Happy Biz Bday to Your Behind the Scenes BFF! -- Here’s What I Have Learned During Our First Year

May 2

Your BTS BFF is officially 1 year old as of May 1st, and wow it has been a wild year!

One year ago almost to the day, I started working with my very first few clients as a VA, and let me tell you, I was nervous as heck. Just for a back story in case you don’t know my journey in business, 5 years ago in 2018 I left teaching to pursue a side hustle I had been working on for about 6/7 months at the time that was in network marketing. Then over the course of about 4 years, I built that business to multiple 6-figures, had a pretty decent-sized Instagram following with about 25k followers, and I will say it until I am blue in the face – I am so grateful for that season of my life because I really think I learned so much about myself and who I am and what I am capable of accomplishing but at the end of 2020 and after welcoming my first baby into the world, things just felt off.

I wasn’t feeling super aligned to the company anymore and I was having a hard time showing up on social media how I was “supposed to” and it just didn’t feel right anymore. Almost like it was something I had just outgrown if that makes sense. But at the time, that business was our primary income. My husband had actually been at home for almost two years full-time working with me until he figured out what it was he wanted to pursue which now is a career in golf & he is doing amazing- I am so so proud of him.

But I was feeling stuck because this income was supporting my family and I didn’t even really know what I wanted to do next. I was just so unsure of everything except ONE THING – and that was that I wanted to still work for myself, from home so I could have more freedom and flexibility with my kids.

So after about a year passed I decided to dabble in some other business opportunities such as real estate, but THE DAY that I started real estate school (I cannot make this up to you guys) and one week before my son’s birthday, I found out I was pregnant with my second.

So while I still went and got my real estate license and actually did three transactions with buyers, I realized that it was fun and it was something that really interested me, but it wasn’t in alignment with my goals and priorities.

At the same time on the side, I was helping my midwives with their social media accounts and getting their marketing set up and whatnot. All the behind the scenes things, if you will. And that’s when I thought huh… I think I could create a business doing this.

I had gained so much experience from online business in general with my previous business and I even actually had a product-based business at one point too. I always forget about it– but it was actually really great! My husband and I packed orders, etc. It was something I did on the side of my NWM business but anyway, I just have learned so much about business and entrepreneurship and social media and all this stuff simply by DOING. And trying new things, and surrounding myself with people who have the same interests as me and operate at the same caliber, ya know?

Plus, I actually had a virtual assistant myself when I was with my NWM company so I knew what that could look like and it wasn’t the first time that I thought about pivoting to that! I know I mentioned it on the podcast before that in 2021 I had actually texted a friend saying “I think I want to be a VA” but I honestly just let fear get in the way of actually taking that leap!

So long story long, I announced in April of 2022 that I would be taking on clients as a VA and Social Media Manager. MIND YOU – I deleted my old IG account, the one with all the followers, and started a new one. So I had maybe around 2 or 3k followers at this point?? I can’t remember. Maybe less than that! I think I have around 5k now.

I didn’t have a crazy huge following, I definitely didn’t have a ton of business owners lined up to hire me. But I did know that if I put myself out there on socials, and then texted the people I knew who had influence and new other business owners in the online space, I would get clients.

And I did! That first month starting May 1st, I think I worked with 4 or 5 different clients and then added from there!

So there is my business back story, that’s how Your BTS BFF really got started and since then it has actually changed so much AND is continuing to do so! This leads me to the first lesson that I learned…

01. It is okay to change your mind

Okay, this isn’t really a lesson I learned, because this is something I have really always felt strongly about BUT this is something that was I guess reaffirmed for me over this last year!

When I started Your BTS BFF, I actually started as a social media manager primarily, and then VA stuff was secondary if you will. But I very quickly realized I didn’t actually like doing social media management. So I finished out those contracts and then I started to really only focus on virtual assistant work and then later on, working as an OBM or online business manager.

Another time that I changed my mind is when I started to think I really wanted to build up the agency side. We had A LOT of inquiries coming in and my VA couldn’t handle them all, so I brought on a couple of other gals to work on some client accounts who were and are AMAZING but a few months in, I stepped back, and was like wait – this isn’t what I want.

I was so stressed out managing everything and having a bigger team, and I wasn’t able to do the things I actually loved doing in my business and supporting our clients in certain ways. Not to mention I was going through a pretty tough season with postpartum anxiety and depression too so everything felt really hard and the way the business and agency were set up, it could not run without me. And my goal is to have a business that if I need to take some time off or if I am having a tough mental health day, or my kids are sick, or whatever, my business can run without me!

Let me be clear, there is a way to build an agency and team where your business can run without you. I did not do it that way. We didn’t have the infrastructure in place to take that on, which is really good to know because now moving forward, I know what to do and what not to do AND I can help other business owners and virtual assistants who are thinking of taking on that model even better because I have lived that experience. So after having a chat with the team and our clients, we shifted things again. Now we are in a really good place I think, with a lot of really amazing services and offerings coming down the pipeline, which I can’t wait to share more about.

But I really do think that in business, and really life in general, it is MORE THAN OKAY to change your mind. Change your mind on services you are offering, packages, rates, your ideal clients, your niche, etc. I think it is actually healthy to try something and then be like op, that doesn’t feel right or aligned, let’s do something else. Obviously, you don’t want to do this ALL the time because you don’t want to give your customers, clients, or self-whiplash. But I wouldn’t have known that those weren’t the things I wanted to do unless I actually tried them out.

