I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of the series. 

​Thanks to those that reached out to share their thoughts and feedback. At the end of the day, my goal is here to provide with you the information I think you need to know before making an informed decision.
 
This is coming from one of the pickiest eaters you will have ever meet in your life, lol.
 
I have learned you can’t knock something unless you try it, so I hope after you read the final misconceptions you will have what you need to know to make an informed decision about entering the Virtual Assistant industry.

​​Everyone knows something that someone else does not. #facts
 
I need to expose this misconception for it falsely leads people to believe that they have nothing to offer and will never be good enough to stake their claim in the virtual domain.
 
The only limitation you have is your mind. That is no fluff, that is real talk. There is only one you.
 
I know other freelancers in the same industry that literally live 5 minutes away from me  and offer the same services, but how they offer their services is completely different than me.
 
For that reason alone, there will always be enough clients for everyone, you just need to find your unique value proposition that once you are getting prospects into your sales funnel, you are getting them closed                                                                   (now or in the future) and/or getting referrals.

​This is the biggest and most expensive misconception I had!  I think even up until 5 years ago, a lot consumers (even myself) linked legitimacy of a business to a website, especially a virtual one, where a client will most likely never have the opportunity to meet the service provider in person.
 
So, what has changed since then?  You can now build a website free and have (thank you to the genius that came up with Drag and Drop it like it’s hot, lol).  Also, social media - for example, if your ideal client is on Facebook, you can create a business page where you can build the  same know, like, trust factor as the website. 

Just some quick stats on Facebook so you can really understand the business potential the VA industry and further discredits Misconception #3:

• Total Number of Monthly Active Users: 2.50 billion (Source)
• Total number of Mobile Daily Active Users: 1.59 billion (Source)
• Facebook’s share in the global digital advertising market is 19.7%.
• Facebook’s potential reach of advertising is 1.9 billion.

 
                                                                           Source: Facebook by the Numbers: Stats, Demographics & Fun Facts

​Employers have been shifting from the traditional in office model to create flexible work options, save money on office rent, and increase productivity, but I have experienced personally that individuals digest it differently when I say I work remotely for my employer versus when I work from home for myself.
 
As time has gone on, they have come to realize that I am not just a 'Businesswoman'!. I'm a Business... man! #bey-zvoice.
 
I am happy that along the way that I met people along the way that were in various stages of their VA journey because they were able to relate to the scepticism I was facing.
​
After I had my daughter at 19 there was 2 educators, that to this day that I will never forget, that took an interest in me and pushed me to continue my education.
 
If it wasn’t for them, my chances of getting in and staying on the social system would have been greater, I have no doubt about that and I will never be able to repay them #gratitude.

This is one of the main reasons I created a VA Business Coaching program. if you want more of me (and a supportive community afterwards), I am in the process of building a membership community. #payitforward
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​If you made it to the end of this and realize you have been misinformed, I would love for you to share with me on Facebook your biggest takeaway from this blog OR you can book a virtual chat with me so I can get to know you better. I look forward to fellowshipping with you. God Bless!

​Anyone that is usually pursuing a career has the primary piece of hardware to get started they need to get started: a laptop or desktop, tablet, or for some a mobile device (yep you can connect a keyboard to an iPhone or Android). As I started off at the beginning, initially a lot of my training came from Facebook groups, signing up for free webinars/workshops, doing Google searches for non-commercial templates, et al.
 
I was only able to officially start paying for official certification training through Freelance University (FreeU) (formerly known as VAClassroom) approximately 3 years into my business – it is the one investment to this day that I ensure is included in my budget every year for professional development.
 
And speaking of Google, they have comparable web-based applications to Microsoft through Google Suite and guess what they start at the best price: FREE with a Google account. You may just need to pay a small fee for having the business email features, and I mean small under $10.

​When I came into this industry in 2015, my skillset was like jambalaya,
was a blend of administration, finance, and management from my learning and professional background.
 
Nothing special, but more than enough to get me started and that’s all you need as well.
 
Although frustrating, in hindsight I am happy that I didn’t come in with a specialized skillset because for someone that needs variety, this would have stifled my hunger to learn and grow.
 
The advantage for me not coming into the industry focused on a specific service allowed me to:
 
1.  Figure out what I hated doing as an employee and not make it apart of my service offering.  It definitely was trial and error, but when you have your own business you call the shots, its amazing #oprahvoice and;
 
2. Then mastered the skills that were imperative to doing the work I love.
 
Don’t get me wrong I am in a position now where I transitioning from a Virtual Assistant to an Online Business Manager (OBM), which is specialized, but the role entails me being able to serve my ideal client, be compensated fairly for my related experience, doing some different every day, and wake up feeling blessed and fulfilled to be able to help entrepreneurs and organizations to get focused on what they need to be in order to get the life they deiire.

Read the the final set of misconceptions here.

This is the second part of Sustain and Thrive Series. I would suggest reading the first part "Sustain & Thrive Series: A Servant's Heart" so you can get the purpose and intent of that will proceed the next few days.

SPOILER ALERT: A free worksheet will be available at the end of this series for you to download and walk you through the step-by-step process to work through the 3 questions based on your circumstances.

