Meet Sheridan Meriwether | Certified Sex Offender Treatment Provider, Supervisee in Social Work, Certified Virtual Assistant, Mobile Notary

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sheridan Meriwether and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sheridan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Never in a million years did I dream of having a business; however, God had plans for me otherwise. I had been working at a nonprofit agency, as a single mom of 2, for approximately 7 years prior to COVID. When COVID happened, and the world was stuck inside of their homes, I truly had the opportunity to observe my children and learn their needs. Even after I returned to the office and they returned to school, I realized that being more available to them was super important to me. As a single parent, I would utilize my support system; however, they weren’t always available. Working in the fields of therapeutic foster care, community based services, and as an outpatient clinician, I began to see how I was working on the needs of others but not my own home. Along with the support of my best friend Mylira, I purchased an LLC while sitting at work. As I began to build my business, I began to embrace the reality of being more available for my children, creating my own schedule, and being more at peace with becoming a Virtual Assistant. This has driven me to continue to press towards creating financial freedom for my children.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

The Compassionate Connection LLC is a virtual administrative assistance agency located in the Tidewater area of Virginia. It has expertise in offering a wide range of virtual assistant products and services targeting small established businesses as well as new small businesses. The Compassionate Connection LLC will offer the target market and the wider market the ability to outsource key administrative assistant functions. This will be especially appealing to many start-up companies that find the cost of hosting an in-house administrative assistant department costly.

The other key objective is to provide/offer superior administrative and human resource needs to small businesses. The services provided currently include (but are not limited to): mobile notary, transcription, proofreading and editing, appointment setting, data entry, email management, online filing, newsletters, research, word processing, technical writing, tax preparation, virtual event planning, and project management. I am your V.A. in VA!

The uniqueness that I bring along with the services is my understanding and compassion for people. My background is in Social Work, as I have both a Bachelors and Masters degree in that field. I have learned over the years that everyone has a story, and all styles of different. I am able to bring my compassion for others into meetings and conversations to ensure that the needs of clients are met in the most genuine way. I am unable to listen to clients and comprehend their needs in ways that they may not quite understand themselves.

Stepping out on faith to start The Compassionate Connection was challenging, as I’ve always “punched a clock”; however, it’s been the most rewarding. My biggest lesson has been to trust God with any plan that I have. As long as I lean on Him and my faith, I can achieve the goals that I have set for my business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in the Hampton Roads area, there is so much to do! If my best friend, Mylira, was to come into town we would spend our week relaxing by some water (the pool or ocean) to soak in the peace and tranquility of God’s most beautiful creation. We would definitely find us several nice restaurants that are accommodating on our health journey (seafood is a must!). We both love dancing so we would attend a line dancing class as well as maybe a lounge or club to experience the nightlife. Prior to her departure, we would definitely attend church so that I’m able to ensure that my bestie’s spirit has been filled prior to returning home.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There’s so many people that I could thank for where I am! First and foremost, I give honor to God for the opportunities that He has granted me.  I would like to give a shout out to my children, Lei and Shy, as they are my driving force in life. I would also like to shoutout my bestie, Mylira, for helping me become unstuck through her course The Metamorphosis Healing Experience, which has helped me become a better version of myself as well as start a business. To Ms. Ellen Fay, my high school guidance counselor, and Ms. Robyn Singletary, my high school librarian, who pushed me to attend college and continue to show my love and support on my journey. A huge shout out to my aunt, “Suga”, who has helped mold me into the woman, mother and businesswoman I continue to strive for. Shout out to my parents, especially my dad, for being supportive. Shout out to all of my family, Eta Eta Lambda Entrepreneurial Society Sisters, my DSU family, and my friends who have become my family!

Instagram: the_compassionate_connector

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheridan-meriwether-676308a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecompassionateconnectionllc/

Image Credits
Image credits go to my darling son, “Shy”