A SAVVY mum has revealed the job she found that helped her off her mortgage and buy new properties.
And the best part is she doesn’t even need to leave her home.
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Catherine Gladwyn, 47, who lives in Swindon with her partner Antony, 53, realised she had the skills she needed to do an easy work-from-home job and she could make more than three times her current salary.
Back in 2015, Catherine was struggling to manage her full-time job as a personal assistant.
She said: “A 9-5 was limiting my life considerably. Just getting to work was my energy gone some days.”
“I was getting £25k per annum before tax. The most I could earn in my town as a personal assistant to two directors.”
Frustrated with her lifestyle Catherine started researching jobs she could do from home that would still cover her expenses.
She said: “I searched Google for working from home jobs and virtual assistant seemed to be one that I believed I could do with my years of experience in admin and as an editorial assistant/personal assistant.”
A virtual assistant provides a range of services from admin support, inbox/diary management, website creation, social media support and bookkeeping.
As a virtual assistant, you can set your own pricing and manage your own work schedule meaning you can work as much or as little as you like.
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You will be responsible however for finding your own clients and this is the first hurdle Catherine had to overcome when she became a virtual assistant.
She said: “I put everything I had, night and day and weekends, into finding clients and telling the world and his wife what I was now doing.
It wasn’t long before Catherine’s work paid off and she found she was earning the same as she was in her 9-5.
“Within three months, I was earning the same as my 9-5 so took the scary decision to leave employment and go it alone. I’ve not looked back.”
Catherine explains most virtual assistants can charge £30 an hour though that can increase if you offer a specialised skill.
Once she took the leap in leaving her 9-5, Catherine had much more time to spend with her family and was finally able to get her finances in order.
She said: “I no longer sit at a desk wishing I could do something else with my time. I have the freedom to do what I want when I want now that I am established.”
“I go on holiday when I choose, I no longer cry when an appliance in the home needs replacing because I am earning so much more.”
Catherine added her new earnings allowed her to pay off her mortgage on her two-bed three-storey terraced house.
She said: “I’ve bought and renovated two rental properties, paid off my mortgage and the best thing, I can visit my daughter Chloe, 25 in London any time I choose.”
“I spend my days with people I want to spend it with.”
However, like anyone new to a role, Catherine has made mistakes but she’s made sure to learn from them.
She said: “I did go through one rough patch as I got rid of a nightmare client that was taking up so much of my time.”
“When I got rid of her it meant my income went down considerably so I took a temporary job at my local council just in case.”
“I need not have feared as I soon replaced her but it made me realise that I could easily go through that again and I never wanted to walk through doors to employment ever again.”
Catherine now makes sure she has a plan in place to make sure one client can never determine her entire work schedule or income again.
She said: “That led me to come up with a plan to ensure I never hit the famine cycle many business owners go through.”
“I came up with The 20% Rule (R) – the title of my second bestselling book – where I ensure no one client takes up more than 20% of my time or my income.”
“That way, it doesn’t hurt so much financially if you lose them.”
I’m teaching others to do the same
Catherine now teaches others how to become a virtual assistant and she has found that most of her clients are working mums.
She explained: “This way of working makes life so much easier.”
“It reduces the mum guilt because you can take days off to help with school trips, or help with class reading, you can leisurely take your children to school without panicking you’ll miss the bus or train to your job, you can reduce lots of expenses, like breakfast club, and after school childcare.”
“In fact, that is the biggest pull for many women. I do wish I’d found this lifestyle when my own daughter was young.
“It would’ve made life so much easier and improved my mental health at that time considerably.”
Many of Catherine’s clients have found the area where they have saved money the most after becoming a virtual assistant is childcare.
Catherine said: “On average, after asking members of my free Virtual assistant Facebook group what they’re saving, it’s £8,326 per annum.”
Catherine now provides a virtual assistant starter guide for £99, which provides tools and training for those looking to get started.
Kira, 28, from Reading, found out about Catherine’s guide online and once she did she wasn’t sure it was the real deal.
She confessed: “I spent six months deciding whether to buy Catherine’s starter guide before I did.”
But after being diagnosed with a health condition she finally decided it was time to take the leap.
Kira said “My life has drastically changed since becoming a Virtual assistant. I’m no longer full of anxiety from going back to work, I can do what I need to, on my terms.”
“I can pick up and drop off my son to school without the need for extra childcare spending. I can watch him in school plays, and take part in school events with him.”
“I can spontaneously take my family on holiday whenever I want to.”
Kira said she is making the same as what she was in her 9-5 but now she is working just half the hours.
She said: “I am earning the equivalent of a full-time wage (30 hours a week on minimum wage) but working 15 hours a week.”
“Virtual assistants often charge £30 per hour for their services but find the biggest increase in wages via packages.”
But Kira explained the biggest bonus to her new role is what saved on childcare costs.
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She said: “By being able to pick up and drop my son off every day, I have saved over £800 per calendar month on childcare by becoming a virtual assistant (close to £1,400 during school holidays).”
Catherine’s tips for getting started:
- Work out what services you’re going to offer. Decide on a maximum of six and work to your strengths, Catherine has a free list of 90+ services you can provide if you’re unsure.
- Decide on a business name. Do a thorough check on Companies House, Google, LinkedIn, and social media and type in some URLs to see if anyone else has the name. However, don’t overthink this part it’s just a name.
- Get yourself registered with the ICO for GDPR. This is the only mandatory thing you need to do. Get insurance contracts too.
- Get yourself a website. You can even create your own using software like WordPress and learn a brilliant new skill. A website is essential so you look professional.
- Build an audience market yourself and find clients. Take advantage of the free social media platforms to do this.
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