Virtually Brady Blog

26 Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant in 2026 (and Stop Doing It All Yourself)

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 20:55:22 GMT

When you first started your business, you probably didn’t think about hiring an assistant.

You were focused on building something meaningful, learning what works, figuring out your daily routine, connecting with clients, and turning ideas into plans. You were doing the work you loved, and every day was a mix of excitement, challenges, and growth.

But as your business grows, the list of tasks keeps growing.

Suddenly, you have to focus on managing marketing, doing all social media posts, handling administrative tasks, updating business materials, improving online visibility, and all client communication (the list goes on and on). And, those ‘great ideas’ you have been dreaming of still need to get done.

There is only so much time in a day, and even the most passionate business owner can feel stretched thin when doing all the things.

If you constantly feel like there are not enough hours in the day, you are not alone. The good news? You don’t have to do it all yourself.

Hiring a virtual assistant isn’t just about delegating tasks. It’s about creating support, building systems, and giving your business room to grow.

So if you’ve been thinking about hiring a virtual assistant this year, here’s a quick-fire list of 26 reasons it might be a good idea.

26 Reasons It Might Be Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant

You’ll finally be able to reclaim hours in your week.
You can focus on revenue-generating work. (Because let’s be real… spending hours managing your inbox probablyyy isn’t bringing in the income you’re hoping for! A virtual assistant can handle those things while you handle the rest.)
You can stop drowning in admin tasks.
Your email marketing can actually go out consistently. ( Here’s why that’s so important )
Your Google Business Profile will stay updated. (Or, if you’ve yet to get your Google Business Profile launched, we can mark that off your list, and if you’re not sure why that matters, click here for the deep dive .)
Your systems will get organized. (And sometimes getting organized is truly the KEY to your business growth – here’s why . )
Your customer communication will improve.
You’ll reduce burnout .
You can scale without hiring a full-time employee.
You only have to pay for the hours you need. (Don’t have the budget to hire someone full-time? No problem! With a VA, you can hire for the hours you truly need.)
You’ll get specialized skills without long-term overhead. (Looking for someone to help you in a specific area without committing to a long-term hire? That’s what a VA can be for! For example, I work with many clients helping them get their email marketing off the ground and in a consistent rhythm before they take back over.)
Your brand presence will stay consistent.
You’ll have accountability for projects.
Your website updates will no longer sit on your to-do list for months.
Your social media will become strategic instead of random.
You can create better client experiences.
You’ll free up mental space.
You can meet deadlines with less stress.
You can create repeatable systems.
You’ll get support during busy seasons. (The beauty of hiring a VA is that you can hire them for help for specific seasons. Launching something new soon? Running a big promotion? Those are examples of seasons where you might need more hands-on help!)
You’ll stay visible online.
You can finally implement the ideas you’ve been sitting on. (As a business owner, I know you have TONS of ideas, but do you have the TIME to actually implement them? With a VA taking certain things off your workload, you can finally focus on NEW things for your business!)
You’ll be able to operate more professionally.
You’ll gain a partner who sees the big picture. (Which means that you can stay on task and delegate to someone who also gets it . )
You’ll have an improved work-life balance. (If you feel like you’re married to your business, that’s a big red flag that something's gotta give.)
You can finally get your time back, and that changes everything. ( Here’s a deeper dive into how outsourcing parts of your business can truly give you your time back!)

Did one of those 26 reasons get you thinking?

You Don’t Have to Do It All Alone

Doing everything in your business is not successful.

In fact, one of the smartest things you can do is recognize when it’s time for a little support.

Whether it’s with email marketing, admin tasks, your Google profile, or keeping things organized behind the scenes, having help can make a big difference.

When those time-consuming tasks are taken care of, you can focus and work on the tasks that matter to you and help grow your business.

If even just one of these 26 reasons had you thinking, wondering, or having additional questions ... it might be time to chat to see what can work for you.

At Virtually Brady , I’m here to help you take tasks off your plate so you can focus on what matters most in your business.

Let’s chat and see what that could look like for you. Click below.

I Don’t Have Time to Outsource: Why That Mindset Might Be Holding You Back.

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 19:52:09 GMT

Outsourcing is one of the smartest moves a business owner can make because growth doesn’t happen when you are buried in the day-to-day.

When you’re just starting, you can often make it work, but as your business starts to scale, there will be a time when outsourcing becomes a necessity, not a luxury.

Here’s the problem though…

The idea of having someone help with business tasks can sometimes make some business owners feel overwhelmed. And some believe it takes too much time to outsource.

And it makes sense why you might feel like this. When you bring someone new on board, there is a short ‘training’ period. You’ll need to explain a few things, maybe share access to some items, and walk through a few of your systems.

While that part of the onboarding process might feel like it’s going to take up too much of your time, the truth is that this short-term effort creates long-term relief.

Just think about the time you will SAVE in the future when you effectively train someone to take tasks off your plate. Outsourcing isn’t about handing off your entire business. It’s about identifying the tasks that are draining your time, energy, and momentum, and removing them from your plate.

The goal isn't to make your life more complicated. The goal is to clear your mind and schedule so you can work on what matters most for you and your business.

How Outsourcing Is Different Than Hiring an Employee

The beauty of outsourcing is that it’s NOT the same as hiring a full-time employee.

When you outsource, you’re not bringing someone onto your payroll, managing benefits, or worrying about office space and equipment. Instead, you’re partnering with an experienced person who already knows how to handle the tasks you need help with, you just have to give them a little extra direction to make sure they are set up and ready to go to help with your specific business.

You don’t have to create 40 hours of work a week or commit to a long-term contract. Instead, you get support that’s flexible, efficient, and tailored to what your business actually needs.

It’s like having the help of a team member, without the overhead of being someone’s boss.

That is also why outsourcing often takes less time than hiring an employee. You are bringing someone in to complete specific tasks, not just to fill hours.

But Can’t I Just Do It Faster?

As a business owner that’s thinking about outsourcing, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking, ‘It would be faster if I just do it myself.’

And maybe in that one moment, it is. But when you keep saying that over and over, day after day, it’s no longer faster. It’s a cycle of burnout.

The time you spend showing someone a process can save you dozens of hours down the line.

When you outsource, you’re not just getting help with tasks; you are gaining:

A focus on the bigger picture for business growth
Time to work on the business, not in it
Relief from the “I’ll get to that later” pile
A trusted second brain (and extra set of hands) helping to get tasks done

It is not just about saving time. It is about making things clear and having a smooth schedule.

Outsourcing is a Partnership

At the end of the day, outsourcing is really a good business relationship when you do it RIGHT.

When you choose to outsource to the right person, you won’t just be handing off your busywork. Instead, you will build trust with someone who can support you for the long haul. Over time, that partner learns your style, your tone, your business ‘quirks’, and that’s when the magic happens.

The good thing is you don’t have to outsource everything at once. You can start small, but the point is to simply start.

Start with one thing.

Then feel the difference and go from there.

If you’re ready to START, I’m here to help! As a virtual assistant, I am not waiting for you to tell me every step. Sure, we need to have one initial meeting to get set up, but I am coming in ready to learn, ready to streamline, and ready to make your life easier.

You don’t have to build an entire ‘training’ program to bring someone in effectively. You just need to share what’s been draining your time, and we can create a plan that works for YOU and your business.

If you’ve been hesitant to outsource because it feels like ‘another thing to do,’ consider this your permission to stop doing everything yourself.

A quick conversation can be the start of getting back your time, without adding more to your plate.

Ready to find out what support could look like for you ? Let’s chat! Just click → HERE .

Business Tasks to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:19:55 GMT

Have you ever ended your day thinking, “Wait… what did I even do today?”

You were busy, no doubt about that. Between replying to emails, drafting your newsletter, posting on socials, updating your Google Listing, answering calls, and keeping your coffee warm, the day is over, and you have not even tackled half of your to-do list.

And looking back at it, what part of that work day brought in revenue?

There are only so many hours in a day. Yes, you can do everything, but you can’t do it all, not if you also want to sleep, eat, and occasionally see your family.

Sure, you can try to hack your time: waking up earlier, staying off your phone, color-coding your planner hour by hour. But even with all that, you are still playing catch-up.

If your business is steady and you are content, maybe that’s fine.

But if you’re looking for more growth, more reach, more income, here’s the simplest move you can make: Outsource.

Outsourcing doesn’t mean you are handing over the whole business to someone; it means you are getting the assistance you need, so you are not the only one doing all the things .

It is the simple act of hiring help, but in a better, budget-friendly way.

Time-Consuming Tasks You Don’t Need to Do Yourself

Have you heard the statement ' Do what you do best and outsource the rest?'

At first, it sounds great, and you believe you know what to outsource, until you start thinking, ‘But I’m actually good at a lot of these things.’

And that might be true, as you can do everything, but being capable of doing it all doesn’t mean it’s the best use of your time.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should , especially if doing it all is leaving you burned out, behind, or stuck in the cycle of ‘busy but not growing.’

So where would you start?

The good thing is you don’t have to outsource everything at once. You can start small; the point is to start.

No matter if you are a new business owner or one who has been around for a few years, there are always time-consuming tasks that you must do for your business to keep it running.

You need emails answered. You must pay bills. Marketing is needed to grow your client base and be found. You need to keep all business materials updated .

And when you started your business, it wasn’t because you were passionate about working these time-consuming tasks. It was because you wanted to share what you love with others.

When you stop spending your energy on all the constant busywork, you will finally get the time to focus on what actually grows your business. The stuff you want to be doing. Your passion.

And when that happens, business starts to move in another direction.

Maybe you have been in business for a while, and maybe you are just starting. Either way, the time-wasting tasks are there.

Areas To Start Outsourcing as a Business Owner

Administrative Tasks

The behind-the-scenes work that keeps your business running is also what can drain your time fast. Things like, managing your inbox, organizing files, updating spreadsheets, calendar and scheduling management, new client onboarding and gifting, the list can go on and on.

All of these are essential tasks. They are the ‘small’ things that add up fast. Outsourcing administrative tasks frees up your mental space and your calendar so you can focus on the parts of your business that truly need you.

Email Marketing

Staying in touch with your audience matters, but planning, writing, and sending regular emails can feel like a full production. When you outsource email marketing , you are not just handing off the task; you are getting consistency, strategy, and a better connection with your audience without the weekly stress. It is a great way to keep your customers and gain new subscribers.

Google Business Listing Management

Keeping your hours, posts, photos, and events updated on your Google Listing matters more than you think, especially for local visibility. When you outsource this task, you will show up more and make a good impression on customers, who will stay loyal to your business.

Website Updates

Your website is often the first impression a potential customer has of your business, and if it's outdated, you might be turning them away without realizing it.

Outsourcing website updates means someone else is regularly posting new blogs, adjusting your business hours, swapping out seasonal offers, and keeping your brand materials aligned and fresh. It's one less thing for you to think about, and one big way to stay professional and relevant online.

E-Commerce Management

Managing your online shop is no small task. From tracking inventory and updating product listings to troubleshooting order issues and making sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, it can quickly become a full-time job.

Outsourcing this allows you to keep your store accurate and efficient, so you avoid issues like overselling, out-of-date products, or frustrating customer experiences.

Social Media Support

Keeping up with content, captions, and consistent posting takes time and planning. Outsourcing your social media means your brand stays visible and active online, and having help posting your content on several platforms can be a major time-saver.

Outsourcing Can Save You Time and Money

Outsourcing is often seen as an expense when it is actually an investment.

When you free up your time, you make space in your schedule for revenue-generating tasks, client relationships, and business growth.

When you do everything yourself, it can end up costing you more in the long run.

Outsourcing is not hiring a full-time employee with benefits, payroll taxes, and equipment costs. You are contracting a service for the specific help you need, when you need it.

That means you can get professional support without the overhead. It’s flexible, cost-effective, and focused. It is a partnership that gives you time. The time for you to work on what actually grows your business.

When you outsource, you are gaining time and saving money. It is the way to 'work smarter, not harder’.

Ready to start outsourcing in your business?

Overall, outsourcing might feel like a big step, but it’s often the smartest one you can take for your business.

You free up your time, reduce burnout, and hand off the tasks that drain your day, without the cost or commitment of hiring a full-time employee.

Whether it’s managing email marketing, organizing your administrative tasks, updating your website, or keeping your Google Business Listing updated, partnering with a virtual assistant gives you back the time and energy to focus on growth.

As a virtual assistant, I help small business owners get more done, without doing it all themselves.

If you are curious what that could look like for you, click HERE .

5 Simple Ways to Grow Your Email List

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:11:04 GMT

Growing your email list is essential for building strong connections with your audience and expanding your reach.

While creating great content is important, consistently promoting your email sign-up is just as crucial.

I know growing your email list and promoting your sign-up can sometimes feel like a complicated task. You might wonder, 'What else can I do?’, ‘How can I share my sign-up link in new ways?'

The truth is, the more visibility you give it, the more opportunities you create to attract new subscribers who are genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

While it may seem complicated, success comes down to consistently sharing and making it easy for people to join.

In this blog, we’ll explore simple and effective ways to gain more email subscribers and keep your list growing.

5 Simple Strategies To Boost Your Email Subscribers

Some may assume they can simply add all their contacts - family, friends, customers, and clients (past and present) - to their email list. However, that’s not quite the case. Legally, anyone receiving your emails must ‘opt in’, meaning they need to give you permission to be added to your email list. This ensures compliance and helps build a more engaged audience.

With that in mind, here are some simple, effective ways to grow your email list and gain more subscribers.

1. Ask for Sign-Ups

Many businesses overlook a simple yet effective way to grow their email list, and that is to just ask. When connecting with new contacts and sharing your information, be sure to invite them to sign up for your email newsletter. If they give you permission and their email address, you can add them to your list.

At events or trade shows, have a sign-up sheet at your booth so attendees can easily join your email list. A QR code linking to your sign-up form is also a great way to make it easy for them to sign up.

If you're new to email marketing, reach out to your existing contacts, family, friends, customers, and clients, letting them know about your newsletter. Provide them with a direct sign-up link or ask them to reply if they'd like to be added.

For retail stores, make email sign-ups part of the checkout process. Ask customers if they’d like to receive updates on new products, sales, and exclusive offers. You can also add a QR code link to your sign-up form to flyers in your store or include it on a thank-you card given with each purchase.

If you have an online store, make sure there’s an option at checkout for customers to subscribe to your email list. A simple checkbox allowing them to opt in for updates, special offers, and new product announcements can help you grow your list effortlessly. This is also when you can include a thank you card with the QR code in their shipment.

If you have a podcast or YouTube channel, mention your email list and its benefits. Something like “you can get exclusive content by joining my email list, my link in the description” can help convert your audience into subscribers.

2. Sign-Up Forms

Make sure your email sign-up form is easy to find on your website by placing it on key pages like the homepage, about page, and blog sidebar. Keep it simple, asking for just an email address and a first name can encourage more sign-ups.

Another great way to capture subscribers is through pop-ups or slide-in forms. A well-timed pop-up, such as one that appears after a few seconds or before a visitor leaves your site, can encourage more sign-ups as well.

Don’t forget to include your sign-up link in your email signature, client documents, at the end of a blog post, and other materials to keep it in front of potential subscribers.

Encourage your current subscribers to share your emails with friends by including a sign-up link in every email. You can even add a note at the bottom that says, “Enjoyed this? Forward it to a friend.”

3. Lead Magnets|Freebies

People love free, valuable content, and they’re typically willing to exchange their email address for a resource that they find useful. Depending on your industry and the type of work you do, you can create something that your audience will want to download, such as a free guide, a checklist, a template of some sort, or another type of helpful resource that makes sense for your business. The most important thing to remember is to make sure that your lead magnet is relevant to your audience’s needs and interests!

If you have a store, you can offer a special discount, free shipping, or an exclusive coupon offer.

You can also host a giveaway and encourage people to sign up for your email list by offering a chance to win a prize. This works especially well when the prize is relevant to your business, such as a free product, service, or exclusive discount.

4. Social Media Promotion

Using your social media platforms is a powerful tool for growing your email list. The key is to post about the value of joining your list and not just telling people to sign up. If you can share a sneak peek into the exclusive content, the discounts you offer or something only shared in the e-newsletter it will encourage people to join.

Being consistent on social media is also important. Don’t just post your sign-up once and forget about it, build the sign up content into your social media posting schedule. You can feature it in your posts and stories, directly linking to the sign up form. It is also good to pin a post to the top of your grid or page, explaining the benefits of subscribing and where to sign up. Be sure you have the link in your social profile(s) as well.

The goal is to let potential subscribers know that by signing up, they’ll receive special perks such as early access to sales, VIP discounts, or exclusive content that isn’t available elsewhere. Creating a sense of ‘exclusivity’ can boost sign-ups.

5. Collaboration

If you work with another business or solo-entrepreneur on any project or event, it is great to team up with them and share each other’s email list sign-up. This is also great for promotion when you share a similar audience. You can do this when you co-host a webinar, maybe run a giveaway together or you feature each other in your newsletters and share their sign up post on your social media. When you start to connect with an already engaged audience that aligns with your business, you can attract new subscribers who are interested in what you offer.

Email List Growth Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

Growing your email list takes consistency and strategy, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

By making sign-ups easy, promoting on social media, offering valuable incentives, and finding creative ways to connect and ask for potential subscribers, you can steadily build an engaged audience.

The key is to focus on quality over quantity. Meaning, that number of subscribers you have doesn’t matter.

Yes, you want to continue to work on the growth, but what matters is who your audience is, not the number of subscribers.

Attracting people who genuinely want to hear from you and what you offer will lead to better engagement and stronger relationships.

Remember to keep your email sign-up a priority, explore new ways to attract subscribers, stay consistent, and watch your list grow with an audience that matters.

If you are ready to plan your email marketing so it is working for you, click HERE . Together we can make that happen. ��

Want to explore more topics about email marketing? Check out these blog posts below and dive into some good email tips, strategies, and helpful to-do's to help grow not only your email marketing but also your business.

Email Marketing Blog Posts

Why Email Marketing is a Must for Small Business Growth
How to Get Started with Email Marketing
Email Marketing Content: What Do You Even Say?
Looking for more content ideas? Click the graphic below for a FREE content list with 21 prompts to help you keep the content flowing.
Why Quality is Better Than Quantity in Email Marketing

Why Quality is Better Than Quantity in Email Marketing

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 17 Apr 2025 17:49:46 GMT

The email marketing audience often doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Many focus on subscriber count but overlook who is actually on the list and what they care about.

Understanding your audience and what they find valuable is the foundation of successful email marketing.

When you know who your subscribers are, what challenges they face, and what interests them, you can craft emails that truly resonate.

Instead of just another message in their inbox, your emails become something they look forward to. And when your audience feels like you’re speaking directly to them, they’re more likely to open and read.

You build trust and strong relationships when you provide them helpful tips, exclusive offers, or the fun behind the scenes.

Email marketing isn’t just about promoting your business, products, or services, it’s about creating a true, loyal connection.

A Little Story About Knowing Your Audience

A while ago, someone gifted me a very bright pink T‑shirt with some bling. The shirt screamed cotton candy dance party, but here’s the catch: I’m not a fan of pink. Not even close.

There’s nothing wrong with the shirt itself, it might be perfect for someone else. But for me? It didn’t fit at all. I felt like I’d joined a glittery clown circus. I am a neutrals girl; black, gray, white, and maybe taupe when I feel wild. That pink shirt lived in my closet for years, tags still attached, because it simply wasn’t me.

That’s exactly what happens when you send emails without knowing your audience. Even the best‑intentioned, well‑designed message can miss the mark if it doesn’t align with the people you’re 'talking' to. Instead of sparking excitement, your email ends up unopened, like that T‑shirt, destined for the donation bin.

So how can you know your audience?

How to Know Your Email Audience

One of the best ways to understand your audience is to simply ask them.

Send out a quick survey or poll to learn what topics they’re most interested in. Even a short email asking what they’d love to hear more about can provide great insight.

Beyond that, pay attention to what your customers and clients are already telling you.

What questions do they ask when interacting with your business?

What challenges do they mention?

Use real conversations to guide your email content .

Email analytics also provide valuable clues.

You can look at what subject lines get the most opens, which links are clicked, and what content brings engagement. By tracking what appeals to your audience, you can create a more effective email strategy.

The key to successful email marketing is listening, both through direct feedback and data.

When you truly understand your audience, you can send emails that feel relevant, personal, and worth opening.

Quality over Quantity: Why It Matters

A strong email marketing audience isn’t just about having a big list, it’s about having the right people on that list.

Your goal is to attract and keep subscribers who truly care about what you have to say, offer, or sell.

Your target audience is what truly matters, they are your VIP list in business, the contacts who value what you offer.

The number of subscribers doesn’t define success; having the right subscribers does.

And if people unsubscribe? That’s actually a good thing!

It means they were not your ideal audience, and their exit makes room for those who truly want to be there – I talk more about loving the unsubscribe in THIS blog post!

An engaged email list is far more powerful than a big one full of people who aren’t interested.

Let’s say you own a boutique that sells holiday-themed gift boxes. Someone signs up for your email list in November to grab a special discount on a Christmas gift. They make their purchase, enjoy their order, and by January, they unsubscribe.

At first, that might feel like a loss, but in reality, it makes sense. They were interested in a one-time holiday buy, not year-round shopping. And that’s okay! They got value from your emails when they needed it, and now they’re making space for subscribers who do want to hear from you regularly.

