Military Spouse Made Beeline to Entrepreneurship

Melissa St. Clair, the owner of Paper Chaser, is a Virtual Expert helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses by taking over tedious tasks and increasing productivity. As part of her mission, she promotes portable careers through tools and talks. Melissa is a Freedom Makers client who has utilized our services to augment her work. She has been featured on multiple media platforms and she was recently quoted in Julie Perrine’s book, Become a Procedures Pro™. As a Freedom Makers guest blogger, Melissa lays out how she became a virtual assistant herself and her advice for anyone starting and running a small business.

By Melissa St. Clair
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I’m a worker bee.

The product of two working parents, I told my mother I knew I wanted to be a Secretary [just like her] in the 5th grade. As part of career exploration, I made a trifold brochure titled: Secretary, which she held onto for years. Fast forward, and I am starting a new job at the local Chamber of Commerce when I get bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. The cause and effect of this bite arose out of 1. My desire to maintain a professional career alongside my active duty military servicemember, but one that was flexible and portable knowing PCS (permanent change of station) orders and future moves were imminent, and 2. Being inspired by the small business owner members I was interacting with as the Special Events Manager.

In 2006, the Virtual Assistant (VA) industry was just bubbling to the surface, becoming an option with the technological advances at the time. I seized the opportunity given the prospect of becoming self-employed and helping others by continuing to do the work I love on my own terms. I resigned from the Chamber and exchanged my staff position to become a member as a small business owner. Fortunately, an agency I was already involved with, was restructuring operations and became my first client. So often, timing is everything.
Being industrious.

Having a degree in business management, I attended workshops at the local Small Business Center to learn even more about business ownership and operations, implementing actions I learned from classes and colleagues. I fully subscribe to the philosophy your network is your number one resource.

Keeping it buzzing.

The need for educating others about the who, what, why, when, where, and how to work with a VA was constant at the beginning. Technology and innovations progressed rapidly over the next decade along with a paradigm shift about the workforce. Small business owners are working smarter, delegating more, and utilizing the services of a VA as a cost-effective, value-added option.

Hive mind.

Building a strong network of like-minded colleagues, personal, professional, and spiritual nourishment, community involvement, and mentoring military spouses are the nectar for my fuel.

3 B’s for success
B present difficult to do with distractions of life
B persistent stay focused, don’t give up
B positive attitude is half the battle