From 10 hours a week to 80: Why I started The Outsource Boutique

In 2017, I asked my boss if I could get a virtual assistant. I was working 80 hours a week in a job that was supposed to take 10. I was told to bring in more listings first. Then it might be considered. I quit on the spot.

I’d gone back to real estate as a part-time Business Development Manager. Within weeks, the agreed 10 hours had turned into 80. Some of my colleagues, been burned by my predecessor had made up their minds about me before they’d got to know me. I was dealing with bullying at work, raising two kids in primary school while my husband travelled more than he was home, and somehow still training for a series of half marathons. I was getting about three hours of sleep a night. I kept putting in more hours, and the needle barely moved. By the time I asked for help, I was already running on empty.

That day, I decided I was done sacrificing my life for someone else’s profits.

Finding myself again

I spent the next six months trying to find myself again. If you’re a mum, you might know what I mean by again. I’d already been through a few versions of finding me. With both kids at school, I had to work out what I wanted this next version of my working life to look like.

I wanted to earn my own money, be there for my kids and buy myself something occasionally without the mental accounting that followed. A little guilt-free retail therapy was absolutely part of the brief.

And burnout was a bitch. It came home with me. My family got whatever was left of me at the end of the day, and there often wasn’t much left. And, despite being physically in the room, I wasn't present for them - I had become everything I didn't want to be.

That experience shaped what I wanted to build with The Outsource Boutique. I knew what it felt like to need help and be told to achieve more before I could have it. I wanted to make it easier for another business owner to get a hand while she still had the energy to decide what she wanted to do with the time she got back.

Why I speak to women business owners

Today I’m a perimenopausal mum of two teenage girls, and here’s what can be going through my head before the first meeting of the day.

Who needs to be at athletics early? Who’s eating what in their lunchbox this week? Is the dance bag ready? When’s that dentist appointment? What’s for dinner? Did I pay the credit card? Have I prepped payroll? Is the dishwasher clean or dirty? How much do I have to tackle for clients today? How much is being rolled over from yesterday, and the day before? Am I happy with that proposal I sent? How can improve my internal systems? Have I spent enough time training the team? When can the family get a weekend away next? Did I order those client gifts? And somewhere in there, when was the last time my husband and I did something just for us?

Some days I feel like I’m walking on eggshells in my own house, trying to keep everyone happy and hoping I don’t lose my shit over a load of washing. It can feel lonely when the people around you can see the washing and have no idea you’re also thinking about payroll, proposals and prepping tax reporting.

When I think about who I most want to reach through The Outsource Boutique, I think about women in that same season of life. Women running businesses through perimenopause, raising kids, remembering everyone’s schedules and trying to find a quiet half hour to think. I see versions of myself in them. I know how easily “I’ll just do it myself” becomes the answer to every job, even when you’re already stretched.

Why I wanted to build The Outsource Boutique

There are now four women working alongside me at The Outsource Boutique. One of the things I’m proudest of is creating the kind of flexible work I wanted when I was returning to work as a mum. I want other mums to be able to use their skills, earn their own income and fit work around the people and commitments that matter to them. And yes, I’m still in favour of guilt-free retail therapy.

From Brisbane, our team provides virtual executive business support. For a small business owner, that might start with handing over one recurring admin task. Maybe it’s chasing outstanding invoices or keeping the diary straight. Someone else can take care of the follow-up, so you can stop reminding yourself to do it every time you open your inbox. Explore our executive business support services.

I think about the woman I was in 2017, asking for a bit of help on three hours’ sleep. If you’re close to where I was, you’re allowed to start small. One job off your plate is a perfectly good place to begin.

What’s one thing in your business you’d love to stop being the person who has to remember? Tell me in the comments or send me a message on socials. I’d love to hear what’s taking up space in your head. It might be the thing we talk about next.