Meet Jennifer Gallagher, a Virtual Assistant (VA) living her dream by working from home helping clients be incredibly successful. Since March of this year Jennifer has been working as a freelance VA through Contemporary-VA. Was becoming a virtual assistant what she planned on? No, but the benefits outweigh any obstacles she thought she had. It might, possibly, be the most fun she has had working in a long time.
What were you doing before you became a VA? I was a Supervisor for a Training Department at an International Aerospace Company. I wrote, designed and sold training course for aerospace quality professionals all over the world. I traveled throughout the US, Europe and Asia and managed a staff and budget, I eventually grew the department over 150%.
That was a big job; what does a typical workday look like now? It depends on the day. Typically I log on each morning around 8AM, I look at my calendar and see what tasks I have scheduled and plan out the work for all of my clients. I check in with all clients regularly, to update the status of various tasks, and typically block time out for each client to perform work for them. Of course, I also answer their emails and take phone calls throughout the day too.
What do you have the most fun doing for your virtual assistant clients? I love collaborating with them to help them grow their business. Whether it’s brainstorming ideas on ways to improve their website, new ways to market their product, or writing marketing campaigns, etc., I love knowing that I can make a real difference in the business of my clients and give them ideas they may have not thought about before, plus implement them on their behalf so they can focus on other things.
What challenges do you face working from home? The only real challenge I have working from home, is actually taking a break! It’s very easy to just go online in the evenings and weekends, to check just “one” thing and then find yourself 3 hours later still working.
What has been the greatest reward? I have had the great opportunity to work with a supporting staff and team through C-VA and my clients are truly inspiring. By freelancing with C-VA I have had the opportunity to access free training, learn with other VA’s and develop my own skills as a VA. I love learning and this work is a constant schoolroom of new ideas, products, and contacts. These are skills that I will use throughout my career and you can’t put a price on that.
If someone wanted to leave their corporate job and become a VA do you have any words of wisdom to get started? Make sure you have the support of your family first, they need to know you are doing something real and not just goofing off in your sweats all day. Learn as much as you can about software programs, websites, WordPress, marketing, etc. The more you can build your skills before becoming a VA the better.
What has made you proudest about your work? This is a tough one because I’m not one to pat myself on the back. I guess I’d have to say that I have happy clients! I still have a lot of newer clients but they’ve already seen a difference in their business and this makes me really happy. Plus, now I’m able to “give back” and I’m training a new VA and once she is off and running that will make me proud too.
When you tell people what you do for a living what do they say? Hmmm….that’s a hard one because not many people understand what a VA is. When I say virtual assistant they look at me like I made it up! Sometimes I say administrative consultant – that I work with clients virtually to help them with administrative and marketing tasks.
What three things make your job the best freelance job on the planet? Using social media – everything from Twitter to Facebook for my clients, handling customer service emails for all clients – you never know what situations are going to come up and you get to be flexible and solve problems, and making sure my clients are happy bunnies!
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