Category: Core Resource

To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

On the virtual side of networking (Social Media) there are so many more support groups that can be reached globally of you so wish. There are so many support groups to choose from but the key is to choose wisely and to choose which ones that are going to be the most active but productive at the same time. The Groups that will have a return on your investment (time being the investment of engagement). I am part of 2 Virtual Assistant Support Groups both in Ireland and the UK. It is great to be part of a group in your own occupation area. You need to be engaging on Social Media for there to be any chance of business been done. It is easy to get your content created beautifully and strategically but you need to work that room as the saying goes. You need to be chatting, retweeting, quoting those retweets, sharing on Facebook, liking, commenting. Whatever the platform (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat or LinkedIn) you need to be using it the same way as you would engage in the physical side of networking. Be nice, do a favour and a favour gets returned. It costs you nothing to be nice. You never know where social engagement will lead you and it is all from the comfort of your couch and a cup of tea at hand. Virtual Networking Groups have specific hours in which to engage with too. Just include their hashtag (e.g #Wexfordhour) and off you go networking. Social Media engagement has incredible benefits but you cannot beat connecting with someone face to face but social engagement can be first step in that ladder in connecting. As the old saying goes “People buy from People”. As my business is B2B, it is impeccable that I get out there and work that room both physically and virtually.

Starting out in business and for those days that you feel like you are blowing in the wind with no direction, these Networking Groups really offer great reassurance of support. You will discover that everyone is in the same boat as you. An answer is only a question away. As one guest speaker said “the only stupid question, is the one in your head – let it out”. If you are at working from home, a question can be put to a virtual group and an even bigger question can then be discussed in person at a Networking Group. Try and schedule into your diary at least every 2 weeks at a minimum to get out and there mingle with other business owners in your area and beyond. Other business owners who have been around much longer have a wealth of experience that no money can buy. Engage and utilise this information to your advantage. You never know what past experience you can pull on in helping them out too with a potential lead and solution to a problem. Support doesn’t just wear a hat of problem solving and lead generation, it also acts as an encouragement tool to keep going. “Well done you are doing a great job” and “you’re doing all the right things” and “just keep the pedal on the throttle”. All support is welcome so take it on board and use it.

This really is the main driving force behind all Networking Groups both physically and virtually. All businesses need to be continuously and actively looking for new business. Even if your calendar is full, you never know when those orders and appointments will dry up. Nothing is guaranteed in life and especially in business. Networking Groups are a breeding ground for leads and eventual business. It’s like the world wide web…. a small connection can lead to a bigger connection and so the cycle continues and intertwines for everyone involved. It’s like throwing a small pebble into calm lake and watching the ripple effects. Use your peers to gain what you require to drive your business forward. Who knows where it might lead.

Your business constantly needs to grow. By attending Networking Groups, you learn from other businesses attending and from guest speakers their expertise and knowledge. You can also avail of 1 to 1’s with members of the group. This is a great way of picking each other’s brains for the benefit of both of you involved. Always go in with an open mind to learning. Every day is a learning curve, and there’s always more room to learn. Putting this new knowledge into practice is where your business will really grow. By engaging on social media with like-minded people you will learn so much too from their expertise.

One of the things that I hadn’t considered when setting up my own business as a Virtual Assistant was my confidence. I was so excited about being able to start back to work that I hadn’t factored this in. I was having to put myself “out there” 100% of the time. As a business owner you are the business, front, back and sides. You cannot sit at your desk and think the work is going to land on your lap. It doesn’t work like that, you need to get out and sell yourself. It is nerve wrecking walking into a room full of strangers who you have to convince that they should be using your service. When you have been out of the work scene for a while it does take that bit longer to gain back that confidence. But by continually networking both off-line and online your confidence does start to make an appearance again and nothing will stop you now in achieving your goals.

One of the things I love in life is friendship. Friendship with friends and family. Throughout your late teens and twenties, you were pushed out of your comfort zone of your family. You then had to make new friendships out in the big bad world or you would sink. Friendship keeps you going when you move away from home, start college, start a new job and move countries and even counties / cities. I really enjoyed meeting new people and if a friendship develops then that’s the icing on the cake. I am really enjoying developing new business friendships from Networking Groups that I have attended and from engaging online. What I am loving is meeting people in real life and twigging that you already know them from the social media world of Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. You know then that social media and the old fashioned way of talking with people is working in tandem together.

Why am I writing this blog?

As explained in my last blog, is to give my readers an insight into my journey setting up my very first business by myself. What is that business??? I am a Virtual Assistant. Yes, a Virtual Assistant is one of the next 6 “Big Things” in #tech world. Fabulous is what I think.

