This month marks the first anniversary of both my redundancy after 18 years in my job and my decision to become a Virtual Assistant. So as this is a time of reflection and celebration I thought I’d share a lighthearted look at the things I have learnt in my first year as a freelancer….
- I work better in the mornings, preferably after a walk.
- Five hours solid at the computer is not good for the eyes or back.
- I can hear the washing machine finished beep from my desk.
- Prospective clients do not magically know I am sitting at my desk waiting for their call.
- Sometimes I can go a whole day without talking to another person.
- Talking to other people occasionally is a primative need.
- All the couriers have twigged I work from home.
- Couriers don’t have time for a chat.
- All telephone cold call centres in the world know I work from home.
- I don’t want to chat to call centre callers. Even the human ones.
- The family mostly think I don’t have a ‘proper job’.
- The family have enough jobs for me ‘if I’m not doing anything today’.
- I love the flexibility to see friends/support family/go out/babysit/pick up prescriptions/drop off returns as required.
- The Wi-Fi is not good enough at the bottom of the garden, under the shade of the tree, to work.
- My inside desk space is not cool-looking enough for an Insta post.
- I miss my old team. A lot.
- I don’t miss office politics. At all.
- LinkedIn isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.
- I work better the more pressure I’m under.
- I can lose a day ‘researching’ on social media.
- I need coffee(s) to function.
- I do not need something sweet with each coffee. Maybe just one biscuit a day. Or two. Three at the most.
- Selling myself can be soul-destroying.
- A great client is definitely worth holding on to. Tightly.
- I wouldn’t go back to working in an office again if you paid me…….err sorry how much did you say??
Happy Business Birthday to me! Here’s to many more years of being my own boss!