I'm Vicky, I have a dream to open a Play cafe in Reading. I don't have a background in running a coffee shop so I’ve done as much research as I can online and sitting in coffee shops, but I got to the point where I really needed some expert advice on where to go next, and someone to say ‘this is awful go back to the drawing board, or this is great, this isn't,’ and just really some guidance on what to do.

Today has been so busy and full on I’ve literally got a head full of ideas and it's been so exciting to see it in action. I’ve tried the food, I’ve tried making the coffee (not very successfully) and we've just had a great day talking about all the different aspects of what needs to go into starting the business. It's been brilliant. And walking around the building and seeing simple things like why that's in that drawer and why they work a certain way it's really, really valuable. I don't think I would have learnt half of this stuff just doing what I was doing so which was desk-based research and sitting in coffee shops and watching – it’s just not the same thing. I’ve already said that I might need to pay for another half day! :)

I've come to the UK from Australia and have a range of things I'm looking at: youth worker, school counsellor, careers advisor. I spent time on the phone with James Hawes (counsellor) Hannah Courtney Bennett (careers advisor) and Jay Blades (youth worker). From talking to them all, I got a better idea of what each job involves and what qualifications I do really need to do to take the next steps. Of all the roles, I think counsellor is the best suited to me. James was great at clarifying where I need to start. I wasn't sure if my Aussie qualifications and degree would count towards anything here, but from what he was saying, I do need to get qualified - so I'm starting my counselling course in January!

I found Jehane very warm and welcoming, lovely and easy to talk to. Jehane gave me feedback on areas in my portfolio which could be improved & developed. I found it useful to get Jehane’s opinion on where she thought my work would fit in the industry. She encouraged me to keep pursuing personal projects and was able to offer really constructive feedback on my portfolio which will hopefully see me improve my work and gain more freelance job opportunities in the future. I would definitely highly recommend Jehane to friends looking to publish and license their work.

Through Viewvo I received a valuable introduction to Ben and his team and was able to shadow what they do for a day and witness that this is not always a straightforward or easy process. In truth, one day is not a lot of time to spend in an organisation but it is enough time to gain a powerful impression of the type and focus of the work and the calibre of the team. This can be valuable in making a decision regarding career direction or learning how to be a professional consultant and my day was hugely beneficial in guiding my future career path.

*Update* - 10 months on from Felicity’s shadowing opportunity, she’s building experience to work out exactly what field within Occupational Psychology she wants to be doing. Her time with Ben was really helpful in refining focus to enable her to do this, and she secured a starter position as a Research Intern working in Learning and Development.

I would highly recommend Viewvo to anyone looking to change their current career path. In fact, I already have! Prior to having my children I had a long career in the Financial industry. However, I’ve always been passionate about interior design...but had so many questions and doubts about how achievable this would be and what my next step should be.

After discovering Viewvo at a careers fair and noticing that Rachel Laxer was one of the mentors I saw this as an opportunity not to be missed - and the fee goes to charity so it was a win win. Rachel is a fantastic person to shadow, a real inspiration having made a hugely successful career change into interior design from a prior career in Finance.

Rachel later invited me to be involved in the amazing interior design breast cancer charity event that she is co-chair for, Holiday House which launched in London this month. Through helping out at Holiday House I have met a number of other designers and professionals within the design industry so it has been an immensely rewarding process.

I spent a day with Ali which I thought went very well. I was really concerned about spending £450 but I’ve spent more than this in the past… Ali has helped me focus on my brand, the vision for my business and my target customer. All of this makes me realise the mistakes I made with the investments I’ve made previously – in a way, I wish I had met Ali earlier as I now feel I’m on the right path.

She’s been really helpful and given me some contacts in the industry who might be best suited to my vision. I wasn’t sure previously how to price my products, so she’s talked me through how she does hers and has also given me a template business plan which we worked through, so now I have a much better and clearer idea of what I should be charging. All in all, to learn from someone who you know is successful is really reassuring. The fact she believes in what I’m trying to do and gave up a whole day to help me get there is great – consequently, I would happily recommend others do the same.