Business
The Voice finds a perfect assistant for you
About Me “Heidi Hockman, Punta Gorda, United States. I am a 39-year-old blind individual. I don’t often put that in the first line because it is not who or what I am. It is just a part of what I do now. I have been blind or going blind for about four years. If nothing else from it all, I have learned that there is always another way to do something. I am pretty persistent if I put my mind to do it, and I have finally learned how to look at it as just a challenge. I can’t really ‘see it’ anyway, (chuckle). No, actually I can now see better than I ever did with sight. This is because I have begun to learn about vision.”
• • • The Voice listened to Heidi’s story, which begins in Burlington, Mass., where she lived as a youngster and went to high school. The family moved in 1986 to Florida, where Heidi pursued an interest in marine biology at college. Finally, the family moved to the Punta Gorda area and started a bicycle shop, where Heidi found her niche. She loved every aspect of bikes — repairing and returning them to pristine condition and, above all, the interaction with customers. In 2002, Heidi’s father died, a victim of cancer. At about the same time, Heidi started her battle with blindness, in part caused by diabetes. In 2003, as a result of these tragedies in the family, Heidi’s mother sold the business that we know today as the Acme Bike Shop. The gradual onset of blindness allowed Heidi to learn it was an illusion to say, “I can’t do it,” and to know she had to become a self-sufficient member of society. For a while, Heidi lived with her mother, June Bernoth, who was always supportive, but Heidi wanted to be as independent as possible. A longtime friend, companion and avid cyclist, Andy Kay, has created a wonderful office in their home. It is in shades of turquoise, with a desk in palecolored wood with Snoopy looking down on her from the fan as she sleeps. Heidi cannot see the effort that Andy put into this office-bedroom, but it shows his respect and caring for her. Heidi has an office because she is working hard to establish herself as a virtual assistant with the help of Stacy Brice, president of AssistU and a professional business and personal coach recognized as an expert in the field of virtual assistance. Her definition of a VA is a person who supports a client, across the board, administratively and personally, without being geographically present in the client’s location. Another definition is that a VA is anyone who assists another person or business without being present in the client’s location. The long-term association described in Brice’s definition is probably the preferred and ultimate goal of all VAs. The Voice can hear you say, “Heidi is blind. How can she be a VA?” Heidi’s office computer has a screen reader that translates all her computer traffic into verbal messages; it can also translate graphics to a different media so that she can handle them. She has a Braille machine that writes Braille like a typewriter, and she is gradually becoming a proficient reader of it. Heidi’s coaching with Stacy Brice is only one of many avenues she has taken to expand her horizons as a blind person. There are very few opportunities available to the blind, most of which do not take into account the mental abilities of people who have lost their sight. Heidi hopes her story will be of assistance to other sight-impaired people and inspire them to gather their courage and go fight for opportunity as Heidi has. Heidi has begun her VA business planning holidays, drawing up spreadsheets, doing research for businesses and sending out birthday thanks and other such tasks for clients. In a couple of months, Heidi will have a German shepherd guide dog, who will finish his training with Heidi at home, along with her yellow Lab mix. Heidi’s courage and determination to prove to herself she can succeed and with hard work become a useful member of society is remarkable. If you need a VA, think about Heidi. Heidi Hockman, virtual assistant, 941-286-7502, www.heidihockman.com. E-mail The Voice of Downtown with news of your business at jas4@comcast.net.
HERALD PHOTOS BY JOSEPHINE SPENCER, jas4@sun-herald.com Heidi Hockman, a virtual assistant, in her office.
