For fifteen years, my world revolved around CEO schedules, board meeting packs, and being the steady hand behind the scenes of senior executives. I was a corporate Executive Assistant, a role that, on paper, looks administrative, but in reality demands a strange mix of strategist, firefighter, and magician.
I loved the pace. I thrived on the adrenaline of last-minute changes and the satisfaction of making the impossible work. But after a while, I began to become frustrated with having little autonomy over my own schedule, and a growing itch to take ownership of my own career. But this is what I do, this is what I am good at. This is life at work I guess?
Then came redundancy.
If I’m being honest, there was a sense of relief that came with it. It felt like a line in the sand, a now-or-never moment to take real ownership of my career. I finally paused to reflect on what I truly wanted from my next chapter. And the answer was that it wasn’t just about the role itself, it was about the lifestyle around it. I loved being an EA, the fixer, the magician, but I was tired of the corporate rat race and red tape that came with it.
With a ‘if I don’t do it now I never will’ mindset, I sat down with a notepad and wrote out a list of people I had ever worked for, worked with or met in a professionally capacity. Could any of these people help me? Give me advice? and if I did do something for myself, what would I do?
I knew the answer to this straight away because actually years before I had looked into what it would take to be an assistant working for myself. The term Virtual Assistant or VA had never really come across my radar before. Once I started looking into it I realised that there were many, many ex Exec Assistants out there now working for themselves as an online, virtual resource and they seemed to be thriving. Can’t be that hard can it? (Turns out, it is hard. Very hard.) However, never one to say no to a challenge, or give up on an idea once I have set my mind on it, I told myself that I would give it 12 months. I would do whatever I could for a year, to try and get some work, build a reputation, and make self employment work for me in the same way it seemed to be working for these women I was reading about online.
That is when Help Me, Bonnie was born. It wasn’t always going to be called that. I went through a few names before I decided on HMB. Some I cringe at now, others I actually think were better options. I wanted people (any people) to be able to reach out and ask for help. This felt like a business name that made that clear, and also that meant any type of person or business could work with me. No Niche. The funnel was big.
So I had a business name. I made a website. I did the maths on what I would need to earn in the first 12 months to ‘get by’ knowing I probably wouldn’t earn my London salary straight off the bat. I spoke to some of the people on the list I had written, got their perspective and invested a bit of cash into getting myself legally able to work for myself. Contracts, insurance and a few other bits and bobs, and I was officially ready to get cracking.
And then I did something that felt both terrifying and liberating, I went on LinkedIn and told the world what I was doing. No grand launch, no polished campaign, just me putting it out there to anyone who would listen. I shared my plans, my services, and the fact that I was ready to help. It wasn’t perfect, but it was honest. I had no idea how people would react. Would they think I was reckless, naïve, or just a bit mad? Would my old colleagues read it and think ‘who the hell does she think she is?’
That first post sparked conversations I never could have predicted. That post opened doors and reconnected me with old colleagues from many years ago who all wished me well and asked me questions, they wanted to know in more detail what I could do and how I could do it for them. They say your network is your net worth (and I hate cringy sayings like that) but its true. My network showed up for me bigtime, and since day one I have had work. Not loads of work at the start, but work. For myself. As a self employed person.
Now six months in, I can honestly say this is the leap I never knew I needed to take. I have regular retained clients, and a steady trickle of new clients coming in each month. I am now being contacted by people I don’t know, they aren’t in my network, they have been passed my details by someone else who has worked with me. People trust other peoples recommendations and I have come to realise that this is where I will really be able to grow my client base.
What changed (and what hasn’t)
Autonomy & Flexibility
The biggest and most obvious shift is freedom. As a VA, I get to choose my clients, set my own hours, and (still wild to me) work from wherever I like. No commuting, no waiting around for someone else to call it a day.
Responsibility Levels
When you’re employed, you’ve got a safety net, a steady salary, IT support and HR policies. As a freelancer, that net disappears. You become the finance department, the marketing team and the IT helpdesk. There have been times I have wanted to throw my laptop out of the window, but I have somehow always managed to find a solution.
It’s liberating, but it can also be overwhelming. I find myself finishing my work day and then spending most evenings working on plans for how I am going to build my contacts, trying to come up with creative ways to market my services and doing my own admin.
Skill Transfer
One thing I didn’t anticipate was just how valuable my EA skills would be in the freelance world. Calendar management, inbox organisation, stakeholder liaison, just being on it. These are gold for trying to build something. What felt ‘everyday’ in my corporate job suddenly became a premium skillset.
Client Dynamics
Supporting a CEO inside a large corporation is very different from supporting a founder of a small business. Or a one man band. Corporates run on structure, policies, and hierarchy. Entrepreneurs run on ideas, risk, and quick pivots. Learning to adapt my working style, being both steady and flexible has been the real growth curve.
The Emotional Shift
Leaving corporate wasn’t just a professional move, it was a mindset shift. No longer was I the dependable support in the background of one leader, I felt like I had became the CEO of my own business. That sense of ownership is really great, but honestly it also comes with a massive amount of pressure.
If I am honest there are of course days when I miss the predictability of corporate life. The guaranteed pay cheque in particular. But those moments are outweighed by the joy of choosing my clients, shaping my services, and building something that’s truly mine.
I swapped boardrooms for client catch-ups, fixed desks for coffee shops, and someone else’s goals for my own.
And honestly? Best plot twist of my career. 10/10, would recommend.