Lady in the Streets, Freak in the Spreadsheets.. A Shout Out to Admin Everywhere

I bet the title caught your eye, didn’t it? ;)

It’s actually on a t-shirt that my sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave me last night for my birthday. I was so excited to receive it, and could not wait to put it on! I felt it summed me up perfectly.

I love administrative work!

But… I didn’t always have the appreciation for being an administrative person. (Confusing hu?)

I’ve worked in jobs where saying you were an admin was about as bad as using the word “shit” in front of an HR person. Many people treated it as a bad thing - and I started to believe them. When people would ask what I did, I would hesitate to say that I was an administrative person, or I would find a way out of answering it all together.

It wasn’t until I started working in a non-administrative capacity that I really learned to appreciate the work I had done as an admin… and how stupid I was to have thought less of myself for being an admin.

The places I worked had stereotypes around being an admin person. Some of my personal “favorites” were that I wasn’t ‘qualified’ enough to make those decisions, or it was too hard for me to understand. Oh, and I can’t forget my ultimate favorite - you’re JUST an admin.

Well, all you amazing admin freaks out there, let me fill you in… organizations WOULDN’T SURVIVE without you!

ALL organizations have administrative needs, whether you’re a fortune 500 company, or a small Etsy seller from home. Entrepreneurs and business owners alike need support on a variety of administrative things - filling out forms, calling customers, or even paying bills! Whether they’re doing it themselves, they have a physical administrative support staff, or they hire a virtual assistant like me - someone is doing the work.

You can’t have the big ideas come to life without someone paying attention to the minor details. So, admin folks - be proud of who you are and what you do! Don’t be like me, ashamed of being an admin person but secretly liking the work. Stand tall!

And remember, it’s ok to be a lady (or a gentleman) in the streets AND a freak in the spreadsheets. You go ahead and get your freak on!