A woman from Nottingham is now turning over more than half a million pounds a year from her bedroom and now has the “financial stability and freedom” to “live a nice life”.
Elizabeth Goddard, 33, said she launched her virtual assistant business in March 2015 with zero start-up costs – just a “decent” internet connection.
Ms Goddard, a mother of two, told Express.co.uk: “I had a place on a Maths PGCE [teacher training course] and had six months before the course started, so I thought it would keep me busy – but I never looked back.
“I already had experience in the online business world with a previous business, so after looking at my skillset I decided to start offering VA (virtual assistant) services such as basic admin, social media, email marketing support, etcetera.”
Over time, Ms Goddard said this evolved into specialising in a specific email service provider, of which she became certified, and then progressed her offering even further.
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Ms Goddard said: “Eventually it became obvious to me that creating my online courses and training as a way to share my knowledge and ideas more widely was the way to go. It also allowed me to be able to grow my business without spending more of my time one to one with clients. Now my business is almost exclusively online courses and training.”
Ms Goddard added: “I’ve helped 24,000 students over the lifetime of my business. They’re all online business owners or freelancers across a huge range of industries and across the world, but they all want to learn new fun and simple ways to grow their businesses.”
It didn’t take long for Ms Goddard to get her business off the ground, due to her many memberships with online business communities.
Ms Goddard said: “Ever since I first discovered the online business world, I wanted to learn as much as I can and improve my business skills. So I’ve always enrolled in lots of business courses and been part of membership communities online.
“Because of this, I was already fairly well connected with other online business owners so it was pretty easy for me to find clients for my virtual assistant services.”
She added: “I love that there were no startup costs – I just needed a decent internet connection! So I just set up a simple website, posted on social media, and asked people to share and pass on my details to anyone looking for support, and my business quickly grew.”
Initially, Ms Goddard was working with a few clients for less than 10 hours a week, however, she noted: “I still don’t work a full-time number of hours, and can usually work less than 25 hours each week.”
And despite the fewer hours Ms Goddard needs to put into the business, she said: “My 2022 turnover was £655,000.”
Ms Goddard attributed the “fun” and “freedom” to decide what she’s doing “and then do it” as the most rewarding part of her venture.
Ms Goddard said: “I just think it’s so cool that I get to connect with and help thousands of people from over 85 countries, many of whom I’ll never meet. The magic of what online business is will never get old for me.”
Ms Goddard added: “As someone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME), ADHD, and two young children, the success of my business means the financial freedom and stability to live a nice life, but also the flexibility to live in a way that suits me and my family.
“I’m not really one for big goals and plans – I generally just follow what I’m inspired to do in the moment. Right now I’m enjoying experimenting with new strategies and continuing to reach as many people as possible with my offers. For me, the more people I can reach, the bigger impact I can have.”
