When I started my virtual business (Admin & HR Solutions) in March 2015, I had just left my full-time employer after almost 5 years. Being a young mom I have always worked more than one job.  At the time I had a casual position providing evening administrative support for a multinational courier delivery services company. 

With me starting a new job I no longer wanted to physically leave one job from the next. It was about 2 weeks after I started my new full-time position I woke up one morning thinking about how to supplement my income. Since I graduated from my Northern Alberta Institute of Alberta in (you didn’t think I was going to age myself id you, come on now, lol) I wrote resumes and various career advice for friends & family. I thought this would be a great way to make the additional income I needed and not have to leave my home. I literally started to create a post  on Kiiji, when i heard a voice clear as day say to me saying to me “bigger” - the next thing I knew I was applying for a business license.

Everyone’s story is going to be different, but I am here to tell you that any growth I have had has not been overnight. Building a business (virtual or brick & mortar) requires commitment and patience. Success will not come overnight #realtalk. In this month’s feature of Tovey Talks, I want to share how I have progressively grown my business since its inception in 2015.

1. Know My Why
The reality is children are not like most plants, they need more than water to live, so me being able to provide for my daughter up until the last year or 2 was the main reason why always needed to have more than one stream of income. In  2019, my "why" has expanded and now include:

• Aging parents that live on the other side of Canada.
• No stability and loyalty in the corporate sector.
• To be the “The virtual source of inspiration for individuals and businesses to live and work with purpose, passion, and freedom to serve the community."
  
•  And really the most important of all: It’s the calling that God has put on my heart; this is my Ministry.


2. Business Coach & Battle Buddy (Accountability Partner)
Jeff Rose a Certified Financial Planner, Author, Blogger, and Iraqi Combat Veteran recently shared in order to achieve millionaire status you must have 5 key people your life:

1. Business Coach
2. Mentor
3. Sherpa (pronounced shur·puh)
4. Battle Buddy (or Accountability Partner).
5. Mastermind Group

In my journey so far, I have been blessed to partner with 2 of the key people Mr. Rose identifies: a Business Coach and Battle Buddy (or what I prefer to call Accountability Partner).  The best way I can summarize how each of them support me with their own gifts is:

My Battle Buddy (Accountability Partner) is the person that I am going to share my ALL my ideas (the good and the ones that we both cringe at and sometimes end up on the floor laughing about because they well just suck). My Business Coach is the person that I go to help me “work” that idea (make it a reality).

Together, they both make sure that the actions that I am taking are ALWAYS linked to my “why”. My goal by the end of the year is to add an in-person mentor to my support network.

3. In God’s Timing
As a business owner, no doubt risk is required, but anytime I have ignored that uncomfortable (most of the time nauseating) feeling in my Spirit and decided my timing was best - the outcome has been adverse. 

I have learned that in every decision (personal and professional) that I present it in prayer and wait for God’s timing to confirm if it is something that is really meant for me to pursue.

I am grateful that the outcomes of those lessons, were not irreversible. I call them lessons, not mistakes because I learned from them. As they say, when you know better you do better.

I would love the opportunity to fellowship with you. For a free consultation to discuss your business needs, please book your appointment here. 
 
You can also visit our website www.abovealladmin.ca and review our packages. If you have further questions, fill out our contact form give us a call at 1-844-824-9103.

Late last year when I saw an article pop up in my inbox with “Ghosting” in the title, I was high key confused and said to myself “When did LinkedIn add online dating to their business model?” Clearly the title intrigued me enough to click and learned that the classless practice had unfortunately crossed over into the workplace.

For those asking “What is Employer Ghosting?” USA Today describes it as what happens when job candidates “blow off” potential work opportunities in a hot job market. Some examples of this new workplace phenomenon, include, but are not limited to the following:

• The applicant chooses not to show up for a scheduled interview.
• The candidate signs and returns the offer, but then doesn’t show up or call on the first day of work.
• Existing employees just stop showing up to work.
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Historically it was the employer that was ignoring applications of qualified candidates or bypassing post-interview formalities, but with job openings surpassing the number of job seekers and unemployment rates at the lowest in some areas, the tides have definitely turned.

In this week of Tovey Talks, I will approach this topic from the candidate’s perspective. When I was younger, I applied for that I 100% knew I had no interest in doing; therefore, I had no qualms about shutting down all communications with an employer that I may have already started the recruitment process with (I know - cover eyes).

About 2 years ago, I remember applying for a position through an agency in which the Recruiter would not even send me the job description until I signed an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). I had a total of 3 interviews including with the HR Director of the Employer.

During the final interview, I met with everyone at the 2 previous interviews, as well as the manager I would be working for. Can you believe after that day, no one from either the Agency or the even the Employer replied back to my many follow-ups to find out of if I was successful. The way I found out the status was that the job was re-posted through a different agency. I remember how upset and disappointed I was, but I am a big believer in the power of reaping and sowing – so the outcome was inevitable.

What did I learn from this experience, and what can you to prevent his from happening to you?

Do not focus on just the job responsibilities itself when applying for a position, look at other essential elements that make up your idea of the “ideal job”. This will put you in the position to ask the necessary questions in order to decide if you even want to consider an interview.

​For example, if you are ambitious, is there opportunity to move up? If you giving back is important to you, what is the employer’s stance on social corporate responsibility? By taking this approach, you will only be considering positions worth your time and will be more inclined to keep the lines of communication open during the recruitment and selection process.

After never hearing back from Recruiter mentioned above, I got an email from her a few months later. She explained to me how she left the agency she was with previously. She said she remembered me and was curious if I would be interested in this new opportunity she was working on. I decided to pay her the courtesy that she didn’t to me: a professional reply clearly explaining my decision to pass on this potential opportunity.

