Skevi Constantinou is the Founder of The PA Way, a multi-award-winning global membership and community platform for people in the administrative profession. Before starting her entrepreneurial journey, Skevi was a C Suite Executive Assistant. She lives in Wolverhampton, England.
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your Entrepreneur journey/venture/initiative.
I was born and raised in Wolverhampton, England, with parents from Cyprus. My parents owned fish and chip shops, and I lived in a flat on top of our shop. I loved academia and learning growing up (I still do!) and would often be in the local library for hours. My parents worked very long hours, and my siblings are older than me, so I spent most of my time reading alone or playing with my cousins who lived next door. Growing up, I had a real love and sense for community, even when life was challenging, they always had time to talk and connect with everyone, including myself. I also attended Greek school every Saturday for a number of years. During my teenage years, I was fully immersed in music and would attend a lot of concerts but held down a couple of part-time jobs to support my studies as I was training to be a Chef. I’ve had great experience in the hospitality industry growing up, being surrounded by many incredible cooks in my family.
What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business/initiative? What motivated you to say YES, go for it?”
The idea for my business, The PA Way, came to me in a dream in 2018 while I was working full-time as an Executive Assistant. I had to unfortunately leave my catering career due to an accident and was advised to get an office job. When I woke up after seeing the dream, I was so excited by what I had seen I decided to Google it. When I realized it did not exist, I sat back in my chair and said, ‘but I just saw it! I saw it in my dream!’ and then I had that realization of ‘it was a dream!’ and I quickly wrote down everything I could remember from it. I then held down a full-time job while working every available hour on The PA Way. YouTube has been my only business ‘mentor’ – I have created everything on my own, which has been a rollercoaster journey, but I enjoy what I do. My driving force was celebrating and supporting colleagues in the administrative profession and that firmly remains at the core of everything I do, six years on!
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
The PA Way is a multi-award-winning global membership and community platform for people in the administrative profession. As a former Executive Assistant, I wanted to celebrate this incredible profession so I set about to build the platform I wish I had when I was an EA, as I found that there was little reward or recognition for my colleagues. They work so hard and are the backbone of organizations and I want to celebrate this from the rooftop, to have their voices heard, to be seen and recognized for their contributions and successes! People are at the core of everything I create because they are the sole purpose of The PA Way.
Are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
Thank you, that’s very kind, though The PA Way has won many awards and is constantly being recognized, that’s not the aim. The biggest accomplishment for me is seeing our members creating success, being recognized, and celebrated. Seeing their confidence soar and leveling up. Our community is known as the AssistantHood, a term I coined. When one of us levels up, we all level up. It’s a step in the right direction for us all. The PA Way would be nothing without the people on the journey with us as they are our purpose.
What change would you like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
Be kind, support others, be useful, and share your talents.
What would you want to say to our young leaders/audience reading this?
Believe in yourself with every fiber of your being. Even when others may doubt you or not see your vision, stay true to yourself and your ‘why’ – you have value and purpose.
