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Ep 47 // Pursuing your Purpose with Dorcas Nakaye

Ep 47- Dorcas Nakaye

To find success and purpose in a career, it is important to possess both the skill AND the passion for what you do. But what if the skill you’ve invested so much time (and money) into learning leaves you unfulfilled? In this episode, Akua welcomes her virtual assistant, Dorcas Nakaye, as she shares her inspiring story about being empowered to pivot her career to pursue purpose and happiness. 

After studying accounting at her university, Dorcas landed a great job. On paper, it was perfect; it suited her skills and paid well. But even after the first day, she felt uneasy. Maybe it was just the company… But after several jobs in the same sector, Dorcas realized she was deeply unfulfilled and was misaligned with her purpose. 

Find out how Dorcas left the accounting world and found her passion as a virtual assistant (VA) for coaches and consultants. She also talks about the services she offers and how her work gives her clients their time back so they can spend more energy on their clients and more time with their families. 

After listening, you’ll be inspired to do your own happiness check in your career or business, and you may even be surprised by how a virtual assistant can help you!

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What's Covered in this Episode About Purpose Finding

  • Dorcas describes the warning signs that she was not aligned with her purpose and how even offers of high pay and more perks couldn’t convince her to stay in finance. 
  • Akua and Dorcas talk about how they met, how Akua inspired Dorcas through this podcast, and why cold emails sometimes work! 
  • Find out why Dorcas believes it’s important to be inspired by the clients she serves.
  • Dorcas talks about some misconceptions about VAs.
  • Learn the tips that have helped Dorcas be successful in her VA business
  • Services that Dorcas provides including bookkeeping, marketing, and, soon, podcast management. 
  • Akua talks about her initial hesitancy to hire a virtual assistant as a business owner but how doing so has given her the capacity to further serve her clients without burnout. 
  • The two discuss the importance of trust and communication between a VA and a business owner.
  • Dorcas talks about who she is outside of work and her exciting season of change as she prepares to get married and move to the US from Manchester, England.

Quotes from this Episode of Open Door Conversations

  • "I think passion alone doesn't get you very far. either. You have to have passion and skill, I don't think that skill alone can get you very far at that." - Dorcas Nakaye
  • "Find the person find the people that that are maybe even the skill, right? So there's some tech vas, right? And they're just I'm crazy about tech, right? That is what I really want to work with. That's what I just want my whole VA business to be a tech VA business." - Dorcas Nakaye
  • "My whole thing is, I'm releasing you to walk into your purpose, literally, whatever it is, as a leadership coach, as a business coach, as a marriage coach, as a empowerment coach, whatever it is, I'm there to make sure that the ground is covered, so that you can go and excel and win in what it is that you've set out to do." - Dorcas Nakaye

Get to Know this Episode's Guest 

Website: www.thevirutalaction.com
Instagram: @thevirtualaction
LinkedIn: @thevirtualaction 
Email: info@thevirtualaction.com

Get to Know the Host of the Open Door Conversations Podcast

Learn more about your host, Akua Nyame-Mensah.

Akua is a certified executive and leadership coach, recognized learning and organizational development facilitator, speaker, and former startup executive. 

Since 2018, she has had the opportunity to partner with amazing organizations, from high-growth startups to multinational brands all around the world, to maximize people, performance, and profit.  Outside of her coaching and corporate speaking engagements, she is a regular mentor, coach, and judge for various entrepreneurship-focused organizations.

Stay in touch with Akua Nyame-Mensah, Leadership & Culture Advisor:

  • Read about Akua’s services if you’d like to learn more about how you can hire her to help you strengthen your organization’s culture.

  • Complete her contact form to jump on a call.

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Here’s the transcript for episode 47 about Pursuing your Purpose

