As I approach my 2nd business anniversary (Gosh, 2 years! Boy that has absolutely flown!) it’s a nice reminder to myself on where, why and how I started. When people ask what I do for work and respond with ‘virtual assistant’ I sometimes receive a bit of a blank stare! This generally leads into a conversation of what a virtual assistant does and the incredibly broad category of services and value a virtual assistant can provide.
Life took a little twist for us early in 2020 .....
I’d recently landed a new job after a few months off. I felt a little off for a few weeks into my new job but thought I caught something viral. Turns out we were expecting another little blessing. Boy were we shocked!
A few months later, the spicy flu hit, and the world shut down. Sales dropped significantly and my position was made redundant. This had never happened to me before, so admittedly, I felt a little lost. Like many others in the working world, I was forced to rethink everything I thought I wanted about making a living. In hindsight, losing my position was a blessing in disguise. During my pregnancy, I suffered Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG). If you don’t know what this is, it’s severe vomiting during pregnancy.
I’d love to raise awareness about Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) because many women are not taken seriously by friends, family, and care providers. HG can be life-threatening. It is lonely, isolating condition for many women.
Please see Hyperemesis Australia for more info here
There has to be another way ....
After the birth of our little blessing, I wondered what options were out there after seeing the world do a complete flip in work-from-home arrangements. I wondered what I could do from home that would allow me the flexibility to still be here for our children using the skills I’d gained over my 15-year career. We knew the return to 9-5 just would not benefit our family. I felt I had missed so much of my other babies when they were little.
I’m so grateful for every opportunity that showed up for me, but we definitely wanted some things different this time round. An empowering woman by the name of Amy suggested being a virtual assistant. Hmm, what was this, I wondered. What do they do? I found an American virtual assistant program, but I was looking for something Australian-based to ensure all business-related information was relevant to my state and country. Especially when it came to legal and tax related information. I stumbled across VA Institute Australia and investigated the courses they have available.
I signed up in February 2021 for the self-paced online course and by this stage, our little one was around 3 months old. I began working my way through the program whenever I got the chance. This meant sometimes being up in the wee hours of the morning between 1-5am! I would listen to the audio while changing, nursing & burping. I was determined to complete this course and launch my business. I was determined to work around my family using skills I'd gained during my career! I spent time building my own website with the assistance of the VA Institute. Now, this was my preference. If you complete a program with VA Institute they can design and build a site for you pending on the package.
April 2021, I launched Receptive Konnection Virtual Assistant!
I was so excited and nervous about what this would bring and how this would benefit our lifestyle!
In July & August 2022, I supported a compassionate coach. Her passion for humanity and helping those in need was so heart warming and I loved her dedication to support 1 person. The impact of this support would have a flow on to several people including their family, the community and change their lifestyle. This ignited a flame in my heart. Personally, knowing and understanding the impact this wonderful coach will have made me decide to niche down into heart centered business owners in the rural and regional areas. With limited resources and living rural myself, I too understand how difficult it can be to locate resources those in the cities have so close by.
In September of 2022 I was nominated into the Australian Ladies in business initiative awards and became a finalist! A terrifying but incredibly humbling experience for an introvert LOL! The selection process pushed me out of my comfort zone, was thought provoking and helped me change the direction of my business.
Over the past 2 years, the clients I had the privilege to support and still support today have been grateful and appreciative of everything I have done. I’ve been part of a ‘dream team’, called a godsend and a right-hand woman! My calm nature, guidance, values and humour are appreciated and noticed.
Two years later ......
Finding a flexible approach to our lifestyle has been wonderful. Many women and men are out there living their dream life. Is it easy and do we all just lounge by the pool every day with our laptops? Absolutely not! hahaha! It all started with a thought, that thought became a series of goals. I feel so lucky to share my virtual assistant journey with you!
I am so proud to service rural and regional heart-centered business owners to allow them freedom and headspace to soulfully serve.
If you’re looking for administration and online customer service support please feel free to book a no obligation chat here
"You can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus and support" – Sabrina Bryan