The Time Had Come

I knew the exact moment I wanted to work for myself. It was 11pm on a Monday night and I was working on a multi-million dollar sales proposal bouncing my sick baby on my knee to stop him crying and typing with the other hand. I stopped typing, had a cry and decided that this was not the life I was going to live. If I was going to work this hard and sacrifice so much I would rather make the money for myself and not some suit and ties.

So after the birth of our second son my husband and I decided that I would quit the job I loved, move to a small sea side town and begin a new life.

That was over 12 months ago now and I just wish I had done it sooner. I now spend the afternoons playing with my sons on the beach watching the sun set instead of sitting in peak hour traffic and getting home at 7pm.

With over 10 years senior administration and marketing experience within the media industry I have a lot I can offer to small business and solo operators. So after a few glasses of wine, mi virtual pa was born.

The mi mission is to provide not only comprehensive administration services but also offer an alternative to traditional PR and marketing agencies by providing a cost effective marketing support solution for small business.

So here's to living my dream.

Did my second client make me a profit?

Well excitement hit the mi virtual pa office again this week when I secured our second client in two weeks. The water cooler talk soon turned to the question on every one's mind - will this job make a profit unlike the first one?

I'm happy to report that yes, my family can eat this week as I was able to complete the project in less time than quoted. Phew...what a relief to know that I might actually start to make money and be able to justify the expensive new computer and printer purchase with the Financial Controller (or more commonly known as 'husband').

The ups and downs of my first client

Well after two years of thinking about it I finally decided to work for myself and created mi virtual pa - a business dedicated to providing virtual administrative services to busy professionals.

I was very nervous and excited last week to get my first official client - well the first person willing to pay me that I didn't already know personally. It was a simple job of typing up his personal journals which ended up being over 300 pages long. Unfortunately the job took a lot longer than I had anticipated and as it was a fixed price job I ended up losing money.

Instead of feeling disappointed (and broke) I was surprised to feel a huge sense of pride and accomplishment. I accept this crazy new adventure of self employment won't always be smooth sailing and look forward to the new challenges that lay ahead.

Thought it didn't have a positive impact on the bank balance it certainly helped me get the confidence and belief I was on the right track to creating a wonderful future for myself and my precious family.

In hindsight I would still take on the job as it helped me set up my systems and procedures as well as understand the joys and pitfalls of working from home with two small children.

Imagine my delight when unexpectedly the client paid me a 25% bonus for an outstanding job! I took the payment, got in my car and drove home with tears in my eyes. Never in 12 years of working for anyone else did I feel so happy in the job I had just done.

The client will never know the impact that bonus had on me. Though it in no way made up for the money I had lost for the hours it took me, it gave me so much more. The true belief that I am talented and have something very special to offer to the big business world out there.

So here's to making my second client a profitable one.