In 2007 I was working in a corporate sales job.

(Really, I could end this post right there and many of you would get it.)

I remember going to my dear friends’ place for dinner one evening. They asked me, “So? What’s new? How are you?” and it all came flying out. That I have never felt physically worse in my life. That when I look in the mirror I see someone who is about 25 years older than I actually am. That my bones ached (I was 37! My bones shouldn’t have been aching!). That I felt so haggard and ripped apart all the time. That I felt so physically wrong, so SO physically wrong, that I kept going to my doctor and telling her SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ME. LOOK AGAIN!

I also remember back in the workplace, hiding in my co-worker’s office and having long chats with her about how we could get out of management. She wanted out as badly as I did. (She has since left to stay at home with her children. YAY!) We were even talking about putting together a business plan and presenting it to the “corner office” – showing them how we could job share. Anything to get out of our current jobs and ease some of the stress.

We even joked that the next time a job posting came around for an admin role, or a position at reception, we should apply.

And then we stopped laughing, looked at each other and went “Hey,wait a minute! Why don’t we?!”.

You could feel that energy leap off of us and hit the fabric of the earth. Seriously. It was awesome.

And so we had a great discussion about doing just that.

The What Ifs.

The Hows.

The Whys.

Would corporate go for it, or would they be too embarrassed to allow it – after all, it would be a bit of a slap in the face (that was not our intent).

What would our spouses think – taking a massive pay cut?

And then the biggie: would we be doing ourselves a dis-service? We climbed that freakin’ corporate ladder! Now we want to climb back down? Would we be okay with not strategizing with the big players? Having less autonomy?

HECK YEAH!

But…neither one of us did anything. We went back to our cushy offices and carried on in our stress. Sticking with the perks of the job and not listening to our Self.

Fast forward to one exhausted morning in the doctor’s office. I created a whole business model around NOT BEING STRESSED. I created a successful business around assisting others administratively. I created my own reality. I designed my life around having the kind of life I wanted. I built a business to support others in easing THEIR stress.

Shall we say it again?

HECK YEAH!

I’ve been rewarded with having what I think are the best clients in the world. I’ve been rewarded with being there for my son as he grows up. I’ve been rewarded with an enriched life because I decided to start this business that I did.

And I’ve been rewarded, so rewarded, in that I can work in sweatpants (I haven’t ironed A THING since November 30, 2007.).

HECK YEAH!

You can call it Secretary’s Day, Admin Assistant’s Day, Clerical Worker’s Day, or Administrative Professional’s Day. Whatever you choose, it’s happening on April 25, and we’re throwing a party!

Join us on Twitter and Facebook for some tips on becoming a VA, tips on using a VA, tricks of the business, shortcuts to making your life easier as you work from home, 2 new products being launched, and discounts and giveaways throughout the day – but ONLY to those who join us online for the party, and ONLY on April 25!

Full details of the Admin Assistant’s Day party here.

See ya on the 25th!

Tweetable.

(this is a crosspost from Scratchpad Secretaries)

I’ve just announced to my list today (psst, sign up – it’s over there on the right!) that I’m starting a new series of Question and Answers. It’s “Q & A Fridays” (yeah I know, really original, lol), and it’s coming soon!

I’ve wanted to do something more interactive and get to know you all better, and people always have questions about what I do, or how I do it, or how I keep motivated or focused while working at home, etc etc etc. So I thought, “Hey! What a great idea! Why don’t I just answer these questions I get – but do it online!”

It’s a great way to interact more with you, great way to get to know you better, and it helps me to know how I can be of greater service to you!

PLUS?

I’ll totally give you some link love if you provide your web address. If you don’t want to be acknowledged over the interwebs? No worries in that regard either. See? No stress. That’s the name of the game.

All you have to do is submit via my contact form.

Easy peasy.

So that’s it! Send me your Q’s, I’ll post my A’s (in various formats!) and we’ll all be the better for it – and have some fun in the meantime!

Win Win, gotta love it!

We got our dog from a rescue in Los Angeles. Her story, what they know of it, is that her family lost their home due to the recession and couldn’t afford to keep her. (Sadly, she was surrendered to a high-kill shelter. For what reason we may never know – she’s the most laid-back Boxer I’ve ever seen in my life! – but I’m sure glad the rescue got wind of her and scooped her up!)

So, of course it breaks my heart that a family would have to surrender their dog due to finances, but it also breaks my heart that families are still losing their homes. That the economy is still so rotten south of the border. That people’s lives are being torn apart due to money. That this has been going on so long!

Fast forward to a few days ago. I’m on twitter and a friend of mine retweets a blog post from a gal that I’d never heard of. So I popped onto her blog.

And my heart starts aching.

1. She’s a beautiful writer
2. She’s willing to do anything, including selling her dream house, to be able to stay at home to parent her children.

See, this is what I’m talking about! This, I get. This, I understand! This is exactly why I do what I do. This is the kind of woman I just want to run up to and hug and tell them I’ve been there (not the recession, but wanting to, and willing to do, anything to stay at home with my son), and say “Look! Here is a financially viable business that costs ALMOST NOTHING to start, enables you to stay at home with your babies, AND participate financially in your household!” 

I want to shout it from a rooftop! People don’t know that this kind of work is available to them. This kind of business. This freedom. Even that there is an option to start a business without having to put money into it.

So… after reading her post, I put the pedal to the medal on my plans for version 2 of my first program “How to Start a Virtual Assistant Business – 6 No-Cost Strategies for Starting off on the Right Foot”. I finished re-recording the audio. I’ve turned it from over a 30-minute recording, to a (much more manageable for the busy mom) package of 8 short audios so you can listen to them as your time permits. (After all – what mom has 30 minutes to herself? This way, you can listen to a couple at a time, one at a time, or all in one sitting! You can download them to your iPod if you’re on the go or burn them to a CD for your car!.)

I’ve added an easy-to-read Table of Contents so you can easily reference the worksheets as you’re listening to the audios. And speaking of worksheets, I’ve added an extra one to really speed along a few of the start up processes and steps. And something reeeeeeally awesome? I’ve updated the Resource Guide with some cool new No-to-Low-Cost applications that I personally use to fuel my business and keep be sane behind the scenes.

And even more awesome?

It’s now only $17.95.

Yeah I know, right?

I’m all about breaking barriers, not breaking the bank.

So here you go. The new and improved version. At a bit of a mark down. With more good stuff included.

Here’s to your success!