We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paige Ratterman a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paige, thanks for joining us today. Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later

I wish I would have started my business much sooner than I did. I let thoughts like am I good enough, will people hire me, can I do this, run my motivation right into the ground. I always let things like it was never a good time or that I didn’t have enough money stand in the way of starting but really all of these things are just excuses. Things we create in our mind to keep us from achieving our true potential.

I didn’t take the leap until after I left my job. When it came time to have my son I was told by my job that my position would not be held for me. I then decided that I would be a stay at home mom and not work at all. This was a key point in starting my business because if my job had held my position I would have gone back to work. I wasn’t necessarily unhappy with my life as a stay at home mom but after three months I wanted to do more. Having the freedom around time and money made me actually pursue this business.

I really enjoyed my job but it was not challenging me enough. I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart and have always felt that starting a business was something that I was going to do. Throughout my work history I always felt like I could do more but climbing the corporate latter is difficult especially for a young woman in an assistant role who is just starting a family.

Starting sooner would have meant that I would have a better quality of life sooner. I love the flexibility being my own boss gives me. I can make all of the decisions and I can put my quality of life and family first. I don’t have to worry about set vacation days, long hours spent in traffic, stress from micro management. All of these things and more contribute to your health and wellbeing. Don’t get me wrong being a business owners is not a walk in the park but I find that the hard work I put in is much more rewarding and that also contributes to my happiness.

The one main thing I would have changed about my experience is I would have started sooner. I would have pulled the trigger and dismissed all of the doubts. We are never truly ready and waiting for the perfect time is going to keep you from executing your plan entirely.

Paige, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am an experienced administrative assistant and remote expert. I have been assisting dozens of high level CEOs and business owners since 2017. Prior to that my career focus was in retail customer service. I have a creative entrepreneurial spirit and have a love for all things processes and organization.

I started Paige Online in 2019. I have had over 65 clients from all over the United States.

I work with business owners to help with day to day operations as well as business growth strategies and public relations. I am a self starter, highly motivated and committed to helping my clients succeed.

I am the co-founder of The Invisible Office, an on demand guide to starting your virtual assistant business. I am helping others learn what it takes to start their own journey in the virtual assisting world.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

The most effective strategy has been referrals. I really take pride in my work and my clients can tell how passionate I am about my company, my work and their success. This translates into word of mouth referrals. Even if I am not working currently with a client I keep in touch with them to make sure I stay top of mind.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

The best way I have found to stay in touch with clients is on social media. Just by liking a post or commenting on something that they have posted. I also like to share new information with them that they could use for their business. This shows that I am thinking about then and I am bringing them value. I also like to refer my clients to people I come across to help boost their business. I am all about entrepreneurs helping others and building a community.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.paigeonlineva.com
• Instagram: @paigeonline
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paigeonlineva
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paige-ratterman-94aa6b92/