How Becoming a Virtual Assistant Changed My Life

I remember waking up every single day at 3:40 am. My alarm would go off, and I’d rush to get dressed just in time to catch the bus at 4:20 am.

It was exhausting in a way that settles deep in your bones. The bus was already full by the time I got on, so I’d stand for an hour, half-awake, holding onto a bar, staring out the window. After that, I’d take the subway to the south side of town, where I worked.

Working in downtown São Paulo felt like my only real chance at a “good job.” The benefits were decent, and using my English every day mattered — speaking fluent English in Brazil really does open doors. Still, most mornings, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was it. If this was what adult life was supposed to feel like.

Looking back now, this feels like a quiet goodbye.

Here are a few little snippets from my last day at work:

In 2019, I said goodbye to my job in Brazil and moved to the beautiful island of Guam to marry my fiancé. It felt like closing one chapter and stepping into another, without knowing how the story would unfold.

New country. New routine. New everything.

After settling in, I needed to find a job — and that’s when I discovered a world I didn’t even know existed: Virtual Assistants. One day, I came across Abby’s profile and learned about her VA course. I didn’t have much money to invest back then, but I consumed everything she shared for free. Without realizing it at the time, a seed was planted.

I had just gotten married and wanted to feel more independent. Corporate America wasn’t calling my name. Honestly, I was already tired of corporate life from my years in Brazil. So I did something that felt scary and bold at the same time: I took a leap and started my own online business as a Virtual Assistant.

The beginning was messy. I struggled to figure things out on my own, learning as I went and making plenty of mistakes along the way.

My very first client was actually a family member who owned a small business at the time. She trusted me enough to ask for help with a few admin tasks, and that small “yes” meant more than she probably realized. It gave me a place to start.

Around that time, you could find me working wherever I could. Sometimes even on the beach in Guam, laptop open, trying to balance learning, building, and simply figuring things out.

I quickly realized that without understanding the basics of running a business — not just the work itself, but how to manage it — it’s easy to feel stuck. You stay busy, but you’re not really moving forward. You run in circles, unsure of what you’re doing or how to turn effort into something sustainable.

There were days I questioned everything. Days when I wondered if I was being irresponsible, if I was dreaming too big, or if I should just get a “normal job,” like so many people suggested. Most of the time, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was learning as I went, making mistakes, fixing them, and starting over more times than I can count.

But slowly (very slowly) things began to make sense. Not in a dramatic, overnight-success kind of way. Just in small moments. Another client who trusted me. Another payment showed me this could actually work. A quiet realization that I no longer dreaded my work.

I wasn’t chasing freedom in a glamorous, laptop-on-the-beach kind of way. I just wanted a life that felt lighter. A life where work didn’t drain every part of me. One where I could build something that fit my season, my energy, and my values — instead of forcing myself into a mold that never quite fit.

Looking back now, I can see that the struggle wasn’t wasted. It shaped me. It taught me patience, responsibility, and trust, not just in the process, but in myself. And even on the days when doubt still creeps in, I remind myself: I’m no longer standing on a crowded bus at 4:20 am, wondering if life will ever feel different.

Because it did. And it still is.

I hope this inspires you to get up and try something different, even if it sounds scary. We never know what can happen when we choose to take that first step.

Cheers!

Dressa :)

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