Clarke Virtual Assistant – Star Business of the Month – September 2016

Clarke Virtual Assistant in Kent LogoHi I am Kascha Clarke, a Virtual Assistant and Founder of Clarke Virtual Assistant Business Services.  In a nutshell I provide administrative and creative support to busy business owners across the UK on a virtual basis. Some of you are probably thinking ‘virtual’? What do you mean ‘virtual’?….well first of all, I am a human being and not something out of cyberspace or an app you download to let you know when your next meeting is, last time I checked I was a 29 year old female! So I am human and I help busy people from my own, now fully equipped, office in Whitstable.

From audio typing to invoicing, the list in endless. With today’s technology and the ever so useful cloud storage, I am able to support individuals and businesses anywhere in the world and the best part about it is that I can be wherever I want to be too. For example whilst writing this, I was on a Virgin train to Edinburgh with my chromebook in front of me, and have already cleared a few client’s inboxes for them and booked a flight for another.

Clarke Virtual Assistant – How did it all start?

I have always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to start a business, but just never really knew what or how. I started my career as a Post Room Operative for Oxleas NHS Trust, organising, sorting and delivering post and medical records around their headquarters in Dartford. It was this job that made me realise I was an ‘organiser’.

Clarke Virtual Assistant in KentAfter Oxleas I worked in London as a Secretary for a large construction company, until I moved to the Kent coast and took on a position as Company Secretary and Finance Assistant for a farming day centre for adults with learning disabilities. As much as I loved my job and the environment I worked in, In May 2015 I was ready for a change and decided to look in to starting a business. Knowing that if I was going to do it, it needed to be something I was passionate about and good at, to make it a success.

I can’t quite remember how I came across the term ‘virtual assistant’ but the moment I read about them I instantly knew it was what I was going to do. I had 12 years’ experience, a supportive partner and family, so what was stopping me.  Why wouldn’t I want to do what I was good at, but for many businesses rather than just the one. After 3 months of spending my evenings and weekends researching online, I thought what the hell I am going to do it.

When I think back now, it seems so crazy to think that I built my business, Clarke Virtual Assistant from literally having a laptop whilst sitting on the sofa in our 1 bed flat. I wasn’t quite brave enough to hand in my notice straight away, so I spent endless evenings setting up a website myself, signing up to various forums and speaking to other already successful VA’s in order to get a feel for what I was letting myself in for. On August 15th 2015 I left my full time employment and started working for my first client on the following Monday….one year on and I now have 11 wonderful clients that I work with every month, an office, and another associate VA on board.

Business networking, it’s not that bad really…

Running a business is a rollercoaster of a ride, there are many lows but also lots of highs. I would say that I have learnt more about myself and my capabilities in the last year than I have in my whole career. The biggest hurdle for me was walking in to a networking breakfast meeting and standing up in front of lots of strangers, telling them who I was and what I did. So many people told me that in order to pick up clients I would need to network network network! Yes, I understand that you need to get yourself out there in order to let others know about your services, but when you aren’t the best at talking about yourself, it is seriously hard. I struggled to be myself and feel good enough, I was always conscious that someone may ask me something I didn’t have a clue about, although I am sure most people have had to overcome this to begin with. How did I overcome this barrier? I was myself, I relaxed and spoke with honesty.

I believe honesty is what has made the last year a success, if I don’t know something in particular or have never done it before, I am honest about it.   My clients need to trust me with their business and honesty is the best policy!! I am now lucky enough to say that the majority of my work comes from recommendation and word of mouth.  That is not to say that I shouldn’t still get myself out there, I just do it in other ways, like marketing, social media and attending business events, which are a lot more relaxed and less pressurised.

