Life is meant to be enjoyed and your time is very valuable! Protect it with everything.

Ana Canon came from a background in Corporate Human Resources and made the decision that she wanted to escape the 9-5 grind back in 2016 after her first child was born. With little to no money to invest and with limited in-demand skills, Ana turned to the one thing she had a passion for at the time, and that was writing. Ana started her wellness blog in the summer of 2016 not really knowing where it would take her. Ana’s plan from the very start was to monetize the blog in order to eventually leave her corporate job.

“Think and Grow Rich was a great resource for me and so was the 4-hour workweek. In addition, I followed many awesome thought leaders such as Les Brown, Tony Robbins, and Patrick Bet David who were all very inspiring to me over the years”. After only 4 months, she began to monetize her blog and began working with sponsors monthly. Although she was bringing in extra cash, it was not nearly enough to replace her salary.

At the end of 2016, Ana wrote a resignation letter and posted it on her bathroom mirror. On the letter, I wrote that my last day would be towards the end of December 2017. I would look at it DAILY to remind myself of my goal.

At the beginning of 2017, Ana got pregnant with her second child and now she was REALLY determined to stay home with her kids. Towards the end of 2017, she decided to get into the world of Virtual Assisting. Running her blog for nearly 2 years, Ana had picked up and learned valuable skills related to social media marketing and content creation. She decided to help other businesses grow their Instagram accounts, and create content.

Starting a Virtual Assistant Business

After just 2 weeks of starting her Virtual Assistant business, Ana got her first client. The crazy part? The day that she started working with her client was 1 week from when her second was born, AND it was the date she had put on the resignation letter 1 year prior.

Ana went out on maternity leave and started helping her client. When it was time to return to work, she still had not replaced her income. However, she did end up switching to part time and began working from home so that she could build my business. I was very transparent with my bosses, and they knew that they were going to have to replace me.

Fast forward, Ana’s last day at the company was January 7th 2019. By that time, she had already more than replaced her yearly salary and finally felt ready to make that leap! She has been freelancing in her business full time ever since with plans to grow her agency and continue on this amazing journey! “I get to work from wherever I’d like, whenever I’d like which is AMAZING as a Mom.  I have the flexibility to travel, the flexibility to take time off and delegate, and more importantly, I have more control over my finances than ever before. I highly recommend the Entrepreneurship route to anyone!”

Ana is currently working on growing her agency, Avrah Virtual, LLC (avrahvirtual.com) and also mentoring new and aspiring Virtual Assistants start and grow their own freelancing businesses! She also has several resources available for them on my website anacanon.com. “My biggest challenge is that I started my business with little intention in actually scaling it to an agency model. Because of this, I didn’t have a lot of systems and processes in place. Those are the things I am now finding myself needing to go back and do. But, I am always up for a challenge!”

Dealing with Challenges

At the beginning of the pandemic, Ana did lose a couple clients but she also grew her business exponentially in 2020. “In fact, many businesses now better understood the importance of social media marketing and made it a priority to invest in the services. We have thrived during the pandemic and have a very positive trajectory for the next few years (God willingly)”.

Ana says you can’t plan for everything, but you still have to plan as much as you can. “Yes, we cannot control the future but we can try our best to make better decisions such as saving money, living below our means, and making other sacrifices to help us create the life we want. Also, be patient with yourself. Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a race and everyone’s on a different timeline”.

She has taken on difficult and low-paying clients and overworking herself, being too hard on herself, worrying about money too much etc. “Bottom line is this…If you work hard and do a good job, you should know your worth. Charge what you believe you deserve. This way, you’ll attract higher caliber clients who actually value you and your services. Also, take it easy on yourself. Every mistake has the potential to teach you a valuable lesson. See it as that! Finally, stop worrying about money. You are divinely protected whether you realize it or not! The same God who gave you that business idea will bring you your clients. Put in the work, pivot when necessary, help others, and watch as your business begins to thrive!”

Follow Ana Canon at https://www.anacanon.com