Hello friend! I’m so thrilled you’ve stumbled across my corner of the internet. I’m Nicole. In addition to being a successful virtual assistant, I’m also a spoonie who lives with undiagnosed pain and fatigue along with Bipolar Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (Fun times, right?)
My illness came on slowly. It started with panic attacks and migraines and morphed into joint pain that wouldn’t go away. Eventually, I started having issues with my balance and lost feeling in my left leg for short periods of time.
After six months of deteriorating health (and an unsupportive employer), I quit my job because I couldn’t physically handle it anymore. It was one of the scariest decisions I’ve ever made. After years of hard work, I finished my master’s degree and had worked my way up the ladder to become executive director of the nonprofit I worked for. I was 30 years old.
Back then, I had a side hustle as a virtual assistant. I managed social media accounts for small businesses and did a bit of copywriting. In those first months of unemployment, I did the only thing I knew to do– I created a work-from-home business from my couch.
As an entrepreneur with chronic illness, my journey hasn’t looked like other people’s. I can’t hustle unless I want to end up in bed for days. It took me three years to SLOWLY increase my working hours until I could manage full-time work. But in spite of it all, I make it work every. single. day.
When I’m not managing client projects, going to medical appointments or writing here, you’ll probably find me curled up with my two dogs Hazel and Zuzu or my cat Mikey. I’m an avid reader, podcast listener, and love nothing more than a good cup of coffee.