Have you ever tried to start a brand-new freelance project only to discover that you’re missing an important password, a critical piece of information, or access to files you need?
It’s super stressful when you’re trying to meet deadlines and overdeliver, AND you’re also suddenly an unwilling homeschool parent who is also trying to emcee the spelling bee.
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Mama, you need some systems — specifically, a new client onboarding process.
There’s a lot that goes into kicking off a new project, and if these months of coronacation teach us anything, it’s that systems and routines are critical to success.
So today’s episode of FreeMamaTV will show you exactly how to build a new client onboarding process that works for you and simplifies your business.
We could all use less stress and more simple in our lives, and that’s what a solid onboarding process will do, so check out FreeMamaTV now.
Our parents (and grandparents!) are learning how to use Zoom. We’re discovering everyone’s natural hair color. And we’re learning that a heck of a lot of things can be done from home, even though people tried to convince us they couldn’t.
Thousands of companies are losing money, and people are suddenly not so sure about the “security” of those 9-5 jobs.
All those people who thought you were crazy for going freelance and starting your own business are suddenly a lot more interested in what you’re doing.
And still.
Even with all of this, you’ll still come across the people who are full of negativity.
This isn’t the time to start a business, are you crazy?
Who’s going to hire you? You’ve never even done this before!
Do you really think it’s appropriate to be charging people for that right now?
The thing is, you don’t have to listen to those people.
And I’d strongly encourage you to consider very carefully what kind of friend you are — and what kind of friends you have.
Recently, I watched two women validate each other’s excuses.
“This is going to be really hard,” one would say. And the other would agree. “Yeah, now might not be the best time.”
They held each other back and simultaneously made each other feel okay about it.
“It probably makes sense to just set this aside for a few months.”
“Yeah. Or, like, go a different direction entirely. That’s what I’m thinking about doing.”
“Plus, I need to do a lot of research. And you really need to put more time into thinking about your business name.”
“That’s true. And you’ll be in a much better place if you first finish that course.”
I gotta tell you, mama, this conversation disgusted me. This is enabling at its worst.
(Breathe, Lauren. BREATHE.)
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Listen up, Mama.
I will never be the friend who tells you what you want to hear.
That’s a promise — and it’s one I take really seriously. I’ve lost friends over this, and I’m totally okay with that, because I speak my truth, and I will not let you lie to yourself.
I will not let you hide your skills and value from the world just because you’re scared.
I could not live with myself if I did that. I wouldn’t be worthy of your respect if I did that.
I am the friend who will hold you to your highest standard. I will call you out when I hear 💩. I will help you adapt your business during COVID-19.
I will not let you make excuses — not to yourself, and not to other people.
Are we clear?
Yeah, Coronavirus sucks. It’s affecting my life and yours. It’s affecting the whole world. It’s horrible.
But business is going on all over the world. The changes we’re all making aren’t designed to destroy business. They’re designed to make it possible to continue working, building and growing economies, and doing the work we need to do. In order to succeed, you have to adapt your business during COVID-19.
So if you’re looking for an excuse to play small and hide, look somewhere else.
If you’re trying hard to land that first client — or you’re worried about how to find your next client, then you’re going to LOVE today’s episode of FreeMamaTV.
There’s a super-straightforward system you can use to find, connect with, and close ALL the clients you need, and we’re breaking down how to get more clients as a freelancer for you today over on the YouTubes.
It’s all wrapped up — with a bow on it, of course — just for you.
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Leave the Netflix binge behind and spend a couple of minutes on FreeMamaTV to master a solid, professional process for filling your calendar with clients. Tiger King isn’t going anywhere — but your business will be blowing up when you get in on this system. Dive in today and learn how to get more clients as a freelancer!
Alllllll the people who kept trying to say that you HAD to be in the office to do your job are admitting, that, okay, yeah, you can do a lot of this from home.
Allllll the businesses that said, “I don’t need a website” are saying, “I NEED A WEBSITE!”
Everyone’s learning that it’s actually possible to work from home and get paid.
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So now the question is…
Are you ready to start working from home and earning money on YOUR terms? Are you ready to get the skills to work from home?
Or are you okay with your j-o-b being able to lay you off when something unexpected happens? (How many people do you know who lost jobs in the last month?)
If you want REAL “job security,” you’re the ONLY person who can provide that — when you work for yourself.
And if you want to work from home and have your own business, it’s totally possible.