With this incident, I came to understand the importance of not burning bridges. Even though payback at times seems tempting, leaving an employer/recruiter hanging is not the way to go.

I would love the opportunity to fellowship with you. For a free consultation to discuss your career needs, please book your appointment here.

I was searching for a birthday gift for a friend based on her "realization" word for 2019 (it is a word that represents what you are either trying to achieve and/or overcome to work towards your purpose.
 
Her word was a combination of control and time. I ended up coming across a quote by K. Bromberg "Time is precious, waste it wisely".  It brought me to reflect on the promise that I made to myself when I turned 40. I said that I wouldn't live my next 40 years as I did my first.
 
Don't get me wrong, in all my seasons of my life, good or bad - I have come to realize that it was MY journey of blessings and lessons, even if I didn't realize it at this time. Since I made this promise I have tried to be very intentional in the decisions I make professionally and personally so I can be free to enjoy the work I do and the people I love.  So how am I making this happen:
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1) Asking for Help: Especially the things I hate doing and/or hindering my plan to turn my business full-time Since I have been a child I have learned to rely on myself to get things done. I have come to understand in the last couple of years that "multi-tasking is really doing a whole bunch of things shitty". As a result, I have had to relinquish my Superwoman complex and sit on the sidelines while my Partners-in-Purpose help me get my business to the next level.
 
2) Time Blocking: I still work full-time as I build my empire, so I cannot tell how literally every
second of my day has to be accounted for in order to make it productive. I do work long days, but with time blocking I am still able to get the necessary rest to rejuvenate each night.
 
My hours for my full-time job are flexible, but I have given myself a schedule of 8 am-4pm.  I wake up between 5:30-6:00 am each day. Start my day of by committing it to God, asking Him to be present as I interact with people and create opportunities where He is using me to live out the life He has planned for me.
 
Between 6 am-8am, I solely dedicate this time going through any emails that came in overnight and send out replies, make a list of any call backs I need to do during my unpaid lunch that I take between 12-1 pm each day, and completing client tasks for online agencies that I contract out my services to. From 8-4, I do my full time.
 
​Starting from 5 pm-10/11pm, I work for my AboveAllAdmin clients this can be either stream of business: HR or Business Solutions. Depending on what I am working on, I time block in intervals of 15 minutes. For example, if I am doing research for a resume, I will block out for 30 minutes. If I am creating a presentation, I book a minimum of 1 hour.
 
The last 15 minutes of every day is always used to book what I know needs to get finished and/or start from 5pm-10pm on my next working day (only Monday to Friday).
 
3) Networking: I am introvert in every sense of the word. I love working from home, but at times can be isolating, and I find can hamper both my creativity and productivity. So I have joined various Meetups and Facebook groups that allow me the opportunity to accomplish a few things:
 
 1.    Get me out of the house!
2.    Interact with other entrepreneurs and/or potential clients.
3.    Learn about new skills and trends that I can incorporate into my business. 
 
Disclaimer: Everything that I have implemented to date is a work in progress. I have learned that in order not to allow my high expectations of myself to not consume me negatively when I feel I have let myself down by not mastering change immediately, I take the time out and thank myself each time I do it, I have to learn to come that the small wins are more important than the big ones.
 
I would love to hear about please post on my Facebook Page what you are doing to get free to grow
personally or professionally in 2019. Add the tag #getfree2019 to your post.

I would love the opportunity to fellowship with you. For a free consultation to discuss your business needs, please book your appointment here.

You can also visit our website www.abovealladmin.ca and review our packages. If you have further questions, fill out our contact form give us a call at 1-844-824-9103.

Most entrepreneurs I know are intentional about setting themselves up for success, me included, but when you are a one-person show it is hard to do everything by yourself. As a Business Owner you are in control of every aspect of HOW MUCH –
 

• How much are you willing to invest in someone to help grow your business?
• How much can you benefit from having someone to support you strategically, not just administratively?
• How much will it mean to yourself and/or family to be able have balance between your professional and personal lives?

 
As an Online Business Manager (OBM), here is HOW I CAN –
 
1. Help Your Business Grow:
With 20+ years of administrative, business, and leadership experience my judgment and decision making skills allow me to keep daily operations on track without you being there. For example, creating valuable metric tracking systems that can be translated to identify customer trends that positively influence your sales funnel, online presence, lead conversion, and ultimately your net profit margins.

2. Support You Strategically, Not Just Administratively:
My analytical and research capabilities put me in a position to go beyond documenting business processes. By being able to objectively manage both minutiae and high level details, I am able to initiate, plan, execute, implement, and build in contingencies that support my partner’s strategic direction and prioritize business/project activities with timeliness and efficiency.
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3. Create a Healthy Work-Life Balance:
I managed to sustain by, not grow in 2018. Yes, sustain not grow, and it came at a high cost of losing personal relationships, my health, and hindering my own professional development. I gave myself an early Christmas gift this year and hired a Social Media Manager, and only a month in, I am reaping the benefits. After 3 consecutive years of travelling to the West Coast to visit my family during the holidays season, I was able to fully disconnect, reenergize, and began to start creating content for my what I believe is the next part of God’s plan for me: Tovey Talks.

I want to partner with businesses and entrepreneurs that are wanting to elevate their business & productivity levels to the next level in 2019 through Online Business Management (OBM) An Essential Service For Your Lifestyle Business.
 
I would love the opportunity to fellowship with you. For a free consultation to discuss your business needs, please book your appointment here.
 
You can also visit our website www.abovealladmin.ca and review our packages. If you have further questions, fill out our contact form give us a call at 1-844-824-9103.