Episode 86: How to Monetize Your Skills with Dalynn Hare

Acquania Escarne 0:03

You are listening to the purpose of money podcast, a podcast where we talk about ways to build wealth and create more freedom in your life today. I am your host Acquania Escarne

Hey guys, welcome back to the purpose of money podcast today I'm so excited to have Dalynn Hare. On the show, we're gonna talk about how to monetize the skills that you use every single day and turn those into a four to five figure business.

Dalynn Hare started her entrepreneurial career as a licensed insurance agent, in which she worked for four years until she transitioned to higher education. For nine years, she helped others in the educational space and then decided to leap into entrepreneurship.

She launched Essential Timing Solutions, a virtual assistant and business consulting company, where she provides administrative services to small business owners at all income levels.

Since becoming a full time VA, she's managed more clients in the notary, business coaching, mental health, and funeral services industry. But that being said, Never allow someone to tell you in order for you to work, you have to niche down. She enjoys coaching new entrepreneurs on their business launches, strategies and marketing plans and coaching more experienced business owners with auditing their processes.

Handling project management and business operations is where she thrives. Dalynn had her first 10k month within six months of launching her business and has used different strategies outside of day to day VA work to reach this goal.

Now she provides day of coordination services to business owners that are hosting in person conferences or masterminds to.

Hey, Valen Welcome to the show.

Dalynn Hare 2:05

Hey, how's it going?

Acquania Escarne 2:07

It's great. I'm so glad to have you full transparency, guys. I've been working with her for a little bit on a client that I have. And it's been a pleasure to work with you as someone who's really energetic on the team and also coming up with creative ideas. And I just felt like I needed to share with people how you transitioned from a nine to five to entrepreneurship, because I feel like most people don't realize they can monetize their skills. And you've done a great job at not only transitioning, but making yourself create a life for yourself that really supports your lifestyle, your business and your family.

Dalynn Hare 2:48

Thank you so much. Thank you for having me here in this space on your podcast today. I truly do appreciate it.

Acquania Escarne 2:54

Of course, of course. Now it is a money finance, personal, you know, wealth podcast. So I do want to start out with going back a little bit. So tell me, what was money like for you when you were growing up?

Dalynn Hare 3:09

Oh, goodness. So money for me. My dad always worked in manufacturing. My mom used to work. You know, I remember one time like she used to work at the gas station for like years. And then she worked for the school district driving buses. And the older I got. So when I got to high school getting ready to graduate college, then she went back to school. And she started working in higher ed. So you know, money was money's not back then it's not money today. So you can make you know, a little bit stretch back. So I don't feel like we struggle. But I also do understand now looking back, they're like we did the best we could you know with money.

Acquania Escarne 3:50

And then when you grew up and you decided to get your education and get a job. Do you think any of those money habits or things that you learned, you know, came into your life and how you handled money?

Dalynn Hare 4:05

Um, yes and no. So like, my dad was always a saver. He used to say, like, I use cash and carry, meaning he didn't use any debit card. You know, he got his paper check. He took it to the bank, he cashed it, put it in an envelope. And as he spent it, he would track every one of his expenses. So in hindsight, he was really teaching me about money management. My mom is the spender of course, oh, my dad is saver.

So I had to really figure out do I want to save and track expenses like my dad or spend like my mom. And of course, I was a first generation college student, so neither my mom or dad had been to college and up until you know, I got to my senior year of high school. So going into college taking out student loans, like we didn't understand that like we just knew, like, here's some money to help you pay for school. Do you want it or do you not want to come here and it's kind of like what I really want to go to school. So let me take out these student loans.

But I do feel like as a child learning, seeing my dad track expenses, like that helped me. But then on the back end, it's kind of like, here's some money just take it. So it's a learning process for sure as a college student.

Acquania Escarne 5:16

Okay, so tell me about your job just before full time entrepreneurship. I don't want to bring back any trauma. But can you describe what was the moment that really set it off for you?

Dalynn Hare 5:29

So the moment that set it off, for me was definitely February 2021. And now doing more industry research, it's more of a quiet, quitting, quiet firing. However, I learned that I was on the side of quiet firing. I remember, like, my supervisor was like my supervisor one day, and then it was like, Oh, well, actually, we want you to take over the department. So I was like, I was promoted to that position, she was kind of phased out. And then like, five minutes, late, five months later, I went from being a director, to being called into the office and saying,

Hey, we are restructuring your department. You know, this is your only option here. So I knew at that point, I can either take the opportunity that was in front of me, or go ahead and walk away, and no one really would fight for me to stay anyway. So I took that position. Um, funny thing is, I had took the VA boot camp about two weeks before, so everything started aligning at the perfect time. And I had my first client within three weeks.

