How I took $13 and turned it into a full-time business
/
Let’s go back in time.
Way back. To February 2012. I had a three-month-old baby, a pile of my husband’s student loans, and zero friends living within a 200-mile radius.
My husband and I had moved when our baby was six weeks old so that my husband could take an awesome job and we could be closer to my parents. I was looking for ways to make money and still be able to stay home with my son.
So on that chilly Alabama day, I decided to buy a domain name and start a blog. My idea was that I could use the media skills I had honed in the workforce to create at least a part-time income. I had decided I would start a blog to house my resume and show my skills (writing, video editing, simple graphics, etc.) and that would be a showpiece for potential new clients.
So a couple of hours and $13 later I had my very simple blog up and running. (Looking back at it now I am surprised anyone would ever hire me based on that. It was pretty ugly.)
I wrote a couple of posts, linked to some articles I had written in the past as a journalist, uploaded a basic resume, and called it a day. The next day I headed to a website that matched freelancers with people looking for work. I linked my blog to my profile and bid on a few jobs writing copy.
As a huge shock to me, I got one of those jobs.
A quick phone call later to flesh out what the client wanted and I was in business. By Friday I had turned in my work and gotten paid $150. In just one week I had started a business and earned a profit. Now, it wasn’t a huge profit and certainly not going to change anyone’s life, but it gave me the confidence to keep going.
Over the next few months, I began to grow and expand this little freelance business. I was what one client called “a virtual assistant.”
I had never heard that phrase before and had no idea what it was. A virtual assistant is someone who remotely helps clients with whatever task they need help with.
I helped my clients with social media, copywriting, article writing, video editing, email marketing, workbook design, PowerPoint presentations. If I didn’t know how to do something I got a book from the library or watched some YouTube videos until I felt confident and then I added that service to my resume.
By September I had four clients and had more than replaced the income I was making as a reporter. By the following spring, I had doubled it.
Here I am 9 years later with a thriving business (and employees!), making a consistent full-time income. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of trial and error and during the first few years, I had no idea what I was doing.
I kept wishing I had a mentor to help me navigate these things. I wish I had someone to show me how to write a business plan, how to pitch clients, how to grow my social media platforms, and earn passive income. Over the years I taught myself these things, but I can’t help but wonder how much easier it would have been if I had someone to show me the ropes.
That’s why I wrote Just Start: The quick guide to launching your virtual assistant business. So that lost person on the internet looking to start their businesses could have a fast pass, a mentor to guide her, a step-by-step process to follow.
If you are interested in a step-by-step of how I used started my VA business and went from a $13 website to making $3,000- to $6,000 a month from home, highly recommend this book. The chapters are super easy to follow. And I offer tons of templates to help you find your perfect niche, write a business plan, find clients, perfect your pitch and develop a scalable income.
