I grew up in Massachusetts; met and married my husband, Joel, there; and live there still. We're bringing up our two children in the suburbs of Boston. All my immediate family still live within a forty-five minute drive (most are a lot closer).
In my working life, I've been everything from a horseback riding instructor (I still get to the barn at every opportunity) to a liaison between network engineers and clients (making tech-speak easy to understand).
I've been a VA since 2007, although I didn't graduate from AssistU's Virtual Training Program until 2008.
If I'm addicted to anything, it's learning how to do well whatever interests me: from making a tender, flaky pie crust to deciding on just the right subject line for a marketing email.
Additional Questions Answered By Nicole
1. What's your position at AssistU? Describe what you do. What do you love most about it?I'm Anastacia Brice's VA. I help to keep AssistU running smoothly.
I treasure working with an organization that truly walks its talk.
2. How has AssistU/being a VA changed your life?
The biggest impact has been empowerment. I've been inspired by other VAs who've been able to create businesses that really support them in living the lives they want to live. I've been encouraged to be clear and intentional about the business I myself want and to take responsibility for making it happen. I'm so glad I invested in coaching with Anastacia after graduating from the VTP, because that was a real help in making the mental shift from employee to business owner!
The result of all these factors has been that I work with clients I really enjoy helping, I'm there to greet my children when they come home from school, and a real pet peeve has been removed from my daily life: I never have to worry about getting stuck in traffic jams from snow or road construction! I'm living a life I truly love.
3. What do you consider to be the most important value of AssistU?
It's something I actually mentioned earlier: the people I've come to know at AssistU walk their talk. Not only are standards in place which I respect and embrace myself, but those standards are upheld.
4. What's the most important thing that being a VA has taught you?
That it really is possible to create a business that's profitable in every sense of the word.
5. Why did you decide to become a VA? Was there a particular moment or life circumstance that lit the entrepreneurial path for you?
Well, I've always enjoyed -- and excelled at-- administrative work. I knew I wanted to work, but after going through a major illness at a relatively young age, I also knew I wanted work that gave me control over where, when, and how I worked. (Not that I'd wish it on anyone, but an experience like that does grant you a lot of clarity!) A practitioner who'd helped me while I was recovering told me about AssistU and gave me the website URL. I started reading and I knew that this was what I'd been looking for.
6. What one thing would you want people to know about being a VA (or business owner)?
What you put into it (including your thoughts and intentions), is what you'll get out of it -- so invest yourself and your resources wisely and deliberately… and don't be too quick to give up when confronted by the obstacles that will inevitably appear.