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

Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

I’ve had SO many more wild experiences as a business owner than I could have ever imagined when I first started on this journey. I think even starting this business may have been one of the craziest. In the fall of 2019 I’d been working for years in bars, as a nanny, and all sorts of other random jobs that weren’t leading me down a path I felt like I could build something on. After months of thinking about it, I *FINALLY* decided to invest in some online courses in graphic design hoping it could help me find a career for myself. It turns out I am NOT a designer 😅 buuuuut…. taking those courses did start me down the path to finding my first opportunity to work with a client as their VA. I was THRILLED – I felt like I could really see a change for my future with all the new skills I was learning. But I was still scared to leave my restaurant job and dive in head first. I couldn’t clearly see how I would find even more clients and make the same kind of money I was making in bars. Then in March 2020 as we are all too aware, the pandemic hit. I lost my restaurant job, was quarantined by myself for months, and all I had left to keep me afloat were the two clients I’d found so far. For a while, I thrived, building up knowledge, my positions with my clients, and gaining new ones along the way. Underneath it all I still had this sense of dread that I was an imposter and suddenly everything I’d been working for would disappear. One of the things that really brought me to a new low was a recording I stumbled across while doing some digital organization where one of my clients was talking about me, saying how I was ungrateful and only had any amount of success from them – a client who I had LOVED working with but who had actively chosen to steer me away from other opportunities or connections. Coming across that video crushed me. It felt like it was validating every far I’d been shoving aside for the last year and a half. I’m not sure I can even begin to describe the sense of pain and betrayal I felt after seeing that. Sadly, that was only one time that an occurrence like this happened with that client, and I still felt so new in this industry that I once again was frozen with the fear that if I let go of this client, my world & business would come crashing down around me. A short time after that, my relationship with that client ended. I knew I was losing money that was vital to my overall income, but ultimately I knew I deserved something better for myself. I’d come up with a plan on how to find more clients and get back on top of my own business. At the time, I felt like everything was going wrong and maybe I should just quit. Then something TOTALLY unexpected happened… Two weeks after I stopped working with that client, another client of mine invited me to go on vacation with them in Mexico in just 14 days!!! I was STUNNED – I’d never had the opportunity to travel to a different country before. AND this would be the first time I would ever get to meet one of my clients in person. Of course, I said yes and tried to trust that this vacation would lead to better things for me. During that vacation, I saw one of the seven wonders of the world (Chichen Itza), achieved my lifelong dream of swimming with dolphins, and started to develop a friendship with my client. After leaving Mexico my business flourished, I gained client after client after client, all through word of mouth. Along the way, I discovered my own fierce abilities as an entrepreneur. I made friendships with new clients that I’ve had opportunities to meet (and buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour with 🎉). I’ve created new offers, developed new skills, and gained a new compassion for myself and for other business owners. I still have moments of doubt, I lose clients occasionally, and fall to pieces thinking this is the end and question why I ever started this business to begin with, but every single time I find a way to pick myself back up and keep going. I’ve found a level of confidence I hadn’t before in my capabilities to build a life that I’m proud of.

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 a VIP Strategist (+ full-time cat mom) who helps badass CEO’s regain time + freedom in their business by turning to-do lists into ta-da lists so they can get back to working ON their biz, not in it.

After years of working as an Online Business Manager & Executive Virtual Assistant to multi-six figure business owners, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing (despite how happy working with my clients). Then one day it hit me – I was restless to help more people. Afterall, I started my business because of my passion for helping others (plus my insane tech skills) but working as a standard VA left me with limited potential to the amount of lives I could improve.

Just like many other entrepreneurs, I spent MONTHS workshopping, procrastinating, and waiting for the “right” moment to launch my VIP Intensives when I had an epiphany.

The “right” moment is when you make it.

Long story short, I stopped letting fear get in my way and started down a new path in my journey as a fierce, badass CEO.

Now, I’m able to help endless entrepreneurs take the same step to save themselves time, stress, and get their biggest goals accomplished.

Through my VIP Intensives, I help clients achieve thier biggest tasks… in just one day.

Whether they’re hoping for help with Pinterest marketing, *finally* getting that content they filmed ages ago turned into a profitable course, or they just need an extra hand for the day, my VIP Intensives are like waving a magic wand and making all their dreams come true (or at least making your goals feel a bit more achievable).

SOOOOOO WHAT EXACTLY DOES ALL THAT MEAN?

One day commitment + a tech goddess in your corner = YOU, relaxing on the beach (pina colada in hand), living stress-free knowing that you’re biggest projects are finally checked off your to-do list.

When I’m not working my tech magic behind the scenes of my client’s businesses, you can find me at home with my cat, sipping on hot chocolate, and enraptured by a new book.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Truthfully, I’ve been extremely lucky because my greatest source of new clients has been through word of mouth. In the first two years of my business I found my first three clients from Facebook groups and then EVERY client I worked with for the next two years was a referral from a current or past client. It quickly taught me the value that hard work can do for your reputation and the impact we can have on other people’s lives.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I’ve had to make in my business has been with creating new offers to make my business more sustainable. When I first became an entrepreneur, I tried to do everything “right” and build something that could become a career for myself. But looking back I realize that at the time, I didn’t have the knowledge & experience I needed to set my business up for sustainability from the very beginning. As a virtual assistant, there is a limited amount of revenue one can make. Even as your experience grows and your rates increase, there is still a cap on how much you can do because at its core, being an assistant means trading a limited amount of time for money. I had to take a hard look at my business and find new ways to offer my skills & services to clients while building my revenue and my team. Creating my VIP Intensives was the perfect solution – they offer high-ticket experiences to other entrepreneurs looking for short-term help, plus with a team of assistants working on VIP Intensives, it allows for more opportunities to take on more clients at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://saranoelco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sara.noel.co/