An Interview with Elizabeth - Business Owner of Admin & More
On a rainy day in July, I sat down with Elizabeth and asked her several questions about her journey becoming a business owner of Admin and More. Since starting her business 8 years ago, a lot has changed with many successes and a few challenges. From working in the charity sector to an owner of a business featuring virtual assistants, Elizabeth let me in on what made her decide to shift careers and take on this new, exciting role:
MS: Could you start by explaining what your role is at Admin and More? What do you do in your day to day?
EW: My role here at Admin & More has changed over the years that I’ve been running the business. When I first started I was running a virtual assistant business all on my own, but after running for 8 years I now have a fantastic team of virtual assistants working under me. Therefore my role has changed from working with clients in the main to making sure all our staff, associates and clients are happy, and we do that by having regular review meetings with them.
I also have a great Operations Manager called Rebecca who looks after all our clients and makes sure they’re happy. We deal with feedback and any issues that come up, and I work with Rebecca on making changes to the business so it always runs smoother. So primarily my role is to work on the business as a whole, and that includes our marketing, making sure we’ve got leads coming into the business, and making sure that we’re successful as a business.
MS: Recently, as you mentioned before, Admin and More hit 8 years - why did you decide to start your company 8 years ago?
EW: I worked in the charity sector for 15 years and like with most professions you sometimes can start feeling a bit burnt out. It wasn’t motivating me anymore so I knew I needed a change and I started thinking about what I could do instead. Someone happened to mention to me at the time “you’d make a really good virtual assistant because you’re versatile and you know lots of different things - so why not try that?” And I had thought about doing that for 5 or 6 years, until the opportune moment in my life came to be able to do that, which I did. And now we’re here 8 years later.
MS: What would you say has been the biggest challenge that you have had in those 8 years?
EW: I think the biggest challenge, and any business owner will know this, is cash flow and managing that cash flow. When it goes great it’s amazing, but there are times when you have dips and troughs in any business. This year has been a really challenging year and so we have had to work at managing that properly as things hit us from all sides. But we know how to do that, and we have been managing that really well, and now we’re coming out the other side. So yes, the biggest challenge I always find in running a business is cash flow and making sure everything is going alright.
MS: What would you say has been the biggest success or something you’re most proud of?
EW: I think all the work that we’ve been doing around Access to Work and helping people with disabilities get that award is the most satisfying part of our job. Because what often happens is if they’re awarded a support worker we will make sure they get that support worker, and we can make a real difference to peoples lives by helping to organise them. And I think that gives a buzz to our team as well because they can get to see that they’re making a difference in someones life. They enjoy doing that as well as I do that so that is a passion of every member of our team that works here.
MS: That’s great! When you’re not running your company what do you like to do outside of work (if you get the time)?
EW: We (my husband and I) own a static caravan in Norfolk so most weekends you’ll find us down there in the summer. And it’s great because we can get out for walks, and we especially love walking along the beach. I also love reading - give me a trashy novel anytime and I will get immersed and forget about work. We always like going out and visiting new places and gaining new experiences.
MS: What’s one tip you’d like to give to other business owners?
EW: Being a business owner can be very lonely. So my biggest tip is to have a mentor or someone you can talk to because sometimes even when you’ve got staff you can feel that you’re very alone. So having someone who is a peer to talk to and discuss business issues is key and to remember that everyone is facing those same business issues who’s running a business. So yeah, make sure to have someone that you can talk to so you’re not feeling so lonely.
MS: Finally, where would you like to see Admin and More to go in the future?
EW: We want Admin and More to grow more. We’re in our lovely new offices in Kettering as we speak. We’re looking at creating hubs to help even more people with disabilities. We’re also looking at helping get people who are long term unemployed get back into work and that’s a big mission of ours so we can give something back to the community.
If you would like to discuss your own small business journey on Elizabeth’s upcoming podcast, email us at: e.wright@adminandmore.co.uk
Similarly, if you would like to get in touch about anything from this interview, why not book a FREE consultation call with us to see how we can help you!
