They say variety is the spice of life and when it comes to projects so far, I have been lucky enough to work with some great people across a number of different project types.
My first client was actually some associate work with Admin & More. They were looking for someone to join their team to answer phones for one of their clients. I remember Elizabeth saying "usually VAs will do this on top of their client work as it isn't going to make you millions" but to me, it was about adding structure back to my week prior to finding my first project. At the start of December I agreed to work 4 hours on a Tuesday afternoon and 4 hours on a Thursday and Friday morning.
As I hoped, it got me back into the swing of things and excited to see what was to come! It gave me a push to start searching for a project.
During December, I was approached by my next client. My client was looking to grow his business and knew that there were a few missing pieces in order to do so. Customer Success being one of those pieces. We met and discussed the current business structure and the vision my client had. As we continued the discussions, it became clear that there was another piece I could help with - software implementation.
New projects were coming in thick and fast for my client and increasing week on week. Not a bad problem to have but one that needed to be reviewed. Each team member had their part of each project in their head but in order to grow the business and continue to accept more projects, my client needed a tool to manage the projects...ASAP!!
My background is project management and resource tools so the project with my client changed direction. We worked out the requirements the company needed (things like two way sync with Outlook, MailChimp integration) and I created a checklist of 'must haves' and 'nice to haves' to come up with a shortlist for my client. Once I had tested tools, I came up with 3 to present back to my client to test and give feedback.
The team decided to go with Scoro so we configured the system and then rolled out to the wider business.
During the implementation, the discussions around Customer Success continued. My client and his team are advisors. They have many years experience in their field and they have held the client relationship for many years. The expectation was that the advisor would continue to hold the relationship and Customer Success for this company, would be more Account Management with some marketing included. The Customer Success role would be a support to the advisors rather than being an advisor to the client, as I know it.
The more we discussed the requirements, although the role was termed Customer Success, it became clear that the everyday requirements and skills required were not aligned with the role of Customer Success as I know it.
To me, the role of Customer Success is the main contact point, the trusted advisor. Customer Success is all about making a difference to your clients and adding value. The role my client requires makes sense for the business, but without the relationship with the client, not aligned to my vision of my next project.
Once Scoro was implemented we closed the project allowing me to move on in the search of a new project.
At the same time as working on the software implementation project, I was approached by my old company, Deltek to project manage the new WorkBook implementations that were being signed by the sales team.
They had lost two of their project coordinators so I took over the current implementations already in progress and as more clients have signed, I have been able to lead these projects from the start. Leading both internal and external kick offs, moving schedules as required and building relationships with both the consultants as well as clients.
There has also been a new business project for Admin & More. One of their clients is looking to build a new business list of contacts so I have been learning Sales Navigator and understanding the clients requirements which has been helping me to learn how to do this for Virtually Here For You.
My latest project is working with a client who had an idea that he wanted to turn into a business. He didn't know where to start so a friend put us in touch.
I have therefore been busy this last week building the website, creating the logo, registering the business, the business bank account, ICO protection and insurance. I have also been reviewing the best options for online payments and will soon be creating the social media accounts ready for the launch.
I'm happy with change and I love variety so a project changing scope or the variety of projects I have been working on hasn't phased me at all. About a month ago, one of my friends said how he was jealous about the variety of work I have and he's right, I am loving it!
It's made me think, it's helped me to learn new skills and it's allowed me to use skills I've not used in a long while.
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