How getting a personal assistant changed my life (and she was virtual!)
1. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
Transcribe of an Interview with Richard Walton Founder of
AVirtual
How Getting a Personal Assistant Changed
my Life (and she was Virtual!)
2. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
Interview with Richard Walton
Founder of GVI, Corkscrew, Bushwise and now Outsourcery!
3. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
1. Why did you get a Virtual PA and not a
“real” one?
• I had a real need for help but I wasn’t sure how many hours
were necessary each month for the tasks that needed to get
done.
• I didn’t want to commit to someone full time, as I didn’t want to
deal with the effort to hire a staff member, and all the legalities.
• With a virtual PA, there was no need to set them up in my office
(which was already cramped) or set them up on the payroll.
• This, in it’s self, made life a bit easier.
5. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
2. How did this person change your life?
• Now that I have a virtual assistant, I feel like I can focus on big
picture stuff for work and my family.
• On the weekends, instead of trying to fit in the things that I
couldn’t manage to do during the week, I can now go for long
runs and play with my kids.
• I feel so grateful that this weight has been lifted and I can focus
on my strong points as a businessman and a father.
• My life feels more balanced.
7. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
3. How long did it take you to trust this
person?
• Trust is difficult enough in person, but my VA quickly impressed
me as she was fast and accountable.
• We’d meet face to face on Skype and spoke frequently on the
phone.
• She now has access to a couple of my cards, all my frequent
flyer details and household account information.
• She manages most of my bills and finances.
• Even better, most of the jobs I entrust to her, she does far better
than I ever did.
9. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
4. Have you ever wished your VA worked in
your office?
It would be lovely to have my VA in my office, and to able able to
ask for her help locally.
Like recently when I needed someone to let the plumber into the
house. However, I recently discovered Task Rabbit
(taskrabbit.co.uk) and other services that can help with more
hands on situations.
11. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
5. Can you give three examples of your VA’s
responsibilities?
• Travel arrangements for business and family trips.
• My VA is really great with car insurance, home insurance, health
cover, and recently she sorted out our installation of high speed
internet.
• More recently she helped me set up and manage our social
media accounts, conducting marketing research and she also
manages some of my Odesk employees.
13. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
6. Any advice for people thinking about
getting a Virtual PA?
• If you are feeling overwhelmed with work and general life, you
need to give it a shot. Your time is valuable.
• Before committing to a virtual assistant, I made a note of the
amount of time I spent doing admin things that I’d really love to
take off my plate. The hours added up and it made my decision
easier.
• My Virtual PA allowed me to enjoy a richer personal life, while
increasing my productivity in ways I didn’t even anticipate.
15. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
And now of course I have set up a new company called AVirtual
that offers high quality virtual personal assistants and its fantastic
to see the effect we are already having on peoples lives!
16. AVIRTUAL | PROFESSIONAL SME SERVICES
Serial entrepreneur, Richard Walton, started
AVirtual in 2015, after he had struggled to find a
great virtual PA to help him manage his busy life.
He quickly realized that he probably wasn’t alone,
and that Cape Town is the perfect city for
providing virtual Pas to European and US clients.
Since then, AVirtual has expanded rapidly and has
helped hundreds of busy entrepreneurs lead more
productive lives.
He is regularly featured in the business press
including SUCCESS and the FT Pod cast series “
Start up stories”
Editor's Notes
This is the title slide and should be the first slide of your presentation. Generally you would want to keep it neat and clean as per above, with the only editing being done on the text content.
Section headers are used to split your sections. It’s nice to break up sections, and the alternate colours call attention to the viewer. This slide should only be used for section headings, and not for content.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
The Section with Content and Caption slide is great to use when you have a chart which needs a short bit of commentary.
All presentations should end with the “End” slide, and should not be edited.