It’s not about keeping everyone , it’s about keeping the right ones .

When you focus on quality over quantity , your email marketing will be more effective and enjoyable, for both you and your subscribers.

7 Ways to Build and Maintain a Quality Email Audience

So, how exactly can you go about building and maintaining a QUALITY email audience? There are a few simple key strategies you can use!

Attract the Right People

Make sure your sign-up forms, lead magnets, and social promotions speak directly to your ideal audience. If you are offering a freebie, discount, or exclusive content for email sign-ups, make sure it aligns with the interests of the people you actually want to be on your list.

Be Clear About What They’re Signing Up For

If someone subscribes expecting weekly tips but gets daily sales emails instead, they’ll unsubscribe fast. Set expectations upfront, and let them know what they are getting.

Use Segmentation

Not every subscriber has the same needs. Grouping your audience by interests allows you to send targeted emails that feel more personal and valuable, and keep engagement high.

Provide Value Consistently

If every email is just a sales pitch, people will tune out. Share useful tips, behind-the-scenes content, or personal stories that connect with your audience.

Keep It Personal

Use names, customize content based on their interests, and write like you’re talking 1:1 to a friend.

Clean Your List Regularly

It’s better to have a smaller, engaged list than a large one full of inactive subscribers who never open your emails. Remove unengaged contacts and focus on those who are active on your list.

Consistency Builds Trust

Sending emails regularly keeps you ‘front and center’. If you go months without emailing, your audience may forget about you, leading to lower engagement.

You Own Your Email List, So Know Who’s on It

Your email list isn’t just a collection of names and emails, it’s a powerful business asset that you own .

Unlike social media, where you are in ‘rented’ space and the algorithms control your reach, your email list is something you have more control over.

Building a strong email audience means you always have a direct line to your most interested customers and clients, no matter what happens on other platforms.

By understanding your audience, delivering valuable content, and increasing your connections, you build a loyal, engaged community that supports your business.

Remember, focus on quality over quantity, embrace unsubscribes as a positive thing, and keep showing up with content that matters.

If you can use some help with email marketing and growing an audience, click HERE .

We can create a plan that works for you. ��

________

Email Marketing Blog Posts

Why Email Marketing is a Must for Small Business Growth
How to Get Started with Email Marketing
Email Marketing Content: What Do You Even Say?
Looking for more content ideas? Click the graphic below for a FREE content list with 21 prompts to help you keep the content flowing.

Email Marketing Content: What Do You Even Say?

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 18:16:03 GMT

One of the most overwhelming parts of email marketing is figuring out what to say.

What content should you share?

How do you keep it fresh and engaging?

The good news is, you don’t have to start from scratch. Even if it doesn’t feel like it at first, your business already has valuable information your audience wants to hear (that’s why they signed up for your emails in the first place).

If you have a website, or you post on social media, you’ve already created content that can be repurposed into great emails.

Remember, your audience wants to hear from you. They’re looking for insights about your business, your offers, and how you can help them.

As mentioned in this blog post, valuable content is key to building strong connections with your subscribers.

Not sure where to start?

Here are 5 simple ways to generate content ideas and create emails that engage and inform your audience.

5 Ways to Generate Content Ideas for Your Email Newsletter

Getting started with content ideas for your business begins with understanding your audience and what they need and find valuable.

Here are a few ways to generate content ideas:

1. Answer Common Questions

We all get asked questions, right? Chances are, if one customer is asking, many others are wondering the same thing. Use these frequently asked questions as inspiration for your email content. Providing helpful answers builds trust and keeps your audience informed.

For example, I’m often asked, “What exactly do you do as a virtual assistant?” This single question has given me several content ideas since my work covers many areas. I can break services down into individual emails, each highlighting a different service I offer, stretching one question into multiple valuable pieces of content.

A retail store, for instance, might frequently get asked about its return policy. Instead of answering it one-on-one all the time, why not include it in an email? Maybe even as a quick note at the bottom of every message. It’s a simple way to provide useful information while reinforcing your policies.

Think about the common questions in your business because chances are they’re great content waiting to be shared.

2. Share Success Stories

Sharing success stories is a powerful way to engage your audience and build trust. By showcasing how your product or service has made a positive impact, you can inspire and connect with your readers.

One of the most effective ways to do this is through customer testimonials. Sharing the connection you had with a customer, along with their testimonial, is providing real connection and feedback directly from satisfied clients, offering valuable insights into how your business has helped others.

Audiences really look to reviews before buying products or booking services, so asking for reviews and feedback regularly can give you a steady stream of positive content to share. You could even share a testimonial at the bottom of each email you send.

3. Behind the Scenes Content

Behind-the-scenes content is a fun way to connect with your audience, giving them a ‘sneak peek’ into your business and showcasing a more personal side. This type of content is popular on social media, so why not extend it to your email marketing as well? (because not everyone is on social media, and using the same content across multiple platforms is a win-win)

For example, if you’re a retail store owner, you can share how you stock your shelves and create eye-catching displays. Using words and photos in your emails helps your audience see another side of your business, making them feel more connected and engaged with your store.

Celebrating your business’s achievements is also important. Whether it’s a company milestone, an award, or a significant business win, sharing these moments with your audience reinforces their connection to your success. You can also highlight how their support helped you reach those achievements.

If your business is involved in charity work, events, or anything outside the usual business routine, let your audience know. Sharing these activities helps personalize your brand and shows that you’re engaged in your community.

This kind of content does more than just inform, it builds social proof, makes your emails more relatable, and inspires trust. When your audience sees others succeed with your help, they’re more likely to engage with your business and become loyal customers

4. Promote Special Offers

Promoting special offers through email marketing is a great way to engage your audience and encourage action. Whether you’re offering a limited-time discount, a seasonal promotion, or hosting a special event, email provides a direct way to reach your audience with personalized and exclusive offers and invites.

An email that highlights a special offer can create urgency and excitement. For instance, if you're offering a limited-time discount, you can emphasize the deadline, reminding your audience that they need to act fast to take advantage of the deal. You might also add a countdown timer to visually reinforce the sense of urgency. Additionally , you can send follow-up reminder emails as the deadline approaches.

Offering exclusive deals to your email subscribers can make them feel valued and special. Remember, your email audience is like your "VIP" list, so make sure they get access to specials and deals before you share them on social media and be sure to let them know they’re getting exclusive access. Make them your #1.

Seasonal promotions are also a great opportunity to connect with your audience. Whether it’s a back-to-school sale, holiday discounts, or summer clearance, aligning your offers with the time of year can make them feel timely and relevant. These seasonal promotions can drive traffic and sales while showing your audience you’re tuned in to what matters most at that time.

Here’s an important note though: I’ve noticed that many small retail businesses only send emails when they have a new product launch, which often happens weekly. While I’m all for promoting new product releases when they go live, I encourage you not to limit your emails to just showcasing products when they are new. Your products are available year-round, so it’s important to highlight them periodically throughout the year, not just the new arrivals.

Additionally, don’t restrict your emails to product promotions alone. Share valuable insights about your business using the five ideas outlined in this blog post.

By connecting with your audience beyond just sales, you’ll foster stronger loyalty and keep them engaged with your brand.

Don't forget to use engaging visuals in these emails. Creating images that showcase the offer can grab attention and make the email stand out in the crowded inboxes. You can also use these images on your social media after sending the VIP email. (another win-win for content in multiple platforms)

Overall, promoting special offers is all about creating value and urgency. These emails reward your loyal subscribers and attract new customers who are excited to take advantage of a great deal.

5. Repurpose Existing Content

As I mentioned earlier, if you have a website or post on social media, you’ve already created content that can easily be repurposed for emails. Blog posts also make excellent content for your emails, providing information to your audience without extra effort.

One of the simplest and easiest ways I found to repurpose content is by turning my blog posts into email content. This is a concept I learned in The Writer's Room and has made my email content so much easier. When I was just starting, I would take my blog posts and turn them directly into emails, using sections of what I already wrote and linking to the full post for my audience to read. It was a great starting point to help me get consistent with my email marketing, and one I continue to do.

Social media content is another area to look at for email marketing content. If you've posted tips, updates, or other information about your business, you can bring it to your emails.

Additionally, if you’re feeling stuck on content ideas, don’t forget that you recycle old email content as well. I was in a co-writing group where our leader talked about reading what you previously sent out in your emails for content ideas. If you find you have previously sent out an email with useful information, revisit it and make some updates or tweak the offer you had. You are then saving time for content and keeping your emails consistent and valuable.

Overall, repurposing existing content for email marketing is a smart and efficient way to keep your emails fresh and engaging without always starting from scratch. Whether it’s blog posts, website content, or social media posts, you likely have a good collection of content that can be used for your email audience.

Not quite at the content stage yet? Click here to read my blog post, Getting Started with Email Marketing . This post will help you lay the groundwork before jumping into what to say.

Email Marketing Content Should Not Feel Overwhelming

Creating engaging email content doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

By exploring the five content ideas shared, you can discover what works best for you.

From my own experience with email marketing, the more emails you write, the easier it becomes. Instead of stressing over what content to create, you’ll find yourself excited to share what you already have.

Consistency not only makes content creation easier but it also helps you write messages that truly connect with your audience, where they are looking forward to opening your email and ‘seeing’ what you have to offer.

Still stuck on what to say? Let’s brainstorm together and find the content for your brand. Click HERE to connect with me. ��

Looking for more content ideas? Click below for a FREE content list with 21 prompts to help you keep the content flowing.

How to get Started with Email Marketing

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2025 18:16:00 GMT

Business owners often tell me they want to use email marketing but feel overwhelmed by where to start or how to make it work effectively.

Others tell me they’ve already started, but after sending one email, they never went back to it...a ghosted email list.

The good news?

Email marketing isn’t as complicated as it seems, and you don’t have to do everything at once. The best part is that you can start small and grow at your own pace. The key is consistency.

A single email won’t build connections or grow your business, but a well-planned, ongoing strategy will. Like any valuable business strategy, email marketing does require time and consistency.

Whether you have a handful of subscribers or a growing list, every email you send helps build relationships, establish trust, and keep your business top of mind.

There will always be opportunities to optimize, tweak, and expand your email marketing efforts, but the most important step is to keep showing up.

With the right foundation in place, you can turn email into one of the most powerful tools for engaging your audience and driving business growth.

Keep reading for a step-by-step guide to help you do just that.

Top 4 Key Steps to Start Email Marketing

Whether you're just getting started, have only sent a single email, or use email marketing randomly, this list is for you. No matter where you are in your email marketing journey, these insights will help you maximize your efforts.

Step 1: Choose an Email Marketing Platform

The first step in successful email marketing is selecting the right email platform.

Many business owners start by sending emails directly from their personal email accounts, but to truly maximize your efforts, it's best to use a dedicated email marketing platform. Not only does this streamline your process, but it also provides valuable insights into performance, engagement, and growth.

Some popular platforms to consider include Flodesk , Mailchimp , Kit , and Constant Contact . While these tools come with a cost, email marketing consistently delivers a high return on investment (ROI), making it a worthwhile investment for your business.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) reports that "email marketing has a 4,200% ROI, meaning that for every $1 spent, businesses can expect a return of $42. This makes email marketing one of the most cost-effective and effective ways to reach an audience".

Each platform offers different features and pricing structures, so reviewing them based on your budget and needs is key.

Having used all of these over the years, my top recommendation is Flodesk . It’s user-friendly, and visually appealing, and unlike many competitors, it offers a flat-rate pricing model, meaning you won’t pay more as your subscriber list grows. (my favorite benefit) If you want a simple, stylish, and effective platform, Flodesk is a great choice, click here to find out more about my favorite platform. And great news, you can do a 14-day FREE trial, and/or get 50% off, just click HERE .

Step 2: Build Your Email List

Building your email list takes time, but the key is to make it easy and valuable for people to subscribe. When potential subscribers see the benefit, they’re more likely to join.

A simple way to start is by adding a sign-up on your website, similar to this !. Make sure it’s easy to find, and share the link often on social media, in your profile bios, within blog posts, and even in your email signature. The more visibility it has, the more opportunities people have to subscribe.

Offering an incentive, such as a free guide, a discount code, free shipping, or something exclusive can also encourage sign-ups. When people see immediate value in subscribing, they’ll be more inclined to hand over their email.

Don’t forget to take advantage of in-person opportunities as well. If someone asks for your business contact information, that’s the perfect time to invite them to join your email list. If you attend or host events, set up an email sign-up sheet at your booth and actively encourage people to join.

Every small step adds up over time, helping you build a strong, engaged email audience, so be sure you continue to ask people to sign up.

If you're looking for more ways to grow your email list, keep an eye out—I’ll be sharing a blog post on this soon.

Step 3: Create Your Email Template

Creating an email template is a great way to streamline your email marketing, making it easier to get emails done faster while maintaining a consistent brand presence.

And the email marketing platforms have template options that you can use and create for your brand, making it even easier to create.

Instead of starting from scratch with every email, a template provides a structured layout, making it easier to include your content and keeping your branding, colors, fonts, and messaging style consistent.

It also ensures your emails remain visually appealing and easy to read, helping to build trust and recognition with your audience. A template isn’t just about design, it helps guide your content creation, keeping your message clear and engaging.

Plus, a well-designed template can improve efficiency, allowing you to focus more on creating valuable content rather than formatting each email.

I use two templates that I rotate weekly, and having them in place allows me to complete my emails efficiently. I simply fill in the necessary fields, saving time and ensuring consistency. Without a template, staying consistent with my emails would be much more difficult.

As you get started with email marketing, take time to consider: What do you want to share with your audience?

I dive deeper into content ideas in this blog post , but for now, remember that your content should always provide value, information your audience needs and finds useful, helping to strengthen their connection with your brand.

Step 4. Plan a Consistent Sending Schedule

Consistency is the key to successful email marketing, but it has to be a schedule that works for you. You’ll hear plenty of advice on the “best” frequency—if someone says ‘twice a week is ideal’, that is great, but if that’s not realistic for your schedule, it’s not the right plan for you.

Email marketing is valuable, but it also takes time. If you can’t commit to sending multiple emails per week, start smaller.

Your email content also plays a key role in determining your sending schedule, as the frequency of your emails should align with the value you provide.

Some businesses naturally have more updates to share than others, so it's important to review what information your audience needs and how often they should receive it.

Find a balance between delivering valuable content and ensuring your schedule is manageable with your available time.

When I first launched my email list, I sent emails once a month. Then I increased it to twice a month. Now, I send them weekly. I had to ease into it and find a rhythm that fit my routine.

I also made it a priority to expand my schedule when I started my blog . Building a library of content provides a strong foundation for engaging and valuable email marketing.

The most important thing? Stick to a schedule you can maintain. Consistency builds trust and familiarity. If your audience gets used to seeing your email in their inbox every other Thursday at 6 AM, they’ll start to expect it, and even look forward to it.

Ready to launch your email marketing?

Getting started with email marketing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By choosing the right platform, building your email list, creating a template, and establishing a consistent sending schedule, you set yourself up for email marketing success.

The key is to start small, stay consistent , and focus on providing value to your audience.

Over time, your emails will strengthen, build more engagement, and help grow your business.

So, whether you’re just getting started or reviving a ghosted email list, take the first step today!

If you’re in search of some extra help to get email marketing to the top of your priority list, you are in the right place! This is an area I work with and am here to help. Click HERE to connect with me. ��

Why Email Marketing is a Must for Small Business Growth

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 01:44:49 GMT

As both a business owner and an assistant to a variety of small businesses, I’ve seen firsthand how powerful and effective email marketing can be.

It’s one of the strongest tools available to connect with your audience, build relationships, and attract new customers.

In my opinion, no business should be without it.

Whenever I discover a new online store or service provider, I always look for an email signup option because I want to learn more about them. But lately, I’ve noticed a concerning trend: many businesses aren’t using email marketing consistently—or worse, they’re ignoring it entirely.

Have you ever signed up for an email list but never received a single message? #frustrating

It almost feels like email marketing has taken a backseat to social media and text marketing.

I see many new businesses relying solely on social media for their marketing, only to realize later that it’s not enough.

Some even view email as an outdated tool, something that was once trendy but has now faded into the background.

The reality? Email marketing never lost its value—it simply evolved.

With decades of proven success, email remains a powerful and reliable way to grow a business. Best of all, it reaches an audience that wants to hear from you.

And as a business owner, I’m guessing that building an engaged, interested audience is exactly what you want, right?

Email provides a direct and personal connection to your audience, right in their inbox, a place they check daily.

According to Mailbutler, 99% of email users check their inbox every day, with 58% making it the first thing they do in the morning.

With 4.48 billion email users worldwide in 2024 ( and that number expected to grow) email marketing is an opportunity you can’t afford to ignore .

If you’re a small business owner, now is the time to start showing up in inboxes.

5 Reasons Why Email Marketing is a Game-Changer for Your Business

There are countless reasons why email marketing is a powerful tool, but instead of listing them all, let's focus on five key benefits that make it an essential part of your strategy.

1. Cost-Effective Marketing

Email marketing is one of the most budget-friendly ways to promote your business. For small businesses, especially those just starting out, marketing budgets can be tight. Email allows you to reach your audience, promote events, showcase products, and build brand awareness, all without breaking the bank.

2. Direct Customer Connection

One of the biggest advantages of email marketing? You control your audience. Unlike social media, where algorithms dictate who sees your content, emails land directly in inboxes, giving you a more personal and consistent way to engage with customers.

3. Impressive ROI Potential

Email marketing continues to deliver some of the highest returns in digital marketing, with reports showing an ROI of up to $36 for every $1 spent. Why? Because it allows you to target the right audience with the right message, leading to higher conversions, more sales, and increased service sign-ups.

4. Personalized Content That Engages

Email platforms make it easy to segment your audience and customize content , offering a more personalized experience for each recipient. Whether it's a monthly newsletter, event invite, birthday offer, holiday promo, or exclusive sale , personalized emails help build trust and keep customers engaged.

5. Measurable Results & Continuous Improvement

With email marketing, you don’t have to guess what’s working. Open rates, click-through rates, and conversions provide valuable insights, allowing you to refine your strategy over time. Even if you don’t see instant results, consistency is key. E mail marketing continues to work as long as you use it.

The Power of Email Marketing for Any Business

Email marketing works for both product and service-based businesses.

It’s an informative and strategic way to educate your audience, introduce them to you and your business, and keep them engaged. No matter what your business is, email marketing can work for you.

Whether you're promoting new offers or strengthening customer relationships, email is a powerful and direct tool that puts you in control. It is a direct communication to an audience waiting to hear from you.

It does take consistency and effort, but the payoff is worth it.

If you're ready to get in front of your audience and make email marketing a priority, let’s chat.

EMAIL ME and let’s start getting your messages into the right inboxes. ��

Ways to work with Virtually Brady

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 16:49:55 GMT

As small business owners, we do all the things .

But do you find yourself ever wishing for more?

—I wish I could get my email marketing consistent and growing.

—I wish I had time to update my Google Listing.

—I wish my e-commerce had better product descriptions and the inventory count was correct.

—I wish I had time to work on the growth of my business .

When you do all the things, your daily norm is juggling everything and you start to lose focus.

Time slips away, and those critical tasks that drive business growth take a backseat.

Sure, your business may stay steady, but instead of strategizing for growth, you're stuck answering emails, managing marketing campaigns, updating business details, and tackling an ever-growing list of routine, time-consuming tasks.

If you can relate, you may have found yourself wishing for more time to do the tasks that matter.

If that’s you, then it’s time we meet! ��

Hi, I’m Brady, a Virtual Assistant who helps small business owners with time-consuming tasks so your business grows and your to-do list is complete .

I focus on key areas that offer the greatest time-saving benefits for small business owners. However, I also work closely with each business to prioritize a customized list of tasks that will have the most significant impact and help you achieve your goals efficiently, with extra time in your day.

If you’re searching for help in your business so you can focus on the most important things that need *your* attention, there are a few specific ways we can partner together to make sure that you’re achieving exactly what you want to achieve this year.

5 Main Ways To Work With Virtually Brady

1️⃣ EMAIL MARKETING

Email marketing is a powerful way for small businesses to connect directly with their audience, build relationships, and drive sales. It is a step above social media with a list of contacts that you “own” .

It allows you to deliver custom messages straight to your customers’ inboxes, keeping them informed about new products, promotions, and updates. It is also affordable and has a high return on investment. Overall, email marketing is an essential tool to grow your business and stay in front of your audience.

I’m passionate about helping small businesses kickstart their email marketing or consistently maintain the efforts they started but have forgotten.

Many people think email marketing is just about sending updates when there’s something new to share, but it’s SO much more than that. When your customers sign up for your emails, they’re giving you permission to stay connected and keep them in the loop about your business. They want to hear from you —not just about new products or services but also about the stories, updates, and insights that make your business unique.

Consistently communicating with your audience builds loyalty and strengthens relationships. Over time, they begin to recognize your name in their inbox and feel a genuine connection to your brand.

How I Can Help : I work closely with small businesses to develop effective email marketing strategies. Together, we create a content plan to keep your email list engaged and growing, brainstorming fresh ideas for consistent, valuable communication.

Whether it’s monthly or weekly, I ensure your emails go out on schedule with polished templates that reflect your brand, provide clear information, include helpful links, and make it easy for customers to reach you.

Additionally, I focus on strategies to grow your email audience, expanding your reach and impact.

