A ‘VIRTUAL assistant’ from Winyates has won an international award for her contribution to business – on a global scale.
Steph Middleton-Foster scooped the International Virtual Assistant of Distinction accolade at the Online International Virtual Assistants Convention in the United States.
The award is given to recipients only once in their lifetime, honouring significant contributions to global business and acknowledging the winner’s role in the success of numerous organisations over five years or more.
Steph’s journey to global success began nearly ten years ago when her husband Darren was offered a job that involved quite a bit of travelling.
“I was working for Worcestershire County Council as a project manager and we ended up being apart for long periods of time,” she said.
“I wanted something I could do travelling so I got myself a laptop and decided I would do a bit of typing and admin so I could work wherever I was.”
That ‘bit of typing’ steadily snowballed and now she runs her own business – Outhouse UK – with 12 virtual assistants based mainly in Britain but also in other parts of the world like Australia and the United States.
“I was nominated for the award by other virtual assistants, although I don’t know by whom, and received an email from the International Society for Virtual Assistants,” said the 33-year-old.
The society’s three day conference was streamed worldwide and Steph ‘attended’ online to hear the news of her award.
“It was just amazing,” she said.
As for virtual assistants, Steph definitely believes the future is bright.
“Millennials don’t want to work the way people did in the past, behind a desk, and firms need to be flexible, dynamic and have lean teams that can grow.
“It’s definitely the future.”
