Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
This is a show for burnt-out fashion designers (and TDs, PDs, patternmakers and beyond) who want more flexibility while still doing work they love. As a freelance fashion designer, you can build your fashion career on your own terms. Freelancing in fashion is the only way to get freedom in your day (instead of being tied to a desk). Whether you want to earn extra money on the side, fund your fashion brand, or replace your salary, the FDGP podcast will help you get there. Listen in for actionable tips and strategies to kickstart or grow your career as a freelance fashion designer, build your confidence, and create the life you want. Hosted by $100k+ fashion freelancer Sew Heidi, the show features interviews and strategy sessions with successful freelance fashion designers from around the world who've ditched toxic fashion jobs and taken control of their own destinies. This is the only place to get REAL insights from REAL freelancers who have built REAL careers on their own terms. (Formerly the Successful Fashion Freelancer podcast.)
Heidi [00:00:00]:
If you are new to the fashion industry or unsure of your skills but wanna get started as a freelancer, have you ever thought about being a fashion virtual assistant, also known as a VA? Now, I know you might be thinking, E, do I really have anything to offer or do brands actually need help with anything? Here's a quick news flash. If you know how to send an email, you have something to offer. And the reality is that every brand out there online, brick and mortar, or any combination of the 2 needs help with admin and assistant tasks. My guest today is Aubrey Malik, a teacher turned VA who now teaches people how to grow their freelance businesses as virtual assistants. So many gold nuggets dropped in this conversation from how to figure out what services you can offer to how to land your first few paying clients. You're gonna love this episode of fashion designers get paid. Let's get to it. Hi, Aubree
Aubree [00:00:47]:
Hey, how are you? I'm so excited to be here today.
Heidi [00:00:49]:
Yeah, I'm super pumped to have you we have some really fun stuff to talk about as far as how people can get started freelancing as a VA if they're feeling maybe a little bit insecure about their Specific skills as it relates to fashion or fashion design or something of that caliber a little bit of a way they can get their foot in the door to kick off before we do that though quick introduction who you are. What do you do? Tell us your quick
Aubree [00:01:11]:
story Yeah, absolutely. So my name is aubrey malek and I am a virtual assistant mentor I help moms and teachers who are looking for a way out of the traditional 9 to 5 traditional workforce, help them get started in the online space through freelancing, through being a virtual assistant because that is my story. 5 years ago, I wanted to be I wanted to leave the classroom as an elementary teacher. I wanted to be at home with my boys, but I needed both needed and wanted to be able to contribute financially and had tried different things to do that. And nothing really seemed to hit the mark as far as, like, actually proving to number 1 myself and to be able to show my husband, like, hey. We can't do this financially until I found freelancing. And so within 2 months of starting that, I was able to walk away from the classroom and, did that and grew my business and then kind of naturally just had people say like, how did you do it? I want to know how to do it and and that's how I transitioned into what
Heidi [00:02:05]:
I do now Okay, cool. So now I'm super curious. What else did you try other than freelancing that didn't quite work?
Aubree [00:02:11]:
Oh goodness. Okay. Well, I was tutoring kids after school in the public library. Okay. That was my first thing. And Yeah. Like that that actually was, like, hourly, that was really good money. Because, like, I I was more in control of that.
Aubree [00:02:24]:
But that was still pulling me away from my family. You know, I would like work a full day and then Yeah. Go tutor for like 2 to 3 hours. So I wasn't getting home till late. So as much as that was good money, like, it just wasn't sustainable and and really, like, what I wanted. Did a lot of network marketing companies, got pulled into that where I was slinging lipstick and selling skincare and hosting these parties. Thought that was my ticket. And I also was getting up at 3 AM to teach English classes online because of the time difference.
Aubree [00:02:53]:
So I would have to be up at 3 AM to, like, teach these kids English online. And, yeah, I think I think that was about it was usually interest yeah. You know, it's funny. It's like I I'm like, I've tried all the things, like Instacart and DoorDash wasn't around when I was making that transition, but I'm sure I would have. Like, I would have looked into that too.
Heidi [00:03:13]:
But that still like is pulling you out of your house and out of your family time Yeah, that's not really meeting the end goal either
Aubree [00:03:20]:
Yeah, for sure. So yeah been there done that And that's why, like, I, when I talk to people about this, I'm like, I feel like I can really speak to a lot of Yeah. What you're looking for and what the options that are out there for a lot of moms or just people who I think especially after the pandemic, a lot of people came home to work, and a lot of people fell in love with it. Love being able to get their work done at the beginning of the day and have more freedom and time flexibility and be able to, like, take a middle of the day shower or go, like, you know, just having that control over your schedule and your time and how your day is spent. I think people are really, really starting to take notice that, like, this actually matters. And I don't just have to have a job where, like, I just have to suck it up and, oh, I, you know, doesn't matter if I it doesn't fit into my lifestyle. Like, I just have to have the job and do the thing. Yeah.
Aubree [00:04:09]:
People are starting to realize there's way more options available for them, especially on the internet and being able to work from home and that flexibility
Heidi [00:04:15]:
Yeah, for sure for sure. Okay. So When did you get started? When did you finally discover like, freelancing and being a VA? And you said 2 months, you're able to quit your job. Maybe that luckily also timed up with, like, the end of the school year or something. What did that look like? And when was that? It didn't.
Aubree [00:04:32]:
So Okay But so here's here. Here's my story. So It was 5 years ago actually in October the beginning of October of 2018 at the time I was 7 months pregnant So I was already going to be coming up on a maternity leave. So my school already knew that I was going to be taking some time off Okay But I I had already done that once with my first son of you get the 12 weeks. And as a teacher, you don't you can't get disability. You can't get any so basically, what you get paid for is days that you have banked up, which is really hard because you don't want to use all of your days because you know that, you know, when you go back to work at some point, somebody's gonna get sick. Somebody's gonna
Heidi [00:05:10]:
have to be sick.
