VA Success Story: How This VA Started Her Business During A Pandemic

They say millionaires are made during recessions. But I think it’s more than that. I believe that many people take leaps during hard times, even if they never become a millionaire, and even if it’s not a recession.

This pandemic has been hard for many people. But for some people, it has also given them the opportunity to make changes in their life that they wouldn’t have done before. And that’s exactly what my $10K VA student Rayna Coe did.

In this interview, Rayna talks about how she started a new business as a virtual assistant during the pandemic. She also shares how she plans on making it her full-time gig. 

Here’s my interview with Rayna.

To start off, tell us a bit about you and what you were doing before you decided to become a VA.

Hi, my name is Rayna! I have been working as an independently contracted caseworker for five years now. Before that, I worked for a non-profit agency in Nashville, TN for 15 years, administering federal grants and optimizing internal agency operations.

Why did you decide you wanted to become a VA?

When COVID hit, I had to pare down my caseload and hours to keep both my clients and my own family safe. Having provided contracted services to small businesses previously, it was a no-brainer to again offer business support services.

The services I previously provided were project-based requiring long-term engagement with clients, which usually take a little longer to procure. Through $10K VA, I was reminded that businesses also have more immediate needs. And that I could provide solutions right away.

This was attractive to me as a part-time option, because I still work as a caseworker, and led me to enroll in the $10K VA course.

How will being a VA help you with personal goals, personal development, your future life vision, etc.?

MY FAMILY! First and foremost, my goal is to make plans with and be with my family every weekend, once I am full-time. Because I will be able to set my own schedule, it will be nice to get that time back.

I will have the opportunity to expand my knowledge base and broaden my areas of expertise. I want to provide services in multiple areas, thereby expanding my service offerings. The best part of working as a VA is that if I don’t enjoy doing something… I don’t have to do it.

I have also always envisioned my life as a business owner. This has been a goal for me since graduate school. I’ve operated a business, whether it be full-time or as a side hustle, for the better part of 20 years now. I have been able to evolve as a business owner. I see becoming a full-time VA as the continued evolution of my entrepreneurial goals.

What struggles did you face when starting your virtual assistant business?

Making the time, between family and my job, to get the ball rolling on my VA business has been a struggle. Shifting gears has been challenging.

But, once I decided to move forward with this goal, turning back was not an option. I wanted and NEEDED to work through this struggle to reach my family, entrepreneurial, and personal goals.

Another is the fear of hearing, “No”, which can be paralyzing. Self-doubt when embarking on a new endeavor is common, and for me, the feeling waxed and waned. One day I felt unwavering confidence, and another I thought maybe I should just leave things as they are. This is something I have felt every time I contemplate this sort of life change.

How did $10K VA help you move past that/those?

Kayla keeps it real. She shared the ups and downs of being a VA through her personal experiences and how she overcame challenges. Kayla had an answer for those little seeds of self-doubt. That helped me to push through those little distractions and stay on track.

What was the biggest thing you learned in the course that you want to share with others?

Kayla provided tools and resources in $10K VA that were hugely valuable for me.

All of the sample documents, links to tried and true tools and systems, and recommendations of other knowledge bases to go, have allowed me to get my business going right away. It also eliminated the frustration and time of having to figure those things out on my own.

Would you recommend $10K VA to others who are just getting started?

I would definitely recommend $10K VA! For anyone looking for an opportunity to learn more about becoming a virtual assistant, $10K VA will guide you through getting set up and launched right away.

Now that you’ve taken $10K VA and launched your business, tell us about it! What kinds of services do you offer? What niche(s) do you work in?

I offer admin assistance to support day to day operations, survey/quality assurance to assess whether your team is doing what you set out to do, and system/process efficiency to optimize internal systems.

I’ve always enjoyed developing processes and finding more efficient ways to get things done. Now that carries over into my business and work with my clients! I also enjoy helping businesses to assess their performance to find areas of continuous improvement as well as areas that shine.

Also, I help to get the tedious, yet necessary, daily tasks of running their business off my client’s desks to allow them to shift their focus to the growth and development of their businesses.

What are your goals for your business in the future?

Over the next year, I intend to build my knowledge and expand my services so I can become a full-time VA. I also want to share my success as an encouragement to others looking to become VAs.

What is one of the biggest business lessons have you learned so far and how did you use that lesson to your advantage?

I think that the biggest business lesson I have learned through $10K VA is the importance of other VAs to the growth and success of my own business. Networking with other VAs is key to staying on top of trends and opportunities in the field, and critical to the growth of my business.

Have questions or comments for Rayna? Drop them below! Want to be a featured student success story? Reach out to me here!