Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to JACKIE ALLEN. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
JACKIE, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I would not consider myself someone of many (or any) talents, not any kind of innate God given talent at least. My ONE claim to “fame” however is my impeccable organization skills. It’s my personal belief that school does not prepare us to be what we want to be when we grow up or at least what we think we want to be. How do we know what we want to be without having tried it? I thought I wanted to be an actress until my immense stage fright kicked in and I realized that dream was a no go; then I thought – maybe I’ll be a chef; only to find that I truly despise the time wasted in the kitchen in front of a stove, then finally I landed on nurse. It seemed like a valid choice. By the time I hit college nurses were in high demand and the sign on bonuses being offered were enough to convince me that I had achieved the “American Dream” I quickly learned that the American dream was not all it was cracked up to be, while I admire nurses and all that they do, it just was not for me. 12 hour shifts, cleaning up other people’s bodily fluids to work in a high risk work environment with little appreciation or reward…no thanks, I took what I thought was the “easier” path opting instead to work with patients who were unconscious (going under the knife) as a Surgical Technologist – you know the person who hands the surgeon the scalpel when he asks for it, that seemed to be “ok” except I was still working under the watchful eye of someone else. Always having to ask before taking time off and then being guilt tripped for taking said time off even though I had the vacation time to take, being on call for emergencies was not to my liking either and when I decided to start a family, I knew that something needed to change. Motherhood is both the HARDEST and most rewarding thing I have ever done, but I knew that I wanted to be a working mom with a career. I wanted to be able to have an awesome and rewarding career while also being a present mom, and although I pursued a career in healthcare; for one reason or another I found myself always getting pulled out of those roles into some type of Administrative role, at the hospital it was getting pulled out of the OR to handle the OR scheduling, or getting pulled off of a factory floor to handle payroll. I took those situations as opportunities to learn as much as I could and eventually worked my way through the ranks from HR Assistant to Manager of a Mental Health and Addiction Counseling facility – nearly 10 years later (I never said my journey was a quick one). So here I was managing a facility, handling the client intakes, discharge, billing, and everything under the sun aside from actually sitting in a room and counseling someone, but all that glitters is not gold and I had plateaued I was already making more than the counselors who had advanced level Master’s Degrees, and I was essentially second in command with nowhere else to go. I was busting my butt to make someone else rich; all while experiencing burnout and coming home too tired to want to do anything but shower and sleep, I was not present with my family and I was not happy in my life. I realized that if I was going to make a change I needed to go all in and take that leap of faith. I ended up taking on a second part time work from home job that I worked for about 5 months while establishing my business, creating a website and “getting my ducks in a row” then I had a surprisingly short talk with my husband who while very supportive was also apprehensive, but I think he could tell I needed this change. I don’t even think we came up with a plan B on what we would do if my business failed – failure was not an option, it was so far from my radar that it isn’t until now that I realized that we never even talked about it.
So, 5 months after starting my second job, I had a 17 page presentation prepared for my current boss on all the ways I could save the business money and be more productive in my role working from home, it took all of 2 minutes for her to say no, the next day I turned in my resignation letter and gave my 2 weeks’ notice. I continued working my 2 second (now only job) making less than half of what I was previously making, continuing to work on my website, and networking. As luck would have it my old boss needed help onboarding a new employee and became my first client (paying me more as a vendor than she would have had she just let me work remotely from home). The rest as they say is history.
I offer my clients process analysis and implementation through Virtual Assistance and Online Business Management. The same way a traditional office has an office or business manager; I do it just from home, I analyze the current business processes to determine any bottlenecking or inefficiencies and then determine how we can make them better in order for the business to run more smoothly. I identify any cost savings and implement those as well. I help create strategies to execute the ideas of my visionary CEO’s.
Anyone can start a business but not everyone is able to run the day-to-day happenings of said business; and that’s where I come in. I think what’s different in my approach is that I work very collaboratively with my clients despite working in a virtual setting and despite being the person behind the scenes, I like to be very involved with my clients and their businesses and I like to build a rapport with my clients and offer them feedback from the perspective of the consumer or their audience. I really care about my clients and the success of their business because if their business struggles then that means I am not doing the best at my job. I’m also very selective of my clientele which is why I only take on a handful of clients at a time, but when I do these clients become long-term clients. Quality is definitely better than quantity and in this case honesty really is the best policy, if a client is not the right fit for me or visa versa I definitely make it a point to let them know. I expect just as much from my clients as they do from me, they must put in the work and be present in their businesses and I think that is what my clients appreciate from me, they are not just getting an assistant or a manager, they are getting a partner in business.
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, it takes a lot of hard work and effort, especially in the beginning. Sometimes it seems like I am still working just as much as before or even more, I can easily put in 12- or 14-hour days, but it never feels like it because I love what I am doing so much. I love the clients I work with, and I love the freedom that the leap of faith and the HUGE financial step backwards I took to be miles ahead today. I have a freedom that I never thought I would have and I am able to be present with my family. I never have to feel guilty about choosing one over the other because it is the perfect work/life balance, and I can have both!
JACKIE, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have a Degree in Business Management and over 13 years of experience in Business as well as extensive experience working in Mental Health and Travel Tourism.
After years of working in corporate America I decided I wanted to escape the rat race and be my own boss. I began to freelance as a Virtual Assistant specializing in Travel/Tourism and working exclusively with Travel Professionals, that niche has expanded to Mental Health Professionals and Entrepreneurs.
In order to expand and service more clients, I took my education and years of experience into the virtual space to launch and grow my very own Virtual Assistant and Online Business Management company and Remote Business Professionals was born.
I consider myself a wearer of many hats, a chaos aficionado and executor or visionary dreams. When I’m not putting out office fires, I can be found enjoying time at home with my two sons, tackling a home DIY project (I’m also converting a school bus into a home/office on wheels), taking in a ballroom dance class, and of course, traveling.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
Word of mouth referrals has been the best source of new clients and it’s actually become my preferred. Because I vet my clients before we agree to work together and end up working with them long term. I get to know them really well and visa versa. They know the type of clients I like to work with and they in turn refer likeminded people to me. It really is a dynamic working relationship where I am helping to grow their businesses with them and they help grow mine as well.
I think my openness and honesty during my initial meeting with clients is what really makes an impact and draws them in. I want to know my clients more as a person then as a business owner, not just as a $ dollar sign. Obviously those things are important too, but if we don’t mesh well and I don’t believe in you brand, your product or your business then I would be doing a disservice by signing you on.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It’s easy to be scared when doing something new, especially something like starting a business. I think that would be the biggest thing that I had to learn to let go of. In the beginning the fear of failing was the basis for every decision I made and as a result I ended up saying yes to clients that I shouldn’t have, I agreed to do work that I wasn’t passionate about or that I didn’t like or just maybe wasn’t good at, I accepted fees that were not aligned with the high level and quality standards of my work. I was so afraid of failure that I ended up putting myself in the same position that I had worked so hard to escape. I was overworked, underpaid, underappreciated, and regretting the decision that I had made. Luckily for me I had a strong support system in my husband. He would talk me out of my funk and be the push I needed to keep going; sometimes I had to pause and take a step back in order to take 3 steps forward, but I’m glad I did because it helped me to evaluate what I want for my business and in the clientele that I work with. Like minded people who foster personal and professional growth and who value – above all else the value of family and having a healthy work/life balance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://remotebusinesspros.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remotebusinesspros/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemoteBusinessPros
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/remote-business-profesionals/