Redundancy Leads To Entrepreneurial Opportunity

After 12 years of service at a local company, Bermudian Sacha Richardson was made redundant and decided to venture into her own business.

Ms Richardson said: “After my life experiences I’ve learned that with every situation, whether negative or positive, there is a significant purpose behind it…you just have to allow yourself to see beyond the actual event to not miss the lesson or opportunity attached to it”.

The 32 year old, divorced mother of 3 didn’t see the opportunity of entrepreneurship immediately. “Within a week of being unemployed I was actively seeking other jobs, it wasn’t until one day it hit me that my personal circumstances would make the job hunt even more difficult than what the average person is experiencing these days.”

Flexibility, which most desire in a career, was more a necessity for Ms Richardson. “As a mother of a two, eleven and thirteen year old I had the typical struggle of any responsible parent of working and having to take time out for your kids’ doctor appointments, sports days, sick days, etc. on top of that my eldest who has severe cerebral palsy had extensive needs and is often home sick or in the hospital locally or overseas.

“I myself had brain surgery overeats in 2006 and 2008 as a result of a chronic illness and found myself on bed rest periodically. My former employer was very understanding. I also had a great deal of appreciation for them and worked from home the majority of the times I was out of the office, including while overseas for my daughter or myself.

“Turning up at work even when it was physically ailing was not uncommon for me so I knew I could find a new job and as usual put my needs on the back burner, however, my daughter’s situation isn’t changing and I knew that in this economic climate finding a job, let alone one that would accept the chance that I may be called out to her within months or even days of starting.

“With all of this in mind I started thinking of ways that I could earn a living, utilize my skills and still maintain the flexibility for the needs of all three children, and Panacea Virtual Administration was born.”

“The word Panacea, which is also the name of the Greek goddess of Universal remedy, is used in modern English as a remedy claimed to be curative of all problems or disorders or a cure-all. As described in our tagline our aim is to be “your Panacea…the solution to every problem.”

Panacea Virtual Administration provides Virtual Assistance, Concierge & Administration services to all facets of the community including individuals, small and large businesses and service providers, charities, churches, sports clubs, promoters and overseas visitors.

By taking care of the tasks that businesses may have lacked the human or financial resources to undertake, took up too much time of the self employed business owner or was simply neglected, Panacea VA enables its clients to focus on growing their business while getting things done quickly, cheaply and accurately while still maintaining or improving their professional look and feel.

“The need is out there but many fear that they can’t afford the service of a Virtual Assistant. However, a Virtual Assistant [VA] is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative assistance to clients from a home office”, Ms Richardson said.

“Because Virtual Assistants are independent contractors rather than employees, clients are not responsible for any employee-related taxes, insurance or benefits. Clients also avoid the logistical problem of providing extra office space, equipment or supplies.

“Rates are generated based on the client’s individual needs and financial abilities and the skill, resources and time required. Essentially the client only pays for the productive time Panacea VA spends on them, so if we work for half an hour on a particular assignment, you only pay for half an hour.

“Additionally there are instances where Panacea is retained for longer periods or on a monthly basis where the client is guaranteed a set amount of hours or general availability for an ongoing period of time i.e. Projects, Phone support, and email management. There are also various discounts offered and an Affiliate Program where Panacea itself would refer its clients to for services we may not offer.

“Because it is part of our goal to assist in maintaining our client’s goals and objectives, we ensure that we are conversant in and understanding of their purposes, practices and needs.

“When working as an intermediary for a client, their customer’s are generally never even aware that they are dealing with a third party through phone or e-mail as it is all handled using the client’s own phone numbers, email addresses or stationary, however we do have the capabilities to set up or create and offer these or additional items to assist them in looking more professional.

“Entrepreneurship has been an eye opener to the other side of business. Communicating and networking is paramount to finding ways to get your business out there. With one sibling who has an established Website and Graphic Design business and another who is launching a Property Management Company, Panacea also became a potential fit for their clients as well as theirs for Panacea’s.”

Anyone interested in learning more can make contact through the website, email [info@panaceava.com] or phone 296 4505.

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