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Are you making these virtual assistant business mistakes?

Every so often, I’ll see a Facebook post that stops my scroll. 

Usually it’s along the lines of:

I’m starting my business! I’m going to build a website. Also, how do I get followers on Instagram? And, does anyone have any recommendations for what I should call my YouTube channel? Plus, can you all please go and like my Facebook page? By the way, let’s start a Clubhouse invite train!

No. 

No.

And in case I wasn’t clear, NO. 

Those are DISTRACTIONS. 

Building a branding board, working on a website, and having 85,000 coffee chats — all of those things make us feel like we’re moving forward, but it’s kind of just a waste of time. 

All of those things are your way of delaying the thing that you know you should be doing.

If you spend your time on distractions, it will take you a very long time to build a business. In fact, you might actually never get a client who pays you money if you spend all your time building your website and figuring out your branding.

If you want to make it hard to build your business, you absolutely can. You can spend time and money on software and training and all kinds of other shiny objects that you don’t need. Those are the virtual assistant business mistakes that hold people from moving forward.

The only thing that will stop you is your credit limit. 

On the other hand…

If you’d like to actually EARN some money, you need to focus on INCOME-GENERATING ACTIVITIES. 

Things like talking to potential clients and asking them what kind of help they need. 

Or going to an in-person event where your ideal clients are hanging out, talking to them, and asking what kind of help they need. 

Or talking to people in your life who have businesses and asking what kind of help they need. 

Are you sensing a pattern?

Just a few days ago, I released a new video on Free Mama TV on how to start your virtual business in 30 days or less. If you haven’t already watched it, now is a good time to check it out. If you’re serious about starting your business, it’s time to ditch the distractions and focus on what you KNOW you need to do.

What will you STOP doing today?

P.S. If you need help or support to focus on the RIGHT things:

• The Free Mama Movement Facebook group is home to over 30,000 women who are doing the work every day.
• You can find plenty of information on FreeMamaTV and Free Mama Radio.
• My free training walks you through my Freedom Plan so that you can build the life you want.

Are you an action-taker, Mama?

Someone who sets her sights on something, makes a plan, and then goes for it?

I gotta be honest…taking action is like a love language to me, and I know a lot of Free Mamas are the same.

Buckle up because I’m going to show you how to put the pedal to the metal in your freelancing business!

Let’s start with…

APPETIZERS

Start with something new and exciting!

Just like every other Monday in the Free Mama Movement Facebook group, I went live with some helpful lessons and actionable tips that will help you in your business! This week I had on Free Mama Meagan Hernandez to talk about how YOU can feel confident about taxes as a freelancer!

If you weren’t there live, no worries! You can listen to the replay on Free Mama Radio.

MAIN DISHES

Chef’s special

Wondering how to become a virtual assistant in 30 days or less? This week’s episode of Free Mama TV is for the mamas who are ready to take action and become a virtual assistant in the next 30 days or less!

I broke down the top three most important things you need to do to get your business up and running and have your first paying client by this time next month. Spoiler: it’s not a website, Facebook business page, or a logo. 😉

If you’re ready for the green light to start your business as a virtual assistant, don’t miss this episode!

DESSERT

Something sweet

Seeing a #freemamawin NEVER gets old. Congrats Melania on taking action and hitting this major goal!

Don’t forget to celebrate all your wins, big and small…and share them in the Facebook group so we can celebrate with you!

I hope today’s email fills you up with all kinds of Free Mama goodness!

In just two days, mama, I’m leaving my children and I don’t feel guilty. 

But let me back up a moment. 

Right now, as you read this, I am deeply entrenched in Camp Mom. I am HERE for my beautiful children, and I am (mostly) loving every minute. 

(I am still NOT a fan of glitter, but I’m working on it.)

When I tell you that you can have it all, I mean it. It’s up to you to decide what, exactly, having it all means to you. 

I’ve seen a LOT of “Let’s normalize relaxing with a drink at the end of the day,” posts — and they spark a reaction in me. 