Email marketing is a detailed process that takes time and effort to establish a consistent rhythm, but the results are worth it. My goal is to take this task off your plate so you can focus on other important areas of your business.

See also this Blog Post:
→ The Impact of Email Marketing on Business Growth

2️⃣ GOOGLE LISTING MANAGEMENT

Google Listings are a vital platform for small businesses, but they often get set up and then “ghosted”, or forgotten. When your Google Listing is showing up in Google searches it is great, but your work is not done , that is just the beginning.

If a Google Listing goes untouched it will fall lower in the Google rankings. To stay visible in searches—and even move up in local rankings—your Google Listing needs consistent updates and engagement. This includes sharing posts, adding photos, updating hours, and encouraging reviews. However, managing all of this can easily take a couple of hours a month, not to mention the time it takes to keep up with Google’s frequent changes.

That’s where I come in! Google Listing Management is a service I’m proud to offer small businesses because it helps ensure they’re not just showing up but standing out. When people search for products or services like yours, you want to be the one they find.

Your Google Listing does more than display your business—it communicates your hours, offerings, and customer reviews, all of which influence potential customers’ decisions. Keeping it updated and engaging is key to building trust and driving traffic.

How I Can Help : I manage Google Listings weekly, handling updates like changes to your hours, creating keyword posts, adding fresh photos, and strategizing ways to collect more reviews. Each of these steps helps boost your visibility and maintain a strong presence in local searches.

Are you ready to reclaim your time and grow your business?

Running a business is, well, a full-time job— and then some . Handling administrative time-consuming tasks on top of everything else can quickly drain your time and energy, pulling you away from the work that truly drives your business forward.

It is time to get back to your passion.

As your virtual assistant, I take care of the behind-the-scenes details—so you can focus on growth, strategy, and what you do best.

If you are ready to reclaim your time, re-unite with your passion, and run your business with less stress and more efficiency, let’s connect and make it happen.

I am ready to partner with you and grow your business. Let’s work together to make your year in business the best one yet.

Click HERE and let's chat. ��

Is this Heaven? No, it's IOWA

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 06 Feb 2025 20:31:42 GMT

IOWA . Whether you are from Iowa or not, I’m sure you know Iowa has cornfields…and that seems to be a staple for this state. ��

I may have grown up surrounded by cornfields—living on a farm, walking beans, and detasseling corn—but Iowa is so much more than just fields of corn, despite what you see while driving across the state. ��

We do have many hard-working farmers and agricultural businesses but Iowa is also home to iconic attractions like the Iowa State Fair , the Field of Dreams , and the John Wayne Birthplace and Museum —landmarks we’re known for and love.

And while you might hear Iowa is the Hawkeye state … let’s be real—it’s a CYCLONE STATE! ❤️ �� If you follow sports, you know exactly why this is. �� (yes, I am an Iowa State fan)

There are many great benefits about Iowa, but for me, having grown up here, and still living here, the true heart of this state lies in its ‘Iowa Nice’ spirit and the close-knit small-town communities that make it feel like home.

Iowa Nice and Small Communities

'Iowa Nice' is exactly what it sounds like—Iowans are (mostly) a pretty friendly bunch! ��

It’s practically the state’s unofficial ‘tagline’, reflecting the genuine kindness, politeness, and welcoming spirit that Iowans are known for.

It’s that classic Midwestern hospitality where strangers lend a hand, doors are held open, and a friendly wave is just a way of life.

And honestly? It really is nice. ��

I have always felt the ‘Iowa Nice’ came from the small community living, which makes up much of the State of Iowa.

When you live in a small town, everyone gets to know everyone and the connections are strong. People look out for one another and it creates a sense of belonging, with people supporting their neighbors and being the most loyal friends.

The pace of small-town life is usually slower, with less hustle and bustle compared to larger cities, allowing for more personal interactions and a deeper sense of community pride.

Neighbors may lend a hand with tasks, like shoveling snow, mowing lawns, or helping with meal chains and groceries, and there's a greater likelihood of seeing familiar faces throughout the day, whether it's at the local coffee shop, grocery store, or town events.

While there may be fewer opportunities than in larger cities, small-town living often brings a stronger connection to nature ( like lots of bird watching ), a more relaxed pace, and a true sense of stability.

And, in the heart of these communities are small businesses. ��

Local businesses add character, offering unique products, personalized service, and a hometown touch that big corporations just can’t replicate.

And the local community supports their small businesses.

I love discovering and supporting small businesses—it’s always an adventure finding new favorites!

For National Iowa Day , I want to share a few small Iowa businesses I know and love, a few from my local, metro community.

This list highlights some of my favorite small businesses from West Des Moines and the surrounding metro area. While some might not seem like typical small-town businesses, I want to emphasize that despite being located in Iowa’s "bigger cities," they bring a warm, small-town charm to the urban experience.

—Eden (Des Moines) This beautiful store, in the east village of Des Moines, is a haven for beauty, health, and self-care essentials, all wrapped in a soothing, inviting atmosphere. From luxurious bath and skincare products to home and baby essentials, every item is thoughtfully selected. Plus, it’s the perfect place to discover stunning new gift ideas.

— Grace & Fiore (Polk City) This flower shop offers more than just gorgeous floral arrangements, bouquets, and vibrant plants—it also has some fun unique finds! Browse a charming selection of greeting cards, candles, vases, and more, making it the perfect spot for gifts or a little treat for yourself.

—Heart of Iowa Market Place (West Des Moines) Located in the heart of Valley Junction, this shop is a treasure trove of Iowa-themed gifts and locally sourced goodies. From wall art, puzzles, and books to magnets and t-shirts, there’s something for everyone. Plus, their "Taste of Iowa" selection features delicious treats like popcorn, fudge, meats, and wine—perfect for gifting or indulging yourself!

—Homegrown Iowa (Ames) This is the place to find Iowa gifts made by Iowans. From fun mugs, bags, greeting cards, and stickers to fun apparel, it is where you can find unique Iowa treasures.

—Public House 421 (Slater) This small coffee shop is described as the 'nostalgic yet modern coffee house and special event venue' ... and it is that plus more. It is charming with a cozy yet stylish space. I've enjoyed some relaxing, business meetings here with Studio A Designs over coffee, and it is oh-so great.

—Mainstream Boutique (Ankeny) This boutique is a stylish and inviting space, offering a fabulous selection of fashion and accessories. Whether shopping in-store or online, I always have a great experience finding fun and trendy pieces.

— Oak Lane Candle Co. (Ames) This candle studio and pour bar is an absolute gem. It’s nearly impossible for me to leave with just one candle—I want them all. Their scents are fun, unique, and perfectly balanced, plus the soy wax makes them a clean, enjoyable burn for my home. The pour bar is an extra treat, letting you get creative and take home a candle that’s truly your own. And I have a strong love for the reed diffusers, a great size with a simple scent.

— Storyhouse Bookpub (Des Moines) I’m a big fan of bookstores, and this charming little gem is both cozy and delightful, with a mission to bring books and people together.

—St. Kilda (West Des Moines) Delicious farm-to-table meals and freshly baked pastries await at two fantastic locations in West Des Moines. I have a soft spot for their Valley West spot—it’s a fun space with a great look. I even had a mini photoshoot there with Natalia O’Hara Photography , cozying up at a corner table with a beautifully crafted mocha. My go-to is always the avocado toast, but both locations offer an incredible menu worth exploring.

— The Cafe (Ames) This café is one of my go-to spots for lunch, offering a true farm-to-table experience with fresh, seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers. It’s a wonderful community-focused eatery with an incredible Kale & Quinoa Salad and a delicious Turkey Avocado Sandwich. If I could have lunch here every day, I absolutely would!

—The Coffeesmith (Waukee) This coffee shop is a wonderful community-felt establishment

with delicious coffee and a few special treats. It is a nice place to meet friends and catch up over a beautiful drink.

—Velvet Coat (Des Moines) To me, this east-village store brings a chic, big-city feel right to Iowa. As a fashion lover, I appreciate the carefully curated selection of classic designer pieces that elevate any wardrobe. With high-quality apparel, stunning accessories, and a stylish, inviting atmosphere, it’s a must-visit for anyone who loves fashion...right in the heart of Des Moines, Iowa.

— Whompy Bear Boutique (Winterset) This adorable children's boutique offers high-quality, stylish apparel for both boys and girls. Along with cute clothing, you'll find a wonderful selection of toys, bath products, books, bags, and more. It’s a delightful shopping experience for both kids and parents alike!

— Z'Mariks Noodle Cafe (Clive) Z'Mariks is my top choice when I need a quick and delicious meal. They offer a great selection for lunch or dinner, with my favorite being the Greek salad—simple yet packed with flavor. Their menu also features a variety of tasty rice and noodle bowls. When I am on the go (most often), I pick this place as the ordering is fast and easy, making it a perfect spot for a satisfying meal for the whole family.

—7-Stone Pizzeria (Waukee) I’m a pizza lover, and this brick-oven pizzeria is absolute perfection—so delicious! Made with fresh ingredients, hand-rolled dough, and freshly grated cheese, it’s truly some of the best pizza around. Dining in, you get to watch the pizzas come out of the hot brick oven, locking in all that amazing flavor. But don’t worry—pickup is just as easy, and the taste is just as incredible!

This list is just a few of my small business favorites, there are so many more great spots across the state. If you find yourself nearby, I hope you get the chance to check them out and support these incredible local businesses.

Looking for more small shops? I love highlighting small businesses in my email newsletter. Sign up HERE to discover more fun Iowa shops.

L et me know if you have any favorites of your own—I’d love to hear about them! ��

* * * * * * * *
Small communities and small businesses build on connection, trust, and a personal touch—values that are just as important in the work I do as a virtual assistant.

I understand the dedication it takes to run a small business because I grew up with them in my small town, and have seen the true dedication of the businesses that I help and love. (read my story HERE )

Living in small-town Iowa is what drove me to start my own small business , and my passion is to support business owners by handling time-consuming tasks so they can focus on growing, serving their customers, and doing what they do best.

If you’re looking for a helping hand to keep things running smoothly, let’s connect —I’d love to be part of your success story! ��

Small Details, Big Impact: How Thoughtful Touches Can Elevate Your Small Business

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 03:22:55 GMT

I am a runner.

Those are words that have been tough for me to say.

This may sound strange because I do run daily, but sometimes I judge myself with that ‘title’ because of my speed and miles thinking I am not a ‘true’ runner.

But nevertheless, I am a runner.

I haven’t always been a runner. It wasn’t something I took an interest in, in fact, I would see people running and wonder “Why would they choose to run? A bike seems more fun and easier”.

Yes, it’s exercise, but it isn’t that for me, even though I appreciate that perk for my health.

I started running in March of 2020, when much of the world shut down all things due to the pandemic, keeping us inside our 4 walls more than ever.

After the first week of a weekend that never ended, I needed out of the house more.

Don’t get it wrong, I love my family, but I’m a true introvert who also needs alone time, so I went looking for creative ways to make that happen.

I started walking more often, checking out new areas and places around the neighborhoods. During this time, a beautiful neighborhood next to me was being built and developed.

As I walked the sidewalks I gravitated to this uphill sidewalk that went by some beautiful homes, and for some unknown reason, this hill invited me to run it.

Why? No idea, I blame the pandemic, and I did it.

And I did it again the next day, and the next. I created my new routine for the pandemic; walk and run a hill. ��‍♀️

And then I began to wonder, how far am I running with that hill?

I started to track it with my watch.

It was not a full mile so I started to run that hill plus some until I had a full mile, and once that went well, I added to it, again and again until I was running a full 5K.

I am a 5K runner.

As I made my way to the 3.10686 miles (yes, I round that to 3.2 miles) I found big mental clarity with this run each day. It was my peace, my time to think and plan so many things.

I didn’t need a longer distance or faster speed, I just needed the run.

I started to feel like a runner, and that title started to feel more true, just as the Iowa winter arrived.

Having been a self-trained runner with no seasons under my belt, I learned a lesson the hard way. Apparently, white crosswalk paint can be a little frosty and slick in the winter mornings. Long story short, I tore my meniscus. It required surgery. �� #tookatumble

On surgery day the anesthesiologist called me an athlete as he walked me to the surgery room, and it hit me, “Maybe I am one?”

Even though sports have always been a part of my life, I never played them, I was not an athlete. I am a fan full of competitiveness, and with my running, I compete against myself.

To date, I have run one ‘virtual’ 5K race, submitting my time to the race via an app. I have never ran with anyone.

The run for me is all about mental clarity. I started it for the quiet, clear space of time for myself and have kept it that way.

I run early in the morning when there is less traffic on the roads and more sounds of nature. I listen to music, but I truly use each run as a time to decompose my thoughts and plan my day.

It’s almost like a morning coffee for me, you don’t want to talk to me until I have my run. ☕️ ��

It was tough when I was down for my surgery recovery, but I ran a 5K exactly one month after.

My mind is what runs the distance now, if more time is needed to think and plan, I will advance over the 5K, currently sitting at an average of 4 daily miles, but it could be 5 sometimes.

So while I say it’s not about the distance and time for me, it doesn’t mean I don’t see those either. �� I use those to push my levels but they are also just a ‘side note’ in my running life.

I am a runner, without all the ‘normal’ running details.

That feels weird to even say because generally, I am someone who cares about details.

Maybe sometimes too much.

Like details of an outfit, home decor, gift giving, and gift wrapping.

I like unique, small details, they draw me in and it’s what I want to present for who I truly am.

Details make a difference in our day-to-day lives and business.

During those pandemic days, I was not only running but also making sure I got dressed for the day in something other than leggings and a sweatshirt.

I noticed the details of an outfit changed how I felt and how I worked. Casual is good but it contributes to me working more casually and less focused.

Even though I was sitting alone inside my home office, I still put on a ‘work’ outfit.

When I started having in-person business meetings, I went into each meeting with my nails painted, black.

Yes, I wear black nail polish, it is my staple color and who I am.

Having my nails in the black paint detail gives me confidence in my meetings, without it I am not the same as I present or talk.

Details are important and can shape how we are on any given day and they can be there to help us showcase our passions.

Sometimes the small details can make the biggest impact, especially when it comes to your business.

Small Details That Make A BIG Impact In Your Business

I think of good details with a thank you note.

Do you send thank you notes?

Stepping outside of our digital world can be a small detail that builds a strong connection to not only friends and family but also to customers and clients.

The handwriting is something that means more. Someone takes the time to get out a paper and pen, write their words, and maybe even include a ‘signature’ instead of typing or using AI. They also take time to get a stamp and mail the card.

Happy mail is never a bad thing.

And that written note means they really did like what you did or gave to them.

Small details like this draw me to certain stores and small businesses.

Like when I order a coffee drink from a local coffee shop I usually receive extra espresso beans on the top of my cup, a nice little start to the day. And now when I want coffee on the go, it is the first place I think of.

There is a local, small retail store where I shop and they wrap the items up so nicely in tissue and present them in a sturdy shopping bag, and when I open it at home, there is always a nice little ‘gift’ inside along with a thank you card with the store logo and info. Makes me smile.

There was a time I ordered a to-go order on Valentine’s Day and in my order was a fun small Valentine’s card with a piece of candy. I think about that whenever I decide to get takeout.

Small details can set you aside from everyone else and make a difference in your life and business, as well as someone else’s.

So what can you do for small business details?

Here is a list of eleven small detail ideas you could consider for a product or service-based business:

Personalized thank-you notes ��: A handwritten or custom note shows genuine appreciation and builds customer loyalty.

Birthday or Anniversary Shoutouts ��: Send special offers or messages on important dates for a personal touch.

Surprise Freebies ��: Include a small gift or sample with orders to delight customers unexpectedly.

Follow-Up Messages ��: Check in with customers after their purchase to ensure they’re happy and offer assistance if needed.

Social Media Spotlights ��: Feature loyal customers or share their stories (with permission) to create community connections.

Local Collaboration ��: Partner with nearby businesses for joint promotions or events to expand reach.

Behind-the-Scenes Content ��: Share how products are made or give sneak peeks to create an authentic brand story.

Custom Packaging ��: Use branded or eco-friendly packaging with a personal note or logo sticker for extra flair.

Customer Recognition Wall ��: Highlight top customers or testimonials on your website or in-store display.

Cause-Driven Campaigns ❤️: Donate a portion of sales to a meaningful cause and let customers know their purchase makes a difference.

Exclusive First Looks ��: Give loyal customers early access to new products or special sales as a VIP perk.

Need A Hand With The Small Details In Your Business?

Overall, extra details are the small things that mean a lot and bring people back to you. You do something extra and they are your loyal customers and friends.

And what about a customer who loves what you offer and gives you a 5 star review? Now you, as a business owner, are feeling the extra detail reward.

We started our business because of our passion for what we do, or want to do.

When you take time to sprinkle in some special details to show customers and clients you have a business passion, you will feel the reward, and your business does too.

I love to see the passion continue as the business grows.

Those details matter.

And while I say I am a runner without all the details, I do have running details I follow, just not what all do.

My running TIME is early morning and my run DISTANCE is how much my mind needs to think, and those details are what matters to me.

I am a runner. ��‍♀️

I am a small business owner. ��‍��

Maybe I will be … a writer? �� ‍♀️

Details are also what I work with in my business, literally.

I manage day-to-day business details for business owners.

In business and life, there are so many day-to-day details that take up our time.

And as business owners, you have to balance between it all, which can be hard to do. Daily tasks can include emails, meetings, social media posts, business marketing … the list goes on and on.

And while we appreciate these business details, they are also time-consuming and can be exhausting, but should not be ignored.

Then there are these small details that make you stand out and unique from other businesses.

Are you giving some extra details in your business, or just trying to just keep up with the day-to-day details?

Wherever you are in business, I would love to chat with you about all the details, connect with me HERE ��

How My No Stoplight Town Led to My Small Business Today

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:46:48 GMT

I have always had a spot in my heart for small businesses. ��

I grew up in a small Iowa town that only housed small businesses, from the grocery store to the gas station, there was no chain business. ��

And no chain restaurants, just 2 family-owned places to eat, which meant it was the best food around.

Who doesn’t love to find a “hole in the wall” restaurant? (True words of a small-town Iowan ��)

The businesses were mostly all on the main street, which was just that, the main street. It was not, and is not, a busy traffic town, the town does not even have a stoplight. ��

I knew the business owners as they worked the stores themselves, and were parents of kids I knew.

The grocery store manager and clerk was the owner, wearing a paper hat and apron, and was kind and strict, making us kids laugh when we came in for candy.

The gas station had an attendant who came out and pumped the gas and cleaned your windshield, talking to us and handing out candy as we sat and waited.

I never really knew another type of business but the personal small shops.

I did have to shop in the bigger “city” 45 minutes away for clothes, shoes, school supplies and such, but my day-to-day was small-town stores where the owner said your name when you walked in and knew who you really were.

When I was in middle school, my school had to close due to low registration, and things began to change in the community. I was then bussed 18 miles to a larger school and the business on main started to decline as parents were doing more in the new school district city.

As things continued to change, the support started to decrease and businesses started to close, and people moved on. It was sad to see. When I go back now, there is only one of those small businesses remaining on main street, it is the bar. I miss what that street was.

Times can change so much of business, and life, and while I am living in a larger Iowa city now with malls and plenty of coffee shops, I still have it in my heart to find and support the small businesses.

My Personal Journey into Entrepreneurship

I never planned to be a small business owner, but as my life changed, it opened the door and I haven’t looked back. It was meant to be.

I started my assistant career as a paralegal, which is what I went to college for. I worked in 2 law firms over 10 years, working mostly in the area of business litigation. I assisted over 12 attorneys, handling trial exhibits, writing discovery and motions, assisting with appeals and more. I loved the law, and still do, but when I had my son, I left that world so I could be a stay-at-home mom.

I did some paralegal work from home in the beginning, and then was a direct sales consultant during my son’s younger years.

When my son started school, I took an assistant position for a sports network company that broadcasted high school state tournaments. I worked a variety of tasks during the 6 years from event planning to social media, inbox management, new client on-boarding, and all the details in between.

When 2020 brought the pandemic, sports came to a stop. Who ever thought we would not have active sports? It was a shock, as was much of the world during that time. There are so many sports played and televised, it was a big loss during several months.

As many were, I found myself unemployed, waiting to see when things would be back up and running, and it felt horrible. I am also not someone who sits very often without working.

During this time businesses also had to shut down, unable to have people in their stores and restaurants. Many small retail businesses I knew were not online at that time because they had not needed to, prior to the closures as most business was done via foot traffic.

During those months of uncertainty, watching and hearing about the struggles for businesses and everyone, I started to think, how can I help?

I connected with a retail store I knew well and started to help them get their small business online for sales and connect with their customers on how things would be moving forward.

I helped another business with their social media and Google Listing to inform their customers of changes.

It was during this time that my passion for small business grew. I not only loved the business itself, but I wanted to assist and help them keep moving forward, virtually.

It was a time when ‘virtual’ was really the only way to work.

I started to make notes and lists of ideas I could assist businesses with, not only during this time, but to help them grow in upcoming years, and to provide the hard working owners more time in their schedule for family, and rest.

It was then that I asked myself “could I have my own small business to help other small businesses?”

Why yes, yes I can.

I connected with Amanda at Studio A Designs to talk about starting a business, needing a logo and my brand. She had a brand questionnaire that I worked fully on to bring my vision and ideas to life. She had been in the small business world for many years so it was great to discuss my ideas with her and work on a true launch plan.