So like, the week before that meeting, I had already had a client, so I was like, oh, yeah, I'm not gonna be here long.

Acquania Escarne 6:39

I love isn't that funny? And I am not gonna be here for long in that meeting, like, okay. Okay. Like you had a plan. They're sitting here telling you we're gonna restructure, and you're like, No, we're not.

Dalynn Hare 6:54

Yeah, we'll restructure for a little bit, but I'm not gonna be here much longer.

Acquania Escarne 6:58

Okay, so were you entrepreneur who took this suddenly, like, you didn't necessarily have the savings, but you knew you had the faith? Or did you have a combination? A little bit of savings? And a lot of faith?

Dalynn Hare 7:13

Yeah, so I had a combination of both. So my strategy was, I didn't want to leave that position until I could at least make my salary as a virtual assistant, or make more in and it with faith because I was an entrepreneur, before I met my husband, and then when we got married, I said, Okay, I think you might need to get a big girl job may have benefits, you know, to feel like you're just not out here winging it because entrepreneurship is a lot of pivoting. And you know, adjusting as, as time or as time sees fit.

Acquania Escarne 7:45

That makes sense. So when you did turn in your papers, was anyone surprised?

Dalynn Hare 7:50

So actually, it's crazy. Because the day I had requested a meeting earlier that week, like hey, I need to meet with you, because I had typed up my resignation letter, like over the weekend, like I was ready to go and my supervisor at that time was like, Hey, we can meet, you know, Thursday at such and such.

And I was like, Well, I have my text appointment that day. So is there another day we can meet? And like, I never heard anything back. Until the till that Thursday. She was like, hey, I need to talk with you. There's some things that we need to discuss. So I'm like, okay, cool. So she was like, well, you call this meeting, you know, what is it that you want to talk about? So we had a conversation about some concerns that I was having. And then she let me know, like, there have been some reports to human resources that maybe you're running your business, while also working a nine to five because people see your business all over social media.

And I was like, Okay, well, like I'm doing a lot of graphic design work. So that's not necessarily done while I'm working. So we had that conversation. And I was like, Well, the reason I needed this meeting is because I'm actually giving you like my resignation letter. Once again, like perfect time in perfect alignment, that I knew that it was time for me to officially transition out of that career field and explore something new.

Acquania Escarne 9:08

I love it. I love when God aligns things in our favor cause at the end of the day, she she could have said whatever she wanted to say you were still prepared to leave. So that's beautiful. So tell me, you know, if I'm someone who knows that I'm really good at graphic designing since that's something you just mentioned, how do I turn that into a virtual assistant business, give me three tips to help me get started?

Dalynn Hare 9:32

So one is to learn your audience. So clients that you potentially want to work with, look at their page, see if they use a lot of static graphics, learn the aesthetics that you can use, and definitely get familiar with Canva. If you don't know how to use the Adobe Pro app or Photoshop definitely get familiar with Canva it will be your best friend trying to get started as a graphic designer.

The next thing I will say is start sending your graphic design portfolio out to the potential clients that you want to work with. Let them see your work. And also go ahead and include like your a discovery call or appointment link in that email. That way, they don't have to keep messaging, messaging you back and forth, they can go ahead and you know, schedule the call.

And then the third thing is you need to develop, like what your packages are gonna look like, because graphic design does take time. So are you going to offer 16 graphics per month, are you going to offer 24 graphics per month, so make sure you have that conversation about how many posts they want per week. And if they want carousels, because that also helps you adjust and determine the package and prices.

Acquania Escarne 10:38

I like it. So even if you decide you want to monetize a different skill, guys, but concept is the same find your audience who's going to pay you to do what you do. And be you'll probably be surprised there are a lot of people out there who need that additional support. And that's not their lane, like I'm not as creative as a graphic designer. And I have Canva. But I don't like to start from scratch. So I do like their templates. But I definitely feel like it doesn't hurt when you have a more creative person who that is their lane and you hire them to do what they're good at. Right? It saves you a lot of time. And I've noticed and entrepreneurship, sometimes time is money, and it's worth hiring someone else.

So now that you are well established virtual assistant business and business consultant coach, I still want to learn about how exactly you found your first client, because that might be the most intimidating process for people.

Dalynn Hare 11:37

So I like when people ask me this, but I don't like when people ask me this because mine is so different. UM literally I was marketing everything on Instagram. And then I said, well Dalynn go ahead and put yourself out there on Facebook and on Twitter. And literally, I created my business page, I had made a couple tweets. And someone just DM me and was like, "Hey, I'm always looking for a virtual assistant. What type of things do you like doing?" And I was like, Well, I'm more focused on graphic design and administrative services.

