Why You Should Implement Workflow Processes to Gain Traction in the New Year

What else do you accomplish by creating that workflow?

1. Create more mental space by having all of the steps laid out.

Entrepreneurs’ brains are full of ideas, strategies, and things to knock off to-do lists. You do not need to recreate the wheel of every multiple-step business operation you do each time, whether creating a blog post or coordinating an annual event. Make a list on your phone's notes app or task management software (pro tip: Asana and Trello have free versions). As a bonus, your list will hold you accountable to the non-essential but essential sub-tasks that may fall prey to procrastination, like updating databases or sending thank-you notes. With the extra mental space you create, you may happen upon your next great idea. Bring on the lightbulb moments!

2. Make it easy for someone to help you.

Sometimes you could use some help: sickness, PCSing, deployments, busy seasons, launches, periods of burnout, etc. Would you be ready to hand over tasks if you need to? You could easily outsource your work if you have a workflow for each repeating aspect of your business. If you’re ready to hire help, check out AMSE partners: WISE Advise + Assist Team.

3. Gain a bigger-picture view of your operations.

How difficult is it to prioritize your week or plan ahead for the months, quarters, or years ahead? Are you being efficient with your time and devoting it to high-impact activities? Are multiple people spending time on the same things? Would one task be more straightforward if another were completed first? Do deadlines sneak up on you? If you have workflow processes in place, you’ll be able to see where you’re at in the short term, prioritize your time, determine whether you can take on more work, assess whether you need help, eliminate inefficiencies and redundancies, and plan for the future. 

When you’re caught up in the busyness of handling all of the aspects of your business – often as a solopreneur or member of a small team – it can be hard to dedicate time to creating a workflow for each repeating operation of your business. However, if you invest that time, you will produce more mental space, make it easy to solicit help, and have a better view of all aspects of your business. Gain traction in your entrepreneurial goals for the new year. Turn those pothole-filled gravel roads of 2022 into a paved interstate in 2023 by implementing workflow processes now!

Written by Kimberly Bacso- AMSE Contributor

3 Upgrades You Need for Your Home Office

If you have been a military spouse entrepreneur for long, chances are, you’ve conducted remote work anywhere you can set up your laptop and get service on your phone. Raise your hand if you’ve ever used a moving box, storage bin, or flimsy card table for a desk! I used all three at various stages during last summer’s PCS alone when we were supposed to have a door-to-door move but it ended up taking more than a month to get our household goods because the moving company couldn’t find a crew to unload the truck. 

But, just because you CAN work anywhere with only the barest of necessities doesn’t mean you should. If you spend a third of your day (or likely more) sitting in your home office, it’s time to uplevel the comfort and joy factors with some upgrades. 

Here are three home office upgrades I started using in the last year that have been gamechangers:

UPGRADE YOUR OFFICE CHAIR

One advantage from working from home is that you can roam the house with your laptop. However, you may not always achieve the best ergonomics and you may start to have consequences show up in the form of migraines, stiff shoulders and neck, achy back, wrist pain, etc. 

I had all of the above, so when I started doing work that significantly increased my time in front of a computer, I knew I needed to invest in a really good office chair with lumbar support and the ability to adjust seat and armrest height. After reading reviews and sitting in as many chairs I could find, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair was unmatched in comfort, adjustability, and size inclusivity (I’m only 5’2” so most chairs are too big!).   

And I do mean invest. These chairs come with a four-digit price tag that can make a dent in a military family budget, but I was able to find one used on Craig’s List for a decent price. One of my favorite things is that I don’t kill my ankle bones when I throw ergonomics out the window and decide to sit in it cross legged! 

UPGRADE YOUR DESK

Any flat surface will work, right? Nope! I sometimes spend more than half of my workday on video calls and I had two issues—my laptop sat way too low to be flattering or comfortable, and that’s way too many hours to be sitting in a chair. I was typically spending more hours of my day sitting than sleeping! So, I succumbed to an Instagram ad and purchased the Harmoni Stand-Up Desk. It lives up to the hype! It allows me to choose a good height for video calls whether I’m sitting or standing, and it allows me to stand during meetings if I choose, which significantly reduces the number of hours I spend sitting on my tush. Bonus that it’s a beautiful addition to my office. 

UPGRADE YOUR TO-DO LIST

You could keep your to-do list on your phone, in your planner, or on any piece of paper. I had multiple projects going at once and I needed a way to prioritize and strategize my week as well as keep track of the chosen tasks for the week. Anybody else’s comprehensive to-do list too overwhelming to sort through on the daily? I finally found and upgraded to the Ink + Volt Dashboard that I’ve built into my Friday routine. I review my personal and work calendars for the week ahead, identify three top priorities for the week, outline six focus areas with associated to-dos, and track my three personal wellness non-negotiables. By going through the exercise of completing this dashboard, I’m able to rest better on the weekends because I’ve already reviewed the successes of the last week and have outlined what the week ahead is going to look like. It also helps me communicate needs with my family so nobody’s surprised during the work and school week. 