Virtually Brady became a reality in August 2020, equipped and ready to help small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Small Business, Big Dreams

I have a true passion for helping people bring their dreams to reality.

The struggles in 2020 made me realize just how much I love to assist and ‘gift’ time to business owners so they can not only have a balanced business but enjoy time with family and friends.

And I truly feel we need small businesses in the world, the owners who care to know more about you, help their communities and provide you with good products and services, more than chains or corporate business can do.

These business owners are working their big dreams to support their families, while also helping their communities and providing jobs to local people.

2020 was a scary and unusual time for us all, and we still have tough times in the world now with price increases, a higher cost of living and so much more.

It may feel hard to support any business.

But support doesn’t all come from making purchases, you can support small businesses without spending money.

How to Support Small Businesses without Making a Purchase

I have said it more than once, I am a shopper.

No, I do not make purchases all the time, even though I would maybe like to.

My small business support isn’t always about spending money.

Yes, shopping in retail businesses is a way to support them, but sometimes we have to watch the budget too.

So how can you support your favorite shops and service-based businesses without dropping your budget?

I have outlined 10 simple things you can do to support the businesses you love, without having to spend money:

Leave them a positive review (Google, Yelp, Facebook, email them a testimonial)
Join their e-newsletter
Follow them on social media
Like, comment & share their social posts
Tag friends if you see something they would like in their social post
Attend their events, bring a friend
Refer the business to your family & friends
Share their website link on your socials
Share a photo of your favorite items they sell
Shop with them first before a big chain when you have a purchase need

These small, simple things have a big impact. They matter.

When you find something you love, that brings positivity to your life, support it and share about it, even if that is just by clicking share on a social post.

“The best time to support small businesses is always TODAY”

I don’t share this list of ideas because I am a small business owner, I share it because of my love for all small businesses.

I love telling everyone about my favorites and am always looking for new ones. I seek out the small businesses in my community and check them out.

In fact, I even share about one small business in each of my “ a Bit from Brady ” e-newsletters. If you are looking for new businesses to try or visit online and could enjoy some business tips and maybe even some laughs, I invite you to join the list !

Virtually Brady was built out of my love for small business, and Renwick, Iowa is the root of where it all started. ��

I now love assisting small businesses so they can move forward, continue to grow their business, and stay open on their main street.

If you are a business owner looking for extra time in your day, let’s get connected . ��

The Only Real Constant In Business (And How To Embrace It Confidently)

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 01:59:15 GMT

I don’t like change.

Change disrupts my day, my life.

I am a very routine person, and I like to keep it that way.

I’m also a planner. How can we go about our days if we don’t plan?

It’s like organizing, yes, I like things to be organized also, and if my days are not organized, I feel “off”.

But let’s face it, things come up and days don’t always go as planned.

It can be frustrating for me.

There are times when life just takes over, like a car has problems and you can’t get where you are to be, or a refrigerator dies and sends you on a cleanup and fast replacement shopping.

The day no longer goes as planned.

I have experienced these types of “interruptions” plus more.

And I know you have too.

We all have our busy days and our own life ‘disasters’.

As the years have moved on, my organized, planning, and strict routines do tend to shift.

Years grow us and oftentimes change us.

Sometimes we notice (kid is now driving ��) and sometimes we don’t (I am a year older? ��).

Moving time does change things, and us.

And I am trying to believe it is for the good.

I mean, if my kid did not grow up to drive, that would be a bad thing. ��

I say this because my Grandma always had a good perspective on life, and I try to remember her ways of thinking.

So many people say all the ‘growing things’ as your children grow, like “I can’t believe he is crawling, I can’t believe he is walking, and now, I can’t believe he is driving.”

When my Grandma was with me during these moments, or even said them herself ��, she would always follow-up with “but that’s a good thing, if he wasn’t growing, that would be a bad thing.”

We may often think back in time and wish we could hang onto those times, keep our kids young and not have all the ‘changes’, just stay in that life period, but that wouldn’t be life.

Embracing Changes in Business

When I talk about my routines and planning, I do this with so much of my life and always have.

But it’s also something that I work hard with in my career as a Virtual Assistant as well.

I work in an organized, planned way for both me and my clients. I strive to make detailed plans for their priority tasks and work consistently to make them run smoothly so they don’t feel a hiccup in what they are doing.

An example is email marketing . I create a strategic plan for how we will use it, a plan for the content, and when the emails will be sent. I ensure drafts are done at a certain time in the week so they are read, approved, and scheduled to hit the inboxes on specific days.

But there are times when changes hit business, sometimes making it tough.

And I know you feel that at times also.

Business changes can often feel overwhelming.

For me, it is not about the work itself, but the technology.

I love the work, I love what I do, but when technology makes changes, it throws things all around.

It can feel like you have got a great routine going, you are organized and working in a steady, great mode when suddenly … the computer decides it is time to give you an update that you didn’t ask for.

Sure, updates can be really good, I do know this, but sometimes those large updates just change too many things.

There was a time when I was (**cough) younger and I actually loved a cell phone update with new features and ‘looks’ on the home screen. Now, I hold off on all updates to that phone as long as I can.

And what about social media changes?! It seems like those happen almost daily.

When I started Virtually Brady , I don’t think Instagram Reels were even a ‘thing’.

And you wake up to emails telling you about things changing, like your URL domain will no longer be a Google domain but a Squarespace domain, and your Google My Business is now in maps and searches and named something different.

It is hard to navigate sometimes.

After all, I am an assistant, not a technology engineer.

As technology makes changes for us and our businesses, we also have regular business changes, the ups and downs, busy times and slow times, and changes in clients and budgets.

It can be overwhelming and bring us some tough days.

I am just a girl who likes to sit at my desk and work how I work, but changes are always knocking on the door and we have to make adjustments.

The Importance of Embracing Change

As you may know, my true cardio is running each morning, but being a small business owner, this statement shared by Google made me laugh and also feel the trust in it.

We can all feel like we are running around in circles when we are working our businesses.

As I mentioned before, I am very much a person who lives in routines and makes plans.

Even with my running, I have planned every mile of my morning run, playing the same playlist so I know where I should be at in the run with each song, keeping the path the exact same day in and day out, like running on a very large outdoor treadmill.

Just recently, as I took off on my run, there was a big sidewalk closure, not just a section but a full block or more.

Yes, I looked ahead to see if I could just make it by and stay on the path, but it was dug up, all dirt, no cement, a full construction site. And I am not a trail runner, give me the cement.

As I stood there with my playlist on pause staring ahead, I knew my only choice was to change it up or go home. UGH.

And I will be honest, it gave me a little panic because I love my run in MY routine.

So many people would just say “so, run somewhere else.”

Yes, I know, this is not something that is going to cause me terrible trouble but in my mind it was terrible trouble.

So, I turned around, hit play and took off in another direction of cement and found myself just running all over to different areas of the neighborhood.

And you know what, I enjoyed it.

I saw new things, ponds, geese, ducks, new paths and all things.

Yes, I knew there were other parts of the neighborhood, but I had no desire to run through it, it wasn’t my path.

The next day I took another different path, just literally took off and ran wherever.

And this is so not me.

But finding new enjoyment in my run was amazing, and super surprising to me.

It may sound like the simplest, silliest thing, but the change experience has been eye opening.

This running path change made me think, what if I work to be more open to change?

How To Prepare For Change Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Overall, life is full of changes whether we want them or not.

When it comes to business changes, it will help us and our business if we prepare for change before it even happens.

We can’t do that specifically for all things, but we can have some plans to make it easier.

When you are more prepared, it helps changes feel less overwhelming. So with that in mind, here’s a quick checklist of how you can prepare for change in business so that you can embrace it confidently when it comes your way!

Mindset

It’s so important to change how we think about change. Be positive and acceptable. Yes, changes will happen so we must believe they will be good. Prepare for them instead of ignoring them. Instead of “I don’t like change" we know they will come up so let's look to accept them the best way we can when they do.

Use Slow Times to Grow

We have no time to get all we want to do during our busy times. Maybe we want to try new things but simply can’t dedicate time to it yet. When business has those slow times, this is a great time to adjust and try those new things, make some changes you do welcome.

Keep a running list of ideas and new things you want to try. And when we have a sudden change in business, this list also can help you make adjustments and changes that are needed, keeping you positive through the process.

Know your Audience

This is a staple for the business overall, but as changes come into the days, months, and years, when you know your audience and customer base, it is easier to decide how best to handle the change.

For example, when 2020 spun in with the pandemic, businesses were forced to shut down. Instead of just accepting that change and doing nothing, many looked at this sudden change and started to prepare other ways to continue business.

They knew their audience would still want or need what they offered so they opened e-commerce online and got more creative using social media and emails to communicate more with their audience and service them more electronically than in-person, maybe even doing drop-off deliveries. If they had only stayed closed and didn’t prepare anything new, they may not have survived.

Engage and Know your Audience on Social Media

As I mentioned, social media is always changing. Do you know where your audience spends most of their time? Are you engaging with them on the platforms as they follow you?

When you engage with your followers on social media, you stay in contact with them so if big changes happen and they are not seeing your feed as much, you know they are there, you can find them and engage with them, offer them new items and services, send them DM links and open a new way to communicate.

Listen to your Customers and Clients

Paying customers and clients can drive change for your business so it is good to ask them what they are looking for in terms of products or services. Don’t be afraid to ask them, they are your loyal base and a positive asset to your business. ‘Changing with the market’ is considering what your client needs and gives you insight into how you can better serve your customers.

* BONUS TIP. Do the updates. I am someone who drags doing a tech update, let’s get on a system of being updated. ��

As the world moves to more of a technology-run world, we will forever have these changes so let’s stay ahead with them as best we can.

I will never stop being that girl who has a routine, planned and organized day and life, and while I still don’t ‘love’ change, I am working to accept changes better instead of feeling panicked, especially in my business.

Whether change is thrust upon us or something we decide to do to grow business and achieve new goals, it is best to be open to the changes, and more prepared so we can adapt to them and improve our lives for the better because time keeps moving life forward whether we are ready or not.

If I can accept change better, I know you can too. ��

If you need help with the changes in your routine, and running i sn’t your cardio in business, I would love to partner with you and help you get there, connect with me HERE .

Redefining “Consistency” To Make It Work For YOU

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 14 Nov 2024 20:45:52 GMT

Consistent . Do you hear this word all the time?

“If you just do this consistently, it will work for you”.

As you are running around trying to keep up with everything in the day the consistency part doesn’t seem possible.

“Exercise 3 times a week consistently”

“Eat fruit and vegetables at least twice a day consistently”

“Get 8 hours of sleep consistently”

“Drink 8 glasses of water consistently”

“Post to social media consistently”

“Send emails consistently”

“Update your Google consistently”….

It is A LOT. ��

But you do know it has some truth, right?

Yes, there is truth behind the word consistent.

The problem is how we think about it.

This “word” is not a bad thing, but it can feel overwhelming when we hear it consistently. ��

The key is that it should happen on YOUR schedule, not always the consistency that you hear.

How To Make A Consistency That Works For You

Consistency is something you need to build into your life, your routines.

This will help it be a regular habit and not just a short-term thing.

I am sure you have heard “exercise 3 days a week for 30 minutes”.

Sure, that sounds like a plan and even somewhat minimal … but you are working 8 hours a day, maybe also taking kids to all the sports practices and events, plus getting all the meals, doing laundry, and trying to get to bed.

When we want to add something to our life and schedule, we don’t have to start cold turkey and hop into it just as suggested.

Instead, it is better to start something small and build it up once it feels like a routine and not a “chore”.

If we hop in and plan to work it just as suggested , in consistency starts because there is too much of it for the time we have.

And then we never add that one thing we want into our life.

We do not all have the same schedules, our lives are different, so the suggested consistencies are great and yes, they can work, but first, they need to work for YOU.

The Importance Of Consistency On Social Media

I hear this a lot in business, “I can’t keep up with it”.

And while a lot of that is based on time, it is also the fact that many feel they need to do something more often than they do.

Why? Because that is what they heard or read.

An example of this is how often you should post on social media.

“You want to stay in front of your audience by posting 5 times a week”.

“Don’t post daily or you will overwhelm your audience, but do make sure to post 3 times a week”.

“Post in your stories 2 times a day, or 7 times a day to reach more”.

It is not only about the consistent posting, but it’s also that the contradicting information that you hear becomes very overwhelming.

But you hear it and you want to grow your audience, right?

So you try…

You try to create all that you can, gather your words, work links, hashtags and get to work.

And by the end of the week with 5 posts and 14 stories, you feel complete and exhausted.

You now realize you did not have time to get to your email newsletter sent and respond to emails timely as that time went into social media.

And the fun of social media is just gone.

And the next week, you do nothing on social media.

So, what’s the solution?

Sometimes you need to stop listening to the consistency they say will grow your business and look to what consistency you can do.

Social media is a bear already, but if you can make a small commitment to start and consistently post just once a week, it will start to feel like a ‘cub’ instead. ��

As you have that once-a-week working consistently, you can add in twice a week and see how that goes.

It doesn’t matter that you read 3-5 times a week, it matters that you work it consistently for YOU.

What you can do consistently will work to grow your audience and business.

It is time to find your consistency for what you want to grow.

And this goes for any area of your business.

Consistency DOES matter, but your consistency doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s.

After all, “a little progress each day adds up to big results”

Consistency is Positivity for Life and Business

Overall, prioritizing consistency in YOUR schedule will not only make you more efficient but it will help pave the way for growth and stability in your life and business.

It is not about what they “say” to do, it is about how consistent you can be. If they say 5 times and you say 1 time, that works, as long as you consistently do it 1 time. ��

You will soon find it more relaxing and normal in your routine instead of overwhelming if you start it slowly and take steps that work for you.

Those small steps will have you walking 30 minutes a day and posting on social media regularly in no time.

If you start with the big steps you hear, you will never walk 30 minutes or post on social media.

As you find new marketing ideas that you would love your business to try, think about where it can fit into your schedule and start small.

Not sure where to start? This is a good place. ��

The Power of Time And How To Make More Of It In Your Business

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:10:24 GMT

“ I don’t have enough time”.

I have said these words many times in my years. How about you?

Time is valuable and most of us wish we had more of it.

Time moves at the same speed every hour of the day, it is one of the most consistent working ‘things’ in life .

If only we could work our day like time does.

We really have to partner with time, and how we do that can feel like a battle.

It takes a little question and answer on your part.

Do you not have enough time because you don’t want to do it?
Not enough time because it is not a priority?
Not enough time because you literally don’t have another minute in your day?

I can relate to all of these!

In fact, when I was working with Amanda at Studio A Designs on my new Virtually Brady website she asked me if I was going to do a blog.

My immediate answer was “No, I have no time for that.”

Who has that time?

But I liked the thought of having a blog, I mean, it is long-lasting content that can help SEO, how can I not do it?

I changed my answer to “maybe” knowing it was something I wanted to do, sometime.

Amanda created the blog page ... and as they say, “If you build it, they will come”

I wanted a blog page I wanted to share more information and ideas for small businesses.

Strong enough that it took power over my time.

I sat down and made it happen, I took the time to focus on something I really wanted in my business.

And with a little frustration and time, this was created ... which I now believe is not a “blog” post, but it is there. �� #itwasawin

It was tough honestly, but yet, I found excitement in getting that post done and wanted to be sure I worked on another.

And the best thing happened.

December approached and I saw a social post that caught my attention. Natty Writes was sharing about a “Blogmas” writing group. (I mean, what a great name!)

It was a 3-week challenge to learn more, write blog posts, and get feedback, plus it included Zoom co-writing days.

While I again really wanted to do this, I was yet again saying over and over, “I do not have time”.

But one afternoon, a switch clicked in my brain and I signed up.

I was then immediately asking myself, “Why would I sign up for that”?

I was making excuses in my mind, telling myself I just needed the information, it would not take my time, and all would be fine.

The first co-writing call day came along, but I was not going to join it.

As it was ready to start, I stared at my monitor for a bit, looked at the work I had, and started to wonder what I would be missing not being on the call.

I joined the call … and I haven’t missed one yet.

Making Time for What Matters Most

Writing first started as a ‘thought’, one I knew I didn’t have time for.

I never tried to find the time, I just knew I didn’t have it.

But did I?

Once I made room in my time to try it, I learned I loved it, and my mindset changed.

The time part went from my want to a need.

And when you need something you work harder to find the time.

You MAKE the time.

Time really is about what you make of it and how your mind decides how to use it.

When you really want something in your day, setting it as a priority helps you get it done.

What you need and prioritize will find the time.

When it isn’t something you really care about, your mind doesn’t let you make time for it, and you blame time for not doing it.

‘I don’t have time.’

Before I tried the writing and started to care about it, that was my mindset.

And I was set on it.

When you really want to do something, give it some good thought before saying “I don’t have time”.

MAKE the time to try it, or it will never happen.

When it becomes a different problem is when your to-do list includes several needs.

A Gift of More Time For Business Owners

As a business owner, there are many business tasks that take our time, things that need to be done daily.

That ‘thing’ called “work.” ��

Making a good, prioritized to-do list is a great way to keep your time somewhat organized.

I know those lists are full, running a business includes many tasks and needs, and there is always a lot to do.

Then you also have those tasks and needs that take longer than others and consume your time in a way you don’t always plan or make the time for.

And what about those unwelcomed daily interruptions that hit our day like a brick?!

Phone calls, texts, emails, customers stopping to talk with you, and then your family needs you and you have to get breakfast, lunch, and supper and drive kids around.

It can feel like a never-ending battle of fighting with time every day.

Even when you intentionally try to make the time for what you need to do.

Can you ignore some interruptions? Of course!

Setting boundaries on what will kidnap your time is a must.

But that can be tough.

You can create uninterrupted times, but there are just those days when it doesn’t happen, you get sidetracked.

Instead of blaming time, it is good to look at ways to gain time, because time is always moving forward.

I f you’re constantly looking for more time in your day, but have yet to find a way to make it appear (wouldn’t that be nice?!), I’m happy to share that’s essentially what I do!

Virtually Brady is a ‘gift’ of time for business owners.

When we partner together on those tasks from your to-do list, you gain time in your day.

And this is when your business can start to see growth.

When the time-consuming tasks are no longer pulling you away from your passion, you can focus on it more, and work your tasks to see it grow.

And maybe you use that time for a good break and do something you love like reading, walking, or enjoying lunch with a friend. When you step away, it refreshes you.

What you decide to do with your 'gift' of extra time is up to you, but the point is that you HAVE it and it helps you and your business.

Life is short and time keeps going forward no matter what.

Even when you MAKE time for things you really want to do, you may always feel out of time.

If you would like an hour or more back into your day, click HERE , and let’s chat. ��

Boost your Google Listing with Photos and Posts

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:23:37 GMT

Recently I was in a lead meeting discussing the importance of having a Google Listing with consistent posts when someone said “Wait, what, a post on a Google Listing”?

Yes, a post, a business update on your Google Listing to share about your business.

An UPDATED Google Listing Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words

While business hours are the #1 update you should be doing to keep your customers walking through the door, UPDATED photos and posts come in right behind.

Keyword there = updated.

Recent photos show exactly what your business looks like, and can truly share a feel for your business without having to type 1,000 words.

They may ‘grow’ time on them, but when you keep them current, it also shows a timeline of your business from past to present, sharing with your audience your business growth.

So what type of photos should you share on your Google listing?

Here are 5 suggested categories:

Exterior Photos

Sharing outside photos is great for your listing if you have a store or business location. These photos help your customers and clients recognize and find your business. New customers especially may see your front door photos and use those to find your business.

Interior Photos

Share photos of the full interior of your store or business locations. If you have multiple rooms like conference rooms, guest rooms, specific product rooms or even dressing rooms, share a photo of each. ‘Walk’ your audience through your location with interior photos.

Product Photos

If you sell products, share photos of your popular products and let your audience know what you showcase and have available. This does not mean a photo of every product, just those that you sell regularly or are a standout for your business. If you have product displays, these make great photos of a variety of items to show your audience, especially if you change them over the seasons, you have updates to share.

Service Photos

If you are a service-based business, show photos of you/your team at work, in meetings, training, and more. ‘Tell’ your audience about your services with these photos.

Photos of you, your team and employees

Put a face with your business. These do not have to be ‘professional’ they can be fun too, and best if they are your unique photos. Show your audience your team through these photos. It is good to add a new photo to your listing at least once a month at the minimum.

Can photos do more for your business?

Yes!

You are not only sharing your business through photos, but you can name each photo with a looonnnggg name which means you can include keywords.

And as we all know, or have heard, those keywords help our SEO to get us found. ��

Alt text and file names help Google’s web crawler really understand the context behind the image.

So instead of the generic name ‘IMG_105’, use keywords to best describe the image. You can also add your business name, city, and state to the name.

For example, I share my brand photos on my Google Listing . These are photos of me in different work settings. When I shared this photo�� of me working at my laptop, I did not just name it “Virtually Brady working on a laptop” but instead used a name like this:

“VirtuallyBrady_WestDesMoines_Iowa_virtualassistantwork_virtualservices”

Keywords for my business are virtual assistant and virtual assistant services so I work to get those words in my photo names, as well as in other areas of my Google Listing .

