We recently connected with Celine Moser and have shared our conversation below.

Celine, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

When I decided to start my business I had been working as an office manager/secretary for ten years. I held this position for a few companies during that time. I found myself chasing after more from one office to the next. I was great at my job but I was so bored. The mundane routine of getting up, dropping my son off at a sitter, sitting in an office for 8 hours where I had way too much downtime, going home, making dinner, going to bed, doing it all over the next day just waiting for the weekend. Now this isn’t meant to insult anyone who has these jobs or these routines but for me personally, I felt so trapped. I was tired of living by someone else rules and someone else having the say on how I spent my day-to-day. The last job I held before I started my business was as an operations manager for a local business. It started great until I saw more and more how little respect the owner had for my time and just respect for me in general. Like a lot of people, I worked from home during Covid and during this time I realized just how easily I really could do my job from home. I put my foot down and said I am not sitting in an office alone all day anymore ( I was the only employee) and I want to work from home part-time. I had to choose between this and a fair pay raise because after being there for 5 years and running this business I had not been offered one raise. I became so tired of the BS. One day a girlfriend of mine said she was taking this live, all-day online course to learn how to start a virtual assistant business and I should do it with her. I didn’t want to spend the $300. At the last minute, they offered a discount and I think I paid $200. It was an 8-hour live event that provided a crash course in everything you needed to start your business. And the next day I started the process. This was in June of 2021. Now just to backtrack for a moment, I am one of those people who has had lots of ideas to make some money on the side. I am guilty of trying things for a bit and then giving up on them. Some things I’d get all hyped about and then never put any effort into them at all. I consider myself to be a creative person and I have a lot of interests which can be good and bad. I did photography for a while, I wanted to be a blogger, and I started designing nail decals and selling them, I was going to sell vintage clothing. I was all over the place. So when I took this seriously and put in the effort to build this business and find clients I was sort of shocked. Like who is this girl and where did she come from? I started my business offering admin support services. After a lot of potential client calls that went so well but never converted to an actual client I finally landed my first client in Oct of 2021. I was so proud of myself for sticking through it and not giving up after having so many close calls that never converted. My first client specialized in child care, specifically working with daycares to make sure they were compliant and helping parents find the best daycare for their needs. Her name was Wanda. She was very nice and I was so grateful to her. We only worked together for a few months but in January of 2022 I landed two great clients and the rest is history. I still work with both of these clients today. They were my big break. Now I realize I got ahead of myself. While I was building this business I continued to work my regular job. I was miserable and everyone around me could see how stressed I was. But I needed that financial security. I ended up converting that employer into a client and started working as an independent contractor for him. It was a start in the right direction. I negotiated better pay but I knew the plan was to leave when I felt secure in my business. Come May of 2022 I did it! I had booked out enough clients that I was ready to say goodbye to the job that had been sucking the joy out of me for the last 5 years. So many people told me I should wait a little longer, give it a year, don’t let go of that income. But for me, my happiness is not based on the money I am making, it’s based on the freedom I have to live my life the way I want to. I remember when I told him I was done he said to me, are you sure you want to give up a steady paycheck that’s a big deal? He doubted me and what I was capable of. I cried after I got off the phone with him. I cried tears of joy. I felt the weight come off of me. Almost two and half years later I have transitioned to an online business manager offering higher level services. I offer business strategy sessions, help with outsourcing, and help others start their VA business. I get to spend summers at home with my son doing fun things. I can take him to school, help with his school parties, go on his field trips, and be home with him when he’s sick. I can start my work day at 10 am after I enjoy my morning coffee. I get to work outside on my porch in the summer. I have had the privilege of working with some amazing women. I still have days where I can’t believe that I did this. I stuck with this and made it happen and this is my life. Even after a tougher year in business last year, I didn’t give up, I stayed positive, focused on growth and mindset, and ended the year busier than ever. I am so proud of myself and the risk I took to go all in on my business. My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Celine and I live in a small farm town in Ohio with my husband and our son. Some of my favorite things are being outdoors, spending time with my family, photography, a glass of white wine, and a good cup of coffee, hot or iced. Fun fact, my husband grows a large garden every summer and we can our homemade spaghetti sauce, salsa, and other produce.

When I started my business I took the skills I already had and applied them to the services I would offer. I worked as an operations manager/office secretary for about a decade before starting my business. I was very comfortable helping businesses with the day-to-day tasks that keep a business running. So when I started my virtual assistant business I offered admin support. I started my business in 2021 after taking a live training that was a crash course on how to start a virtual assistant business. Some of the tasks I would do for my clients were research, file organization, creating emails, minor website updates, providing customer support, updating calendars, and pretty basic tasks. But these basic tasks were a huge lift for my clients because they freed them up to do more important things like grow their business. Over time I learned more and more and gained more and more experience. This allowed me better opportunities to work with clients in a higher-level capacity. I started to realize that I had great ideas. I was good at talking through strategy, managing projects, and even coaching.

My second year of business was a little tougher and that is when I invested in myself. I worked with a coach who helped me develop my higher-level services. She helped me work on my mindset. I learned just how powerful your mindset is when it comes to your business. I was attracting all the wrong clients and when I finally stopped taking clients that didn’t align with my business goals and trusted the process everything started to fall into place. I transitioned my services to an online business manager. Now I help clients manage their podcasts, execute launches for their products and services, strategize for their business, coach, manage projects, and so much more. I think the biggest problem I solve for my clients is the problem of time. I free up so much time by taking over these tasks that they no longer have to worry about. Now they have more time to make money working with clients, or working in their zone of genius. I also provide a huge sense of relief for my clients. They know they can count on me and that I am going to handle things. One of my more recent clients just keeps telling me how she feels so supported and then she just lets out a huge sigh of relief (literally). I become their business bestie. I care about their business and it brings me so much joy to help them succeed. I am someone they can bounce ideas off of, I can give a different perspective, and I am a different set of expertise from their expertise. Together we create this amazing system that keeps their business running at a high level.

