Starting My Second Act: How I’m Growing My Virtual Assistant Career with Heart

Hi! I'm Michelle, owner of A Writer's Ink

I know professional blog posts are supposed to provide helpful ideas and suggestions for improvement or to educate readers about something that might be of interest to them. I’m going to deviate from that in my post. Why? Why go against the grain? Frankly, I want you to get to know me. The real me. The honest and trustworthy me. 

I started as a young high school English teacher, and remained in that profession for 31 years. Like any profession, there were ups and downs. Ups would be many of my students, the ability to create my lesson plans, and watching my students grow and flourish from adolescence into adulthood. 

But there were plenty of downs: students harassing me, parents harassing me, impossible administrative and district expectations, constant grading, the reform movement, just to name a few. I was already wearing out physically and emotionally when the Pandemic hit, and what was asked of us during and after it took the rest of my energy and motivation.

I taught my classes with fidelity because that’s who I am, but I was ready for a change. I wanted to do something different with my life. 

I no longer wanted to be an employee; I wanted to run my own boss. I wanted flexibility to take care of myself and have balance in my life.

At the beginning of the pandemic, I started A Writer’s Ink as an editing and proofreading business, but because I was a teacher, I had no time or energy to devote to building it. I loved the name of my business, so I diligently paid to keep it active,  but I didn’t do anything to promote myself. Frankly, I didn’t know how. 

Four years later, as I scrolled through Facebook, I came across a former educator who was promoting her Virtual Assistant business; she trains teachers how to be VAs. I liked how she focused on teachers, and I felt she was a good place for me to start my second career.

I registered for her program, and–like a good student–I followed her every recommendation. I enjoyed creating my brand, and I enjoyed the idea of Virtual Assistance. I felt being a Virtual Assistant was within my realm of skills, but it offered me room to learn and grow. Its possibilities excited me.

But I didn’t land clients. 

So I worked harder, applied to more jobs on LinkedIn and on Facebook, I paid for UpWork only to be scammed, and by this past summer, I was thinking of giving up. I felt like an imposter and a failure.

And then,  I was hired by a VA agency;  I thought everything was going to get better. Someone would help find clients for me; I would be able to learn more about different VA skills.

I was all in with this VA agency. I attended nearly all of their meetings; I sent fun emojis; I tried getting to know the other VAs. I volunteered to create fun surveys for team bonding. 

I was wrong.  I “worked” for them for three months, and “worked” is an understatement because I was assigned one paid project. 

When they fired me, it was because “there wasn’t enough work; " and then “I made my one client mad and he threatened to leave the agency;” and finally, “I was too far behind for them to catch me up in the industry.” 

Being told I’m not worthy or qualified to do something motivates me to prove them wrong. I had a college professor who tried to steer me away from education because he felt my “annoying voice” would “turn off” male students. I proved him wrong.

I want to prove the agency owner wrong too. 

I’ve signed up for a program that provides training in all different areas of virtual assistance. Although I have much to learn, I realize how much more I now know than I did a year ago. 

Initially, I offered copywriting services. Next I added blog posting and email marketing (newsletters). But in addition to those skills, I’ve learned branding, website maintenance, Canva, organization apps like Trello, and communication programs like Slack. 

Currently, I work for a general contractor/handyman, focusing on email marketing, website maintenance, and blogs. 

I’m dipping my toe into social media ads by volunteering to create and post ads on Facebook for my church. I’m also creating my own social media ads and posting to Facebook and IG. 

I’ve written copy and blog posts for a tech company; updated a chiropractor’s website; created a website for a health and wellness coach; edited a dissertation; and created FB ads for a travel agent. 

Most importantly, I’m motivated to learn as much as I can while looking for clients. 

Sometimes, I think it would be easier to simply get a part-time job, but I know I won’t be happy. I won’t have the type of work/life balance I need and want. 

So this is me: a former teacher who’s determined to grow my Virtual Assistant business. I’m honest and trustworthy, persevering and hard-working. And I’m excited to see where my business takes me.