One of the most important things for an experienced VA (virtual assistant) to know is that her work is making a difference for the client she is serving, and as a result, is having an impact on the world through her client’s endeavors. An experienced VA does not do this service-based work just so that she can bring home a check. Even though the money is important to her, it has its place, but it is not her top priority. I wrote my book “Small Biz Big Impact But How?” to speak to the needs of small/micro business leaders like you who want to serve well while also building a profitable business. The book explores a specific case study of a business owner that literally started small and now has a nationally-known brand.
There are some fundamental principles that a small business leader must understand and intentionally use in her own life and business if she wants to consciously and selflessly impact the world. If you visit the Amazon link shared above (in the book image caption), you can preview the book for free. And if you are an Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can get a complimentary copy of this Kindle ebook with your subscription.
How Can I Get A Free Copy If I Don’t Use Amazon Kindle?
Alternatively, if you would like a complimentary pdf download emailed to your inbox, go to SmallBizBigImpact.com and request your copy. This is not an instant download, you will need to look out for my email and answer my questions, and in return, I will email the pdf download link to you. Gathering this information is important because it helps me with continuing my research so I can improve for the future.
Do I Have to Leave a Review? No.
No, I am not asking for reviews on Amazon, but if you choose to leave an honest review with your honest feedback, it will help me to know which parts of the book help most and which parts I need to continue improving.
Excerpt
About Selfless Service “Overtime, your small business can build a platform based on selfless service, but all of this starts with you, the head leader in the business, developing a heart with a selfless service focus.”
~ Donna Marie Johnson, Author of “Small Biz Big Impact But How?”
Author Donna Marie Johnson, Leadership Coach & Consultant | AuthorDonnaMarie.com
Help is available when you’re ready. VA Support:I am available for about 20 hours per week to provide virtual assistant support, especially for implementing your marketing tasks or doing your market research. I also have supported clients with editing and publishing via Amazon Kindle. I no longer offer VA services, but I know who does certifications for VA’s (~click here). I also coach VA’s to support them with developing their leadership skills.
I learned a BIG lesson: get. help. ASAP
So many leaders, especially women leaders, keep learning about all of the latest and greatest marketing tips, tricks, and tools AND then trying to do most of the tasks on their own. They aren’t being taught how to start incorporating the new things with what they’re already doing in business and at home. So, they either end up stressed and overwhelmed OR totally sidetracked from the main thing they wanted to do to help their clients. I know because, in the past, that was totally me.
So my answer to the question in this article title comes from own experience:
I used to keep trying to do everything on my own because I kept going to free webinars that kept telling me that I could do it all on my own. But those people teaching me didn’t have several kids and a disabled adult at home to take care of. All of the free trials and all of the free basic accounts I kept getting access to did not fully help in my unique situation.
So then I hired a team of folks to help me support my clients, and then I couldn’t grow my business because of my limited business knowledge. So, I chose to close things down and go to business school at a Christian university.
The motivation for going it alone was sometimes due to feeling like I needed to prove myself as an entrepreneur. As a stay-at-home mom and a spousal caregiver, I just can’t try to keep proving myself. Being in school has boosted my confidence as a business leader, and has helped me to develop my spiritual life more. I truly have greater trust in the Lord to help me with my career and business aspirations.
So, the need to chase all of the free marketing tool webinars is gone… the temptation is always there because I am constantly getting invitations, but now I just say no with ease. And the temptation to try to walk in the pride of looking like I can handle everything on my own is also gone because it exhausts me to even think about trying that again.
Also, in the past, when I was neglecting to expand my team, sometimes it was just a cost savings measure. Sometimes it was a trust issue thing because I knew that I could do some things better on my own and didn’t want to have to go behind someone to fix or redo the work. But now, with learning from my coaches, I know how to pick and choose which tasks I should and shouldn’t be delegating. There are some things that I just cannot let anyone else do because they’re my strengths.
Honestly, I finally got to a place of being burnt out and stressed out and snapping at my loved ones. I got tired of going through the cycles of burnout. I learned that I didn’t have to run my business or my life in burnout mode. I finally started getting the coaching support I needed that was more relevant to my lifestyle as a mom who’s constantly facing the struggle of the juggle… managing multiple roles at home, in addition to my academic career and my business.
RESOURCE REFERRAL: WHO HAS BEEN HELPING ME MANAGE THINGS BETTER?
