Just ask Kylie Short!

Kylie Short, president of Tilda Virtual Services, tells The Virtual Alliance Magazine, “I was 33 weeks pregnant with my third child in what was an extremely difficult pregnancy. I was studying full time at the university to become a Primary School Teacher; but, I wasn’t as passionate about my studies. I love my family, but I’ve always needed the mental stimulation that comes from being constantly challenged.

One day while reading the local newspaper, I found a business advertising for a secretary/bookkeeper, must have own laptop, for 10 hours a week. I instantly thought ‘that’s me!!’ I applied and was hired.

I have to admit; the interviewer took one look at my belly and offered the work on a subcontract basis, from home. I worked with this client for a couple of months, after the birth of my daughter, when I thought, “I wasn’t the only mum in Australia working from home”. I began searching the Web and found the Virtual Assistant industry.

The more I read, the more excited I became. Here was something I could do and do well. The opportunities the VA industry presented were exciting and mind-blowing. I decided that being a VA was for me and began the formal process to become a registered business in Australia.

Then, of course, came the ‘am I good enough to do this? How will this impact my family, particularly my children? What about my degree?’ thoughts.

I decided to take the plunge and go for it. After six months, I knew I was made to be a VA. My decision to start my own business was one of the “best I had made in a while.”

Kylie further shares, “Now, I have been a VA for 17 months, have a full-time practice, and am building my team of Associate VAs to assist my business.”

When asked to tell The Alliance about her ideal client, Kylie described her/him as “someone who knows that technology is available, willing to try something new, but not necessarily need to know how it works. She is flexible in her methods of communication and understands and accepts when you say ‘sorry client X, my child is sick today, I can’t meet that deadline’ or, ‘that just isn’t convenient for me’. She also understands boundaries and stay within them. Most importantly, Kylie’s ideal client communicates and collaborates on projects, and respects her opinion and years of experience.

Kylie’s clients are situated throughout Australia; a few are overseas. Except for two, all are online women entrepreneurs working virtually. She defines her “niche” as that of a “Technical VA.” She has strong administrative and IT skills to troubleshoot and work online.

A common question often posed to successful entrepreneurs is: What advice would you give someone who wants to become a VA? Kylie’s response is, “Research and plan.”

“I started my business in an unusual way. I found my first client before conducting research on the industry and creating my business plan. As a result, I’ve had to do these tasks in my spare time, which is pretty much non-existent.

This means I’ve taken a reactive approach instead of a proactive one to organizing my business, creating internal processes and dealing with potential clients.

My business plan, which I’ll always be working on, is still under construction.

Networking with other VAs is a great way to research and learn. I don’t know where I’d be without my VA buddies! (Probably still plodding along, on my own and just not as successful as I am today.)”

Kylie eagerly adds, “I joined the Alliance because I wanted to join a group of like-minded people interested in sharing and learning from each other. I’m a big fan of collaboration, which is probably due to my studies in education.

My personal philosophy is, to become successful we need to learn from others, make mistakes and reflect back on our business practices to determine where to go from here. The Alliance is a wealth of information that I am still combing through for my own notes and learning.”

She is an avid reader and at any given time at least 6 books wait on Kylie’s nightstand to be read.  Kylie offered that she “suffers with insomnia,” so reading helps slow her brain down enough so she can sleep. Kylie also loves scrapbooking and has a number of projects waiting to be finished.

Kylie and Lincoln, childhood sweethearts, have been married 8 years and together since she was 15. They have three beautiful children, Damon age 7, Connor age 4 and Matilda age 16 months. They recently finished building their dream home in Bathurst New South Wales, Australia and (in true VA fashion) ran over 200 meters of networking cabling to network the house.

To date, Kylie has attempted her own business 3 or 4 times. But each time it was party planning or a similar business.

Smiling, Kylie happily adds, “I’ve finally found what I am meant to do! I’m a VA!!”