What Does a Business Consultant Do?

As a business owner, it is natural to search for the next step.  It is natural to focus on getting outside help to grow and enhance your business.  Thinking about talking to a business consultant and understanding a business consultant are two different things!  The question now is “What does a business consultant do?”

Identify Your Expectations

Think about what you are expecting when you consider a business consultant.  Are you wanting them to come in and transform your business?  Are you planning on working together with them to find the best solutions for your business?  Maybe you just want some insight from somebody outside of your business.  Figure out your expectations so that you can find the perfect business consultant match for your business. 

A Business Consultant’s Mission

Now that you have your expectations in line, you need to be realistic as to what a consultant actually does.  Every business consultant is different in their approach, but one thing is always the same. They want to help you improve your business! They will sit down with you and learn your business inside and out. They will need to know your successes and your failures. This is not to harp on your business model or point out your faults. This is to give you constructive criticism. Without that, they cannot do their job. 

A business consultant will work to improve performance and efficiency, analyze your business, and create solutions to help you reach your goals. If you are unsure of your goals, they will help you create new ones. 

What Can A Business Consultant Do For You?

This goes back to the first section and identifying your expectations. You not only need to identify what you want from your business consultant, but what they can actually offer you. In most cases, a business consultant is there to help you improve your business. They will analyze it, find any issues, and help you create a plan for change. 

There are many different reasons you might be considering a business consultant. You may want to grow your business, identify current issues, make big business changes, get assistance teaching and training staff, drum up new business, bring a business back from the edge, or maybe just get an outside view. Whatever your reason for hiring a business consultant, listening to them is the most important part of the process.

How To Start With a Business Consultant

Once you make your decision to hire a business consultant, you will need to find one that offers what you are looking for. The first thing they will do is learn your business. They will expect you to explain things like your company’s mission and your expectations. You will probably do most of the talking initially because the consultant can’t help you until they are completely informed about your business. 

Once they understand your business and expectations, they will make a plan. The plan will be based on any issues that they were informed of by management, problems identified by the consultant, and the goals of the business. The business consultant will set additional goals, decide what needs to be changed, and how to do it. They will come up with solutions for the problems, and work with you to come up with the perfect solutions that everybody can agree on. 

As the owner or manager, it is your responsibility to LISTEN to the consultant! You are hiring them to figure out how to help your business. They are there to give you constructive criticism and be objective. You will need to work with your consultant to build on your assets and eliminate your liabilities. Your consultant will monitor progress with help from you and adjust as you go. If one thing isn’t working, then it will be reevaluated. 

Why are you looking into business consulting? If you decide we are a good fit for your business consulting expectations, give us a call! You can also schedule your appointment now to see what we can do for you.

Keep Your Business Running During the Holidays

It is that time again! The holidays are here, and business is starting to show the signs of the slower season. Don’t fret! You can keep your business running during the holidays while preparing for the next season to come! Here are some ways to keep your business running during the holidays.

1. Focus on what you can do instead of what you can’t. If you focus on all the business you do not have during the slow season, you aren’t able to look at what you can do! Spend this time focusing on building a plan to better your business. If you noticed that your infrastructure isn’t functioning well, now is the time to figure out a plan. 
2. Make a plan for streamlining. Now is the best time to reflect on what you needed help with when you were in the busy season. Get a plan in place for streamlining this. If you thought you needed help with certain things, figure out how to get that help and hire somebody now - not when you actually need them! Get a person comfortable in helping with your business and then they will be ready when you really need it.
3. Show yourself! Take pictures of your holiday activities and share them with your social media followers. Putting up a Christmas tree? Take a picture of it and encourage others to share theirs. Make your followers see you as a real person, and not just a business. The more somebody sees that you care to share your life with them, the more you will be on their mind when they need what your business offers. 
4. Plan ahead! The holidays come at the same time every year. Record your sales, income, and expenses for this time. Try to plan ahead before the holidays hit so you know exactly what to expect. If you notice you spend a lot more during this time, you can either save up early, or set a spending budget so you don’t hurt your business. 
5. Stay connected with your customers. This can be a simple email, text, or even a phone call just to say happy holidays. Spend your spare time showing you are thinking of them, and that you appreciate their loyal business. This is the best time to nurture your relationships and show your clients you really care. 
6. Take time off! I know this doesn’t really keep your business running right now, but it will give you the break you need to do great during the busy season. Take a vacation while you are slow. Relax, breath, spend time with family, and enjoy having time to do this before you get busy again. 

