Name: Louise Mackie
Job: Virtual assistant at www.lm-va.co.uk
Where were you born: Wrexham
Where do you live now: Northop Hall
Education: GCSE’s at Hawarden High School, A levels at Mold Alun and degree at University of Chester .
Family life: Husband Andrew, seven year old son Alex and three year old daughter Hannah.
Our seven-year-old alarm clock wakes us up around 7am and after the normal rush of lunch making, breakfasts, getting washed and dressed, Andrew takes Hannah to nursery and I walk Alex to school.
On a VA day (I work part time whilst I am establishing my business) I generally come home and tidy up after the morning rush and get ready for the day.
Being a VA means that I can be very flexible in how and when and even where I work - over the Easter holidays I took my laptop to Wizz Kids and worked from there for a couple of hours whilst Alex and his friend burnt off some energy!
I am very lucky in that the clients I have at the moment are happy that as long as I am meeting the hours that they require every week, it doesn’t matter to them if I work in the day or at night.
Some businesses that I have worked with have seen a real benefit to having someone ‘online’ of an evening when their customers are emailing in and are very surprised (and happy) to receive a response to their query straight away, and not an automated ‘we will get back to you’ reply.
Watch an interview with virtual assistant Louise Mackie below:
A typical day would involve me reviewing what client work I have to do.
I prioritise week by week depending on what my clients need and what is going on for my business and personal life but also like to review every day in case something crops up last minute for any of my clients.
Some days I do my client work during the day and then pick Alex up from school before Andrew and Hannah return home.
Other days I have things going on in the day and I will be out at networking events or meeting business owners who are feeling overwhelmed with the admin.
We chat about how I can support them to get back on track by taking from them the bits they don’t have to do themselves which leaves them more time to do other things like grow their business or spend time with loved ones.
I am also a committee member of the Chester and North Wales PA Network.
We have recently launched the network - our second event is taking place at Chester Zoo on May 18.
It is for any admin professional who works or lives in and around the Chester and North Wales area.
We want to grow the network to be somewhere that people get together to chat, share ideas and learn together.
We have some brilliant speakers lined up for the May event and lots of exciting plans for the coming year!
All of the above and working on my own business - writing blogs, researching content to share that is useful for people who are interested in my social networks, learning and training with other VAs keeps me very busy but I am really enjoying growing my business.
I’m looking forward to what the future will bring and becoming full time in my business once my daughter starts school in September.
What do you wear to do your job? As I work from home I am normally in casual clothes, unless I am at a networking event or meeting potential clients and then I smarten up a bit!
What is the favourite part of your job? Meeting with busy business owners and building up relationships whilst providing them with the support they need.
What is the least favourite part of your job? I am yet to find something that I don’t like! Working with different people, the flexibility of working hours that suit my clients as well as me and the great support network I have from other virtual assistants I know means there is very little to not like!
What would be your dream job if you weren’t doing what you do now? Working for a celebrity!
How do you relax when you are not working? My weekdays are quite busy with working on clients’ businesses and then developing my own business too so on the weekends I like to have lazy mornings with my family and then meet up with friends and extended family for fun with our children. We also like long weekends away either camping or in a big house with friends and family.
What is your favourite film? Anything Disney or the classics such as Sound of Music, Bodyguard, Pretty Woman etc - there are too many golden oldies to pick just one!
What is your favourite book? It’s been a long time since I read a book for myself - at the moment I would say it has to be something like Dear Zoo or Stick Man.
What is your favourite song? I’m loving anything by Ed Sheeran at the moment - that man can do no wrong!
If a film was made of your life, who would you like to play you? My auntie and a couple of others think I look a lot like Kirstie Allsopp so I’d have to go with her.
Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet? No I’m still waiting for that!
We want to hear from people from all walks of life – to take part, email leah.jones@trinitymirror.com.
