Marianne sent us a brilliant question for discussion:

“How do we reframe our language and mindset to stop using terms like ‘just an admin’ or just a VA’ – or the word JUST in general – when talking about what we do with others?

What are some of the ways we can reframe and reword our language (particularly emails!) where we use apologetic language? As admin, we are often made to feel like we are quite a way down the ladder of importance, so we are trained (or brainwashed) to be apologetic if we take a little longer to respond, or don’t have the solution instantly. Of course, it’s made even worse when you are female, because you seem to be apologising constantly!”

Ooof! Right in the feels with this - when you’re providing support to other people in business, you’re anything but JUST an assistant. We unpack this one even further with a side note of how to respond with a little bit of humour ;)

These are the funny phrases we mention, so please enjoy!

https://www.boredpanda.com/passive-aggressive-email-phrases-meaning/

And if you have a question you’d like us to answer, you can drop it to us here

https://forms.gle/Fa2p79UHB9C3ZuX3A

Have you been blending paid employment with self employment? Or are you toying with the idea of returning to a job - whether that be casual, part time or full time?

If so, this episode is for you.

Rosie made an announcement this week that after 20 years she has taken on a part-time position - a REAL LIFE ONE with paid Superannuation, people and she leaves the house! And we’re all here with her, cheering her on. It’s opened up some incredible conversations, and there have been many people who share that they also blend the 2 income styles, or are considering getting a job.

This is about creating a business that works for you, and this is what we’re about - doing, building, and embracing what works for you, your family, and your season.

Let’s chat about how designing a business unique to you can be a wonderful goal.

When Marisa from Your Virtual Desk sent through the question “How to put a stop to feeling like you always need to be on” both of us let out a knowing sigh. This is something that we can all relate to when working in a remote environment. It’s an experience that comes with a bit of a gut punch when you start to dig a little deeper, and we share our tips on how we’ve helped to reduce the ‘always on’ mentality in our businesses.

In this episode, you get to enjoy Amber’s full awkwardness as she tries to navigate yet another challenge set by our cheerleaders, Leanne Woff from Audacious Empires, and Kym Bina from VPA Support.

If you have a question you’d like us to answer for you, fill in our form and we’ll share our response in an upcoming episode:

https://forms.gle/NKTxQuTLKtvj5jC86

When you’re a solo-operator working across multiple clients in different levels of support, taking time off requires a whole new level of navigation – regardless of the type of service you offer. In this episode Amber talks about the lessons she learnt when wanting to take time off for school holidays, and introduces a term called ‘RAP’ (Reduced Activity Period).

There’s also a hint of cheek and awkwardness that starts to come through as we are set challenges from fellow business owners, Leanne Woff from Audacious Empires, and Kym Bina from VPA Support. There are words we’re NOT allowed to say (and you hear the penalty: butt butt butt), and then there are terms we HAVE to say #totesawks

Welcome to the full level of us both embracing our authentic selves from here on!

In this episode we answer Sarah's question which was: "How do I build healthy habits around invoicing when struggling with mental health?" Sarah's question goes on to share that consistency and confidence can be affected when she gets burnt out or is going through a rocky mental health phase. It's a beautiful question and we thank Sarah for asking and sharing with us. We discuss our thoughts on this concern and touch on some of the factors we feel can impact invoice confidence and what we think might be able to help. Enjoy!

In this episode we answer a question from one of our awesome listeners, Amanda Primrose from Streamlined Organising who asked "what do you think about having a virtual assistant team to service your clients?"

Great question!

So we dig into the pros and cons of setting up a team in your VA business, exploring the realities of subcontractors and how they are often priced differently, the benefits to clients, the challenges as the team manager.

Enjoy!

How much information should you share with clients about your personal situation?

This great question was sent to us by the lovely Shauna from Shauna Upson Copywriting.

"How much would you tell potential clients about your medical/personal circumstances/kids etc that will affect your working hours, - all of it or none of it, or perhaps just set boundaries that allow you to function around personal stuff without anyone needing to know?"

Watch to hear our answers!

Working from home comes with it's own list of challenges so in this episode Amber interviews Rosie about her experience of working from home for 2 decades and her tips on how to make it work for you.

Don't forget, if you have a question you want us to answer, let us know via this form - https://bit.ly/4dnQj8s