I believe it is incredibly important in today’s business world to not sit behind a faceless organisation. After all, people buy from people. I always find myself drawn to people, clients and businesses that I sense a personal connection with.

I read a bio the other day on LinkedIn from a lady who is now a business coach. She very candidly wrote about her struggles with mental health, divorce and overcoming huge obstacles in her past, which left her with the deep desire to help others overcome their difficulties to live a fulfilled life. I was in awe that this lady had revealed her vulnerabilities from her past to the world. I realised that actually what she had done was very clever. Revealing her experiences showed her potential clients that, hey, I understand, I was once there and here’s how I overcame everything and you can too. WOW! MIND BLOWN!

I felt inspired by her words and decided to share my story. So here I am, coffee in hand, and laptop fired up and ready to go.

My sister stole my birthday!

I don’t remember the day she was born, I was only three at the time and probably enjoying the full attention of my parents, as most toddlers do. Then my sister dared to be born on my birthday! How incredibly rude! We laugh about it now and even share birthday celebrations with our families and friends.

As I was so young when she was born, celebrating our birthdays on the same day was the norm in our home in Walton on Thames. As we grew up, we fought as many siblings do. I would steal her clothes, makeup and nail polishes and end up ruining them somehow. She would be told off for telling me off etc, pretty normal childhood with a sister who stole my darn birthday.

Growing up

When I was about 7, we moved to Molesey, where I kept my head down at school. I had my little group of friends and we found school boring so my GSCE’s results were not great, to say the least. Whilst in school I had decided I wanted to be a hairdresser so after school hours, I got my first job in a small salon. My days were spent sweeping up hair, making drinks and listening to the hum of conversations between the hairdressers and clients.  

I moved on to work at a warehouse at 18. The job itself was incredibly mundane, but I was the youngest female amongst a hugely male workforce and I loved it. The camaraderie, inappropriate jokes and stories with all the banter, was what made that job fun for me.

Moving on

In 2003 I started working for a franchise company (not as a franchisee but selling franchises). It was my job to stand up on stage in front of 2000-3000 potential franchisees and deliver a presentation to get them on board.

I took it all in my stride at the time and thought nothing about getting up on stage. Ask me if I would now, and I would tell you in no uncertain terms, that there’s more chance of me sprouting wings and flying to the moon! The one thing I loved about the job, however, was meeting new people. I loved getting to know clients and building relationships. Not that I realised it at the time, but I had a knack for speaking to people. Unfortunately, the business closed and I was made redundant.

Meeting Tony

I found employment as a Stock Administrator on a temporary contract. but I was soon offered the opportunity to become a permanent member of staff which I gladly accepted. I liked the boss, Tony. He was mature, kind and composed. Before long, we fell in love and the rest is history! Later down the line the company relocated to Essex and I went too, although the commute was awful when not staying in my company house. Driving up and down the motorway on a Friday and Monday in heavy traffic, was time-consuming and stressful. The final straw came from when I was involved in a near crash on the M25, which made up my mind for me. The commuting was too much. Something had to give.

Then came the family and a massive loss

In 2010 I became pregnant with Ryley, then a mere year later, along came Caiden. (Thankfully they didn’t arrive on the same date!) I had my family and found where I was supposed to be. Not long after Ryley was born my Dad become unwell and I took some time out to be with him and support him in his last few weeks. This was a really tough time in our lives and a huge loss. Nothing prepares you for the loss of a parent and the grief you face afterwards, for many years.

To earn some extra money, I began working from home as a consultant. Working from home suited me to a tee! It gave me the flexibility to spend time with my family, take the kids to school, and do all the other million and one jobs we do as mothers.

I enjoyed working remotely and not facing a commute into work every day, sitting waiting for 5.30 to tick around so I could leave and get dinner started and relax with my family. Now don’t get me wrong, the average 37.5 hours a week, when you work for yourself, seldom exists.

I would frequently be working late into the night after the boys had gone to sleep. Tony was hugely supportive of me working from home, for one, he saw that it made me happy. He never put pressure on me to go back to, what I call, ‘a normal job’. He encouraged me to continue to work remotely as a consultant.  

We got married

In 2006 Tony and I decided to plan our dream wedding after living in sin for so many years and being engaged for three years. In 2018 we finally tied the knot surrounded by all of our friends and family at the wonderful Farnham Castle. Soon after an amazing honeymoon to the Maldives.  

Lockdown

Eight years passed and I was still working as a consultant for the same couple of clients, but I wanted more. I decided it was time for a fresh start and with Covid-19 in full swing, two children being home-schooled and a husband working at home what better time?

Within a year I was up to capacity and there was only one of me. I knew I had to do something more if I wanted to grow.

The launch

I began planning to evolve into an agency. My boys now 9 and 10 are growing up quickly and although don’t need me so much with caring for them, they do still need me to be present for them. I knew I had grown as much as I could do as a solo VA so the natural progression was to become an agency. I already had clients, I already had the knowledge and know-how, there was no stopping me! Things progressed rapidly and Sampson VA Services was born.

Rebranding, a new website, and of course, the hiring of amazing VA’s soon became a working reality. I sat down for four days solid (day and night) writing a full years’ worth of social media posts and scheduled them all in. I was ready to go!

I began networking again, meeting new potential clients and growing my professional networking. And now today, I have a perfect team of 8 VA’s who bring their uniqueness to the table, I can now offer a huge variety of services, which I could never have done solo, and I am loving every day.

The future

I’ve never been one to sit and settle for average. I hope to continue to grow Sampson VA Services, the team and the offering to clients, all whilst keeping the face of the business, transparent, approachable, friendly and most importantly relatable. My next plan is to help others on their journey to becoming a freelance VA. I am passionate about helping others realise their true potential. So eventually I will be designing a training programme.

So, there it is, my journey! Full of good times, bad times, tears and laughter but most importantly, the love for the people who supported me to get here.