If you’re reading this hoping for a bit of juicy gossip of what Virtual Assistants really get up to, then you’re going to be disappointed….. it’s not that kind of confession 😉

It’s actually an honest account of what’s been happening with me and my business in the last month – this is the shortened version, the original one went on for pages!

You see 2 weeks ago I almost quit – I’d decided enough was enough & to pack it all in.  Money was tight and I’d lost a client (through no fault of my own, nor his – funding had dried up for his business, so he’s back to doing everything himself).

I was thinking was it really worth all of this? All the scrimping together of cents, wondering where my next client is going to come from – was I mad?

In the past whenever I’ve been feeling a bit “eugh” I’ve always gone onto Twitter – someone on there will always cheer me up, offer support and I’ve bounced back.  This time was different – I felt like I didn’t deserve the support, I suppose I felt ashamed, this was my own mess & I had to get myself out of it – every day was spent in my home office feeling isolated & a failure.

An email from someone in the #SMEcommunity made me realise that I wasn’t alone and that others were in the same situation as me.  I was actually getting direct messages on Twitter from people that hadn’t heard from me in a while asking if I was okay – some of them were from people I’ve never even met!

I suppose everyone reaches a fork in the road every now & then – I just needed to sit down and seriously think which path to take.

I thought of all the time and effort I’ve put into OutofhoursAdmin, all the hours I’ve spent networking, going way out of my comfort zone.  I trawled through forums and blogs and realised there is a whole ocean of advice and help out there – have to say a huge thanks to SVA and Michelle Dale – they don’t know it but they helped me big time 🙂

I also need to give a shout out to Jenny of Virtual Office Worx – it may sound odd as I know her business is my (friendly) competition, but a couple of phone calls from her made me realise I can’t give up.  I’ve come so far in the last 2 years and I have so much more to offer!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still struggling to make ends meet at the moment, I’m still working my ass off trying to find new clients, whilst trying to also move my business forward – it is hard and I’m still wondering how I’m going to do it, the difference now is I know this is what I want to do – I’m proud that I started a business in the middle of a recession, not many people would be brave enough (or stupid enough ;)) to follow their dream and set up on their own!

So, this post is firstly to say thank you to everyone who has supported me since starting OutofhoursAdmin, and secondly to offer a glimmer of hope to anyone else in the same situation.  Just remember you are not alone!

Finally, to put the icing on the cake, a client of mine actually said to me on Friday that she didn’t know what she would do without me – and to me that’s what it’s all about 🙂