Clarke Virtual Assistant – Future Plans

Since recently hitting my 1 year milestone, I have been reviewing the past 12 months and planning for the next year. My Kent Foundation mentor, who, may I add, has been a huge help during this time, will tell you that my long term vision 6 months ago was completely different to what I envisage now. I remember saying to him that in 5 years’ time I want to have a commercial office with at least 3 full time employees, as well as managing and working for client’s full time as well. Now I realise that Clarke Virtual Assistant has been built in to a lifestyle business… no one wants to work 12 hours each day, 6 days a week and I have now realised that I don’t have to do this to run a business. I can have a family, become a mother and still run a business. The beauty of it is, that I can work from wherever I want, give other working mums an opportunity to work around family life and still do what I am passionate about – by supporting my clients with managing and growing their businesses.

My Regrets

That I didn’t do it sooner!!

My Business Tip

Work with people you like (wherever possible), if a business relationship doesn’t feel right then there is a good chance it isn’t. Go with your gut instinct. When one door closes, another opens with other, sometimes better, opportunities.

Accounting Workshop Trekking 50km to support Kent’s young people

Accounting Workshop based in Ashford to complete 50km trek across the Peak District to raise money for The Kent Foundation, a charity providing free business support for young people in Kent.

The accounting firm have chosen The Kent Foundation as their charity of the year after hearing charity Director, Paul Barron speak at a seminar. He described the importance of investing in future business leaders and the direct impact this has upon the growth of Kent’s economy.

Lisa Brown, Senior Partner of Accounting Workshop said:

“At Accounting Workshop we like to support a specific charity each year. This year we had decided on the event to challenge us but not the charity we would like to support. When my colleague Georgie and I attended a networking event at which Paul from The Kent Foundation was speaking, we immediately looked at each other and realised we had found the perfect charity for us. We like to support new businesses as much as we can and this charity helps young entrepreneurs to achieve their ambitions with mentoring and practical advice.”

Accounting Workshop Ashford
The Accounting Angels Left to Right: Lisa Brown – Senior Partner, Louwrens Vorster – Accounting Assistant and Georgina King – Accounting Assistant

Intrigued by the charity’s free business support on offer to Kent’s young people and being in business themselves meant that they could really relate and see the benefits the charity provides to a young person.

Paul Barron, Director of The Kent Foundation said:

“We are extremely fortunate to be supported by Accounting Workshop who provide accounting solutions for entrepreneurs. I met their Senior Partner, Lisa, at a business event in the spring and there was immediate recognition of the synergy between our two organisations. I’ve been to their offices in Ashford and there is a fabulous buzz. They are a vibrant and determined group of people to work with. I’d like to thank them for their support”

Accounting Workshop aim to raise £1,500 in support of The Kent Foundation. If you would like to donate please use the link below: www.charitychoice.co.uk/fundraiser/accountingangels/my-events

Sean Dobbins Fashion Designer in Kent – Talent Match South East

Sean Dobbins fashion designer in Kent endured unemployment for over a year and confidence had hit rock bottom. Find out how The Kent Foundation and the Talent Match South East project helped him develop the skills and confidence he desperately needed to start a business.

Sean Dobbins Fashion Designer from Kent

Sean Dobbins Fashion Designer, aged 23, from Kent, has turned his life around and started his own women’s clothing brand.

After finishing his degree, Sean struggled to find employment. He had been unemployed for over a year when he came across the Talent Match Outreach Team at a Chatham Jobs Fair in September 2014. Sean was split between the need to earn a wage and his career goal of becoming a fashion designer. This was coupled with nervousness surrounding potential challenges presented by self-employment and setting up alone.

With support from Talent Match South East, Sean was able to overcome these nerves. He secured valuable work experience at a number of fashion houses in London (including Amanda Kelly and Emilio de la Morena). However in a sector where so many young people volunteer their time for free, a paid role in fashion proved hard to obtain. Sean realised that a longer-term approach would be needed and began applying for vacancies outside of fashion.

After a lot of dedication and persistence, in July 2015 Sean successfully gained full-time employment at Tesco as a Personal Shopper. Sean has recently reached the six month sustainment success milestone but his story is only just beginning.

