Amy is a work at home mom success story sharing how she began working from home in virtual assistance. Her business has transformed into helping clients as an executive assistant and project manager.
This story starts with her background in executive assistance and working with elected officials.
It ends with details on beginning her work from home business, finding clients, learning new skills, and the roles she does for clients.
Amy loves the work she does now and the benefits of freedom that freelancing provides!
Amy’s Story and Background as an Executive Assistant
Amy is from Washington, and before she was a work at home mom, she worked in local government with elected officials and department directors. She didn’t seek this job out, but her work performance got her promoted up the chain of command. She was working a lot with the media, coordinating events, dealing with difficult situations, doing employee investigations, and handling grievances.
When Amy had her son she says her viewpoints changed. She started to hate leaving her son every day to go to work at an inflexible and unpredictable job. Being the breadwinner and insurance carrier, she did not have the option to stay at home.
A high-pressure and inflexible job
At this point in her career, Amy describes her job as very high-pressure, and inflexible. The people she worked around were not friendly or accepting of a work-home life balance. She received several rude comments from co-workers when pregnant and soon after she returned to work. She was even told by her boss that people were timing her when pumping at work.
Finding the Live Free Academy
She had been following along on Instagram for a while after doing ‘stay at home mom job’ Google searches. She ended up buying the course in July 2018 and began it right away. When her full-time job and post-partum issues became too much she took a break.
Shortly after that, Amy began binging The Live Free Podcast in her free time. She stopped and started the course another time throughout her second pregnancy and through maternity leave. Dreading going back to work, she started the course again in early 2020.
Work was so hostile when she came back from maternity leave that Amy finished the course and filed for her LLC at the same time. On the cusp of a mental breakdown, she took leave from her stressful full-time job and sought counseling.
Starting a Work at Home Business
From finishing the course to finding clients
When Amy finished the course in 2021, Amy landed her first client in June. She landed this client through the Live Free Job board.
Before that, she had posted about her business on her social media and described that as a big deal for her as she wasn’t someone who posts on social media much.
She also reached out to her personal network for testimonial work and did some work within the LFA community.
Then she reached out to someone she had worked with at her old full-time job, who was a contractor. Amy told her about her new work at home business and asked if there was anything she could do for her. They ended up working together on a testimonial project and then a paid project!
Amy’s next client reached out to her from her personal network. A criminal defense attorney who owns her own firm and needed some help.
The work at home mom schedule
Amy’s typical day starts in the morning, checking her phone for any emergency alerts from clients. Then she drops her older son off at daycare for the day.
Morning Work
She starts working around 9:30 AM just doing minimal tasks while playing with her younger son until his naptime around 12:30. While he naps she will work until 2:30, when she needs to go pick up her older son from preschool.
Afternoon Work
Then she works sometimes when her husband gets off work at 4, but not always.
Night Work
After her boys go to bed at night when the house is quiet and her head is clear, is Amy’s best time to work.
Finally, she says sometimes she works on the weekends too.
Learning the skills to start a business
Learning from the internet
Amy learned the skills she needs to run her work at home mom business from online training. She utilized YouTube videos and used the training companies, like Trello and Canva, put out.
Learning from clients
In her prep for a discovery call, she will ask, “What tools do you use?” Then before the discovery call, she will go research it. And once you figure out one tool like a project management tool, they all kind of function the same. There may just be fancier tools or it may look a little different.
She will also ask clients to record a video for her, so she can see exactly how they do it. This way she can see the process they are doing, then use it for other clients or show them a more efficient way to do it.
What role does a virtual assistant do versus a project manager?
Virtual assistant role
Amy describes her role working as a virtual assistant or executive assistant as more of a task-doer. You often have a task list and are executing the tasks on that list; things like data entry.
Project management role
Versus in a project manager role you will have more strategic and higher-level tasks to execute. There is more strategy and marketing in the role. As a PM, you help to find appropriate team members to execute necessary performance-specific tasks, like writing or designing.
This work at home mom job is something that Amy loves doing! Not only does it allow her to have the flexibility to go to a doctor’s appointment, run an errand in the middle of the day, or play at home with her son, but gives her joy in performing the work.
It could be 1 o’clock in the morning when she has to tell herself to go to bed because she loves doing the work so much!
Are you ready to be a work at home mom?
I hope this story will encourage you to start your work at home mom journey too! Whether that is picking up where you stopped in the course, or jumping in head first.
I want to help you support your vision for the life and flexibility you are dreaming about. Get started with the free resources at MicalaQuinn.com to learn more about how to start freelancing! Or with my course, The Live Free Academy, and get access to all the tools and resources you need to build a business so you can be a work at home mom!
