We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kristin Crowther. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kristin below.

Hi Kristin, thanks for joining us today. How do you feel about asking friends and family to support your business? What’s appropriate, what’s not? Where do you draw the line?

When I started thinking about starting a business, I was nervous to ask my husband to support the idea. I had never thought about starting a business before, so it wasn’t something we had talked about. Plus, the course I wanted to take to teach me how to start a business was an investment, so that added a layer of stress as well.

I brought the idea up to him one night and explained that I had been doing research on the virtual assistant world. I explained what a virtual assistant is, how they make money, and how flexible it can be. I also talked about the course investment and promised that even if it wasn’t right for me, I would make back the money I invested. Luckily, he has always been super supportive, so he thought it was a great idea.

Fast forward a few months and I was expecting our second child. I had gotten some contract work and was going on maternity leave soon. As it turns out, our daycare didn’t have a spot open for our child when I needed to return to work, so I didn’t have anyone to watch him. I talked to my husband and shared the idea of me leaving my full time job to pursue my business full time. It was a big leap going from a stable full time job to freelancing, but I was confident I could do it. I also really liked the idea of not traveling and having more flexibility in my schedule for the kids. Once again, he was beyond supportive and said he would support the idea of me becoming a full time entrepreneur.

I am so thankful he has supported me pursuing my business. I think it’s ok for me to ask him to support me in this endeavor since I did my research and showed that I was committed to getting my money back even if the opportunity didn’t work out. I also didn’t immediately quit my job when I found freelancing, so I think dipping my toe into the industry made it easier for him to support me. I would never have asked him to support me if I didn’t have a plan in place and hadn’t shown that I was able to bring in some money.

Kristin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I found the virtual assistant world when searching for work from home jobs for moms. I found a virtual assistant coach who created a course to teach people how to become virtual assistants. I took the course and landed a client within a few months. While I enjoyed the work in that industry, I wasn’t passionate about it. I ended up seeing a job post for a wedding planner looking for a virtual assistant and that’s when it clicked. I had always loved weddings and loved looking at beautiful weddings on Instagram and blogs, so it made sense for me to niche down into the wedding industry.

I now work with several clients in the wedding and creative industry and I complete a variety of tasks for them. My tasks vary each day based on what’s going on in each person’s business. On most days, I manage inboxes and calendars, send invoices and contracts, respond to leads, update timelines, and create room layouts amongst other things. The people I work with are busy and don’t have a lot of extra time in their day, so I take on tasks so they can focus on their work and their clients.

Through this work, I have found that I really love the marketing side of the wedding industry, so I now offer blogging and Pinterest management as my main services. As I mentioned earlier, I love looking at wedding images, so the fact that I get to write blog posts about these beautiful events is a dream come true. I write search engine optimized posts for wedding professionals to help their website rank higher in search results and to help them build a relationship with their ideal client. I also manage their Pinterest accounts so that they are showing up in front of their ideal clients on that platform. I love helping wedding pros manage these two pieces of their business because it allows me to be creative while also being technical with marketing strategy.

Wedding marketing isn’t a one size fits all approach just like in other industries. It’s really important for wedding pros to identify who their ideal client is so they can create a marketing strategy that is going to attract that client. I love working within that strategy to create content that is going to help that wedding pro land their dream clients and help their business be successful.

I think what sets me apart from others is that I haven’t been in the wedding industry for years so I bring a fresh perspective to their marketing. I am also extremely detail oriented and ensure that nothing gets overlooked which is essential in the wedding industry. Plus, I truly care about others and want them to be successful because their success is my success.

I am most proud of how far I’ve come since I started my business. I could never have imagined that I would get to do what I love while making money and getting to be the kind of mom I get to be.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

My best source of new clients has been referrals. It’s hard to know who to trust at times, so knowing that other business owners trust me enough to refer me to others has been really encouraging. I also find that I enjoy referrals because those business owners are very similar to the person who referred me, so it ends up being a great situation all around.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I love getting to share my talent with others who may not have the same talent as me. For example, I enjoy writing and I know that not everyone else does. I love that writing blogs is something that will help other business owners grow their business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.kristincrowther.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristin.crowther/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Kristin-Crowther-Virtual-Assistant/100082809814825/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-crowther-ms-rd-ld-145042191/

Image Credits
Eden Williams Photography