Remote Working - Tech, Team, Trust

I've been hiding a little bit over recent weeks. Please don't think I had the intention to suddenly disappear. Back on it now. :)

Save yourself some time and repurpose your content on social media. Here's how I make that work in my business.

Just a little mindset game I try to use whenever I find myself on a downward spiral based on fear and negativity...

How do you build trust with people you've never met? I have some ideas here, specifically around hiring a VA.

How planning this way sets me up for success.

Parkinson's Law and egg timers for the win!

Forget about what you're going to start doing this year, let's focus on what we're going to STOP doing.

What's it really been like behind the scenes this year?

Podcast update: Happy holidays! We had such a lovely Christmas (aside from the Santa disaster - did you hear how Freya received two rollerskates for the same foot? Gah!). BUT in between all that drama and not quite knowing which day of the week it is thanks to Crimbo Limbo, series two of the podcast is now out

Clue: not many!   Let's explore the top 10 tools I've used in 2019.   If you're a business owner who's ready to use that acronym and change their life by hiring a VA, feel free to download my guide here: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/delegate   If you're a VA looking for more work: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/VA   Website: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/   Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriatretis/  

Should you work smarter or delegate?   My interview on Hardwired for Growth is here: https://bretttrainor.com/podcast/ If you're a business owner who's ready to use that acronym and change their life by hiring a VA, feel free to download my guide here: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/delegate If you're a VA looking for more work: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/VA Website: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/ Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriatretis/

There are four little letters that totally revolutionised my attitude towards life... If you're a business owner who's ready to use that acronym and change their life by hiring a VA, feel free to download my guide here: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/delegate

What's the one reason why we don't have enough time? By the way, if you're thinking about working with a VA but don't know where to start, download my free guide: https://more.victoriatretis.co.uk/delegate

Today I’m joined by Jen and Mar from Interior Fox.  These two awesome ladies offer affordable interior design, and I was keen to invite them on the show after they totally transformed areas of my own home thanks to their design services. In today’s show, Jen and Mar talk about how having an office environment and colour scheme that suits your personality is the key to creating a perfect home working environment, how their own personalities and approaches to social media tuned out to be entirely complementary, and how showing up consistently on Instagram over several years led to building trust clients they have never met, as well as an awesome collaboration with H&M Home (although I say Stores in the show – sorry!). What I think you’re going to really enjoy hearing, is how much they differ when it comes to work/life balance, and they’ve found their own ways to set themselves up for success when they wake up each day. All of the social media links are in the show notes, so please do check out Interior Fox on Instagram if you’d like to see some beautiful interior design and to learn more about what we’re talking about today. Read the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-011/ More info:  Twitter: @theinteriorfox www.interiorfox.co.uk

I’m super excited to have Pete Konieczko-Hansom, Director at James Legal with me today. Pete and I have known each other from primary school, and I think it’s fair to say we bonded over our hatred of choir practice back in the 80s. As time went on, Pete qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and his company helped me when I was going through a redundancy, and then also when I started my own business and needed guidance on contracts, company structures, and all that legal stuff. And as he’s a solicitor who specialises in corporate and commercial law, I really wanted to pick his clever brain on contracts – are they absolutely necessary for peace of mind with clients? Or are they just yet another expenses when starting out? And for those of us who don’t have a legal background, what wording should we be looking out for if we don’t understand what we’re reading? There’s even reference to Battle of the Forms which I thought sounded like a Game of Thrones reference, but Pete managed to explain it all in plain English. Read the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-010/   More Pete-tastic info: Originally from Melton Mowbray I moved to East Yorkshire in 2006 and qualified as a solicitor in 2008, specialising in corporate/commercial law. I have worked in a number of firms across Yorkshire and have advised clients ranging from international PLCs to brand new start-ups. I am married with two children and my hobbies include running, surfing and reading a good sci do/fantasy book. www.jameslegal.co.uk LinkedIn.com/James-legal-limited uk.linkedin.com/in/petekh

In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Stuart Pigram of The Trust Insurance Group. For complete transparency, I do have my own business insurance with Trust, and I was keen to invite Stuart on the show to talk about whether insurance is yet another paperwork exercise when setting up, or whether it can bring peace of mind to policy holders. I think you’re going to enjoy Stuart doing his best to convince us that insurance isn’t dull, and therefore he’s not dull by association – because he’s really not! In our conversation, we talk about the perceived risks with running a business, the downsides of both over- and under-insurance, and the changes he’s made within his business so that he can offer better flexible working opportunities to his team. Read the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-009/ More Stuart-tastic info: Stuart Pigram is Managing Director of the Trust Insurance Group. With over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, he takes pride in advising clients throughout the UK on how they can minimise risk and protect their business. In his spare time Stuart is a keen runner and cyclist. https://www.thetrustgroup.co.uk/

