10 Years as a Virtual Assistant: The Power of Self-Reliance

The Call of Necessity

I started my journey as a Virtual Assistant because of life circumstances. You could say it called to me. Years ago, my father was diagnosed with cancer. Though he was a fighter and lived well past the time his doctors had given him, his eventual passing left my mother, my sister, and me struggling to stay afloat.

At the time, I was a student, freshly out of highschool and starting my first semester of college.
Even though I had a scholarship, it wasn't enough to cover the mounting expenses of school and daily life. I did what anyone in that position would do: I turned to family, friends, churches, temples, and local businesses for help.

One by one, they turned me away.

Desperate for any stable income, I even tried applying to call centers and local establishments.
But the answer was always the same: "No experience." It felt like every door was locked, and I was running out of time.

The Turning Point

It was in that moment of total rejection that I decided to step up for myself, my mum, and my sister.
I realized that no one was coming to save us: I had to be the one to do it.

Armed with my small laptop, I went to Facebook and posted in a local job group.
I was honest: I knew basic admin skills, but I was willing to learn and be trained.
The messages started coming in, but many were shady, some even felt dangerous. I had to trust my gut. Eventually, I got a message from a man who would become my future executive.
I had my doubts because of the weird messages I have already gotten, but he offered an interview for the next day.

Remember when Skype was everywhere??? Pepperidge Farms remembers...

I arrived for the interview and waited in the lobby, heart racing. The receptionist accommodated me, and told me to wait inside. I look at my watch and see that it's already 9am yet the man who spoke to me was nowhere to be found, I was worried that I may have been scammed; until the door swung open, and the man walked in, I stood up and we shook hands, and we had a very casual conversation rather than a formal interview.
The interview concluded and we parted ways before lunchtime. I left that building on the verge of tears, certain I had failed.

I went home to my mom and sister, I sat in silence while I ate my lunch with a heavy heart.
After clearing my plate and utensils, I went to my room and pulled out my laptop while mentally preparing myself for another round of job searching. I opened Outlook and saw an email from the man that interviewed me earlier:

I ran to the garden to tell my mum, and we had a little celebration with snacks.
I was starting my first job the following week: my first big girl job!

The Start of My Virtual Assistant Career

I was hired for my first big girl job but I started as a writer, and then I eventually got promoted to Executive Assistant to the CEO.
It wasn’t an easy job. I was often the first to arrive: opening the office, brewing the coffee, and sorting the mail and packages before the staff arrived. While my executives trained me in their systems, I spent my nights at YouTube University, watching three-hour deep dives into SEO, Graphic Design, Web Design, and just about anything I can think of.
The real test came when my CEO went on his first business trip, leaving me to manage the office.
Between calendar tetris and email wrangling, I spent four years representing my executive and managing a team; until the 2020 pandemic changed the world.
It was during this time when I decided it was time skill up and take the plunge into the digital marketing world.

Reg from the future here: unlike in the United States and other developed countries, working and going to school is uncommon here in the Philippines, especially during my time (early to mid 2010s), while there are people who have done this, it is not always possible especially if your college course is considered difficult (engineering, law, medicine, etc). I have been turned down because I was enrolled in pre-medicine during this time.

But it wasn't all clean promotions. Over the last decade, I’ve messed up time zones for high-stakes meetings,
took on more than I could handle, and struggled with burnout.
Because I was so determined to "figure it out," I sometimes stayed up until 3:00 AM trying to solve a problem I should have asked for help with. I learned the hard way that self-reliance doesn’t mean being a superhero, it means being responsible enough to admit when you're stuck.

Learning From My Mistakes & Growing

People often ask me which "VA Masterclass" they should buy. My answer? Don’t look for a shortcut.
I didn't start with a $10 or $500 course; I started with Google and my small laptop.
I spent my free time on YouTube and Google to learn new things, I also applied what I learned about social media management and content creation by starting a small gaming page, which was somewhat successful.

However, as my career grew, I realized that targeted training is valuable when it serves a specific purpose.

I eventually chose to invest in myself through:

• Specialized Skills: An FB/IG Ads course to offer more value to clients.

• Formal Training: Paralegal training to sharpen my executive support and to jumpstart my paralegal career.

• Compliance: Government-mandated advocacy programs for the workplace.
  
  

Don't buy a course thinking it's a "business in a box." or a shortcut to make your dreams come true.
Learn the basics for free, build your foundation through self-reliance and discipline, and then invest in specialized training that actually moves the needle. Everything can be laid out to you in a course or training, but if you don't
apply what you learn then you're not going to achieve anything.

When that chapter closed in 2020, I realized my security didn't come from a job title;
it came from the resourcefulness I built since 2015.

If you are starting your journey, remember:

• Invest in Google, YouTube, and free resources then niche down: No one hands you expertise, even if you have a natural talent, you have to learn things from the bottom then to the top.

• Say 'Yes', But Know Your Boundaries: Take risks on new tasks, but don't let a toxic environment drain you and know when you need to take a step back.

• Trust Your Gut: Your intuition is your best business tool.
  

The world might change, but once you learn to rely on yourself, you’ll never be truly "unemployed" again.
You’ll just be ready for the next challenge.

- Reg