Have you ever had a pivotal moment in your life? Something that makes you change perspective?
I did fairly recently, it came in the form of email, which progressed to a call.
I had been subcontracting to someone quite happily for a while, and then I’m not really sure what happened. I started to think a little bit bigger, thought maybe we should be doing things differently. Unfortunately every suggestion I made, idea I put forward was pushed aside or told maybe we could do that in the future. Given my character this made me start to think no, I don’t want to wait! Why can’t we do that? And so it started. Endless hours of searching the internet, reading up on established Virtual Business Assistants. Downloading information, some useful, some not so much! I purchased recommended books. But one name kept cropping up, Emma Walker.
I first came across Emma on The VA Success Group, the website had me hooked, it was literally a one stop shop for everything I was dreaming about. Think of a kid in a sweetie shop! I then discovered Emma’s website and as I was reading the information on her website I was literally having WOW moments. I subscribed right away to receive emails from Emma’s website.
I’m not all work and motivational reading, like everyone I like a bit down time with a wee magazine for some light hearted reading. As I’m reading about another minor celebrity’s drama, I turned the page and there was another WOW moment, Emma Walker had done an article in Closer on the KER-CHING page with Jasmine Birtles. I do believe that in life you attract what you want to enable you to succeed and here it was, that name again Emma Walker. The next day, I logged into my emails and there was an email from The Mumpreneur’s Mentor – Win a Business Breakthrough Session with Emma. I think I had kittens at that point! I decided then, no matter what I was winning one of the 12 sessions!! I sat on a Sunday evening and wrote my finest piece of work to date. Two days later I got an email to say I had won a place!
It seemed to take ages for the call to come round!! (Think kid at Christmas!) When I spoke to Emma, I’m not ashamed to admit I was a bit in awe. From the sitting thinking, I could be doing bigger better things. Then a few weeks later actually having a coaching session with someone I’d read so much about it was a bit overwhelming. As I sat listening and talking to Emma, it became very apparent and obvious to me, the one thing holding me back from actually being a successful Virtual Business Assistant rather than comfortably subcontracting to someone was me! As the call progress so did my enthusiasm and drive!! What had I been thinking?? I can do this!! Emma set me some goals, helped me put a plan of action in place and with that I decided I wanted to work with Emma on her Mumpreneur Success Mentoring Programme.
From the initial call four weeks ago, I have built my own website and a website for a friends business, something I would never have thought I was capable of doing! I’m now using more social media platforms than I was previously, I’ve been to a networking event and had a meeting with a potential client! I’m now preparing for my kick-start call on Emma’s Mumpreneur Success Mentoring Programme. For anyone wondering oh would a Business Boost Breakthrough Session work for me………….the answer is quite simply YES!!!
Now, I better go…………………I’ve got homework to do for someone called Emma
Emma Herdman
I think talking to someone who has set up as a business with a family and is successful has really helped
My confidence in myself and just ‘going for it’ was my biggest challenge. Emma advised me to get my website up and running even if it is only a page!
Emma made it clear that finding a niche market is very important as there are 4.8 small businesses in this country! I am now looking into this and thinking about what area I would like to target initially.
I think talking to someone who has set up as a business with a family and is successful has really helped realise that it is achievable. I would most definitely recommend working with Emma. Talking, asking questions and gaining knowledge is very important.
I’d like to thank Emma for her time and advice.
Toria Turner
Emma has given me suggestions on where to find my ideal client and put myself in front of them
Before working with Emma, my biggest chal
lenge was that my business wasn’t really going forward and I wasn’t gaining new clients on a regular basis.
Emma has given me suggestions on where to find my ideal client and put myself in front of them. She also gave me a suggestion on doing a Twitter clinic for my ideal client (Mumpreneurs) and I, am at the moment, conducting some research into when to do this.
Through working with Emma, she put the ‘final nail in the coffin’ when it came to my pricing. She (and many others before) has told me I need to increase my prices and I have. So thank you to Emma for (finally) giving me the much needed push!
Joanna Pritchard
She was very honest and quickly spotted my weaker areas
My greatest challen
ges before working with Emma were marketing and pricing. Marketing has never been a strong point of mine, so I was finding it difficult to actually get new clients. Also, I was seriously undervaluing my time and efforts when it came to pricing my services.
Emma was fantastic in that she spotted several things straight away and provided a much needed ‘kick up the bum’ in terms of my pricing structure (or rather, lack of!). Emma realised that my lack of confidence in selling myself to potential new clients, meant that I was often under-pricing my services to keep clients happy. After the session with Emma I thought about the new prices I would be charging from the new year, which are much more in line with what I should be charging. Emma also gave me some excellent advice on marketing and helped me to think about ‘who’ I wanted to target. Whereas up to now my target market has been extremely vague, and thus I haven’t been really targeting anyone at all, Emma made me think about smaller groups to focus my marketing on, so this is something I am also thinking about.
The best thing about the working with Emma was that she was very honest and quickly spotted my weaker areas, which were all fundamentally related to my confidence. It was great to receive such wonderful advice which has actually boosted my confidence as I now feel a lot more focused and certain of where I am taking my business.
I would highly recommend working with Emma. I found it invaluable in terms of pointing me in the right direction. It’s so difficult setting up a business especially when you are doing it alone. It can be really daunting and when you have a weak area or a lack of confidence it is often easy to just quit. I found that my session with Emma gave me a renewed focus and sense of direction, and has certainly made me feel a lot more confident about the future of my business. I value myself a lot more now which will be reflected in my new pricing structure.
Karen Dunbar
Emma has simplified my outlook, cutting out pointless stresses
My greatest challenge before my Business Boost Breakthrough Session today was that I am totally starting from scratch with no experience at all in business management, secretarial work, or computer skills. That in itself was not an issue for me as I am confident that these are definitely things that I can acquire understanding of as I study them. However, up until today, I have not been able to make contact with anyone who has ‘been there and done that’. I had no idea as to any realistic time scales for being able to understand just exactly how long I could expect to be learning for before I would be ready to start trading my business hours to clients for work. This was a considerable hindrance to being able to put together a comprehensive business plan.
Emma has been a tremendous help to me because through her obviously extensive understanding and through her own experiences, she has helped to encourage me to realise a realistic timing for the completion of some of my key secretarial studies, and has coached me to be encouraged in the fact that I can realise my personal dreams of attaining the kind of business and success level that I dream of and am determined to meet. Emma has simplified my outlook, cutting out pointless stresses over what I had once considered to be a mountain of things which would significantly affect and delay my business set up completion. Emma has put me together a considerably shorter set up plan which will see me trading business in just a very few months’ time!
The best thing about my session with Emma is that she has inspired me to realise my dreams on a specific time scale and she has therefore given me a specific time scale to be even further motivated by. I am excited about where I am going with things and I no longer feel disconnected from someone who has with the necessary experience taken a very helpful and practical look into my dreams with me.
I would definitely recommend a Business Boost Breakthrough Session to other mums. Being a mum is a full time and demanding job as it is, let alone being a mum who is also setting up her own business alongside! It could be a very stressful and lonely time trying to juggle all, but a Business Boost Breakthrough session not only gives you a time management strategy, it also gives you the encouragement not to give up when you can see that you are not alone, and you get confirmation that you are not working towards something which is impossible.
I would really like to extend my thanks to Emma for generously spending time giving me such valuable support today,
Sam Willliams