Returning to work after the birth of her daughter was a disappointment for Lilach Bullock. She found there was a lack of opportunities for someone who wants to be challenged and rewarded but needs to be flexible to meet family commitments.

She had worked in PA, secretarial and training roles for over 17 years for a whole range of companies including law firms in Israel and Australia. She says, "I became frustrated at the lack of opportunities for someone with my skills and experience. Flexibility was very important to enable me to spend time with my family."

Finding the gap

Working part-time for a charity for the blind, Lilach turned her frustration into positive action and began researching virtual assistants. If the term 'virtual assistant' is all a bit too hi-tech for you, think of it as a person providing traditional PA or secretarial services remotely from their own office using their own equipment. Lilach offers a comprehensive range of services including office management, digital transcription, diary management, database management, research, bookkeeping, personal life management, event management and call minding. "The more I looked into the profession, the more confident I became that there was a gap in the market for a high quality virtual assistant service targeting small businesses, entrepreneurs and business leaders."

Lilach spent considerable time researching the industry and potential competitors before launching asklilach. She found out how other businesses operated, the services they offered and how much they charged. To get the business started she used personal savings and money borrowed from her parents. She advises, "Overestimate how much money you will need, and ensure you have a contingency for unexpected costs."

Facing her fears

Invaluable support, Lilach says, came from local business support services such as WENTA and Business Link. "They helped me put together a business plan and get up to speed on many aspects." She used them to find out about local networking groups and attended events. Initially, networking and presenting in public was daunting but Lilach overcome her fears by "just doing it". Now they are a regular part of promoting her business and she advises "the value from networking comes from identifying whom to follow up with afterwards and you shouldn't expect instant results - it's about quality not quantity."