Aubree [00:05:11]:
Yeah. So I really just I had already done that once, and I just knew that I don't want to have this, like, ticking time bomb of basically, like, counting down the days until I go back. And then we were also looking at, at the time, putting both of our boys into full time daycare. And when we calculated it out, if I was working as a full time teacher, sending my kids to daycare for the entire month, I would bring home $600. I would be working to pay somebody to wash my kids. And just, it I was like, if I can find something to make $600 like why, you know, that seems more logical. And then my boys get to be home with me, and I get to be raising them, and I don't have to miss out on moments with them. Yeah.
Aubree [00:05:48]:
And so 2 months was like kind of that runway of like, I have this has to become a viable option. I wasn't looking to replace my income in 2 months. I didn't feel like that would happen, but I just need to prove to myself that I could do this. And, like, 600 was, like, that mark of, like, if I do then at least, like, I'm gonna be making what it would look like anyways.
Heidi [00:06:05]:
Yeah. But I
Aubree [00:06:06]:
did have a student loan payment that was $1,000. So that was my goal. Like, if I can make $1,000, like, I can that that'll pay for that, and then we can we can figure out how to budget and everything like that. So my 1st month, October of 2018, I made $800. I had somebody hired me to create graphics and to post them on their social media. And then my 2nd month, I made $1500 at games, like, a a client or 2 after that. And so I was like, okay. If I'm if I'm doing this on top of teaching full time, like, the if I can come home and have more time, this is gonna grow into something more.
Aubree [00:06:36]:
So, yeah, my my last day in the classroom was the day before my second son was born I like went right up to the mark and
Heidi [00:06:43]:
so you kid started in month 8 and 9 while you were finishing out your teaching before you gave birth Oh my gosh Okay. Yeah.
Aubree [00:06:51]:
So when people ask me like I I share that story and I also like to kind of preface it by saying that was crazy. Like I was working like I would get up from 5 to 7 AM and work on my business, teach, come home, put my kids to bed at night and work. Like, I was doing that 5, 6 days a week. But I needed, like, I needed to get that momentum and to get that runway. And I think I I tell people, like, you don't have to run as crazy as I did in the beginning, but I also tell people, like, it's gonna take that momentum. Like, if I was just kind of dipping my toe in here and there and like, oh, maybe I'll reach out to a couple clients here or maybe I'll put myself out here, here and there, it wouldn't have grown into what it did. Yeah. Yeah.
Aubree [00:07:30]:
And to give myself that proof of, like, okay, this is actually something that we can depend on, that we can count on month over month. So as much as that was like a crazy timeline, I'm my personality is like, somebody needs to light a fire under me, and I can make it happen. So I almost needed that. But that it doesn't have to be the, you know, the story for every single person. Yeah.
Heidi [00:07:51]:
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So the first thing I want to talk about is, like, you mentioned you're creating graphics for social media. And I, I know, I know the first thing going through a lot of people's heads is like, but I don't know how to do graphics or I don't know how to do social media and this, like, serious amount of self doubt and imposter syndrome. And so, you know, as I mentioned at the beginning, one of the core things I wanna talk about here is that, you know, obviously this podcast goes out and reaches people in the fashion community. And a lot of them want to freelance in fashion, but they're either not ready with their skills or they're not feeling confident in their skills in the industry itself as far as, like, designing a collection or doing something technical. And and so I'm like, yeah, you can there's opportunities at VA, but then they're like, I can't do graphics, all the things.
Heidi [00:08:34]:
So I'd love for you to talk a little bit about, like, what opportunities are available? What skills might someone need to have? And how can we deal with some of those voices in our head that are constantly telling us we're not good enough, we don't know anything?
Aubree [00:08:47]:
Yeah. I totally and I remember going through that too because I I found out about this. And I was like, okay. This is number 1. It's so different from anything else that I tried, that I was like, I owe it to myself to figure it out. But then that thought in your head, but I don't have any skills. Yeah. I don't I've never been in the business world.
Aubree [00:09:06]:
I'm only just a fill in the blank. Whatever it is, right? I'm only just a teacher, just a mom, just
Heidi [00:09:11]:
a Just, you know,
Aubree [00:09:12]:
just, and so it can that can be really hard and that can hold a lot of people back. One thing I like to tell people is that it doesn't always have to be those hard skills. Like that you know how to specifically do something that can easily translate. So just like an easy example would be like, I know how to do bookkeeping in my job. I can do bookkeeping online for business owners. A lot of people don't have that direct translation, and I didn't. I was like, well, do I does that mean I come online and I teach people how to do you know, like, I teach kids how to teach it and write. Yeah.
Aubree [00:09:43]:
Yeah. So I, like, I had to kind of work through those thoughts. And so one of the first things that I did was I thought about what are things that I'm naturally good at or gifted at. And for some people, again, this this can even be a harder thing because you're in our minds, the things that we are naturally good at or that we have strengths, we downplay them because we think, well, everybody's good at that.
Heidi [00:10:02]:
They don't like that. Yeah. Right.
Aubree [00:10:04]:
Yeah. And so one of the things that I've thought about is what is something that people come to me a lot for? Even in my job. What you know, what are people asking me about? What are people saying? Hey. How did you do that? That was really cool. Can you show me how to do that? And that to me was an indicator of this is something that I know how to do. It comes natural to me, and I can help other people do that. And again, it might not be that direct correlation, but for me, a lot of people would ask me about technology. This was something that I I felt like to me, like, doesn't everybody understand
Heidi [00:10:32]:
that thing?
