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Media 2006
(January 2006)
Freelancers in the UK - Freelancer in Focus (by Kate Proprieter FLITUK)
1. How have you found working freelance? What are the highs and lows, the frustrations and the bonuses?
Working freelance is not to everybody's taste; you either like it or you hate it - depends on how busy you are, whether you
have the discipline to work the long hours that you would need to make yourself a success in your field of expertise as well
as tolerance to the solitude which some providers find. Fortunately I love the solitude that working freelance gives me. I
am a provider of general, special and virtual secretarial office services, which requires of me to work at a fast-track pace
that sometimes I wonder if there are enough hours in the day to get the workload completed in my stipulated 24/48 hour turnaround
- I need not to be working in an environment which is noisy or distracting in any way.
Luckily I don't have many lows to speak of - those that have occurred are quickly overcome i.e. absurd timescale demands,
having to explain to clientele that they are 'not the only one(s) on my client list; stop trying to queue jump etc' and a
lack of communication with family and friends due to long hours: I tend to have to tell myself "think positive, think
past the hurdle - brush myself down, pick myself up and get on with it"..... Working from home is the biggest bonus of
all and I would class this as a massive high. Business for us is going very well - I work full-time hours and then some; it
is not unusual for me to be still at my desk completing work at 10pm of an evening; weekend working is less as I do try to
at least have some fun - wouldn't want to be known as 'Tina - the all work and no play businesswoman'. To be able to walk
from one room to another in a familiar surrounding e.g. lounge to office etc is an experience second to none - if I were to
have to go to an office daily, I very much doubt I would do the hours that I do and if I did, I doubt I would enjoy it half
so much.
Since I started freelance secretarial services, the frustrations over the past 4 years have been the odd bolshy client
who expected the work that was e-mailed two moments ago to be typed/presented and ready for collection immediately, the expectancy
to remember each and every one of my individual clients' foibles and idiosyncrasies, the odd reference when typing a addendum
document - mention is made of a "typing error" as it is 'easier to blame the typist and not the author for the mistake'!
My biggest reward for working freelance is the satisfaction that in my time, I have turned several of my clients' small/medium-sized
businesses into bigger successes. Predominantly I work for a lot of clients who trade without utilising PCs or intelligent
communication (IT) of any kind, so to offer a fax/e-mail bureau service, fast turnaround of audio transcription/manuscript,
proposals, presentations and any other marketing tools, correspondence etc that they can use to promote their business and
mimic an environment with these facilities is of paramount importance. Other companies who use our services are larger corporations
needing ad hoc secretarial assistance due to their staffing levels being affected for whatever reason and as you only pay
for 'Time on Task', no costly temping agency fees are incurred.
2. Has Freelancers In The UK helped you/your business? We'd like to think so, but how?
Yes, it has. Being a member of Freelancers in the UK has opened my eyes to the vast differences in our fields of expertise
and the functions and services we provide to our clientele. As the first member to upgrade in July 2005, my profile and portfolio
was noticed by many and with it a steady upturn in visitors to our sites, additional registrations to our Tesla Typing! site
and off the back of it, an article written by journalist Carol Burns which was featured in the December 2005 issue of 'Recruitment
Matters', trade magazine specialising in recruitment and looking at encouraging innovation.Recruitment Matters info:www.associa.co.uk/IndustryNews-16.htm.
3. What are the biggest challenges for you in 2006?
We have plans to further vastly promote our online copy and digital audio typing examination website - www.teslatyping.co.uk.
We launched this site last April and upgraded it to offer bulk purchases for corporate clients, giving them their own unique
co-branded login area for use on an ongoing basis. As the World's first site of its kind...this is going well but as the saying
goes "business is great and we are looking for more!" We also launched an online retail website last year, together
with a VA (virtual assistant) Directory site, so more work will be done on these to get their names recognised and utilised
more.
