Virtual Assistants rocked my weekend!

Over the weekend, after months of perfect planning by Carmen MacDougall and her fabulous team of VAs, no fewer than 90 Virtual Assistants gathered for the 4th Annual VA Conference & Awards.

It was my first VA Conference and it rocked my world!  I have never been in a room where there was so much passion, energy, enthusiasm and excitement!  Lots of Virtual Assistants meeting for the first time in person, after conversing literally every day with each other.  I saw friendships being cemented, forged and embraced.  It was indeed empowering!

Add to that a fabulous venue, with excellent staff (Forest of Arden Hotel) and some of the most energetic, inspiring speakers, there wasn’t much more anyone could have added to the mix.

My highlights included Mark Shaw talking about Twitter, I’d consider myself a  twitter pro, but I learned loads from Mark and he reminded me of some things I’d forgotten; the fabulously motivating Steve Clarke, again I learned a massive amount from him and loved his later banter with the wonderfully energetic, honest and charismatic Brad Burton.  I’d heard a lot about Brad Burton and he didn’t disappoint.  Paul Fuggle was another who gave me lots of inspiration and what I got from him was reinforced by Nick Williams.

I met industry favourites Moneypenny, Xero, ReceiptAngel, Hallsdale Insurance, Arbonne, to name but a few and I can guarantee I’ve missed loads of other great speakers and suppliers.  There was so much to see and do and so many people to speak to that I never got to speak to half the people I would have liked too.

The icing on the cake was the Awards ceremony, the VA equivalent of the Oscars.  I was so privileged to be nominated as one of the finalists in the “Outstanding VA of the Year” category and although I didn’t win, I am so delighted to have been nominated alongside Sara Gill of Office Bird and fellow VASG member and great friend Charlotte Burford of Burford VA.  Truly deserving winners.

However all was not lost as “The Spirit of a VA” Award came my way alongside my fellow VA Support Group (VASG) Co-Founders, Anne-Marie Mittleman and Dee Uzoka.  This time last year we were new to chatting to one another and one year on, we’re heading up a group that supports VAs all over the country and all of whom are passionate about their businesses, the VA industry and taking our initial vision and making it work!   Whilst it would have been excellent to win Outstanding VA of the Year, my heart wanted this award more.  It’s truly amazing to know that our brief idea is now an award winning network and we have people flocking to be included and embrace our ethos of “collaboration not competition”.

I just want to send my thanks to everyone who made the conference so fantastic.  Speakers, attendees who travelled from Exeter and the Outer Hebrides, venue staff, but mainly to Carmen and especially her team who worked so hard in the lead up to the conference.

When’s the next one?