The Un-Business Podcast
Welcome to The Un-Business Podcast, the go-to place for biz owners who are forging their own path in the business world! Hosted by the vibrant duo, Rosie Shilo and Amber Field, who will be diving deep into way more than just VAs and outsourcing. This podcast is all about the real stuff – self-care, mindset, and the nitty-gritty realities of running a business. Here’s the deal: We’re not buying into society’s idea of success. Nope, we’re all about talking shop in the real world and showing you that you can run a business your own darn way. No need to hide who you are – imperfections and all!
Episodes
This episode is our last one for 2024, and we talk about an experience that Amber had recently when attending an in-person meeting with a potential client.
We are used to attending job interviews, or networking events, and not really thinking too much about them. We might tell people where we’re going, or ask friends to join us, but generally they’re just taken in our stride.
But what happens when we are meeting someone for a bus...
This is such a great achievement - we’ve reached 20 episodes of The Un-Business Podcast! Between the 2 of us blending businesses, families, employment, communities, being social humans, and all the things that come with life in general, we are SO bluddy proud to reach this milestone.
In this episode we actually introduce ourselves - yes, really! We realised that we’ve made it this far into your minds, but have never actually talked...
Marisa Hodson has been in the VA industry for almost 5 years - this realisation comes to her during this episode when she’s talking about some of her experiences while she’s been in business.
This conversation is a raw and open discussion about fear around money, fear around celebrating the wins (because we worry about when “will the good thing end?”), and how we can get caught in a spiral of self doubt. We talk about mental health...
We aren’t talking tips about marketing etc - today we are talking about how many VAs like to hide behind their computer instead of getting out in front of their audience. Why? What is the fear? What are some solutions? Is it introversion or is it something deeper?
What are some ways to take those baby steps to come around from behind the screens? How can you build your ‘know, like and trust’ factors without making yourself hideous...
We all know agreement docs are super important. But why do we often just include the legal stuff and forget about the real stuff that looks at managing expectations as HUMANS.
In this episode we chat about some of the extra clauses you might want to consider (we aren’t lawyers though, so always get advice from your lawyer or solicitor) so that you can exit an agreement when poor behaviour shows up.
Knowing your version of success and being ok with it (especially when it looks different from someone else's)
Part of Rosie’s mentoring with VAs is around understanding what our version of success looks like, and tuning into that mindset shift. We can’t be doing what everyone else is doing, because we all have different circumstances.
In this episode we get real about the seasons of change and how they will evolve just as we do...
Jemimah Ashleigh is an award-winning entrepreneur, best-selling author and keynote speaker. After a thirteen year career in law enforcement, Jemimah left the Australian Federal Police and has since gone on to start multiple six figure businesses, release a best-selling book, win multiple awards and in 2024 was named one of Australia's top 10 entrepreneurs.
Her business The Visibility Lab, helps small business owners grow and...
Marianne sent us a brilliant question for discussion:
“How do we reframe our language and mindset to stop using terms like ‘just an admin’ or just a VA’ – or the word JUST in general – when talking about what we do with others?
What are some of the ways we can reframe and reword our language (particularly emails!) where we use apologetic language? As admin, we are often made to feel like we are quite a way down the ladder of import...
Have you been blending paid employment with self employment? Or are you toying with the idea of returning to a job - whether that be casual, part time or full time?
If so, this episode is for you.
Rosie made an announcement this week that after 20 years she has taken on a part-time position - a REAL LIFE ONE with paid Superannuation, people and she leaves the house! And we’re all here with her, cheering her on. It’s opened up some ...
When Marisa from Your Virtual Desk sent through the question “How to put a stop to feeling like you always need to be on” both of us let out a knowing sigh. This is something that we can all relate to when working in a remote environment. It’s an experience that comes with a bit of a gut punch when you start to dig a little deeper, and we share our tips on how we’ve helped to reduce the ‘always on’ mentality in our businesses.
In t...
When you’re a solo-operator working across multiple clients in different levels of support, taking time off requires a whole new level of navigation – regardless of the type of service you offer. In this episode Amber talks about the lessons she learnt when wanting to take time off for school holidays, and introduces a term called ‘RAP’ (Reduced Activity Period).
There’s also a hint of cheek and awkwardness that starts to come thro...
In this episode we answer Sarah's question which was: "How do I build healthy habits around invoicing when struggling with mental health?" Sarah's question goes on to share that consistency and confidence can be affected when she gets burnt out or is going through a rocky mental health phase. It's a beautiful question and we thank Sarah for asking and sharing with us. We discuss our thoughts on this concern...
In this episode we answer a question from one of our awesome listeners, Amanda Primrose from Streamlined Organising who asked "what do you think about having a virtual assistant team to service your clients?"
Great question!
So we dig into the pros and cons of setting up a team in your VA business, exploring the realities of subcontractors and how they are often priced differently, the benefits to clients, the challenges ...
How much information should you share with clients about your personal situation?
This great question was sent to us by the lovely Shauna from Shauna Upson Copywriting.
"How much would you tell potential clients about your medical/personal circumstances/kids etc that will affect your working hours, - all of it or none of it, or perhaps just set boundaries that allow you to function around personal stuff without anyone...
Working from home comes with it's own list of challenges so in this episode Amber interviews Rosie about her experience of working from home for 2 decades and her tips on how to make it work for you.
Don't forget, if you have a question you want us to answer, let us know via this form - https://bit.ly/4dnQj8s
Every service based business works out pretty early on that you have to kiss some frogs to really refine who you will and won't work with.
In this episode Rosie chats with guest co-host Marisa Hodson about nightmare clients, red flags and the real cost of working with 'anyone'.
We also chat about what some of our favourite clients do to make us love them - and trust me, it's not complicated!
We hope you enjoy this ...
In this very special episode we welcome Leanne Woff, Fleur Gowland and Tahlia Meredith into the fold to talk about how VAs simply cannot be referred to as 'just' anything.
They are so much more and should never be described as 'just'.
In this episode we look at the amazing services these 3 women plus our own Amber, offer and how they can impact more than just the expected business outcomes.
“I need to earn some extra cash on the side.”
“Become a VA!” suggests the internet.
In this episode we touch on a few (ok, more than a few) reasons as to why not everyone is suited to being a Virtual Assistant.
Amongst others, we look back at our favourite topics – boundaries and pricing – because these are just a couple of the great reasons as to why being a VA may not be the ideal business model. Just because you can pull weeds o...
Have you experienced burnout?
It’s a very real, and often very debilitating condition (side note: it’s actually NOT classed as a medical condition at all – it’s considered as an occupational phenomenon... ironic, huh..).
Rosie and Amber talk openly to their experiences with burnout, and they are both very different; they explore how they’re moving through it, and also share insights from some of the members within the Virtually Yo...
Pricing! Oh yeah, we’re going there.
This is an area of contention that so many of us are going to face at some stage.
In this discussion we cover how Amber and Rosie met (hint: $30 per hour isn’t going to cut it), how to set your prices so that it’s not only covering expenses, but it also allows you to pay yourself.
When it comes to setting your prices, there’s no relevant award to consider your prices, and instead, like any busin...
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