I had got to the point where a monkey could have done my job. One by one, other team members had been moved sideways to different projects and I was the only one left, my Project Co-ordinator role reduced to little more than Office Junior tasks. When my manager told me that my role was being made redundant, it was hardly a surprise. Apparently, he had never seen anyone accept redundancy with such grace. But there was a good reason for that!
For quite a few months I’d started to think about my work/life balance and had toyed with the idea of working for myself. In between monkey-tasks, I was surfing the internet for articles about how to set up as a Virtual Assistant (or VA for short). Turns out that being made redundant was just the push I needed – would I have taken the leap myself? We’ll never know.
Exports and Experts
With office-based experience spanning 25 years, it was time to put this experience to much better use. So how do you combine project management, expert witnesses, marriage guidance, holiday call-centre, 40 ft trailer exports to Holland and forklift truck driving experience? Erm, ideas on a postcard please?
I started off with full-on imposter syndrome – I based my business on what I thought a VA should be, but it soon became clear to me that this wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do – my background was operational rather than PA. As my client base increased, so did my experience and confidence. I learnt that I didn’t have to do the monkey tasks in my own business – I could choose to say no.
A brand new brand
I eventually decided to rebrand to better reflect the services I offered and Aqua Business Support was born. A new name, a new logo and a totally rebranded website meant that I could now be clear on what I offered to potential clients. Hurrah!
My business has now evolved to offer support with ongoing business management, and I see myself as a trusted partner, maybe an office manager of sorts, someone to work with you to help your business grow. I’ve helped put together social media plans, ghostwritten social media posts, managed a team of freelancers, helped launch online businesses, and secured work for clients to keep their own diaries full. I’ve seen my clients scale their businesses once they have relinquished some of the day-to-day tasks that have been bogging them down, and that is something that makes me a happy bunny rather than a grumpy monkey.
Fancy a chat about how my experience could help you concentrate on growing your business in 2019? Get in touch here or at deborah@aquabusiness.support.
