This case study shares the journey of Teri Hall, from in-between jobs on maternity leave, to proud Virtual Assistant and owner of 'Sweet PA'.
Stuck before she’d started
For Teri, the thought of building her own Virtual Assistant business after years away from the workforce felt utterly daunting. Sure, she had a wealth of transferable skills, but her confidence was shot. Worries about her skills being outdated and not knowing where to even start with marketing clouded every consideration.
Sound familiar?
When Teri joined the coaching program, her self-doubt was through the roof. "I've been a member of certain VA groups for years but never progressed with making the move," she admitted. "My fear has always been it not working out. I'm not confident enough to go and sell myself."
With the impending end of her maternity leave, Teri knew it was now or never, and joined the Apex VA coaching programme.
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The unsticking process
From our very first session, it was clear that Teri had a brilliant skill set and entrepreneurial spirit, (as well as a whole heap of multi-tasking and stress management capabilities that come with being a Mum)...she just needed a little help to see it, (and believe it) herself.
Our first order of business? Ditching the 'outdated skills' lie by highlighting all of Teri’s valuable experience and using this to map out in-demand yet ENJOYABLE service offerings. Alongside this, we drilled down into a lucrative niche and ideal client so that Teri knew exactly who she wanted to market to. This is crucial. If you don’t know who you’re talking to in your content, then no one is going to feel like you’re talking to them. It’s like screaming into a black hole.
We went on to put together a toolkit of marketing methods that would work for Teri. After tentatively dabbling with social media, we both realised that the mere mention of reels and carousels sent her into a spiral of overwhelm and panic. Instead, we focused on tapping into her local network – think less algorithm anxiety, more authentic human connections.
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A bumpy road
I wish I could say that before she knew it, Teri had unstoppable faith in herself and was smashing into oblivion every whiff of a doubt that came her way.
But this is real life, and sometimes the most impactful wins aren't the quick ones.
Teri’s lack of confidence persisted some way into the course – so much so, that she even started to look for employment opportunities and applied for a job, ‘just in case’ (and no, I didn’t know this at the time!).
HOWEVER, I’m delighted to report that this story does, in fact, have a happy ending (phew!), and Teri never did take on that employed role.
After continued work on her confidence, she smashed self-doubt into smithereens and turned into a client-signing pro. Her first (big) client was on board before the programme wrapped up, and within 4 weeks of graduating she’d hit her complete capacity with 2 more dream clients, making back her programme investment and then some.
All this from someone who previously didn’t think she’d ever make it as a Virtual Assistant.
Where is she now?
Teri is now in the fortunate position of being inundated with client work, and has the strategies, (and more importantly, the confidence), under her belt to build her business further should she want to.
In her own words: "I'm in a very, very, very happy place right now...I feel incredibly lucky that I am where I am."
Having swapped fears for freedom and self-doubt for self-belief, Teri is now running a thriving virtual business that lights her up, while giving her the flexibility she craved.
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Ready to ditch your own doubts and turn your big VA dreams into profitable reality? An Apex coaching programme could be your game-changing moment.
Claim your spot today and prepare to become the next inspiring success story!
Whether you’re an aspiring Virtual Assistant, a newbie or a veteran, discover your VA persona with this quick (and fun!) quiz, which will tell you exactly where your VA skills lie!