NOTE: Please excuse any errors in this transcript; it was created using an AI tool. Akua Nyame-Mensah 0:07 Welcome to the open door podcast. My name is Akua Nyame-Mensah. I also respond to Aqua and I'm a certified executive and leadership coach recognised facilitator and former startup leader that loves supporting reluctant buyer fighting and overwhelmed leaders. I work with them to help them clarify where they should focus their time and energy each and every day so that they can love themselves, love their work, and ultimately love their life. If you're looking to learn leadership information and hear different perspectives, you are in the right place. My aim in this podcast is to help you see that one of the most productive and profitable things you can do is deeply understand yourself. Understand how you show up, understand how you thrive, and allow yourself to align everything in your work in your life, and in your business to support that think of this podcast as your weekly opportunity to receive leadership support. And remember, there is no one right way to lead yourself or others. Thank you so much for taking the time to join me today. Let's get started. Hello, and welcome to the open door conversations podcast. This week, I am super excited to share a conversation with someone that has become an valuable to my business. And that is the woman who supports me and is my VA. And I'm really excited about this conversation because we touch on so many different topics including her previous life, how she started her business, and most importantly, the importance of constantly checking in to see whether or not you're enjoying what you're doing with your time. So within this conversation, we talk a lot about the importance of purpose, and how purpose can really help you wake up in the morning, feel good about yourself, and most importantly, make a difference not just in your life, but in the lives of others. So if you're interested in hearing the story of an amazing woman who has pivoted her life within the last year, keep listening. Hello, and welcome to this week's podcast episode. I am so excited because today I am joined by the amazing and when I say amazing, she is absolutely amazing. She actually has changed my business in my life. But I am joined by the amazing Dorcas NOC chi Yi. And today we're going to be talking all about becoming and being an amazing virtual assistant. And for some of you that maybe have heard of being a virtual assistant, being an amazing or becoming an amazing VA Dorcas, welcome to the show. Speaker 1 3:00 Thank you so much for having me on here. It's a privilege and an honour to speak to UCLA. It's amazing. Thank you. Yes. Akua Nyame-Mensah 3:09 So for folks who are meeting you for the first time, could you please share a little bit about who you are and what you do? Speaker 1 3:15 Yes. So I My name is Dorcas as, as you mentioned before, I am a virtual assistant, I have been full time virtual assistant for about coming to eight months now. But before that I was working in the accounting field, which is we will get to that. But yeah, that's that's what I do at offer I help coaches and consultants to just kind of free up free them up to be able to walk in their purpose and their calling and to be able to provide value, but I say make it a little bit easier for them to do that. Akua Nyame-Mensah 3:50 Amazing. Eight months. Yes. So let's let's just jump into it. Like first and foremost, congratulations rate eight months in, tell us a little bit more about what you did previously, and sort of why you decided to transition into this new space. Speaker 1 4:05 Okay, so um, so I don't know, I don't know about you, I don't know if you'll be able to relate to this. But growing up in a an African household, it was either science or math, those are the only options you get. And I was really not great at science. So it was math. I wasn't the best at math, but I got it, I understood it. I knew what I was doing with it. And so to me, that meant right, move on and do accounting. So I went to college, my A levels, I did accounting, economics, all of that went into uni, and did accounting and finance. And, you know, went into the finance sector. And as I was doing my professional exams, which is the ACCA as part of that you've got to do a three year work experience placement, where you get the additional kind of, you know, qualifications that you need to be able to fully qualify as an ACC accredited accountant. So I got this amazing opportunity to work for this private firm. The pay was great. It was like, everything was perfect. I had everything I could possibly ask for a one on lead. And I was like, great. struck gold. Let's let's go for this. And it's important to say that I didn't struggle with the academic side of it at all. So that's why in my head, I was like, Yeah, this makes sense. So I went on, and I started this, I started work at this firm. And the first day there, I was, like, Okay, I got home. And I was, I was quite sad. But I was like, You know what, maybe it's just day one is fine. Let's just, let's just keep going. And I went back, and I went back, and I went back, and things did not get better. And I really struggled to kind of come to terms with that. Because up to this point, I had pretty much planned out my whole life. I'm a planner. So I plan absolutely every part of my life, where I'm going to do when I get to this age, and all of this. And when I got to that point, for the first time, I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't I, I felt like I wasn't grasping what was going on. I felt like I didn't I couldn't see that this could be my life for the rest of my life. And so a couple of months, then I was like, Okay, maybe it's maybe it's the environment, maybe it's the place, maybe, you know, maybe it's maybe, you know, I looked at that. And that didn't make sense. But I was like, anyway, it's fine. So I was like, right, let's just work towards more the Finance Administration kind of side of things, maybe that's a little bit better. The whole finance as opposed to accounting. So you know, I went and I worked. I worked I mean, there was a couple of steps I've missed there. But I went and worked in a in a finance job. At a an oil company, it was great. It was fine. Enjoyed it, actually it was it was great, had great colleagues, and whatever all of that was, was great. But then another opportunity came where it was even more pay than my first role. It was closer to home, everything. It was perfect. And I was like, You know what I'm going