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Interview with Cindy Bruce of Essential Office Solutions

Cindy Bruce, president of Essential Office Solutions, took the time to chat with us about how she discovered the VA industry and how she balances her growing Multi-VA practice with her busy family life.

Cindy Bruce began her career in the corporate world performing customer service, sales operations support and telesales. In past positions she found the world of project management and has attended the University of Wisconsin as well as the American Management Association programs in this area. In 2009, Cindy opened Essential Office Solutions (EOS) providing sales operations support and online business management services to small and mid-sized businesses.

Stay up-to-date with what Essential Office Solutions is focused on by visiting the company blog. You can also connect with Cindy on Facebook, Twitter, and right here at Virtual Assistant Forums.

How long have you been a virtual assistant and what drew you to the industry?

I started Essential Office Solutions in March of 2009. Actually, I was unaware of the Virtual Assistant industry until about January of 2009 after I had decided that I could provide the services I had been performing in the corporate world from my home office and work for myself.

I began researching my business idea ~ what was available online and what information I could use to proceed. In doing this I found Virtual Assistant Forums ~ what a godsend! All the info I needed was there and that’s when I found the VA world.

Can you describe the startup process of your VA practice as you remember it? Please share your biggest triumph and biggest hurdle you had to overcome.

Research, reading and more research, that was my start up process. Having never had an online/virtual business I did not know where to start.
I chose a webhosting company, used their site template because I had never created my own website before and began. Then I found the template was not as user-friendly as I needed not being a techy sort and realized I needed to change to Wordpress to enable what I envisioned for my site.

Thank goodness for VAF again! I found fellow VAs there who were willing to walk me through, do some work and help me migrate. That was the biggest start up challenge!

What is your specialty/niche and what makes you an expert or leader in your field?

I began EOS with my specialty in telemarketing and telesales (in which I have over 15 years management experience). While working with my first clients in this area, I found that I was not only performing telesales services but assisting them with managing their business which I draw from my sales operations management experience. This has allowed me to move into online business management as well.

How do you define success?

Success for me is to be able to work from home assisting others in starting and growing their business while providing for my family.

What are the top tools or resources you use on a regular basis in running your own business?

Having come from the corporate world I use primarily Microsoft products/tools in my business but am open to trying anything new. Using the tools that my clients require is what I use regularly; Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel.

For other resources, I check into VAF daily as it has a wealth of knowledge not found in any one place on the internet today for free. I use free resources mostly but upgrade to paid versions when necessary to provide my clients with the best service possible.

As you’ve fine tuned your business, are there any services you prefer not to offer? How would you handle a request for these services from a new or potential client?

Bookkeeping and website design and maintenance ~ these are not my forte. I have created a network of VAs that I can call on as subcontractors who enjoy that type of work and I am comfortable will provide the quality of services my clients require.

How do you feel about social networking for business – do you implement it and if so, has it been a successful addition to your marketing efforts?

I did create the Illinois Virtual Assistants group on VAF to meet and network with others in the industry and this has been a terrific networking program. We meet monthly during warmer weather and bi-monthly in winter for lunch and learning at local restaurants.

What is the one thing you ‘wish you’d known’ when you first started out?

That I would never realistically have 40 billable hours per week! My children are grown and I thought I would be able to “work” for 40 hours ~ my income plan. When you are running your own business you cannot plan for more than 4 billable hours per day and as your business grows that number can even decrease. You must schedule hours to market, plan, budget and take care of your business in order to be successful.

How do you balance work and family and what challenges have you overcome [when it comes to living a balanced life]? What challenges are you still struggling with?

Not having children at home reduces the balance struggles a lot of VAs encounter, however I do have some as my husband’s work schedule is not a standard one. I use my Outlook calendar for EVERYTHING and to help me keep track of everyone in my life; this allows me to see at a glance what is going on and keeps me from overbooking myself. Also, my family is very supportive of my business and understands when the home office door is closed it means "Do Not Disturb".

What do you love most about being a virtual assistant /self employed businesswoman?

I love being able to schedule time to spend with my family, and in particular my grandson. Having worked in the cubicle world during my childrens' school years I was not able to go to school functions, stay home when they were not feeling well, etc. Now I can – I was even able to go with my daughter to ultrasound appointments to see our newest grandchild!

Also, the amount of stress is so much less ~ of course, I stress over getting new clients, completing tasks, etc but I can manage what that stress level is. If needed; I can choose to work at 11:00 pm or I can sit in the gazebo in my garden on a sunny day and work. My work is enjoyable because I choose the what, when, and where.