I am always talking about moving toward success in my blog, my ezine, and even in my coaching. But truly, before you can move to success, you have to be motivated to take action. Most of the people who want to work from home don’t really want to “work.” Being a virtual assistant is not one of those work from home jobs where you can sit around and do nothing but flit the day away.

In my line of work, I run across tons of people who say they want to work at home but are unwilling to do the work. They make excuses, like they can’t find work to do at home or don’t know how to get clients. Even after I’ve sat there and showed them the path they need to take. These people end up behind financially by not having a steady income or they end up returning to bricks and mortar buildings to work.

In order to move your VA business to success or even get it started so it can move toward success, you have to work! As a coach, I cannot do your work for you. I have my own work to do. My job is to teach you where to look and how to look, but is entirely your job to do the looking!

The motto, “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to virtual assistant businesses. They don’t just come because you build it. You have to market your business actively. Results are always a product of work and never a product of sitting on the fence.

Today, I’m going to share a story of one of my clients with you. She’s asked me to change her name, because she doesn’t want her current clients to find her name in the search of this article since I am posting this on the internet. But I think her story may help many of you get over that initial hurdle so many people have difficulty getting over when starting a VA Business. She wrote this story at the end of 2007.

Please read it and be motivated to take action and do the work it takes to make yourself successful!

Finding Motivation
Anna’s Story

Anna is a mother of three. She had worked as an office manager for medium sized manufacturing company for 15 years. Often overlooked for promotions, because everyone liked her where she was, Anna felt trapped in a dead-end job.

At home, Anna was struggling with a local school system that was failing two of her three school aged children, and the third child not yet old enough for school was miserable in the only day care she could afford. Anna longed to home school her children, but their days were already hectic enough with commute time, a late dinnertime, and quality family time during the week. Here is where her story begins:

“I was burning my candle at both ends at this time, and I felt like I would never get out of this miserable rut I felt inside. I kept telling myself I would start a VA business when I heard about VAs from a friend of mine. I connected with Heather and began coaching with her online.

I treated the calls more like social calls in the beginning, and I wasn’t following through with the tasks and worksheets Heather gave me to start my VA business. I wasn’t neglecting those things because I was too busy. I was neglecting them, because I was too busy thinking and wishing I’d win the lottery so I could stay home with my children. I didn’t yet believe that a VA business could be a reality for me.

I was in for quite a shock when at the beginning of my second month of coaching Heather said she’d no longer work with me, because I wasn’t serious about starting my business. I asked her if she was joking, and she said no she was not. She said she could not coach someone that was unwilling to do the tasks required to set up their VA business. She said I was taking the space of someone who might be serious and want to move forward, and I had no business and no right to waste resources in such a way.

I was completely mortified and offended by what she said, so I hung the phone up on her! And as the next week progressed, I thought about what she said more and more. I sat down with my husband and talked to him about my starting a VA business seriously instead of jokingly like previous attempts. And I discovered he was supportive, but he like Heather indicated that it would need to be something that I would promise to follow through with, something I would need to work for and not set aside.

He asked if I was going to start completing some of the tasks Heather set out for me in the first month of coaching. And I had to sit down and seriously make a commitment to myself that I was going to follow through. So what was my problem? I had every reason to be motivated. My kids needed me and my husband supported me. I had the tools in front of me. I had the skills from 15 years of hard work.

After I completed all tasks Heather had given me in the first month, I called her back and asked if I could start again, with her coaching. I sent her all my completed steps, and she welcomed me back. I finished my coaching with Heather in three months, because I was so motivated I kept asking her for more tasks!

It was frightening, but since I did have the financial resources I decided to quit my corporate job and started my VA business full time in fall of 2007. I now have four regular clients, and they are starting to refer other colleagues of theirs to me so my business can grow even more.

My income isn’t quite where it was at the corporate job yet, but if my business continues to grow as it has since fall, I will be by the end of this year. I also begin a home schooling program for my two kids next fall, and my youngest one stays with me three days a week (and with a relative for two days so I can get phone calls taken care of!).

It’s hard to take steps into unknown areas, because unknown outcomes are frightening. But I did it, and I’m so glad that I did. So if you are stuck like I was and afraid, sit down and consider what you have to support you in making this choice to become a virtual assistant. It’s a wonderful experience, even if you have to work hard to make it happen!”

Keep moving toward success.

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