTube tutorials and now they are a 'graphic designer'. The difference is that you're not going ...

How To Scale Your Business Using A Virtual Assistant

Ever wondered HOW you can scale your business by using a Virtual Assistant? Here, Jo & Joy give you real life examples of clients that have scaled up, as well as down. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #24. In this episode we are going to discuss how to scale your business using a virtual assistant. Now, given the recent global pandemic, the benefits of this type of scalable resource have become massively evident. Here we are going to look at two different examples of one that's scaled up, and one that'...

How To Best Prepare For A Virtual Assistant

If you've made the decision to get a virtual assistant on board, here are our top tips on how best to prepare yourself for handing over to them. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #23. In this session, we're going to be telling you 'How To Best Prepare For a VA'. Now the number one thing you need to do is get in the right mindset. So you need to be confident and comfortable that you're ready to hand over and let go.  You've got to get into that place where you're realising that you need to be an ope...

How a Business Coach Might Use a Virtual Assistant

If you're a business coach, a VA can help you juggle your clients. Check out the key reasons why a business coach could benefit from the flexibility of having a virtual assistant. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #22. In this episode we are going to be covering off 'How a Business Coach Might Use a VA'. The first one is phones. People who will be calling saying, "I need to change my appointment" or "I can't make my appointment tomorrow”, "I want to talk to a business coach and I want to have a sessio...

How A Tradie Uses A VA

If you're an Electrician, a Plumber, or any other tradie, we've got you covered! Check out the key reasons why tradies use a virtual assistant, and benefit from the flexibility. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #21.  In this session, we are going to be explaining to you how a tradie uses a virtual assistant.  Firstly, one of the top things that a tradie gets a virtual assistant to do is answer the phone. Because we all know that tradies have lots going on and they're doing lots of work throug...

When Is The Best Time To Hire A VA?

There is no one 'right time' to hire a VA, it all depends on your mindset. Here Jo and Joy give you some triggers to look out for. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #20.  Today's question is "When is the best time to hire a VA?" The short answer there is there's no best time that fits everyone. The key time really is when your mindset is in the right place, you know that you're ready to outsource and think of the little triggers that might pop up during the day. Are you doing things regularly that ...

Do You Need to Have a Website Set up from Day 1 Before You Have Any Clients?

Depending on the nature of your business, you may or may not necessarily need a live website before you secure clients. Let's unpack that. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #19. In this video we're going to be answering the question from Sue Ellen, which is, "Do you need to have a website set up from day one before you even have any clients?"It depends on what type of business you're creating. Obviously, if you're selling products online, 100% you need a website. Now if you're selling services or coachi...

How Much Time Would You Commit To Training Before Your VA Becomes Productive?

The success of your new VA will rely heavily on the input and communication from you in the initial set up phase. How much time you dedicate will depend on the nature and volume of tasks you delegate. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #18.  Today we have a question from Neil Berryman, and he asks "How much time would you expect to commit to training before they become productive?" Essentially, when you do start up you have to have a handover, like a training session. Generally, you can allow up to ...

Can I Please Have A General Life VA?

Virtual Assistants don't need to be purely business focused, they can often help you out with personal admin too. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #17.  Today's question is from Sarah Wilson and she asks "Can I please have a general life VA?" Well Sarah, yes you can. When you sign up with a virtual assistant, quite often they will do pretty much anything that you want that takes things off your plate. As well as helping you with the admin side of your business, there's nothing stopping them from a...

What Do VAs Mainly Do?

Ever wondered what Virtual Assistants do? The scope of work can be vast, but here Jo and Joy highlight the most common tasks. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #16. In this video we are going to be answering the question from Karen Kaye which is "What do VA's mainly do?" It all depends which type of virtual assistant you get, whether you're getting a virtual assistant who specialises in a particular area.  What we do at Strictly Savvy is a whole range of tasks that a virtual assistant might do. Mai...

Why Australian Business Owners Should Consider Using A New Zealand VA

Hey Aussies...ever thought about the benefits of using a New Zealand based virtual assistant? Here we give you a few reasons to ponder... Welcome to Savvy Sessions #15. In this video we will be telling you why Australian business owners should consider using a New Zealand virtual assistant. One of them is that there is not that much difference between Australia and New Zealand. We're like cousins.  You would say we sort of love-hate each other, don't we? But because we're so similar, the cu...

How A Virtual Assistant Actually Completes Task For You Remotely

Ever wondered how a virtual assistant actually does the work for you remotely? Jo and Joy shed light on the subject, and reveal it can be easier than you may have thought. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #14. In this session we will cover how a virtual assistant actually completes tasks for you remotely. The key to this is absolutely utilising technology. There's tons of it out there now and this is how it's all possible for a virtual assistant to work remotely. Things like communication bec...

The Pros And Cons Of A Local Virtual Assistant Versus An Overseas Virtual Assistant

There are a number of factors to consider when trying to decide whether to hire local or overseas.  In this clip Jo and Joy take you through some important factors to consider. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #13. In this video we're going to be telling you the pros and cons of a local virtual assistant versus an overseas virtual assistant. We'll go through overseas first. So the pros of an overseas virtual assistant is that you can get them for cheaper and they can work overnight for you, so dif...

The Biggest Threat To The VA Industry

In these times, there are threats to all industries. Can you guess what is the biggest threat to the virtual assistant industry? Joy and Jo delve into their take on this impending threat. Welcome to Savvy Sessions #12.   Today we'll be telling you what the biggest threat to the virtual assistant industry is. Most people would say it's AI, and we tend to agree a little bit, and we disagree a little bit. So, AI is definitely going to be scheduling appointments and doing all sorts of task...