Grow Your VA & OBM Business: Soulpreneur Scaling Stories

Ever feel like you're supposed to niche down, pick one platform, and follow the "right" growth path, but none of it actually feels right for you?

In this episode, I'm joined by Alyssa Schneider, operations strategist and founder of Creating Freedom Agency. Alyssa has had one of the most genuinely interesting business paths I've come across, from psychology grad to struggling healer, to VA, to OBM, to running...

"I know I could charge more, but I don't know how to ask for it."

I hear this constantly in business audits. From experienced VAs and OBMs who get results, whose clients renew and refer. They're the backbone of their client's businesses, but they're still not charging what they should be.

The problem isn't confidence or money mindset. The real issue? Their work has spoken for itself. They've gr...

Marketing feels nebulous. Heavy. You don't know what to post. You sound like everybody else. So you post when you need a client, then disappear. Nobody hears from you until you panic and need another client. 

Maybe you tried Instagram for a few weeks, then Facebook groups, then cold DMs, then Threads. You're showing up in random places with no purpose and it feels pointless. So you quit. Then panic. Then cycle again.

Here&a...

I see you posting things like "I help busy CEOs save time" or "I set up systems so you can scale" and I can't. I just can't. 

You are selling yourself so short. You're doing so much more than what you're telling people, and nobody is going to book you because you told them you can save them time.

Here's the truth: Your clients aren't hiring you because you save them time. They're...

When Colleen Florendo's sisters called her selfish for not lending her clothes, she didn't realize that word would become the foundation of her entire business philosophy. 

Today I'm talking with Colleen, an embodied messaging strategist and selfish(ish) leadership guide, about her journey from blog writing on Upwork to creating a totally unique offer that didn't take off for six months, but when it did, she coul...

I had a client ask me recently: "Do I need to get an OBM certification?"

I didn't say yes or no. Instead, I asked why she was asking. And through that conversation, she realized she already had the knowledge, what she was actually looking for was confidence.

Here's the thing: The VAs and OBMs who are growing their businesses versus the ones stuck at the same income level for years? It has absolutely nothing to do ...

I've done maybe a dozen business audits since I started offering them, and I've seen the same three things come up as the undercurrent of every single one.

So today I'm sharing the framework I use so you can audit your own business right now. Because here's what I find nine times out of ten: what you're building now is not actually going to get you to your goal. Sometimes it's a placeholder. Sometimes y...

I took on my last OBM client even though I saw red flags on the discovery call. I needed the income, so I dismissed the tingles and took her on anyway. It was not great. Not great at all.

Here's what nobody tells you about discovery calls: You're not a candidate hoping to get picked. You're a business owner deciding whether this is someone you want to work with. It's a two-way decision.

In this episode, I'm s...

A TikTok about learning Spanish through exposure therapy and humiliation got me thinking about business. Not in the way you think.

Here's the thing: I know you're already uncomfortable. You're already pushing through, hustling, saying yes to clients, taking on projects, showing up. That's not your problem. That's actually the part that's going to burn you out.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the ...

Kim Vargo was a high school math teacher for 10 years. She had three-and-a-half-year-old twins. Her heart just wasn't in teaching anymore, and she was desperately Googling "what can I do besides teaching" while feeling completely pigeonholed. Then she found the world of virtual assistants and took the leap—even though she had no idea if she could make consistent money. 

In this episode, Kim shares how she went from ge...

I left my nursing career specifically for slow mornings. I'm not a morning person, I wanted to wake up naturally, sip tea on my balcony, meditate, take long dog walks, and ease into my workday feeling centered.

That lasted for about a week. Then I had 8 clients, then 10, then 12. I was waking up to Slack notifications before I'd even opened my eyes. Working through breakfast. Responding to clients on Saturdays because I wa...

Is it even possible to slow down and make more money as a done-for-you service provider? Because when you look at your business now and actually add up the numbers, you run out of hours in the day. But what if slowing down is actually how you make more money? Not in spite of it, but because of it.

I know that sounds backwards. Especially when you're drowning in client work, working all the time, and still not meeting your incom...

Picture this: You just finished a client call. You showed up, you delivered, you were professional. But now you're staring at your to-do list feeling resentful. Not because the work is terrible or you hate your clients, but because somewhere along the way, you started feeling like someone else's assistant instead of a business owner.

In this episode, I'm breaking down the difference between operating as an employee in...

Here's a confession: I was not born a naturally brave person when it comes to change. My body's reaction was tight chest, nausea, the urge to stay exactly where I was, even if it kind of sucked. And that physical "no" reaction is what I want to talk about today, because there's a paradox I see constantly in business: we stay in situations that make us miserable because they're familiar.

In this episode,...

What happens when your business looks successful on the outside but you're miserable behind the scenes? I'm getting vulnerable today and sharing three major business mistakes I made as a VA and OBM that led to complete burnout, even though I was making consistent income and had replaced my 9-5 in just five months. If you're in a business that technically works but isn't flowing like you want it to, this story is...

You just signed another client, but instead of feeling excited, your stomach drops. Because you know exactly what happened, they want you for work you've been trying to move away from for the past year. You say yes anyway (because bills), then spend the next three months resenting every time their name pops up in your inbox. Sound familiar?

This isn't a marketing problem or a messaging issue. It's an identity split, a...

You've created this amazing specialization, you're excited about it, and then it's time to launch. Suddenly your brain starts screaming: "Wait, what if this isn't right? What if nobody wants this? What if I picked wrong?" If you've ever felt paralyzed by doubt right before putting yourself out there, you need to hear this.

Here's what's actually happening: your nervous system is taking no...

Are you updating your Instagram bio for the millionth time, trying to figure out if you're an OBM, VA, or project manager? Every time you say one of those titles, it feels like wearing someone else's clothes that don't quite fit. You pick "OBM" because it sounds legit, but then clients expect you to do everything, and half of it you don't even want to do.

Industry labels like OBM and VA are just buckets...

Do you ever catch yourself saying "I'm just good at planning" or "I just see the big picture"? If you're downplaying what comes naturally to you because it feels too easy, you're hiding the exact thing your ideal clients are desperately searching for.

Most service providers think they need to offer everything, strategy, implementation, daily management, to be successful. But here's what actual...