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We’ve gathered the most frequently asked questions and provided the answers in hope that they will also answer some of your own questions. {Click on the question to view the answer}
Are you similar to a Virtual Assistant?
Based on the broad definition from the International Virtual Assistants Association (IVAA) we are because we are independent contractors who (from a remote location, usually their home or office) support multiple clients in a variety of industries by providing administrative, creative, and technical services.
However, most VA’s accept one-time work or occasional piecemeal tasks and projects. From our perspective, administrative support is a collection of ongoing tasks, functions and roles that keep a business organised, moving forward and humming along smoothly.
We prefer to partner with our clients, working closely with them on a regular and consistent basis. By partnering with our clients we not only get to know their business and services well, we also get to know how they like to work, which ultimately takes the stress away from managing their business.
Who do you work with?
We work with coaches, consultants and serviced-based professionals in a solo business or partnership who are looking for ongoing, consistent support to help them manage their everyday business administration needs. Our clients are mainly based in Hong Kong and Singapore, however we are happy to work with clients in other parts of Asia and Australia.
Do I need to provide you with any office space or equipment?
No, generally speaking our team have everything they need to complete your work from their own offices. If you have specialised software that your assistant needs to use, we ask that you purchase a copy of the software for her use, or provide her with log in details.
As a client, who do I work with?
Once you become a client you are assigned an Account Manager who has the skills and experience to support you in your business.
Your Account Manager is your main support person… your right-hand woman, who also has the support of the Bauhinia team behind her. If needed (and based on your package and their availability) your Account Manager may delegate work to one or more of our team members (they include our proofreader, graphic designer, bookkeeper and WordPress developer).
What tools do you use to get your job done?
Technology has made working remotely easy for everyone.
Some of our team use PC and others use Mac computers. Generally our standard is Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Mac Suite (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) and Google Apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Contacts).
We use Dropbox for file sharing. Dropbox is a secure file hosting service that offers cloud storage and file synchronization so that you can have a folder of work on multiple computers. Dropbox is also accessible through website and mobile applications.
We use Skype for client interaction. Skype allows users to make voice calls over the Internet either directly to another Skype user or to landlines and mobiles. It also offers video calling, IM, mobile chat and low cost international calls.
Internally we use Basecamp to keep track of our to-do-lists. Basecamp is a web-based project management tool, we use to manage our client’s workload, discuss projects amongst the team and delegate tasks as needed.
Depending on our clients needs we may use other systems such as Xero Accounting, Freshbooks, MailChimp, AWeber, Salesforce, Highrise, YouTube, Facebook, Hootsuite, WordPress and the like.
How do you work with multiple clients?
The key to working with a number of different clients is organisation and scheduling.
All client work is scheduled. This means we block out time in our diaries to work specifically on your tasks and projects. The allocated time allows us to focus 100% on your needs.
The minimum time allocated is 15mins and that might be because we’ve agreed to check your admin email once a day. If we can respond to all the emails within the allocated time we do so, and if needed, we may extended the time, block out a larger amount of time later in the day, or allocate the work to another day.
To help us schedule our time we encourage deadlines and a little bit of routine. If we know you want your expenses entered into your accounting software at the beginning of each new month, we can allocate it as a monthly task that is completed the same time, every month.
Our philosophy is “your business, is our business” and therefore by knowing a little bit about the projects you’re working on, we can be prepared to support you wholeheartedly, as and when you need us.
We do try to keep a little bit of flexibility in our schedule for the unexpected yet urgent tasks that may need to be dealt with.
Is my company information secure?
Most definitely! We take your privacy and confidentiality seriously. We respect your confidential and proprietary information, ideas, plans and trade secrets (collectively, “Confidential Information”). We are very conscious not to discuss what you are doing within your business with other clients.
Non-disclosure agreements are signed at the beginning of the working relationship. Your personal and business information will never be shared with or sold to any third party.
What is your turnaround time on tasks?
Our goal is to complete work within a 36-hour time frame based on when it was assigned to us.
Please note, the time is calculated based on your assistant’s working hours. If your assistant works 9:00am to 1:00pm on Friday and you assign her a task at 6:00pm on Friday evening and the following Monday is a public holiday, the 36-hours starts from Tuesday, when she receives your request.
In saying this, we do try to keep a little bit of flexibility in our schedule for the unexpected yet urgent tasks that may need to be dealt with.
How do you pronounce Bauhinia? And what does it mean?
It is pronounced baw-hin-ee-uh (click here to listen).
In Hong Kong, the Bauhinia is a fragrant, orchid-like flower. There are a number of different sub-species of the Bauhinia and the one we use in our logo is based on the Bauhinia Blakena. The Bauhinia Blakena is the floral emblem of Hong Kong and appears on the Hong Kong’s coat of arm, its flag and its coins.
The Bauhinia double-lobed leaf is similar in shape to a heart or a butterfly. In Hong Kong the leaf is known as the “clever leaf” (聰明葉/聪明叶), and is regarded as a symbol of wisdom.
The Bauhinia is also a common tree in the tropical woodlands of northern Australia. It’s flower is very different to the Hong Kong Bauhinia, however it does have a double-lobed leaf often referred to as ‘butterfly wings’. Due to the leaf’s shape, the Australian Aboriginal name is ‘Jigul tree’.
In Australia the nectar of the flower is used as an essence which encourages people to embrace new concepts and ideas that are different from the norm.
Nicole chose the word ‘Bauhinia’ because of the meanings and the fact that it spans across three cultures – Hong Kong, which is where she lives today; Australia, her native country; and Australian Aboriginal, because of her Aboriginal descent.
This is sounds great, how do I get started?
Wonderful! The easiest and simplest way is to complete our contact form or call us on +852 6380 1248. From there, we’ll take you through the next steps of working with us.