Like many others, I lost my job in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had been there for 8 years, was already working from home, and loved what I did and who I worked with. They furloughed me for months, and I was told I would be coming back. Then I got a call from my boss... they were eliminating my position.

We were both pissed. What was I going to do now? We had never been a one-income household. On top of that, I was pregnant with our second baby. I started thinking about ways I could work from home so we wouldn't have to put our kids in daycare. Let's be honest, I would never make enough money in the workforce to where paying for childcare makes sense.

A friend told me she had started working as a Virtual Assistant and asked if I'd like her to put my name out there. It sounded amazing, so I immediately said yes! Shortly after, I had all kinds of women reaching out for my help. I had 5 clients within a month. I was busy, getting paid, and it was great! Clients came and went with different needs, such as one-off projects, monthly graphics, social templates, etc.

As things slowed down again, I thought maybe I could sell digital social media kits. Almost everyone I was working for needed help in this area, and they were LOVING my work. I took to Etsy. YEARS ago, I painted glass and sold on Etsy. I changed the shop name and info and started listing.

I started sharing what I was doing on my Facebook page, and had an old friend message me. He had started a brick-and-mortar Marketing Agency and wanted to hire me. I was thrilled! For the next couple of years, I worked as a freelancer doing whatever they needed help with. I did blog posts, video editing, and eventually became the social media manager.

I got to work with some amazing people and learned so much! One of those was a 30+ year graphic designer who was more than willing to share her expertise. I will forever be grateful for the time at that agency and to our friend for giving me a chance.