The Virtual Assistant Support That Helped A
Design Studio
Background
Meet Alex.
He runs Designed by Ten, a small but mighty design studio working with creative, charity, and environmental organisations. The kind of branding work that’s thoughtful, purposeful, and—let’s be honest—time-consuming. It’s Alex, freelance designer Harry, and... me.
We’re all based up North and share a mutual dislike of faffing around.
Problems
Now, Alex didn’t come to me in full meltdown mode. But like a lot of creative business owners, he found himself procrastinating, especially with the admin stuff that didn’t give him joy. Those little tasks that feel awkward, boring, or slightly terrifying would stack up.
Then the business would bottleneck. Then the evenings and weekends would vanish under a mountain of unfinished work.
Here’s how he put it:
“I would procrastinate on tasks – often admin-related – that would make me feel uncomfortable. These would cause bottlenecks in the business.”
And the impact?
“Work would pile up and it would bleed into my evenings and weekends – meaning I'd see less of my wife and kids.”
Brutal, but very relatable.
What I Did
Alex didn’t need a full-time assistant or fancy systems.
What he needed was someone in his corner who could calmly crack on with the stuff he didn’t want to deal with. So we set up a simple way of working where I dip in when needed, using a shared Kanban board to track tasks. It keeps things visual, flexible, and stress-free.
He said:
“Exactly what I was hoping for! Just having someone there if and when I need them, to take on tasks that I feel anxious about as if it's no big deal.”
Sometimes it’s emails, requesting payment from clients, ordering prints. Sometimes it’s just about helping clear that mental fog that stops you from doing the thing you know needs to be done.
The Outcome
Here’s what’s changed:
🟡 No more business bottlenecks.
🟡 Projects flow smoother.
🟡 Tasks that used to loom now just… get done.
🟡 And best of all? Time. For life. For family.
In Alex’s words:
“Last year was the business' best ever in terms of turnover and profit, and yet I spent less time at work, meaning more time with my family.”
He also shared:
“I feel more relaxed about work, knowing that there's someone I can rely on to help if I ever need them.”
“A total weight off my mind. And the feeling I could get on with the parts of running a business I'm better at.”
That’s the stuff that really matters.
Lets Wrap-Up
Alex didn’t need a business overhaul. He just needed a helping hand with the things that were holding him back. Sometimes the fix is that simple—and that powerful.
His advice?
“I would 100% recommend you! I would say, I wish I'd started working with Erin sooner. If you're thinking about it, go for it! You'll save so much time, money and stress it'll be a no-brainer.”
Top Tip
One tip if you relate to Alex:
Don’t wait until you’re in burnout territory. If you keep putting off the same stuff over and over, that’s a sign.
Get help before your weekends vanish too.