Three Lessons I’ve Learned in My First Three Years of Business

Reflections on the journey from 2023 to now, and the lessons that have shaped my business.

The Start

In August 2023, I enrolled in The Start, a six-week virtual course taught by the lovely Sara Wiles, to learn everything I thought I needed to know about starting a virtual assistant business.

It’s wild to think that was three years ago.

Three years since I took a leap and said yes to what, at the time, felt like a pretty wild dream.

Looking back, the last three years have been a bit of a game of Tetris, balancing an evolving 9-to-5, a growing virtual assistant business, and life with two young boys. There have been plenty of highs and valleys, pivots and growing pains, moments where I felt incredibly confident and others where I wondered what the heck I was doing.

But more than anything, I’m proud.

I’m proud of the business I’ve built, the valleys I’ve navigated, and the vision I have for where it can go next.

And somewhere along the way, I’ve shifted from the days of “hustle” to a place of calm confidence and intentional growth.

Three years later, it’s wild to look back at that version of myself. I had no idea what my virtual assistant business would become, or, perhaps more importantly, how much I would change along with it.

Three Lessons I’ve Learned in My First Three Years of Business

Lesson One: I Don’t Have to Build the Business Everyone Else Is Building

As a virtual assistant, I consistently hear success stories from others who have come before me. And if I’m honest, that’s something I’ve struggled with.

I know my business is successful. But watching other people’s stories has sometimes made me feel like my business should be further along than it is right now.

For a long time, I thought success in those first few years meant transitioning to an OBM quickly, scaling, and creating offers outside of monthly services.

So I tried.

I’ve made the move toward OBM a couple of times, and every time, I quickly came back to being a highly skilled VA. It felt forced rather than like a natural transition.

I’ve spent hours creating quizzes and freebies because I thought that was what I needed to help others, only to never actually roll them out and let them live dormant in my Dubsado.

And eventually, I had to ask myself: Do I actually want these things, or do I just think I’m supposed to want them?

I think the biggest lesson I’ve come to find in the last three years is this:

You don’t have to build the business everyone else is building.

I am successful for my own reasons.

I’m successful because of how detailed and committed I am to my incredible clients. Because I care deeply about the work I do. Because I’ve built relationships that have lasted. Because my clients trust me to take things off their plates and get them done.

I don’t need a shiny freebie or a perfectly packaged offer to prove that.

And truthfully, that feels more like me than anything else I’ve tried to build.

Lesson Two: I’m Allowed to Change My Mind

One of the biggest shifts in the last three years has been becoming comfortable with changing direction.

I used to think that once I chose a direction, I needed to stick with it. That if I changed my mind, it meant I had made the wrong decision in the first place.

But I’ve learned that sometimes you don’t know what fits until you try something on.

I’ve evolved from pursuing one specific type of client to finding work that fills my cup and opening myself up to opportunities I never would have considered when I started.

I’ve tried different services. I’ve explored different roles. I thought I was going one direction, only to realize it wasn’t where I wanted to go. 

And now, instead of seeing those pivots as failures, I’m learning to see them as information.

Every “not this” has helped me get closer to “this.”

I’ve also become much more comfortable saying:

“That’s not actually where I want to be a service.”

For someone who has historically been a major people pleaser, that has been a pretty big deal.

I’m learning that I can say no to something without it meaning I’m ungrateful.

I can change my mind.

I can decide something isn’t for me.

I can try something, learn from it, and move in a different direction.

That isn’t failure.

That’s building a business.

Lesson Three: Being Really Good at What I Do Is Enough

I think somewhere along the way, I started believing that being successful meant always having something new to show for it.

A new offer.

A new service.

A new freebie.

A new way to grow.

Something that looked impressive from the outside.

But the longer I’ve been in business, the more I’ve realized that some of the things I’m most proud of are actually pretty simple.

I’m proud of the clients who have trusted me for years.

I’m grateful for the relationships I’ve built.

I’m proud of the work I do behind the scenes that might not be flashy or Instagram-worthy, but makes someone else’s business run smoother.

I’m proud that I care about the details.

I’m proud that when a client hands something over to me, they know I’m going to take it seriously.

For someone who has struggled for a long time to find her place in a career, this realization feels especially significant. I’ve spent over ten years in a successful recruiting career, but something always seemed to pull me away from it. It wasn’t until I found the world of virtual assisting that I realized I could build a career around work that genuinely fills my cup.

And I’m damn proud of that.

Now I’m realizing that there is a lot of value in simply getting really good at what you do, and caring deeply about doing it well.

Maybe success doesn’t have to look like constantly becoming something new.

Maybe sometimes it looks like becoming more confident in what you already are.

And for me, that’s a highly skilled VA who loves supporting her clients, building relationships, and being the person behind the scenes who helps make things happen.

That feels pretty successful to me.

Three Years Later

Three years ago, I thought I was starting a virtual assistant business.

I didn’t realize I was also starting a journey of figuring out what kind of work I wanted, what kind of life I wanted, and what I was capable of creating.

I’ve learned that I don’t have to build the business everyone else is building.

I’ve learned that I’m allowed to change my mind.

And I’ve learned that I don’t need to constantly add something new to prove that I’m successful.

I can build something that fits me.

I can change it when it doesn’t.

And I can be proud of the work I’m already doing.

I don’t know exactly what the next three years will look like. And honestly, I don’t think I need to.

Three years ago, I said yes before I knew where it would lead.

I’m pretty glad I did.