I should preface this with a little context...
My business was started as a side gig on Upwork after I graduated high school. For years, it was something I would pick up for a week or so and put back down after making enough money for whatever shiny thing I wanted that month.
I started this journey with just 15-30 minutes every few days (or sometimes weeks) that I had free, an old laptop, and $14.
I started this journey with no professional experience in administrative work (the base of virtual assistance).
Suddenly... I was 23, married, moving to a new city, and completely over doing paralegal/legal assistant work with attorneys who never seemed to think of a woman as much more than a piece of meat.
I was over having a negative bank balance after working myself to the point of crying each day.
January 2020 (before The Pandemic started), I decided I would pick up my side gig full time and see what happens.
I quit my job on the spot and haven't left my house (for work) since. Let's talk about how that worked out for me ⬇️
I was terrified. I cried and I asked everyone in my life if I was making a mistake. Most people agreed that I made the wrong choice.
My initial goal was to just replace my previous income (which was something like $300/week). Much to my own (and everyone else's) surprise, I accomplished this within a couple weeks.
Here's What I Did To Replace My Income Almost Immediately After Starting (vaguely)
Step One:
Update LinkedIn and Upwork accounts to reflect my work and use specific wording/images to target my dream clients. (I also created a basic one page website as an "about me/portfolio that I could link in those accounts)
And here's the catch....
I didn't "niche down". Yes, you read that correctly. In 2023, it seems like every VA mentor on every corner of the internet is claiming their best piece of advice is to niche down... but niching down isn't a new idea. In fact, my dad was lecturing me about running a business and finding my niche even as far back as 4th grade (2006)!
But do I ever listen to advice...? Not usually. So I did not niche down, and here's why:
You have to show that you're credible.
It's a no-brainer, right? Nobody wants to get scammed hiring a stranger online to help them with their business! The idea that you can just jump into virtual assistant work right off the bat and make $30/hr or more (with no proof of experience or skill) baffles me.
I knew I wanted to work as an administrative assistant, but didn't have much proof of experience on my Upwork account, nor did I have a business degree (hello, useless pre-law degree).
So my first month of full-time work consisted of doing odd jobs (in and out of the administrative field), and gaining client feedback, reviews, and experience. I did this work for $8.50/hr. None of the projects were long term, just short projects that I knew I could accomplish quickly and accurately with skills that I already had.
(Proofreading, editing, creating a flyer in Canva, responding to customer service emails, etc.)
Step Two:
Outreach (even if you're an introvert that's scared of rejection)!
Everyday I made a goal to send 5-6 proposals to potential clients, and everyday I worked on current client work for 5 or so hours. At the end of the first week, I had made around $200.
When doing outreach, present yourself as the expert! (just trust me on this)
With the feedback from the jobs I completed in week one, I scored slightly larger projects for closer to $10/hr. I ended week two with around $400.
But the only way that I made that happen was my absolute determination to make it happen. Starting your full-time VA business is not easy, it requires dedication and a slight bit of willingness to hustle in the beginning. Without that, you will be looking at your new business a month later and wondering why you're even doing it in the first place.
Step Three:
You have to want it in order to get it.
Fast forward to February (one month into it)
I was still using Upwork exclusively (though I was scouting out remote jobs on LinkedIn). I had gathered reviews and experience and raised my rate to $17/hr.
On Upwork, potential clients can view your profile and reach out to you with a job offer. I received an offer on February 2nd to start doing daily data entry (putting information from a website into a simple document) for 40 hours a week, at $17/hr.
On February 14th, one month after leaving my job and starting my full-time business, I was making $680/week from only ONE client. I worked with this client up until January 2022 (and my pay went up to $21).
Even though this client required 40hrs of work per week, I still had downtime and availability for small projects. I did a few on the side each week to add to my weekly income.
Within 6 months, bigger clients with long-term administrative work were sending me job offers on Upwork. Without doing the exact calculations, I was making over $2,000 each week.
And the best part? I was working on my own schedule. I was going to the park, taking lunch breaks, exercising, traveling, etc. and it felt like my entire life had changed!
I want that kind of transformation for you!
Since that first year, I've had clients reach out to me on all kinds of platforms - but I still have many clients in Upwork! In fact, I had a period of getting hundreds of job offers a month on Upwork alone.
Since that first year, I've been helping my friends and some people online to get setup as virtual assistants on Upwork so that they have a chance at that same success.
It wasn't until recently that I finally took every bit of knowledge and experience and put them into workbook and video form so that my virtual friends could learn the same method that I used at their own pace, on their own terms.
Now, I'm sharing it with you, because everyone deserves a chance to transform their life & secure their financial future.
REMEMBER what I said at the beginning? I started this journey with just 15-30 minutes every few days (or sometimes weeks) that I had free, an old laptop, and $14.
I started this journey with no professional experience in administrative work (the base of virtual assistance).
You can too.
This is your sign, your chance, your moment to change everything!
If you're ready to invest in your success, your financial security, and your future.... I have step-by-step workbook style guides that walk you through the exact process that I took to launch my VA business.
LEARN MORE ABOUT VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE AND/OR THE ONLINE COURSE (+ get one month free!)
LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A VA ON UPWORK SPECIFICALLY (+ free videos!)
I also offer various 1:1 sessions!
Have questions? Reach out to me on Instagram!
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