Meet Lana Johnson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lana Johnson.

Lana, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Here’s the thing, I never, and I mean NEVER even thought I could or would want to be an entrepreneur. Why? Because for what?! So much work… I just wanted to make a decent living at a “stable job” and be happy coming home to my family. I felt like “Theo” in the pilot episode of the Cosby Show where he said he just wanted to be like “regular people”. Well, I had the “good corporate job” with the Fortune 500 company, a loving husband, I had a son, and my girl on the way. I even had two bonus fur babies. Life was good. Until it wasn’t. When I was pregnant things started to crack. What sane woman with a husband, child and a full-time job starts a part-time job as a 1099 contractor, at six months pregnant?? I wouldn’t even say I needed the money.

Nevertheless, it started as a side hustle, what I had been happily doing for free; working as an administrator to non-profits and small businesses. I became a Virtual Assistant at a startup and it was one of the biggest turning points in my life. After my daughter was born, I got an email that my maternity leave would be cut short… “What the what?! In essence, I was screwed if I didn’t show up on Monday!

So, I resigned, effective immediately and got to work. Thus, VA Gladiator was born. I had no choice but to grind to replace my income. Within two months I did just that. I created a business I love, with ZERO dollars start-up funding and never looked back!

Has it been a smooth road?
The road to entrepreneurship has been paved in gold… Ha! Yeah right… It’s a roller coaster. Some days and weeks are worse than others. There was a time when my husband thought I had lost my mind and I was working night and day and running around with three phones in my bag! There have been clients I’ve had to part with because they weren’t a good fit, not knowing how I was going to replace the income, but God always makes away. The way this business fell into place and people keep referring my services over and over again with me doing minimum paid advertising, I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
My job at VA Gladiator is to support small business owners and C-Suite executives remotely, from my location. We manage the marketing, administrative, and organizational tasks that overwhelm people the most. I’ve found that most small business owner’s biggest challenge, in addition to growing their client base, is keeping the first thing first. They have good intentions but can easily become overwhelmed by all their responsibilities. That’s where I come in. I help my clients overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed. Like the gladiators from the insanely popular show Scandal, I give my clients peace of mind in knowing some of their least favorite tasks are ‘handled.’

Something You Should Know… I AM A PARTNER. I’m no-nonsense, period. I’m going to tell it like it is. If my client’s books are a mess, if they need to rein in their team, or need a marketing overhaul, it’s my job to say, “THIS IS A HOT MESS, but that’s OK, I’m here, and it’s handled!”

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Becoming a Virtual Assistant has shown me how our industry can transform work/life balance for the clients we serve and for ourselves. It’s a win-win! With the ever-increasing desire to eliminate commutes and work remotely on the employee side, I predict an even bigger spike in people becoming VA’s.

Statistics show that Remote Workers Are More Productive Than Office Workers by 12%, so as people start businesses and look to outsource work, more and more will realize the benefit of hiring a Virtual Assistant like me.

Pricing:

• VA Gladiator builds monthly packages customized to your needs.
• You can try VA Gladiator for a limited time, no strings attached, for $349 at vagladiator.com/trial-package/

Contact Info:

• Website: vagladiator.com
• Phone: Book your consultation at vagladiator.com/contact
• Email: info@vagladiator.com
• Other:  coupon for a free consultation bit.ly/VoyageReaders Coupon code: Voyage

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