I know there are many career seekers and/or business owners in a daze asking themself "where do I go from here?" . I believe that sometimes you have to go right back to where you started in order to find out where you need to be. So with no further ado these are the 3 questions that changed the trajectory of my life:

Question 1: WHO AM I HERE TO SERVE?

As I mentioned in Part 1 of the series, my plan was to post Kiiji ad to provide resume writing services. For over 10+ years, I had been doing resumes of friends and acquaintances, at no charge, so it made the most sense to serve career seekers .

But, when I started to really think, it became quite apparent that I will never be good at everything, but I am great at a couple of things  that people could benefit from which included Office Administration. 

Answer to Question 1: 
​
My answer is based on my skills, experience, and circumstances. Another way to ask this question is "Who can benefit from what I have to offer?". I offer this alternative in case your service offering is very specialized and only a select few, up until now, could benefit from.

If this this the case, you will need to do further research and analysis in order to determine if this specialized offering can only help a select few.....or can a transformed version be created that will allow you to serve other audiences.

Question 2: HOW AM I GOING TO SERVE?

From Day 1 and to this day, this has been the hardest of the questions to answer. Initially I thought the best way to serve my audiences was to include everything that I was great at, biggest mistake ever! It burnt me out and made me so salty I was already to call it quits in Year 2.

So now I only offer my client services that I love doing and  they will get the best benefit from. I am not naive to the fact that in any business (even non-profit) you need money to make money, but I have decided for it is a means to to the end (God's purpose for me).

Answer to Question 2: 
​
So now that I know better, this is how I do it #montelljordanvoice

Question 3: WHAT IS THE VALUE OF WHOM I SERVING WILL RECEIVE?

Most likely this will be the first question you get from a potential lead "What's in it for me?"

Even in a time such as this where most of us do not even know where their next dollar is coming from, how how much longer they can keep their business going,  people employed, et al - if their is proof that the product and/or service adds value, the client will pay.  They understand that is an investment they are making, not an expense they are paying..

Answer to Question 3:
​
In non-business terms, I want to be able to provide my clients with the ability to focus on what they need to so they can achieve the life they desire. Period, it really is that simple.

In business terms, this is what I am trying to accomplish with each of the groups I serve:

I really hope that this series has been helpful, as promised, below is access to the Sustain & Thrive: Back To Where You Started Worksheet. 

Please share in the comments below or head over to my Facebook page and fellowship with me there. 

 For a free consultation to discuss your business needs, please book your appointment here.

Happy Easter!

When I started my business in 2015, I knew nothing about working virtually.

The only reason it even came on my radar was because I was interviewing for a full-time employee position at the time. The Director in the interview asked me if I preferred to work in the office or at home. I looked around the room to see if  there was  recording device, because I honestly thought it was some behavioural question related to integrity.

I went home and googled "working from home"  and I began to find all these articles about telecommuting.  I was like "Okay, this is REAL!".  This is when the light bulb went off for me.

Being a single mother, I have always had to have an additional income stream. My daughter was starting her first year in university, I needed to be able to make extra money, but working outside the home 16-18 hours a day, 7 days a week, was no longer an option.

My initial plan was to just a post a simple resume writing advertisement on Kiiji, but I  came to quickly realize that this was really God's plan not my own. By time I knew it, I was on the Service Ontario website getting my Master Business License instead. And that is how Above All Admin Support Services was born. 

From March to September 2015, not knowing a dang thang about being a business owner, I began to plan how I was going to make it happen.

We are all going through this season of calamity as a human race and with Easter upon us, two words have been playing in my mind and heart: sustain and thrive. 

As I am witnessing many I know starting over due to the fall out of COVID-19, ​it brought me to reminisce about the 3 questions that got me on my way. They were not difficult questions and they may not have been the "right" questions, but I will tell you they were enough to realize my dream could become a reality.

On this weekend, I hope to bless somebody with the hope and inspiration they may need right now to  see and believe this setback is getting them up for the ultimate comeback.

Join me Saturday and Easter Sunday, as I share the 3 questions that has allowed my servant's heart to pursue God's purpose on my life to support career seekers, businesses, and entrepreneurs.

Enjoy your Good Friday! God bless.

The last week has felt like I have been in a movie - specifically The Twilight Zone.

I had to turn the news notifications off on my phone - it was becoming too much to wake up to every morning. 

Instead I have tried to "set my mind on things above not on earthly things". Colossians 3:2

​
I will be honest, when this first started I refused to feed into the fear and the hype, but over the last couple of weeks I came to realize that it was going to have be just more than just faith, love, and prayer - but also OBEDIENCE if we are going to see the other side of these challenging times.

I have appreciated the gesture of our Canadian government to try and assist almost all population groups with their ​Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: Support for Canadians and Businesses. Although the emergency aid has not perfected, I am not disappointed because they have at least stepped up and try to control what they are able.

On the other hand, other individuals have decided that it is more important to completely disregard and disrespect their own community members by continuing to book non-essential travel, ignore social distancing, disregard isolation upon returning from travel, and congregating in crowds larger then the provincial governments clearly have stated is unacceptable, et al.

​As most of us approach our second official week of social distancing and isolation, I am praying for more wisdom and compassion.  Even when COVID-19 ends, we are still going to have more work to do in order to rebuild our economy and literally our lives.

There is power in numbers , so the faster we unite, the sooner we can get to rebuilding. God bless!