CASE STUDY
THE SHIP SHAPE SHOPPE
Rebekah Holmes, the force of energy behind The Ship Shape Shoppe, is not afraid of a spot of organisation. In fact, she has made a career out of her decluttering skills with her own business, which she launched in April 2018.
However, while she shines at helping people feel less stressed by organising their homes and belongings, some of her own business tasks were getting swept under the carpet – so to speak.
“I became aware that there were tasks in my business that I was putting off. When I sat down to do them, they took me a long time.”
To be successful in business, one needs to be efficient and orderly, especially when you are a professional organiser! However, you also need to focus your energies on what you do best.
So naturally, Rebekah quickly realised that it was unproductive and uneconomical to spend her time doing the tasks she didn’t enjoy that didn’t directly grow her business.
Enter Admin Army…
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS TO HELP
In order to successfully outsource a task, you need to make sure you find the right business to do it. Now, that doesn’t simply mean someone that looks good on paper. It also means choosing you are comfortable with and someone you can trust.
That way, you can have full confidence when handing over your tasks.
So, once Rebekah identified she needed assistance, she set out to find the right virtual assistant for her requirements. After hearing about Admin Army through the online business community She Owns It, and later from her business coach, she approached them for a closer look.
“What I loved about Admin Army was the professionalism – completely epitomised throughout the branding.”
CREATING A TEAM FOR A SOLE OPERATOR
Enlisting the help of Admin Army’s Virtual Assistant (VA) Retainer service package has opened a world of options to Rebekah and her business. Work that would have taken months to do – or would never have made it to the high priority list – was able to be handed off to a virtual assistant.
Having a team of experts in a range of fields also provides additional support when needed.
“If I have questions around bookkeeping, knowing that I have the experts to call on to help me out is a massive weight off my mind. Even though this is not part of the package I am using, having that expert knowledge at my fingertips is so useful.”
Running a business as a one-woman show can be exhausting. It’s simply not possible to be an expert at everything; that’s why outsourcing can be a real godsend for small businesses.
“Working with Admin Army makes me feel like I’m bigger than a one-woman band by having a team of people behind me, helping me with things and rooting for me. It gives me the feeling of collaboration that I really miss from working in the corporate world. You’re my team from afar, and I really appreciate that.”
PREPARING FOR THE UNEXPECTED
Running a business always has its ups and downs, but some years are more chaotic than others. The opportunity to get essential business tasks in order has been vital to helping The Ship Shape Shoppe manage with the Covid-19 Pandemic over the last few months.
“Without Admin Army, I wouldn’t have been prepared for the pandemic to hit. I would have used this time to focus on tidying up the back end of the business and nitpicking the small details. Instead, I’ve been thinking of those things but handing them over instead. This has freed me up to pivot and be creative to create new income streams while my main bread and butter has been impacted.”
ActiveCampaign set up & conversion
Monthly key business statistics reporting
Research projects
Bookkeeping queries
RUNNING A BUSINESS TAKES AN ARMY
Running a business takes a village (some might say an army!), but sometimes it’s just not possible to get all the support you need in-house.
Calling in the experts when you need some backup, expert advice, or just an unbiased ear can make all the difference.
“Admin Army gives me comfort: the comfort from having business worries (pandemic related or “I don’t know how to do this thing in Xero,” or the wobbles). The comfort that there’s someone else there with me, helping me along, rooting for me to succeed – I don’t have to face these things on my own.
I appreciate the effortless way that you guys take care of things. I don’t think I’ve had a situation where I’ve given something to anyone on the team where you’ve gone ‘ergh, that’s weird’ – you just take care of it. Nothing is too hard. I really appreciate that, even when it’s something I’m feeling not super confident with.”
Would you like an army on your business team? Then get in touch with us here at Admin Army. We will wage war on your admin tasks so that you don’t have to. Drop us a line today.