This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Sarah Theobald, The Empire Agency

There I was, at my college graduation, looking around at my peers wondering how many of them were as lucky as I was. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to start my corporate job the very next day. $42,000 salary with benefits and my very own cubicle– it was all I could ever want!

*Record Scratch, Freeze Frame* WHAT?! Looking back on myself in December 2019, I truly don’t recognize the girl who was so excited for her corporate life to begin. Don’t get me wrong, I learned a lot and wouldn’t be where I am today without that experience, but I would never go back.

Why did I decide to leave corporate?
There were many company-specific reasons I chose to leave my corporate life behind, but I’ll share the more universal reasons with you. First and foremost, I did not like working in a restrictive, cubicle environment. I am someone who works best when I am allowed tons of flexibility both in working hours as well as location. Additionally, I hated that I was only entitled to a raise once per year, regardless of my performance improving at exponential rates. Finally, I didn’t appreciate the divide between departments and the competition to get to the top. I just wasn’t having it!

How did I choose to be a VA?
As most Zillenialls do, I was scrolling Tiktok into the wee hours of the morning, and came across a girl around my age who left her job to become a virtual assistant. She claimed she was making 9k per month, and that was VERY enticing to me! I realized everything she was doing for clients were things I had done before, so I figured I’d give it a whirl.

What was my exit strategy?
Honestly, I didn’t have one. Here’s how things went down: I was required to go back into the office in person on October 1, and I found out about the VA world on September 22. I didn’t want to go back into the office, so I knew I had to act fast! The weekend before I had to back into the office I went into high gear and created my LLC, designed my entire website, and created all my contracts, my business instagram account, and processes. It was nuts.

I did end up going back into the office on October 1 because it would be entirely unrealistic to replace my $42k salary in the matter of 9 days.

So, I continued to work my full-time job while doing VA work on the side. I had about 15 hours per week of client work in addition to my 40 hours of corporate work, and I was getting burnt out quickly. In December I decided to resign, effective at the end of January. In January I actually had the opportunity to work half days and work on my business the other half of the day! That was really great for my business.

How have things been since?
When I say I will never look back, I mean it. Since leaving corporate and putting all my energy into my business I have been 100% booked out and making 55% more money than I did in corporate! If you’ve been considering starting a small business, my advice is to just go for it. If you don’t do it now, you likely never will!

I’m Sarah, Founder and CEO of The Empire Agency. I am a proud wife, dog mom, and Disney addict who drinks way too much Dr. Pepper for my own good.

From a young age, I’ve always had a knack for entrepreneurship. My interest in business was born while running lemonade stands as a little girl, and has evolved into establishing what is now The Empire Agency, a virtual assisting agency for beauty business owners.

I am an Arizona State University alumna with a B.S. in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Myers-Briggs type “ENFJ-T” (The Protagonist), Enneagram “6” (The Loyalist), and Predictive Index “The Altruist”.