There is SO MUCH goodness inside this summit, including a little somthing-something from yours truly, and I would hate to see you miss out to get the skills to work from home.
I’m letting you in on a little secret, mama. A virtual assistant coach is going to be the secret weapon you need to launch your business.
There’s a lot of talk about coaches all of a sudden. Have you noticed? It seems like half the virtual assistants you know are going on and on about their coaches. What’s the deal?
Well, in this episode of FreeMamaTV, we’ll show you exactly what a Virtual Assistant coach is, why you might need one, and how they can help you launch and grow your business the right way.
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Even if you’ve never thought about working with a coach, don’t miss FreeMamaTV today — you’ll see the different ways you can learn and scale, and you might be surprised to discover the many resources that are available.
If you’re serious about crushing your business goals, head over to FreeMamaTV and find out if a virtual assistant coach is what you need to grow your business!
It’s not always an easy question to answer — but it always means you need to take the time to think about it and listen carefully to what you’re feeling deep inside.
A beautiful and talented Free Mama I work with recently had a major breakthrough. When she joined the Movement, she kept talking about how much she wanted to uplevel. It was really important to her to go big in her VA business because her husband really believed in her.
Every time I pushed her to go deeper on her why, we came back to her husband. He really wants me to do this, she told me again and again.
And every time, I’d ask her, “And what do you want?”
I want to make this work because my husband believes in me, she’d say.
Around and around we’d go.
In the meantime, the work felt hard for her. She was absolutely capable of doing it, but something was… out of alignment. Despite the work she was putting in, this smart, driven woman wasn’t getting real traction in her business.
Sure, she had small victories along the way — just enough to keep her from throwing up her hands and walking away. But despite the massive amounts of personal growth happening, she wasn’t having the business breakthroughs she wanted.
Right up until we figured out that what she really wants is to coach.
She wasn’t getting anywhere as a VA or OBM because that’s not where her heart is. Her heart is in COACHING other women. She’s deeply connected to that business model. When she talks about that, even her posture changes.
Now, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like the moment she declared that she wants to be a coach, everything fell into place for this Free Mama, and the work became rainbows and sunflowers, and everything was easy.
There’s still fear, imposter syndrome, and a lot of significant, hard work ahead. But you have to go through those things when you’re finding alignment in your business.
But it’s different. It feels challenging, but not insurmountable. It feels exciting instead of overwhelming.
If you’re curious about what it’s really like to be a virtual assistant, you are going to LOVE today’s episode of FreeMamaTV.
Get a behind the scenes look at what it’s really like to be a virtual assistant. And not just any virtual assistant….today you’re getting a real life look at a day in the life of a virtual assistant as a MOM! Yup, you’re going get the REAL deal idea of what it would look like to start a business from home with your little ones running around!
The entire Free Mama team is giving you a behind the scenes look at what they actually do. You’ll get to see how they spend their time, what they do, and what your life can be like. And there are a couple of AMAZING cameos from their kids. #youcanthandlethecute
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If you’ve been wondering what your own days might look like, you have to check out this intimate look at five different virtual assistants and how they really balance business and babies to live the dream.
Head over to YouTube for an up close and personal look at a virtual assistant/online business manager, an accountant, a funnel designer, a social media manager, and a copywriter and see what a day in the life of a virtual assistant as a mom looks like!
Last week, I gave you a deep dive into starting a virtual assistant business on a budget — like, a serious budget. As in…under $100. Did you miss that one? Don’t worry, you can watch it right here!
Question for you, mama. Do you know people who just seem to be naturally successful? Everything’s easy for them, right? They never struggle. Things just… work out for them.
So, you want to know the secret to a struggle-free life?
Well, I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but it just doesn’t exist.
No one in the entire world has a struggle-free life. It just doesn’t exist.
If you’re really, really lucky, a big struggle in your life will be, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
Think about the amazing blessing contained within that question. Think about the choices and options that are open to you. And even if it feels like you can’t figure out the answer to this question right now, think about how astoundingly lucky you are to be able to ask it.
When I decided to call myself a social media manager, I was terrified. I mean, sure, I was sort of doing a bit of social media management at work. But when I met with my first prospective client — a baby boomer Realtor — all I could think was, “What if he knows more about this than I do?”
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I know, right?
It was scary, and the imposter syndrome was real. I had to get out of my own way and do the work.
And pretty quickly I figured out that as long as I stayed one step ahead of my clients, we’d be okay. I didn’t have to know everything — which is super lucky, because the more I learned, the more I realized I needed to learn.
