Meet Skevi Contantinou, Director and Founder of The PA Way

PA Life talks to Skevi Constantinou, Director and Founder of The PA Way, a global community she has built on her own over the last eight years, and continues to run as a solo business owner. Skevi does it extremely efficiently and well, as you would expect from a former corporate Executive Assistant…

Skevi didn’t set out to work as an assistant or to climb the corporate career ladder. Upon leaving school, she went to catering college to learn how to be a chef in classic French cuisine. Unfortunately, life had other plans and Skevi had to leave the industry. She was advised to embark in an office job instead. Skevi landed a junior admin role, and just in under a few years progressed to a C-Suite EA position at one of the largest companies in the world.

In 2018, having seen The PA Way in her dream, Skevi taught herself how to build an events and community platform for assistants across the world. Whilst holding down a full time role, for the first two years, Skevi would build The PA Way with every available hour and bring the profession together, with one mission:

To level up the voice of the administrative profession for their incredible contributions.

Fast track eight years and The PA Way is a multi-award winning company, Skevi has been a finalist for the Women in Tech awards, has created two first ever apps for the profession and launched the original platform to take assistants across the world for luxury retreats.

After eight years of The PA Way, what drives you most today?

I want the assistant profession to be seen, heard and celebrated. People and purpose are my core values, not only for myself but for the brand. Everything I create is centred around supporting our community and helping others. Having people say to me “Because of The PA Way, I got to experience a new place, make a new friend, received a pay rise/promotion” is the reason I do what I do. My aim is to encourage others to level up their mindset, seize opportunities and to unlock their potential.

What sets The PA Way apart from other PA clubs?

We’re lucky in our profession to have so many people doing incredible work to showcase the importance of our industry. I think what sets The PA Way apart is that I’ve never been afraid to think bigger.

From the beginning, I’ve challenged what a PA community could look like. We were the first to create industry-first apps. In 2021, when I released the first app the industry had ever seen, it was incredible to see the response. I had created features called The Assistants Assistant (which PA Life kindly features online too!) where assistants could help other assistants, Friday Wins to celebrate your goals and have trackers, Monday Promises to set your intentions for the week. These still exist in our community. No one was doing that before. I took all the feedback from members and then took a year to build AssistantHood, which is the world’s first social media app for the industry, completely free to use and chat to assistants worldwide which you can download straight from your app store.

I’ve created events and experiences that hadn’t been done before, and I’ve taken assistants on retreats internationally because I don’t believe geography, or traditional thinking ,should define what’s possible for our profession.

Skevi Contantinou founded The PA Way to do things a bit differently

In many ways, I think we’ve created our own language. Our own energy. Our own culture. The PA Way is about doing things differently, asking “why not?” and then actually making it happen. Our mantra has always been ‘level up’ since the start in 2018 and I still see so many in our community using this, which is incredible.

I remember going to events myself as an EA and feeling isolated because of that “click” mentality, or that you had to know someone to really feel part of it. That was never going to be my approach. I want every single person who interacts with The PA Way to feel supported, connected and inspired. Whether they’re walking into their very first event or they’ve been part of our community for years.

And ultimately, I have a much bigger ambition than simply creating great events. I want to change how assistants see themselves and how the world sees them.

I want an assistant to walk into a room with so much confidence, presence and power like an executive would do.

That’s the shift I’m passionate about. We shouldn’t be standing in the background. We should be walking into the room knowing exactly what we bring to the table and making sure everyone else knows it too.

And, as our community will tell you, there’s a slightly wild creative brain behind all of this! I’m always told I am a dreamer and that’s fine with me, because if I can see it, I can build it.

“Why should we wait for someone else to change the industry when we can be the ones changing it?

What do you enjoy most in running your own business?

The community. Without a doubt.

The whole heartbeat of The PA Way is people. Their success is my success, and honestly, there is nothing better than seeing someone’s world get a little bigger and better because of something we’ve created.

Running a business is hard. Running one on your own? It’s next level. There are plenty of moments where you’re making big decisions, carrying the pressure and wondering if you’re doing enough.

But then I’ll see someone make a new friend through the AssistantHood app, watch a group of assistants having the absolute best time at one of our events, or hear that something we created has genuinely made a difference to someone and it makes every late night, difficult decision and stressful moment completely worth it.

Our members will tell you I get my ideas at the most random moments (I mean, I did see the whole concept of The PA Way in my dream after all!). Seeing that vision and how I can build on it, to bring people together, get them to experience and be seen in my passion.

That’s the bit that keeps me going.

I’m not building The PA Way just to build a business. I’m building it to create opportunities, connections and experiences that people remember.

When I see our community thriving, I think, this is why I do it.

Is The PA Way open for any assistant to join? And is it free?

Absolutely. The PA Way is for everyone in our profession. Whether you’re front of house, a receptionist, an administrative professional, an assistant, an office manager, a chief of staff , whatever your title, there’s a place for you here.

I’ve always been really passionate about creating a community that doesn’t put people into boxes. We’re all part of the same profession, and I want The PA Way to be the place where everyone can connect, learn, have fun and feel like they belong.

It’s a community, but it’s also the coolest place to hang out!

And yes, there’s some very exciting news coming very soon. I can’t say too much just yet… but watch this space!

What advice would you give to today’s assistants, regardless of their tenure or seniority?

Be yourself. There is genuinely no one else out there like you, so don’t spend your career trying to be a version of someone else.

Whether you’ve been in the profession for 20 years or you’ve just started, this is such an exciting time to be an assistant. The industry is evolving, the opportunities are growing and I honestly believe the best is still to come.

Keep levelling up. Network. Learn. Ask questions. Stay curious. Put yourself in rooms that challenge you and don’t be afraid to raise your hand for opportunities that might feel slightly outside your comfort zone.

And most importantly, have the drive to be the best version of yourself. You don’t have to know everything. None of us do. But be someone who is hungry to learn, willing to grow and confident enough to know the value you bring.

Your title doesn’t define your potential. You do.

Can you share a great memory or experience from the past eight years of running the Club?

There have been so many. The award ceremonies, travelling across the world with our members, seeing people hugging, dancing, laughing and making friendships that last. There’s so much good stuff happening within our community, and I feel incredibly lucky to have a front-row seat to watch it all unfold.

One memory that will always stay with me is Thailand. I took our members there and, one morning, I was sitting on the beach watching the sun come up. I had this surreal moment where I thought, “I saw this entire plan in my dream. How did I actually get to Thailand?”

I must have said it out loud because one of our members turned to me and said, “Skevi, you brought us here with your dream.”

That really got me, because she was right. I had imagined it, believed it was possible and then somehow we were sitting on a beach in Thailand together, watching the sunrise.

Then there are the quieter moments that mean just as much. I have a member who sent me a card saying that The PA Way had changed her life. I still have it. In fact, I have a big memory box filled with cards, notes and little things our community has given me over the years.

Those are the things I keep. The awards are amazing, the travel is incredible, but knowing that something I created has genuinely changed someone’s life?

That’s the stuff that stays with you.

What’s next for Skevi Contantinou and The PA Way?

It’s definitely not a sleep schedule, I can tell you that!

There are some very exciting things in the pipeline, but I’m sworn to secrecy for now. What I can say is that I’m not slowing down anytime soon.

We’ve got some big ideas, big plans and a few things coming that I think will really surprise people. After eight years, I’m still just as excited about what’s possible for The PA Way, if anything, I’m more ambitious than ever.

And once an assistant, always an assistant… so I know how to keep a secret!

Watch this space. All will be revealed through our socials and The PA Way website.

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