My name is Gayle Bu and this is the Bu Virtual Office Services blog, which accompanies my website, Bu Virtual Office Services.

I’ve been a Virtual Assistant since 2002.  I spent 14 years in the corporate world as an Executive Assistant for various companies and my last corporate stop was at Gap Inc. in San Francisco.  I love planning, details and watching strategies being successfully executed.   More than anything, I enjoy making a difference in the lives of others.

As a corporate assistant, I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the daily grind and attribute the wealth of knowledge that I now have to the experiences that I had there.  Those experiences helped me to become the best business partner that I can be for my clients.

I remember an interesting assignment I had one day in the corporate world.  My boss was having a baby and wanted a car seat and bouncer covered in khaki fabric.  This was before Eddie Bauer came out with all those cool khaki and cream baby items that blend in with the furniture.  My job was to find a fabric store, purchase the fabric and get the items covered.  A couple of my fellow assistants exclaimed “that’s SO not part of your job description!”   The same assistants raised eyebrows when I schlepped to and from Starbucks and went to get my boss lunch in addition to my usual tasks of running reports, organizing meetings and such.  To this day, I don’t understand the mentality of those assistants and wonder what measure of success they’re achieving in their lives.  Yet, this attitude of “it’s not my job” is very common in the workplace.  A worker shows up to work, does what it required of them and clocks out at the end of the day.  They’ll put forth extra effort only at the chance of monetary gain or prestige.

I truly loved making a difference.  In knew that I was the right hand of the person in charge of steering the company that I worked for.  So whether my job entailed formatting an Excel document and obtaining the necessary caffeine before an 8am strategic planning session for my boss/parent who had been up at 2am with their infant, it was all OK with me.  I was helping someone out and in turn, this helped business, which helped keep me in a job and in the process, I got to step away from my desk and enjoy the sun on my walk to the coffee store!  And yes, the khaki car seat and bouncer turned out great!

Well… fast forward and we’re almost in 2009 and here I am as a Virtual Assistant.  There are no more trips to the coffee store, but the concept is still the same.  Does my client need a proposal typed up?  Do they need me to arrange an office event?  A kid’s party?  A mailing?  A new phone system?  No matter – that’s what I’m here for.  All so they can spend more time doing whatever they need to do.

So this is me.  This is my blog.  And here are my musings.

If you’d like to know more about my Virtual Assistant practice, go to Bu Virtual Office Services.  If you have any questions, please a comment or send an e-mail to me directly at gayle@buvirtualoffice.com.