A day in the life of a Virtual Assistant

When I made the decision to resign from my full time job in 2013, I never dreamed that I’d be sitting here on a lovely warm & sunny afternoon writing an article for my virtual assistant business blog.  I left behind the safety & security of a managerial post with a million dollar global corporation, earning a good salary, and with good all round benefits and perks.  Gone were the days of meetings for meetings sake, or when you had to sit up straight in your chair or wipe the crisp crumbs from off your desk when the General Manager or VP was due to do their rounds or senior management meetings were being held at HQ.

Being employed as a regular worker blinkered me somewhat to the numerous worldwide opportunities that lay ahead.  I went from having several senior levels above me to being my own boss, answerable only to myself!  By no means was it an easy transition, but I did my research & due diligence and educated myself on what I’d be up against in the self-employed virtual assistant arena.

Working as a Virtual Assistant and running my business from home has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.  I love my work as there is so much variety, no two days are ever the same, and I have finally found that much longed for ‘work – life balance’.  Gone are the 3 hour commutes up & down the motorway to and from my place of work, which considerably reduced my working day.  I have saved so much money on fuel costs and I don’t miss all those tiresome delays when sitting in traffic on the A23 or M23 Southbound.  So, without further ado here is a little insight into my day in “A Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant”.

My alarm clock starts beeping at 06.30 as normal, which is then subsequently snoozed! (Well who doesn’t snooze?) For 5 minutes.  Once I’m finally up and remotely stirred into action, I make my way bleary eyed into the bathroom for a nice refreshing shower.  I’m a wife & busy mum of 3 rugrats (children) aged 17yrs to 22 months, hence the early start! Once the school run is out the way I’m back at my desk in my home office by 08.15 to make a start with, a very strong cappuccino in hand.

I check my schedule for the day and prioritise current work projects.  I work for a variety of clients, some based here in the UK, one in France and also a couple of International clients.  As such, I also have 3 other associate assistants that I outsource work to from time to time when business dictates.

Today, I have a Skype call with an International Client at 09.00 UK time to discuss his social media engagement and the new business acquired via these channels, followed by organising his visits to the UK And adding his travel schedule to his calendar.  There are also a number of quotes and invoices to create and send to his customers which I will send throughout the course of the day. I also need to do some PA work for an NLP client of mine who is busy with one to one client sessions & running her certified NLP courses in 2 locations.  This entails a lot of organisation, diary management, client liaison and administration which, will is also due out today.

It is now midday and time for me to grab a healthy salad for lunch.  Unfortunately I don’t always eat as healthy as I should during the day but I try to make a conscious effort to do so at least 3-4 times a week.  Depending on how busy my day is I allow myself anything from 30 minutes to 2hrs for lunch, which is a huge benefit when working for myself.  After lunch I have some client social media management to take care of which I prefer to do in bulk for the week ahead, thus allowing me additional time to work on other things.

At approximately 13.20 I’m off again to do the school run which, is something I wasn’t in a position to do when I was `employed’ full time, the flexibility of my job is next to none!  Once back from school the kids are settled and its then back to the office for me as I need to update a client’s email marketing database & CRM, which will take a few hours to complete.  I am currently using Toggl time tracking software which helps me to keep abreast of all the hours worked for my clients.  It’s important to accurately measure & record time spent on tasks & projects in order to offer a fair and reliable service to each of my clients, who are invoiced on either a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.

My aim is to meet & exceed all of my client’s expectations by producing accurate work within an agreed timeline, and I feel privileged to be working with such a lovely mix of clients who choose to use my services.  My day can finish any time between 17.00 – 01.00 depending on whether a client requires an out of hours service which I can provide, subject to availability.  Or, if I am attending an evening networking event.

I am fortunate in that I have a supportive husband who manages the children and home when I am busy at work.  Even though it isn’t always easy to explain to the children or other family members that I am unavailable for social contact during this time – but this is another article in itself!

The world of Virtual Assistance is a wonderful one with no constraints placed on us by distance.  It also gives our Clients a much larger skill base to tap into which in turn, can only lead to providing a more efficient and effective service all round.

If you think you or anyone else you know could benefit from my virtual business support & administration services then do get in touch for an informal & consultative chat.