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Meet the VA - Charlotte Barltrop of Virtually Everywhere

Hi, I’m Charlotte Barltrop, my company is Virtually Everywhere, I work in general admin, minute-taking and event management. I grew up in the traditional circus world, travelling the UK with my family and learning lots of skills along the way. It’s no surprise that my first job was as a trapeze artist at the age of 9. I went on from there to perform all over the world but decided that I wanted to settle down when I was in my 20’s so I took a degree in Theatre at Coventry University, then had various jobs learning all sorts of amazing skills before reading about the life of a Virtual Assistant!


Who or what inspired you to become a Virtual Assistant?

I was mooching around on Facebook and stumbled across a post about being a VA. It really piqued my interest, and I started looking into it, although it took me a further 2 years to actually take the leap. My friend gave me the confidence after I worked with him, and he sent me an amazing message telling me “You can do anything that you set your mind to.”


Have you had any support starting up as a Virtual Assistant?

I have been fortunate to find some amazing mentors on social channels, Jo Munroe, Kayleigh Johnstone and Paula Edwards in particular are people who I find align with my way of thinking and help me to grow. I turn to them and the amazing support groups on Facebook when I need a little “colleague” advice!


What has been your highlight since starting your Virtual Assistant business?

I have some great things that I have achieved in my business so far but my highlight is travelling to Spain to be part of the management team for Circo de Navidad in Gijon, and I have learned Spanish in order to do this. Something that I could never do if I was in an employed role.


What was your biggest challenge?

Having the confidence to actually do it. I suffer from imposter syndrome so it was really tough, but I am so happy that I am overcoming that to become the business owner that I deserve to be.


What advice would you offer other new or aspiring VAs?

There’s lots of advice out there, read as much as you can but make sure you look around for the people who you align with to help you create your business AND REMEMBER it is YOUR business.


What tools/apps/software can’t you live without?

I love creating things in Canva as it’s pretty straightforward to use and allows me to create some bespoke social posts. I also use Wordcloud and Text on photo which are phone apps!


Were there any times you wanted to give up? What kept you going?

There are moments when I have doubted myself and wondered if I should be looking for an employed role but the answer to this is always that I love where I am right now and what I am doing with my life.


What three words would you use to describe yourself, and why?

Organised, proactive and complex – I picked these words because the first two describe how I am in my working life but as a person I am extremely complex due to the various ways in which I would think about things as I have been brought up in what was effectively a different culture (traditional travelling circus).


What has surprised you about becoming a VA? 

I think it’s the way in which small business owners think and work in such a variety of ways. When I was employed there was always a team at the helm of companies that I worked for and that meant that, while they try to be different, they were inherently very similar.


Is there anything you would change about your VA journey?

This is a great question but I think that I would probably follow the same path as it’s the mistakes that we make along the way that help us to become the people we are.


What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I love spending time with my family. Every Saturday I go to see my mum and we walk the dogs, go shopping and have lunch. I also sew my own clothes and gifts for friends and family in my office/sewing room.


Who would you most like to meet, and why? What would you tell them? 

I really admire Stephen Bartlett as someone who has worked hard to achieve his goals at a young age. I follow him on LinkedIn and would love to sit and have a coffee with him just to get some pearls of wisdom about being a business owner.


What is next for you and your business?

My aim for 2025 is to learn more about myself and perhaps branch into OBM work as this is something that sits very near to my Event Management work.


What is the ultimate goal for your business?

My ultimate goal is to move to Northern Spain and work from there as I just love the pace of life and the people. As a VA this goal is within reach, I am looking into the option of getting a digital nomad Visa within the next 2 years to allow me to realise my dream.






This blog was prepared by Charlotte Barltrop in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this blog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Kayleigh Johnstone, The Business-Savvy VA, or COZ PR.

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