The Mr & Mrs 3 Question Interview with Heather of Starsiren Office Services

Heather was a professional temp in a variety of roles: copywriter, exec PA, receptionist and of course stuffing envelopes.  She's worked for property companies, book publishers, magazines and a high profile Mayfair Casino. 

Her life changed when she went to work at the BBC for their secretarial reserves, their in-house temp department.  Heather's first job was on the 6 O’clock News Desk.  Scary!  A full twelve years later, with all the experience and knowledge that went with it, she made the decision to move on and entered the world of freelancing as a production manager/coordinator.  She loved working in TV and have far too many stories and memories to put on here and also wanted to have a change of career and becoming a Virtual Assistant was the perfect choice.

Heather is based in a modern business innovation center in South Yorkshire and wants to work with businesses that need assistance to help them grow and thrive in this vibrant media community in the UK.  With her skills and wide breadth of experience from working in the TV industry she is used to 'hitting the ground running' and getting the job done.

I became a VA when I left television because I have so many skills to offer that just don’t quite fit neatly into an administrator/secretary or office manager only role. I like being able to put different hats when working with my clients and using experience in other fields is an advantage to suggest an improvement or slight move in another directions that ultimately boosts productivity.

Having clients getting used to the idea that I’m not based in their office 5 days a week nor am I an employee. This is a completely new way of working and it needs a large element of trust because for many clients their business is their baby and handing any part over to someone new especially when they aren’t in the office every day can be a daunting prospect. I keep in close contact with my clients and use task-sharing software for each project so clients can check in anytime and schedule regular catch-ups.

I love being able to work with different clients which gives me a fabulous overview and be able to see how companies could work together and bring in more business for them. No day is the same and I can schedule my work around times that allows me to network and have some quality me time too!