Hiring a Virtual Assistant Changed My Life

I fought to keep my eyes open as I steeled myself for the drive ahead. I had just taught for 8 straight hours at Sam Houston State University. While I cared deeply for my students and loved helping them grow as musicians, I could feel fatigue settling over me during those last 2 hours. The sun had just started to set as I locked my studio, then headed out to my car for the hour and a half drive back to Houston. Without stopping at home first, I pulled my car into the parking garage at the Wortham Theater, then grabbed my concert clothes and viola from the backseat. I changed in the musicians lounge, then found my seat in the pit. The thick book of music in front of me seemed to weigh down the stand. One grueling 4 hour opera later, I drove home. I collapsed into bed, only to repeat this exhausting routine every week for the foreseeable future.

Years of learning a musical instrument had instilled a strong work ethic in me. I understood that the price of being good at something was hours of dedication and practice. But working 16 hour days while dealing with a chronic illness didn’t leave me feeling accomplished. I felt stressed. I felt as if I were being pulled in twenty different directions. Most of all, I felt mentally and physically exhausted. 

I struggled to market myself on social media, a platform that I knew was necessary for my career but that I found extremely draining. Ideas pinged around inside my head all day. But without a clear plan or time to develop my ideas, they never turned into anything tangible. I’d think of course content to create for my viola students while driving to play a ballet, but be too exhausted at the end of the day to even write it down. A flicker of an idea about starting a career coaching business was snuffed out before I could really develop it. Eventually, I became so burned out that my ideas slowed to a trickle, then stopped coming at all.

Every time I forgot a deadline or didn’t have enough time to practice, I mentally berated myself. I just needed to work harder, be more organized, or practice more. But this type of thinking never actually led to improvement. It just chipped away at my mental health, leaving me feeling as if I wasn’t enough as a person. It took a long time for me to understand that my body isn’t a machine. I am a human being with needs and feelings. I can’t work like a machine, but I have what a machine never will: ideas, plans, and dreams.

I took the plunge and hired a virtual assistant when I started my career coaching business. I met, interviewed, and ultimately decided to hire Jasmin, a smart, capable virtual assistant who lives in the Philippines. She organizes my course content, moderates the Facebook group, posts my videos on social media, and serves as a great teammate to bounce ideas off of. It was well worth the time it took to train her. 

My life changed overnight. Instantly, I felt like I could breathe again. After changing jobs and delegating graphic, content, and administrative tasks to Jasmin, I was surprised to find I was able to turn some of my ideas into plans, then start to actively work on them. It turns out I didn’t just need to work harder. I needed the time and energy to work smarter.

Now, I work 6-7 hours a day. I play the gigs I want with the people I want to play with. I’ve started my career coaching business, and I feel like I have the physical and mental energy to make a positive impact on the world around me. It took me many years of feeling overworked and underpaid to accept that the typical musician career model wasn’t working for me. If I can pinpoint one thing that absolutely made a difference in my career and health, it would be hiring my virtual assistant. 

I’ve learned that no one can do everything. But together, my team and I can help others and turn dreams into reality.