What are some things that you have found help you get through the holiday season? If you decide you need help preparing your business for the busy season, give us a call! You can also schedule your appointment now to see what we can do for you.

The Hive Method

Have you ever looked at a bee’s hive? I mean REALLY looked. 

No? As a an entrepreneur, maybe you should take the time to watch the bees. Watch how they all work together. Notice how they all have the same goal. Recognize how every single bee has a job. Every single bee is important. Every single bee makes a difference.

There are many things one can learn from a beehive. This article goes into more detail on the specifics, but there are basics too. There is a specific mentality in a beehive. It is the survival of the hive. Every bee works together toward one goal and puts that main goal above each individual task or idea. That is The Hive Method. 

If you were to look up the definition of a hive, you will find “a place swarming with activity.”  Is that what you think of when you think of your business? Maybe you see it swarming with activity but that activity is all over the place and not uniform, strong, and building toward a common goal. The Hive Method is a revolutionary approach to your business.   

The Hive Method

BizEBee created The Hive Method to bring together business consulting, business coaching, and virtual administration.  A business consultant will pick your business apart, identify weaknesses, and tell you what changes to make. A business coach will help you rely on your own knowledge and experience, and guide you into using that knowledge. A virtual assistant will do the things you don’t have time for. With these three things combined, your business can be like a bee hive. Imagine what it would be like to have all of these things working together like a well-oiled machine. 

The thing with The Hive Method is that nobody is alone in the hive. The leader is immersed in everything while the rest of the bees swarm around them working for the good of the whole hive. Nothing is put completely on one individual. Everything is a team effort.  As a hive, everybody works toward the common goal of making your business successful, and helping you maintain that success. 

Why would you want to have three different people working separately with you and your business when you can have The Hive Method, and those three people working for you with communication, common goals, and the hive mentality?

Problems with Realtors® and Virtual Delegation

Looking around your desk, and your emails, you are probably wondering how you can get through everything. Another question that might come to mind is, who can help you without having to go through a long and stressful interviewing process? One thing you may or may not have considered is virtual delegation. 

What exactly is virtual delegation? This is when you hire somebody to help you with your work, but they work from home. This has become very common in the world of business, and can be considered a business saver for some. 

Now if you are getting curious you can start brainstorming about what you can comfortably delegate. Start by considering what things are falling behind. As a Realtor®, you have many balls to juggle. Some of these to consider are database cleanup and follow up, marketing on social media, blogging, transactions coordination, website creation, and other marketing services. 

Sit down and make a list of everything that you handle on your own. Not a list of things you would LIKE to handle on your own, but what is actually getting done without assistance. Then write down everything that you don’t know how to do yourself. This can be your marketing items, blogging, website work, etc. Next focus on the things you just don’t have time to do, or don’t want to do, such as database work. 

Since your list will most likely be varied, you want to hire a company to handle your tasks. The reason is that if you hire a Virtual Assistant, they may or may not have the experience and ability to handle all of your tasks. They will most likely be proficient in one thing and you will have to hire multiple assistants to get your work done, which will then cause you more stress in the end. The best option is to hire a company who has multiple assistants who specialize in different things. Then you can keep everything under one roof, and eliminate the stress of finding multiple assistants or finding that their work is sub-par. 

Now to the problems with Realtors® and virtual delegation! Miscommunication can be the biggest problem. Because it is virtual, good communication is a must! If the Realtor® gets busy and cannot answer calls or emails from the virtual assistant, the work cannot get completed as expected. Communicating what exactly is expected or desired to the assistant is also vital. Without this, there will be confusion and work will need to be redone. Another problem that Realtors® tend to have is actually letting go. It is hard to trust your business to somebody else, but without actually releasing responsibility to the assistant, work will be spotty and unorganized. 

Are you ready to talk about your options for virtual delegation? Let us be your real estate consultant and help you organize your business-services. If you are interested in more information, or for a FREE Business Analysis, call us at 202-469-6774.