to, yeah, let's try this one more time. One more time. Let's try and go back into this accounting industry. So I started at this role. And nothing had changed. It was exactly the same I felt it was it was overwhelming how unfulfilled I was. It was I was in tears on the way home, when I felt super anxious getting up in the morning to go to work. I like it was everything was just wrong. And I did not feel like I was in purpose. And I was like how could I have got this so wrong. And in my head, bear in mind that I've planned, or sometimes I'm thinking I can't go back to school and do a whole other degree, or the years of wasted on one that wasted but you know, spent on the professional side of things during the professional exams. And, ah, it was a lot and it got to a point where one day I was driving home because it was quite close to home as well. So you know, I would drive home for lunch. In my head, it was almost like just want to go back home just for a little bit just for an hour, then go back in for the evening. For the afternoon shift. And, you know, I went she's I was driving on the motorway back home. And for a second a little bit longer than a second. But I considered slamming my car. Wow, you the one next to me, just so I did not have to do to go back into work, just so I could have a couple of days where I did not have to go into work. And the minute that thought entered my head, I was like, Okay, that's it. This can't, this could not be the life that I was created to live. Like, this can't be all there is to this. You know, money is great. But that moment, I realised that it's not enough. It's not enough. So I was just like, okay, so I got home for lunch. And I spoke to my mom about actually and I was like I'm actually going to leave she was super supportive, supportive, thank goodness. But I went back into the office that day, I stayed in a little bit later made sure that everything was done. And I wrote a resignation letter and leftover manager's desk. And that was the last. That was the last thing I did. And I left and I came home. And you know, maybe there was a bit of I was a bit of a coward in that I didn't, you know, sit them down and talk to them. But I honestly could not have that conversation. I've just started in this role. I had been there maybe two weeks at this point. And but I just I didn't have the capacity to have that conversation with them. And so I was I literally you know, I got home and and that was that was I was dreading the next morning because I knew if I don't show up, I'm gonna get the phone calls, which of course they came. And long story short, they asked me to, you know, meet up and have a conversation with them and you know, they made it super comfortable. They were like we won't be in the office. We'll go to a coffee shop and run You just have a competition. And they asked her this question, did something happen? Has somebody done anything? You know, all of us who said that they couldn't grasp it, they couldn't understand it. They offered me even more money. Like, at this point, it was, it was actually ridiculous. It was like, Okay, I don't have enough qualification paid to be giving me this much money. But yeah, they offered all of this money, and everything, all the perks that, you know, I could I could ever want. And they said, you know, will you reconsider? And as I read, okay, let me sit on it, give me 24 hours, they get back to you. But the minute I got walking from the coffee shop to the car, I knew that I wasn't going to change my mind. And so pretty much got home the next day, I emailed them and said, I'm so sorry, I'm really grateful for everything you've done for me. And this opportunity is great, you know, and so on, and so forth. But I won't be coming back until this day, honestly, awkward till this day, they message me, they send me an email with all the jobs that I've still got openings for, if you ever consider, I don't know what I did, Speaker 2 10:54 you're really good at what you do, even if you don't like it. Speaker 1 10:59 Honestly, like, I just I couldn't, I couldn't fathom it. And so anyway, from that point, I was like, right, this accounting thing is not gonna work, I'm gonna have to come up with something else. And so you know, I started working, that's when I met my first client, actually, who's a marriage coach. And she was kind of like, Oh, why don't you just tell me like working there for a little bit, you know? And I was like, oh, doing what though, like, I didn't know what to, like, do whatever. And she was like, I don't know, maybe you could just help me some administration, maybe some marketing, I didn't know what marketing was pointed. But I went in and started. And at that point, it was a couple of hours a week, and then eventually became full time. And let me just say this, the money was like half while I was on before half, but the contentment, the happiness, the joy, getting up in the morning and feeling like I am in purpose was more like I couldn't put a value to that. It was so so good. And so I was like, Huh, I wonder if this is a thing, because I didn't even know that virtual assistant field industry existed. I was like, I wonder if this is a thing anyway. So I did it alongside kind of a PR job and a few things that I did in the middle to kind of supplement income. And I was like, I wonder, you know, I wonder if if there's a thing, because then I was also doing it for some of my friends. Just almost like on the side. And I wasn't really charging much for it. And so one day, I was like, Hey, If this is you know, what I'm charging? Would you pay it? No. Oh, yeah, absolutely would pay it. I was like, Wait, you're paying. And so I went around to every single person that I had worked with over the course of the years, a few years that I had done that, and all of them were willing to pay. And I was like, why don't I do this full time. And so literally, last October, I left another job that was again, incredible, it was a great, great, great job. And I was like, You know what, take the leap, go in and just and see what happens. And here we are eight months on, it's great. I have clients, I have a steady income, I've been able to actually replace my income and be able to do this absolutely full time and do what I love and get up every morning and think wow, like, I'm not anxious, I'm not anxious, I'm actually excited to sit and work and support my clients. And for me, being able to help them walk in what they want to do. You know, like, Coach, I find coaches, extremely inspiring, extremely inspiring. And for