On managing your workload…

This is how it can feel when all your work descends at once...

You can have a few relaxing days, and then it all descends upon you at once.

Why does this happen? Do clients of people who run their own business all get together behind our backs, sniggering, and pen in a specific day to make a work request? Is there a customer training course that states ‘if you commission work from a sole trader, make sure your deadline is always yesterday’?

Don’t get me wrong, I love work. I love getting requests from great people to do great writing. I just don’t like having to extend deadlines when I deliver it to someone. I’m the kind of person who likes to respond immediately, and it grates on me when I can’t produce something straight away.

So. I’ve been thinking about how one should manage situations like this. Here are my thoughts. If you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!

How to run your small business without having a nervous breakdown…

Hire a Virtual PA

The rise of the Virtual PA is a beautiful thing. There are some superb companies out there who you can hook up with to help you with tasks such as administration, constructing presentations, managing your in-box and all manner of other paperwork. The beauty of the Virtual PA is that they only need to be employed when you really need them.

They work by learning about you and your company, and then picking up the mantle when you’re nearing breakdown.

The best company I have ever come across for this service is run by a talented person by the name of Traci, at http://www.askmypa.com/. She’s like a hurricane of effectiveness and productivity, and engaging her services lets you sit back, relax, and breathe!

Engage other Freelancers

It stands to reason that if you are struggling to complete all your jobs, you may be at the point in your business when it’s time to outsource. Rather than feeling bad about this, consider it as being a testament to the fact that your lowly little business is gaining momentum and flourishing in to a superb organisation.

Hire freelancers carefully, and pick people who write to a great standard. It’s no good paying someone to work for you only to discover you spend half your time correcting their mistakes. In your pricing, factor in the inevitable truth that you will have to read every single piece of work which is submitted from your freelancer, always, to make sure that they are reflecting your own OCD-esque standards.

Manage customer expectations

When things were slow and you were starting out, you probably jumped at every piece of work which came in with eagerness, and knocked it out immediately. Now, you need to pace yourself to avoid meltdown. Your customers will understand that you can’t immediately deliver if you have a list of things to do a mile long. They come to you because you are the best, and if this means calling them and explaining that it will take you x days to do the required job, that is fine. In fact, that is normal!

Imagine if other industries did everything immediately? We’d have Christmas decorations in the shops in April (rather than August!). The roads would all be dug up at the same time, leaving us carless and frustrated. Our businesses are no different – we need to pace ourselves, to give the best possible results.

Put in a contingency plan when things are quiet, for when they pick up

This is a no-brainer, but needs to be stated. When things are quiet, take the time to brief your freelancers, clean your processes up and do all the administrative jobs that will make life easier when you get hit with a barrage of work. That way, you can use your time wisely and plan ahead for busy moments.

Work constantly, even when there’s little work to do

When you find yourself with much-needed breathing space, don’t walk away from your laptop and start decorating the house. You need to make like the tortoise rather than the hare at times like this – slow and steady wins the race! Take this time to network, catch up with clients, update your schedule and enhance your blog.

Clone yourself

OK. This last one is just wishful thinking. But how great would that be? I would clone myself three times. One Jen would go out to work, the other would clean, and the last (‘real’ Jen) would stay in and catch up on daytime TV, sleep a lot, read book after book, write for pleasure and potter about in the garden…