Aubree [00:10:33]:
Yeah. Yeah. But so many people were always like, how did you how did you incorporate that? Or how did you upload that video? Or how did you and it just was something that came natural to me. So I figured, okay. Tech. Things technology, learning new programs, implementing new things, figuring out how to do something, like, in the online space technology wise, that was something that I could I could do. Right? So I started I started there. That's a natural strength of mine, a gift of mine.
Aubree [00:10:57]:
I was creative. I was organized. These were all things that made me good at the job that I was currently doing, which was being a teacher. Mhmm. So I thought about, okay, like, what is something that could help a business owner in the creative realm? I was not trained to be a graphic designer at all, but I knew that I'm creative enough Mhmm. That I could probably help a business owner who's like super logical and analytical, and they're they don't have a creative bone in their body. Mhmm. And a lot of times, what I found too, even when I was first getting started and I just kind of marketed myself as that general VA of, like, I can help you with emails.
Aubree [00:11:31]:
I can help you with research. I can help you with data entry. Mhmm. A lot of times, business owners, it's not that they didn't know how to do the things that I was coming to them to say, like, I could do this for you. Yeah. Just that they didn't have the time. Totally.
Heidi [00:11:44]:
And a
Aubree [00:11:44]:
lot of business owners had trainings or had, you know, SOPs that they could just say, hey, this is how we are already doing this. Can you just take this project and run with it? Like, we just need basically to duplicate this person Yeah.
Heidi [00:11:57]:
To be
Aubree [00:11:57]:
able to get this done. So I think I think taking off the, like, feeling of I need to be an expert, or I need to be trained in this in order to do it. It's like, start with what you already know how to do, which a lot of us know how to do a lot of. And I don't want to say simple in the sense of trying to take away from it. But a lot of these tasks that a lot of people, like, we take for granted because we just know how to do it, those are things that business owners that don't like business owners up, and they get bogged down. But there are also those tasks that need to get done. Yeah. And they just don't have the time to do it.
Aubree [00:12:30]:
So you can come in and you can help them with emails, with scheduling, with calendars, with sending customer service emails and support. Like, there are so many of those, like, just it feels like, who would even hire me to do that? Because everybody can do these things. It's like that you need to, like, let that piece of it go because it's not that nobody else knows how to do it. It's just that they don't have the time to be able to do it. And also for a business owner, like, where is their time best spent? Is their time best spent in their inbox? Is their time best spent, you know, sending these, reports or analyzing these ports or entering the status? No. They're they need to be in a specific seat in their business, and they can hire people to outsource some of those just very simple tasks that, again, a lot of us know how to do. So I would say, like, think about those. It's it's the difference between hard skills and soft skills.
Aubree [00:13:20]:
Like, the hard skills are the, like, the actual things that you are doing in your day to day life. The soft skills are, like, what make you good at doing those things. So those are more it's, it's like hard to put your finger on it because they're not like those tangible things. Right? It's like, I'm organized. I'm creative. I'm, analytical. I'm things that, you know, I like to tell people, it's like, are you good? Do you plan parties for your friends and for your kids? Like, those are all skills that you can take. And then those can actually translate to like specific tasks that you can either, you might already know how to do, or that you can learn how to do as you go.
Aubree [00:14:02]:
So Yeah. That's kind of like that beginner entry point for people who are like, but I'm just a this and I don't know what I what I could do. Right?
Heidi [00:14:09]:
Yeah. So many amazing points in there, And I will just follow-up by saying 2 things. 1, do not dear listener, do not underestimate the value of being tech savvy. My very first VA, which I hired in, like, I don't know, 2019 or something. And she was really young. She was, like, 25, and I just assumed she knew how to operate tech. She couldn't even, like, operate Dropbox. And I was, like, okay.
Heidi [00:14:34]:
Okay. This is not gonna work. Some of these core skills that, like, again, you just take for granted you do every day are super, super valuable. And then second is talking about, like, how there's so many little tasks that you don't see that need to be offloaded. We're in the process of of hiring, another VA right now, and I'm specifically looking for someone to do customer service and to upload our blog post to WordPress. We write 3 blog posts a week. I have a writer. We write 3 blog posts a week.
Heidi [00:15:07]:
Tech is essentially basic. Like, if you can use a computer, if you can use email, if you kinda understand the basics of some technology, you are more than qualified for this type of role. So, yeah, don't discount these skills, and and don't discount the need that so many business owners have to offload a lot of these tasks. Okay. I've got my head wrapped around some skills I can offer. I have more to to to give than I think. I know more than I think. How do I get these gigs? How'd you get your first few gigs? What does this look like?
Aubree [00:15:39]:
Yeah, so this is I tell people this all the time and you know, so I think when I say that tell this story, some people are like, that's it? Really? Because I think they want this to be it's like this crazy thing. Now I will say, again, similar to my story of, like, I did this within 2 months and, you know, everybody's story is going to be different. One thing I will tell you that I truly believed helped me was that I told myself that even if I don't see instant results right away, I am so determined to make this happen that I'm going to keep putting in the work. And you almost I I just it's funny. My podcast episode that just came out today was that. Like, we want the results so fast. We want just that, like, silver bullet. Tell me what I need to do right now that's gonna yield a result tomorrow.
Aubree [00:16:23]:
And that's usually not the case. But the very first thing that I did once I was, like, okay, I'm doing this. Here's what I can offer. I put together a little one page of, you know, like my skills and and my packages. And I just posted on my personal Facebook page.
Heidi [00:16:37]:
And I Oh, wow.
Aubree [00:16:39]:
I made a post saying, I'm really excited. I'm starting this business as a virtual assistant. Here's what a virtual assistant is. Because again, like, some people don't even know. For me, like 2018? Yeah. And even like I think too, like, a lot of online business owners even like now understand what what virtual assistants can do. But, like, there's a lot of brick and mortar businesses that could use your support that they're like, oh, like, what is this? Like, and I can hire you, and you can come in and just help me with this project. But, yeah, I just made this post.
