Name: Virtuoso Assistant
Based: Reading
Website: www.virtuosoassistant.co.uk
Last February I quit my job. I was at a very low point personally and I had no money to fall back on. Then, as I was sitting on my sofa one evening, I had one of those lightbulb moments.
I’d worked as a legal PA for 16 years and had often been outsourced work at peak times. “I can do that,” I thought. I bought a transcription kit and worked from the kitchen table as a legal transcriber for about six months. I became ambitious and had a Virtuoso Assistant website designed – I would provide small businesses with flexible, online PA support with hours and budgets to suit.
I networked hard and linked up with other UK virtual assistants who introduced me to my first clients. I spent long hours learning the art of social media and marketing – as a sole trader I had to be a ‘Jill of all trades’, but master of them all.
I now have a solid client base. My income has doubled in the past three months and I support other startups and entrepreneurs with my monthly newsletter, Virtually News.
What makes me most proud is the fact that I’ve done it all while dealing with a bipolar condition.
Nicky Pasquier is the founder and owner of Virtuoso Assistant
