“There’s wonderful work out there for wonderful clients for wonderful pay.”
The pandemic changed all of us. Some of us took up a new hobby (hello, all you sourdough bread bakers), started a new exercise routine (so many Peloton® bikes), or discovered why we should never homeschool our children (just me?). The sudden change in nearly every aspect of our lives had us questioning everything.
Those questions led Rachel Jackson all the way from the UK to me and my Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant (UDMA) School – via the internet, of course.
Doing digital marketing work before she knew what it was.
Rachel’s entire career had been spent in the direct mail industry. She acted as the interface between the client and production and worked a lot with data. It was the data part of the job she enjoyed most – tagging, flagging, and segmenting. In other words, Rachel was already doing digital marketing work – she just didn’t know it yet!
But after 26 years in direct mail, Rachel found herself unfulfilled. She started making wax melts as a hobby, selling them to friends and family and at craft fairs.
2020 came, the Covid lockdown started, and Rachel found herself on furlough from her job, homeschooling her children and making wax melts. In September, she took voluntary redundancy from her job. At some point, her mindset shifted from worrying about her position being eliminated to realizing it was time for her to walk away from that career.
Rachel decided to go full-time with her wax melt business and take it online. She quickly discovered it was the marketing and tech side of things she loved the most. Rachel built her website and leaned into the power of email marketing to help her grow her business. The more Rachel learned about digital marketing, the more her passion for that side of online business grew.
“…Let me talk to you about digital marketing.”
“People would talk to me about wax melts, and I’m like, ‘yeah, but let me talk to you about digital marketing.’”
Lightbulb!
Rachel realized she needed to shift away from her wax melt business to focus on digital marketing. She started working as a virtual assistant alongside her wax melt business, focusing on social media management. Rachel didn’t enjoy the work, but self-doubt stopped her from leveling up.
That’s right, despite having so much experience in all aspects of marketing, including running the backend of her own online business, Rachel didn’t have the confidence in her abilities to take on higher-level work.
If she wanted to work in digital marketing, Rachel believed she would have to start as an admin VA doing inbox management and other lower-level tasks. She worried she wasn’t “good enough” at anything else.
Sound familiar?
It was during this time of self-doubt that Rachel found me. She watched my YouTube videos and listened to episodes of Unicorns Unite (my podcast). All that “Emily” did was help her see that she could do this. She just had to find the confidence to believe in herself and go do it! 🦄
Is Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School right for me?
When I offered the UDMA School as a self-study, Rachel reached out to ask me if I thought it was right for her. We had a good conversation. I got real with her and told her this couldn’t be just another course she took. But, if she took the course and implemented what she learned, it would take just one client to make back the investment.
Rachel jumped right into the UDMA self-study course. She gained knowledge, of course, but the biggest benefit to her was what the course did for her confidence. 💖
“It was one of the best things I did because it gave me confidence. There were parts I already knew, but I learned how to transfer that knowledge and turn it into a sellable product. I had an epiphany. Emily was teaching not just what you can do, but how to market yourself.”
Rachel learned she didn’t have to limit herself to doing admin VA work. That it was okay to niche and concentrate on what she was good at. To hone those skills and take them to the next level. She also realized there are a LOT of business owners who need those higher-level skills. And she wants you to realize it, too.
“There’s wonderful work out there for wonderful clients for wonderful pay.”
Rachel talks about the importance of having an attitude of abundance.
“There’s loads of work out there… and I’m out there doing it. So we don’t need to play small with little admin tasks. I was playing it safe because… I think it’s from fear, isn’t it? It’s the fear of the unknown. So having the confidence Emily gave me to actually go for it is priceless.”
This makes me want to stand up and cheer! 🦄
“I go to work and play with automations and I love it!”
Rachel works with coaches and course creators, specializing in general marketing & email automation. She’s a whiz at getting stuff to talk to each other on the back end, making it all run smoothly and efficiently!
“It’s finding the thing you actually love and I do… I go to work and play with automations and I love it!”