me to be able to facilitate, just make a lot of space for them to be able to do what they want to do, do what they love to do. For one of my clients. She was like, You don't understand how much time I now have to spend with my family. And I'm just like, that brings me so much joy. And I just I want to do that for the rest of my life. I don't know how, how it will work out. But just to be able to work and help them be their best selves is the best thing I could ever ask for. And so I'm incredibly, incredibly honoured to be able to do what I do full time. So yeah, that was a long about way of answering your question. Akua Nyame-Mensah 14:12 I mean, I know we don't this is not video, but like my face has just been like, oh my gosh, wow. What a story and I'm just yeah, I'm also just really grateful that our paths crossed. But before I get there, just Yeah, just a few questions. How can you meet that marriage coach? Speaker 1 14:29 Okay, so she is actually I use so I think I don't know if you know this, but I Akua Nyame-Mensah 14:36 learning so many new things out of this conversation. I love it. Speaker 1 14:40 Oh, I think so. I do a couple of gigs here and there. And so I actually met her at one of my gigs that I was doing and we ended up because it's like an agency and you kind of show up you don't know who's going to be there. You're just basically you get given Hey, there's a wedding. You know, it'll be two hours. This is the setlist me Hear for her so, so your turn up, and there's a couple of people there. And she happened to be one of those people there. And we really connected and she actually later on became my mentor, not in marriage mentor, but like a just kind of in the faith Christianity, how do you do life and all of that kind of stuff? She became a mentor. And so then, obviously, then it was it was, it kind of came naturally for me to to then go in and work with her as a marriage coach. So till this day, she's still my first ever client. It's just still going strong. And yeah, it's great. That's how I met her. Akua Nyame-Mensah 15:33 Amazing. I love that. I mean, one of the things I think that really resonated with me, based on what you've shared is just recognising that you need to check in with yourself, see how things are going and then just leverage, right, the people around you asking questions. That's really how you build things and build things that are bigger than yourself. Just yeah, just thank you so much for sharing that. And I'm sure a lot of people listening to this, we will be able to resonate with certain parts of your story. And the fact that you decided to do something about it, right? You didn't decide just to continue to do it. You decided like, Hey, I think I'll be able to find something, it might be a bit different. It might not make me as much when I first start off, but I can build something out of this. Speaker 1 16:16 Yeah. Yeah. And definitely having a good support system has made that a lot easier. Because I know for some people, it just doesn't make sense. Like, for some, especially African parents, they're like, What are you doing? You're leaving accounting to do what administration? Do you know what I mean? And it's like, but you know, I'm so incredibly blessed with like, my mom is my biggest cheerleader. She's just like, hey, whatever makes you happy. She's that kind of person, like you only have one life, live it? Well, you know, do what brings you joy, the money will come. Unknown Speaker 16:50 I love that. Akua Nyame-Mensah 16:52 Maybe this is actually a really good segue for us to actually talk about how we connected. So yeah, can you share with everyone how we got in touch and how we ended up working together? Speaker 1 17:01 So I found you on LinkedIn. Right? So this is actually a point I was going to mention later. And maybe I will, maybe we'll get to it. But I think cold emailing, I guess is what it's called, has a bad rep for no reason, because it has worked for me. Every single client I've got it has been through referrals, or cold emailing. And I found you on LinkedIn. I don't even know how I came across your page. Honestly, I could not tell you how I came across your page. But So who is this? And then you had a podcast? I am a huge podcast, would you call them consumer? I was just like, I listened to all the episodes. And I was like, Who is this? Honestly? And I told you when we first had that first meeting, where I feel like your voice makes me want to sit up and just like, get right. Akua Nyame-Mensah 17:54 Up here to say this. I promise you I did not. Speaker 1 17:57 Honestly, like it makes me like I'm just Okay, Doc is what have you done today? What have you done today? Have you checked off everything off your to do list? Honestly, I oh my goodness. Like honestly, I was like I sent I sent you a picture to my sister. And I was like, if I if I ever get to work with this lady like my business has made for businesses made. And again, it just goes back to what I was saying before about working with people that that are inspiring, because if I'm not inspired by the people that I'm working with, I am not inspired to do my job well, but because I'm inspired by every single one of my clients, it's easy for me to come up with stuff. It's easy for me to come up with content, it's easy for me to do what might seem really minuscule. Like maybe getting getting a title right or right Oh, like the wedding or whatever. Something that might seem really, you know, maybe like, not not important. But actually because I believe in the vision that this person carries. Everything matters. Everything matters. And so me find a new and like, find a new extremely inspiring. I was I oh my goodness, I have I have to reach out to this lady. So I sent you an email. Did I follow you on LinkedIn first before the email? I Akua Nyame-Mensah 19:12 don't remember. Speaker 1 19:13 I don't know. I don't. I'm not sure. Yeah, no, but you know how, like on LinkedIn, you can't. You can't follow certain people because your profile isn't like, good enough. Yeah. Not connected enough. So I think I sent you an email. And I was, I think it was really long. Actually. I'm so sorry. This Akua Nyame-Mensah 19:32 was super long. It was a really good email though. Because I mean, come on. Speaker 1 19:37 Yeah. But literally, I was just because you had an event on and you had things going on. And I was like, hey, like, you know, I'm here. Like, if you need a virtual assistant, I'm here and I got a response and who we are. And so like I really cold emailing if you do it right, and