One thing that I DID try out that I didn’t expect to love as much as I do and something that I am actually going to be putting more in place now, is coaching. So last July after a bunch of people had reached out wondering how they could start their own business as a VA, I created and launched our signature program The VA Roadmap. Then from there, I started to work with a couple of students 1:1 and I have LOVED it.

It’s probably the former teacher in me, but educating and mentoring is my favorite thing to do. Which is why I love doing this podcast too! Teaching has always been one of my greatest passions, and combining that with teaching women how to build businesses they love and make an income for their family?! Sign me up every day and twice on Sundays.

SO trying things doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t like them or they won't work out, you might try things you didn’t think you would really care for and then end up loving them!

Another thing I learned was:

02. Rest is essential for growth

I am a recovering workaholic through and through. And over the years, especially after becoming a mom, I have realized how important it is to set boundaries and stick to them. But holy smokes, this last year I learned more than ever that REST is essential if you want to grow both personally and professionally.

And it makes sense right, if you are spending all your energy and time running around from one thing to the next, you are never going to have the energy and time to actually grow.

I think it is really important to note that rest can look different for everyone. There are actually seven different kinds of rest, which I find super interesting, but the kinds of rest I find myself engaging in most of the time are physical rest, social rest, and creative rest.

So making time to work out or go for a walk … is a type of physical rest. And that is something I notice a HUGE difference with. If I make the time to work out or move my body for 30 minutes a day, I just feel so much more energized and mentally clear! Also, golf has been a way that I find rest throughout my week too! So rest doesn’t always look like sleeping or chilling on the couch. It can be physical too!

Social rest – so this is something that has honestly been new for me this year! When we lived in California and I was teaching, we didn’t have a lot of people we hung out with because we honestly worked so much: I was teaching and commuting really far to work and my husband was in law enforcement and had a crazy schedule, so it was hard to make time for those types of relationships but also it was really hard to meet anyone.

Over the years I have built incredible friendships through social media and business, so I am really grateful for those relationships for sure – but after I became a mom I was craving the in-person connection. And then with covid and everything that came with that, it was hard to do that, to say the least. But this last year we have really made that a priority and while I am an introvert to my core, there are certain people and friend groups that I gain so much energy being around. Hanging out with them and making time to connect is a version of rest for me because I leave feeling rejuvenated.

And then creative rest for me looks like writing a lot of times – like writing this podcast outline for example. Sure, it’s work. But it doesn’t feel like it. Writing has been an outlet for me for as long as I can remember so I love using it as a form of rest! Same with reading too!

Doing these things to rest and step away from work and really just BE has been really essential for the growth of my company. The months where I am NOT making it a priority show bother in myself but also in my business! And then the months that I am prioritizing these things, I can see and feel such a shift! So note to self: rest is essential for growth.

Okay, there are a zillion other lessons I have learned but I am going to share one more and it is …

03. I value my time more than I value money

This is a big one, and this is one that I didn’t realize fully until the last 6 months or so. As I mentioned, I started this business pregnant and with a 16, almost 17-month-old. Just a few months into my business, I was the mama to two boys under two. At that time, we have zero childcare. None. My husband did take some time off of his work to be home with us for the first 6-8 weeks of Jackson’s life, but I also wasn’t working during that time. Now, my boys do go to daycare and preschool part-time, four days a week which means I have about 16-20 hours a week of uninterrupted work time.

And I like it that way! I want to spend most of my time with my family and my kids, which is why I build my business in the first place, but I have had to invest in certain areas of my life that will help me save time, even if I am spending money. So I do have an assistant and she helps me tremendously, and then obviously we also spend money on childcare which I consider a huge blessing because it allows me to have focused time to work, and then focused time to be with my kids. I think I want to do a podcast episode on childcare and how my mindset around it changed but I truly love it. I think that my kid’s preschool and daycare help me be a better mom because like I said, I am able to have that focused work time to get all the things done, and then when they are home which is most of the time, I am able to focus on them and be fully present instead of juggling work as well.

There was also a point this year where we were so busy, and we had so many clients, and we were bringing in a good amount of income just from client retainers – but I had very limited time to do the things I LOVE outside of working with clients. So I had to offboard some clients which meant losing some income, but that also meant GAINING back my time.

So this concept of time being valued over money, for me, it has looked like investing in team members, childcare, and other ways that while I am spending money, I am giving myself more time – which funny enough has then allowed me to also make more money in different ways too! Like creating courses, passive income products, and more.

And on the flip side, it’s also looked like saying no to things that take too much of my time, EVEN IF it is bringing in money.

Your Behind the Scenes BFF did do over $100k in revenue in our first year, which is just so wild to me and I am just so humbled and grateful. But I was also able to take maternity leave, and I was able to take time off for the holidays, and I was able to be there when my kids were sick, and I have had middle-of-the-day dates with my husband – the money is great, but the time that it has afforded me to spend on my LIFE, is the best part.

If you are wondering how you can work with Your Behind the Scenes BFF either as a business owner or as someone who is thinking about becoming a Virtual Assistant and starting an online business, make sure to check out the links in the description and in the show notes! I would love to connect with you more!