Rachel doesn’t like to set specific goals. She did, however, have something she was aiming for in her digital marketing business. She hoped to replace her income from her corporate job. The income level it had taken her 26 years to get to. A few short months after going through UDMA school, she has very nearly accomplished that! 💖
That’s right. Rachel now brings in $2500 a month on average. She has increased her hourly rate to $50 an hour for most work and up to $100 an hour for more specialized, technical tasks!
⚡️Related Podcast: What’s Standing Between You & Your Dream Business with Celi Arias #172
Listen to my Unicorns Unite Podcast where we talk about pushing past your limiting thoughts if you want to grow personally and professionally.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Amazon
Connect with Rachel
- Instagram: @_rachel_jackson_
- Website: https://racheljackson.co.uk/
Further Reading:
>> How to Get Started as a Virtual Assistant
>> Types of Virtual Assistants: What is a Tech VA?
>> Create a Services Guide with Virtual Assistant Packages to Book Better Clients
>> Earning Six Figures: How to Make Money as a Virtual Assistant
Not a course. A collective for marketers already doing the work.
Our Digital Marketer’s Workgroup is a vetted peer community where marketing specialists get real business support and talk shop with people who actually get it. Applications are open now ⬇️
The Takeaway: It’s time to invest in yourself.
Rachel has a message for anyone who is where she was – wondering if the UDMA self-study course is right for them.
“Emily’s course was exactly what I needed at the perfect time for me to be a sort of springboard to the next level to actually start doing it.
If they’ve got the inclination and mindset, just go for it. It gives you everything you need. Sometimes you just need to invest in yourself… This is investing in yourself and your ability to make money in the future. But it’s so much more. The confidence that comes with it – see it as an investment rather than a cost.”
Those days of feeling unfulfilled by her work are long behind Rachel. What she does now fills her up!
If you’re new to the freelance digital marketing world or stuck in the drudgery zone of low-paying virtual assistant work, do what Rachel did. Invest in yourself by enrolling in the Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School. I’d love to help you level up and build a profitable and fulfilling biz that you love.
-Emily, Digital Marketing Consultant and Implementer
Emily Reagan is a mom of four, board game pro, freelance digital marketer and Marketing Assistant Mentor who has helped over 450 go-getters, including military spouses, stay-at-home moms, and professional women learn in-demand skills and find flexible remote work as digital marketing assistants and specialists. She’s shared 3,000+ job leads with her freelancer community The Digital Marketer’s Workgroup.
Ask her any questions over on IG @emilyreaganpr
“I help smart women learn the in-demand digital marketing strategies and profitable tech skills to get hired as a unicorn digital marketing assistant.“
3 ways we can work together:
1. Join the Unicorn Digital Marketing Assistant School. My signature course on digital marketing implementation will give you the confidence and teach you HOW to do the work that’s in demand and highly marketable. This is the secret weapon to getting booked out. Start learning digital marketing services and building your digital service business right now.
2. Already doing marketing work and have a few clients? Want a stronger referral network? Apply for our Digital Marketer’s Workgroup—a tight-knit community of freelancers just like you. Inside, you’ll get behind-the-scenes support, advanced trainings, and troubleshooting that every solo marketer needs. Plus, I’ve shared over 3,000 job opportunities with this group—exclusive leads you won’t find anywhere else. If you’re ready to grow your business and connect with a supportive network, join us here!
3. Looking to hire a Digital Marketing Assistant? If you want to expand your team & grow your business, submit your job opportunity here. I’ll share it with the skilled unicorn marketing assistants inside my workgroup totally free.
Yes, you really can work online.
Feeling overwhelmed about how to start working from home or build your own digital marketing business? Take a deep breath — you can do this!
Start with my list of 10 in-demand tasks that online business owners are constantly asking for help with. These are the exact skills clients look for when hiring a virtual assistant. Grab your free download now, update your VA toolkit, and see where you might want to grow next as you build your freelance business with confidence and purpose.
