Cathy Ann De Four is a Virtual Assistant (VA) who has found her niche. She developed a fascination with the typewriter and absolutely loves typing.

“My mother got me a typewriter at the age of 10, and from here I fell in love with the apparatus!”

Her speed is 89 words a minute and she is very proud of that fact. At one of her previous workplaces, people would often look on with spellbound awe as she could focus on other conversations in the office and not miss a beat on her sheet!

As a VA, Cathy Ann identifies her strengths as an Admin and as such, provides support to Course Creation Coaches and small business owners who are overwhelmed.

“My approach is calm and simple: to provide smooth processes and stress free onboarding. My goal is to make the client comfortable from the very beginning to focus on what they need to do.”

To work with a writer or author, Cathy Ann says would be a dream come true as she gets to use her typing skills to maximum benefit.

Why a Virtual Assistant?

You can’t guess this by speaking with Cathy Ann, but for 50 years she provided secretarial and administrative support to law firms and shipping companies! The business owner will turn 69 in February of 2026 and is very proud to declare what many wish to keep secret.

She started her Virtual Assistant business in 2021 during the pandemic with the help of her coach Desi-Ann Gordon who encouraged her to stop thinking like an employee and embrace her strengths. Now, her mindset has changed and she is on her way to living the life she deserves – which is the freedom to work from any part of the world.

In a quiet, youthful voice she declares to The Muse:

“Although I enjoyed my day jobs immensely, what I love most now is having the freedom to live life on my terms and not being an employee to be clocking in at specific times.”

Life as a Virtual Assistant

Cathy Ann starts her day at 10 a.m. and goes until 5 or 6 p.m. with a break for lunch, Her focus is relentless but admits she has to make more time for self-care.

She shares that sometimes her best hours are the wee hours of the morning when it’s quiet and may go from 1 a.m. right up until 4 a.m., then take a break the next day to ensure her health is not compromised.

“I find that these hours are quieter and I’m more focused in spite of any tiredness.”

Cathy Ann’s four clients, two of whom are in the internal tourism industry, have been with her since the inception of her business.

What was initially a business venture out of necessity now affords a sustainable way of life. Cathy Ann loves meeting people and is able to do so in this industry.

The business owner provides Email marketing services, applying the appropriate ‘voice’ to the campaign, whether friendly or professional and automates via Mailchimp and MailerLite. Her offerings include transcriptions and coming soon – Website Creation!