Today I’d like to introduce you to Amanda Johnson as part of my Be My Guest (Interview Series). Amanda owns and runs a business called YES, Your Executive Secretary, that provides first class virtual PA, business administration, event planning and management and administration consultancy services.
Amanda is one busy lady, she has just given birth to a gorgeous little bubba! Congratulations Amanda!
Describe yourself in 3 short, fab and fun sentences
- I like to think of myself as self motivated, personable and highly organised – a bit of a list girl, but my husband would probably describe me as a control-freak!
- I was recently described by one client as a “Goddess” and another as “so much more than a VA” – both lovely compliments, but in reality, I am passionate about making a difference to the Business Owners I work with – that sounds a bit cliche but it really is true, if you care about what you do and in particular your clients – I care!
- In the past 18 months, I have moved house 5 times, moved to and from Belgium, been made redundant, my husband and I have both left the military – he has retrained and started a new job, I have launched a business, we have done a major house renovation and had a baby! How many stressful things do they do say do in any one year? But there is a little devil in my head saying “What’s next then Amanda?”
What motivated you to become an entrepreneur?
In 2008, my husband and I had a life-changing event, our children (twins) were born extremely prematurely and subsequently died. As a consequence we re-evaluated life, and realised life was too short! Up until that point we were both serving in the military and had been since we were teenagers, although we both loved being in the military, our jobs and the quality of life we had, we realised there were more important things. During my compassionate leave from the military, we decided to spend money doing up our house but we could never get hold of the tradesmen we needed, as they were out doing what they did best – being a tradesmen, and I realised that what these people needed was admin support as and when they needed it. I thought I had developed a new industry! It was only when I started to research it, I learnt that there was such a thing as a “Virtual Assistant”! We have subsequently gone on to have a family, and I tell people that I want a better work life balance, by this I am not talking about working 0900-1700 but instead no longer having the fear of having to go away for extended periods of time, hence the decision to launch Your Executive Secretary one day after leaving the military!
Who has been your biggest inspiration in business?
I don’t have just one person that I think of as inspirational in business – I do what I do, because I love making a difference to Small Business Owners and want them to feel as special as the Chief Executive of a major corporation. I read a lot of business books and am constantly learning from others – they all have something inspirational in their past or to say and I hope that when I work with others these attributes come into fruition.
What has been the best business advice you’ve ever been given?
The best advice I have ever been given is to “Listen – don’t just hear” – so its not just a piece of business advice but advice relative to life in general.
What 3 tips would you give when working with a VA?
A tricky question as for me a lot depends on what someone wanted a VA to do – fill a current gap, complete a task that they didn’t have the skills or the time to do or provide a completely different service, maybe even be a confidente. What I would recommend is that someone looks for a VA who demonstrates:
- honesty, integrity and loyalty to you and your business
- offers a confidential service
- but more importantly is someone you like and respect professionally!
What are the 3 biggest mistakes that people make when running their own business?
- Trying to sell when networking. Networking is not about selling (sometimes when a sale comes along as a result of networking in a room of people thats a bonus) but ultimately networking should be about getting to know / grow your network of connections.
- Spending all day every day working “in” their businesses and no time working “on” their business.
- Believing they can do everything for themselves – or that only they can do a particular task!
What if I’m uncomfortable about delegating work, what do you suggest?
When working with a new client, I always recommend (especially when they are uncomfortable with the art of delegation) that we try a couple of small projects first, so that they can get to know me, my core values and standards and to ensure that actually they like working with me….. If you want someone to share the in’s and out’s of their business, they have to know, like and trust you – once you have built those things, the act of delegating work to them becomes so much easier.
How much time do I really need to spend getting work ready for a VA?
Probably not as long as you think BUT ……. It depends on the type of VA you are working with – are they a general VA or someone who specialises in a particular skill? As an example, some VA’s are very technical and work predominantly with clients who require a technical skill set (perhaps doing webinars or shopping carts) and they would run a mile if you ask them to do diary management type stuff; other VA’s are more generalist and will turn their hands to most projects. I work with variety of clients and I don’t think I do 2 tasks the same for any of my clients – for me its all about making a difference to that particular Business Owner. What I do recommend though is ensuring that any parameters or styles have been agreed in advance so that both parties know what they will be sending / receiving etc.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
When choosing a VA to work with, it really is important in my opinion to “know, like and trust them” – therefore I would suggest taking your time to choose the right person and this may mean interviewing more than one person or trying someone before you commit yourself fully to them working in your business. As Business Owners themselves, a VA should understand this as ultimately they should be dedicated to working with you to help you succeed in business.
If I wanted to connect and/or work with you where would I find you?
If you would like to know more about me and the services of Your Executive Secretary, my website is www.y-e-s.co.uk but I can also be found on social media in the following places: My Blog, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. On social media, I try and be social so please expect to find not only informative and helpful business administration insights or hints and tips but also the lessons I learn as a Small Business Owner and some personal information (the fact that I share some person information on my social media is controversial in the eyes of some people, but I think it helps others understand me and shows that I am human!)
Amanda is kindly sharing her top 5 tips for avoiding email overwhelm. You can download it here.
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