Q and A with Wendy from Cambridge, England, now living in the West Midlands, England

“I want my children to be full of experiences; and learn what they love, what they hate, what excites them, and what bores them; and ultimately, what makes them happy”

Q: Tell us about yourself.

A: I have always been passionate about creating adventure in my life by cultivating a mindset open to continual learning. After spending almost 20 years taking my administration and project management skills from beginner to expert, working mainly for purpose-led organisations, I embarked on the adventure of starting my own business. Admin Fairy: The Agency (AFTA) was born two years ago, motivated by my desire to work flexibly for the time freedom to spend with my family and take my career into its next chapter.

As someone who always led the improvement of company processes and implemented systems to help teams work more efficiently, it felt natural to dedicate my business to delivering operational excellence. Speaking of family, my daughter will tell you how frustrated I get when I see the state of her room! Organisation is my middle name. Things have a place, though we are mid-renovation–so this can’t apply to my whole house, which definitely bothers me.

I am calmer when there are systems in place and feel that same level of satisfaction providing clients with this. For instance, I am currently providing virtual assistance and wider operations support to one of my clients, ‘Half the Sky.’ By saving them 15-30 hours a month and the cost of an employee, I help them meet their goals, as they can use that time to secure more clients for equality, diversity, and inclusion training. I find value in aiding their mission of creating a positive impact in the world by providing improved efficiency and profitability, and more widely helping them reach their full operations potential.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: I’d describe my childhood as fairly normal, growing up with my mum, dad, and brother in Cambridge, UK. Most of my family still live in or around Cambridge and, growing up, we didn’t holiday abroad, so my life experience was limited. A key factor that has impacted my life is never feeling pushed to find out what I was good at or passionate about. This saw me heading off to university to study early childhood studies, not because I loved kids, but because I had no clue about what I actually wanted to do. This meant that it took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do in life.

Yet, that underlying value of care has translated positively into both my family life and business. For starters, we didn’t have pets growing up (other than fish) and now I have a house full of pets we take pleasure in caring for. We have a cat named George and a dog named Ruby and have previously had fancy rats, and hamsters…we’ll have a small zoo one day.

Taking pride in the value of care has led me to selectively curate a dedicated team at Admin Fairy: The Agency (AFTA). Purpose-led organisations can trust that I will assign only the very best experts in their field, matched to their specific needs, to elevate their business operations and help them reach their goals with ease. Our support truly is bespoke, just like each business. Also, by taking care of the operational areas within a business, I allow the CEO to grow and make change, through the improved efficiency and profitability that results from implementing optimal systems. I am grateful for how this value of care growing up translates into who I am, what I do, and why I do it.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: I want my children to be full of experiences; and learn what they love, what they hate, what excites them, and what bores them; and ultimately, what makes them happy. I want them to approach life, as I do my own and through Admin Fairy: The Agency (AFTA), with the adventure of continuous learning. I want them to feel safe in the knowledge that this means they will make mistakes, but that this won’t matter so much if they’re passionate about what they’re pursuing. I want them to be passionate about something, so much so that they want the world to know about it. I want them to know that they will have to work hard, but not at the expense of fun or rest. Just as I learned that it was okay to change my course in life by starting my business, I hope others can learn that it’s okay to change their mind, as often as they need to, until they find what works for them. For me, that’s helping purpose-driven organisations provide a greater positive impact in the world by leading them on a transformational journey to operational excellence.

Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: Feminism to me means having the power and freedom of choice. Other keywords that define this term for me are opportunity and strength. I believe in a world where we support each other, celebrate wins, and dive into the positives collectively, as women and as humanity. Having the choice to start my own business and existing as a female entrepreneur feels like a win on this front. The notion of support and community are ones I feel best placed to support by sharing my professional administration and project management expertise. This inspired me to create a Facebook group, ‘The VA Collaboration Corner.’ It serves as a community that provides virtual assistants (VAs) with the opportunity to connect, and share wins, ideas, knowledge, and experiences to help each other grow. As part of this free membership, I will also be providing relevant educational information, including associate opportunities via a newsletter.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Please feel free to connect with me:

VAs can join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vacollaborationcorner

Admin Fairy:The Agency (AFTA) Website: https://www.adminfairytheagency.com/

Admin Fairy: The Agency (AFTA) Social Media Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helloadminfairy/

Facebook group for VAs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vacollaborationcorner

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adminfairytheagency/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/adminfairytheagency/

Connect with Wendy: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyraynerhall/