by WP-Dev | Jul 16, 2019 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
SARS Implemented Changes – 3 Reasons You Need to Rethink Submitting Your Annual Personal Income Tax Return Today
This year SARS has not only updated their e-filing platform but also made some other notable announcements. Today we’re looking at what this means for the individual taxpayer and if these changes are something to be worried about. Let’s dig in!
The Announcement
In June this year SARS announced that if you (that would be all personal income taxpayers) earn less than R500,000 a year there would be no need to submit a tax return. This limit was set at R350,000 previously. While this sounded like an announcement to celebrate to most, there are hidden implications that few have thought of when they started celebrating not having to submit returns to SARS anymore. Now it also needs to be said that there are conditions attached to this announcement and this was the first bit of crucial information that I saw neglected as people started sharing this announcement in great celebratory fashion on social media. I had a distinct “uh oh” moment when I saw the comments of course, with total disregards for the conditions accompanying this announcement!
3 Possible Implications
At the moment, there are five possible implications that could be highlighted as concerns. So, why would not submitting a return this year get you into hot water later or have you pulling your hair out?
#1 An unbroken record
If you have been submitting returns for the last few years, you are already in the routine of submitting your returns. So why not continue to do so? Yes, I know you hate dealing with SARS! To tell you the truth very few people find it enjoyable, do they? The thing is, up to date you’ve had an unbroken record, don’t you think it’s worth it to keep it that way? What will happen if SARS suddenly changes their minds…AGAIN? And now you have to suddenly run around, compiling docs because you slacked off with your filing… No, that’s not for me!
#2 Need a Tax Clearance Certificate?
You might need one you. Why? To borrow money! Should there ever be a need for you to borrow money of a long term nature i.e. a mortgage for a property, you will usually be requested to provide a TCC (Tax Clearance Certificate) which can only be obtained if ALL returns are submitted and up to date with no outstanding payments, penalties or interest of course.
#3 You won’t get your refund
I left the most meaningful one (to me and of course all sole proprietors like me) for last. If you have been bargaining on that refund cause you overpaid on tax you won’t receive one cent if you don’ submit that return.
In summary
I hope you found this blog informative! Remember if you have any concerns or specific queries please do contact your registered tax practitioner with your questions. Make sure you are informed. Everything isn’t as black and white as it seems. With SARS in any case!
by Karen Wessels | Jul 4, 2019 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
How to Become and STAY Motivated!
Don’t just talk, Just ACT!
Don’t just say, Just SHOW!
Don’t just promise, Just PROVE!
What is the meaning of Motivational?
Relating to the reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way. Promoting the desire or willingness to do or achieve something.
Ways to get and STAY motivated~
- Reviewing one’s goals first thing in the morning and pick one
- Get MOVING!
- Cut your to-do list in half
- Celebrate the little wins, no matter how small
- Getting around the right people
Reviewing one’s goals first thing in the morning and pick ONE
Make a decision, a decision to go ALL the way!
Life gets in the way and distracts us from accomplishing our goals or tasks.
Make a decision to review your goals or dreams list on a daily basis. First thing in the morning is best, with a clear fresh mind. This sets the tone for how your day and your life will progress.
Select just ONE of your goals, start putting together a plan that will help you achieve and focus on your goals and dreams.
I came across an acronym not so long ago, S.M.A.R.T!
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Time-sensitive
Get MOVING!
Procrastination is the key element to “stealing” one’s goals and dreams. STOP! Procrastinating.
To combat procrastination so that you can stay productive and keep moving forward, MAKE yourself happy.
Ways to make yourself happy:
- Show gratitude
- Surround yourself with positive people
- Celebrate the small things in life
- Be charitable
- Do things that you enjoy
- Put on some loud music and dance around the house
I don’t know what YOUR happy button is, FIND it, it will make the world of difference in your life.
Cut your to-do list in half
Having a long to-do list can be really taxing and energy draining. Cut your to-do list in half. Focus on completing the most important tasks first.
Personally, I tackle one, major to do first thing in the morning, this literally boosts my energy ten-fold and gives me the drive to complete many more tasks than I normally wood. The satisfaction of ticking a major task off your list is astounding.
Celebrate the little wins, no matter how small
Small wins may seem like just that – small. Celebrating these wins can help create positive habits. Think of it this way, small wins are progress points on your way to your goal.
How to celebrate the wins: –
- Notice them
- Get excited
- Communicate your small wins
- Reward yourself
Focusing on the small wins helps you break down a large goal into manageable chunks.
Getting around the right people
Get around people who have direction, people who have goals and plan, people who are going somewhere with their lives and have high aspirations.
