From chaos to creativity: how a virtual assistant helped Celebrant Claire Bradford
Meet Claire, a Sussex-dwelling, award-winning independent celebrant and all-round people person. As well as being a celebrant, she's also a writer, speaker and occasional broadcaster (you may have seen her on This Morning), and she believes that just about everything is better with tea and cake. She's my kind of person!
I’ve been working with Claire since September 2019 and she's such a delight to work with (if a little bit crazy at times). She found me on the first page of Google when searching for 'VA services UK' (all my hard work on SEO paid off) and she didn't look any further because she liked everything she read on my website. I knew I'd love working with Claire from her very first email and when we then had a chat we clicked straight away. I was so happy when she went ahead and booked me as her Virtual Assistant.
"Emma is a superstar. She is exceptionally good at what she does, she's quick AND thorough (a real rarity) and she is a genuinely lovely person to boot. Plus, she copes with my endless dithering with patience and kindness. Get her on your team!"
~ Claire Bradford
I was thrilled when Claire agreed to feature on my blog and hope you enjoy reading her interview...
Hi Claire, please introduce yourself
I am an independent celebrant, which means that I create and conduct super bespoke ceremonies for awesome people who are marking big life milestones. It's the best job in the world - fact! I also train people to become celebrants.
What challenges did you face before you started working with me?
I'm so disorganised! I kid myself that this is because I'm a creative (darrrling!) but, whether it is or whether it isn't, it just means I have loads of ideas and half-finished projects because I baulk at the boring technical stuff of getting it out there - blog posts, I'm looking at you...
Did you try to resolve those challenges yourself? If so, what happened?
I did put my posts on my website myself and sort out YouTube descriptions etc, but it was a right old fandangle and it put me off creating things in the first place.
What made you decide to work with a VA rather than employ someone?
Are you kidding?! Employing someone is even more admin!!!
What was the most important consideration when choosing the right VA to work with?
As an ex-English teacher and someone who writes for a living, I wanted someone who was as picky as me when it comes to spelling, proofreading and all that jazz. I also wanted someone who would gently take me in hand and sort me out. It's a bit like when you take your car to the garage: you can say that the flange needs fixing (can you tell I'm not a mechanic?) and they'll sort it out but what you actually want to is to be able to say that the car is doing this weird thing and they'll work the problem. This might be the same as fixing the flange or it might be something else, but it's a holistic approach. Emma doesn't just fix the flange. Oh, and I wanted someone with personality and a sense of humour and that zinged out of Emma's website.
What difference has working with me made to your business?
It has given me the freedom to be creative without the 'heaviness' of formatting, optimising, and adding links... (yaaaaawn!)
What three words best describe your experience of working with me?
Freeing, reassuring, like there's a grown-up in the room.
What would you say to someone thinking about working with me?
If you'd like some help with all the boring stuff from someone who is far from boring, give Emma a bell right now.
If you’re looking for a celebrant, whether it’s a wedding, vow renewal, funeral or any other rite of passage, visit Claire's website here.
If you’re thinking of outsourcing to a VA, get in touch and tell me what you need. I’d love to help!
