FRIDAY FOCUS…AMY RICHARDS VA

Every Friday we ask a business owner some straight talking questions in the hope that their answers will provide insight, advice, and inspiration.

The opinions stated in this feature are not Accretion’s and are wholly those of the person in the spotlight.

• Tell me about your business in less than twenty words

I’m a freelance VA, offering remote business support to entrepreneurs, life coaches, business owners and third sector organisations.

• What made you want to be an entrepreneur?

The prospect of having the freedom to be creative and utilise all my skills and experience, without feeling boxed in by a specific role; being able to manage my own working day and create my own future.

• What’s the BEST thing about being the boss?

Doing the sort of work I love best every day while supporting others to achieve success. I’ve always enjoyed supporting people, and in my previous career was the ‘go-to’ person for helping colleagues with techie tasks and things like editing, designing documents and creating resources, but this was a tiny part of my role. Now I get to do it every day.

• Do you have any gems of advice for entrepreneurs starting out today?

Be bold. Don’t waste time waiting for the right time to start. There is no right time, only now.

Don’t find reasons why not – stay positive and find the learning in every difficulty and rough patch.

Take decisive action – you’ll be amazed at what happens next.

Pay attention to your gut instincts; don’t compromise on your dream.

• Where will the business be in five years?

At the moment I get paid for my time, which is great but not scalable. I’m planning to start offering some packages alongside my retainer work, and possibly look at working with affiliate VAs as my workload increases.

• Hindsight is a wonderful thing: what would you do differently if you were back at Day 1, Year 1?

I don’t believe in regrets; everything I’ve done has taught me something valuable. Though if I could go back and give myself some advice, it would be to not be afraid to say no if something doesn’t feel right – to trust my gut instincts.

• How will the exiting of the EU community affect you?

I don’t know how it will affect me or my business yet; I suppose it depends largely on how it affects the type of businesses I work with. Maybe it will turn out to be a positive thing, but I find the uncertainty unsettling.

Amy can be contacted at amyrichards.wales