I think I am different from other people in my industry because I understand people. I am very open-minded and I easily relate to what others are going through. I am the calm voice of reason that helps bring my clients back down when they are stressed out. I am also a ton of fun which my clients value because running a business is stressful! I bring good energy. I’m also very direct and I am not afraid to tell you what you don’t want to hear but need to hear.

I want others to know that I have worked hard for my business. That I chose to fully believe in myself, trust the process, and truly invest in myself. I love that my business is to help other people succeed in their business. It’s women supporting women. I want others to know that you can do this too if you want to. You are capable of so much more than you even know but you have to let go of the fear and the what ifs.

I am most proud of how far I have come since I first started my business. I didn’t give up even when times got tough and because of that, I have had amazing opportunities. I am so proud of the amount of growth I have seen in myself. I am proud of the skills I have developed and what I am capable of. I get to work with multi 6 and 7-figure women who are changing the world with their businesses. To be a part of that is something like no other.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I like this question because I hope it gives others the confidence to start their business if money is a fear. Now this answer will not apply to all businesses but it can apply to many.

I did not save any money for my business before starting my business. I started my business on a whim. I invested $200 in a course that provided a lot of great information on how to get started. There are so many free software programs that you can take advantage of to get started. When you start a business it’s important to evaluate what you need. Don’t just go out and purchase every software subscription that exists because you think you will need all of these things to run your business but in reality, you don’t know what they even do.

I took advantage of my local small business center. Their services are free and they helped me set up my LLC. In my state, an LLC is very affordable. I used the free version of Canva to create some branded marketing. I took photos of myself to use on social media. I downloaded a free invoicing app so I could invoice clients, I bought the cheapest version of Quickbooks you can get so I could track my expenses, and that was about it. I did end up investing in a CRM so I could easily send my clients contracts and manage each of them but I didn’t need to do that. In my industry, you don’t even really need a website to get started. There are so many great, free, or low-cost tools out there. But you mustn’t get overwhelmed by all of it and make a plan. Sit down with your business plan and look at what you need to run your business in the beginning. This will change over time as you grow but stick to the basics in the beginning.

If I had needed a ton of money to get started I probably never would have because I wasn’t in a position to save a bunch of money for something like my own business. I kept it simple, I stuck to basic needs, and I did it! And if you have the means to invest in more tools and apps to get your business going that is amazing. But do not let the fear of how much money it’s going to cost hold you back from even trying. To this day I keep very low expenses in my business. The type of work I do doesn’t require a ton of expensive programs and I recognize that. By keeping costs down I can bring in more profit. I choose to spend my money on coaching and programs that will develop my skills and growth.

The biggest thing that I think helped me with the financial aspect of my business is how I managed my taxes from the beginning. When you own your own business it can be easy to look at the money coming in as all yours. That is until tax season comes around. I knew from day one that I would withhold taxes from every payment I received and keep it in a separate account. I make quarterly tax payments and because of this I am not forking over thousands of dollars come tax season. Also, on day one I opened a separate business account. I made sure to keep enough money in there for any expenses I did have plus a little extra. I would leave a little extra in the account each time I paid myself. This helped me develop a bit of a cushion in my business account so over time I was able to save for an unexpected expense, a slow month of work, or I could use the money to invest in something new. Plan and do research. That’s how I succeeded.

Any advice for managing a team?

As someone who works directly with business owners and deals with how they manage the people they hire, I am pretty passionate about this topic. Proper team management is huge for your business success. Poor team management means you aren’t using the time you paid for efficiently, mistakes happen, and frustrations arise.

Proper team management starts before you even hire a team member. You need to get clear on what exactly it is you need help with. What are the goals for bringing on this team member? What do you hope to accomplish? What do you need from them? Next, you need to be prepared to invest in their success. What does this mean? You can’t hire someone to work in your business and then just expect that they can figure everything out on their own. Yes, when you hire an online service provider they usually do come with a good bit of experience making the transition easier. But at the end of the day, they do not know your business. They do not know your goals, what you’ve been working on, what you want to be working on, how you like things done. If you are not prepared to help them you will be wasting their time and yours. Invest in them now and the month after you will be so glad you did. You will have to take the time to prepare work for them to do. Otherwise, they are going to be sitting around waiting for you.

Remember that they are not mind readers. Clear communication is key. This is only going to benefit your long-term success. Timely communication is key. If your team member needs something from you to do their job and it takes you days at a time to respond to them all you’re doing is preventing them from helping you. Bringing on a team member takes on a new set of responsibilities that you have to be prepared for.

I highly recommend a project management tool. I personally love Asana. You need a place where you can keep thoughts, ideas, and tasks organized in one place. I also highly recommend a communication app like Slack or Voxer for quick and easy communication.

Maintain high morale by treating your team members with respect. Remember that they are there to help you. Constructive feedback vs criticism is key. Remember, we are all professionals so we need to treat each other as such. Recognize their strengths and lean into those. And just remember to show appreciation. Even adults appreciate hearing that they are doing a good job. If a team member is doing something you don’t like, help show them how you do like it. You are a team and by working together your success will have no limits.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.celineraschel.com
• Instagram: @celineraschel
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CelineRaschelMoser
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celineraschel/

Image Credits
Teai Marie @teaimariephotography on IG