that means you know, you are again inspired by the person you're emailing. You've read upon their background, you know what they're Do you know what they've got coming up, and you're genuine about wanting to help them, then that Emma won't be cold, actually, it will be, it'll be warm. You know, it'll be something that, you know, this person will feel like, Ah, okay, this person knows about me. She's not just found me randomly and just emailed me, she's connected with me, she's connected with my vision with what I want to do. And then she emailed me, and so they will feel really valued and seen. And that will be what, you know, what draws them to you. But again, everything, you have to be authentic in what you do. And so I think that's what carried through. And that's what was able to get me to this place working with you. And you believed in me, even from the other side of the world. You were like, You know what, let's talk. Let's just I don't even think you were looking for a virtual assistant. Akua Nyame-Mensah 20:46 I was not I wasn't at all. Speaker 1 20:49 Yeah. And somehow we were able to, you know, at what I assume, I mean, I won't put words in your mouth, but you were able to see that I was authentic, and that I genuinely was inspired by 100%. Yeah. So I think every phone call, I'm always like, Oh, my goodness, like, this is great. This is great. This is great. So yeah, that's how we met. Akua Nyame-Mensah 21:08 And I mean, just to just to share my my perspective of sort of how we connected. I was just so impressed by this email. And I think I even said, like, I'm terrible. I'm like doing outbound marketing, like you do mind. I think that's initially when I reached out to like, what was that? It's definitely pivoted and shifted a bit or sort of the scope has changed a bit. But, you know, Dorcas, I mean, she shows up, I would just say that, like, you know, in terms of everything that we've had conversations about and how we initially started, I think, even initially, I was like, I don't think I have the money now. But let's start in January. And like, yeah, it will come together like, Well, Speaker 1 21:49 yeah. Oh, yeah. I remember that. I forgot about that. That but yeah, we did. Yeah. Akua Nyame-Mensah 21:55 And I mean, truly thanks to your support, that's really what has opened up my time to be able to focus on making right that money, right, being able to find the opportunities where people are excited to invest in me at the level that I'm asking for. So yeah, it's been great. It's been great. And I love, I'd love for you to share a little bit more about some of the things that you've learned, right? So you talked a bit about doing cold outreach, we knew each other from absolutely nowhere. And you've been able to build connections with me and lots of other people online. What other things have you learned since launching your business? And what should people keep in mind if they're interested in doing this line of work? Speaker 1 22:38 Yeah, definitely don't despise cold emailing, just get it right, as we've mentioned, but I think the second thing that I've I've learned or honed in on is that passion alone doesn't get you very far. either. You have to have passion and skill, I don't think that skill alone can get you very far at that. Maybe it can, depending on your personality type. But you definitely need both to be able to find that sweet spot, and passion and passionate about a lot of things, right? We're passionate about a lot of things. But not every single thing that we're passionate about is going to bring us money, right? Not every single thing that we're passionate about, were the best at, you know, and so you need to add the skill, you need to continuously invest in professional development and the skills that you need to be able to do your passion really, really well. And become a standout. You know, whatever in your field you have decided to do in my field as a virtual assistant, you know, yes, I'm really passionate, you know, and again, sidenote, finding your niche, finding the kind of people that you want to work with, I think is huge, because there's a lot of virtual assistants that are just working with anybody, like whoever was whoever comes, you know, and I think you, you're at risk of burning out. I think you're at risk of just always chasing your tail. If you're just working for everybody, you have to find what is who is the person that sets you on fire? What what do they do who's don't love? I mean, sorry, I Akua Nyame-Mensah 24:10 understand what you mean. No, I got, I got you. Speaker 1 24:13 Who's the person? For me, it's coaches and consultants, because I find them incredibly inspiring. I'm just like, oh my gosh, all this knowledge. Incredible. I want to I want to know more like I want to glean more from them. And so find the person find the people that that are maybe even the skill, right? So there's some tech vas, right? And they're just I'm crazy about tech, right? That is what I really want to work with. That's what I just want my whole VA business to be a tech VA business. You know, so find that thing that you are passionate about, add skill to it. Sweet Spot. Absolutely. Like so, you know, I don't think passion alone will get you very far. And I don't think skill alone will get you very far. I can do accounting. I did it for years, you know, but I hated every moment of it. So that didn't get me very far. So you've got to find somewhere, you've got to find something that brings both together for you to be able to first of all, offer feel like you're walking in purpose. I keep saying saying the word purpose, but because I really feel like I'm there right now, in that walking in purpose, you're providing support to people that you believe in. And at the same time, you're good at what you do. That's your sweet spot. And I think those are two things that I've definitely learnt. learnt from my business. And I think the mistakes because I know you mentioned mistakes that we make, certainly I made at the start, is not charging your worth. I think that's huge. And I think that does take a lot of unlearning. Actually, before this call, we were talking about impostor syndrome. And, you know, it's, it's I've definitely found that it's, it's more internal for me, where I feel like what can I really tried this, because I've only been doing this business full time for eight months. So like, Can I really charge this? You know, and but then you find that actually, like, I spoke to a virtual assistant last week, she charges 40 pounds for the same thing I do