One of my business coaches actually gets what the struggle of the juggle is like. She was a brand new mom when she started building her new business. She’s a pro that rejects all of that free bad advice that is not relevant to the kind of lifestyles that mom entrepreneurs lead. I watched her free webinar*, and it is full of pretty much everything you need to thrive in your business even though you have so much going on at home. If you watch it, let me know how it helped you.
DON’T KNOW ME, YET?
Use my one page profile to learn more about me at:
If you already know me and are ready to get started getting virtual assistant support with marketing tasks, go to this link:
VA Services Page
(See the link I inserted near the top of this article for a VA certification that could help you become a sought after VA and/or can help you find a certified VA.)
~Note: Affiliate Links are included in my website so that I can be compensated for referring my audience to awesome services, books, and products that I have used and that I have received value from. If you choose to click and use them for yourself, thank you in advance for trusting me and for supporting my business in this way.
Looking back over the past several years, if you have been following me, you would have seen my progression:
2012 – Incorporating my company and running the Market Like A Queen digital marketing and coaching agency with a small virtual team based out of the South Fulton region of Metro Atlanta
2014 – Founded the Lead Like A Queen seminar and event series to help turn the conversation about marketing towards improving our leadership as marketers
2017 – Being accepted into Liberty University’s Business School and taking hiatus from business to focus on full-time graduate studies
2018 – Becoming a full-time caregiver to my husband while taking graduate classes and dropping to part-time graduate studies
2019 – Relocating family and business to Newnan, Coweta County, Georgia USA
2020 – Took forced hiatus from the Lead Like A Queen event series due to pandemic lockdown and unavailability of our normal local venues and sponsors
2021- Building new team as I finish my degree in 2021 (MAEL, Masters of Arts in Executive Leadership), including caregiver jobs
Honestly, I was not sure I would ever complete graduate school because it has taken twice as long as what I originally thought, but it has been a blessed journey and I am grateful. I also never imagined that I would move my family and my business to another region of metro Atlanta, even further south, to Coweta County’s capital in Newnan. I am grateful to be here in this beautiful, diverse community, and to now get to know the community (post lockdown) and how I can serve them well in the areas of career coaching and leadership development training, along with supporting small businesses and solopreneurs with marketing. I also am learning how I can find others to serve alongside me as part of my new team, starting with the focus towards professionals who would serve as personal care providers in our home.
My work is intellectually and creatively intensive (research and writing), so I minimize distractions and temptations for multi-tasking by delegating most caregiving tasks and home chores. Currently other family members fulfill some of these tasks and chores, but, after the new school year starts, their availability will be more limited. So, our goal is to hire and train two part-time caregiving professionals during the summer so that we will have consistent reliable support available in the Fall and Spring. Even though that’s our goal, current labor market trends are just not cooperating. So, basically, we are just relying on God to answer our prayers and send us the right people when we need them.
Truthfully, that’s the best way: to just depend on God, and stop trying to control everything on my own. This means that I do the work that is mine to do, and leave God’s work to Him. I have my part, and He has his part. This is all part of me staying divorced from perfectionism. I do not want even a hint of that creeping into my hiring activities. I refuse to let the work of hiring take over my life. I have hiring work to do, and I am doing it, and I am keeping it within the schedule I have set aside for it. The outcome of this work is up to the Lord, and I trust Him with that. He is faithful to answer our prayers and honor the work we’re putting in.
I am truly honored to have a season of my life to serve as my husband’s main caregiver as we enjoy living, learning, working, and serving in Newnan. I humbly admit that I am only “adequate” at this caregiving job. I look forward to him having caregivers who are excellent at it and passionate about serving. As we continue our search for professional caregivers, we have adjusted our expectations and our job listings to help make these jobs both meet our needs and attract the type of professionals we need. That’s part of my work in the hiring process, to research and learn how to hire, including how to write the job listings and how to set the pay rate scale, etc.
The original job listing was just for one full-time caregiver, but now it has been split into two positions. The first job listing has now been shifted into a weekend position for an entry-level care provider who is also available on-call/PRN for week days when the main care provider is not available. The newer job listing is a lead caregiver position for a more experienced professional who is consistently available on most week days. As a small business owner, I recognize the importance of having a well-built team and support network with experts who use their strengths to serve in areas where I am not as strong. So, I view caregiving professionals in the same way, as strong experts who are part of my team and support network. I also view both caregivers as a team that can support one another with continuing to grow in their careers and with providing full coverage of all the days to ensure my husband has enough help. The pay scale has also been adjusted to attract more experienced professional care providers with a scale of up to $16 per hour for up to 15 hours per week in the lead care giver position. The weekend PRN (on-call) entry-level position will pay up to $16 per hour for up to 10 hours per week.
