Susan Mershon, The Techie Mentor, built a VA business by fixing her limiting beliefs about money. She says VAs aren't just admin assistants but a diverse field like departments in a company, and that getting coaching early beats going alone. Her definition of happiness: freedom to choose, earn, and live on your own terms.
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Welcome to the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Wagner. This episode is brought to you by Authors Unite. Authors Unite provides you with all the resources you need to become a successful author. You can learn more about Authors Unite and join the free community at authorsunite.com. Now let's jump into the episode.
Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast Podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Susan Mershon with us. She is the Techie Mentor and she specializes in teaching the systems and skills necessary to start and grow a lucrative virtual assistant business. So welcome to the show.
Thank you, Tyler. So glad to be here.
We're just grateful to have you on, Susan. We'll jump into the first one. The first question I have for you today is, what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Oh, that's a great question. So for me, it has really nothing to do with business. It has everything to do with mindset. I learned— I keep learning that your business will only grow as much as you do as a person, and whatever limiting beliefs you have about yourself you are going to hit that ceiling and you are going to have to work through those beliefs to continue to grow. For me, my biggest issues were around money. My belief of money, my thoughts about rich people or wealthy people. I had a lot of garbage that I never knew I had until I started working for myself.
And what is the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
As far as my expertise or industry, I would say most people think that virtual assistants are administrative assistants or they do administrative type work, whereas the industry itself is very diverse, just like, you know, any department in a large company. So when someone says they're a VA, I think the thing that I learned when I started out was they assumed I was an admin assistant where I was a techie. And so I just think it's important for people to understand that it's an industry, not a title.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Best piece of business advice, I would say Persistence. And get training or coaching as your budget allows. Don't do it alone. I learned that the hard way too. You know, do it yourself is great if you're ambitious, but it costs time and mistakes.
And if you can give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Get help early on.
Kind of going a little bit down a different path, in your opinion, what is the key to happiness?
Key to happiness? Well, that's going to be different for everybody, but for me it's freedom in every sense of the word. Freedom to make your own choices, to earn what you want, do what you want, live where you want. So for me, the key to happiness is freedom.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
Oh, the best book I read— well, I've read lots of books, but I think the one that comes to mind for me is called The Mind Made Prison. And it is a great book to help you realize your self-limiting beliefs that you didn't know you have.
And what is your favorite quote and why?
My favorite quote is by Walt Disney, which is, "If you can dream it, you can do it," because it is so true.
Awesome. Thank you so much for coming on, Susan. The last question I have for you before we let you go is where is the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Well, there's two places. Obviously, Facebook is a great place to find me. You can find my Facebook page, it's under The Techie Mentor, or my website, which is thetechiementor.com.
Perfect. Thanks again for jumping on.
You're welcome, and thank you so much for this opportunity. I really appreciate it.
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