for two pounds an hour? For the same thing. Yeah. And I'm just like, whoa, like, that is my I'm like, who's gonna pay 40 pounds for me to do you know what I mean? But it's that Shin knows what she carries. She's like, No, there's nobody else that does it as good as I do it. So if you want to, if you want my services, if you want my help, you will pay that. And so I think there's definitely a lot of unlearning, that has to happen for you to be able to understand your worth, you know, and be able to do it well, as well. Because you have to offer the value, you have to be worth before to quit, and more, you know, and so, definitely undercharging is definitely something I'm still working on. And secondly, I think another big thing is playing the long game in this business again, just last just just last week, one of my friends call me she's like, oh, I want to, I want to do a bit of VA, you know, on the side. And I'm like, okay, sure, like, what do you want to do? And she was just like, oh, just, you know, just some admin stuff, you know, like you do just some quick admin stuff? Like, Akua Nyame-Mensah 27:09 I don't do just quick admin. You do not know. Speaker 1 27:16 I don't know that this was the right, do you know what I mean? But this is the thing that we have to deal with as much assistance is where it's this perception from the outside world, that we just do quick admin stuff, it is not quick by any means. And it is not easy. It's simple, but it's not easy. And so I think if you're in this business, you've got to put your CEO hat on, and think, Okay, this is a business, this is not just the thing I'm doing on the side, there's no quick thing. I mean, sure, if that's what you want to do, go for it. But if you're thinking about this as a business, and you're trying to grow, something that is going to be long standing, and maybe outgrow you into something that's bigger, then you've got to remember that this is a business, this is a business, you have got to think about your numbers, you've got to think about profit, you've got to think about, do my rates make sense for where I'm trying to go? Your business goals, your life goals, you know, I want to buy a house, I want to do this, I want to do that I want to do this, does this right now make sense for where I'm trying to go? Because at the end of the day, yes, it's a passion. But I'm also trying to create wealth for me, my future kids, my gender, the generations to follow. So how do I do that in the space. And so I think those are all things if I had thought about that, before I started, I reckon I would have been in a much better place right now. So definitely, for anybody who's thinking about coming into this kind of field, definitely look at your pricing, don't do not under charge, because it's really hard to change your pricing. Once it's set, it's really hard for you to go back to your clients and say, Hey, I know I charged you 15 pounds last, you know, last month, this month, I'm thinking of 35 pounds instead, it's really hard to do that. And secondly, start as you're meant to go on, you know, start if this is a long thing for you, if you're thinking this is going to be a business, then you've got to think like a business owner, like a CEO or like a founder, and get everything in place that you need to get in place to be able to, to go the long haul. So yeah, that's what I would say for that. Akua Nyame-Mensah 29:17 Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that. And I think what would be really interesting now to do is sort of to shift it and to think about it from the perspective of, you know, service providers like me, or leaders like me, what is it that you provide in terms of value? And I think it'd be great to hear maybe, yeah, just a few stories of how you transfer, you know, transform the lives of some of your clients. Speaker 1 29:39 Yeah, so, I mean, what I, what I specialise in, like I said, I only work with try to only work with coaches and clients eventually. Those are the only people I want in my books, just coaches and consultants, especially leadership coaches, like yourself, but I offer things like business support. So that's, you know, email management calendar. management. And it's sort of research based, you know, activities that we might want to do for a project or this, you know, things like our business support. Social media, I do that. Anything to do with repurposing content and, you know, scheduling and yeah, scheduling and repurposing. And then I do offer bookkeeping services as well. And expense tracking. That's, I know, you're laughing. I'm laughing. So bookkeeping, I try and keep it basic, because I definitely don't want to find myself in that place again, but it is the skill that I have, you know, and so I use it, you know, I use it, I just now have more control of what I do do for people as opposed to before. So yeah, I do. I call it financial effects where I, you know, we'll look at your expenses, we'll create budgets for you, and you know, and really make sure that your business is going, it's going well, and he's got, as you know, it's in for the long haul, basically. So yeah, those are the three. And then at the moment, I'm actually on a course for podcast management, what I find is a lot of coaches have podcasts. And so and that's a field that I just never even thought of before. And now I'm like, actually, if I want to be valuable to my clients, then I'm going to have to bring the skill in. And so I'm learning that and eventually launching, I want to launch it autumn of this year, to be able to provide that as a service. So yeah, that's how I, that's, that's what I do. So business support, social media, financial effects, and the podcast management does the four services that we offer. And to be honest, I feel like you'd be best, you'd be best placed to say what value I've brought to you. Because, because I feel like I like to have my own horn. Akua Nyame-Mensah 31:51 toot your own horn. So before we actually started recording, I was just telling her a little bit about how, you know, even how hesitant I was right, as someone who's actually, you know, I've built teams, you could technically say broken down teams as well. And I've done that for, you know, for businesses that were you know, working primarily online or looking for clients online. But this is the first time where I've really have given key elements of my business to someone to support me with. I've never had anyone in my emails, I've never really had, you know, someone who had a really good understanding of how I want to