I’d like to normalize two things:

1. Not using the word “normalize.”
2.  Not needing to drink at the end of every day, because I actually enjoy the time I spend with my kids, AND it means taking time for myself and my own needs, AWAY from my children without feeling guilty. 

We don’t often talk about how hard motherhood can be and how lost we can get — unless we’re performing and think that being vulnerable in public about our struggles will win us points in this weird Mommy Olympics we’ve created. 

“I’ve never left my children for a single night.” 

Okay, and? 

Is that supposed to mean that you’re a better mom than someone who does take time for herself?

Pick your cliche: you can’t pour from an empty cup; put on your own oxygen mask first; taking care of yourself IS taking care of your babies.

They’re cliches because they’re TRUE.

If you don’t take care of yourself, you cannot possibly take care of anyone else. I’ve seen this play out in the lives of people I love, and the results have been disastrous. 

When I was in college, I had a group of girlfriends. We swore we’d always be best friends, we’d always be there for each other, we’d have a reunion every year. 

It’s been five years since I’ve seen them, and I can’t just blame the pandemic. So when I set my goals for 2021, one of them was “Have a girls’ trip.” Yes, I do put these into my yearly goals — do you remember my skiing trip?

Now it’s going to be more like a girls’ dinner, because we all have young kiddos, and one of my friends is in law school, but I will take what I can get. 

And I almost didn’t book it. 

Because I started to buy into the idea that “leaving my children” is a bad thing. 

I mean, mom shaming is everywhere. 

But then I thought about you, mama. I thought about how maybe you’re in a place where you desperately need to take some time for yourself, and maybe you’re worried that people will call you a bad mom if you take the time you NEED for yourself. 

In my opinion, taking time for yourself makes you a better mom. Recognizing your own needs and meeting them before you hit your breaking point takes strength and courage. 

So, yes. In two days, I’m getting on a plane and going to see my best friends from college. I’ll enjoy every single second, and then I’ll come home and love my kids. 

What will you do for yourself this week?

P.S. For more on mommy wine culture and setting healthy boundaries, please give a listen to Lauren Couvillon on Free Mama Radio.

What are your summer goals?

Usually when I talk about goals, I’m talking about launching a podcast or writing a book. 

This time, my goal for this summer is take a bunch of time off. 

You know me, I hate the cold weather. So winter is the perfect time for me to hunker down and get work done. Now that it’s warming up and we’re heading into summer, I’m definitely in more of a vacation mindset. 

What about you? What’s summer going to look like for you? Will your kids be in an extended school year online? Are you planning a getaway? Or thinking about how to manage childcare so that you can keep up with your clients, you know, a freelancer summer?

The thing is, if you don’t spend a little bit of time now to plan your summer, it’s still going to happen — it’s just going to sneak up and you and force you to conform to whatever is going on in the moment. 

If you take the time now to plan what you WANT your summer to look like, you have a much better chance of living that reality — whether it’s margaritas on the beach (you’ll call me, right?) or quiet mornings working while your kids are at camp. 

Need some help to figure things out? No problem. We’ve got videos on how to take a vacation without burning down your business, my best time-blocking tips for moms, maintaining boundaries with your clients, how you can work from anywhere, and how to juggle motherhood and your freelance life.

I’d love to hear your freelancer summer plans, mama, so head over to this thread and let us know what’s going on!

Summer is coming — and I’m pretty excited!

P.S. Need a beach read? Here’s my favorite!

Breaking up is hard to do.

This is a love letter, mama.

The other week, I mentioned that I remembered what it felt like when I made the VERY FIRST SALE of the Free Mama Movement. 

Well…

What I didn’t tell you is that the person on the other end of that click was Mia. Mia was the very first mama who joined the Movement. Less than a year later, I hired her — at first to manage my Instagram account. Over time, Mia took on more and more responsibilities. She’s a key member of Team Mama. She owns our social media strategy. She coaches in the Free Mama Squad. 

And she’s leaving me. She’s leaving Team Mama. It’s truly the end of an era.

