AoL 069: Find Your Niche, Working Remotely, & Emphatic Writing

When first starting, many of us have problems with being an entrepreneur in one way or another. Our main issue, many times, is we simply don’t know where we fit. We’re told to “find your niche” and often times, we find it hard because we could do so many things. However, we need to learn what it is that we do well and hire out for things we’d rather not.

Over at Fizzle, for example, Chase and Corbett hired in Steph Crowder to help with customer support back in 2015.

Steph, having worked at a few startups by that point, knew how to interact with clients on a one to one basis. It was something that Chase, who’s the main creative at Fizzle, and Corbett, the business brain, didn’t have the resources to do themselves.

In our interview with Steph in 2016, we learned that she was expecting soon.

They had to get a fill-in for her while she was on maternity leave.

Today’s guest, Emily Kelly, was the hero for Fizzle during that time.

But, just because she was with them temporarily, doesn’t mean she was bad at the position.

In fact, it was part of her new role as as a virtual customer support specialist. She has taken the phrase “find your niche” seriously.

In this interview, we find out about her journey to become a virtual assistant, what she recommends to folks coming right out of college to keep them from getting burnt out at work, and some pointers in putting emotion into writing.

If you’re thinking about about starting your own business, perhaps being a virtual assistant first might just be in the future for you as well.

SPECIFICALLY, YOU’LL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT:

What kind of career did she envision as she was going to school? 8:02
Which creative influences did she have in her life growing up? 10:52
What it was like to have her dad working remotely growing up. 13:15
When was the first time Emily had experience with entrepreneurship herself? 14:47
What was it like to work at a startup vs where she previously worked? 18:13
What advice would she give someone who’s coming out of college so they don’t get burnt out? 21:37
Which mindset did Emily utilize while working for a startup? How did she use the advice “Find your niche”? 27:15
What is some advice that she’d give someone to get more emotion into their writing? 37:04
What are some things to look for when hiring remote help? 39:28
3 Influencers or teachers that have helped Emily get to where she is today. 44:38
One gift that she likes giving others. 45:17
Something she believed as a 21 year old but doesn’t now and why? 45:46
If she could place an ad anywhere in the world cost free, what would it be and where? 46:19
Who does Emily think of as a success and why? 48:29
What are some ways that someone can improve their customer support? 49:53
… and MUCH more!

Right click here and save-as to download this episode to your computer.

ITEMS and PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

SHOW NOTE EXTRAS:

Broke with Billy Corben:

Intro to Deep Work by Cal Newport:

How to Become a Virtual Assistant:

Simon Sinek on the Millennial Question:

Bonus: Simon Sinek followup:

Thank You For Sharing Some Time With Us!

Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Leave a note in the comment section below!

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of the post.

Also, please leave an honest review for The AoL Podcast on iTunes! Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.

If you have any questions feel free to email them over via the email mentioned in the show or by our contact form.

And finally, don’t forget to subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and/or Google Play Music. It’s absolutely free to do so.

A huge thank-you to you guys for joining us!

Cheers!