Aubree [00:17:06]:
And a teacher that I had worked with previously, she went off and started her own online business. We didn't really, like, keep in touch all the time, but we were friends on Facebook. And I made this post, and she saw it, and she sent me a message of, like, hey. I'm actually I'm just starting this process, but I'm afraid to hire because I'm not gonna hire somebody that's gonna take my business the way that I take, you know, and I know your work ethic. So she hired me to help her out, you know, for 10 hours a week. And if I never again, even if this didn't lead to somebody hiring me, it started to build that confidence in me of, like, this is something real that I'm doing. This is something legit. And so I tell people, like, personal like, don't under again, like, don't underestimate your skills.
Aubree [00:17:53]:
Like, don't underestimate the power of your personal network. We don't know where some of our connections have gone to. And I tell my students all the time, I'm like, when you're in the grocery store and somebody's like, hey, what's new? And you haven't caught up with somebody in a while. Instead of saying, oh, seem old, you know, nothing's new. Yeah. Yeah. Tell them that you started a tell them you started a business. Like, have that, like, just start again.
Aubree [00:18:13]:
Like, I I remember the first time, like, I got on a discovery call with a potential client. I was so nervous because I'm like, oh my gosh. I've never, like, said these words out loud to a human being. And this is a that's a great opportunity for you to practice it, for you to share about it, to, like, just get used to, like, those words coming out of your mouth. I'm a I'm a virtual assistant. I'm a social media manager. I help business owners get traffic on Pinterest or whatever it is that you're doing. Mhmm.
Aubree [00:18:37]:
So personal network, I always people, like, that is something that you can easily layer in to what you're already doing to connect with clients. And then a lot of my other clients came from Facebook groups. I was in I felt like all the Facebook groups, which I wouldn't recommend this. You know, I was like, this group, you know, and then I had all these notifications going off. But Facebook groups is a really great way for me to get in front of and have conversations with people who had no idea who I was before this. Because I even have some people it's so funny because they're I think a lot of people are used to some of these other ways to make money online, and they're like, well, I live in this small town. Like, I don't know enough people. And I'm like, your location does not determine how successful this business will be.
Aubree [00:19:17]:
You just have to be willing to have new conversations with people and to grow that network of people who know who you are. So personal network and Facebook groups were huge for me just to kind of get that ball rolling. And then once I had those first couple clients, I had no shame in my game of asking those clients like, hey, I'm, you know, I have a couple spots that I'm looking to fill. Like, could you connect me with any of your friends? Or do you know anybody who could also use the support? And because I was, you know, they were happy with the work that I was doing. They were happy to share my information and to shout me out. And so that was how it it grew from there. But it really is about just kind of like building that momentum. And I like to tell people, you know, marketing can sound very scary for people who have never marketed before, like, you know, don't have that background.
Aubree [00:20:00]:
And I like to tell people, like, if you strip it all away, all marketing truly is is figuring out how I can get new eyes on what I'm doing, who didn't know about what I was doing yesterday. And the beautiful thing with freelancing is that you do not need 100 of thousands of people to have eyeballs on your business. Right? Like, you probably for a lot of, you know, my women in my community, like 5 to 7 clients, most likely, depending on what their prices and packages look like. But that range will replace the income that they're having in their traditional job. So you obviously need to talk to more than 5 to 7 people, but you can take that pressure off yourself of, like, it doesn't need to you don't need to have this huge audience. Yeah. You don't need to have an established audience. You just have to have a willingness to have those conversations with people, to grow that network, to to be able to, like, put yourself out there.
Aubree [00:20:47]:
And that can be baby steps. It doesn't have to be an overnight thing. It doesn't have to be you. I'm gonna start posting reels on Instagram and start talking on my stories. Like, you can work up to that, but you just have to think what can I do today to bring even just like one new person Mhmm? To put eyes on what I'm doing. And that will help to get that ball moving and as you do that It's going to become easier for you.
Heidi [00:21:08]:
Yeah, for sure for sure okay a few questions about this like one sheeter first of all what did you say? You're like, okay, you kind of talked a little bit about like what a virtual assistant is and what it does because a lot of people don't know or like you even said still with brick and mortar businesses people are like, what is that? Or do I really need one? Right? When in reality there's a lot that someone could do for you virtually even if you got a physically based business. So I'd love to hear a little more detail about what was on that one sheeter And then you said you had some like packages and stuff. How'd you even come up with that? And what did that look like? So when I
Aubree [00:21:40]:
was first getting started, I just did hourly work because I I didn't know like, yeah I knew that I could, like, put a package of, like, I can do these, you know, more based on deliverables. Right? As, like, if I'm doing these, you know, 5 things or whatever for you. I just didn't even know I was like, I don't know how long that will take me. So I don't wanna, like, underestimate or I don't wanna overcharge and then totally be off missing the mark. So I just had 3 packages on there. They were, a package of 10 hours, of 20 hours, or 30 hours. Okay. And then just multiply it by my yep.
Aubree [00:22:12]:
Then just multiply it by my hourly rate. And so when I started 5 years ago, I was I started at $20 an hour. K. And so that one sheeter had those packages. Just so I know some people have different opinions about pricing, and my philosophy behind it was I want I don't want people to get on a call with me and then feel like either, like, we were totally off base about what either their budget was or, like, what I was charging. So I wanted to let them know, like, right then and there. And I also wanted them to envision, like, oh gosh, like 10 hours. Like what could 10 hours like if somebody freed up 10 hours of my timeline, what could that mean? Yeah.
