^{This transcription was automatically generated. Please excuse grammatical errors.}

Laura Nicole: 0:00

Welcome to Your Virtual Assistant Coach, the podcast for moms who want to make money from home on their own terms. I'm your host, Laura Nicole, a successful six-figure earning VA and coach who replaced my college professor's salary in just five months back in 2020 after my daughter was born, and I have never looked back. I'm here to help you build a profitable, flexible VA business that fits into your family's lives so you no longer feel like you're living just to work. Let's dive in.

Laura Nicole: 0:32

One thing that I have noticed after coaching more than 1,300 women on becoming virtual assistants is that the women who make progress are not the ones who have everything figured out before they start. They're the ones who are willing to take action before they have all of the pieces put together and figured out. Because here is the thing: action creates clarity and overthinking creates doubt. So many women that I chat with are waiting to feel completely ready before they actually start taking the steps to become a VA. And especially before being willing to put themselves out there or start networking and having conversations with potential clients. They want to know exactly which services to offer. They want to pick the absolute perfect niche. They want to feel really confident about their rates. They want to know exactly step by step how they're going to find clients. And because they don't have all of those answers, neat and tidy in a box with a bow wrapped on it, they will keep researching, keep thinking, keep planning.

Laura Nicole: 1:44

But you can't think your way into knowing what you can only learn by doing. Taking action gives you information that just thinking about it can't. Let's say that you're trying to decide which services you want to offer. So you spend three weeks researching different services and wondering which ones are going to be the right fit for you. Or you can pick something that sounds interesting, that aligns with your skill set, and then actually try it. Maybe you love it and maybe you hate it. But either way, you now know something that you didn't know before because you took action. And it's the same thing with networking. You can spend hours or days or even weeks wondering what I would say to business owners? Or you can just dive in and start having actual conversations and just learn what works as you go. Because every action that you take gives you feedback. And that feedback helps to create clarity. But overthinking usually just makes the doubt that exists in your brain even louder. Because here's what happens when you stay stuck in your head. You start questioning the decisions that you've already made. You compare yourself to women who are further along in the process. You end up convincing yourself that you need another certification or to learn another program. Essentially, you're going to come up with 47 reasons that this isn't going to work. And you end up feeling less confident than when you started. And the really frustrating part is that you've spent all that time thinking about your VA business and feeling like you're putting work into it without actually moving it forward.

Laura Nicole: 3:36

Overthinking and researching and planning can feel productive because your brain is busy. But being mentally busy is not the same thing as making progress. And you don't need the perfect next step to make progress. You just need a next step. Pick one service to explore. Start one conversation with a potential client. Follow up with a past potential client you've chatted with. Put yourself out there for one opportunity. Set a price that you're going to start with and stick to it. You can always change your mind later. You can pivot services. You can adjust your rates. You can and you will learn as you go. Your first decision is not your forever decision. And you are going to learn so much more by taking that imperfect action than you will by spending another month thinking about it. So here's what I want you to ask yourself today. Am I actually working toward becoming a VA or am I spending all my time thinking about becoming a VA? Because those are two very different things. And you don't have to know exactly how everything is going to work out before you start. I promise. But action creates clarity and overthinking creates doubt. If you've been waiting for clarity to finally take that first step, maybe taking that first step is actually exactly how you're going to find the clarity you've been looking for.

Laura Nicole: 5:09

And if you would like some guidance on that first step and someone in your corner to kind of stop you from doing the overthinking and guide you through the first steps of taking action, I'm hosting a live round of the virtual assistant starter sprint October 26th through the 29th. And in just about an hour of time each day, so four hours total, you will have absolutely taken that first step and even a couple extra because you'll know your skills, you'll have turned them into services, and you'll have created your resume while simultaneously boosting, on average, women double their confidence in their ability to become a VA all in the course of four hours spread over four days. So if you recognize after listening to this episode that you are 100% stuck in a cycle of overthinking and you want to cut through that and start taking action, I would love for you to join us. Registration is just $7, and there is a link in the show notes that has more information about what the starter sprint looks like and is also the spot that you can register and save your seat.

Laura Nicole: 6:25

Thanks for hanging out with me today on your virtual assistant coach. If you love this episode, be sure to share it with your best friend, your sister, or even your favorite coworker who you know wants to start making a flexible income. I'll see you all next time.