We would also like to be in a position to be able to take on more of the secretarial services work and outsource on a
larger scale to other freelancing virtual assistants to boost their own businesses - we have been trialling it this year with
some known VAs through our membership with the IAVA (International Association of Virtual Assistants) and it has been received
well; sourcing the right VA for the job is time-consuming though rewarding, as if a job is completed successfully, we as well
as the VA who completed the work receives appreciative feedback which we then in turn use as testimonials after permission
has been sought, thus creating a positive reputation, gaining more work from it and........... the cycle continues.
Media 2006
(January 2006)
Special Edition Celebrating Women's Contribution to Business - Reading Evening Post
TINA WOOLLARD launched her innovative Virtual Assistant company in 2001 as a sole-trading home-based business, serving small-to-medium
sized clients.
Having gone from strength to strength, her company has expanded and while she works long hours, she says she loves the
freedom of working for herself.
Tina tells us how she started her business and developed it into the successful force it is today.
After working as a PA for various companies for many years and being praised for my efficiency, time management and enthusiasm
I decided after thinking long and hard to start my own secretarial business from home.
Armed with the name, TMW Secretarial Services I registered with the Inland Revenue, sought advice from Business Link,
created stationery and a website. I advertised like mad looking for free advertising where I could and networked till I dropped!
To my delight was called by a company only a stones throw from my home, who were looking for a part-time outsourced secretary.
I attended a meeting, carried out sample copy typing work and they took me on evenings and weekends covering their overflow
work.
More than 3 years later still work for this company and several others for whom I work regularly. Good relationships and
high standards have rewarded me with a good stream of referrals.
My husband joined the company as a Partner in April 2004 and the same month we became VAT registered albeit voluntarily.
In May this year we were audited and achieved BS EN ISO 9001 : 2000 accreditation for the provision of general, special
and virtual secretarial office services. There are only three percent of the UK business population to be awarded this prestigious
accreditation and we are very proud.
Thanks to this success, I have been able to add another to my bow. An online copy typing and digital audio transcription
website. In April this year, Tesla Typing! went 'live' and in August we branched out to corporate clients.
I've further gone on to create a VA directory website www.va-directory.com for secretarial/clerical/pa/administrative
virtual assistants to advertise themselves and for potential employers of their services to be pointed in the right direction
for a VA to suit their needs etc.
Last year we were nominated and selected for the Regional DTI / Interforum E-commerce Awards 2005.
I never thought when I started my little business that one 'originally sole trader' VA could grow and gain so much in
such a short amount of time.
I hope our success is evidence to anyone thinking of starting their own business that it really is achievable. With the
correct research, advice, hard work, determination and lots of networking anyone can achieve .
Be progressive, proactive, don't try running before you can walk and enjoy working for yourself; once you've freed yourself
from the restraints of employed existence, you will never want to go back !
Be under no illusions though - it can be a hard slog trying to gain your first client, but if you keep your standards
high and never stop promoting your business you can go far!
How the FSB helps
Tina joined the FSB in 2001 at the same time as setting up her business to enable her to maximise her networking opportunities
and take advantage of the benefits such as free legal helpline and cover against tax investigations.
Since then Tina has come to understand the role the FSB plays in lobbying on behalf of small businesses both locally and
nationally.
Last year Tina received support from the local branch of the FSB in an attempt to improve local postal services to her
business. Tina was receiving irregular deliveries from the sorting office which was having an impact on the services she provided
to her clients.
Tina says the FSB contacted Royal Mail on my behalf which was a great help to me.
I had neither the background knowledge on mail delivery contracts nor the time to be corresponding with Royal Mail.
Nationally, the FSB continues to campaign on behalf of all small business on issues such as red tape and business crime
Media 2005
(December 2005)
Recruitment Matters (by Carol Burns Freelance Journalist)
Tina Woollard launched her innovative Virtual Assistant company in 2001 as a sole-trading home-based busines, serving small-to-medium-sized
clients and clients who trade without utilising PCs or intelligent communication (IT) of any kind.
Having gone from strength to strengh, her company has expanded and has now developed into a directory for virtual assistants
and the world's first online copy and audio digital audio examination website, utilised by recruitment consultants and agencies.
'I would never have thought four years ago that I would have a BS standard company and have been put up for four DTI e-forum
awards!' she says.
The good news is there is plenty of help out there for companies who want to innovate and develop their business.