That’s still true today, and it makes me laugh when I think about the ego on 15-year-old Lauren, who thought she knew everything in the whole world.
You’re resourceful, Mama. You can get obsessed with a topic and dig in and learn about it, and figure out the parts that you don’t know yet.
I wasn’t born knowing how to do any of what I do now.
I got paid to learn ClickFunnels when I started working for the lovely Jena Rodriguez.
I got paid to learn how to be an online business manager before I even knew what that was.
I got paid to learn Asana, Acuity Scheduling, and more. And once I learned how to use those things for one client, I could move on and serve others with confidence.
And you can, too.
Liz Benny will show you how to get paid to learn social media management.
It will undoubtedly involve a bit of struggle. Because there is no secret to a struggle-free life. You’ll have to learn new things and get a little uncomfortable. You might start off on one path and then decide to switch.
You might start off as a VA and then decide you’re a funnel designer or a copywriter. You might declare to the whole world, I AM A COPYWRITER, and then decide, “Well, actually, I’m an OBM.”
And if you’re worried, as one Free Mama recently was, that you’re “letting someone down” by changing your mind, let go of that guilt right now.
Stop worrying about what other people will think, because those people ain’t paying yo’ bills.
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You can safely ignore them, and allow yourself to grow and evolve.
If this is your struggle, what a beautiful blessing.
The secret to a struggle-free life is that there is no struggle-free life. If you embrace the struggle, and see it for the blessing that it is, you will be a happy, lucky person.
Starting a business is exciting — and potentially expensive.
But guess what, mama? You can actually start an incredible virtual assistant business — the kind that brings in as much as $2000 or more every month — for less than $10 a month. Starting a virtual assistant business on a budget IS POSSIBLE!
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On today’s episode of FreeMamaTV, we’re walking you through what you need right now to get started. And the best news? You won’t need to invest more than $10/month total to create a completely professional online workplace that clients will LOVE.
Head on over to FreeMamaTV so that you can rock out your business without breaking the bank and you can get a headstart to starting your virtual assistant business on a budget!
I’m getting personal this week. I’m digging deep into your mess becomes your message — and why it matters.
Do you ever feel like you’re out of sync with the world around you, mama?
That’s me, every year on St. Patrick’s Day.
Everyone’s out there, wearing green, drinking beer, and looking for pots of gold and magic rainbows.
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And then there’s me.
Sure, I know there’s no magic. I’m not looking for rainbows, and I make my own gold with hard work. But that’s not why I feel different from everyone on March 17th.
It’s because March 17th was the due date for the baby I miscarried.
So every year, while everyone else is celebrating, I feel that loss in the deepest part of my soul.
Please don’t misunderstand. It’s been a few years since my miscarriage, and I’m past the point of mourning. In fact, when I think about the beautiful baby that I lost, what I feel most is… grateful.
It was that terrible experience — the one that had the power to break me completely — that completely changed the trajectory of my entire life. And when I think about the choices I made, the things I felt forced to do, as a result of that miscarriage, how can I be anything but grateful?
This might surprise you, mama, but I’m not a natural risk taker. I might have stayed in the job I didn’t love for years — or even forever. But because of my miscarriage, I got the message that something had to change. I had no choice but to take action.
That loss was a wake-up call for me. That loss became a gift to me, to my family, and — I hope — to you and thousands of women like you, who have become part of the Free Mama Movement.
So, yes, when I think about my miscarriage, it still makes me sad, but it gives me hope to know that my experience — and my child’s death — have meaning.
It wasn’t all in vain. That baby mattered.
You can find a million inspirational quotes on the internet. Your mess becomes your message, the obstacle is the way, you have to live in the darkness to appreciate the light.
When you’re in the middle of the dark times, it’s hard to hear that message. For me, it was only much later, when I met my business coach Liz Benny, that I learned to embrace the idea that it’s not that things happen to you — it’s that things happen for you. Your mess becomes your message so you can reach others and help others.
It’s often so much easier to take on the role of the victim, to feel powerless, and to let the world do its worst.
Sometimes, we can get really comfortable in our discomfort.
But I want you to hear this. Whatever you’re walking through right now, no matter how rocky and treacherous the path, there is a reason for it. You can get through. You won’t be unscathed. You’ll be scared — and you’ll carry scars. You’ll be changed.
And it’s those scars, those changes, that will make you who you are meant to be. Your mess becomes your message.