I’m so excited to welcome Gemma Stow to today’s show.. because you'll hear me in full #fangirl mode!  Gemma helps female introvert leaders to have more impact and presence by increasing their confidence around self-promotion. I thought this was super topical for the show because many people who are working remotely are doing so in isolation - perhaps because they recognise themselves as an introvert and therefore this suits them down to the ground! Whether you're male or female, I think you’re really going to enjoy Gemma’s insights into how introverts can thrive in a networking environment, how they can promote without feeling icky, and what she really thinks of the “fake it till you make it” idea. Read through the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-008/ More Gemma-tastic info: Gemma’s mission “No More Hiding’, encourages women to be more visible and be the next version of themselves that their work demands. She is an ICF accredited coach and has studied NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy that all forms part of her high level coaching / mentoring practice. She is very passionate at working with people who are ready to unlock their potential they are hiding away or just don’t believe is there. As a former probation officer, a director of her first company working with young people with challenging behaviour and now empowering introvert business leaders to step up – she leads by example sharing her own journey of the ups and downs, failures and successes that have led her to where she is today. Club Fierce: Networking for Introverts - the place to be for female introverts to gain confidence and practice networking online and at face to face events: http://bit.ly/cfnetworkingforintroverts Creator of "Introverts Inspire" Podcast. Join Gemma’s private community for female introverts in business Nominated for “Business Women of the Year” by Yorkshire Choice Awards 2018 /Winner of Network She Award 2015 www.gemmastow.com / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn   

Sidel Stewart who is the Possibility Ambassador at Onit! Communications joins me on today's Remote Working podcast. Although Sid’s usually based in London, she recently spent six months working in beautiful Barbados. So I wanted to explore the digital nomad lifestyle with Sid and pick her brain on all things to do with the technology she uses to communicate with her clients and manage their deliverables and expectations from afar,  all the way through to how to build trust with the clients she may never meet. I think you’re really going to enjoy hearing Sid talk how she adjusted her routine in Barbados in order to support her clients during UK hours… and whether she’d work somewhere that’s behind when it comes to time zones in the future. All of the social media links are in the show notes, so do go ahead and connect with her if you’d like to learn more about what we’re talking about today. More Sidel-tastic info: www.onitcommunications.co.uk @SidelStewart on Instagram and Facebook LinkedIn: Sidel Stewart

In this episode, I’m joined by Wendy Harris from WAG Associates. And you’ll have to listen to find out whether that’s something to do with Wives and Girlfriends of the rich and famous. In all seriousness, Wendy and I met on social media and I was immediately drawn to how much energy she had! No wonder she’s brilliant at telemarketing! In the show, Wendy explains why picking up the phone is sometimes the best thing you can do, as well as what times you should ring people if you’re making prospective calls yourself. We had a lot of fun on this episode and I know you’re going to really value Wendy’s insight into all things remote working.   Read the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-006/

It was the podcast’s official launch just last week, so I just want to send huge and massive thanks to everyone who subscribed, listened, rated and reviewed the show! With your help, I’m pretty darn amazed to say that we hit the top 20 of the Apple Podcast chart for entrepreneurship here in the UK. Now, admittedly, it was just for one day, but hey! That was rather unexpected! The truth is that a podcast without listeners is as much use as a chocolate teapot, so thank you for supporting me in this way. And extra thanks goes to DropCapCopy_Graeme, John Espirian, Essjae, Dooners and Demeternoth for your kind reviews. Now, for today’s special guest. I’m joined by Emma Peradon from The Flying PA. Emma has over 25 years’ experience across various industries and is both a super savvy Virtual PA and digital nomad. Emma’s love of travelling started in her teens, and just last year she packed up her life here in the UK and took her business on the road throughout Europe. In this episode, you’ll hear exactly how Emma’s balanced that desire to travel with her career, as well as the super impressive extreme lengths she’s gone to just to ensure she provides the best possible service to her clients while she’s travelling. If you liked today’s episode, please do leave a review. It will only take a moment of your time and I will be forever in your debt. Thank you so much. More Emma-related things: www.flyingpa.co.uk http://linkedin.com/in/flyingpa Twitter: @Flying_PA Facebook: @flyingpa Read the show notes here:  https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/005/

As I will explain in the episode, Amy and I met online and I invited her on the show, mostly to talk about how social media can be such a double-edged sword. On one hand it is great because it helps with marketing and connects us with our audience. But at the same time, social media users are feeling more disconnected than ever. Because Amy’s such fun, we spoke about all of that and more. Read the show notes here: www.victoriatretis.co.uk/004

Sarah-Jane has over 30 years of experience as a career assistant, first working in the legal industry, and then the music business, part of which was spent as part of the management team for one of the most well-known bands in the UK. I shall leave it to her to tell you who that was. I think you aree going to love what she has to say about building trust, her references to a manual typewriter, and her thoughts on remote working more broadly. Read the show notes here: www.victoriatretis.co.uk/003

Today I’m joined by Ed Goodman who is a Freelance Digital Marketing / Social Media Trainer, and Founder of the award-winning Freelance Heroes - an online community of 7500+ UK freelancers. As I’ll explain in the episode, I was super keen for Ed to come on the show because I really wanted to learn more about why he set up Freelance Heroes and how the wonderful sense of community is helping combat loneliness and isolation for those who are working on their own. We also talk about Freelance Heroes Day and how the event’s hashtag was trending on Twitter, all the way through to what tech he relies on to run his business. More Ed-related things: www.freelance-heroes.com twitter.com/FHChat https://www.facebook.com/groups/freelanceheroes/   Read the show notes here:  www.victoriatretis.co.uk/002

In the opening episode of the Remote Working podcast, we cover the top three biggest challenges when it comes to working remotely, as mentioned by remote workers in a recent survey conducted. Going forward in this series, we will talk about these key themes with our special guests and discuss common issues for remote workers, and how to set us all up for success. Read the show notes here: https://www.victoriatretis.co.uk/episode-001/