How to Overcome Feeling Helpless:
Step 1: Say “Yes”
“Sometimes, when you’re feeling helpless, the secret is to help someone else. Get out of your own head. Trust me. The next time someone asks for help, say yes.” – Michael, ‘The Good Place’ – Season 3- Episode 01
I first learned about the concept of a virtual assistant (VA), in the context of providing professional creative, technical and administrative services, in 2005. Soon after, I launched my own VA small business centered around providing such services. I still kept a full-time job for income’s sake, but my passion and heart was always in my VA side business.
My goal with this was to always have a portable career while we relocated around the globe for my husband’s active duty Army assignments. This was just as social media was ramping up, and long before it was main stream. Here was this great idea, which in theory, would help me grow my business. But how would I market myself in this vast unknown in pursuit of this great new endeavor? It was all new to me and I had no idea where to start. At first, it felt very overwhelming and quite possibly the biggest mistake I ever made. Then, just as easily as it was to take that first step to put myself “out there”, the rest fell into place. And it all began with saying, “yes.”
My very first VA client was a fellow Army spouse who was starting her own small business. She knew my full-time job was in a marketing and in a creative capacity, so she respected my experience, opinions and ideas. We spoke at length about her goals and objectives for her blossoming business. Before we knew it, we had a solid business plan hatched. We forged a deeper business relationship when she hired me as a consultant on a per-project basis to help her achieve some of her specific marketing and administrative goals. In essence, we walked on the small business educational journey together, both of us gleaning valuable lessons along the way.
As she gained new contacts through networking, she would gladly share them with me and recommend my work to them. I gained additional clients and had the pleasure of working on a wide variety of projects that added value to my growing portfolio. And, despite having to move from the area just a year later for a new duty station, I still was able to continue serving these clients from a different location thanks to advances in technology such as Skype and cloud computing. I am pleased to report that I continue to work with many of these satisfied clients.
If you’re considering utilizing a virtual assistant in your small business or have questions on how a virtual assistant can help you reach your business goals, reach out to us today!
Have you already used a virtual assistant in your business? We would also love to hear from you. What types of projects or tasks do you have them do?
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