Meet Holly Smith | Virtual Assistant Agency Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Holly Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Holly, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think deep down I had always wanted to be my own boss. I wanted to be free to pursue ideas and also be responsible for providing the level of service I wanted to represent. During the COVID pandemic, I had time away from my job to explore other possibilities and consider what needed to be done to make this business happen.

I felt like starting my own business would be a new challenge, allow me to make my own decisions, and also shape my work around my life – instead of living to work! I wanted to be able to work from anywhere (which I’m now able to do), and have a wonderful collection of clients – which I now have!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I run a small team of virtual assistants who work primarily with small wedding & elopement photographers all over the US. We offer admin support (emails, calendar, CRM management, collecting reviews, etc), social media and blogging support (uploading, formatting, scheduling, copywriting, etc), and finally, email marketing (maintenance of workflows, updating email templates, content research, etc).

There are 3 packages to choose from based on what stage the client is at and what level of support they need. Our focus is to give time back to our clients. We want to take over tasks that they are already doing so that they can have more time with friends/family, catch up on life admin, or anything they want really! If they want to grow their business even more, taking over these tasks for them actually gives them more time to focus on other projects or gives them the capacity to take on more clients.

I believe that what sets us apart from others is the relationship we aim to have with all of our clients. We have a very human approach to business and believe that friendship is also an important part of our working relationship. From the minute a client signs on with us, we are 100% committed to providing the best level of service we can offer.

I’m proud of how far my business has come in 18 months from when I first set up. I’m proud that I made things work even when I was exhausted and thought that it was too hard to do all on my own. I got to where I am and pushed through those challenges by networking with other people in the industry, getting a lot of support from my coach, and also outsourcing some of my own tasks so that I had less on my plate. It definitely wasn’t easy and I don’t think will ever be completely ‘stress-free’, but nothing worth having comes easy, right?

I’ve learned that if you’re struggling, you should ask for help. A lot of the successful people you hear about didn’t get to where they are today all on their own. It’s also really important to remember your ‘why’. Every time I felt like giving up, I reminded myself why I started this and why I wanted to build and have this business. Our brand, The Genie VA is named after the magical spirit from Aladdin. Now although we don’t live in lamps, we want to grant our clients’ wishes and make a big impact on their lives. We want them to think “thank god we’ve got The Genie VA”.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So, although my clients are based in America, I’m currently living in Manchester in the UK. For those of you who don’t know where that is, it’s where Harry Styles is from ;).

If my best friend was visiting I would have PLENTY of places to take them as Manchester is a very diverse city and has a lot to offer! Here are a few activities and places I would make sure we visited throughout the week:

Places:
The Science and Industry Museum
Manchester Central Library
Fletcher Moss Park & Botanical Gardens
Manchester Art Gallery
Imperial War Museum North

Activities:
Gin Making at the City of Manchester Distillery (& dinner – the food is insane!)
Escape Rooms – several places throughout the city
Visit the Northern Quarter boutique shops
A day out at Heaton Park
Play beer pong and bowling at Roxy’s Ballroom

Food & Drinks:
Head to one of the many amazing restaurants in Manchester’s China Town
Grab some noodles at Tokyo Ramen
Munch on Detroit-style pizza at Ramona’s Pizza
Go for the BEST brunch at Ezra & Gil
Find the hidden bar at The Washhouse

I think that’s a pretty full week, but I’m sure we would make it work! Just walking around the city you will see a range of people (sometimes celebs), and buskers, street performers, and so much more – sometimes there are random street parties that just seem to appear out of nowhere!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would definitely not have been able to get to where I am today without the Bucket List Bombshells Academy. They were the original organization I found when looking at how to work online and build my business, and their courses were the building blocks to my success. You can find my student spotlight interview/their website here – https://bucketlistbombshells.com/how-one-woman-ditched-12-hour-workdays-for-online-freedom/

I also worked closely with a coach, Emilia Powell – https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilia-powell/ – who helped me set up my business from the ground up and guided me through the process for over a year!

Of course, my family was also very supportive of this journey and were curious and excited for me. My dad and 3 of his colleagues set up a business of their own around 5 years ago so I think entrepreneurship must run in the family!

Website: https://thegenieva.com/

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thegenieva-virtual-assistant/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegenieva/