I am allergic to hustle.
If you are researching how to start a virtual assistant business, especially if you have a chronic illness, let me caution you–overnight success is not your friend. Yes, I know that your bills are piling up and you could really use the money. Yes, I understand that you need to quit your full-time job yesterday because you can’t take it anymore.
But if you give in to the belief that you have to work all the time to grow your business, you will be out of business because you’re falling apart.
There are many brilliant entrepreneurs out there who teach people how to start a virtual assistant business. And they’ll tell you that it is totally possible to go from zero income to 5k months in just a few weeks. It’s totally true…and not really a great business plan, especially if you have a physical or mental illness like I do.
The truth is that you need to have time to grow your skills and get used to working from home. You need to figure out what types of projects and clients you enjoy. If you land a full roster of clients before you’ve done this work, you WILL crash and burn.
I speak from experience. When I took my virtual assistant business full time, I hustled my butt off. I was in Facebook groups every day networking with potential clients. I spent hours perfecting my website and my portfolio. I worked with any client I could at all hours of the day and night.
But I was also balancing doctor appointments and therapy sessions and the long chunks of time I needed to rest. My symptoms were increasing and I was constantly stressed out…which only made the symptoms even worse.
So I chucked the conventional wisdom out the window and did three things that made it possible to start a virtual assistant business with a chronic illness:
- I gave up trying to find my own clients and started working as a subcontractor. I didn’t need to spend time fighting 50 other virtual assistants for the same job on social media. I took assignments as I could and knew that there was a team of people who could provide back up if needed if my health fell apart.
- I scaled back to working 10 hours a week. It was scary to function with so little money. I struggled with guilt because I felt like I should be doing so much more. (And let’s get clear, I had help from my family to make this possible.) But I wasn’t in that place forever. When 10 hours a week felt manageable after a few months, I took on more clients. It took me 2 years to work up to full time…and there are still weeks when working those 35 hours feels like climbing Mount Everest.
- I got super strategic about how to build a business that worked for my needs. I figured out what boundaries between my work and life felt right (and held myself to them). I created systems in my business that allow things to run smoothly even when I’m fighting brain fog or struggling to think around the pain. And I got clear on what my daily routine looks like so I can work when I’m feeling the best instead of putting it all off until the last minute.
So many people with chronic illness I talk to feel like it’s impossible to start a virtual assistant business. They know that hustling isn’t a possibility and feel like one flare will sink everything they’ve worked so hard for.
And let’s get 100% clear–both of these things are absolutely true.
Any entrepreneur, regardless of their health or financial situation, can experience one event that tanks their business. That’s why this life isn’t for everyone. But if you have the ability to scale slow and be flexible, you can absolutely build a business (and a life) that is the perfect fit for your needs.
Sound off in the comments–what’s holding you back in your quest to start a virtual assistant business?