I include my city and state so when someone searches “virtual assistant in West Des Moines, Iowa” I am there. ��‍��

One last tip with photos is to be sure to use high-quality (best you can) photos and your own, unique photos vs. stock photos. They will not only look better for your business, but they will also rank better with Google. Blurry low-res photos don’t really work well for your business and using stock photos, well, those are not your 'real' business.

Tips for Effective Google Posts

Back to my lead meeting about a Google post.

A post on your Google Listing is like a mini, free advertisement for your business on the web. ��️

Have you done a post on social media?

I am going to guess that’s a yes.

If you post on social media, you are in the right direction to post to your Google Listing.

Google posts work similarly to social media posts in that they share about your brand and business, and help people get to know you.

They work to directly engage and bring you new customers, build a target audience, and bring website traffic and sales to your business.

Posts in general remind me of ‘show & tell’ in elementary school. You want to tell your audience about your business and show them a picture or graphic that goes with it.

You can share a variety of business information with a post. For example, let’s say you are an athletic gym business with classes. You can share your class schedules on Google, talk about your trainers, and share gym tips and membership information in a post.

A plus I find with Google is they have a link button for you to include with your post, drawing your audience exactly where you want them to go. You can direct them to your website, provide a link to a specific product they can purchase or service they can book, leave a call button so they can ring you, and even easily link them to a social platform as well.

It is also great to post about offers and events that you have.

For example, let’s say you have a coffee shop business and are running a special with a ‘buy one muffin, get one free’ offer. You can share this on your listing with a start and end date so when people search for coffee they see the BOGO offer. This is great for many out-of-town people who use Google to find what they need, and having the BOGO offer there might just give you an advantage over another shop. ☕️

Another example is if you are having a ribbon-cutting event or open house, posting that on Google is a great way to generate new leads and share about your business.

Having a Google Listing not only helps you reach more leads, customers, and foot traffic but using the post space helps you build engagement with the leads and build a web audience.

For posts on Google, it is best to do a post once a week unless you have more value to share, like a realtor with new home listings. Then sharing a post more regularly is good to do.

So yes, this sounds very much like social media posting, except you are not limited to ‘followers’ and those scrolling through, you are now posting to those searching the World Wide Web. ��

And if you are posting regularly on social platforms, you can use that content on Google, which makes a once-a-week post easily attainable.

Start Using Your Google Listing Consistently

Overall, having a Google Listing not only helps you reach more leads, customers, and foot traffic, but keeping it updated with photos and posts helps you build engagement with the leads, build a web audience, and get found.

There are many details to a Google Listing but if you start with consistent updates to your business hours, photos, and post s , you are well on your way to having a good, solid listing.

A Google Listing works for you when YOU work the listing.

So now that you know this, when I search your listing I want to see it full of new photos and posts. ��

Don’t have the TIME to update and work your Google Listing but want it ‘dusted off’? I’d love to help! Click HERE to connect. ��

How To Market Your Business Outside Of Just Social Media

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 15:40:57 GMT

Do you remember life before social media?

I know some of you haven’t had that experience, and I am putting a ‘date’ on myself here, but I didn’t have social media in school, and in college we were just getting cell phones.

Life wasn’t ‘technically’ driven back when I was younger, and it is sometimes hard to even remember.

Our social game was actually having to call and talk with friends ��️ and you wrote letters to those who lived outside your area code otherwise you were charged long-distance fees, happy mail was an actual thing then.

Email was also slowly coming around in my college years when the internet connection was ‘that sound’ … eeeeeeaaaaahhhhhhhh … meaning the actual snail mail letter was quicker. ��

We watched TV shows that only had new episodes each week and listened to a radio station when in the car, no playlists.

When I think about it all now, it really was a different life, was more ‘in-person’ back then.

Social media is now the new “social”, which can be read in many different ways, a lot of real life and not-real life, some funny, some honest, but regardless we all love to scroll and see what’s going on.

Social platforms worked their way into our business life, becoming the ‘business cards’ for new and old business owners.

Businesses started setting up Facebook pages and marketing their business more ‘socially’.

It quickly became popular and fun, and no one looked back.

While it is really great to share about your business on these platforms, I also feel we need to take a step back and look at market opportunities outside of *just* social media.

Afterall, businesses were successful and growing before social media was introduced.

And with social media being so popular it might be easy to think everyone is using it, but that is simply not true.

Maybe it is hard to believe but there are people not on social media.

So how do they hear about your business if you are only on socials?

And what if the socials go away, we all know they can, what do you have left? Do you know your social media audience outside of the platforms?

It is smart in business to market on social media AND outside of social media.

And it is smart to not only have a backup if it goes down, but to connect with MORE people.

13 Ways To Market Your Business Outside of Social Media

I believe a successful and growing business depends on the relationships you build.

Talking to customers, clients, and partners outside of a text or social DM is really important.

When you walk into a business, doesn’t it feel good when they greet you by your name? And sometimes through a few small conversations they know a little more about you, and you know more about them.

It connects you to what they offer and sell and builds loyalty between you and the business, and the business to you.

Sometimes it can be tough if you work with people out-of-state or even out of the country. But you can still connect with phone conversations and Zoom meetings.

Stepping outside the text and DM messages can really bring your business to life.

And yes, I know you can build relationships through text and socials, but it is not the same as a person-to-person connection, the relationship is not as strong and can easily be ignored.

So how can you build those relationships and do more business marketing?

It is always great to brainstorm new ideas and things you would like to try as you move forward in business, so my best advice is to keep an ongoing list and add to it as you get another new idea.

I’ve personally done this for myself and for my clients overtime! Below you’ll find some ideas that can serve as a starting point for you if you’re looking to market your business in new ways. Keep in mind, some of the ideas might work for you and some may not. Every business is unique which is why I encourage you to brainstorm a list of your own based on what makes the most sense for YOUR business!

And I know some of you may say “are you kidding me?” when reading some of these suggestions. ��

Keep an open mind, these are ideas outside of the tech world and I have the experience to know when you work outside your comfort zone, things happen.

It is about not only advertising and marketing your business but also talking and sharing about it with new connections.

Chamber of Commerce

Becoming a Chamber member can bring a lot of opportunities to you and your business. You can work with them on a ribbon-cutting event, attend their local events, and host a Chamber event at your business location. This connects you not only with the Chamber members but with other businesses and their customers and, audience.

Donations

There are many charity events that often need donations. If you have a charity you would love to support, it is not only great to donate for their cause but to include your business and contact information within that donation to make a new connection.

Sponsorships

If there are events looking for sponsors, you can support them with a sponsorship that gets your name on many flyers, banners, websites and more. Your brand is seen by many and starts to be recognized.

Mail marketing

While it will have a small cost to it, doing a local mailing about your business can be beneficial when targeted correctly. You can include what you offer and a coupon or special to have them reach out to you. This could also be something they take door to door and leave.

Booth event

If there is an open house at a business or a pop-up opportunity offering a table/booth opportunity, you can set up what you have to offer or sell and work on new connections with those that attend. Hand out flyers and other logo items. Local farmer markets are also good events to be at.

Brand merch

A great way to advertise your business is to wear it. Get your logo on some t-shirts, bags, water bottles and more and wear them when out and about. You can be in the line at Target and someone will say “what is that on your shirt?” and the conversation is now open for you to share about your business.

Gift your brand

It is great to give out logo merch as a freebie to people. Maybe you have logo t-shirts and can give some out for gifts, or pens, notebooks and more. You can go to some businesses in your area and give them a free, small merch bag with your business and contact information. Thank you gifts to clients and customers are great too. Circulate your logo so people start to see it and recognize it, and what you offer.

Paid advertising

You can do ads on Google, TV/streaming, radio, magazines, newspapers and more. These can be beneficial, but they can come with a high cost so something to research on if they would be a benefit to your business.

Podcasts

Be a guest on a local podcast. This is a great opportunity to share your business with your voice and get into the details of what you offer. Reach out to your favorite local podcasts and introduce yourself.

Blogging

Starting a blog and sharing content about your business is a great way to not only help your SEO, but also provide long-term content that people can find months down the road.

I personally started blogging in my business in 2023 and it’s been such a fun and different way to expand on various topics that add value to my audience AND promote my services simultaneously. I am thankful for the Writer’s Room , a done-with-you writing membership with Natty Writes . I joined this group and have found it so helpful. I encourage you to check it out if you look to blogging to provide content.

Parades
Ok, some may think this is a corky idea to include but if you have local parades, jump in and join them. You just need a logo banner, put it on a vehicle, or carry it through the parade, wearing your logo t-shirt and tossing out a freebie with your contact information.

Emails

If you know me and have read my other blog posts , you know I would never have a list without email marketing. If you have not started this for your business, I am giving you the sign that now is the time. It is the direct connection to your audience that you own and control.

Google Listing

And a favorite I have is the Google Listing, I feel this is a MUST for all businesses. This platform is a free resource not only to share and showcase your business on Google but to help get your business found, bringing you new customers and business. Check out this blog post for all the Google Listing details.

How To Start Marketing Your Business Outside of Social Media

Overall, it is important to not only rely on social media to market and share your business but to work your marketing in many ways so you are reaching more new business and customers.

While some marketing can feel out of your comfort zone, it is important to try new things, especially those that are low or non-costly options.

There are many great ways to showcase your business so keep your brainstorming list going and start marketing your business outside of social media by picking at least ONE new thing to try! And remember: this doesn’t mean you’re giving up social media altogether. It is a great tool to have in your business. You can DO BOTH.

At the end of the day, building a business works when you build your connections, in social media and out.

I am curious, what are your thoughts on marketing outside of social media? Is there one new idea you will try? I would love for you to let me know.

And if you need help getting started with marketing your business offline, I’d love to help you out! CLICK HERE to get in touch.

How Virtually Brady Elevates Efficiency as a Virtual Assistant

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 17:46:00 GMT

‘ Hi Brandy, what do you do?’

‘My name is Brady, and I’m a virtual assistant.’

‘I’m sorry Bradley, and what is that, that you do?’

‘My name is Brady, like Tom “BRADY”, and I’m an assistant, who works virtually.’

‘That sounds interesting Brad, so you would pick up my dry cleaning? ‘

��‍♀️ … between my name and career, I’m asked a lot of questions on a daily basis.

My name is Brady. It seems short and simple but it has been a name many get confused with.

While it was maybe annoying in the early years, now it’s almost wrong if they get my name right, especially at the coffee shops.

How about Bridget, Braden, Bardy, Grady (my fav) and a new one, Regan, huh? … I have a big list of all the ‘name calling’.

But I do give applause to all the baristas as I would never be able to do it, I know I would not get a name right, especially in the busy, noisy coffee shop.

I have just never understood what makes my name so hard to understand. ��‍♀️

When I started my virtual assistant business, I found not only my name to be a question, but many do not understand what my career and business is.

So what is a Virtual Assistant?

I believe the confusion happens because of the word ‘virtual’.

Virtual just means I am not physically sitting in your office.

Assistant means I am helping you.

As your Virtual Assistant, I am your right-hand helper who works outside of your office.

Have you ever watched the movie “The Devil Wears Prada?”

Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt play assistants to Meryl Streep, and they do All. The. Things. They are in-house assistants, working within the corporate walls for one tough, demanding boss. It showcases a true level of assisting.

I love that movie. I am not that assistant. �� (but would love to virtually assist someone in the fashion world, oh yes please)

My assistant role does not look like that, but it is strong in helping business owners with the day-to-day tasks, and working on them from my home office.

So while I won’t be physically fetching your coffee or bringing you your dry cleaning, I will find a way to get them to you. ��

Have you ever said to yourself “I wish I didn’t have to do this today?”

Or, “I wish I had someone to help me with this project due next month.”

That is me, BRADY, a virtual assistant here to help you ... also known as Virtually Brady .

You don’t need me sitting across from you or down the hall from your office to be your dedicated assistant, getting tasks done. ✔️

6 Specific Ways I Can Help You As A Virtual Assistant

Think about your day-to-day tasks and those that are consuming your time. Now think about those tasks being done without you doing it.

While each business owner has different task priorities, I have a top 6 list that includes tasks consistent business to business, and provides a great starting list of what help you can use:

Inbox Management

This is essentially just what it sounds like! With the Inbox Management task, I will manage your email inbox, keep it organized and respond to emails so it is up-to-date and your contacts are communicated to in a timely manner.

Email Marketing

This is often a service that is either started but not maintained consistently or needs to be established. With this service, I will draft a newsletter template and schedule emails, on a consistent schedule, for your business to talk to your customers and followers and gain new contacts. Get more information HERE .

Google Management

Did you know that having a Google listing presence is almost just as important as having a social media presence? Most business owners don’t recognize this importance, which is why my services include full Google Management so that you don’t have to worry about it.

With this task, I will maintain your Google Listing so it is current, which helps the SEO so your local business is found by more contacts.

And if you’re not sure why being present on Google is so important, refer HERE for the full rundown!

E-Commerce Management

If you are a store owner, have you ever felt an inventory overload? When new inventory comes in, you have to enter each item into your system, create the barcodes, and mark each item, as well as get a new arrival email ready and all the social posts. If you have regular new inventory coming in, especially over the holidays, it can take a lot of your time. Gone are those days! I assist with inventory entry, organizing keyword descriptions and collections, and of course, work the email marketing, and more. And, if you don't use barcodes, I can create them to make your checkout process quick and easy for your customers.

Project Management

As a business owner, there are a lot of deadlines for you to keep up with and when you’re working on big projects, it can be easy for things to go overlooked. That’s where I can come in! With this service, I can assist with events and specific projects to be sure the deadlines are met, communication is kept current with all involved, and all the details are cared for and stays organized.

Social Media Management

Let’s be real… we all have a love / hate relationship with social media, don’t we?

While it can feel like a lot to keep up with, having a consistent social media presence as a business owner is important, which is why I aim to help clients map out a content calendar for their social media accounts, respond to social messages and provide engagement on your accounts.

This list does not include all the tasks that I assist with, it is simply a starting point to help you understand what exactly a virtual assistant *can* help you with. Not all apply to each business, and some businesses need other tasks done.

I always partner with a business owner to map out a plan and prioritize the tasks I can assist with to help their business.

Why hire me as your Virtual Assistant?

When we partner together, you not only save money but also actively grow your business.

Unlike hiring an employee, you do NOT pay for:

A salary or hourly rates

Overtime pay

Office space

Office equipment

No benefits (like vacation, holidays, sick leave, insurance, 401K)

No training fees

You save money because you only pay for the work you need done.

How we can grow your business

My favorite part of being your virtual assistant is ‘gifting’ you TIME .

Time is valuable. When we work together, you have more freedom in your day to focus on those specific tasks you love in business and work fully on your passion.

And maybe even take a break and grab lunch with your best friend.

When you have that time to dedicate to your business the way you know how, growth starts to happen. Think about what it does when you have time to network, build relationships with clients, and attend social gatherings to share your business.

I will be working to maximize the tasks we agreed on to bring the business more leads, clients, and customers.

The small details in those time-consuming tasks DO make a difference in business when they are kept up-to-date and worked consistently. Even inbox management can lead you to new clients and customers. #itsinthedetails

There are also marketing tweaks to be done with tasks like Email Marketing and Google Listings that help business growth.

Get back to your passion.

When you are doing all the tasks in your business, you can lose sight of why you started and start to feel less passionate about it.

When we partner together, you will start to feel the passion again, the FUN returns and you feel a newfound freedom to get things done, and grow.

My passion is to help you get there by working on the tasks that are sucking the life out of your day.

My name is Brady. I am a virtual assistant. And I would love to connect with YOU to grow your business!

Click HERE and let’s chat. ��

How To Effectively Manage Your Calendar As A Small Business Owner

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Sun, 18 Aug 2024 19:25:00 GMT

Summer is my favorite season, but also a hard one for me. I love the heat, the sun, wearing shorts and t-shirts, sitting on my deck with a good read. But summer is also a non-routine season, and I live for a routine.

Summer is a time for all things, activities, vacations, and just places to be.

As a mom, of a teenager, when that last day of school comes each year, the mornings get laid back, less of a rush, feels so good, less stressful, quiet … and that is over in like 3 days.

My #momtaxi is then suddenly full-time employed without pay. I am driving and dropping to the early morning strength classes, then afternoon camps/training, to the friends' house, back to the gym for team practice, and then the dental and doctor appointments kick in.

Meanwhile I’m also working, throwing in laundry, trying to keep a house somewhat picked up so I don’t break my ankle tripping over shoes, and oh, that thing called food. (que the need for age 16 and a driver's license, much to my dislike)

After a month or 2, I’m ready, so ready for the routine to come back. I have felt #momguilt over that before, but at the same time, I need the routine to be a better mom.

So while the weather starts to get colder, much to my dislike, (I do however love the fashion ��) we now enter back into the school year routine - hooray! - and now it is just another version of a busy season.

The busyness never leaves, it is just different from season to season. I have found myself building my routine(s) as we go, adjusting to try to keep myself in a routine as much as possible.

How do you keep it all straight?

Do you use a calendar?

Post-it note reminders?

To-do lists? Your phone notes?

My favorite is a good solid calendar and to-do lists. (I do use many post-its)

Anyone with me?

Calendar management helps build my routine. I am a pencil-to-paper gal, tried to be a digital one but I need to write it down to really get it and keep me on track day to day.

I also have a love for a good, full-year, month-to-month calendar/planner.

I might keep a semi-online calendar, used mostly for those appointments that use links, like a Zoom meeting, but everything else I write out on my paper calendar and/or wall calendar(s). (You can’t have too many calendars, right? ��)

Even though a calendar is meant to help you keep your life organized and scheduled, it can also turn into organized chaos that presents a challenge within itself.

If you’ve ever felt like your calendar is the very thing stressing you out, you’re in good company. Over the years of being a paper calendar gal, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to avoid this so that your calendar can ACTUALLY do its job!

Keep reading below for my favorite ways to prevent calendar chaos.

HOW TO PREVENT CALENDAR CHAOS

Organize your appointments

Pick a day of the week for appointments and only schedule them on that weekday, unless it is an emergency.

Organizing your days becomes the key to managing your calendar and your life. There was a time when I just took whatever appointments I could, now I book on the days of the week I dedicated. If that is a Monday, I will only see my dentist on his next available Monday. (A quick tip, avoid Fridays as appointment days as many offices close early, or they are not even open)

Set an errand day

Similar to picking a day of the week for appointments, do the same for errands, like grocery shopping, post office, etc. and stay consistent with that day week to week.

Do a Sunday Plan & Review

At the beginning of each week, conduct a check-in and update the calendar. During this time, make sure everything is there that you need to do/be at and create your weekly to-do list.

Set your work hours if possible

As a small business owner with lots of different to-do’s, this can be tricky, but setting business hours and sticking to them really helps the business/life balance and creates room for appointments outside of work.

Schedule a housework day

Just like you’re picking a day for appointments and errands, try to also pick a specific day of the week for laundry, dishes, and cleaning so that you don’t feel tempted to fill the nooks and crannies of each of your days with these chores.

Write it all down

Your calendar might be full, but write everything down so you can keep track of your month, week, and days. Take your calendar with you and keep adding to your to-do list as new things come up!

NEED HELP MANAGING YOUR CALENDAR AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?

In summary, to organize your calendar chaos, dedicate your days to your tasks. Once you do that, you can add them to your weeks and soon your month is complete. And with additions happening daily, make sure you update.

It is great when you can view your days, weeks, and months at a glance, then your routine comes along and you know how each day will feel.

Routine helps the days seem calmer, it will always be busy, but when you control it, there’s less chaos all around.

If you are ready to have a controlled calendar and routine but are unsure you have the time to organize it, click HERE , and let's connect. We can chat to see what the best plan would be for you. ��

Business Hours. A Common Aspect of Business that gets Overlooked

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 23:54:29 GMT

Business hours are something so important but yet something I see consistently neglected by businesses.

If you don’t know me, I am a direct informational virtual assistant, meaning I don’t sugar coat the important parts of business, I am here to help you be at your best.

And business hours is something you should maximize when it comes to ‘collecting’ loyal customers for your business.

If you are a small business owner of a store or brick-and-mortar business location, do you want people to visit your store or business repeatedly?

Do you want your customers and clients to be happy or irritated when they come to your store door?

Have you ever thought about someone stopping by when you say you are open but you are closed, what might they think?

It is not just about establishing good business hours, it is about keeping them updated and telling people when they change, which is where I find the most neglect.

Misleading Listings: The Frustration for your Customers

It was in 2021 when I had a business hour ‘issue’ that has stuck in my head.

I was standing outside a store door unable to get inside.

I am a runner and this was the year when my sports medicine chiropractor suggested I get fitted for a new shoe and gave me the name of a couple stores to go to.

Running is not something I mess with, that suggestion was at the top of my list. I needed new shoes so I could avoid injury and sore legs. (and, I just really love shoes�� ).

I googled a couple stores to learn more about them and wrote down the hours of the one I liked most. It wasn’t on my side of town, it was about 25-30 minutes away.

It was a Sunday, they were open 12 - 5:00 PM and I had a bit of time in the late afternoon so I headed to the store. I arrived, easily found a parking spot and headed to the door only to notice the open sign was not on and it was a little dark inside … because they were not open.

What?!

I checked the google listing again and it said 12 - 5:00 PM, it was 4:27.

I stood there frustrated. I know it was later in the afternoon, but it wasn’t 5:00. I drove about an hour round trip for nothing.

Can things come up unexpectedly to cause a business hour mishap? Absolutely. I understand it can happen.

