Arlo Pa Services Limited

So apparently 5.15 is a perfectly acceptable wake up time for Annie Dog (who is now snoring under my desk).
I actually quite like working before the rest of the house wakes up - how about you?
Might need something stronger than decaf tea today ...

Thank you flowers from one of my favourite and longest standing clients today, totally unnecessary but so appreciated! 😍🤩😍🤩

With the school holidays fast approaching, trying to run a small business at the same time can seem hugely daunting.
Here are a few tips for keeping a calm head and not letting your business suffer. Remember, by September you'll think it's passed by in a flash so try and enjoy it :)
I'd love to hear your thoughts or tips!
... https://www.arloprivatepa.co.uk/…/Plan- ahead-for-a-stress-f…
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Minor confession time; when it comes to my own admin and to-do lists I can be a bit of a shambles. It may surprise you that I don't work in a paperless, Zen-like bubble of an office. It all gets done of course but in either a) a mad panic, b) a lightbulb moment or c) by burning the candle at both ends.
I have just started using Trello and it is so, so useful for keeping lists, ticking things off plus there's an app you can download for your phone. It's like a notice board ...so you can have as many (or as few) lists as you like. You can also share lists between colleagues/friends/family so I am planning on introducing this with some of my clients so we can update each other without messaging backwards and forwards. It's FREE too! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
I'm no stationery addict but I do love my paper notebooks - however important notes do tend to get lost among the scribbles so I'm hoping this is really going to spur me on and be my "electronic red pen."
What do you use to keep your to-do list under control?
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Actually logging off before midnight for the first time this week - yay me!
Not quite sure what to do with myself - guaranteed I'll fall asleep on the sofa within 2 minutes of sitting down!

Anyone? No, me neither üòÇüòÇüòÇ

I must say, I love my 5 star highlighter from the Great North Museum: Hancock, inspired by my little 3 year old pal Ava who got the same one! Surely I can't lose this one?!

I've had a bit of a play around with my website today although it's definitely still a work in progress!
I've added my prices, privacy and cookie policies (ooh yum, cookies) as well as my shiny new accreditation badge from VIP VA!
Have a look and let me know what you think?
... https://www.arloprivatepa.co.uk/
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Team meeting done now I'm off to the accountants!

Last one for now!

Next one! Employed or self-employed?

I'm curious to find out who my likers and followers are so I thought I'd do a couple of polls if you wouldn't mind helping me out?
Are you male or female?

Thankfully I have some lucrative stuff in the pipeline BUT this month I have to pay for---
Anti-money laundering regulations with HMRC Partial tax bill Car insurance... Five (yes FIVE) family birthdays Spends for our holiday to Croatia --- and a partridge in a pear tree most likely!
GULP!
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This is really important - if you're outsourcing ANY of your financial admin, make sure they're covered - any reputable VA or bookkeeper won't mind being asked the question, in fact I make sure I tell clients before they ask!
#HMRC #AML #moneylaundering #virtualassistant

What lovely feedback to wake up to today!
"I am a Clinical Psychologist and have been working with Rachel for 3 years now. Rachel’s tag line is very appropriate, she is incredibly flexible. Rachel is also very fast, responsive, accurate and thoughtful in all work I have done with her. Rachel knows a lot of my habits after 3 years and will always sensitively point out that I may have overlooked something and has never been wrong! Rachel manages to remain friendly as well as incredibly efficient and I would highly recommend working with her."

Following on from my phone post yesterday, I should point out I'm certainly not a technophobe - far from it, Arlo wouldn't be here without up to date tech! As a "virtual" PA, I wouldn't have a business without The Cloud and the esteemed Professor Google is my forever friend.
I hate queuing for the bank so luckily that is a rarity thanks to internet banking. I also hate holding on the phone with shocking muzak when so often I can find the information myself within a few secon...ds. On a personal level, YouTube also helped me repressurise my boiler when Mr Arlo was away last winter.
On a freelancer group post earlier, I commented that in 1996 only one PC in my whole German accountancy office of ca. 100 people had access to the internet - imagine that nowadays! We really do take it for granted I think.
What do you think is the best thing that technology has brought us? Or its pitfalls?
Rx
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It's now 20 years since I got my first mobile phone. I remember as I moved back from Germany that same year and I was the only one out of my London friends who didn't have one!
It was a brick of a Nokia and all I could do was text and make calls. It felt like such a luxury at the time though.
... Imagine trying to run a business nowadays with a phone like that? (I know you can still get something similar, and I am sometimes sorely tempted).
On the other hand, phones have become such a distraction, haven't they? We are forever contactable, traceable, under pressure to communicate at all times, with knowledge at our fingertips with just a few clicks. The batteries are so rubbish nowadays, it pretty much doubles as a landline.
I know I couldn't live without my phone, but sometimes think life was somehow simpler without it, how about you?
Rx
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Hooray - everything sent over to my accountant for my self-assessment - always a relief to get that off my desk!

Last one for now!

I'm curious to find out who my likers and followers are so I thought I'd do a couple of polls if you wouldn't mind helping me out?
Are you male or female?

Last one for now!

I'm curious to find out who my likers and followers are so I thought I'd do a couple of polls if you wouldn't mind helping me out?
Are you male or female?