Essential Office Support

Today I was thinking back to when I first became a Virtual Assistant. I was working as an IC for several online companies and the workflow was ok but it wasn’t steady enough that I could really count on it. On the side, I was also doing various support services for my family and friends.

My buddy, the almost famous Nell, kept telling me I needed to start myself a business since many of the tasks I was doing were the same ones I’d do as a virtual assistant. Although I knew in the back of my mind that she was right, the thing that kept holding me back was the fear of failure and also, believe it or not, the fear of success.

I kept playing over and over in my head how I would feel if I failed. I worried about what would happen if I landed many clients and all the sudden was overwhelmed with work and couldn’t handle it… it never dawning on me that I could turn work down. What if I didn’t know how to do a particular task?

Thinking back, this all seems silly because I do have a very full schedule and sometimes have to turn work away, I have taken tasks that I didn’t know how to do & I fumbled my way through until I learned it, and I have had tasks that just kicked my butt! But the thing I’ve learned is its okay to fail sometimes because it’s all part of learning and growing.

Failure or what we perceive it to be is not the end of the world. In fact, it’s probably not even the end of our career. It’s just a stepping-stone that if handled properly can turn out to be one of the greatest lessons we learn.

I can’t imagine how life would be right now if I had given in to my fears and not taken that first step. I’m sure it would be quite different, as I most likely would be working outside the home now.

So I thought I’d take a moment to share this story and to also thank my buddy Nell for all the advice, encouragement and support she has given me over the years. THANK YOU NELL!!!  

Mel

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