www.va-guru.com
Tel: 0844 884 2818
Hello everyone. This is just a brief overview of who I am. My name is Marj Beattie and I run a successful virtual assistancy business called Secretary4hire (www.secretary4hire.co.uk).
I live on the west coast of Scotland on the very edge of Scotland’s first National Park, near Loch Lomond. I’m married and live here with my hubby and two mischievious cats Ziggy and Lulu. Both my husband and I are also musicians and singers (as you can probably tell from the cats’ names!) and we both also have our own live bands who we regularly gig with.
I started up Secretary4hire in June 2006. I was sick of the 9 to 5, being treated badly by employers, working really hard for very little thanks so I decided to take the plunge and I “went live” in June 2006. I have a wealth of experience having worked as a (check out these job titles!) Typist, Deeds Typist, Word Processor Operator, Administrator, Desk Top Publisher Operator, Secretary, PA in many different types of industries and disciplines for the last 20 odd years. Having worked my way to the very top of the tree, working at Board/Director level, there was nowhere else for me to go doing the same type of job. I didn’t want to change my job as I love what I do as I’m a very methodical and organised person. But I knew that it was time for a change. Personal ambition came into it. I knew absolutely that I would have the drive to make my business succeed as I am a very ambitious person and have been told that I’m like a dog with a bone in that if I don’t know how to do something or the answer to something, I won’t stop until I find out.
Running your own business can be difficult. It’s also very time consuming. The long hours you must put in, especially initially, to get set up to where you want to be is difficult but there’s a HUGE feeling of satisfaction when you’re achieving your goals, both short and long term. And that’s one of the reasons why I set up VA Guru. It was one of my goals to be able to help other virtual assistants who are maybe just starting out, or even more established VAs, it’s great to be able to share knowledge within the industry. And to businesses who might not know what a virtual assistant is or does, this is a way of letting them see that we are REAL people, running REAL legitimate businesses, with excellent skills and services to offer their business – to offer them an alternative to taking on an employee or temp or just to BE THERE when they need us during times of staff sickness, absence, holidays or during busy periods.
So that’s me and why I did it in a kind of nutshell. I absolutely LOVE my job, running my business, I have a fantastic team of associates who work with me and who knows what other people running the VA Guru Q&A Video Blogs will bring together. It’s all very exciting!
Look forward to speaking with you all and answering your questions.
Marj
