I was on maternity leave and wrote in my journal that I wanted to become a virtual assistant.
That was six years ago! At the time, however, I just did not have the mental capacity or know-how to turn my dream then into a reality. Earlier this year I really started feeling like I needed to take control of my life and choose the life I would like to live rather than have life happening to me.
The idea of launching as a Virtual Assistant and starting my own business started coming back to life in my mind and I felt ready. I started visualising what my virtual assistant business would look like and got to work. Three weeks later I launched my website. To say I was determined is an understatement.
This is just the beginning and the overwhelm is real! I have opened up the floodgates of all there is to know and learn about the internet, and to say I’m overwhelmed is an understatement! Facebook Ads, webinars, social media, search engine optimisation, google adwords and I’m learning all of it all at the same time!
My failing, I’ll admit, is I have, so far, had three weeks on this journey and I find that I'm comparing myself (and I know we all fall prey to this horrible habit) to Virtual Assistants who have had 4 years + experience and are crushing it.
I have an amazing vision of where I would like to take my business and how it might diversify over time. I love the idea of owning my own business and offering virtual assistant support. I love being able to support multiple clients in varying industries and whilst the internet has certainly been overwhelming, it has provided me with the very tools I need to turn my dream into a reality.
Starting my own business has been the steepest learning curve of my life! I have, what feels like, a million and one things to do, most of which I need to learn; ISO registrations, GDPR, HMRC, IR35, Cookiebots, DNS, SEO’s anyone?! I am overwhelmed and am absolutely loving it. I feel free.
As an Executive Assistant, our strength is how well we get to know our executives and are therefore able to anticipate their needs. We spend more time with our bosses than we do our own families (!) and naturally, without deliberate intention, the relationship transforms, organically, into one where we are able to read our executive’s nuances and body language and understand their vision for the business. We are and aspire to be our executive’s business partner and I am very privileged to have experienced life as an Executive Assistant at Board level for a number of years. I know the power of an exceptional Executive Assistant.
The desk of an Online Business Manager and/or Virtual Assistant can be a lonely place. It's very different to working on the Executive's Floor, where you have access to all the other EAs and questions like "what do you think?" or "how would you have done it?" hang in the air, unanswered. Water-cooler moments and tea breaks become something we do on zoom and being part of a community is everything.
It really is early days and I know I am often too hard on myself but I am so determined to make this a success!
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