Laura 5

Summary

The speaker reflects on their growth over the past two years as a virtual assistant, learning to balance workload and choosing clients carefully. Initially, they overcommitted, working with multiple clients and facing burnout. They realized the importance of managing their time and focusing on better-paying, manageable jobs. The speaker also learned to avoid U.S. and Canadian clients due to the challenging time zones. They highlight the variability in client experiences, from supportive to exploitative, emphasizing the need to recognize and disengage from clients with unreasonable expectations or poor treatment.

Takeaways

• 🌱 Significant personal growth over the past two years, especially from working as a virtual assistant.
• 💼 Realized the importance of balancing work hours after initially juggling four clients with excessive hours.
• 💡 Learned to prioritize quality over quantity by opting for fewer, better-paying clients.
• 🕰️ Discovered that working with U.S. and Canadian clients was challenging due to time zone differences and decided to focus on European and African clients.
• 🤝 Encountered a range of clients, from wonderful to difficult, including some who were rude or disrespectful.
• 🚩 Identified red flags in clients who offer low pay for extensive work, which helped refine client selection.
• 🛑 Let go of clients who undervalued her work and set unrealistic expectations for deadlines.
• 💵 Initially driven by high earnings but learned the importance of maintaining a work-life balance.
• 🗣️ Gained insight into handling client relationships and setting boundaries for healthy professional interactions.
• 📝 Became more selective in client choice, focusing on fair pay and manageable work hours to avoid burnout.

Q & A

What is the speaker's biggest area of growth in the last two years?

The speaker mentions that their biggest area of growth has been in learning about themselves, clients, and the online work environment, particularly after working as a virtual assistant.

What lesson did the speaker learn after working with multiple clients simultaneously?

The speaker learned that working for too many clients at once, even if the money is good, can lead to burnout. They realized it's better to take on fewer clients with higher pay rather than overworking with many clients.

Why did the speaker stop working with U.S. and Canadian clients?

The speaker found it frustrating to work with U.S. and Canadian clients because the time zone differences required them to work late hours, which negatively impacted their schedule. They now prefer clients from Europe or Africa with more manageable time differences.

What has the speaker learned about the types of clients they encounter?

The speaker has encountered a variety of clients, including both good and bad ones. Some clients are respectful, while others are difficult to work with, such as those who offer low pay or make unreasonable demands.

How does the speaker deal with clients who make unrealistic demands?

The speaker has learned to let go of clients who try to take advantage of them by offering very low pay for a large amount of work or having unreasonable expectations.

What change did the speaker make to improve their work-life balance?

The speaker decided to reduce their workload by focusing on jobs that require fewer hours but pay better, allowing them to maintain a healthier work-life balance.

Why did the speaker resign from working with multiple clients after two months?

The speaker resigned because working with multiple clients, each requiring about 10 hours a week, became too overwhelming and unsustainable, leading to burnout.

What types of clients does the speaker now avoid?

The speaker avoids U.S. and Canadian clients due to time zone issues, and also avoids clients who offer low pay for high amounts of work or make unreasonable demands.

What was the speaker's initial reaction to earning money as a virtual assistant?

The speaker was initially excited by the amount of money they could make in a week and applied to multiple jobs to maximize their earnings. However, they quickly learned that this approach was not sustainable.

What does the speaker say about clients who offer low pay for large workloads?

The speaker mentions that such clients often write overly detailed job descriptions but offer very low pay, expecting a lot of work for little compensation. These clients also tend to misunderstand delays in work delivery.