Aubree [00:22:46]:
And what could that, like, what could that equate to? Right? Like, so, in the beginning, I was working with a lot of online coaches who did a lot of 1 on 1 coaching. Mhmm. So in my mind, it's like 10 hours free up 10 hours of their time. That could potentially be, like, 10 1 on 1 coaching calls. Mhmm. And depending on what they were charging for those coaching, you know, a 1 on 1 coaching call, 1 hour, they can make pretty, like, a good return on their investment needs to be able to take some of those just, like, again, minor tasks, those things that needed to get done in their business, either, like, following up with those 1 on 1 clients or taking their the Zoom recording and uploading that to a Google Drive and sending that recording to that coaching client. Like, there were a lot of those things that were they were doing in the back end that were taking up time. And so if I could free up 10 hours of their time, like, that could potentially mean 10 new coaching clients or 10 new calls booked or whatever.
Aubree [00:23:35]:
Yeah. So I wanted them to envision that. I wanted them to see that. And then also on the lawn sheet, it just, you know, kind of told a little bit about me, you know, who I was. So that I I always obviously, it's it's nice to have some of these skills. Right? But something I I wanted them to know from the beginning was that I was a very teachable person. That even if I don't know how to do something right now, I can figure it out. I'm a go getter.
Aubree [00:23:58]:
I'm the person who, you know, if there's a something comes up and I'm doing something, I'm I'm gonna try to figure it out first before I just, like, say, hey, I can't figure out how to do this. I'm gonna do the research. So I wanted again, I wanted them to see that, and I even think about this too, when I hire people for my team and I hire virtual assistants, it's not always for me about the skills because I know I can teach you how to do something. For me, it's it's more about personality. It's more about, your resourcefulness. It's more about like, I want like a problem solver. So skills are great to have. And I did, you know, tell them these are skills that I have.
Aubree [00:24:34]:
These are things that I know how to do. These are things that I can do for you. But I wanted them to see who I was as a person. You know, my personality, did I fit in with them? And then the other little just things I had on that one cheater were just, like, my discovery call link. So, hey, if this looks good, if this sounds like something that you're needing, here's a link to book a call with me. And then I just kind of, like, detail out the next steps of, like, we get on a call if we feel like it's a good fit. I'll send over a proposal and contract and invoice, and then we can get started. So I was kind of setting the stage for them of like, here's here's what I could do for you.
Aubree [00:25:06]:
Here's, you know, how much time I could take off your plate, and then here's what it could look like for us to start to work together. So I think it really helped. And this was before I had a website. So this was, like, a really you know, it was a condensed version of a web website. Because I didn't I didn't know how to how to do a website. So I was like, you know, I know how to kind of, you know, it's Yeah.
Heidi [00:25:23]:
It's just more simple, though.
Aubree [00:25:25]:
Yeah. It's similar to a resume in the sense, but it was less about here's all the previous jobs that I had, and more about like, here are the skills that I have, and here's what I can do for you and how I can serve you in your business.
Heidi [00:25:36]:
Yeah. Okay. And I imagine you didn't have any, like, cause you got started first with that opportunity to do the graphics of the social media posts. But that teacher knew you, so maybe she just had a she already knew your eye for creativity. It wasn't like you had to sell that actual component. So there was no, like, portfolio on that one sheet or anything. Right?
Aubree [00:25:57]:
Not at first. No, but then, I did what I actually did and I I tell my students to do this all the time What I even found as a teacher, you know, I went to college for this. I read all the textbooks. Right? Nothing truly prepared me for that job until I was actually in that job. And somebody, like, handed over the keys, and they're like, here's your classroom. Go teach these kids. And that first day, I learned way more than I did ever in 4 years of college. And so what I live love to tell my students is, if you want to learn how to do something or you you're nervous about offering something to a client Yeah.
Aubree [00:26:32]:
Pretend there's a client on the other end and do a mock project for them. So Totally. If they want you, you know, if say it's to design 10 graphics that they can use on their social media, or say it, you know, they're looking for somebody to design a carousel template for them. Go into Canva and design that. Do a couple different things, and that's work that you can show that you've done this. It doesn't necessarily have to be for a paying client. So I would do that. You know, I I dabbled in a lot of different things until I found out what I really enjoy doing.
Aubree [00:27:02]:
Mhmm. So one of those things was like, I I went through and set up a Pinterest account for myself and I set up boards and I just did things to give me that practical on the job experience. And that also for me, like, if somebody said, like, hey, have you ever set up a Pinterest account before? I have. Like, I, you know, I I have done those things. And so I just that that was one thing I spent some time doing in the beginning when I was in those Facebook groups is what are, you know, what are business owners saying? Like, can you help me with this or I'm struggling with this. What are those things that, I'm kind of seeing come up a lot? Can I try to do that on my own? Can I try to figure out a way to make this simpler? Can I figure out how to set this up? And that gave me that confidence again to like, I've done this for myself. I've done this virtually. I know I can do this for
Heidi [00:27:50]:
a client too. Okay. I love that. And if there's nothing like super visual in what you're offering, let's say you're offering be I imagine we just don't worry about some type of visual component and we just sort of list that more
Aubree [00:28:12]:
You could do both. I mean, I like I could as long as depending on if you are doing this for an actual client. Yeah. So I there were clients that I was doing work for and I said, you know, as long as I keep you anonymous from this, like, I exclude any, you know, personal information that would tie you to this. So would you mind if I use this as a case study? Would you mind if I was able so like even if it was something as simple as because I I did this for a client. I went into a client's Google Drive folder and there was stuff everywhere. And I created folders for them. I organized things.
Aubree [00:28:41]:
Yeah. So you could even do a simple like before and after. Or you could even, you know, like, you could tab the project that you worked on, and you could ask that client for a testimonial. So it doesn't necessarily have to be a vision, but you can have somebody speak on to what that service did to them. How that freed up their time. How that, alleviated the stress and the workload from them. So there there are some creative ways. Even now, like, I'm a I love Loom.
