Q. |
When
did you go into business for yourself? |
A. |
I
officially "opened the doors" in October
of 2003 when I launched my website. My first client
came two months later and Voila! - I was in business. |
Q. |
Why
did you decide to go into virtual assisting? |
A. |
My
family moved to France in the summer of 1999. I
became a stay-at-home Mom after working in the business
world for over 20 years. After my sons were in school
full time, I had to do something to fill up my time.
By then, I knew that I did not want to go back into
the corporate world as I really enjoyed being around
for my boys during non-school time. I did a lot
of research on what I could possibly do from home
- not an easy task here in France. I finally "stumbled"
onto the Virtual Assistant industry and thought,
"Hey, I could do that!" |
Q. |
What
is your background in your field of expertise? |
A. |
My
field of expertise is in the financial world. I
have a Bachelor's degree in Business Management.
I started my working life as a bookkeeper in an
Accountant's office way back when I was 18 years
old. I then worked for many years in the International
Finance department of a global engineering company.
|
Q. |
Did
you research the industry before launching your
business? |
A. |
After
realising that becoming a Virtual Assistant was
something that would definitely fit into my life,
I researched the industry for about 8 months before
launching my website. I read everything possible
on the web relating to this industry, I browsed
through many VA sites to see what they were doing,
and I joined several VA support groups on the web
(mostly through Yahoo groups). |
Q. |
Are
you a member of any trade organizations? |
A. |
As
this time, no, I am not a member of any trade organizations.
|
Q. |
What
do you enjoy the most about being self-employed?
|
A. |
The
number one thing for me is the flexibility!! For
example, my boys are on school holiday right now.
The nature of my business allows me to be "free"
to spend time with them right now. I can check my
email first thing in the morning, put out any "fires"
that might be there, enjoy the rest of the day with
my boys, and then do work in the evening when my
husband is home to take over with them. The flexibility
of time when returning to work was absolutely key
for me and being self-employed has fulfilled this
for me. |
Q. |
What
do you enjoy the least about being self-employed?
|
A. |
Not
so much being self-employed but more about working
from home. I am not as organized at times as I would
like to be. Not having a "normal" 9 to
5 job sometimes has it drawbacks for me in that
I tend to "stray" towards other things
(i.e. laundry, cooking, etc.) around the house when
I should try to structure my work day around work
and make time at other times for household duties.
|
Q. |
Do
you have employees? If so, do you have any positions
open, including subcontracting opportunities? If
so, how would someone inquire? |
A. |
At
this time, the work that I have is enough to keep
me busy without being too overwhelming. If, in time,
more work does come in or inquiries come in that
I am not equiped to handle, then I would be very
open to subcontracting work to other VAs. |
Q. |
Do
you have family members that help you out with your
business? |
A. |
Since
living here in France, my language skills have definitely
improved but I still struggle at times. My husband,
who is fluent in French, will help when I need him.
|
Q. |
What
is your specialty or niche, if any? |
A. |
My
specialty is bookkeeping since that is the field
I had worked in for years. My current clients all
fall under a financial "umbrella" in one
sense or another - full-charge bookkeeping, organizing
business expenses, working with US and international
bank statements, financial organization of student
payments. |
Q. |
What
are the long term goals you have for your business?
(i.e., do you intend to expand, focus on a specific
niche, branch out to more countries, partner with
other VAs, etc.) |
A. |
Short-term
goals are to acquire a couple of more "regular"
clients. I would like to just keep the work steady
and at a manageable level for myself. Other than
that, I really just take it a step at a time. |
Q. |
Is
your office in your home or do you rent space? |
A. |
My
office is located in my home. |
Q. |
Do you find it hard to stay focused if working from
home? Is your office completely separate from living
spaces? |
A. |
My
office is not completely separate but I have managed
to stay focused the majority of the time while working
at home. The majority of my work is done during
my children's school hours. When I need to work
in the evening, it is usually when the boys are
tucked into bed and I can concentrate with minimal
interuptions. |
Q. |
It
is well known that though working from home can
be very rewarding and flexible, it also has some
serious stress-inducing capabilities, such as a
tendency to work far more than your general business
hours due to the close availability of your office
and eagerness to please clients. Has this presented
a problem for you? If so, how have you handled it?
|
A. |
I
think that the only problem that has been presented
so far is that my current clients know that my computer
is connected 24 hours a day and that I check my
email many, many times throughout the day. I have
always given immediate responses to questions and
inquiries. I like to give this kind of service but
have found it to be a bit stressful at times, always
being eager to get things done. So I have been making
changes recently in my routine - simply turning
the computer completely off, knowing that the work
can be done the next day, and enjoy the remainder
of the evening/weekend with my family. |
Q. |
If
you had to give 3 pieces of advice to someone wanting
to start a virtual business, what would they be
and why? |
A. |
1.
Research - I found this to be a key thing for me
before starting my business. You can never really
do enough research for anything that you plan for
in your life, especially in starting your own business.
Do not start with "blinders" on - know
all that you can beforehand. Having said that, I
do also admit that I am still learning new things
all the time. This leads me into #2.
2. Support - I have found that the support groups
that I am a part of have been, and continue to be,
a tremendous help in starting and continuing my
business. Also key is the support you receive from
your family - those that are most affected by your
time now being devoted to your business. I am lucky
to have a husband who is 100% behind me and helps
me when he can.
3. Have Fun - really!!! Once you have started your
business and doing some work, have fun with it.
If, like me, it is finally something in life that
really fits and feels right, enjoy it. I have always
dreamed of being "my own boss" and setting
my own hours. I can honestly say that I really enjoy
working now - it does not feel like such a chore
to me as it did in the past. |
|
For further information, please
feel free to contact Patricia:
|
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