22/01/2025
As promised Q&A:
Q1: What do I do?
I work as a tech VA - a virtual assistant with a tech bias. I learn your pain points and issues and try to find the most efficient way to address them, ideally eliminating the busywork through the use of automation. If that's not possible, I can take on those tasks that you dislike.
Q2: How do I work from a boat in the ocean?
At the moment, we're coastal cruising in the Mediterranean, so it's actually quite straightforward (mobile coverage is significantly better than in the UK across almost all of our cruising grounds.) I use a local SIM card and hotspot from my mobile. When we're making big crossings of 2–3 days at sea, I let my clients know in plenty of time that I'll be temporarily unavailable, I also try to time it over weekends where possible. If we ever decide to go further afield, I will likely invest in a Starlink system. I've only ever had one instance of patchy internet access combined with a last-minute, urgent task from a client. If needed, we would have moved to a different anchorage, but as it happens, running my mobile phone up to the top of the mast worked a treat!
Q3: What is my favourite task?
I actually have two joint winners. Firstly, I love doing automations - that's basically building a robotic process that says, "When this happens, do X, Y, Z." A very simplified example is: if someone fills in a contact form, you might want to send them an introductory email and perhaps follow up later with a discount offer. Rather than doing it manually, an automation would handle it for you, merging in the person's contact details, addressing the email to them directly and following up at the specified time, so you don’t need to remember. Automations can be simple or complex, but either way, they are incredibly powerful!
Secondly, I love building online training courses and ensuring they work seamlessly and look aesthetically pleasing. 😊
Those are the questions I get asked most often. If you have any others, feel free to ask!
Shameless plug:
If you are an entrepreneur or small business owner who wants to embrace tech but doesn't know where to start—or even what's possible—then feel free to reach out for a chat.