This situation was one where I was told “we posted our hour change on social media”. ��

Why it is important to List Your Business Hours beyond Social Media

That experience wasn’t my last, I have had this happen more than once over the years. And I see a lot of businesses sharing about early closures in a social media post/story, but not on any other platform.

Yes, when I see these shares I check on it.

And now some stores have a posted QR Code for hours, no exact hours listed on the door but a code to scan to see the hours, which is brilliant especially if you do change hours frequently.

But it is only good if the code takes you to the current, up-to-date hours. And yes, some do not. You are then standing at a closed door with a QR code that says the store is open.

It seems when businesses need to close an hour or 2 early, maybe even only 30 minutes, they don’t find the need to update the hours anywhere else other than telling their social following.

I can never understand why that is, why social media is the only share.

Sure, some people look to social media for store hours, but some don’t even think about socials for finding when a store is open or closed. (#me)

Social media isn’t exactly the platform that’s meant to list your hours – sure, you might have them listed there, but if your hours are listed elsewhere, why not update them there as well?

My guess is that it’s a time thing - people don’t have the time to update anything past socials.

But social media is not the only ‘sauce’ to running a business.

Maybe you know this, or maybe you don’t, (I wrote about it HERE ) but something to consider is when you post on social media not everyone sees your posts and stories.

No, they don’t.

As I mentioned in that POST , your full social media audience does not see everything you share - in fact, only about 10% see what you post, which means if you have 500 followers, 50 may see the post, while 450 may never. These platforms control that, not you.

But outside of that, what you need to consider is some customers may not even use social media. This is true.

Others may not open their social media daily. Yes, this is likely.

So again, why would you only inform your customers about hour changes on a social platform?

If that is the only platform you use, I get it, you are updating where the hours are.

But a bit of advice on that, if you are using only social media, put that to rest.

As a business owner, you should not depend only on social media to share and talk about your business.

You should use other resources for your business hours (and marketing) if you want customers to come to your store and know about your business.

How to Notify Your Customers of Hour Changes

Let’s think outside the comfort zone of social media.

People want to know when you are open, so TELL THEM, in multiple ways.

I think we both can agree that happy foot traffic is great for business!

Sharing your hour updates and changes on social media is a given, let’s just add in a couple simple areas.

List your business on Google . Some may do a Google search for a “shoe store” in their area and your business comes up, helping you get found, and, BONUS, it lists your hours. (plus it is free)

You can list day-to-day hours on your Google Listing also. If you have a week

where you need to close at 5 instead of 6, you can put those all in Google.

Great way to keep your hours at their best.

Yelp and Bing are other free online resources that list your business, including

hours.

Email newsletter . List your hours in every e-newsletter, even if at the bottom of the email. This is a great resource for your customers. If you have any updates to hours, tell them in the body of the email also so they know.

If you change your hours for a season, send a specific, separate email to your subscribers, keep them up-to-date about your business.
List your hours on your website. Yes, your business website should have your hours listed, in a place where eyes can see them.

The only time I can see a business not updating their hours is in the case of an emergency. It can happen for sure and maybe you need to shut the door and lock it up. I get it.

But outside of an emergency, you need to post a sign on your door and update your platforms, all of them .

Closing 30 minutes early for your child’s concert? Share on socials and update your Google. ✔️

Going to be open 2 hours longer on a Thursday? Share on socials, update Google, email your customers about the extra hours they have to shop. ✔️

Closing for a vacation? Share this and update your Google, website and email that to customers. ✔️

It doesn’t matter why you have an hour change, but if you know it is going to happen, update all platforms where your hours are listed.

Communicating Your Updated Business Hours Matters

Overall, if you want to be a good business who builds loyalty and welcomes repeat customers, do the simple thing and update your hours on multiple platforms, even if you feel it is a small thing to do.

I believe small business owners have the best intentions but sometimes need a solid reminder. I am your biggest cheerleader, working to support you and help you grow.

And I know the small details matter. As the quote by John Wooden reads, “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen ”.

Maybe I wrote this post as a direct informational virtual assistant wanting to help more small businesses grow with happy customers, but also as a regular shopper who wants to stand at the business door and walk through it when the hours say open.

If time is the reason your hours stay posted from the past, please connect with me so I can help you bring them to the present. ��

The Impact of Email Marketing on Business Growth

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 30 May 2024 22:18:53 GMT

I admit, I am a full-time shopper. There isn’t a day that comes around when I don’t shop, often online. ��️

To clarify, when I say full-time shopper, it doesn’t necessarily mean I am a full-time ‘spender’, but I shop, window shop, and ‘add to my cart’ shop, leaving it ‘cart sitting’ as I shop more.

Often with online shopping, when you leave items in your online cart, you get friendly emails reminding you about the items, which also might offer you a discount when you make your purchase. ��

You also get emails telling you about new arrivals, that your items are now on sale, or are now back in stock. (thank you Nordstrom).

This might be an unpopular opinion, I love a good email in my inbox. ��

In fact, as I work with small businesses, I highly encourage email marketing to be included in their day-to-day business. And no, it’s not just because I like them!

Email marketing is a great tool to not only connect you with your customers and clients, but it provides a good return on investment and helps with business growth.

Over the years I have often heard business owners tell me they feel email marketing isn’t as needed, that people are done with it.

But I’m here to say that is NOT the case.

I understand why it tends to be the thought. I’m sure you have had a time when your inbox is full of emails you haven’t gotten to or opened and it may feel overwhelming.

I get it.

While I am one who is ok with emails sitting in my inbox, I also know there are many who are not. And I am also one who will sign-up for emails from places I shop and I welcome those emails in, and some don’t want that.

Email inboxes can get overwhelmed and filled rather quickly, but you do know what that means, right?

Email marketing is alive. ��

Email Marketing vs. Social Media: Which is Better for Your Business

Many believe email marketing took a step down to social media as a good marketing tool. While social media is a place to show up in business, it is not meant to be your ONLY marketing tool.

Here’s why: Social media is a ‘rented’ platform. When you create your profiles and collect followers throughout those platforms, there is no ownership in those for you, it is space you “rent” and someone else controls it.

People may choose to follow you, but your posts are not always shared with each of them.

They control who sees your posts, which some stats say is around 6%, and encourage you to spend money to increase that by boosting posts and doing ads.

And if you pay that money to those deep pockets, your follower number might increase, but it will not necessarily be with contacts fitting into your ideal audience – it can include more of those without a true need for what you offer.

If you know me, you know how I truly feel about ‘subscriber’ numbers – I go into that spiel here – but the short of it is that I believe they are not worth the focus, they are just a number that are not worth spending money on.

Social media of course is another time commitment to your day. Between graphics and good photos to reels and videos, you need to create the content and push it out in a series of ways from posts to stories, and then start over to the next day.

Yes, you can plan it out and make it easier and batch your content, but regardless it is still a lot of time on something that offers a low return on investment. Views & likes do not generate dollars.

Social media is a great place to get your brand out there and recognized, and you can make great connections. If you sell a product, there is the opportunity to gather sales through the platforms as well.

The big barrier for the ROI on socials is the wrong audience.

And let’s not forget, social media can go away at any time. We have experienced the days when it is down and not working, and that can be tough if you are relying only on those platforms to communicate about your business.

A step further is if your account is hacked and gone, you will lose any connection you have with some customers if that is your only marketing platform. Now you have to start over.

Should you be on social media? Yes ! But it is not wise to put all your ‘eggs’ in the social media basket. ��

Unlocking the Power of Email Marketing

Email marketing is not a step down from social media, it is a step up . ⏫

What makes email marketing a higher marketing tool is the ownership .

You OWN that list of contacts. You create the emails and send it on your schedule; you control it.

When I talked earlier about those who are ok with an inbox full of emails and those who are not, that is the direct connection you get with email marketing.

People will either sign-up to receive them from you or they won’t. It is a choice.

You are not forcing anything on anyone, they sign up to receive your email, they WANT to hear from you.

And what makes this so great is that is your ideal audience , contacts that have a need for your product or service.

This is a step above the followers on socials who just click like or follow, but may never really see or understand what you offer as they don’t see all your content.

If people sign up for emails and then learn the information is not a fit for them, they may choose to unsubscribe And that is OK . Let’s say that again … it is OK .

This relates back to the ‘subscriber number’ and there is no need to focus on that.

Where should your focus be for email marketing?

CONSISTENCY . Focus on sending emails consistently and continuing to grow your list. Do not worry if people leave – if they are not your ideal audience, you don’t want them there anyways!

Instead of viewing unsubscribes as a bad thing, I encourage you to change your perspective and LOVE the unsubscribe, as I talked about in this prior blog .

When you have people sign up for emails, you should email them. Am I right?

I often hear people tell me that they do not email very often because they don’t want to annoy people.

Do you want to know what will annoy those who have signed up? When you don’t send them emails.

As I have mentioned, they signed up to hear from you, they have an interest in what you have to offer, they want your emails.

What a powerful business tool that is. An audience waiting to hear what you have to tell them about your business. ��

A Guide to Email Marketing Success

If you are ready to start your email marketing or increasing what you currently have, here are a few things to keep in mind:

EMAIL PLATFORM. ��

It is best not to send emails from your personal or business email. You want to look into a good, solid platform that can give you an eye appealing email format and stats you can track after.

My favorite is Flodesk but there are many you can use that will work, research what is best for your business. Some point of sales like Shopify also allow you to work email marketing through the platform.

CONTENT. ��

No matter if you offer a product or service, email marketing is a good way to build loyalty and connection with your audience by sharing more than what you offer.

One of the best ways to do this is to build a newsletter format to inform your audience about your business. What would the reader want to know? What do you want them to know? Maybe more about how you got started, who you work with, if you host events, etc. Be open to sharing small details about your business with your readers.

WHEN TO SEND. ��️

This is the big thing to consider so you can be consistent in sending emails. Look at your schedule and decide when you will be able to send your newsletter emails. You can always schedule emails to go out, but make sure you have a timeline to get them done and ready consistently.

A good example is a retail clothing store that gets new arrivals weekly. They have emails go out each week on Tuesday at 8 PM showing what the new arrivals are and sharing more about their week. Customers look forward to this email each week to see what is new, and if the store won’t have new arrivals, they email the list so they know and include other information in their weekly email. The ROI is strong on the weekly email.

HOW OFTEN YOU SEND . ��

If you are a product based business, you may send emails more than a service based business if you have new products often, sales or events. However, you should always have a ‘newsletter’ style email that goes out consistently. You can always sprinkle in other informational content they need in between the newsletter. If you want your audience to know you and be expecting your emails, it is good to send them more often.

Here are a few things to consider when deciding how often to send your emails:

Sending a once a month email doesn’t give them much to remember you by, they may wonder each month “who is this?”. If you can do bi-weekly emails, it gives them more of a chance to get familiar with you as they see your brand every 14 days. And if you send weekly, consistent emails, that would be the icing on the cake as then they really get to know you and expect to see your emails. A good way to get it into routine would be to start with what works best for you and increase it as you can.

Overall, remember to treat your subscribers as your business VIP’s. Tell them about anything new in business first before sharing on social media. They are there for this information and it is good to inform them first, and they will help spread the word.

If a friend tells a subscriber about a sale you had and they never got an email from you about it, you are dropping the loyalty card. Tell your subscribers information first by sending them emails more often.

SIGNUP OFFER . ��

Lastly, consider adding a special signup offer for when someone joins your list! There is no rule that says you have to do this, but if you want to grow your list, you can give them an offer like a discount or a free download of exclusive information when they sign up for your emails to incentivize them to join

Email Marketing is the Ultimate Tool for Business Success

Overall, email is a great marketing tool for business growth, no matter if you are a product or service-based business. You own it. You control it. It has a good ROI. It connects you directly with your ideal audience.

And the connection with your ideal audience is a powerful tool for business growth .

Using email marketing to connect directly with your audience gives you a platform to share your direct message with them, telling them what you want them to know about your business, and they want to hear it.

This connection builds loyal customers and clients who will help grow your business. That is the ultimate tool for your success.

Start by focusing on sending your emails consistently to your subscriber list. If you don’t, I know who will … your competitors. Get a system going for CONSISTENCY . ✔️

I not only love email marketing as a full-time shopper, I love it for small business growth.

Email marketing is something we can all do, but if time is a problem in your schedule, let’s chat . I can help you find the right platform, create a newsletter template, help with content, and plan a schedule so you can stay consistent, and a step ahead of your competitor.

I invite you to join my email newsletter, click here to be a VIP. ��

Mastering the Art of Business Reviews

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 16 May 2024 21:35:00 GMT

Reviews make me feel like I’m shopping with my BFF. ��️

You may know me already, or have read in my previous blog posts , that I give myself the title of ‘full-time shopper’. I look and shop a lot online. Small businesses with e-commerce are my favorite.

I have watched reviews increase and come to life on many websites, becoming a regular, standard part of information shared about products or services, and it has been really valuable.

Shopping online used to feel like shopping in the dark, not really knowing exactly what you were getting.

You just made a decision and hoped for the best, crossed your fingers as you hit “purchase”. It also then took weeks for items to ship and show up, and any return was a nightmare.

Online shopping is now a huge focus for many purchases, and it is a lot easier. (Maybe a little too easy. ��)

I read a Google stat that there were 274.70 million online buyers in the United States as of 2023. WOW.

That is a lot of shoppers.

Reviews are really helping to bring those potential buyers on board to the “web”.

Reading reviews can feel like you are out meeting your friends for dinner and talking about your favorite things – you are truly getting some straight-on feedback about products and services.

And often people are more apt to share their true thoughts with ‘typed’ words, giving their true feelings about it.

This is true for both product and service based businesses. It is not only for an ‘item’. It’s for this reason that as a virtual assistant, I encourage all business owners to utilize reviews in their business!

Why Reviews Matter

I had a small business owner once say she doesn’t like to ask for reviews as she is afraid of what they may say.

While I can understand it might be hard to read or hear some words spoken about you/your business, there are a lot of things to consider when it comes to reviews for your business.

Reviews are a POSITIVE in helping you build and grow your business.

People read reviews because they need help making informed decisions.

If they are not familiar with your business, they will read reviews to learn if it’s worth it for them to spend time with what you have to offer.

And yes, there could be 5 star reviews and maybe a 1 star review, and if you are the “buyer”, you take them all into consideration prior to purchasing. You want the good, the bad and the ugly.

As a business owner, I can understand how that can be hard if you receive a 1 star review at any time.

You must keep in mind, while there is always the possibility of a negative review, there are more possibilities of positive reviews.

If you are a service based business, when you work with clients you truly get a feel for who they are as individuals or companies, and how the process is going.

We are all our individual personalities that sometimes generate better with some people over others. (like enneagram matching)

This doesn’t mean there are necessarily bad connections, but sometimes there can just be better than others.

That isn’t a bad thing, it’s who we are. And as business owners we are doing our best work regardless if the personal connection is 100% or 85%.

As you complete a project or services, it is a great idea to wrap it all up by asking them to leave you a review and this can be done in various ways

Where To Ask For Reviews For Your Business

People can leave a review on your Google Listing, Facebook Page, Yelp, Bing and more.

With a Google Listing, you can give them a direct link to leave a review for you. They just click, leave their sentences and it posts directly to your listing page, making it super easy for them to do.

Once you see a review posted, it is great to respond to that review, thank them for their time and share your kind words.

( TIP: Google looks at responses and response time for higher rankings, be sure to do it soon after a review comes in.)

This is another reason it’s so important to have a Google Business Profile – you can learn more about that in this blog post !

When you read the reviews, it is a great feeling, you know you made an impact on someone’s experience or purchase, and now others can understand more about you and your business.

And the best part is that growth can start to happen over time from these reviews!

Each review works like a referral from those who have had firsthand experience with your product or services.

HOW TO NAVIGATE NEGATIVE REVIEWS

“But Brady, what if I receive a less positive or lower star review?”

Great question – you should never fear that possibility.

Yes it’s true that people can leave a more negative review or less positive words, but remember, you are good at what you do and work hard for everyone.

Should you get a lower star review, you still need to respond to it with your kind words. ��

Your responses are read by those looking at your reviews so seeing a response to a negative review is what they need.

You can submit a general response to a negative review by saying something like “I am sorry to hear about your experience, I would love the opportunity to make this right, please call me at 555-555-5555 to discuss.”

Because truly, you do want to know what went wrong especially if you feel it all went well. Your experience might have felt different and you can’t make possible changes for your business if you don’t understand their feelings on it.

Sometimes we might read negative reviews and get fired up, maybe we want to toss back our words about what we thought really happened.

Obviously, don’t do that. ��

Walk away and then come back with your kind, general response. Their feedback is still there to help you with your business even if it was left unkind.

You may get a mix of reviews and ratings but regardless of what they are, they do impact your business.

How reviews help your business grow.

According to a study by Power Reviews , 98% of consumers see reviews as an essential part of the decision-making process, and 45% of users won't purchase a product if there aren't any reviews.

Reviews are making an impact on business growth.

Let’s keep in mind this simple list of ways reviews are helping your business grow:

✔️Builds Trust with your Customers

✔️Gives your Business a Reputation

✔️Boosts your Sales

✔️Provides you Feedback to Make Changes if Needed

✔️Gives your Business Confidence

✔️Provides you Advertisement for your Business.

✔️Build Loyalty with your Customers

Are you ready to ask for more reviews for your business?

Don’t fear it, embrace it.

It can be a simple process that you can consistently implement and keep reviews current to help grow your business.

If you aren’t sure how to get started with asking for reviews in your business, I’m here to help! Click here to connect and let’s work on growing your business together. ��

The Power of Delegating in Business

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 02 May 2024 20:58:15 GMT

I was at an entrepreneur summit where a speaker was talking about delegating tasks in business to help free up your schedule.

When it came to Q & A, a business owner asked “what do you do when the person you delegate to doesn’t do the task the way that you do?”

As a detailed individual, and Virtual Assistant, I understood why she had this question.

When you have a certain way to work your business and do daily tasks, it is hard to think of anyone else doing it. You have specifics and details that you make sure to do with each task, each time.

This reminded me of the time I taught my son how to push mow the lawn … the yard lines maybe didn’t look all too straight. ��

The speaker answered the question with, “did the project get done?”

I immediately thought “good question” �� and yes it did, my grass was cut short.

We all work in different styles, with different ways to complete projects. There could be a plan A and a plan B, maybe even a C, D, and E.

But if the project gets done, does it matter which plan they took to get there?

Sometimes yes, it does.

But oftentimes the path taken to completion doesn’t always matter.

Delegating works because we have so many things to do and not enough time to get it all done, right?

I talk about it alot, TIME . Gaining more time in both personal life and business is tough, there is always so much to do and unfortunately we can’t ‘technically’ buy more time for our days.

For some of us, the thought of delegating gives us anxiety and it is hard to let go of the tasks – especially when it comes to the business that you’re working hard to build and grow.

But if we have less time with family, friends, self care and more, wouldn’t it be better to let ‘some’ things go?

THE POWER OF DELEGATING IN YOUR BUSINESS

As a solo-preneur, I understand the hardship of passing along projects and tasks that you have started from the beginning and are the only person who has worked on it. We start our business from scratch and build it up, on our own.

But if we are looking to move our business up the ladder, we should take a minute and really think about how we can make better use of our time.

As a Virtual Assistant, I talk with many small business owners about delegating and outsourcing tasks so they can gain time and energy to focus on the most important aspects of their business.

The biggest factor I hear about with delegation is they believe it will take them more time to explain the task to someone else, which they consider a waste of time and effort as they have to explain, answer questions and fix things that don’t get done correctly.

I understand this completely.

It all comes back to the same thing … TIME.

The solution to this requires a change in perspective. As a business owner, we need to look “down the road” and think yes, this might be more time for us right now, but it is going to provide us with a great long-term benefit.

When you invest the time now to explain and teach someone the process, it saves you more time in the long run, and provides you time to focus on the tasks you cannot delegate.

How to be a confident delegator.

When you start to delegate tasks, it is important to stay confident in your decision and know this is a professional piece in your business that you need to do for growth down the road.

If you struggle with delegation in your business, there’s a few things you can do to grow your confidence in this arena and trust that you’re making the right move.

☑️ Delegate the right tasks.

As business owners there are tasks that simply need only our attention so it is important to review all tasks before delegating. Create a list of those you need to do and those you can teach someone to do.

☑️ Choose the right person

You want to delegate tasks to someone you trust, who has the skills to execute the task in the best way, whether that is an employee on your team or a contractor. Meet with them, discuss the task and get a feel for how they would work the task before you delegate it.

☑️ Schedule the time to teach

Schedule time in your calendar where you can focus on a full walk through of the task and process completely, providing them with the tools and directions they need. Be firm on any deadline they may need for the task and be sure to take their questions and answer them fully so they feel comfortable with the task as well.

☑️ Focus on the outcome, less about the process

Put a focus on the end result so they know how the task should be at the end. We all work in different ways and it is ok to let them get the job done their way. If there are some specifics to the task, go over those in your process, just be sure to give them the clearest direction so they understand it.

☑️ Check-ins

It is good to do consistent check-ins as they start working on the task. This gives you a time to see how it is going and a time for them to ask you questions. There is no need to ‘hover’ or ‘micro-manage’ the process, give them time to work the task.

