More about me:

My name is Sharlene Smith and I am the creator, owner and miracle worker behind e-Virtuality. Born in Zimbabwe, I grew up in South Africa and settled in the United Kingdom. I'm young and dynamic with a practical business head on my shoulders. Administration and organisation is my passion and this is why I finally ventured out of the corporate world to create a challenge for myself while helping others along the way.

I am incredibly curious and always question life and possibility and I certainly enjoy testing boundaries and moving them occasionally too! My hobbies are mostly reading, dancing, music, movies, wild life, dogs and giraffes. I also have a keen interest in saving the planet and take part in a few initiatives like recycling and creating awareness about how small changes can make all the difference to a developing generation. I enjoy being in the presence of others and ironically love to work alone. I don't like baked beans and enjoy helping others, even if it is helping an elderly lady crossing the road.

Education:

High school was not my favourite place in the world as I was a typical image conscious teenager who was of the mind set that school was far from cool. Once high school was complete, I went on to college to study Entrepreneurship and Marketing Management which I feel was a turning point in my career. Later on, when I reached a plateau in my career I decided to study correspondence and that resulted in achieving a Virtual Assistant Diploma. Starting my own business has also taught me a vast amount of practical business skills which I have picked up along the way. As I love learning new skills this section is sure to change in the future as I add more along the way.

Career:

Some people call me Carter because I have worked for a variety of businesses ranging from one-man-bands to large corporate enterprises. As most of the roles I have been involved in have been on a contractual or temporary basis, I have collected some unique and vast amount of skills from learning different software applications and different business processes. The most valuable skills I have learnt were in my temporary assignments because I quickly had to adapt to a different environment and a different work ethic or business role.

The most memorable and interesting have been working for a global colour manufacturing company where I got to witness the production process of liquid colour being manufactured for the polymer and cosmetics industry, as a training co-ordinator my question to "how scientific can colour be?" was answered in no time at all!

Seeing the production process of a beverage tin can was also a fascinating and far more technical process than I thought. From a sheet of metal, you have a printed, embossed and shaped drinking can in less than 13 seconds which is pretty miraculous.

There was a point where I worked for a leading IT company doing their marketing and telemarketing campaigns. It was fun and I met some very interesting and talented people along the way. ERP and CRM all sounded like ABC's when I got there however a year later when I bid farewell to move to the UK, I knew more about software solutions that can literally run your entire business!

Purpose:

I established e-Virtuality when I realised there was an increasing need by small businesses and entrepreneurs  for administration and marketing support who could not afford to employ full time employees.  Time and time again I have met people who have successful businesses and no life! Most of them complain about the paper work or the stresses of getting their records accurate for the tax man or VAT man!

Another comment I often hear is that "I am a plumber/ dentist/ electrician/ solicitor/ financial advisor/ landscapist/ director/ carpenter/ journalist/ decorator/ estate agent/ builder / but not an ADMINISTRATOR!" So often I have asked what is required to make their lives easier or more manageable and most of the answers have been to have a person for a few hours a week just to assist with their marketing or administration or general support.

Also, I wanted to offer a service that was personal and could be tailored to the needs of my clients as in my experience each business is different using different principles, systems and methods. Finally I was looking for a suitable challenge to entertain my quizzical mind and test my own personal boundaries.

Mission Statement:

I'm not on a mission so this does not apply however making a difference in someone else's life and business by making it happier or easier is a method I tend to apply...