Hey there!
I’m Tracy and it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to write any articles.
Since I’ve connected with a lot of new people recently, I thought I’d kick things off by doing a quick introduction to the human behind Hampton Digital Services!
Originally from New Zealand….
I arrived in the UK in August 2000 for a 12 month “overseas experience” as us Kiwi’s call it! And what an experience it’s been!
My Dad was born in Reigate, Surrey, so I had dual nationality from birth – it meant I was able to come over on a one way ticket and just “see how it went”.
I am now married to an English man, and have 2 daughters, one of which was born in NZ during our 2 year visit back in 2005. We moved back to the UK in Christmas of 2007 and had our second daughter here a few years later.
As a family we love to go camping whenever we can…however after camping what feels more times than not, in the wind, rain and mud, the older I get the more I’m leaning towards a motorhome sometime in the near future ??
My childhood dream….
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted be a Secretary and that is indeed what I did, but I needed more! I needed something that would challenge and teach me more as I found it got very boring very quickly.
A few years into my working life, I happened to be in the right place at the right time, and landed myself an IT job, working on a helpdesk. I had always had an interest in IT, and it was just the challenge I was after.
That was the start of my 20+ year career working for Corporate IT departments. I worked my way up from Helpdesk to running a support team and acting IT Manager when the boss was on holiday.
It was a bit of a juggle!
Those of you with children, will understand the fun of trying to make sure you had the school holidays and INSET days covered!
We’d be lucky if we got 2 weeks together as a family during the year, so after a short stint working at the local primary school and discovering the joy of term-time employment, I left to set up my own business. That way, I could continue to work around the girls.
Initially I set out as a Virtual Assistant (VA), but with my IT skillset, I was asked by a contact I had previously done some work for, to work on a large project.
Shortly followed by a friend asking if I could build him a new website.
“Sure”, I said!
He then asked if I could host it….
“Give me 5 minutes, I call you back”.
Quick Google and I decided it looked easy enough, so I rang him back and said yes!
That was the start of my business changing path completely!
Fast forward 6 years!
I’ve learned so many skills along the way which just makes my job so enjoyable.
I have expanded my offering over the years and now offer a couple of packages designed for those who just want a website with hosting and maintenance, through to clients who also want me to manage their social media, carry out competitor analysis, and work on their Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to help them get found.
I absolutely LOVE doing what I do, along with ALL of my clients…sorry everyone, but I have THE best clients!
My key to success is to be honest, kind, and to always look for the positives in any situation.
Thanks for reading!
Tracy x