Aubree [00:29:04]:
So even doing a Loom video, a quick, you know, 3 to 5 minute video talking, you know, talking through this project of what you did and how, you know, when the client came to you, this is what you were working with, and this is how you streamline things. This is how you organize things. This is how you set up a system for them. One another thing that I did for a client was, was in that email realm. So you can, you know, create an email template and you can save it as a template to their Gmail. Mhmm. And then I titled them. So it's like, oh, if you need to send an email of, like, response to this person, if they had, some emails that they knew they sent they would send constantly, I put that in there and I'm like, now and I would do I did a Loom video of, like, here's where to find it and here's
Heidi [00:29:49]:
where you
Aubree [00:29:49]:
go and click, and here's where you can just, like, go in and edit this information. So you could do a quick Loom video showcasing that. And if you have a client who's like, I'm not comfortable with you doing that, like, again, just do a mock one.
Heidi [00:30:00]:
A real moment. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. So many great tips. I I want to talk a little bit more about the Facebook Groups. Tell me so so I get posting on your own page, which I think can also feel a little terrifying because you're like, Oh, I'm putting this out to the world and people that know me and what if it doesn't work out and then they're gonna judge me and it's gonna feel terrible and my aunt's getting burned up at Thanksgiving.
Heidi [00:30:21]:
Which at some point we just gotta lean in and get over that did you have any of those feelings?
Aubree [00:30:27]:
Did but you know, here's the interesting thing and I know everybody not everybody is me But I again I had I said at the beginning of this interview how like I had tried a lot of different things So my friends and family were already used to me like, oh, this is there's another thing she's doing. Like, I just
Heidi [00:30:42]:
Hey, you wanna buy this lipstick?
Aubree [00:30:44]:
Right. Exactly. So, yes, I did. But I also realized, like, what is the end goal for me? The end goal for me is to be at home with my kids, to be able to provide for my family financially on my own terms. And I just kind of had to weigh those things out. Like, sure, it's going to feel awkward and uncomfortable. And I will tell you 5 years in, I just recently, I was talking to a friend and I was like, I just can't get over. Like, I still have people who follow me from high school on my Instagram, and they see my stories.
Aubree [00:31:11]:
And I don't know, like, it just, I've been like, I don't even have to prove anything to them. Like, my business is successful, but for some reason, when I go to press that story, like, I just have that person in the back of my head that they're gonna see this. And she's like, just hide your story from them. Like, you don't, you know, you don't have to delete them as a color. Like, just and I was like, oh, okay. And and that little, like, tiny thing. So if there are people who who are you feel like that their their opinions and their thoughts are going to impact the way that you show up, like, you can you can hide them from your you you know, there are ways that you can make it so that they don't see those things. And again, at the end of the day, like, does their opinion truly, truly matter? Yeah.
Aubree [00:31:51]:
And and is it going to be helpful in you reaching that end goal? So
Heidi [00:31:55]:
Yeah.
Aubree [00:31:55]:
That's what and again, it's it's still something that I have to remind myself. It's still something that I have to walk through. But I I, like, I've gotten better. Right? Like, it's not now it's not something where, like, really truly, like, will keep me stuck. It's like, yeah, okay Yeah, whatever. They're gonna they think they want to talk about their Yeah, okay, and then facebook groups.
Heidi [00:32:13]:
Yeah, like what? Because I mean you and I both know you don't just join and then share your one sheet. So what does the strategy really look like here? Yeah, so the facebook groups were you joining like if someone wants to apply this in, like, the fashion space, what might this actually look like for them?
Aubree [00:32:29]:
Yeah. So I I talk about Facebook groups all the time. Like I still think it's a very viable way to Find find jobs to find people that are hiring but again It's just like a really great way to build connections with people way faster than you could on your own. Right? Because it's a curated group of people. And so at first, I just joined just pretty much, like, generic. Like, I just was, like, women entrepreneur groups, boss mom groups. Like Okay. I just joined kind of generic entrepreneur groups.
Aubree [00:32:56]:
And I always have people who are like, what are the Facebook groups to join? Tell me the Facebook groups to join. Mhmm. And now, because I have a little bit a little bit more knowledge, but, you know, in my head, I always tell them who do you want to work with? You wanna join a Facebook group where that person is hanging out. So I want to work with photographers. I'm probably not going to join a Facebook group full of accountants or full of real estate agents. Sure. So really thinking about who you want to work with. And you can go to Facebook and type it like type in keywords that would describe that type of person.
Aubree [00:33:26]:
Type in, like, industry words, type in things. And you can find Facebook groups for all different kinds of people. So that's the first thing you can do. Of course, there are like, if, you know, if you're like, oh, I want to connect with, just like women entrepreneurs, there are some of those like bigger groups that you can join. But I have found, in both my time doing this for myself and also teaching my students how to do this, is it's going to be actually more effective for you to join some smaller groups because the whole point behind a Facebook group, in order for a Facebook group to be effective to you, is you want to get no one in that Facebook group. And if you're in a Facebook group with a 100,000 people, it's going to be really hard. You're just, you know, you're a small fish in a big pond. Mhmm.
Aubree [00:34:06]:
So joining some of those smaller groups, I always tell people, like, make sure it is an active group. You want people to actively be posting it. And you can see that even before you join a group. Like, you can see how many posts
Heidi [00:34:17]:
in the last week or something.
Aubree [00:34:18]:
Yeah. Yeah. So that's a good indicator that oh, this is an active group. People are actively coming into this group and starting conversations. So that's the first piece of of it. The second piece of it is, some of these groups, people will just go because it's a comfortable and a safe space for them. People will go and say, hey, I'm looking to hire a virtual assistant or social media manager. You know, do you know anybody? And those were posts that I could go in and comment on.
