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Laura Nicole: 0:02

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

Today I want to talk about something that I think doesn't get discussed enough, but it is an issue that I see pop up for women not incredibly frequently, but it definitely does show up. And if you happen to be in a scenario that your spouse or people in your inner circle whose opinions you really value is not super supportive of you becoming a virtual assistant, I want to give you a couple of tools to have in your tool belt for how to help them understand the process and what it is so that they can ultimately get on board and support you in it. And a lot of times a spouse's lack of support honestly comes from the fact that they just don't really understand what a VA even is or does or how the hell you actually make money doing this. And because it is in the online space, for some people, there still is just that I don't know if it's skepticism or just that like we're so innately trained in our society to think of a quote unquote job as being a more traditional nine to five that sometimes the skepticism just comes from that kind of subconscious expectation. And so they feel like if you're doing it from home on the couch at 9 p.m. at night, like that's not a real job.

Laura Nicole: 1:49

Granted, they'll know that the money in your bank account is real money. They might be worried about money and if you're gonna make enough money, right? Or they might just be afraid of change. It can be a really big change to step into this industry and make money this way, especially if you're someone who has the goal of replacing a nine to five. So in today's episode, I want to walk you through what to do when the people closest to you don't fully get your goals and dreams of becoming a virtual assistant and how you can stay confident that this is the right path for you anyway. Something that I think we all can find comfort in is knowing when we're struggling with something that we're not the only person who struggles with that thing. And a lot of new VAs do struggle with this, not necessarily with a spouse, but maybe with friends or coworkers or a parent, somebody in their inner circle who's like, wait, what? You're doing what? So it's really common to have friends or family members who don't necessarily see how this is actually a job and a way to make money because they don't fully understand it.

Laura Nicole: 2:58

I remember back in the first like two years that I was doing this, how many times I had to explain to people what it is that I do. And lucky for me, my spouse, my family, they were all on board, but I definitely got like some side eyes and some weird looks and very like, oh, that's cool responses from people when I explained because they just like clearly didn't get it. And my point in mentioning that is I want to make sure you understand that their reactions, if you get reactions like that, maybe they're not like a blatantly negative reaction, but it's just kind of like a standoffish reaction. I want you to understand that it's really not about you or your decision. It simply is the fact that they lack understanding of what it is you're doing and why you're doing it. They probably don't even know what a VA is if they don't work in the online space and they definitely don't understand the flexibility and time freedom that will come with you making money this way. And if they do have a negative response or reaction, it's not that they're trying to be discouraging most of the time, right?

Laura Nicole: 4:03

It's more often that they're feeling protective and maybe scared for you and they don't want to see you make a mistake that could cause you to struggle financially, right? And so if they don't have an understanding of the online business space or the VA industry or how it works, then again, their societal norms are going to kick in, right? And we have all been taught, it's been ingrained in us our whole lives, that security, especially financial security, is tied to having a nine to five job, to being in corporate, to climbing the ladder, right? That is what we have just had burned into our brains. And working as a VA because you're a freelancer, it's a form of entrepreneurship. And people look at that and they see big red flags and they think it is risky. It's also really easy for people to judge something if they've never seen it work before. So if you are the first person they're encountering who's going to step into this space and they've never seen someone do it successfully, then of course their brain is going to fly up a giant red flag and say, that's risky, not a good idea. And because they care about you and they want the best for you, they're going to let you know that they think it's risky.

Laura Nicole: 5:21

So I want to give you some actual like tips of how to, I don't want to say counter them in those conversations, but how to explain it to them in a way that they can actually get it and gain some clarity. So, number one, obviously letting them know like this is not a decision that you're making overnight, right? This is not something that you just woke up and said, hey, I'm gonna do this today. You've done research, you have prepared, you have learned about what this industry is, what the needs are, what it can mean financially, and on the time freedom front for you and your family, which part of that is walking them through why you want to do this. They probably have no idea that in this industry you have control of so many aspects of how you make money, especially the fact that you can work at any time, right? If you have kids, tell them, like, hey, these are the kinds of things I want to be home for and available for. I'm tired of missing X, Y, and Z. And if I'm making money as a VA, then I have control of my schedule and I can rearrange things to be present for those moments.