The wage and confidence that full-time work brought has allowed Sean to pursue his dreams of designing and creating clothes. Sean can do this at his own pace, having established his brand, S Dobbins, last year.

“Talent Match has helped me to explore my full potential and has given me the confidence to thrive within the fashion industry and explore new and exciting ideas to help create my label.”

He is making plans for the year, including pricing, ecommerce and marketing. Talent Match South East and The Kent Foundation will continue to support Sean in his career progression. With a number of local events scheduled to display his creations and media features scheduled this year, Talent Match will be a proud observer as his talents continue to flourish.

Talent Match South East - Self Employment in Kent

Startup Britain Bus Comes To Canterbury

Startup Britain Bus Comes To Canterbury

Startup Britain Bus Comes To CanterburyThe StartUp Tour is back! StartUp Britain and Natwest are touring an iconic 1966 Routemaster bus around 30 towns and cities this summer. The exciting thing is that on Monday 4th July from 10am to 4pm the Startup Britain Bus comes to Canterbury. The whole tour will provide free mentoring and advice to thousands of aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs. This years’ national partners include the National Enterprise Network, British Library, Intellectual Property Office, British Library Business &  IP Centre Network and the Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Plus, we are excited to play our part as a local supporter on this leg of the tour supporting business startups in Canterbury.

About StartUp Britain

StartUp Britain is a national campaign by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, harnessing the expertise
and passion of Britain’s leading business ­people to unleash entrepreneurship across the UK. The
campaign is run by the Centre for Entrepreneurs think tank and supported by Natwest and 123 Reg.
Founded by eight entrepreneurs and launched in March 2011 by the Prime Minister, StartUp Britain is
completely private sector funded, and was launched in response to the government’s call for an
‘enterprise led’ recovery.

How to Successfully Start a Local Business

How to Successfully Start a Local Business

Like anything good in life, owning your own business comes with its highs and lows. It can be an extremely rewarding experience – one that may sort you out with a job that you’ll enjoy for the rest of your life – but it isn’t without its struggles. One of the things that people struggle to get to grips with the most is the initial start-up process. Even if it’s something you’ve done in the past, it can prove to be a tricky and sometimes overwhelming task. Even more so with the sheer amount of thriving local businesses in Kent. However, don’t fret just yet. Setting up a business is much easier if you break down the process into steps. The first step in how to successfully start a local business is to start researching your local area, and the businesses within it.

Do your research

We know it’s boring, and that you’re probably itching to get down to the nitty-gritty of starting your business, but research is one of the most important parts of the business start-up process.By now you should have a rough idea of what kind of business venture you wish to begin. It doesn’t have to be a fully formed idea, just something general (for example, a vintage clothing store in Kent).

The three key things you need to research at this point are:

  1. If there is any interest in your local area for your business venture (or if there will be in the near future)
  2. Take a look at the competition (Google is your friend)
  3. Business start-up costs

For the former, it may be wise to conduct a short survey in a shopping centre, ask around friends and family and perhaps create an online version to share on social media. The purpose is to find out what potential customers there might be for your product/service in your local area. if you don’t have customers then you don’t have a business.

If there are already businesses of your kind in your area it could indicate there will be less interest in your business venture. Don’t be discouraged. There’s nothing saying that you can’t start another form of business, or modify your original plan slightly by looking for a unique selling point. Ask yourself why customers will buy from you and not your competitors?

Business start-up costs

A simple list of expenditure and income will suffice to start. What costs will you incur to start the business e.g. equipment, licenses, premises, graphic design etc. What ongoing costs will the business incur e.g. renewal of insurance, licenses, website domains, wages, rent etc.

For your income, you will need to work out what you will charge for your product or service, and how much you will need to sell in order to make your business profitable, not forgetting the costs you have incurred above. You may well have to estimate some of the figures you expect to receive on a month by month basis but why not use this as a target income for your business? More on cashflow and forecasting here…

What next?

