CONFESSION OF A YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: MY JOURNEY BECOMING A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT

#entrepreneur #virtualassistant

FIRST DESTINATION: An Entrepreneur’s Fight With Reality

In the first week of March 2020, my parents, business partner, and I went to Cebu to meet a client. Back then, COVID-19 is already a big issue in China but in the Philippines, we downplayed it since there is still no recorded local transmission in the country. I felt sick after our trip to Cebu. I remember feeling exhausted and having both diarrhea and a slight fever. For a week, I was on bed rest. I never felt that level of discomfort in my life as I fear that I contracted the virus. Thankfully, after that agonizing week, my fever was gone and I got the energy to work again and help my parents. I knew they badly needed my help managing our small service company because they also felt sick after our trip. As I was able to gain my momentum to work again, I intensified disseminating information to our employees on the latest news about COVID-19 in the Philippines so that they will be more aware of how they could protect themselves and their families. Trying our best to foresee possible scenarios caused by the virus, my team and I were able to procure and prepare essentials for our employees including face masks, Vitamin C, and relief goods. Even with all the preparations, we were still caught off guard when President Duterte announced that Metro Manila will be locked down. Consequently, our management announced that we will stop our operation and start releasing aid to our employees.

SECOND DESTINATION: An Entrepreneur Relearning TSL (Thought Self-Leadership)

After the announcement, my parents and I were distraught by thinking of the impact of the virus on our small business and how we could provide for our employees. Overwhelmed with what was happening, I decided to take a step back and lock myself in my room. To keep my mind busy, I tried reading various articles that could give me an idea on how we could bounce back in business. For some reason, I find myself reading again the article entitled “Thought Self Leadership: Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Organizational Life” by Christopher Neck and John Milliman.

Being spiritual as described by C. Neck and J. Milliman is the dedication of an individual’s entire life finding her purpose and continuously doing actions rooted with her values to reach the divine. Spirituality can only be felt by grabbing opportunities in life to engage in activities with the pure intention of seeking the purpose of existence and create life’s meaning. Experiencing spirituality must not be a once in a lifetime experience. Rather, individuals must continuously pursue and intentionally seek transcendence every day.

As we all know, part of a human’s essence of being is working. According to a study, millennials are often a purpose-oriented individuals and that they choose the organization they work with according to how much they see their company act as an agent to make a positive change for the society (Goleman, 2020).

To reinforce the perception of an individual’s growth in work, a strategy known as Thought Self Leadership (TSL) was introduced. It is focused on empowering employees widening their viewpoints towards their contribution to their workplace. This could be achieved by continuously doing TSL practices which are self-dialogue, mental imagery, and being more aware of own thought patterns (Neck & Milliman, 1994).

LAST DESTINATION: Filipino Virtual Assistance Academy

After reading the article, I practiced self-dialogue and mental imagery. I kept repeating to myself the word “Padayon”, a Filipino term that means to continue fighting. I continued researching and remain optimistic as I maximize my resources especially my time to look for possible investments I could engage with online. Unexpectedly, I was able to encounter the FVA (Filipino Virtual Assistance) Academy and the opportunity in becoming a virtual assistant. I immediately fell in love with the idea since it enables me to work remotely with accomplished entrepreneurs, offer quality services to clients, and practice my knowledge in business. There was a silent voice in my head pushing me to learn more about how to become a virtual assistant. Immediately, I enrolled (3) three online courses in FVA Academy which are focused on the basics of freelancing and e-commerce. I am determined to gain technical skills to display quality services in both my Upwork and Onlinejobs.ph profile.

Up to this time, I am still learning with FVA Academy as I continuously collate my outputs in my virtual assistant website.

To conclude, my takeaway from this open-ended journey is to keep going even if things do not fall according to what was planned. My advice to my entrepreneur readers who experienced and are experiencing the same situation I had is to keep knocking on God's door. Ask for His presence in your life and just do what you can to continue pursuing your passion. Eventually, in God’s perfect time, you will find what is fitting for you. As Szekely said, "In the highest sense, work is meant to be the servant of man, not the matter. It is not so important what shape or form our work may take; what is vitally important is our attitude toward that work. With love and enthusiasm directed toward our work, what was once a chore and hardship now becomes a magical tool to develop, enrich, and nourish our lives.”