Move away for negative and toxic people and environments. You do not want to be around people who moan and wine all the time. Life is too short.
Last but by no means the least, as Zig Ziglar says, “You can’t scratch with the turkeys if you want to fly with the eagles.”
by Karen Wessels | Jul 1, 2019 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
The importance of being consistent
To be able to be a top-notch Virtual Assistant, is it extremely important to make sure that you understand that keeping your clients happy and building loyalty takes time. To build this trust you need to build a foundation for a sound working relationship and you need to deliver a consistently high standard of work on an ongoing basis. As a Virtual Assistant, you need to remember that your client’s confidence in you and VA Connect will only increase if you continue to deliver a high standard of work within the deadlines provided to you by your client.
The road is never smooth and naturally, there will be obstacles that need to be overcome. Your clients will understand and they will forgive an occasional mistake, provided the issue is handled quickly and in a professional manner. Clients need to be confident that you will deliver on your deadlines every time, rather than only when it may be convenient for you.
When it comes to flying the VA Connect flag high, there are a few points you need to remember. One spends a considerable amount of time at work and building healthy positive relationships with your clients through consistently high-quality work helps retain your clients and makes for a happy day at work. Bear in mind that all the work that you do for VA Connect ultimately reflects on the VA Connect brand.
If a chink in the armour develops it is up to you to make sure that the issue is resolved timeously. As a Virtual Assistant, it is imperative that your client’s bad experiences are kept to an absolute minimum, even when your service is not necessarily at its highest level. One needs to remember that your client’s journey with VA Connect begins with many promises and expectations. It is up to the Virtual Assistant to deliver on these promises. Your work ethic and quality of work can make or break your client’s expectations. To put this into perspective, a client will tell people about the great service that they have received from VA Connect, however, they will tell even more people about the bad experience that they had with the service.
As the business world takes on a different working environment, clients have a much larger voice than they did in the past and are therefore a lot more demanding and pay more attention to detail. You simply cannot allow any part of the client experience to be jeopardised, as this will ultimately affect the VA brand as a whole. The only way to ensure ongoing success is to pay attention to detail and to provide an impeccable service on an ongoing basis. All virtual assistants need to make sure that they remain focused on the task at hand and strive to consistently achieve and surpass the high standards and deadlines provided by their clients.
By setting consistent goals you ensure your long term success and in turn manage your client’s expectations.
by Karen Wessels | Jun 21, 2019 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
What Is Your WHY? This Is Mine ….
Why do you do what you do?
This is a loaded question and topic as this could pertain to anything, but for the purpose of this article, I am talking mainly in the voice of work at home moms!
Why do you work from home? What prompted your decision to move in this direction?
I think the answer to this question would be pretty obvious for most and is certainly the answer for my WHY – Because of the kids! Obviously, the main reason we decide to leave the corporate rate race is to spend more time with our kids.
The benefits are actually quite plentiful and if it is a possibility for you to take that leap, you should, it will be well worth any sacrifices in the early months.
But surely there must be more than that?
The short answer – YES! Yes, for me there is more. Besides the fact of getting to spend time with my two wonderful boys and watch them grow and live life, I also get to be a contributor to the household financially. I still get to have an inch of independence while being a mother and a provider.
I think that the career path I have chosen, to be a Virtual Assistant, means that I also grow as a person because let’s face it, it takes a certain amount of will and discipline to actually motivate yourself to work when your office is essentially your bedroom, lounge, dining area – or if you’re super organised you have an actual office just for work (me … it’s the corner of my living room where I get the most natural light).
The challenges you take on in this WAHM role should also be your WHY! I know that it is also part of my WHY!
Just to add to reasons why, I think there are also times when a work at home career comes about due to debilitating illness which perhaps makes it difficult to work full time. Thank goodness we have this option, where you are now able to once again be independent financially, but you can also take care of YOU and focus on your wellbeing.
This was also, in part, what prompted me to move away from retail as I suffer from mild fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis and standing for hours on end was just not working for me.
Now I can work in comfort, virtually stress-free (excuse the pun) and I have never been happier, or healthier.
In Conclusion
So, in conclusion, your WHY for working from home, or even any sort of change you may make, is dependent on many factors and for the most part making those decisions can breathe new life into you and those around you.
Also knowing why you are doing it makes it that much easier to actually stay on track. Rather than just doing it for the sake of doing it.
When times are tough, and I start questioning – WHY? – I look at my kids and I think to myself, “They are why”, and that is all I need to know. I am also mindful that they learn from what they see, so I always make them aware of the fact that hard work pays off. Discipline pays off. No fear – PAYS OFF!