Once you’re set on what sort of business you’re looking to start and you’ve completed your research you can begin some of the more formal parts of starting your business

The start-up process for your business is going to vary massively depending on you and your business but as a general guide we have identified some key points below:

  • Name your business
  • Choose a legal structures e.g. sole trader, ltd company and register your business
  • Set up a bank account
  • Set up necessary insurance (You’ll find Public Liability Insurance is essential)
  • Identify National Insurance/ VAT arrangements
  • Register for any licenses that you may need to run your business legitimately. This will vary depending on your business type. For example; you would need to apply for different licenses for charity work, for agricultural work, food preparation etc. because of the nature the work involves.

Some additional thinking points are: How will you promote the business? Website, social media, networking? Where will you run your business from, can you run it from home, do you need an office or retail premises?  Take a look at building your brand so people can identify your business.

There’s a lot to think about and if you’re already feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry; it’s totally normal, break your tasks down in to manageable chunks.

Hiring an employee

Congratulations…You’re now officially a start-up, you’ve put a lot of hard work in and your business is booming. Things are getting a little bit busy, so much so, that you’ve thought about hiring one or two people to help you out. Hiring an employee or two is going to be massively beneficial for you and your business, but it isn’t without a little bit of hard work. So how’s it done?

Before you begin looking for staff, you’re going to have to brush up on your knowledge of employment law (if you haven’t already, that is). Put simply it concerns anything that mediates the relationship between employers, workers, the government, and trade unions. It’s a lot to take in, we know. It concerns everything from employee rights, to what’s included in their employment contract, to how you manage your employees.

First things first; the employment contract.

The contract can be verbal, but it’s always much more professional and convenient to have a typed one that every new employee can sign. It will be much easier to modify should any changes need to be made.

Whatever the nature of the contract, it must set out four key ‘terms’:

  • Employment conditions
  • Rights
  • Responsibilities
  • Duties

Both the employee and employer have to abide by the contract until it ends (this could be for a number of reasons, such as an employee being dismissed, an employee giving notice, or if the terms are mutually changed).

There’s plenty of information available on gov.uk to help you out. If you’re still struggling you can always talk to an employment solicitor or lawyer who will be able to help you look in to the finer details.

That’s not all…

Every business start-up journey is different and we are well aware that we have only just scratched the surface here but we hope you have gained a useful insight and feel better equipped on how to successfully start a local business.

There’s no doubt you will discover many challenges, successes, failures, lessons and fun on your journey in to business. Some you may have expected and some not – You will learn a lot! Take those good times and relish them, be proud of what you have achieved! Also remember in those tougher times and ‘I don’t know’ moments there’s always support available to get you through, whether it’s a solicitor, lawyer, accountant, business adviser, events etc.

We would like to thank Thomson, Snell and Passmore for their input in to this business start-up article. A leading law firm in Kent providing top solicitors and lawyers with a wealth of knowledge and expertise in employment law and redundancy.

The Kent Foundation – Kent Charity Awards Finalist 2016

Kent Charity Awards 2016 Finalist…The Kent Foundation

On the 10th March we attended the Kent Charity Awards 2016 to see if we were a winner of Voluntary Charity of the Year. We did not win but came away as a Finalist. This in itself is a massive achievement considering the amount of entries. We are super proud to receive this award for the second year running. It serves as recognition for our work to support young people and not forgetting the crucial part here, the time our volunteers provide to our charity to make it all happen. Their time really is priceless to us – so thank you! It is always amazing to see so many good causes/people coming together in one place for this event. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists and keep up the great work!

IMAG0030Some of the charity finalists pose after the ceremony. The Kent Charity Awards finals 2016, from the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone. Picture: Andy PaytonVoluntary Charity of the Year finalists - Liam Behn for Kent Foundation. The Kent Charity Awards finals 2016, from the Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone. Picture: Andy PaytonIMG_20160310_214220Kent Charity Awards 2016 Finalist The Kent FoundationKent-Charity-Awards-49