These three upgrades that I made to my office during the last year have helped me boost my wellness, productivity, and communication! I wish the same for you in the months ahead. What are the best upgrades you’ve made to your home office? 

---

The All-Access Pass gives you even MORE!

✨ Group Coaching every month, with the opportunity to be an AMSE Group Coach yourself!

✨ An exclusive discount in the AMSE Shop!

✨ A FREE 20-second snippet on our official podcast, Owning Up, to promote your business!

✨ A feature on the AMSE Blog - all about you and your business!

✨ Access to the AMSE Cohort, an immersive 7-week course with hands-on coaching through the Building Your Business the AMSE Way coursework with Moni Jefferson.

Learn more about the All-Access Pass and sign up here!

---

For over 20 years, Kimberly Bacso has driven organizational success by leading educational and wellness initiatives. Highly skilled in creating digital content strategies, she’s grown communities with word-of-mouth, grassroots approach. She is a proud U.S. military spouse who has founded thriving brands, transformed struggling outreach efforts, and catalyzed a group of 150+ writers from the ground up within the health and wellness space. When she’s not working, you can find her trying new plant-based recipes or traveling off the beaten path with her husband and teenage daughter. 

---

Creating Opportunities Collaboratively with Freedom Makers

Jenny Boyles knows the struggle to find employment after a career gap. She found herself with a huge hole in her resume after a 15-year hiatus from the workforce. As a military spouse and mother, she took the time to take care of her family and home; yet when she was ready to re-enter the workforce, that resume hole became a sticking point for employers.

So like many of us here at AMSE, Jenny started working for herself.

She signed up at Freedom Makers, a virtual organization that pairs military spouses and organizations for a variety of remote services and positions. Every person is a Freedom Maker and an independent contractor who can set his or her own hours and the type of work he or she prefers. 

Freedom Makers benefits both the employee and the client.

A Freedom Maker is only limited by his or her time and commitment. Freedom Makers can turn down job opportunities and work as little or as much as they choose. This is a job that can be moved around the world or put on hold for life events (think a PCS, family changes, etc.). “As much as they want to work, we will find the opportunity for them,” Jenny stated. “Freedom Makers have freedom.”

A client is offered multiple candidates, chosen by the Freedom Makers team, and can select a candidate that is the right fit for their organization. Since these individuals are not W2 employees, the client is not required to pay for employee benefits like insurance or paid days off. Clients receive the assistance they need to offload tasks to a Freedom Maker who can focus solely on those tasks, allowing the client to work on bigger projects and tasks in their organization.

I was impressed that the organization does not look at resumes when hiring a Freedom Maker! As she pointed out, many military spouses have large gaps in theirs and have to find ways to explain them. No explanation necessary; Freedom Makers gets it. Instead, a candidate fills out an online profile to better assess their skills and qualifications. No dreaded resume submission!

Jenny started off as Freedom Maker herself in 2016 - she knows the benefit of working in this position personally.

Now, she fills the Marketing Manager and Sales position. She is also the Freedom Maker Success Manager, enabling her to assist military spouses just like her in achieving their career goals. AND she is an entrepreneur! Jenny owns her own VA business and credits her success to Freedom Makers. They gave her the tools and support to grow as much as she wanted as she built her business.

As an entrepreneur and Marketing Manager, Jenny was drawn to AMSE.

Both organizations share the same mission of supporting military spouses. Laura Renner, the founder of Freedom Makers, heard about AMSE through Flossie Hall, our COO, and through her own network of professionals. She asked Jenny to reach out, as this partnership was a natural fit to help military spouses on both ends - to start and to excel in their own businesses.

The best part of the partnership is that each organization compliments the other. Freedom Makers helps military spouses start on a career that is flexible to their lifestyle; AMSE helps military spouses build and sustain their business as budding entrepreneurs. There are so many resources from each organization to help you on your entrepreneurial journey!

What is in the future for Freedom Makers?

They were virtual already, but the pandemic caused a demand for virtual and remote workers. They currently have 140+ Freedom Makers right now and are always looking for more! Jenny pointed out that once a client sees the benefits of a remote, contracted virtual assistant, they are likely to continue hiring these workers. Freedom Makers wants to stay ahead of the demand and ensure that they can connect military spouses with clients with ease and efficiency.

If you are interested in Freedom Makers and their mission, visit their website to learn more. You can watch our full interview here as well!

---

Premium Membership is where it’s at!

✨ Group Coaching every month, with the opportunity to be an AMSE Group Coach yourself!

✨ Discount in the AMSE Shop!

✨ A FREE 20-second snippet on our official podcast, Owning Up, to promote your business!

Learn more about Premium membership and sign up here!

---

Rachel is the co-owner and editor of The Military Mom Collective. She has been an Air Force spouse for 17 years and is a mother of four children. She holds a BA in English and a MA in Management. When not busy with work or her family, she enjoys reading as many books as possible and drinking all the coffee.