Imagine all of us Personal Assistants who don’t live near the Capital or any of the large major cities and are not able to tap into the recruitment circle that is the hive of activity that goes with living near these areas’ in Ireland. There is actually a way now thanks to Wi-Fi to tap into this hive of activity and that is being Virtual.

Why had no one told me about this concept before, why had I not thought of this before?? Oh yes too busy wiping bums, wiping spills and all that goes with condensing all of time into my fabulous 4 children and husband for the past 4 years. Did I mention my husband is a dairy farmer? Dairy Farmers come with very special T&C’s especially when you are married to one.

Perfect I found a career path that I loved the sound of but what makes me qualified to work for an entrepreneur and small businesses completing their administration tasks on their behalf…virtually.

1. Education
2. Years of Work Experience as a Personal Assistant & Office Manager
3. Working in a multitude of different Industries
4. Combination of the above
5. Being a Parent

I have a BBS Degree specialising in Human Resources from Waterford Institute of Technology

I have over 13 years’ experience as a Personal Assistant to Directors, CEO’s and VP’s. I have worked as an Office Manager in small sized companies completing all operational tasks for an umbrella of multitude of departments. All departments in the company being me.

I have worked in various industries over the years. I have worked in the IT recruitment sector, construction, commercial property, call centre, natural energy, enterprise within the education system, manufacturing waste equipment, accountancy and medical device industries.

Just knowing all of the above combined together gives me the confidence to carry out businesses tasks to the standard that was required of me in all of my roles. Along with me wanting to give 100% all of the time.

How can being a parent qualify me? Being a parent requires you to be good at multi-tasking, especially being a mother of 4 along with a husband who has a job that requires him to work 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. (Don’t worry he gets 1 week off during the year – the joys of your own business in the agriculture sector). Multi-tasking to survive combined with fantastic time management skills will allow you to execute the multi-tasking of the jobs in hand. So the cycle continues.

To find out more email geraldine@upcore.blackstairsdemo.com or contact Geraldine on 087 7743205

www.coreresource.ie | Professional Business Services

I had a thought, almost a light bulb moment, Eureka…”why don’t I write my own blog”!!!! But about what!!!
This is all while I was hanging out the wet clothes on the clothes horse at 9pm one night. What about, I thought, maybe I could write about, “what’s it like to be a near 40-year-old young girl setting up her own business”. Would anyone be interested in the fact that it has been nearly 4 years since she has used her intellectual brain??? I am sure there has to be someone out there that might want to read about my start up butterfly’s moments and the self-confidence struggle of “can I really do this”???

Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Geraldine or Geraldine Anne if my mother was introducing me or Deanie if it was my siblings. Ger is also a name I trade by, with my in-laws and all those who know me from my Cork days.
Geraldine, Geraldine Anne, Deanie, Ger, well she is just 40 (yikes and just don’t go there) and has a business degree along with years and years of experience working in the real world as a Recruitment Administrator, Recruitment Consultant (in the good old days of the Celtic tiger years), Receptionist, Office Administrator, Office Manager and (drum roll) a Personal Assistant.

I might as well throw in the little big fact that I am married to Wally (Walter Junior) and we have 4 beautiful children because they just are beautiful. Anna (Anna Marie) 13, Laura (Laura Rose) 9, Sarah (Sarah Grace) 7 & finally but no less least Tom (Tom Walter and not Walter Junior Junior) 3. There are enough Walter’s living down one lane and to add another Walter into the confusion mix, just was not worth it. Oh and did I mention, Wally is a farmer, a dairy farmer at that.

Back to the drum roll moment…Yes I was a Personal Assistant up until December 2013. I then took redundancy and 3 months later or so Tom (Tom Walter) arrived. Obviously I have been very busy in the last four years since…mammy busy…which can be just as demanding as any boss!!

I hadn’t been really given any thought to using my intellectual part of my brain until recently enough. The “summer strains” were to starting to show and I am sure you are wondering what the heck does she mean by “summer strains”. The “summer strains” for me was having all 4 kids at home in the one house at the one time 24/7…..do not get me wrong any mother who stays at home knows what I am saying. We all feel the same …if you don’t, your just not admitting to it to yourself, just yet. Anyway this “summer strain” look must have been written all over my face by all the new wrinkles and pounds appearing on my face, boobs and ass. Sprinkle some fairy dust magic and along came by entrepreneur sister, Angela (Angela of Lodge Road Therapy Fame – if I used her second name she would never talk to me again!!) who runs a very successful local business networking group for small business owners (Better Business Breakfast Group in New Ross). Angela invited me to one of those meetings because she thought maybe I might find it interesting. OMG what the hell would I have to offer the group but hey I am not one that is going to throw away an opportunity to help eliminate my summer strains and even better tap into a part of my brain that had not been used in some time……..