5 Biggest Mistakes Realtors® Make

As a Realtor® there are many mistakes that you may be making without even knowing it. A few reasons these mistakes happen are because of being overwhelmed, not having the help needed, and being too busy to handle everything. Being busy is not a bad thing, but it can be if mistakes are being made because of it, and you don’t have the help you need. Go down the list and see if you are making an of these mistakes.

1. Grabbing all that sparkles. When you see a program, or a website that looks like something you would use, you sign up and purchase whatever is needed for it. Then the site sits there doing nothing because it won’t do anything without you programing and telling it to. No matter how many programs or websites you sign up on, if you don’t have the time or knowledge to manage them, they will just be another thing you have a password for and are paying for. Not everything that sparkles is good!
2. Letting relationships go. If you are not following up with your friends, previous clients, and family, you are missing out on a huge network that WANTS to help you succeed! Keep you sphere close and let them know you are still good at what you do.
3. Not keeping current. Your database is the heart of your business. This goes with letting relationships go. Keeping your database current and updated is vital to the success of your business. Doing a little now will save you from doing a lot later. 
4. Where are you? Do you only market yourself when you think of it, or when you have spare time? Sporadic marketing can be as bad as not marketing at all. If you aren’t marketing frequently, you should be.
5. Who are you? When clients see your business do they see you, or your brokerage? Do you want your clients to know your name or do you want them to know who you work for? If you are not branded, or only branded partially, you may want to reconsider.  

Are you making these mistakes? Let us be your real estate consultant and help you organize your business-services. If you are interested in more information, or for a FREE Business Analysis, call us at 202-469-6774.

What Can a Virtual Assistant Do?

If you are reading this you probably know how much virtual assisting has grown over the recent years, and are wondering what exactly can a VA (virtual assistant) do? It really depends on what you need from a VA.

Every VA has a different skill set to bring to the table. There are general virtual assistants who can do basic computer work, scheduling, and even help you get organized with your computer files. They may even offer to do your email correspondence for you. This would be somebody who would have the same general tasks as an in-office assistant without actually being in office. 

You can hire a VA to do your graphic design, website, and digital marketing for you also. Graphic design, website creation and management, and digital marketing can get tricky. If this is something that is beyond you, why not hire somebody who knows what they are doing?

Another thing that you may not know how to do is SEO. This is Search Engine Optimization. This determines how many people see your website when they do a search on sites such as Google. There are ways to create a bigger online presence, and there are VAs who know how to do that. 

You may know how to use your social media sites, but it also may be something that you dread doing. A VA can use all of your social media sites for you, network for you, and get your more business in less time than you can. If this is their specialty, they can get your business thriving. Why do something you don’t enjoy? 

 A lot of virtual assistants also create great content for your website or blog. Some are great writers and can use SEO and topics to drive new customers to your site. Blogging weekly is a must in most businesses, so why not add that to your business plan and have a VA take it off of your plate?

No matter the business you are in, a virtual assistant can help you! Before hiring a virtual assistant determine which tasks you are looking to have done for you. This can help you decide if you should go with an individual with one skill set or a company like BizEBee who has a team of virtual assistants. If you need help, give us a call at 202-469-6774. You can also visit our website at http://www.bizebeerealestate.com. We can be your Business Professionals.

Boost Your Productivity!

The spring season is starting. That means that business will be picking up quickly, so you need to be prepared! You want to make sure that you are just as productive, with more clients. So how do you boost your productivity when you need it most?

The first thing to do is to look forward. Set goals for this month, the next 6 months, even the next couple of years. Goals keep you motivated and can help you organize what you really want in clear terms.

The second thing to do is prioritize your day, week, and even your month. Make lists and set the items to their level of priority. If you want to focus on your Internet presence, put that as a top priority. If you need help with some of your daily tasks, maybe it is time to get help. Virtual assistants are a great way to get the help you need, when you need it, without having to deal with interviewing an assistant to come in as you happen to need help with things.

The next thing to help you boost productivity is to get some fresh air. If you have been cooped up inside all day and find that you are going in circles, it is time to clear your head.

Have you heard about waking up early so you have time to yourself before you start your day? It is the same idea with getting into the office early. Get there before anybody else and you will get more done right away because there won’t be any distractions.