Laura Nicole: 6:25

Give them a little bit of a rundown. Maybe give them a couple examples of the kinds of services you would be doing, right? Let them know, like, hey, I'm gonna manage my clients' email inboxes and offer customer service to their people. I get to, you know, represent their brand and handle these emails professionally and support people. Maybe even share with them what your first few goals are, right? Say, you know, my first goal that I'm aiming to hit is signing one client and working about 10 hours a week so that I can start fitting it into the routine, see how it goes, and then I'll scale from there. And you can also give them examples of what success can look like, right? Especially again if they don't know anybody else who's done this. Then giving them actual examples of success stories from other women who have done this incredibly successfully will help to kind of retrain their brain into recognizing that it's not something to be scared of. Hell, you can use me as an example if you want, but help them visualize it, right?

Laura Nicole: 7:23

They also probably have no clue how much VAs actually make. So giving them actual tangible examples, like, hey, if I charge $25 an hour to start and I work just 10 hours a week, that's an extra $1,000 a month coming in. That extra $1,000 would help me cover X, Y, and Z. Or maybe, you know, you're someone who has your kid in daycare. But if you're someone who has them going all week and you could reduce them from five days to three days, right, not only are you saving two days worth of daycare expenses, you're also adding in the income from VA work. So that's money saved and income earned. It's a win-win. Hearing numbers makes it more real for people, especially if they just have no clue what the going rate is in this industry. And then share your wins with people along the way, right? Whether it's a good friend or your parents or your spouse, whoever it is, share with them all the good things that happen along the way, right?

Laura Nicole: 8:22

When you set up your first discovery call, when you're networking and you come across someone who you're super excited about getting to know better to see if you could work together. The first contract you get signed, the first invoice that gets paid, the first compliment and thank you. Oh my gosh, this was amazing. You saved the day compliment that you get from a client. It's actually better to share these things with people if they're skeptical, right? Because they need to hear the momentum and the wins, because that is going to build their belief in the fact that this is actually a really smart thing for you to be doing. But a couple of important things that I really, really want you to remember is that you cannot control how quickly other people understand your vision and how quickly they understand your desire to make this move and to work as a virtual assistant. And that's regardless of who it is. You can't control how quickly someone gets it, whether it's your spouse or your parent or a coworker. The only thing you can control is your consistency and your belief in yourself.

Laura Nicole: 9:23

The most important person who needs to believe that this is possible is you because you're the one doing it. You're the one putting in the work, you're the one networking. And honestly, I've had a lot of women who I've coached in the past who they use this doubt from other people as a way to just fuel their fire, right? It's almost like a you're doubting me, I'm gonna prove you wrong. So you have to keep showing up, keep building, and let your results speak for themselves. Over time, they are going to have no choice but to see that this was the best idea for you. And if you want a simple way to show your spouse, your friends, your mom, anyone who's doubting you what this opportunity actually looks like in real numbers for you, I want you to pop down to the show notes and grab my free income calculator. It's going to have you plug in the amount of hours that you have available to work, the rate that you're gonna charge, and then it's gonna show you what that calculates out to you earning on a monthly basis. But you can use that calculator as many times as you want. So what I would suggest if you're gonna sit down with someone and show them these numbers to help make it more real for them, do a calculation to start that is like if I did this next month, how many hours could I be working and what rate would I be charging? And it equals this amount. But then think, okay, six or nine months down the road, I'll have worked it into my schedule.

Laura Nicole: 10:47

Instead of working 10 hours a week, I could work 20 or 25 hours a week, and my rate's gonna be $30 instead of 25 an hour and refigure the math for what your income could look like in six to nine months and then do it again for a year or a year and a half out. So they see, right? Because you're going to build. You're not gonna start at $25 an hour and be charging $25 a year from now, right? So it allows you to see the incremental differences and helps to show what's possible. And a lot of times seeing the numbers, it gives clarity and it can really help to build confidence in how this could change things for you and your family. So again, I highly recommend grabbing that link to the income calculator. It is completely free. It takes 30 seconds to do, and it is such an eye-opener.

Laura Nicole: 11:36

Thanks for hanging out with me today and 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.