Somali Immigrant in Minneapolis Launches Virtual Assistant Business

Become a Virtual Assistant 

 By Freddie Olson

(This as told by essay changes names and contains fictionalized elements. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.)

You may see in the media that things have gotten bad in Minneapolis. We call that “fake news” around here! 

Politicians and news people exaggerate things. But the folks here in Minneapolis know just how great a community we have.

I arrived here in the 90s with my parents fleeing the Somali civil war. My dad quickly found work in the poultry industry and I was educated in the local public schools.

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Looking for Opportunities

When I got married and had my kids, I started looking around for a way to work as well to help my husband pay the bills.

Hey, you won’t find the need for a second income unique to our community. Many Americans face similar challenges with rising costs and paychecks not keeping up.

I needed something that would let me stay home with my kids but still make enough money to help out.

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Becoming a Virtual Assistant

Fortunately, I discovered the virtual assistant business. This involved helping executives or small businesses with tasks needed to run their day to day business.

This could include setting up meetings with clients and partners, managing email, handling social media, marketing and more.

Businesses pay virtual assistants to avoid the aggravation of full-time employees including healthcare benefits and social security withholding.

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Analyzing The Benefits

Meanwhile, virtual assistants can work with clients online from anywhere in the world and take on multiple clients at once to maximize revenue. 

The flexibility of being a contractor creates opportunities for stay-at-home parents or those caring for a spouse, parent or other family member.

As long as you get your work done, punching in and out at certain times becomes less important.  

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Finding Clients

The biggest challenge proved to be finding clients. Many businesses and entrepreneurs hire virtual assistants from overseas.

 

This tends to result because people living in countries with a lower standard of living than the U.S. will work for less.

However, I soon discovered that my skill level, fluency with English and the fact that I was operating in a more similar time zone set me apart.

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Learning to Work From Home

My next challenge involved finding a place I could work quietly. I first tried setting my computer up in the kitchen. But this made it too hard to clean up in time to make dinner for my husband.

Next I tried the living room. But when the children came home from school they became too unruly for me to concentrate or be on a call with a client when necessary.

Finally, I set up my computer in our upstairs bedroom. This proved perfect because I could now get the children started on an activity then slip upstairs and get to work.

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Making Things Work

My business really seems to have taken off. My current clients include a U.K.- based media company, a mid-west agricultural business and a San Francisco tech company.

All my virtual coworkers seem very supportive and I feel like a real part of each of their teams. In fact, the team at the U.K. media company invited me to visit their headquarters.

We plan to travel to the U.K. to visit my husband's family some time next year. So it will be nice to meet my British co-workers face to face for the first time.

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Reaping The Rewards

In fact, my new earnings from my virtual assistant business will finance the trip. 

Sure, my life remains far from perfect. Though most people from my adopted city seem nice,  get the occasional rude remark about my hijab when in public.

And, yes, my kids occasionally get teased in school and once got called “terrorists” by another child.

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Counting My Blessings

Still, I count among my blessings a loving husband, beautiful children and a successful business allowing me to hold my head high.

When you see ICE agents roaming our streets on the news, just remember kindhearted, hardworking people inhabit our city.

And these kindhearted, hardworking people do not deserve what has been done to our community. But we will find a way to survive.

If you seek economic freedom and possess the skills that are in demand, perhaps you too could work as a virtual assistant.     

Do your research and due diligence. Get some training in the skills that are required. Then start looking for clients who need what you have to offer.

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Freddie Olson is a St. Paul-based journalist and activist working with immigrant communities to help them protect their rights and secure their piece of the American Dream.