Stick to one thing at a time. If you are working on your social media posts, stick to it until you are done. If you have to switch tasks midway, make sure you are at a good stopping point and you go back and finish the job. Some think that multi-tasking saves time and boosts productivity, but in reality it is just distracting. It is better to completely finish one thing before you start the next.

And last but not least, eat and drink right! You might be thinking this has nothing to do with productivity, but if you are hungry, or dehydrated, you won’t be able to concentrate well. Drink water and eat healthy foods if you want to be productive during the day.

If you sit down to write out your priorities and realize you need help, we are here! Our goal is to help you reach your goals while freeing up your time for things you really want to do. If you are interested in more information, or for a FREE Business Analysis, call us at 202-469-6774.

Is Your Database Functional?

If you are new to real estate, or have been in it awhile, you have heard about managing your database. It is also called a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). So the real question is, are you managing your customer relationships how you should be?

For most agents, this is one spot that falls short due to lack of time and know-how. It isn’t that you don’t want to do it, but it is hard to keep up with it all and make sure you are doing it right.

First of all, what database are you using to keep it all organized? Some recommend using the system that comes with the company you work for. Some say getting an alternative is a good idea. Whichever you choose, you can always export your contacts to move them to a new location.

Having a functional database can be a marketing source, a lead capturing system, listing and transaction tracking system, and sometimes a dialer to manage your calling also! Cleaning up your database, coding your contacts, and syncing your new leads with email campaigns can give you an edge you don’t have yet.

It isn’t just the set up that is important. It is also the management of the leads that is vital to the success of your CRM. If you are ready to get your contacts organized and start creating a lasting relationship with them, call us for more information on how we can help!

Sometimes reaching out to those who can help is the best, and easiest answer! Our goal is to help you reach your goals while freeing up your time for things you really want to do. If you are interested in more information, or for a FREE Business Analysis, call us at 202-469-6774.

Pushing Forward

Each time your business grows you may experience growing pains or situations arise due to the business growth. These situations were always present within your business, but the business growth made the situations clear. You are faced with the choice of adapting your business and pushing forward or retreating back to your previous business level. If you are not equipped, unable to adapt, or ignore the situation your business will revert back to the previous level.

Pushing forward requires you to perform a business analysis, review your options, and adapt in the best way that preserves your business mission, goals, and values. The changes in your business could be small or large depending on the level of business growth and your future business goals. Taking each factor into consideration is key to the success of your business.

Many times it is beneficial to bring in a fresh set of eyes to review the situation and perform the business analysis. Business Consultants and Business Coaches are a great resource for an unbiased audit of your business. Both of these professionals have the ability to audit your business, review your business’s mission, values, and goals, and assist in developing the plan to overcome the situation. Another benefit that Business Consultants can provide is the ability to exam your current business level compared to your business goals to show you areas that may have growing pains before they happen. This helps your business become more efficient with fewer unexpected growing pains.

BizEBee Virtual Assistants has Business Consultants and Business Coaches available to assist you and your business. Contact BizEBee Virtual Assistants, 202-469-6774 or admin@mybizebee.com for a free business consultation.        

Benefits of Business Consulting

When you are considering adding an assistant service or assistant to your team select the option that provides you with business consulting. Business consultants or assistants that perform business consulting do not just perform the tasks you assign, but review and provide insight on how to grow your business.

Branding – Branding is essential to the success and growth of a business. Business consultants can provide an analysis and insight on how to improve the branding of your business. Building your branding will help your business grow and retain clients. Successful branding can open the door to new avenues of clients that were previously unreachable.

Business Analysis – Another benefit of selecting a company that specializes in business consulting is having a business analysis performed. A business analysis will show the strengths, weakness, and potential issues within the business. With this information you can place the new assistant on tasks that help improve weaker areas or reduce or remove potential issues before they occur. This ensures your new assistant is working on the most beneficial tasks for the business.

Fresh Eyes – The new assistant comes to the business with fresh eyes and will provide you with an unbiased view. This can help you to take your business to the next level by adding new ideas and creativity to your business.

If you are considering adding an assistant to your business, take a moment to review BizEBee Virtual Assistants. We provide each of our clients with business consulting and our assistants genuinely care about the success of our clients’ business. Contact BizEBee Virtual Assistants today 202-469-6774 or admin@mybizebee.com.