How do I provide business support?

We often take for granted the skills that we use in our everyday work life, because these skills have been learnt often over many years and so they become second nature to us. But for those who work in a different industry, they may not be quite so familiar and of course, that's the reason why they then seek out someone who has the skills they're looking for and consequently can provide support in that area.

So how do I provide business support? Here's an insight into some of my work:

Creating templates for reports using 'Developer' in Microsoft Word. 'Developer' must be one of Microsoft's best-kept secrets as when I chat to people, very few know about it. Microsoft don't make it easy for you to find it either - it isn't displayed by default and it needs to be added to the ribbon. On the File tab, go to Options, Customise Ribbon and then select the Developer check box.

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Taking minutes of meetings. Three ways to do this: attend in person, attend via video conference i.e. Teams, Zoom or create minutes from an audio file. To create concise, accurate and impartial minutes, you'll need excellent listening skills and a good command of English grammar. That's the priority when taking minutes in person - listen, summarise in your head and then jot down. No-one can write everything down - we speak 7 times faster than we can type. For recordings, audio typing skills take priority.

Creating presentations, social media newsletters, business reports, valuations and letters. Using typing and creative skills, and with an interest in photography as well, I can design something from scratch, turn an idea into something that looks professional and create outstanding designs. Knowing how to use Canva, or something similar, is a must-have skill.

Copyediting and proofreading. I'm often asked to type up draft novels and books to get them ready for publication. This usually involves copy typing, and copyediting, often from almost illegible handwriting. Skills needed for this work include the ability to understand the writer's style, understand the nuances of the English language and grammar and be able to proofread. Proofreading is a very underestimated skill. Traditionally, proofreading takes place after copyediting and before publication. Copyediting and proofreading are two quite different tasks!

Creation of letters, reports and valuations from templates (created at an earlier stage), database management and the creation and refinement of office systems, filing systems, communications and workflow management. All of this requires excellent organisational skills.

To support businesses, I need to be able to prioritise my own work effectively, communicate efficiently and consequently help businesses to increase their own productivity and efficiency.

If you'd like to know more about improving your minute-taking skills, email me at sue@bossiw.uk . I'll be holding a workshop on this soon (spaces strictly limited to 8 people) and I'll send you further information.