Media 2005
(October 2005)
E-mail Campaign Freelancers in the UK (by Kate Proprieter FLITUK)
Speaking of female entrepreneurs, we're profiling Tina Woollard, an active member of www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk who's had
a busy year building the TMWSGroup of Innovation & Enterprise (www.tmwsgroup.com) which comprises:
TMWSecretarial Services: BS EN ISO 9001:2000 certified in the provision of general, special & virtual secretarial
office services. Specialist sundry services catered for. We NEVER turn work away. Teamed with a network of dedicated and
professional VAs. Visit www.tmwsecretarial.co.uk
Tesla Typing! The World's 1st online copy typing and digital audio transcription website of its kind. Recently both NOMINATED
and SELECTED to compete for the world famous prestigious DTI / InterForum E-Commerce Awards 2005. Since release onto the
worldwideweb April 2005, we have had in excess of 50,000 visitors to our site with just under 8,000 registered users. Website
itself open to individual users and NOW corporate clients ie recruitment agencies, consultancies and HR Departments of any
size company. www.teslatyping.co.uk
VA-Directory.Com. A brand new innovative and cost effective way to add your virtual assistant sole trader, partnership,
or fully fledged limited company to our Virtual Assistant Directory. SECRETARIAL / ADMINISTRATIVE / CLERICAL / PA VIRTUAL
ASSISTANTS ALL WELCOMED - LIFE LONG MEMBERSHIP! Prospective employers of any VA's services can also contact us via the website
to locate their ideal VA or complete an online form for us to find one for them! www.va-directory.com
Good luck with all your ventures, Tina!
Media 2004
(April 2004)
Reading Evening Post - 'Once-a-day post disaster for firms'
READING'S new one-delivery postal system could force many small businesses to go bust,say bosses.
Entrepreneurs running small firms, especially those who work from home, say they risk losing business opportunities because
Royal Mail's new one-delivery-a-day system is not up to scratch.
Tina Woollard, who runs TMWSecretarial Services from her Whitley home, told the Evening Post she sometimes gets her post
as late as 4.30pm.
Ms Woollard, whose work includes word processing documents for clients from as far away as Ireland, said: "If the
post is always going to be late, that's going to have a dramatic effect on small businesses.
"Because we are a secretarial business, we have work sent by post. If you receive it late in the day and the client
wants it for the same day, you are stuck."
The decision by Royal Mail to replace twice-daily deliveries with a single service came into force in Reading two months
ago and follows the closure of several post offices across town
Karen Durcan, of the Federation of Small Businesses Thames Valley, said small firms still relied heavily on Royal Mail
for their livelihood.
She said: "These days, businesses still receive the majority of their cheques and invoices through the post.
"When they receive the post at 11am they only have half a day to pay them into the bank."
Ms Durcan added: "The Post Office continues to cut services because they want to be a profitable organisation.
"With other services you can say ‘I am not using your service', but with Royal Mail you have not got a
chance because there's no alternative at the moment.
"They are a private company and I do not see any way of us getting them to change - if it was a Government-run organisation
we could protest."
She added that although businesses are now looking at alternative ways of posting likee-mail, there is a security issue,
and cheques have to go in the post.
Royal Mail spokesman Dan Panes said the two deliveries were scrapped because it was too expensive.
He said: "Our aim is that deliveries will take place between 9am and lunch time.
"This is clearly not happening at the moment in some areas but I would ask people to remember these are some of the
biggest changes that the post office has seen in a decade.
"These changes are in their infancy, it's a learning curve and improving day by day."
He added: "If it's imperative for businesses to have their mail at a specific time, for example early in the morning,
there are obviously premium services that are available."
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News!
About to be featured in the Reading Post (see above) through the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.co.uk) and also
in Thames Valley News, as well as being the first to be featured in Freelancer in Focus! (see above) with Freelancers in the
UK (www.freelancersintheuk.co.uk).
Permission to create article also for Jan Murray (freelance journalist) website.....outlining how a VA may assist a journalist
- http://www.janmurray.co.uk/index.html
Watch this space!!!
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