By Courtney Lea Evans Murdock. 

@clem.virtual

I’m currently sitting in a cafe al-fresco, the smell of seafood drifting in the air. Many different languages are spoken by those walking past, exploring the city, laughing and joking and ‘catching up’ with one another. There’s an air of possibility, freedom and excitement. Is this what free(lance)dom means? 

I’m experiencing a dream that seemed miles away from the life I had only 2 months ago. Let alone 1 year ago. My experience with finding my dream career came from months of brainstorming and wanting to find my why.  

So here’s everything you need to know about how rain lets the flowers grow. Okay, let’s start from the top… 

Backpacking blues

It’s January 2022 and I return from a life-changing backpacking trip around Latin America and Thailand. To pack my bag and travel so freely had always been on my bucket list, ever since I saw my Godmother do the same thing when I was 13. Backpacking at the tail-end of Covid wasn’t the easiest, but it was special. I spoke more with local communities, the streets and hotels were quieter, and everything felt less touristy. 

Over the last few years in the UK and the world, the political unrest and rage from others sometimes made the atmosphere and conversation unbearable. But during my time away, I was elated. Having pinch-me moments every day. Exploring new landscapes and meeting wonderful, pure souls. 

When I returned to the UK, I had a reverse culture shock. I’m a sun baby, and UK winters are always that little bit too long, you know? So arriving back in January was tough. Moving from London to Manchester where I had barely any friends, felt lonely and it didn’t feel like home for a long time. I mean, to say it took me some time to adjust is an understatement. Whether it was the sudden lack of vitamin D or the fact I felt like I was back at square one, in terms of my career progression, I felt unmotivated, low and my confidence was shrinking. 

The positive Covid test 

By February, I found a job working in the Community team for a coworking space. Something I’d done before. I love working in startup environments –Throw me towards organising events, and I’m there!  However, I tested positive for COVID for the first time in May 2022. I isolated at home with no symptoms. I flipped this on its head and knew this could be a great opportunity. I had this time to take a step back from my daily routine and really find out exactly what I wanted to do with my life. My low mental well-being was pretty intense at this point and I needed to find something that made me excited, quickly. 

I thought… 

“How can I use my previous career experience to start my own business?” 

“What do I need in order for me to set this up?” 

“Where do I want to be in the next year? And how do I want to feel?” 

After a few days of research, I came across the term… Virtual Assistant. All the experience I’ve had before in admin roles, as a PA or Office Manager, I can do online?! (AMAZING!!!) 

Just thinking about it I could feel this fire in my belly. So I got to work. 

I purchased my website domain, I figured out what type of clients I wanted to work with and what services I could offer them. I created a website and started posting on social media. And on June 14th 2022, CLEM VA was born. 

Of course, I had worries – I’d never owned a business before and my intention was to do this full-time eventually. My mum who opened her first beauty salon when I was born (30 years ago!) gave me great advice, he said, “With the tools you have, there’s no option to fail when you want something to work out”. 

Fast forward 10 months

This goal I set 10 months ago, came with some huge changes in my life. By the time April 2023 came around, I had stepped away from an 8-year relationship, turned 30 and worked my notice at the coworking space. 

As of the 20th of April, I was officially a freelance Virtual Assistant. 

Leaving my secure salary and role was super nerve-racking, with the thoughts that all my income and all the other things that come with job security is now all on me, it was a scary thought. But the possibility of growth, happiness and freedom is what keeps the fire in my belly. 

Being a freelance Virtual Assistant allows me to: 

• Constantly grow and develop by learning new platforms and ways of working
• Focus directly on my client’s tasks and get stuck in! 
• Choose who I work with. Sharing the journey together is great; all my clients do wonderful things in their industries. Our morals align! 
• Have my own goals, which keeps me motivated to always grow and evolve 
• Take a break before the chaos. 

The original plan was to leave work, celebrate my 30th, head to Lisbon, and start my full-time freelance dream. But when I told a client this, she gave me great advice, she advised that if I could, I should take a break. That it’s easy to jump from one role to another, but that easily leads to burnout. And she was 100% right. 

I told my clients I was having 1 week off. I jumped on a plane to meet my friend in Cyprus and switched off. This break allowed me to process the decisions and absorb the hard work I had gone through in getting to that point. I drove around the island, visiting vineyards and small Cypriot towns. I made connections with new people. 

During this trip, I fully recharged myself ready to go full steam ahead in my new journey. 

Now, as a Virtual Assistant, travelling around Europe. I find myself sitting in cafes al-fresco, with the sun on my back creating more pinch-me moments, and I love it!

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About me

I’m Courtney, a Virtual Assistant from the UK. After working based roles for a long time, I’m finally freelance and living my dream. Travel, reading and food make my soul sing. 

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