Auntie Sarah, what do you do….

or When helping with a brownie badge gives you really good insight into your own business

I have wonderful nieces and nephews including Isla.  Isla is 10 years old, curious, interested and wanting to complete her Brownie Interest badge in “Jobs”.  So we sat down on a Sunday afternoon for her to interview me about what I do.

What struck me, was that not only were the questions she asked great questions, but that they were insightful and showed in a matter of minutes what I do and what I’ve learned along the way.  I thought I’d share with you our conversation.

Questions from a 10 year old

Isla: So, what’s your job?

Sarah: I have my own business and I am a Virtual Assistant. Do you know what that is? 

Isla: No. 

Sarah: That's okay. A Virtual Assistant is somebody that assists people - virtually. So if you have a business and you need help doing something, then I can help you without coming to work in your office.

Isla: What was the best moment of being a business woman?

Sarah: Of having my own business? Do you know what my favourite thing is? Because my business is called Juggling Octopus, people remember the octopus…. It makes me feel really proud that people know me and remember who I am and what I do.  That makes me really proud.

Isla: What is your biggest achievement?

Sarah: My biggest achievement is being able to pay my bills. Because… if you're employed then people pay your bills every month, yeah? And lots of people have businesses but don't make enough money, and it's really quite difficult sometimes. So my biggest achievement is knowing that my bills will be paid every month so that I can focus on helping my customers and I can buy birthday presents for people I love. 

Isla: Have you ever considered doing another job? 

Sarah: I've had lots of jobs!  

When I finished at university I worked in the bank and then I sold mortgages, and then I went travelling for a bit, and then I sold money (note: FX!), remember the money one? And then I sold air, ish (note: working for a company providing Indoor Air Quality Certification was difficult to explain!).

But what I decided was that I always want to do something I love. So I always try my hardest and enjoy it, and if I decide then that it isn't right then I change it and I do something else. And now I found this, it's awesome and I really love it. So I've done lots of things and changed them if they weren’t right for me.

Isla: What skills have you learned doing the job? 

Sarah: That's a good question. I have learned to be organised. Because I work for different customers, and they are all very important. So you have to be able to be organised and know what to do on what day and when. 

I've learned to communicate really well with people. 

I've learned to try and do things differently. So it might be that we've always done something this way, but it's really difficult and complicated and there might be something new we could do. So that's a really good skill, to be able to look and say, this is good, but could it be done differently?

Hmmm… what other skills do I have? 

Listening, that's a good skill. I have to listen really carefully because sometimes my clients will tell me what to do, and they do it all the time so they know it. So I have to listen so that I can understand. Is that okay?
Isla: Yeah.  What are your top tips for anyone who wants to do your job? 

Sarah: Talk to lots of people that do the job you want to do. So talk to me. I would always say if anyone wanted to have a coffee with me - or a drink - and learn more, they can. If anyone wanted to come and spend the day with me, then they can.

If you think you like something or you think you'd be interested in something, have a go at it.  See if someone will let you have a go at it, because that way you can see if it's really for you. And if you're going to do it, try your hardest. Because lots of people don't actually try their hardest and don’t get the most out of things. So whatever you do, try your hardest. And if you don't like it, it's okay to say, actually, I’ve changed your mind - because that's really important to you. 

Isla: Thank you. Thank you for coming here today to let me interview you.

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Juggling Octopus is a virtual assistant agency based in Derby, UK and is run by Sarah Moore.  Always happy to talk about all things Octopus and outsourcing and to learn more about other businesses, get in touch if you’d like to chat.