My reasons for leaving a steady job to become a Virtual Assistant.
There comes a time in most people’s lives where they reflect on what they want and whether they want to change their life from what it is to what it could be. Mine came after a family bereavement, turning 40 and the thought of my child going off to secondary school and turning into a teen! I wasn’t happy and decided to do something about it.
My epiphany moment came whilst visiting a friend of mine one weekend before Christmas in 2015. My daughter and I travelled up to London to visit and do a dreaded trip (well on my part anyway) to Hamleys whilst we were there. My friend had recently accepted redundancy from a high paid but full on and stressful role. Now usually I would arrive and she would be exhausted (she was also a single Mum) and completely stressed out about pretty much everything, never having enough time in the day for anything and always having to squeeze quality time with her daughter into a weekend already packed with other things that needed doing. Instead, I walked in to an atmosphere that can only be described as calm, peaceful and serene with my friend wafting around in a relaxed and almost zen like state. I couldn’t believe it, this was unprecedented, never had I seen the like.
She sat me down, handed me a glass of wine and began to tell me how much better she felt having made the biggest decision she had ever made in her working life to leave a very lucrative position in a corporate environment to head off into the unknown with no regular income and lots of uncertainty.
And I thought myself “This is what I want”. I had worked for over 20 years as an administrator and PA and I knew my stuff, but I had found myself over the last few months (or years if I am honest) becoming more and more disillusioned with my working life. I had had enough of office politics and of being in a situation where I did not feel that I could ever reach my full potential. I had often longed to work from home and for myself.
So, as I sat there bemoaning my fate and not seeing a way out of it, my friend pointed out that I must be able to do it, that if she had support staff working in a different country and supporting her, it would surely be possible for me to incorporate what I did into a freelance lifestyle. As I sat there nursing my enormous glass of wine, I pondered this and decided to Google it and a whole world of possibilities opened before me, a vast array of information regarding the world of a Virtual Assistant.
So, I did some research, found a training course that would help me set up and point me in the right direction and handed in my notice at work and as they say “The rest is history”.
I am so glad that I took the leap into the unknown, it is a challenge every day, but the knowledge that I have gained and am continuing to gain, the variety of people that I have met, the clients that I have and the new friends that I have made make the effort all worthwhile and I have never regretted the decision to leave the security of my job with the regular pay packet, pension, sick pay etc. for a flexible life never knowing what is round each corner. I embrace each day with all the ups and downs with the knowledge that I am good at what I do and the satisfaction of knowing that I bring value to people, help and support them and have an impact.
So, if ever you sit there and wonder “Should I do this?” whatever it is, just go for it, you will never know unless you try and what is the worst that can happen?
And if in doubt just Google it!!
If you are interested in learning a little bit more about me and what I do please take a look at my website, www.theumbrellatree.co.uk or connect with me on Twitter @theumbrellatree or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/theumbrellatree.