Good morning! Last week, I celebrated the tenth anniversary of my VA Handbookers Facebook group. A whole decade! As I was replying to all the lovely congratulatory comments, I realised how many of the VAs have been in the group since the early days, and how I've watched their careers and lives change over the years. I've seen them grow teams, open agencies, have children, move countries, and even change the direction of their business to become OBMs or social media managers. I've also had the...
3 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning! It seems that spring has finally sprung. The daffodils are out, the days are getting longer, and the weather is getting slightly warmer. However, I'm still being cautious because: I live in Scotland. I've been fooled before. I have another couple of recommendations for you this week. Wispr Flow I'm writing this week's newsletter using Wispr, which is a free voice-to-text app that came recommended by a friend. As someone who doesn't touch type and is trying to mitigate RSI, it's...
10 days ago • 2 min read
Greetings from bonnie Scotland! This week's edition is a little different from usual. I've come across two things recently that changed how I plan my personal and professional lives, and I wanted to share them with you. The first is a phenomenally insightful YouTube video by Daniel Pink. At first, I was like "Urgh, New Year shizz, same old, same old", but I hit play and discovered the content was different from any other planning advice I've come across. It's 26 minutes of absolute gold dust....
17 days ago • 2 min read
Greetings from a breezy but beautiful Scotland! The March issue of my Espresso AI newsletter goes out on Thursday, and, as usual, I wanted to share a preview of what the existing subscribers will receive. This month’s issue covers: 1. The OpenAI furore You’ve likely seen the headlines about OpenAI's recent political donations and lobbying, and by the looks of my LinkedIn feed, everyone and their Mum is either switching to Claude or at least has an opinion on the subject. In this month's...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Greetings from bonnie Scotland! I think it might now be spring here by the loch, but tbh I don't want to jinx it. However, I can 100% confirm that: a) It's true that in Scotland, every day contains every kind of weather.b) British people really do love to talk about the weather. Not a myth. As many Virtual Assistants struggle to market their businesses, and it's also one of the biggest topics in your VA Handbookers Facebook group, I thought I'd dedicate a whole edition to it. You might want...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
The other day, I walked into my office and leaned forward to reach for something on the top of the filing cabinet. ... and smashed my head right into the corner of a shelf. I dropped to the floor with my ears ringing, stars dancing in front of my eyes and curses tumbling loudly from my lips. That was last week, and you can still see a bright red scrape on my head surrounded by an attractive, dirty yellow bruise. I tried to work out how I could have done such a stupid thing, and I think it was...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
A couple of days ago, I mentioned on LinkedIn that I've started sending random postcards to my friends. Sure, WhatsApp is more convenient, but receiving something unexpected in the post is freakin' marvellous and completely makes your day. You know your friend was not only thinking about you, but they also put time, effort, and money into letting you know. You feel special. One of the comments on the LinkedIn post was from an Irish VA who'd signed up for a postcard exchange. "I still write...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Well, last week's newsletter certainly hit a nerve. In it, I discussed how important it is to adapt to changes in your life, and how you may start out wanting one thing and end up wanting something completely different. One VA revealed in the Handbookers Facebook group that she went from offering admin and social media to "becoming a Paralegal and McKenzie Friend, doing a law degree… at 41!!" simply because some clients needed help with statements for family law proceedings. She said, "I...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Good morning from bonnie Scotland, I moved here last September in search of a slower, simpler way of life, and while I've certainly achieved that, to say we've had some wild weather this month would be an understatement. It's my first January here, and I'm not gonna lie - if I didn't have my little dog, I'd be in Bali right now! When I was younger, I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather not live than a small village out in the country. In my opinion, the countryside was just ditches, wet...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader I don't know about you, but I'm totally over all this "do more, be more" productivity shizz. It's been done to death and kinda feels a bit toxic nowadays. Frankly, I think most people are exhausted by pretty much everything right now. Efficiency, however, is a whole different ballgame. Efficiency I can get behind. After 17 years in business and being somewhat of a minimalist and lover of simplicity, I've learned that efficiency is about subtracting things rather than adding them. I...
2 months ago • 3 min read