It’s all okay, though. In fact, it’s better than okay. Because yes, Mia is leaving Team Mama, so that she can step into the next version of herself. 

As a human, I’d never want to be a person who holds someone back. I’d love nothing more than to have Mia here in the fold forever — but that would be wildly unfair to Mia. It would be selfish. 

Of course, the last few weeks have been full of reminiscing. Mia told me about the day she first saw my webinar — how she couldn’t put down her phone, even at the chiropractor while getting adjusted. 

She told me what it felt like to stand in her bedroom, biting her lip as she worried over whether this investment would pay off, her finger hovering over the button.

(She pressed it, in the end, in case you were wondering.)

And she told me what it was like for her when I hired her. How she thought, MY DREAM CAME TRUE and also HOLY FORKING SHIRT. 

It really is the end of an era for us — and the beginning of something new and wonderful, too. 

Mia, I love you. We love you, and you will always have the honor of being the FIRST mama to join the Movement.

P.S. If you want to start your own Free Mama journey, you can watch my free training right here. 

If I close my eyes, it’s like I’m there, mama.

It’s December 2017. 

I’m in Kansas City, hanging out with my parents, when my phone pings. 

I glance at it, and I freeze for a second, and then I grab it and look again, because I’ve imagined this moment so many times, and it’s actually happening. 

SOMEONE BOUGHT MY COURSE.

I know people were still talking in the room around me, but all I could focus on was this notification in my email. 

You’ve made a sale!

I’d spent easily three months (proceeded by three years!) building up to this moment, and suddenly it was here and real, and I was simultaneously OVERJOYED because IT WORKED and also, I was like, ”Um, I need to go back home to Houston and build out the rest of my program for this amazing human who just took a leap of faith and invested in me!”

Back then, The Free Mama Movement was dripped out daily, and there was no Fast Track option for a VERY simple reason: I hadn’t finished building out the course. I had built out the first week, so I had a bit of grace, but my coach and my husband and my friends would constantly ask me, “Are you still a day ahead of your students?”

Honestly, it’s a blur when I look back. 

I was still actively serving multiple clients as a virtual assistant. I was building the Free Mama Movement out, and I was still doing live weekly trainings to help bring more mamas into the Movement. 

It was INTENSE and AMAZING and LIFE-CHANGING.

Now, if you read this and you feel something deep inside you, then you ABSOLUTELY NEED to get yourself signed up for the challenge that my friend Dean Graziosi is hosting.

Because YOU can have this same moment a few months from now. YOU can be the person who gets that sale notification and just feels everything in your whole life change. 

If you’re living your best life with freelancing, that’s AWESOME. 

I LOVE freelancing. Freelancing changed my life. I wouldn’t have left my job without freelancing, and the time I spent working for clients gave me the skills I needed to feel more confident and taught me what I needed to go on to the next part of my journey. You might still be in the I HEART FREELANCING WE R BFFS 4EVER phase, which is FANTASTIC. 

But.

If you want more, or different… If you have life or business experience that you’re ready to package up, if you want to do what I do and create an online course, then I have to tell you, you NEED to be in this challenge.  

So, will I see you there?

P.S. If you’ve ever thought about the idea to create an online course or sell digital products, then you need to check out this challenge RIGHT NOW. It already started, but you still have time to catch up and get MASSIVE value IF YOU HURRY!

There isn’t a lot of time to take advantage of this opportunity, so don’t wait.  

Heyyyyyyyy there mama! It’s my BIRTHDAY, and as you may have guessed, birthdays are a BIG DEAL to me. 

YOU are ALSO a big deal to me, so when I celebrate, I’m all about finding ways to include you. 

Which is why I’m insanely excited about what I get to share with you today on FreeMamaTV. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Start with something new and exciting!

Yesterday — also known as the day after Mother’s Day and the day before my birthday — I was live in the Free Mama Facebook group to talk about [thing]. Specifically, how you can get out of your own way and develop a growth mindset. And if you didn’t catch it live, you should go and #replay that pronto. 

Got a win to share with us?
Post it in the Facebook group! We LOVE celebrating you!