Aubree [00:34:41]:
And again, like you said, like, a lot of these groups, you can't just go in and post like, hey, I'm a virtual assistant. I do this. So that is that is a way that you can actually offer your services. Somebody is asking for that. And then another thing that I would do is people go to these groups and they ask questions. Hey, have you I'm having trouble with this or I I'm struggling to figure this out. One of the ways that I would respond to those posts were, I would say, you know, I just helped my client with this, and this was what we did. We found this that this was super helpful for us.
Aubree [00:35:09]:
So it's setting it up for letting people know, oh, she does this. She helps people with this. And that's not that's not me not me necessarily pitching myself. It's kind of like a little bit of a of a work around.
Heidi [00:35:19]:
Yeah.
Aubree [00:35:19]:
And then the other piece of it is anytime that I was allowed, you know, or somebody posted I'm looking for this, I was very strategic about my response. If you go into Facebook groups, you'll see, you know, just search, like search job opp or search hiring. You will see those posts usually have, like, a lot of comments on it. You can look on that post. You can see what comments are really good comments and which ones are just somebody, you know, said like, hey, I can help you with this. So anytime I commented on posts, I in the back of my mind, I was thinking, I want this response to not only help or, you know, talk to the person who was originally posting this, but anybody else who comes to this group and happens to see this comment. So I took the time instead of trying to be, oh, I'm gonna be the first one to respond to this. Because it's not it's not always early bird gets the worm.
Aubree [00:36:05]:
Right? Sometimes that can be the case. But I just said, you know, I'm going to take time and do a little bit of research on this client. Make a personal connection to them. And make sure that I you know, when I had my website, like I would post my website. I would say, you know, is email the best way to get in touch with you? I would love to send a follow-up email to you. So I just I took the time to kind of add that extra value to it. And I still I I haven't marketed my services, you know, 1 on 1 services as a freelancer in probably coming up on 3 years. I still will have people message me on Facebook saying, hey, I just saw your comment in this group.
Aubree [00:36:42]:
Do you still offer this? Or can I, you know, can we jump on a call? And that's because I took the time to like really Yeah. Type out something thoughtful as opposed to trying to be the first one or just like, hey, I can help you. Because Yeah. That that comment's not just for the original poster. Some people go into Facebook groups, and they're like Totally. It's overwhelming to post. I don't wanna post because I don't wanna get all these emails or all these comments. Like, I want to kind of go through and find maybe a couple people I can reach out to.
Aubree [00:37:08]:
So thinking about that, that it can that post can live on for other people to see what you have to offer and because you've taken the time To type that out to that original person it can benefit you later on down the road.
Heidi [00:37:19]:
Yeah The bar is quite low. I haven't experienced it in Facebook groups, but I've been really active on LinkedIn recently. It's like my new platform. I'm like really trying to make it work. And I see a fair amount of freelance opportunities come through the feed of people just posting like, hey, I'm looking for a freelance fashion designer to And the comment section is kind of horrific. You know what I'm talking about. It's literally 100 of people interested, interested, interested, interested. I'm like, you guys take a hot minute to write a 3¢ personalized pitch here and actually present yourself.
Heidi [00:37:59]:
I wound up writing a whole LinkedIn post about it because I was, like, so horrified that this bar is really low. Mhmm. So, yeah, it doesn't take much, but go out there, spend the time, write a really thoughtful personalized response, Ask what's the best I love that asking what's the best way to reach out to him because they might want DM on Facebook or they might want to transfer it over to email whatever is easiest. And then the shelf life of that comment fabulous.
Aubree [00:38:23]:
Yeah, right. Well, here's the other thing. I just I went to a facebook group to actually just hire a virtual assistant. Yeah, and because I do this, right, I as I started getting as I started getting these emails, you know, like my post also too, like, this is just another little tip. If you are utilizing any type of way to connect with somebody, like, make sure you read through what they're asking to do because some of them are, like, very specific on, like, like, mine was, like, I I wanna be able to easily sort these in my inbox. That's just, like, where my organizer brain goes. So I told them, like, here's what the subject line needs to be. So I can easily pull these up and look through them.
Aubree [00:38:59]:
You won't believe how many people just don't do that. Yeah. And so, like, I was giving you after a bunch of these started to come in, I was giving, you know, tips. I'm like, he like, I I want this to be a learning experience, but here are some things that will help you. Like, make sure if this is what they're asking for, make sure you deliver on this. If they're asking for your hourly rate, make sure you tell them
Heidi [00:39:20]:
that, get
Aubree [00:39:21]:
them emailed. You know? Yeah. So even just things like that. That that can help you stand out too. Because, especially in a Facebook group, and I know, you know, some people will use online job threads. Like, the a lot of times, there is a lot of competition. So thinking of of a way of, like, how can I stand out? How can I take the time to just go the extra mile? Like, the the emails that I put, like, right to the top when I was hiring that VA position, were so it was like something silly, but they're like, oh my gosh, like I saw your boys and they're so cute. Like, they all they had to do was probably go to my Instagram and just scroll for a second.
Heidi [00:39:54]:
Take 2 seconds. Yeah.
Aubree [00:39:55]:
Right. And that really matters too. So even, you know, no matter like what way you're going about finding clients, like those little things can help you to stand out and they really do make a big difference, especially when a person going to hire is going to some kind of like public forum like that. Mhmm. Where they're gonna get inundated with a lot of different people thinking about and you can have like, I preach, like, have a template that you can send, have an email, like, to save you time, but there's gonna be a section where you're gonna personalize it. There's gonna be a sec you know, there's gonna be things where you're gonna take the time when you are writing that email to, like, number 1, like make sure the person's name is spelled correctly when you're emailing them. You know? Like, I will get which I don't get it. I don't get mad about it because I know, like, my name, people can you spell it with an e y.
