We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dominique Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dominique, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

What do I think it takes to be successful? I would say having a strong support system like family and community. My husband has been an entrepreneur for over 8 years, and within those 8 years, I have seen how determination, grit, thinking outside the box, and not afraid of failing look like. Behind the scenes, I was working at numerous corporate companies, but the most recent one was a church. Within working with the church and other corporate businesses and businesses that had the corporate mindset, I realized that I worked so hard and sometimes, I was either taken advantage of, didn’t measure up, or was not allowed to be myself and share thoughts. My husband and I have always talked about having our company together and creating an empire where we build a team and we can do things that make sense with extraordinary support. I was afraid of that because I didn’t know what that looked like and was afraid of failing. Seeing my husband go through so much, I was crippled with the idea of failing and not having enough funds to get us through. After years of being bossed around, shedding more tears than I would like, being stressed and frustrated, putting my family on the back burner, and missing little memories that were created by my daughter, I decided enough was enough and it was time for me to branch out. And once I did, I noticed that I had a support team around me my family, and my friends that knew I was made for a purpose by purpose. I decided to start a virtual assistant and marketing company where I could be a virtual assistant or regular assistant if the individual or company were local in addition to providing marketing strategies for individuals and businesses. I also added a coaching aspect under that umbrella as well, where I help trauma survivors make attainable goals that are not overwhelming. Being successful means always being a learner, don’t take things personally if it’s related to your business, surround yourself with individuals you would like to be like or individuals that will pour into you and encourage you along the way. I also believe it takes making sure you are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy. Making sure you are eating right and drinking lots of water in addition to getting lots off rest and being okay to set boundaries to make sure you accomplish those things. In my almost 3 years of being a business owner, I have had to change things, entertain the idea of changing the name of my business, set hard set boundaries, and say no when I want to say yes. I don’t want to miss my daughter’s time to shin on top of taking solo vacations, couples vacations, or family vacations. You wake up and just do it without thinking too much about it, because when you do think too much about it, it causes you to create insecurities and uncertainty. We don’t have time for that.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Dominique Johnson and I am from Charlotte, NC. I was raised in Concord, NC and then later in Charlotte. I married my high school and together we have an amazing daughter. I have worked in retail, childcare, and non-profits. I love serving my community and being able to help as much as I can. I love dancing, singing karaoke, watching movies, and being surrounded by amazing people. I am very social, and happy and have been through so much in my life. From being raised in a family whose history was filled with physical, mental, and emotional abuse to being the person who is breaking generation trauma. I started understanding the meaning of having an inner child when I worked with kids to learn how to care for people working at a local church. During my years working and attending a local church, I learned about an organization named icuTalks, a speaking mental health ministry helping people end the stigma within themselves, the community, and the church. It was that organization that helped me learn about mental health and what I took from the talks, I was able to deal with trauma within my own family. I love being hospitable, connecting with people, and networking. In my years of working, I have always had the experience of being an administrator. There was something about it that I understood and loved. Being behind the scenes helping others become successful and making sure nothing falls in the crack. I guess you can say, it was my calling. In my years of being an administrator, helping be an event coordinator, and seeing and hearing people, I thought, let’s see if I can make a business out of it. I am very determined and very structured. I love making lists and get excited when I can check things off my list. Whenever I am working with someone, whether that be administration, helping with marketing, or helping with an event, I’m always the one who has an eye for details. My company VA Savvvy started in hopes that I can prove to people that administrators and people who with marketing, are more valuable than you know. The VA stands for virtual assistant and it can be virtual or local depending on our clients. The 3 V’s stand for value, volume, and velocity because my company feels that is what it takes to help others be successful. VA Savvvy does things and stands on excellence. In my years of being behind the scenes, I want to create an opportunity for those to feel seen and realize how much they are valued. In addition to providing administration and marketing services to others, I recently got certified to be a trauma recovery coach and what that entails is helping trauma survivors attain realistic goals to help them become successful. That would be added to one of the services VA Savvvy offers.

I am most proud of saying yes when I am afraid and not knowing what is going to come next. In resigning from my old job, that was one of the questions, what’s next? Starting my business, I answered. Then what??? Well, that’s the beauty right?? Being okay with the unknowns and taking it step towards what could be the best decision of your life. I am proud that I continue to show up for myself each and everyday. That I have inspired people to leap regardless of their fear.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It was the beginning of year two in 2022, I had a few clients I was providing administration for. I was not getting paid that much but it was starting to help build my business. I got COVID toward the end of January and felt like this was the end of my business. I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to provide services to the clients I had. I was also doing side gigs to experience in marketing and I had to cancel those due to me being sick. Bills were stacking and I was being isolated in my bedroom, I was trying to figure out plans. I applied as an independent contractor for different businesses and no one was responding. I kept persisting and emailed numerous businesses informing them of a start date being later in February. I reached out to friends and we created a Linkin and other websites to get my name out and introduce what I was offering. After a month of being sick, I was able to land an amazing client I do marketing for in addition to finding more clients who needed administration.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In the beginning of my business, I was accepting all clients. I was the yes person. I motivated by money and the opportunities. One of the things I had to unlearn was that I did not need to say yes to everyone. Having discovery calls was very important. Discovery calls is an opportunity to hear from a prospective client what they are looking and asking any questions they may have to get clarity. In the beginning, I had a lot of clients that knew me from my other job and wanted to give me an opportunity. Discussing the role via FB messenger is not a good idea. It created more confusion between both me and the client in addition to not setting clear expectations of my company. I also learned doing things and not getting paid until months later was not acceptable and not being able to say that I am an independent contractor and my agreement states this. Overtime, I realized these mistakes and challenges and I make sure I am very clear in discussing with all clients my role and the difference between 1099 and W2. You will be surprised when people think they know the difference but they don’t. Holding your clients accountable is another thing I learned. The unlearning in that was I felt like I needed to say yes to everyone but I don’t. It is okay to say no especially if you feel like the client may not fit well with your company and what it stands for.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VaSavvvy
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/vasavvvy
• Other: I also have a coaching site: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094643001763. Email address is [email protected]