☑️ Share appreciation

Be sure to acknowledge the good work you see them doing, share your appreciation for their work and performance. This builds a good work relationship and creates loyalty. If you are happy with the end result, you want to keep them working for you.

Delegating gets easier as you work with it more and create a team, whether that be inside your business or out.

DELEGATE WITH PURPOSE

In my experience, I feel the main area to focus on in delegating is the outcome, not the process.

And I know that can feel hard to do.

But don’t let that stop you. If you want to see growth, be purposeful and work on a plan to delegate tasks.

As a Virtual Assistant, I take on many different delegated tasks, and my process includes working a plan and discussing the process before anything gets started. I want the details, my work is always in the interest of a good result.

I encourage you to take a look at your task list and plan what you can delegate.

You will not only be working on growth, but you will SAVE TIME in your day.

As I have learned, my lawn doesn’t have to show straight lines when mowed, the task is done and I gained an hour in my workday. ��

Let’s create a delegating plan for you. Connect with me here for a time to chat.

I am here for YOU. ��

How Getting Organized can Lead you to Business Success

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 00:59:22 GMT

If you saw my office right now, you may tell me I need to get organized.

It is not messy per say, but yes, I have a few piles of papers, folders, books, notebooks, an arrangement of post-it notes and a good collection of glasses (ok, I have a few) on my desk.

Can you relate?

I also have a pile of running shoes in the corner that I use each AM. ��

Sometimes we just need neat piles and stacks to KEEP us organized.

I do wish I had a cleaner ‘looking’ office though. ��

I know exactly what each stack has in it, what each notebook stands for and what is going on with every folder. While it may ‘look’ unorganized, for me it is my organized system.

I also have a very organized morning routine. I wake up early, start a cup of coffee, take 1 sip before I walk, run a 5k, walk again, and get back for my full cup of coffee. I then get in a sauna session before I am at my office desk.

While that might seem detailed and crazy ��, it is that routine that works for me to plan my day to keep it organized. The run and sauna times are my daily, mental clarity moments that help me create my to-do list for the day and market new ideas.

Organizing just has many “looks”. ��

The main goal in being organized is to do it in the way that works best for YOU and produces what you need to get things done so you can stay focused on your goals.

Without my morning routine, I feel no organization in my day. And there are some mornings when I have to tweak my routine when I have other morning commitments, but I then make a plan so I stay organized and productive during the day.

Do you feel confident in your organization? Do you wish you had a better system?

How to help your daily organization

As a Virtual Assistant, I organize a lot of business chaos, and I love it. ��

When you run a business and balance life, it can be hard to keep it all organized, and being unorganized can cause a lot of headaches in business.

You not only have paperwork but you have a full inbox, DM messages on socials, plus text messages and voicemails, and that desktop, oh the desktop … so many files you are sent and downloaded that are often stored chaotically.

These are daily pieces that can interrupt your daily business tasks, things that can become super annoying when unorganized and then waste your time.

So how could you be more organized with those pieces?

Here are 5️⃣ quick tips that could help you stay more organized.

To-Do List. ��

When you have so many pieces to keep track of day in and day out, it is great to remove them from your mind and put them onto paper, whether that is daily or weekly. You can write them or create your list on your phone. When you list your daily tasks out, you can see each task directly and can then check it off as you get it done.

The visual of it all in one place is so helpful in staying focused on what needs to be done, and it produces a sense of accomplishment each day. The main thing to do is be sure you follow-up with the list often throughout the day(s) and use it to be accountable for staying organized.

Calendar Management. ��️

Designating days of the week for certain tasks is a standout for being organized. Really think about your days of the week and how you would like to see it “play out”. If Mondays are best for you to get into the office and get caught up on emails and office work, make that your Monday priority each week, do not schedule meetings and appointments on Mondays, set those on another day.

I work to schedule appointments on Monday, business in-person meetings on Fridays, Tuesday - Thursday are for zoom meetings and office work days, with Wednesdays being my writing day. When you work to keep your days more consistent week to week, it keeps you organized in many of your tasks. It is also important to make sure you keep all your appointments on your calendar/planner to stay up-to-date and all in one place.

Responses. ��

A great way to keep an inbox organized is to respond to emails and messages as soon as you open them instead of opening them and pushing responses to a later time. Designate blocks of time each day, maybe one in the morning, one in the afternoon, to check and respond to emails and messages. Once you hit send on a response, file that email or delete it. This will keep you updated and your inbox organized.

Time Management. ⏰

Own your time. Make the best of the hours you designate to business. If you have a commute or time behind the windshield, use this time for calls you need to make or listen to a training that has been on your to-do list. If you are in a waiting room for an appointment, use it to delete messages in your inbox, or answer DM messages on socials.

If a meeting cancels, make sure you look at your to-do list and use that time to check off a few of those tasks. A big tip for time is to also make sure you take some breaks in your day, this will help you stay more focused, which does help you stay organized. When you get dreary in a day, you lose the energy to work at your best, take a quick walk to get refocused.

Declutter. ��️

It is great to take 15 minutes at the end of each day to clean up your desk and space. Just the small things like putting pencils back in the drawer, filing your paperwork, or maybe stacking your project pieces nicely on your desk so you can find each piece the next day. When you keep things in their “homes” you will start your next day feeling good and organized. If you keep papers all over, it will be harder to find what you need to start the day.

If you feel your organization could use a boost, give one of the tips a try, stay consistent with it, and make it part of your daily routine.

Organizing does not have to be overwhelming

As mentioned earlier, organization has many ‘looks’. We all need to find our routines and systems that work well to keep us organized and focused on our specific goals and business.

Sometimes it can feel overwhelming, but making a plan to get better organized will make it less overwhelming. If you feel like you’re struggling to get organized in your life or business, my best advice is to determine your TOP area of disorganization and start there.

For example, if your number one unorganized piece in your day is your email inbox, focus there first.

For this organization task specifically, you could designate 2 specific times in your day where you can sit down at your desk to respond and delete emails. Make sure you give it a go for a week to start. If it is working, keep that going into the next week.

If what you try doesn’t work and you can’t find the time, sometimes it’s best to actually outsource it.

As humans, sometimes we need the reminder that getting help is OK . We often think we can do all the things, but there are only so many hours in a day, and maybe we also want to live outside of work. ��

Just like you might hire someone to help keep your home clean, there are various ways you can hire help in your business based on your specific needs.

And while it might seem that something like email is a simple task, the truth is that it takes your TIME and when you don’t have enough time for it, you could miss out on many new business opportunities.

“If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you're putting yourself out of business.” – Lee Kuan Yew.

Are you ready to be more organized?

There is never a bad time to get more organized, but finding the time to make it work can be tough.

But when you keep things organized, it helps you reach new goals and grow in business.

My best advice is to determine where you need to start, make a plan, set aside the time, and put it to work.

But at the end of the day, if you know you need more help with getting and staying organized in your business, consider what can be outsourced!

I help business owners stay on top of business each day. I create systems for the inbox and calendars, keeping things organized so they can continue to work on their strengths.

If that sounds like what you’re searching for, let’s connect! Virtually Brady helps you get the tasks done. ��

The Mindset Shift You Might Need When Navigating Social Media As A Business Owner

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 23:15:09 GMT

Social Media … the world that we can’t live without, but sometimes wish we did.

It started with one platform and grew to multiples, it is hard to keep up.

I remember my first days with Instagram. It was the grid platform where you could share a picture with little to no words and it felt like a magnificent thing. It was a quiet, peaceful feed to read posts, look at pictures, and a place to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.

My first post was of an old paintbrush stuck in the dirt to mark a garden row on my family’s farm.

How funny is th is ? �� It got 3 likes and 1 comment.

I wasn’t much for sharing, still not, but slowly posted from time to time a share something from my day-to-day life like fresh salsa or new workout shoes. It wasn’t a lot and the platform didn’t steal much time away, until I watched the fashion world come to life on some accounts, and yes, I was hooked. I love clothes. ��

But somewhere along the line, stories arose and suddenly the grids were full of videos and reels, songs and noise, and the peace of the platform was just gone.

Have you ever been waiting somewhere, pull up Instagram on your phone forgetting your sound is on, and suddenly noise blasts from your phone and everyone turns to give you a look?

The invasion of social media in our days.

Ok, that is not Instagram's fault, but it just used to feel simpler with less noise. ��

Hear me out, I do watch and enjoy videos and reels and appreciate those who provide that, especially when it comes to how jeans fit, but I miss the still pics, flat lays, and just beautiful picture posts over videos.

I also know many love the videos and reels instead and are thankful for the changes.

We all have our love and opinions, it is what makes us our unique selves.

How Social Media Impacts Your Life As A Business Owner

Turn the page to social media for business.

It can suddenly feel like you went from a relaxing time scrolling and sharing to a stressful uncertainty of what to share, how, and when.

For some, it pulls your focus and you feel you must do all these things you see others do in order to grow your social business.

You start to question it, overthink (ok, I do that daily), and feel you do not have enough followers, likes, and shares.

Take a quick minute and think, what exactly is social media doing for your business?

Are you getting back what you personally need from it after the hours and days you spend on it?

Social media is indeed free marketing and it’s great to have a strong presence on your platforms, but the reality is that it could come and go at any time.

You have no control over who is seeing you and your posts and there is no ownership in any of your profiles and pages.

Should you be there? Yes, absolutely.

What is important is that you look at it in the way YOU want it to be and with the time that works best for you and your business. There is no need to waste time trying to keep up with the ‘Joneses’.

I am sure you have heard “to grow your account you NEED to do videos and reels”. I get it, people love the reels, and they get many views, but views do not equal dollars. (which is another conversation we can have one day)

For me personally, however, doing something that doesn't fit who I am and my brand, well, that just isn’t worth it to me.

Should I step out of my comfort zone? Sure, and I hope to, but I am also true to myself.

What about the advice of paying to boost a post? I am not sure I should share my true thoughts on giving any social media platform money, but I will simply say that my hard-earned money isn’t going in their pockets. The only thing I would get from that is a lower budget to spend on jeans.

But many take these suggestions and roll with it because they want ‘that number’ to grow.

Do you stare at that follower number on your profile each morning?

Are you freaking out if the number goes down?

If you have read my email marketing blog post "Love the Unsubscribe" you know just how I feel about that number.

Just like the subscriber number, I find so many people getting hooked on the follower number on their social media platforms and only work to increase that day in and day out.

Think about that number – who are they?

Honestly, most of your followers are NOT your ideal audience.

If you are that person following that number, do yourself a favor, take a break and stop looking at it for a bit.

Look to things that will help your business like content, consistency, and engagement … those are your business keys.

Those suggestions might connect you to some new people in your ideal audience. And trying new things can be good to do especially as you work your business, but often it can leave you in this ‘rented space’ with less time and money, and followers who do not need what you offer and then they leave.

Do I want followers?

Sure do, but I want that number to include more of the people who truly want to hear what I have to say, not just be a number that I can count. Sometimes less is more.

I have met some FANTASTIC new people on social media, many new friends, joined some great groups, and yes, connected with new businesses and new clients, but I have found these strong connections by the way I’ve chosen to personally work my social media, NOT by doing what “they” say I should do or lining their pockets with money.

When it comes to content, consistency and engagement, I want you to consider: how are you in these 3 categories with your social media?

My account is a slow posting account and not as consistent as it should be, (I could help myself with that), but engagement is something I work on daily.

Engagement is how I’ve met many ideal followers and now friends. It is how I have gained new business.

When you like a post, you light up a heart and then, well, it doesn’t really do anything, but increase a like number for that post.

If you like AND comment, now you started engagement on their account and your handle is seen by their followers, and others. This could even gain you a new follower. #chaching

For example, if you are liking a post about jeans (yes, we are back to clothes) and then comment about loving them, it’s just a true, wonderful thing because now people see you there in the thread, and when that account responds back to your comment, oh my, the comment thread is growing!

Maybe you make another comment or ask a question. Now more �� see you, and you are now meeting new friends who also like these same jeans. #startthejeangroup

Which also brings it back to you. When someone comments on your post, respond back with a like AND a comment to get the thread going and more people seeing you.

Sure, we all like to be liked, but comments though? THOSE are what can lead you to growth, new friends, and fun. The money you may give for a ‘boost’ doesn’t give you the ROI that engagement does.

So are you telling me I need to be engaged, Brady? Yes, I most certainly am. Get down on one knee now.

Engagement is just one component of the social media world. There are so many that can make or break it and it can be hard to keep up.

My best advice is to be sure your time is spent on the components that can bring you back a return that you want to see, not just a number for that follower count.

Your Permission to Make Social Media What It Needs To Be FOR YOU

Soooo, all of this to say, social media is one time-consuming task in business, but it is one you should be present in in a way that truly works for YOU!

Take your eyes off the follower number and be there the way that works best for you and your brand.

Also, social media should NOT be your #1 go-to marketing tool. There are a few others that take the lead and should be taking your time first.

(*cough* email marketing for one).

Are you ready to put social media in the right place in your marketing plan?

Are you feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, stuck on the follower number, or not sure how to be engaged?

I would love to chat ‘socially’ with you! Let’s partner and make it fun and rewarding, with a little work.

Looking for another follower? �� Reach out on Instagram ( @virtuallybrady ), I would love to connect, and engage, with you there.

The Power of Google Business Listings: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They're Important

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 01:54:11 GMT

‘Do you use Google?

I’m guessing that answer is a firm yes, it is in our everyday lives somehow, someway.

Need an answer to something? Google it.

Need directions? Google it .

Looking for a holiday recipe? Google it.

How many times have you heard that?

Can I be honest with you for a second though? When I started Virtually Brady, I did not know I could set my business up on Google. ��

I thought businesses on Google were just ‘put there by them’, that they stumbled upon you and added you to 'the Google'.

I was also under the impression that the Google car I saw driving lots was looking only for the Brick & Mortar businesses to share, when in fact Brick & Mortars aren’t the *only* businesses that can have listings on Google.

Sure, I was using Google, but I clearly was not understanding how it really worked for local and small businesses.

Since then, I have learned many things that I use to help many businesses and entrepreneurs.

If you are a small business owner without a Google Listing, I encourage you to create one – and I promise it’s easier than you think!

Why do you need a Google Listing?

Short answer? To GET FOUND.

Before I talk more about that, let’s first be clear on what I mean by “Google Listing.” You know when you search something on Google you are fed results that look like this:

Those are ALL examples of Google Business Listings and no matter what you do, YOUR business can have one too!

Now, back to how this can help you be found!

This platform is a free resource not only to share and showcase your business on Google, but to help get your business found, bringing you new customers and business.

Google works to help small, local businesses appear in those “Google it” searches.

The Google Listing is also there to tell your audience about your business, when you are open, and how to connect with you.

Think about it – how many times do you use Google to find the store hours of a business?

For me, that’s at least once a week! Really, anytime I need to know something about a business, I always “Google it” and I bet that you do too!

It is a must to keep hours and contact information CURRENT . Not only do people rely on it, but it is then how they look at your business. If you say you are open and they drive to you and you are closed, that is not a happy customer.

So how does it help you GET FOUND?

Let’s say you have a candy store in Des Moines, Iowa, and want your locals to find you when they are looking for candy. Let’s say one of your top sellers are the ‘dark chocolate peanut butter truffles’. (yes, I am thinking about those right now ��).

Your Google Listing is there to help you populate in the search results when people search out that specific truffle, or ‘candy store’.

But how does it work? Google “crawls” the keywords and business information on your listing, along with those on your website, to increase your rank in specific searches people do. (think SEO, I am sure you have heard this term before, it is a subject to be discussed further when it comes to online business).

Maybe you are showing up as the 5th store with a “dark chocolate peanut butter truffle” in Des Moines, Iowa. If you use your Google Listing to the fullest, you might move up in that search list and maybe eventually get to that #1 spot.

Sounds awesome, right?

So what can you do to rank higher in local searches?

I have found many businesses that set up their Google Listing and then abandoned it. ��

Doing this would be the same as “posting and ghosting” on social media. Not recommended right? Well, the same goes for your Google Listing!

Your Google Listing should be treated very similar to a social media platform, meaning you need to use it, be present, post consistently, and tell your audience about you, using keywords that best fit your business and work alongside your website.

Some believe that just creating the listing on Google is enough, and while that might hold true at around 2%, it is NOT enough to keep your business high in the searches and found online.

One of the biggest problems I see is so many Google Business Listings are outdated and irrelevant with information, have incorrect business hours, no reviews, or contact information

When a listing has not been updated or engaged with new photos and posts, Google doesn’t see it as an active business because there’s nothing to “crawl.”

To take advantage of this platform, you need to optimize your Google Business Listing so it can appear near the top in local search engine results pages and get you FOUND.

There is also more than a 50% chance when someone sees your listing, they will visit your website, and who doesn't love more website views?!. Once they visit your site, you can now work with them to make a purchase, try your products, join a mailing list, and visit your store in person.

I have clients who saw an increase in foot traffic as well as online sales when we got their listing filled and continually updated.

So Brady, you are telling me I need to do more with my listing?

Yes. There are SEVERAL areas within a Google Listing that should be fully completed and updated often – some once a month, some once a week.

Is it hard?

No.

Is it work? Yes, but it’s really centered more around TIME .

Just like posting on social media takes dedicated time, the same goes for your Google Listing. It takes dedicated, frequent time to keep it as active as possible and to include correct words (good keywords) in many of the sections on a listing.

To get you started on a strong foot, here is a list of the main areas a Google Listing should be completed to the fullest and worked with often (specific details on some areas bring it to its best):

-Profile Description (complete all words)

-Photos (min. one a month)

-Store Hours (update always!!)

-Reviews (ask for them)

-Review Responses (done timely)

-Posts (one every 7 days)

-Locations (up to 18)

-Service Categories (get specific to search words)

When it comes to your business specifically, there are various things you can do to optimize your Google Listing to ensure it’s populating in search results. This is something that I offer to my clients and is one of the ways I help people as a VA.

Don't Miss Out on Google

Overall, having a FREE platform available to you, that is there to help your business GET FOUND , is not something I would ever pass on or ignore.

USING IT AND UPDATING IT OFTEN is how you can rank higher in location searches.

If you are looking for more customers, clients and a growth in your business, this platform should be looked at.

Worried about not having the TIME to do it yourself? I get that! CLICK HERE to connect to see how I can help make it the best for you!

Email Marketing: Love the Unsubscribe

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:59:28 GMT

‘I don’t send many emails as I don’t want to annoy anyone and have them unsubscribe’.

That’s what I hear with almost every email marketing meeting, and it fires me up.

I’m going to be pretty direct here …

Why do you care if someone unsubscribes? What does that do to you?

So you have 324 subscribers and now you have 323? Even if 10 unsubscribe, you now have 314 … so what?

Why are you focusing on the subscriber number?

Ok, I know why, but first, let’s take a step back, why do we use email marketing in business?

In this blog post, I’ll be diving into the power of email marketing in your business, why it matters, and HOW to do it for your business specifically.

The Power of Email Marketing In Your Business

If you have an email list in your business or are thinking about starting one, the main reason is to promote and share your business, right?

You want people to see what you have to offer, add value, and ultimately get them to sign up because they want to learn from you!

The best way to think about email marketing is like your VIP list – it’s your ownership list that gets you in front of your ideal audience.

In this instance, “ideal” means they sign up for it because they have an interest in what you do and offer.

To grow your email list, you may offer a discount or freebie for them providing their email address, and at first, they may only join your list for that. (We’ll talk about those in just a second!)

But the way that you KEEP them there is by continuing to email them on a consistent basis.

And no – that doesn’t mean you have to spam their inbox! (In fact, I would highly discourage you from doing so.

One of the biggest myths I hear is that emailing your list over and over is annoying and might cause people to unsubscribe.

But let me ask you: why would they unsubscribe when they CHOSE to sign up to hear from you?!

Can you over send emails? Sure, if you do it every hour, multiple times in a day, every day for 365 days, maybe that can get overwhelming in someone’s inbox.

But sending emails consistently, with value and information for your audience, is not overwhelming. They are waiting to hear from you, to see how you can help them.

How To Decide How Often To Email Your List

Knowing that mailing your list is a normal and expected thing, it’s time to decide how often you’re going to do it.

The FIRST thing I want you to do is to stop thinking that you are annoying, and SECOND, look at your schedule and time.

How quick can you write an email? What is your time capacity to sit down and write an email each week?

Those things will play a part in the consistency.

Once you’ve decided on your consistency, it’s time to consider, what information want to share with your audience, what your business goals are, and how email can help you reach those.

When you’re thinking about what to promote in your emails, I want you to remember the Rule of 7.

If you’re unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it essentially says that it takes a consumer 7 times to see a brand/product before they buy in.

7 times.

There is more behind that 7 and the strategy, but let’s use that number for a minute.

If you send an email once a month starting at the beginning of the year, it takes you until July to start to resonate with the consumers.

When you think about it, that’s a long time – over half your year.

Is that ok? Yes, it can be if that works for you and your business – that is something you will decide and plan based on your goals. If you are looking for more growth or sales, I would look into sending more emails.

Let’s say you bump that up to bi-monthly, now you can at least grab them around April and see things start to grow sooner. And just think, what would once a week do for sales?

Also, give this a thought – if you send once a week and your competitor sends bi-weekly, whose brand are they more familiar with?

YOURS! And that’s the goal isn’t it?

The point is, sit down and plan out a schedule for how it can work best for your business and goals, and be consistent with it.