show up online what my voice is. So from from my end, you know, working with Dorcas, yeah, it's been a really good learning opportunity for me. Because I think when you work with or specifically how I've decided to work with a virtual assistant, it's a lot, it's a lot more intimate, I think, in some way. Yeah. But it's been, I think it's been a really great learning experience. And I know that I have freed up not just my time, but also my energy. And I think that the greatest I was going to use the word destroyer. That's the first word that came to mind. But that might be just a little too much. But you know, in my business, because I decided that I wanted to leverage social media, right? So I always talk about this, when I'm when I'm talking about leveraging social media as a thought leader, right? I'm someone who started a business and then was like, hey, I want to use social media, I want to leverage social media to build out and expand my business, which is very different from being like, I want to leverage social media. And then I want to figure out how to monetize it, right? It's like, No, I want a business and social media is maybe one of the components in which I leverage to get business. And it very much drained me to leverage social media. And I think having just your support with that bit, I mean, you do a lot more, but just that bit has made it so much easier for me to show up in other parts of my business. So that's the actual coaching, you know, I do, you know, thanks to your support there, I'm actually able to do workshops and, you know, secure workshops. Previously, I didn't have the capacity, because I was so busy, you know, trying to figure out what to do on social media. And then beyond that, just also just in my life, right? I don't have as much anxiety around making sure that I'm showing up online because I have your support in that space. So that's, I mean, I think really quickly, I guess, some of the value and you've also very much shifted my perspective around where I need to show up. I think I'm a lot more and the word isn't necessarily lacks, but I'm just a lot more like, does that fit? And you're like, nope. And I'm like, well, we'll do it differently then. Right. And I feel like I'm harder on myself, which I think is quite interesting. But yeah, I'm curious about your experience of working with me. I probably was a bit micromanaging when I first started and I think I apologised a lot. Speaker 1 34:41 Yeah, you did. Yeah. No, but you know what, though, I think that's a, like something to be expected for any virtual assistant who might be listening is that this is somebody's livelihood. But you're coming into and so of course, they're going to be a bit you know, hesitant to give control over this and because we come in, and we have our own ideas, because we're like, super excited, and we're like, oh, yeah, you, I'm gonna be your right hand, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this for you. And so, you know, I think it's good to manage expectations as a virtual assistant and know that, hey, you're working with, yes, you're working with a business, but you're also working with a human. And, you know, there's, there's going to be things that it's going to take a while for you guys to get comfortable. Because I think I don't think a virtual assistant and client relationship works, if there's no trust, if there's no honesty, if there's no feedback, if there's no, and you guys have to be able to receive that on either end, right, you've got to be able to say, actually, I don't really like how you did that, how you went into my room and found this or how you, whatever, you know, and the other person, the vicious person has to be able to say, actually, you know, I don't feel like I've got space to be creative, you know, and stuff like that. And you've got to be able to communicate that, but you can't do that if there's no understanding of each other, or patience with each other. And so I think that, you know, yes, it was, at first, a lot of micromanaging. But I understood, like, I understood that I never were so gracious, it's just, it's just a matter of time, she'll get comfortable, she'll get comfortable, you know, and then we'll keep we'll keep going. And now I think we're at a place where it's better. Like, I feel like we're friends now, you know, and it's, and we can actually we can, we can, you know, brainstorm, and this is what I love about what I do is that I don't, it's not just a task based, like tick box activity that I do in my business, I try and have a whole, a holistic approach in that, you know, yes, I'm there to do the things that have to get done on a day to day basis. But also, I'm there to bounce ideas off off, right, it's, um, that to be a second brain, my tagline is helping you bring your vision to fruition. And the reason I brought that I put it that way is because I'm thinking about the whole thing in general, you know, if there is, for example, in the day where we're talking about an offer, you know, something that we could come up with that could you know, that something that you could offer that we can leverage to get more income and you know, more exposure and things like that, and I love those sessions, a lot of my clients, I sit down, and we'll literally just be, can you just sit with me for an hour, to flesh out this package I'm thinking about or to flesh out this idea I'm thinking about, and I absolutely loved that. And so I I serve as the right hand of my clients, that's really what I do, like, I'm there to fill the gaps that you can't, not because you're incapable, but because maybe you have no time to do that. And my, my whole thing is, I'm releasing you to walk into your purpose, literally, whatever it is, as a leadership coach, as a business coach, as a marriage coach, as a empowerment coach, whatever it is, I'm there to make sure that the ground is covered, so that you can go and excel and win in what it is that you've set out to do. And so it is an act like absolute honour to work with any of my clients, because I am so incredibly like just to get a first firsthand set, I guess, you know, or, you know, to be able to be there as they are launching. And as they go in and running after what they, you know, I just really enjoy it. Like when, like when some of my clients come to me and talk to me about the one to one sessions they just had with their clients are like, Oh my gosh, this and that. And this. And it's just incredible to hear, Oh, I had space to do this, because I didn't have to worry about this had space