The Birth of The Reliable Virtual Assistant

Dearest reader, this is my first journal entry, and I would love to take you on my journey. Surgeon was what was chosen for me. Unlike the way it works for most Nigerian parents, money, avoiding repetition of mistakes, the thought that there are only about five good courses any child can read, and so on, were not the reasons that stuck. For me, I was a sick child growing up. They thought I could help other children/people not be like me. So, surgeon, it was, and this nearly messed up my life.

My older sister, Physician-to-be, who could have saved me, called and said she was not happy being in the science classes. She meandered her way to freedom, unknowingly piling the pressure on me. The stakes for becoming a surgeon became higher.

Educators seem not to understand the fact that exams are not a true judge of intellect. How could I ace my chemistry exams, and say I was not good at Chemistry? It was just a formula that I applied. I loved Mathematics, so I could add further to it. That helped Physics. For Chemistry, I studied the teachers and how they asked questions, then I crammed! No one understood.

Off to the University, I went, despite my pleas to start a business. It was not possible to do Medicine and Surgery. To lessen the disappointment, I went in for Pharmacy. When the admission came, it was Botany. This was not even a course in the eye of most Nigerian parents. I did not even know what it was, but phew! was I relieved? I got in with the plan to switch courses, so the journey through university started. The switch fell through. The school was not allowing a switch from faculties. It was not my fault anymore.

According to the 1977 Classic, “Roots”, “We is free!”

I knew a degree is not enough. I can now embrace business. But what business?

The first was Catering which started in 200 level. I started making cakes after three months of training. Learning business, keeping steady grades. School was beginning to be exciting.

Fast-forward to three months after graduating from the University, I got my first job as a Personal Assistant. Moved to a new city, enjoyed the experience, but resigned to come to prepare for the National Youth Service Corps programme. At home, I took up a job as a Pâtissier, even though I had little experience. So my nights were spent on YouTube and the days were for wowing my employers.

NYSC took me to Jos for the first time ever. There, I took up Dressmaking. Patisseries were not taking Corps members, so it was teaching in the mornings and fashion at night. I still make some of my dresses to date, even though I knew I was not going to pursue it as a career.

Youth service came and went. I became an Administrative Manager at a Security Company. Bored by the routine, I wrote and designed the company’s profile, proposals, training curriculums and guide. It was work, but it was better than idleness.

Meanwhile, I got a rent-free land for farming. At weekends, I was cultivating sweet and Irish potatoes and maize, while also managing my cake business which was struggling because I did not understand the market in Jos at the time.

It was my SME Business and Coaching Loop training with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) that made me see that the Pastry business was more of a pastime than a real business for me. But I took every opportunity I got. I applied for a scholarship for a Masters Programme. I was on vacation when the admission came.

I went back to Jos, started working as a Barista in a Café, while taking the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Course by Google Digital Skills for Africa, managing my sister’s social media accounts who is a Cordwainer, taking basic graphic designing classes and going for my MSc. Program in Pharmacognosy and Traditional Medicine. All of these in the midst of a raging pandemic. I started to research jobs that can be done from the home. I read and learnt and with a small group of people who believed in me and were always in my ears, whispering support, and a little leap of faith, the Virtual Assistant was finally birth. This is not just a career, it is my purpose. It works with my personality and it’s an endless cycle of learning and I love it so much.

Every experience down the line has prepared me for this career. A keen eye for details, following instruction and creativity from baking and dressmaking. Patience, nurturing and learning the time and seasons from farming. Planning, organizing, executing from being a PA and Administrator, Customer relationship from Personal Assistance, Administrator and Barista.

Dear readers, my story is not likened to most success stories, but it is very relatable to so many millennials out there. I am just one person who had to try out different things at different times that kept me feeling confused with no sense of direction because they felt like they were unrelated. Only to discover later in life that they were all connected in some way. Simply put, I felt like I was losing myself, but the truth is I was only discovering myself.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first journal post. I am undecided on what the next one will be. Until the next journal.

Always and forever,

Alexis.