Rachel is also the Copy Editor at AMSE and a freelance writer. She has been featured onWe Are The Mighty, Her View From Home, AMSE, The Beautifull Project,Hand-in-Hand QC, and other publications. She has been blogging for herself and other organizations for over 10 years. She is always trying to stay on top of SEO practices and loves using the power of experiences and storytelling to empower businesses and individuals.

---

Why You Need to Hire a Virtual Assistant ASAP

Twenty-four hours. That is all the time there is in a single day. While it may sound like a lot of time, in truth there’s only so much you can fit into it. Sometimes, it can feel completely inadequate!

This is especially true for small business owners.

Each day brings a whole lot of things to be done and decisions to be made. Whether you work with an actual checklist or a mental to-do list, getting these things accomplished doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve been productive. Working hard is different from working smart. When you do certain tasks, you will obviously neglect other responsibilities. Every work you do involves a trade-off. 

The question is, “Are you making the right trade-off?”

There might be some legwork that you shouldn’t be doing and it’s robbing you of your best time of the day. It may even be draining you of your creative juices. 

But there is something you can do about that—hire out. Virtual assistants (VAs) help business owners by helping them get their time back. By taking repetitive, boilerplate work off your hands, you get time back. This time can be cashed out, either to work on more important projects or spent relaxing at home!

But how do you know when you need to hire? Here are 5 clues you should look for:

1) You Work For More Than 10 Hours a Day

Small business owners tend to work longer hours than most. You’ll often find yourself taking work you couldn’t fit in during the day home with you long after closing of business. This can often lead to 10-hour (or more!) workdays. One of the biggest culprits is repetitive work such as administrative work, bookkeeping, and responding to emails. Not only is this type of work boring and time-consuming, but it’s also never-ending. The result is a time-poor, overworked business owner.

By handling these repetitive jobs to a virtual assistant, you stand to save considerable time. This translates into less work on your shoulders and more manageable, smarter workdays.

2) You Do Everything—Even When it’s Not Your Thing

As a small business owner, you’ve got it in your mind that you need to be a jack-of-all-trades, competent in everything that occurs in your business. Although that’s admirable, there’s just one problem: you might be out of your wheelhouse. If so, my advice is to step back and let somebody else do it for you.

As VAs perform your non-core activities, you have more time to focus on growing your business. Rather than wasting time and resources in doing day-to-day operations, you can invest it to think strategically about the business from a long-term perspective. This helps you to set goals that guide your company for better performance and long-term success. Sure, you might lose a bit of control. However, the time you get back (not to mention, reduced risk of mistakes) more than makes up for it.

3) The Work is Piling Up

No matter how hard you try, as an entrepreneur, the work never stops. The moment you finish one task, another pops up to take its place. And once you finish that, another two pop up. And it repeats itself over and over.

Sound familiar?

If the tasks keep piling up, it may be time to hire a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants specialize in taking work off your hands. And it’s not just the mundane items. VAs come with many skills and many specialize in everything from finances to travel arrangements. 

4. You Need to Improve Organization.

It's often difficult to identify areas where there may be a repetition or glaring gaps in daily operations. Depending on their individual areas of expertise, a VA can help pinpoint inefficiencies and streamline procedures that can help everything run smoother and increase productivity.

While you probably have the skills to do all or most of your administrative and specialized tasks, you should take an inventory of your day and decide what is the best use of your time. When we are stressed or not at optimum energy, our executive and critical thinking skills suffer. It is more important to work smarter and devote your workday to the areas of your business that require your full attention and energy. 

Make a Change 

When you are ready, there are many resources to help you make the right decision for you. I suggest reaching out to your business networks, such as the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs, which is filled with those who have been there and can give you advice and recommendations. You can also try working with an agency like Wise Advise + Assist and Instant Teams. 

You should approach hiring a VA like any other employee, complete with a detailed job description, interview, references, and a trial period. Do not cut corners—this person will be vital to growing your business. 

No matter what your business size, investing in a VA can be a small amount to pay in order to help maintain a stronger work-life balance that benefits both you, your company, and those in your personal life.

---

Join AMSE today and get all the tools, resources, and community you need to succeed as a milspouse entrepreneur! We also have a Slack channel for members to ask for advice and support, or utilize our member directory in the newest edition of the Military Spouse Entrepreneurship Guide!

---

Noralee Jones is a MILSO of 12 years, mom of 4, and writer/creator at Mrs. Navy Mama. Having experiences with 7 deployments, 4 PCS moves alone and the author of the Self-Care Guide for MILSOs, she is an expert on the importance of taking the time to focus on filling our bodies, minds, and souls with our individual needs in order to make the most out of our lives. She is also the Co-Author of The Newbie’s Guide to Military Life and focuses on supporting MILSOs through the ups and downs of military life through Mrs. Navy Mama. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

---