We were lucky to catch up with Jessica Hawks recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Starting my business felt like a GIANT risk to me. Prior to starting, I was in one of the worst spots of my life. I had dropped out of college, was 20k in debt, working 60+ hours/week and couldn’t afford therapy which I desperately needed.

I felt as if I had no “calling” and no direction to my life. I wanted to be able to actually LIVE instead of feeling like my life revolved around work.

When the idea of becoming a Virtual Assistant was presented to me, it felt like the answer to all of my problems. Despite the deep inner feeling that it was right, I held myself back from starting because I was afraid. I had never done something like that for myself, never invested money into my own future.

I constantly thought: “what if it doesn’t work out?”

I soon realized that my current life/career WAS indeed my worst case scenario. I realized that I would never get further towards my goals if I kept playing small and living my current day-to-day.

Eventually, I reached a crossroads where I was so fed up with my own excuses. I took the plunge into my online business and within 4 months I had quit my 9-5, more than quadrupled my corporate income and was working fully remotely.

In hindsight, I realize that it was far more “risky” for me to stay exactly where I was. If I hadn’t pushed through my fear and started my business, who knows where I would be right now. But I know for a fact that I would NOT be the person I am today or have accomplished everything my business has allowed me to do.

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.

I’m an online coach guiding people in their 20’s on how to build a virtual assistant business and get booked out, giving themselves financial security and a flexible schedule. After going viral on TikTok and building massive awareness around this career opportunity, I’ve led students from around the world in becoming booked out VAs.

I have gained a lot of sales & marketing knowledge over the 4 years I’ve been in business which allows me to help my students succeed in a record amount of time in addition to helping them scale their business much farther than the basics.

Instead of focusing heavily on strategy OR mindset, I focus on a combination of both to help my students reach their goals.

We’ve now helped over 6,000 students start online businesses – many of whom have gone on to build multiple 6 & 7 figure businesses. Our generation wants to live life NOW, not wait until we’re retired to and I help them accomplish that every single day.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Once my students started seeing incredible results through working with me, I realized that coaching was not only something I was passionate about, but also something I EXCELLED at.

I realized that there were so many people like me out there – college dropouts (or people who had gone to college and still felt unfulfilled) who were searching for their place in the world.

I took a hard look at where my audience would likely be and started posting content on TikTok sharing my story. I went viral practically overnight and have grown my audience to over 1 million people across platforms.

When it comes to growing your audience, don’t be afraid to try something new. At the time I first started posting, there weren’t many business owners on TikTok. But instead of writing it off, I went outside of the box and gave it my all – with an incredible payoff.

I also put a huge focus on connection and cultivating a COMMUNITY instead of only focusing on the numbers. You do not need a giant audience to have an incredibly successful business – you need your audience (no matter how big or small) to know you care and what sets you apart.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I create multiple opportunities for them to stay connected with me. Even after my live group programs or classes are over, students are able to stay in touch via FB groups, Slack or Instagram.

I also constantly look for new opportunities to connect – like Instagram broadcast channels. Your audience needs to know and feel that you are a real person on the other side of your business. They want to feel like they know you on a deeper level.

There are typically many people doing the same thing in any given industry, so you HAVE to be unafraid to make yourself polarizing. Sharing your opinions and hot takes will cultivate an audience who is totally magnetized to you.

I also keep heavy tabs on how much content I am consuming. It’s one thing to be inspired by someone else, but when you get to the point where you look like a carbon copy of another business owner, you will not see success. You have to put your blinders up and differentiate yourself.

While the visuals/aesthetic of your brand is important, it is NOT a replacement for an amazing client experience. If you focus as much on delivering an incredible product as you do on growing your business, you will have clients/consumers that want to work with you or buy from you over and over again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://itsjessicahawks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjessicahawks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessicaleighhawks

Image Credits
Jackie Sterna