My Own Journey
So, Here You Go:
(I’m sure your story will be much more exciting. I look forward to starting on it with you!)
My Journey Towards Coaching You
I’ve been self-employed full-time since 2006 in my own virtual assistant business. It was a very rough first year, and self-employment was a lot harder than I ever imagined. There were so many myths about self-employment, and I was rapidly uncovering them. I was getting darn tired of friends and family quoting statistics about how most small businesses fail within the first six years. I’m from Appalachia, so we just close our eyes and do it “skeered”.
One of the many services that I offered in my VA practice was “brainstorming”, because clients both new and old wanted to “pick my brain” about their businesses. Clients were just as excited to have me brainstorm ideas as they were to have me proofread or type up their transcription.
Whether the businesses were startup companies or a few years old, I actually had a knack for brainstorming.
Before long, others also wanted to pick my brain or get me to explore this whole virtual assistant/work-from-home world, so in 2011, I began writing for WAH Adventures. Then later came Extra Cash and Rewards and Real Ways to Earn Money Online. I also began writing as a ghostwriter for several other blogs as well as a few self-help websites. In 2015, I wrote my own virtual assistance eBook which is in PDF and on Amazon and still selling.
In 2014, I connected with Dr. Valerie Young from Changing Course. She interviewed me personally and thought I’d be a good match for her and her coaching program, Profiting From Your Passions™. I had been following her since 1998 and loved the entire certification process.
In fact, I had joint owned a rental property business with my husband and then an arts and crafts business (1998-2002). These were what we would call side hustles back then, because I still worked full time for a trade association.
If you live in Virginia, you may remember seeing my handmade jewelry on public television auctions at WVPT and local craft stores, art galleries, and shows. You may have seen my two websites (Handmade Treasures and BeadsButtonsAndBooks.com). All of this was because of the inspiration of Dr. Valerie Young.
Well, back to 2015. I now had two growing businesses—VA and coaching! Life couldn’t get any sweeter right? Wrong. My world was about to change.
Business was good, but life was not.
Long story, short. I ended up taking care of two relatives with dementia without any help. I was not prepared for any of this caregiving, which is so different from taking care of kids. I never knew I would miss so much time from my business.
Luckily, I pulled through— thank goodness for my faith. However, I began to reach out to other caregivers who were like me—over 50+ and caring for parents or spouses. Many times, they were not so lucky. Some had lost their jobs and couldn’t find another one or were fired for missing so much time. Others had such high medical bills that they had become homeless while taking care of their parents.
I also became very tired and rundown with two sinus infections, an iron deficiency, and a few other health problems. Gladly, I did recover. This is why I say that it is just as much about your life as it is about work.
I realized once I had things under control in my situation that I had to come back to coaching full-time (too passionate to be a VA now) and coach my generation—”The Sandwich Generation.”
So, that is my story and I’m sticking to it! Please feel free to reach out.