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Been in business for a little while now and not seeing any growth? If you want to grow your online business, you might need to stop doing one little thing…
“I don’t know how to do it.”
I hear this all the time from people emailing me to say that they don’t think they can work from home because they don’t have any skills.
Does that sound familiar to you? Have there been times when someone has reached out to you to help them with something, and you say, “Sorry, I can’t. I don’t know how to do it.” You might be letting opportunity after opportunity pass you by because you don’t know how to do something.
I’ve got news for you: you can LEARN HOW to do it.
Drew doesn’t let the fear of not knowing how to do something stop him from jumping on opportunities as they arise. He knows he can learn how to do it as he goes along. He can figure it out, and that’s why his business is going from strength to strength.
Keep reading to find out more about Drew’s story.
Q: Hi, Drew! Tell us a little about your background. What did your life look like before Work-at-Home School?
I was making good money as a virtual assistant. I was. After starting in March 2018, ten months later I had added on two clients in one month, and I remember not knowing how to manage my business. I had found a way to target a specific client (bloggers in the make money online and personal finance niches) with a specific service (customer service email management, Facebook community management, and calendar management), but I just wasn’t maximizing the output of my business. It was unorganized, and I wasn’t using my time efficiently. I also had no idea how to price my services.
Q: What action(s) did you take as a result of being in Work-At-Home School?
One of the biggest things I’ve learned from Work-At-Home School is to be intentional about your actions and to start with the skills. I’ve NEVER taken any course to prepare me to be a VA. It just hadn’t happened. I was thrust into the arena and expected to perform. But it’s a mindset change, honestly. When I look at the different opportunities that I’ve seized, I would not have been able to do that unless my head was in the right place. I even got a 75% raise with one of my clients, and you would never find that in the corporate world. I shared that story with a writer from GoBankingRates and the story was syndicated to MSN and Yahoo Finance. Also, I grew my coaching program from basically one student to grossing over $1,000, which I think is amazing.
My clients’ testimonials make me so happy every time I read them, and I love working with struggling bloggers and entrepreneurs. I think Work-At-Home School has allowed me to make the most of my freelance life, and it’s empowered me to push for bigger and greater things for my business.
Q: That’s so cool! Congratulations on getting your story syndicated, and well done for pushing for greater things. What was your favorite course or resource from Work-At-Home School and why?
I really enjoyed some of the more advanced material, such as Brian Dixon’s “How to Start a Coaching Program,” Jonathan Milligan’s “Member Catapult,” and Joseph Nicoletti’s “Small List Big Impact.” I’ve also recently started with Julie Stoian’s “Create Your Laptop Life,” and that seems like an amazing resource. These programs were valuable because I actually launched a coaching program this year and it’s made me some great additional money without much marketing.
Note from Caitlin: The courses included in Work-At-Home School may change from year to year. Work-At-Home School is closed for enrollment right now, but you can sign up here to get on the waitlist!
Q: Identifying which courses are the right fit for the stage you’re at with your business is crucial to finding success. What was the most challenging part of getting started?
The most challenging part of getting started is actually doing it. A lot of people live in an overwhelmed state and do nothing about it. Develop an action plan and stick to it! You won’t need all the information in the program — stick with what you need.
Q: So true. Without taking action, you won’t make any progress. What is the most valuable thing you learned from taking Work-At-Home School?
It starts with you. You control your destiny, not anyone else — especially your clients. If you want to make money online and live a digital life, nothing is stopping you.
Q: Hear! Hear! You’ve got the power to change your life if that’s what you want to do. How long did it take you to find your first client? And how many clients do you have now?
I already had my first client coming in (and a couple more after that), so this program was more about furthering my knowledge than helping me start. I did get my first coaching clients shortly after starting the program… maybe a month or two after. Right now, I’m trying to transition away from the services model to more of a productized model since I tend to never have time to work on my business trading it for money in others’ businesses, so I don’t have as many ongoing clients, but I do sporadic project work to help pay the bills.
Q: I love that you have a clear vision for the future of your business! How long did it take you to recoup the cost of the course?
I had the cost recouped the next month thanks to the ongoing freelance clients I had at the time, but I fully recouped it with my coaching program alone in the first three months (I want to say).
Check out Drew’s preliminary numbers for last year!
Keep in mind this income statement is NOT finalized for the year and isn’t a complete reflection of Drew’s tax obligations.
Q: Would you recommend Work-At-Home School? Is it worth the money?
Absolutely! I think this is a great program for anyone looking to get into freelancing and remote working. The best part of the course is that it’s diverse! It doesn’t pigeonhole you into any specific discipline; rather, it allows you to dive deep in what you want to learn. I think you have to look at the course for what you want to get out of it. I had specific things in mind and those made purchasing the course worth it for me. Not to mention, the networking opportunities are fabulous and connecting with Caitlin, Brittany, and Talia on a closer basis has been so beneficial to my overall confidence.
Q: We love connecting with you too, Drew! It’s amazing witnessing what progress people have made as a result of enrolling in Work-At-Home School. What does your life look like now as you grow your online business?
It’s absolutely crazy, but in a good way! The same client who gave me that 75% raise was looking to hire a general VA. I said, why? You have me. I know the process of outsourcing better than you do and you’ll only spend your time managing the freelancer instead of focusing on the higher ROI tasks. So, to accommodate their additional workload request, I convinced them that I could handle it. Now, I have NO CLUE what I’m doing, but it’s an opportunity that I couldn’t turn down. I have wanted to expand into a VA agency, but I was waiting for the right opportunity. This is that opportunity. I’m in the process of figuring it out now and Caitlin’s support has been so valuable. There just aren’t any resources for the process and I’m grateful for the help I can get.
I am also in the process of launching a generic freelance site based on my experience and a specific virtual assisting blog. Not to mention, I’ve since launched my interview series, Scaling Success Stories, and the reception has been great.
Q: Wow, you are BUSY! That’s awesome. Is there anything else you’d like to share with the WAHS community?
Ask questions and use the Facebook community. It’s a great group for people to network with like-minded freelancers and online business owners.
Our Take
I love how Drew jumps on opportunities he knows will grow his business. We can all learn a lot from him about not letting fear of what we don’t know how to do get in the way! We can always learn how to do these things! Way to go, Drew!
Your Turn
Want to start reaching for greater things and grow your online business? Check out Work-At-Home School to find the resources you need for whatever stage you’re at, even if you’re just starting a business!
Thank you SO much for featuring me!
Thanks so much for sharing your story, Drew!