My job as the hiring manager for my own company is to ensure that the recruiting process is sound and the marketing of the job listings is appropriate and targeted towards professionals who want to work in this region of Coweta County. My job is also to pray and keep God at the middle of all of my relationships, including starting new relationships with new people. Since I know that I am called to love God and to love people, I am encouraged in my journey as an employer and looking forward to being a blessing to my new teammates.
Clarification: When I say that God is in the center of all of my relationships, I mean that the unconditional love of Jesus is what motivates me to do all that I do, for the benefit of all, not just for my own benefit. I have shared about the spiritual side of my business journey in previous blog articles, videos, podcast interviews, and in my book. I pray that my authentic spirituality will be evident to everyone who meets me, and that there will not be any fear of self-righteousness nor of religious fakeness. Simply put, I live to serve like Jesus would serve if he was standing right here with me in the flesh. I truly believe He is standing right here with me in the Spirit.
So, if you’re a potential client or a potential new team member, I hope this new article sheds some more light on who I am, who I serve, and how I serve here from my business headquarters in Newnan.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and for participating in my surveys and research interviews. I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but for those of you who are truly “feeling me” or resonating with me, I am here for you. I am here to encourage and support you, especially Christian Women who are authors and speakers. The best way for me to support you is for me to understand you, your goals and your needs better. This is why I am conducting ongoing research via surveys and interview calls.
“I believe I am a queen in God’s kingdom and a selfless servant like Jesus. A queen impacts the world as a selfless servant and part of a community of sister queens, starting with her own family first, like how Ruth loyally served and supported Naomi.”
~ Manifesto Part 1 by Donna Marie Johnson
UPDATE ABOUT BASIC RESEARCH FINDINGS SO FAR…
* I surveyed and interviewed mostly Christian Women Leaders who are authors and speakers.
* Most do not understand the metrics/numbers for their audiences.
* Most want to grow their audiences.
There are other questions that I asked during interviews where I cannot share the answers publicly. I will summarize by saying that my Sister Queens have surprised and blessed me with their diversity and with their passion to continue serving and supporting their audiences and clients. One of the most common questions they had for me were qualifiers around whether or not other types of writers besides book writers should take the survey, and I said yes. Also, most of those who do training or teaching as part of their job at work did consider themselves as speakers, although that term is also a little ambiguous or confusing, at times.
TESTIMONIALS
Check out testimonials from clients and colleagues who have worked with me in the past.
“I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Donna Marie Johnson over the past several years on several projects. Donna has offered her expertise and contributed to my education blog and podcast for business women. She is knowledgeable, patient, and thorough, and her expertise shines through every time! Donna was fun to interview and offered my audience valuable insights that prove beneficial in their business endeavors.”
~ Demetria Zinga, Web Designer, Content Marketing Strategist, Teacher
HOW I SUPPORT AUTHORS AND SPEAKERS
I look forward to continuing to more effectively listen to and learn from my Sister Queens so I can continue supporting them better over time. Here are some of the ways I support them:
I have been holding free spring/summer seminar events locally in Atlanta with co-sponsorship from Fayette Public Library and other partners since 2014 called “Lead Like A Queen”.
In spring/summer of 2020, I held these free seminar events online because all public venues were shut down.
I provide consulting services including, but not limited to:
market research (understand your audience metrics better)
leadership strengths development (foundation for connecting with audience better)
other services customized to your specific needs (i.e., we edited and published a book to Kindle for Author/Life Coach Dee Salley)
What can I do to serve you better?
If you want to chat with me briefly to share your goals and needs, send me a text to request an appointment. Since it is back to school time for me as a graduate student and for my family of 2 teens and one young adult going to college, I have to be more flexible with my scheduling. After I hear from you, I will text you back with a proposed time for a brief 10-15 minute phone chat. After you share your goals and needs, I will give you a specific recommended service and price quote based on your goals and immediate needs.
~ Donna Marie Johnson, Founder of Lead Like A Queen | Mobile Number: +1(678)861-8121
![[UPDATED Research and Results] Survey for Authors and Speakers](https://leadlikeaqueen.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blog-space-header.png?w=1024)
Lead Like A Queen Coaching and Consulting, LLC 