Aubree [00:40:38]:
But it's, like, just take it doesn't take that much.
Heidi [00:40:40]:
But it shows you a massive lack of attention to detail. Mhmm. And especially if you're, like, hiring someone where detail really matters in a lot of like customer service roles. Like if you're answering emails and you're replying to people that are writing in, you want to make sure that their name is spelled right. So that's just like a little attention to detail thing, that I firmly believe goes very far. Like if it's wrong, I you're knocked out of the race immediately. Yeah.
Aubree [00:41:06]:
And that's and that's that is the hard thing, especially too because I mean, I got well over 60 emails. And I had to I told them, I'm like, if you don't hear by from me by this date, like, just know that I've moved forward because there's just so many of them. Yeah. And and it was hard too because I had people who reached out to me saying, like, can you give like, what did I what did I do wrong? And honestly, I was, like, truly, like, there were some where I could be, like, yeah, you is you could've worked on this and here's but I'm, like, some of them is just, like, there's I there's just was a sheer amount of, like, really, really good applicants too. So, don't don't give up too. I think, like, that is the thing will get disheartened because it's, like, I applied for this and it didn't happen. Like, you I made it a point when I was sending out those. Like, I'm gonna have to get 10 nos before I get a yes.
Aubree [00:41:52]:
And every time I send out a new one, it's an opportunity for me to get better, to improve, to get a little bit more confident, to tweak something. So it's it's just it's a learning process. But again, that's goes back to like in that beginning. You just kind of have to put on that you just have to think about it in that sense of, like, it's gonna it might take me a little bit of time to get that first couple clients. Yeah. But I I have to be willing to put in the work and put myself out there in order to do that. Because it's not it's not a snap of the finger. Sometimes it can be that, like, oh, I do have this connection to somebody that was looking for somebody.
Aubree [00:42:25]:
It makes sense. But Yeah. It's okay to not give a yes right out the game.
Heidi [00:42:29]:
Yeah. For sure. For sure. I also know you're a big proponent of cold pitching. We'll go into that on another episode because that's a whole another can of worms, and something I talk a lot about too. So just reaching out with a well formulated personalized pitch, to offer your various services to a brand or or, some type of business that you want to freelance for that you don't want to offer your VA services to. But this is fabulous. So many great pointers and tips to get everybody started.
Heidi [00:42:58]:
Where can people connect with you and find you online or work with you? What does that look like?
Aubree [00:43:03]:
Yeah, absolutely. So it's pretty simple. It's my name. Aubrey malek.com is my website aubrey with 2 e's My instagram is aubrey malek. So those are some really great places to just come I've got all the links to all the things but I I recently started hanging out more on Instagram. Again, I had this I had this hang up. Yeah. I had this hang up with the high school people, but now I've I've found a workaround for it.
Aubree [00:43:27]:
Okay. I've always I've I've always loved Instagram because I love connecting in the DMs. I truly do. Like, I I love having those conversations with people. I love hearing from people. I'm like, if they listen to this episode, like, tell me what really stuck out to you or what you're gonna take away
Heidi [00:43:39]:
from this.
Aubree [00:43:40]:
So Yeah. Yeah. Come hang out with me over on Instagram. You find a lot of really great resources there and get to see my face on stories because I am on stories now. Yeah.
Heidi [00:43:49]:
And also, let's not forget your podcast because we're on a podcast and people listening are likely to go check on their podcast. So your podcast?
Aubree [00:43:55]:
Yep, and we did we just are do we're doing an interview swap here too So you can come over to my podcast and listen to Heidi's episode over there. So my podcast is called freelancer to ceo fabulous. We'll link it all up
Heidi [00:44:05]:
in the show notes lovely aubrey. I'd love to end with the question. I ask everybody at the end of the interview What is one thing people, never ask you about being a freelancer that you wish they would?
Aubree [00:44:16]:
Oh, gosh. What a great question. Goodness. This is having me thinking for a second. Something that I wish more people ask me about it. I wish more people asked me. You've got me stumped here.
Heidi [00:44:39]:
A lot of people get stumped on it. You're not the first.
Aubree [00:44:42]:
Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think I mean, I feel like I get questions about it all the time. I guess probably like what was one thing that I didn't like about it? Because I Mhmm. You know, I talk about all the, like, really great things about it. I actually do believe. But, you know, not everything is rainbows and butterflies. Like, there definitely were things where I was like, and I think I'm such a people pleaser that when I when I had to, you know, when I had a client where I was like, this really isn't working out We're just not seeing eye to eye on on these things.
Aubree [00:45:18]:
Yeah. I would much much rather have been the person, like, to get broken up with.
Heidi [00:45:24]:
Oh.
Aubree [00:45:24]:
And so doing like kind of doing that like end of client or like having to have that conversation. Like, yeah. I really did not like that. That was just not my personality. And so sometimes I would just let it go until they're like, yeah, I don't think we're gonna and I'm like, okay. Great. Like, at least I don't have to have the tough conversation. But, yeah, that was really hard because you're you're a lot of times, like, you're dealing with people, and I I'm the type of person who always gives people the benefit of the doubt.
Aubree [00:45:50]:
So I'm I always try to, like, rationalize my head. Like, oh, maybe it's just we can just fix this. So, yeah, those type of, like, tough conversations are never fun, because I never had to really deal with that in a traditional job, right?
Heidi [00:46:02]:
Like I
Aubree [00:46:02]:
I never had to do the firing and I didn't really like that.
Heidi [00:46:05]:
So yeah But I guess lucky to be in a position where you have so many clients, you can be like, I'd really like to let this one go. That's a great position to be in, in all things considered. Yeah Awesome answer. Thank you so much for coming on and chatting with us. Aubrey.
Aubree [00:46:19]:
Yeah. Thanks for having me. It's been a fun conversation