So, what is your WHY?
by Karen Wessels | Jun 18, 2019 | Entrepreneur, Virtual Assistant
Setting boundaries and rules whilst maintaining good work ethic as a VA
Developing your boundaries is a crucial step to creating and maintaining a healthy relationship with your clients.
Boundaries come in many shapes and forms and when you consider that you are working with many different personalities who may not think the same way. It’s really important that you teach them how to treat you. If you let someone cross your boundaries, they will be taught that it’s okay. Set your boundaries, and then stick to them. You’ll run a better business, and your clients will appreciate it too!
Boundaries are key to a successful VA/Client relationship. Make sure that time, energy, and integrity are protected for everyone involved. The biggest and most rewarding client interactions come from my boundaries around communication.
Your clients will appreciate knowing the rules and respect you for setting and communicating them with confidence.
Focus on Exceptional Communication
- Timely, efficient communication should be a priority. Of course, communication with a single client should not consistently and unreasonably encroach on your personal time or negatively affect your productivity. However, being available demonstrates that your client’s project and satisfaction are important to you.
- In addition to timely and thorough communication, it’s also important to make your clients feel comfortable being open and honest with you. They should feel that their ideas and concerns will be taken seriously.
It is all about compromise
Yes it really is all about compromise especially when you are working as a virtual assistant. Concentrate on doing most of your work during working hours, be available when there is a crisis and turn your phone/ laptop off when you need a bit of YOU time!
Obviously it does not matter what boundaries we set and precautions we take, other people are not always going to follow our lead. It’s up to us to set, and keep, those boundaries, no matter how difficult it might be at the time. I would say that it’s vital to our health to do this.
Good work ethics, transparency and personal integrity are three key aspects that every virtual assistant needs. We define integrity for a virtual worker as having personal standards that will not be broken by the opinion of others.
Rules to follow
- First, do not create situations that you will later regret.
- Second, people will act as we allow them to. If you don’t say something when something isn’t right, then the person assumes it is okay.
- Third, professionally communicate when setting boundaries yet be firm.
Action steps to implement:
- Develop your ideal day.
- Set your boundaries based on your ideal day.
- Communicate those boundaries to potential and current clients
- Address any issues immediately before it gets out of hand and becomes a strain on the working relationship.
Conclusion
Setting healthy boundaries is good for you and your client. It teaches them how to work with you in a way that stimulates win-win situations.
Effective boundaries create positive client relationships.
by Karen Wessels | Jun 10, 2019 | Entrepreneurs, Virtual Assistant
Why Successful Entrepreneurs Choose Extra Help in Their Business
Nowadays, business owners are looking for supportive solutions for generating more profits. Entrepreneurs, who succeed in their business, perform two things very well:
- They proceed with business objectives strategically.
- They make utilization of the resources available and remain positive with the outcome.
As your business starts to grow, your workload starts increasing and at the end of the day, you think:
“How can I manage this pressure all on my own?”
If you analyse this situation well, you would understand that you need an alternative to hiring a full-time employee. So, what is the best option for you?
Seek help from a virtual assistant and achieve more than your expectations.
Wondering who are Virtual Assistants?
In the simplest sense of the term, virtual assistants are self-employed experts, who work for clients from a remote location. With specific skills sets, they can serve multiple clients and work on different projects. They work according to the specifications provided by the client and offer a wide range of affordable services. With their top-notch assistance, you’ll get things done easily and within the deadline.
So, Why Successful Entrepreneurs Choose Extra Help in Their Business?
VA’s push Business Growth:
You cannot work on all the tasks yourself. Having an “EXTRA HAND” on projects is essential to your business growth. COLLABORATION is a powerful tool that will take your business to the next level. Your business can flourish with strategic partnerships and shared interests.
Decreased Operational Costs:
By having a VA, you save expenses for office space, maintenance cost and additional expenses.
Reduced Workload:
As a business owner, your important tasks can often get overshadowed due to your jam-packed schedule. In such circumstances, VA’s might come handy, as they can focus on several crucial tasks. VA’s can decrease your work-related stress, and help you keep everything organized. They make sure that these tasks get completed within the stipulated time frame.
Focus on The Core Operations:
As an entrepreneur, you need more time to focus on your core business functions. On the other hand, not everything requires your direct attention. You can manage it all by simply asking your VA to take care of your routine tasks. They would provide personal as well as administrative support, providing you with more time to focus on the most crucial aspects.
“Every successful entrepreneur knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together”– Paul Ryan