If you have a sale every 2 weeks, you need to tell them about that every 2 weeks, and that is NOT annoying.

What is annoying is you have a sale and never tell your email list about it.

Now…back to that unsubscribe possibility.

Let’s say you create your plan, you work hard to create your email and content, you finally hit send and sit back to relax…

And then you see it – the report says ‘2 unsubscribed’.

When this happens, I BET YOU – do not panic.

That simply means those 2 contacts do not need what you are offering right now, they kindly removed themselves and made room for others to join in. (no, there’s no cap on how many people can join your list, but you get the point.��)

For example, let’s say you own a kids' store and you offer 20% off 1 item when they sign up for your email list.

Let’s say Kim is shopping for her niece because she drew her name for Christmas and needs a gift. She does not have any kids of her own and rarely buys kids gifts. She finds the perfect sweatshirt and sees the 20% off offer. She jumps in and signs up, makes her 20% off purchase, and is happy.

Next week your email hits her inbox and she thinks to herself, ‘I already got the gift, I don’t need these emails in my inbox’ and hits unsubscribe.

Is that ok? YES. Should we panic? No. She doesn’t need what you have right now. Could she down the road? Absolutely, and she will remember you for your offer and come back. She doesn’t fit the ideal audience right now and that’s okay –move on and create your next email to send to the people who DO.

Overall, it is time to let the unsubscribe GO. It is OK. That ‘number’ doesn’t matter (just like the number of social followers you have doesn’t matter, but we can talk about that another time), so stop looking at it repeatedly and deciding how many emails to send based on it.

You could have 1,000 subscribers and only 1 opens the email you sent – does that hurt? No, because it could take just 1 open email to give you a sale or a new client you serve for years to come.

Can we work to increase the open rate and clicks? Yes, but that is for another time too. ��

Bottom line, email marketing builds your business and loyalty with your customers so it should not be overlooked.

An email list is owned by YOU , is a direct connection to your audience where you can not only share items or services you offer, but tell your audience about you, your business, events you will be at, your community, and more.

Use this platform consistently to build your business, do NOT think it is annoying, DO send emails, and take NO worry in the unsubscribes.

Want To Get Started With Email Marketing? Click HERE and let's create your plan.

Outsourcing Can Give You Your Time Back - Here's How

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 22:45:15 GMT

As a solopreneur, I get it, we think we can do all things.

And let’s face it, we are the best at what we do so technicallyyyy yes, we can do all the things.

The question is, do we have the TIME to do them?

When you focus on doing all the things, you end up not focusing on anything at all.

You stretch yourself over the day and find yourself rushing projects, making mistakes, forgetting things, working late, and not getting everything done because you run out of time … even though you know how to do it all.

It starts to feel like you work in chaos.

‘Do three things well, not ten things badly.’

As a business owner, it’s important that you don’t spend your days being pulled in a hundred directions and feeling like you never have time, not doing a good job, and losing focus on your business.

It’s for this reason that I encourage you to take a step back and look at exactly what you are doing and what is working for your business.

The 80/20 Rule.

Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? This rule asserts that 20% of what you do results in 80% of your outcomes.

So as you are working all day, 20% of those tasks are bringing you results.

It feels a little overwhelming knowing how full and rushed a day can be and only 20% of all those things are working.

The important thing to think about here is which specific tasks you do well that directly help you reach your goals.

For example, if email subscriber growth is a goal you want to see, focusing on the 20% each day would be a great start. Look at 3 things you do well and can bring in results for that specific goal, not the 10 you don’t have time for.

Those 10 things you don’t have time for are the 80%. The time-consuming tasks sucking away the hours in your day, not producing immediate growth or revenue, leaving you with no time to work on the important tasks.

Maybe you can relate to that feeling…

You take a quick minute out of your morning to work through 127 emails sitting in your inbox, and you are rocking it, cleaning things up and responding to clients, and suddenly you look up to the clock and it is NOON!

You started this at 10:21 AM! You are now mad at yourself for taking time to go through the emails when you have a client meeting at 12:30 and a list of things you HAVE to do today.

Que … ‘it is going to be a late night’.

The Solution To Making The Most Of Your Time As A Business Owner

Time has an interesting way of showing us what really matters.

Yes, we all can work on our inbox and send emails, but is that helping our business grow? Not necessarily.

But we also NEED to answer our clients, customers, and inquiries so we are a good business, building loyalty that will help us down the road to growing business.

While the simple tasks might not be tons of ‘work’, it is TIME, and time is valuable. When you work those day-to-day tasks all on your own, you don’t have the time to work on growth.

So what is the solution to finding the time to get it all done?

Work smarter, not harder.

I bet you have heard that before.

Is it that simple? Yes,

Does it feel like it is simple? Maybe not.

Outsourcing is working smarter, not harder.

Outsourcing grows your business.

Outsourcing isn’t about not knowing how to do the tasks , it is about prioritizing what you work on to get results and getting assistance with the time-consuming tasks that take you away from it.

While the day-to-day tasks are simple things you can do yourself, they might be wasting your time.

Instead, investing in outsourcing can be the thing that grows your business and frees you to grow your passion.

What tasks can you outsource?

There are many to outsource, including inbox management, email marketing, social media planning, updating business information, proofreading, onboarding new clients, and more.

Prioritizing what needs to be done and making a plan is something I customize for businesses. Mapping out the 80|20 is a great start to growth.

If you’re ready to start outsourcing in your business but aren’t sure where to start, CLICK HERE to connect so we can map out your 80/20 and determine a plan of action that’s best for you!

The Strategy I Use To Tackle My New Year Resolutions

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 16:52:10 GMT

H appy New Year. ��

I am always excited to turn the page to a new year … partly because that means I made it through the holidays.

Holidays feel so �� for me. It is not the most wonderful time of the year, for me anyway.

… and right now my family is saying ‘what’?!?

Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy spending time with family and friends and unconnecting for a bit, but the holiday months come with a side of hustle and bustle.

Is that bad? Not necessarily.

For me, maybe.

I’m a very routine person, and honestly, the holidays knock me out of the park.

We enter November and for 2 months it’s back-to-back chaos. We are suddenly pushed into food planning and shopping sales, getting fall decor put up, then down and up with red and green, and working the Christmas budget and scheduling the celebrations.

It’s hard and I simply need my daily routine.

Maybe you can relate…

When holiday life is all over, it’s time to work on “re-entering” into the real, non-holiday world again and man, that is tough sometimes, I am still working on it.

I also realize some of this might be because I need to work on my boundaries in life – *add to new year resolutions – because admittedly, I do bring in things I don’t need by saying “yes” when I really mean “no.” #workingonit

What I do love about this time of year though are New Year resolutions – they are something I have done since I was young.

Like many people, I love a set of goals and a list of things to work on. They serve as a roadmap that keeps me on track and organized and let’s be real… I really love when I can check mark them off the list. ✔️

Over the years I have worked my New Year resolutions in many different ways but however I go about it, I start my year with ideas, intentions and motivation.

My Strategy For New Year’s Resolutions

I have made fancy lists in special notebooks, and graphics, created single-word goal lists, created organized category lists, wrote lists in my calendar (still do) and a big one … cut-outs from magazines, pulled out the good ol’ glue stick to paste them to a poster board (younger years ��) that hung on my bedroom wall.

Last year, I snagged a Vision Board template from Studio A Designs and created a 2024 board. As a visual learner, it is great to put my ideas, intentions, and motivation into one space through photos and simple words that mean something to my year. (without magazines and a glue stick ��)

And I still like lists. ��

No matter how I ‘display’ my resolutions, I make sure I am detailed on the goals I want to achieve, keeping them in a place I will see often to be reminded why I am doing what I am doing day-to-day, month-to-month. #itsinthedetails

As a business owner, I start my year with a refreshed business list of ideas and intentions that I check on consistently and add to throughout the year.

Business resolutions truly are a roadmap that helps keep you organized. It is like a daily ‘To Do List’. Without it, you may not see where you want to go, the focus is fuzzy.

It doesn’t mean you need to be a New Year’s resolution person, but when it comes around, it is great to visit your business goals, however that works for you.

Need Help Tackling Your New Year Goals?

I’m curious – how do you tackle New Year’s resolutions or goal setting for your business? Do you have a #1 goal you want to achieve this year?

Connect with me HERE ( @virtuallybrady ) and let me know so that I can cheer you on. ��

My favorite part of my job is helping small business owners stay organized, creating a roadmap, and giving them more time in their schedules to grow their businesses.

It is my passion to assist and make that happen so you can ultimately see check marks on your to-do list. ✔️

If you’re looking for assistance with more organization and growth in your business, there are a few ways I can help:

Inbox management
Meeting arrangements
Project management
Scheduling and calendar planning
Vendor sourcing
Time management
Systems & workflows
Email marketing
Misc. administrative tasks

Click HERE to connect and see how we can work together to make your goals come true!

UPDATE: 2025 Vision Board ��

Small Business, Big Dreams: How Your Support Counts

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 15:21:50 GMT

Did you find good deals during Prime Days?

Amazon was at it again with deals, and quick shipping/delivery. It’s hard to avoid it when you see savings and same-day delivery, but let me ask you, how is your shopping relationship with Amazon?

I like that this business started with an idea and a set-up in a garage with books and items for sale. It wasn’t long before people were hooked and spreading the word, and it grew to take over the world, offering up a platform full of all kinds of ‘stuff’.

I personally feel shopping with Amazon is like shopping at the Grocery store when you are hungry, more things end up in the cart, things you don’t really like or need, and then you spend more than you came for.

Not to mention, Amazon is one of those mega online stores that can sometimes be a headache to deal with if you ever run into any issues. Sure, you can chat online with someone, but have you ever talked TO anyone at Amazon? Or have you ever received a personal, handwritten note with your online order?

My guess is probably not!

My point to all of this Amazon mumbo jumbo is oftentimes the items we buy on Amazon or other big box stores, are in a small business store right in your community, where there are real people and kindness.

Ok Brady, that’s nice, but so what? I can get it at my fingertips, quicker, faster. ��

Okay, yes, I do know that, and time is money, I fully understand.

But let me ask you, with that purchase, where is your money going? Who does your purchase help and support?

I am picking on Amazon here, but the same is true for other big box stores too! And yes, I shop at Amazon too, I am not saying 'don't use them', I got a fridge filter and soap dispenser during Prime days, I get it, sometimes we can't find it anywhere but there. But I’ve also pulled myself to shop there less because let’s think about it ...

Small businesses are built from a dream, an idea, an entrepreneur, or a family working hard to provide you with a great product and make a living for themselves.

6 Benefits Of Shopping Small

Overall, small businesses need our support. 2020 was harmful in many ways, including business, especially for the smaller shops. I know you probably hear the words “shop small” or “shop local” all the time, but have you ever really thought about WHY?

Why is it so important to shop small and shop locally?

There are many reasons, but in this blog post, I want to share 6 major benefits with you!

1. You get to support a business owner with a dream

Most small businesses start with a dream, an idea, and a passion that a business owner thought about so many times before starting the business to make an income for themselves and their family. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to make it a go and supporting them truly means something, it helps them move the business forward while feeding their family.

2. You support and give back to your local community

Small businesses are giving local people jobs and working with local events and charities to bring good things to the community. There is not only business growth but also community growth.

3. You get to experience good customer service from REAL people face-to-face

We often take for granted the power of being able to talk to a REAL person until we’re faced with an issue online and don’t have that luxury. Many big box stores don’t have customer service call centers, so if you need help you have to do it through a chat box. When you shop small, you’re more likely to receive better customer service from real, nice people with a smile that you can talk to, ask questions, and get answers!

4. The products are often better quality

Could a product be $5 or more at a small shop compared to the big box? Maybe. But again, think about where that money is going, AND think about the quality of those products.

I know we are all seeing deals within more big box stores, and we are working hard ourselves to work and save money. When the grocery bill is high (I paid $17 for grapes ��) as well as the gas pump fill, it’s hard not to look for every deal. But we also need to look at the quality of what we purchase. A deal is sometimes a waste of money when a good quality purchase at a higher cost is a savings. When something lasts over more years, it can be worth the extra $5+.

We are all busy, and time is hard to come by, but these shops are worth the trip and are often online too, maybe not with a 4 AM delivery, but patience is something we can all work on. ��

5. You get to find unique items that you just can’t find anywhere else.

When you shop in small, local shops you often find clothing and other items you have not seen before, that not everyone has. It becomes a unique find and makes more shopping fun. �� And gifts are more fun to purchase when you see items you haven't seen in all the other stores.

6. Beyond just physical products, small businesses also offer great services.

Let's not forget the small businesses that offer great services. Who do you usually look to for service help?

While a corporate, larger business may have more bodies in the office, a small business dedicates its time to you in a loyal way, giving your business genuine care and help in many areas. The corporate business might be cheaper, but they may also take the money and can then be hard to reach for answers, slow with the tasks, even with having more bodies.

I won’t name names but there is one company (actually 2) that will walk into small businesses (especially when they are new) and take them for a ride with their Google Listings.

They offer to do all these things for a yearly contract, and they don’t do half of what they should to help the business grow with that listing. They also slap their copyright (ok, maybe they should) on your store photos, which then gives owners a nightmare if they ever want to remove those as they don't work with you to get it done.

Yes, I’ve battled those corporate people for my clients, and it’s maddening (and they were rude). They take money and don’t manage listings well. And while that yearly contract could be a bit cheaper than a small business offer, the headaches you get in that year are just not worth it.

So why am I sharing this?

I have a love for small businesses, those that are working hard to make it and provide their customers with the best service.

I would rather shop responsibly and give them the extra money for products and services, supporting not only a business owner but the community.

I am from a small town and that community has hardly anything left. Now that I live in the 'city', I seek out the small businesses here, and in the surrounding communities, to shop and support as often as I can.

I want to encourage you to take a minute and think about where you do business, where you spend the money, think about the Amazon experience, the stuff you buy, and where your money is going. Maybe we can't shop all things and services small, but I know we can do more.

Do you have any shopping changes you could do that will make a positive difference for you, and someone else?

Support small. Support local. Support community. ��

* * * * *

P.S. Are you a small business owner looking for more customers and growth? Virtually Brady supports small businesses, not only as a customer but also assists business owners with time-consuming tasks that lead to growth.

Connect with me to share your goals and discuss ways to reach them. ��

Join my e-newsletter to learn more tips and ideas.

Avoid the Burnout

brady@virtuallybrady.com — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 23:30:10 GMT

Life is busy. No matter what you do in life, you have your form of busyness on a day-to-day basis.

If you are a business owner, you know just how ‘busy’ feels.

You started your business because of an idea you had, a passion you love, and now you find yourself full-on IN the business surrounded by the many daily tasks, many of which you have to do but don’t like to do. And, you try to balance this all with your life outside the business.

Do you have time to work on the areas of business you love and want to grow?

What about having time to meet friends, enjoy dinner out, take a walk, read a book, or take a vacation?

Do you have any time for self care?

How can you have time to do any of those things when you are trying to keep up with the day-to-day everything?

Do you feel burned out?

I have the solution for you. Outsource.

I know what you are going to tell me, you have heard this before, “You really need to hire someone”.

Outsourcing is a bit different, it is the flexible way to hire work done; you get what you need and it saves you money.

You contract for those tasks that are sucking all of your time, and tasks you just don’t like to do. Think how great that would feel, eliminating those tasks from your day and working on those you enjoy. You would feel that relief each morning.

Do what you do best, and outsource the rest.

Outsourcing doesn't have to be a full-time contract. Outsource for a month, 6 months, a year, or just for a specific project only. It is all about what works for you so you can have time in your schedule to do what you love. #selfcare

Think of it another way, you have kids and want a night out or need to travel, what do you do? You contract a babysitter. You let them know what they need to do, what to feed the kids, when they need to go to bed and you contract them for a few hours or maybe an overnight stay. They are not on your ‘home’ payroll or moving in with you, they are there to help you for the time you need them.

We all feel we can do it all. How many times have you said “Oh, I don’t need help, I can do that” and then days are gone, months have passed and you look back, and it is not done.

Yes, we can do all the work, but the clock is ticking and we don’t have all the time. You feel you are always working, never doing the things you love. You are burned out.

When you outsource, you not only gain time in your schedule, but you also gain growth in your business.

Outsourcing those time-consuming tasks not only gives you time to see friends or take a vacation, but it GIFTS you time to work on the areas of business you love, your passion, and that brings you growth.

Outsourcing is your self care. Self care helps you avoid the burnout.

Amazing How Quickly the Years Add Up

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 23:35:14 GMT

Hey there … this is Brady, your Personal (virtual) Assistant and owner of Virtually Brady.

Wow, that seems like a mouth full of ‘virtual’. Let’s take a step back for a second.

I have been an assistant for several years, working in several different areas, from legal to sports broadcasting, which provided me with a large variety of experience over the years. When 2020 brought changes, I decided to put my passion to work in another way and started my own (virtual) assistant business.

Drumroll please … introducing Virtually Brady, who is now 3 years old - wait what?!

The math is correct, I have been working Virtually Brady for 3 years already, again, amazing how the years quickly add up! When I decided on this plan in 2020, my passion drove me to just jump in and get to work.

To start, I did contact my favorite brand designer (Amanda, with Studio A Designs ), got a logo (which is the BEST), business stationery, set up my instagram and went to work.

Something I left out … a website. Actually, I was planning to do a website with Amanda, but I was slow to finalize, putting it on the back burner over and over again (my advice, do not do that) … and now it is 2023. So, fast forward through all the dragging of my feet … and here we are, virtuallybrady.com , and I am thrilled! It is truly a great way to celebrate 3 years of business!

I hope you will take a look around, share with friends, subscribe to my e-news, and visit again to read more blog entries (I have lots to share). And, if I can help you with the day-to-day tasks that take you away from working in your passion, you know where to find me. #itsinthedetails

Virtually Brady Blog

26 Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant in 2026 (and Stop Doing It All Yourself)

26 Reasons It Might Be Time to Hire a Virtual Assistant

You Don’t Have to Do It All Alone

I Don’t Have Time to Outsource: Why That Mindset Might Be Holding You Back.

How Outsourcing Is Different Than Hiring an Employee

But Can’t I Just Do It Faster?

Outsourcing is a Partnership

Business Tasks to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant

Time-Consuming Tasks You Don’t Need to Do Yourself

Areas To Start Outsourcing as a Business Owner

Outsourcing Can Save You Time and Money

Ready to start outsourcing in your business?

5 Simple Ways to Grow Your Email List

5 Simple Strategies To Boost Your Email Subscribers

1. Ask for Sign-Ups

2. Sign-Up Forms

3. Lead Magnets|Freebies

4. Social Media Promotion

5. Collaboration

Email List Growth Doesn’t Have To Be Complicated

Email Marketing Blog Posts

Why Quality is Better Than Quantity in Email Marketing

A Little Story About Knowing Your Audience

How to Know Your Email Audience

Quality over Quantity: Why It Matters

7 Ways to Build and Maintain a Quality Email Audience

You Own Your Email List, So Know Who’s on It

Email Marketing Blog Posts

Email Marketing Content: What Do You Even Say?

5 Ways to Generate Content Ideas for Your Email Newsletter

1. Answer Common Questions

2. Share Success Stories

3. Behind the Scenes Content

4. Promote Special Offers

5. Repurpose Existing Content

Email Marketing Content Should Not Feel Overwhelming

How to get Started with Email Marketing

Top 4 Key Steps to Start Email Marketing

Step 1: Choose an Email Marketing Platform

Step 2: Build Your Email List

Step 3: Create Your Email Template

Step 4. Plan a Consistent Sending Schedule

Ready to launch your email marketing?

Why Email Marketing is a Must for Small Business Growth

5 Reasons Why Email Marketing is a Game-Changer for Your Business

1. Cost-Effective Marketing

2. Direct Customer Connection

3. Impressive ROI Potential

4. Personalized Content That Engages

5. Measurable Results & Continuous Improvement

The Power of Email Marketing for Any Business

Ways to work with Virtually Brady

5 Main Ways To Work With Virtually Brady

Are you ready to reclaim your time and grow your business?

Is this Heaven? No, it's IOWA

Iowa Nice and Small Communities

Small Details, Big Impact: How Thoughtful Touches Can Elevate Your Small Business

Small Details That Make A BIG Impact In Your Business

Need A Hand With The Small Details In Your Business?

How My No Stoplight Town Led to My Small Business Today

My Personal Journey into Entrepreneurship

During those months of uncertainty, watching and hearing about the struggles for businesses and everyone, I started to think, how can I help?

It was then that I asked myself “could I have my own small business to help other small businesses?”

Small Business, Big Dreams

How to Support Small Businesses without Making a Purchase

The Only Real Constant In Business (And How To Embrace It Confidently)

Embracing Changes in Business

The Importance of Embracing Change

How To Prepare For Change Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Redefining “Consistency” To Make It Work For YOU

How To Make A Consistency That Works For You

The Importance Of Consistency On Social Media

Consistency is Positivity for Life and Business

The Power of Time And How To Make More Of It In Your Business

Making Time for What Matters Most

A Gift of More Time For Business Owners

I f you’re constantly looking for more time in your day, but have yet to find a way to make it appear (wouldn’t that be nice?!), I’m happy to share that’s essentially what I do!

Boost your Google Listing with Photos and Posts

Similar to how you can post on social media, you can also post on your Google Listing.

How To Market Your Business Outside Of Just Social Media