The Truth About Going Full-Time in Business (And What No One Warns You About)

After quitting my job, I thought I had made the biggest mistake of my life.

I was an absolute mess when I put in my three weeks' notice. The original plan was to quit during a goal-setting meeting with my incredible boss.

She truly was the best mentor, boss, and source of knowledge I could’ve asked for so shortly after graduating college. I really looked up to her...

And I felt like I was letting her down by quitting.

I had my script written out for the call so I could say exactly what I needed to... but I couldn’t get the words out. I was an anxious mess.

Sweating. Heart racing. Head pounding.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Thirty minutes into the call... and I still hadn’t said a word about leaving my job. I just kept nodding along as we mapped out goals for the year, talked about how I could continue to grow, and planned for a future I already knew I didn’t want.

I felt like trash.

me RIGHT after my call, tears WERE shed

We hung up, and I CRIED. I told my husband I couldn’t do it—I literally couldn’t get the words out.

But the truth is, I had already kind of forced my own hand.

I was in the middle of an incredibly busy season at work. Constantly traveling, writing reports, researching, repeating. Oh, and juggling 12 clients on top of it all. It was becoming impossible.

So I took a week off from my corporate job to get ahead on client work and BREATHE. (This was in March.)

Then came the catalyst.

My husband and I decided to book a trip to Jamaica in May. A full WEEK away. I had already burned through most of my PTO to prioritize my business, but booking that trip was my way of telling myself:

You have until May to get your sh*t together.

By then, I needed my business to run. I needed to leave my corporate job.

So I scheduled a call with my boss.

Real subtle, right?

Hands shaking, I picked up the phone and completely word-vomited.

I told her how much she had helped me grow into this incredible position. How thankful I was for the opportunity, especially after the chaos that was the COVID job market. And then, I told her that my side hustle had turned into an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

Of course, she was incredible. She calmed me down and set everything in motion.

May came, and I was in Jamaica on my FIRST trip as a full-time business owner. I was on cloud nine.

And THENNNN... the shoe dropped.

The one I had been waiting for, preparing for, working hard to avoid.

Summertime is notoriously slow for a lot of VA clients. And that summer, many of mine were facing slowdowns and financial roadblocks.

I got the first cancellation request from a client.

Then a second.

Then a third client asked to pause.

My pricing was all over the place back then, and those losses hit HARD.

Before Jamaica (BJ), I had two incomes: one from corporate, one from my business.

After Jamaica (AJ)? I lost three clients.

I thought I was S.O.L. I called my husband in a panic, convinced I had made the biggest mistake of my life. And let me tell you... my thumbs worked overtime doom-scrolling LinkedIn.

AJ rocked me.

But it also made me realize that I have the power to decide how stable my business is. And the way I had it set up? Yeah... it wasn’t built for long-term, sustainable income.

So I logged off LinkedIn. Forgot about creating a “plan B.” And went all in on my business.

I marketed myself non-stop.Restructured my packages.Raised my prices.Booked back-to-back discovery calls.

Within a month of AJ, I had two new DREAM clients at a higher price point.

The life of a business owner can feel sketchy sometimes. You’ll find yourself in the trenches on more than a few days.

But it makes a massive difference—physically, psychologically, and financially—when you commit fully to your business as your #1 and only plan.

Sh*t goes sideways? Tilt your head and look at it from a new angle.

I’m sharing my chaotic start to full-time entrepreneurship because I want you to know:

You are capable of amazing things.

But you have to believe it. And your actions have to mirror those beliefs.

And honestly? I don’t want you to have to go through all the same challenges and mistakes I did on my journey from $200/month VA to consistent $8,000 months.

That’s why I created From Instagram to Booked.

It’s your shortcut to landing your first client through social media and becoming a full-time CEO.

➡️ Enroll in From Instagram to Booked HERE and learn exactly how to build your dream VA business using Instagram!

See you in the next blog—I hope you enjoyed this one!