to show up as my best self here because I didn't have to worry about this. That is I'm just it gives me so much joy. I can't say the same thing over and over. I Akua Nyame-Mensah 38:47 love it. No, I that's authentic. It really is. This is really, this is darkness. This is how she shows. Speaker 1 38:54 I really no, I really love that. And I you know, like I'm here to serve as your right hand and your other brains, so to speak. So that you know you because we were saying this at the start as well. Like sometimes we think that as an entrepreneur, everything has to come from your head, right? Yeah, everything has to be from my head from my head. It's got to, but actually brainstorming is brilliant. Like, it's so good to just have a different perspective, a different experience a different, you know, idea. And two heads are better than one always, you know, if you're, again, as a virtual assistant, if you're passionate about the services that you're offering, and the people that you're working with, these things are going to come naturally because you're inspired by what your clients do. And so it's like, Ah, you can talk about things and really like, you know, help them succeed because if they excel, you excel, if they succeed, you succeed. So, no, I love it. I absolutely love what I do. And I love working with you. It's great. Akua Nyame-Mensah 39:49 And I love having the opportunity to work with you as well. And I mean, I've mentioned this several times, not on this podcast but outside of it just how much having another set of eyes right another person to look at the data another person who sees the DMS to just give a different perspective, I think has been incredibly valuable. And yeah, just so grateful that you sent me that email. Right now. We could literally talk forever. I feel like anytime we can talk for years, but I do want to give you an opportunity, though, to tell us a little bit about who you are outside of your work. Who was Dorcas outside of her work? And what is she excited about next? Speaker 1 40:32 I think so. I'm currently with an agency, and we literally just meet up and what you get a text, as I mentioned, before you get a text, and you just show up, you don't know who's gonna be there. It might be a singer from London. So I'm based in Manchester, so maybe a singer from London, from Leeds from Bogota, wherever, and you go and do this gig. And then you never see these people again. That's literally how it works. And at the moment, I am so excited because I'm part of what I'm doing that agency, but then I'm also part of this movement called Manchester warehouse worship, which is, yeah, it's brilliant. It's brilliant. We've just done the first event like a couple of weeks ago now. And it's literally just people coming together in worship. And that's all it is. And we lead worship. And there's, there's incredible singers, incredible fingers in there. And you get a set for two minutes set. And you do that. And then another another worshipper comes on another singer comes and it's incredibly brilliant. I'm so so honoured to do that, like that is something that if I could make money out of that, that would be great. That would be great. Like, it's brilliant. I love it. And then I'm also I just got engaged. I got engaged in April. So I'm getting married in August this year. And I'm actually going to be moving to the States. Have I told you that? Yes, I Akua Nyame-Mensah 41:53 have. Yes. Very exciting. So lots of things. Yes, Speaker 1 41:57 a lot of exciting things. It's definitely a season of change for me, given that all I've ever known is Manchester, Manchester, UK. So it's definitely a huge change. Not only am I like going to be living with a man, but I'm also moving to the other side of the world. So it's definitely a big change. But I look at things like nothing happens without a purpose. Everything Is Everything is for my good. That's how I look at things, everything, every change that comes whether I fail or succeed, everything is for my good. And so that's how I look at things. And you know, this whole new cheese that's about to come. It's also for my good. And so yes, it's scary. Yes, it's it's exciting, but also very scary. But I'm also looking at it as an opportunity for growth. I'm looking at it as a chance to see a different side of Dorcas that I had done that I hadn't met before. And so I'm just yeah, I'm really looking forward to it. And yeah, I can't I can't wait to see what that was who's Ducasse as a wife, you know, like, what does that look like? What does that look like? So, and you know, now that my business is completely remote, it's easier for me to move, which is also another reason why I'm moving and he's not I can work anywhere, you know, I mean, you're based in Ghana, and I'm based in Manchester and we work so yeah, I'm just looking forward to that. Definitely a new season for me for sure. But yeah, I'm embracing it. Akua Nyame-Mensah 43:14 Amazing. So this has been Jack, this has just been so great. I think just to close, I want to make sure that people can find you. So where can people find out more about you online? Speaker 1 43:25 Sure. So the business is actually called the vet election, which I don't think I've mentioned. So it's the virtual action. And so it's the virtual action on Instagram, and it's provincial action on LinkedIn, as well. And my website is also WWW dot veg, election, direct selection.com. So any of those platforms, you can find me and drop me a DM, message, whatever. And you can also email me at info at the resurrection.com Akua Nyame-Mensah 43:51 Amazing, we will make sure all of those are in the show notes. But thank you seem to check what Thank you. Yeah. Thank you so much for joining me today. This has absolutely been Yeah, it's it's been so much fun and so much about you as well. Speaker 1 44:03 Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to work with you, Aqua. A pleasure. So thank you. Bye. Bye. Akua Nyame-Mensah 44:11 Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode. If you enjoyed what you heard today, please share it with your friends. We can continue this conversation on social media the links to my socials so that is LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter. You can find them in the show notes. If you tagged me in a story and include the hashtag hashtag ask Akua I will share a special little gift with you. Thank you so much once again for your time and I cannot wait to share my next episode with you stay safe and sane.

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