So we literally like met, the next day contract was signed by Friday and first invoices paid. So mine was more of an easier process to get my first client, but it's not as easy for a lot of people for sure.

Acquania Escarne 12:24

Okay, that's cool. So what I did get from that, though, is it helps to be on multiple platforms to secure your clients and also to increase your exposure. And I too am on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. But that's like a lot. I mean, when you're doing this on the side, you know, how do you recommend that people be present in all the spaces if they don't necessarily have the time or the focus to be everywhere?

Dalynn Hare 12:53

Definitely automations. And that's what helped me scale my business while working a nine to five. So I will take the weekend and just create my graphics. And I would go to meta Face the meta business Planner Tool and schedule it because once you set up your Facebook business account and your Instagram business account, you can schedule everything through that business planner. And just schedule the date and time that you want it posted. And it will post to both platforms. automations will be your best friend, if you don't have a lot of time to you know, develop your side hustle the way that you wish to do so.

So definitely learn automations learn what helps like look at apps that you can just schedule things so that they will automatically post for you.

Acquania Escarne 13:36

Facts and I hate to say it took me a minute to actually embrace automation. And now I wish I'd done it sooner because I love when I get paid. And I didn't even have to do anything. I love when stuff gets scheduled. And it shows up on Instagram and people start to engage with it. And you're like, what happened? What did I do? You know, you start to get all these notifications. And then you're like, oh, yeah, that post went out. So I really love it.

I recommend automation.

Dalynn Hare 14:04

I remember I remember to when we had the conversation about you know, a lot of people say my business like everywhere on social media. In hindsight, I was like why was everybody said but I had been running Facebook ads to my in person business event that I hosted that April. So like everything made sense in the end. And I was just like this is so funny how automation can be your best friend. But sometimes it can also be your enemy based on others perspectives.

Acquania Escarne 14:34

It's true but at the end of the day if you were doing what you're supposed to be doing that what can they possibly say other than all you have excellent time management skills because you are running a business and showing up in your job. So I love it lately. I love it. So what do you think now that you've been at it for a little while and you did have your career as a life insurance producer before you became VA pro extraordinaire. What are the pros and cons to business in your opinion?

Dalynn Hare 15:06

The pros are definitely the time freedom. You know, as long as you can automate things that don't require you to be there organically, the pros is time freedom. And that's why I wanted to leave higher ed and transitioned back into full time entrepreneurship so that I can create a schedule that benefitted me and my family because my little one is so involved with a lot of after school activities, to where I just feel like I needed to be there and be present in the moment.

The cons would definitely be pivoting when is necessary. learning when to pivot, and to know that it's okay that imposter syndrome will arise, just as long as you can realign yourself with your why as why you went into the industry, why you started the business. So making sure that you understand that, and you can always go back to that because it's going to come up, you know, and that is the hard part of business just knowing when to pivot. And to know that, you know, you're not the only one going through something in that moment.

Acquania Escarne 16:07

I love that. And I think that's true. And especially as female entrepreneurs, I think we're harder on ourselves when we don't, you know, knock it right out the park, especially if you were super successful in your nine to five and constantly, you know, given words of affirmation awards, or even some type of support, and then now you're on your own, you're a team of one, and you're trying to do it all and you're not knocking it out the park every single time.

But I think the key is to keep going. Because even when you pivot, you might discover a completely new income stream for you that you love. I mean, I've added income streams along the way as I've developed skills. So like right now I do like email marketing. And most people don't know that because it's a referral only based business. But I love writing, I love that side of when someone opens up for entertaining email, and they love it so much that they'll tell me or they'll send it to my client, and my client will tell me. And that's something I never considered that when I started, I was in real estate and life insurance, like where does email marketing fit, right?

But it just is something that somebody else actually encouraged me to do when they were like you write blogs? Why can't you write my emails? Let's try it. And it's definitely been rewarding. So I agree with pivoting. And I think that also gives us flexibility in our own business. But with that being said, like, even as an entrepreneur, and now that your business does have to provide for your family, do you still get work life balance? Is that a thing?

Dalynn Hare 17:49

So it was a thing. But I think I think it comes and goes like, because when you are trying to elevate to the next level, then yes, it is very hard to have a work life balance, like sometimes you'll work during the day. So like, for me, I do a lot of work while my little one is at school, then he come home, then he comes home and it's like a mom and wife. But when everybody is settled and in bed, like I'm back on my computer, you know, strategizing, or just looking at gaps in my business and see where I can improve. But I mean, if you do a lot of time blocking, if you're great at sticking to your plan and not saying oh, well, I'm just gonna give this project 20 more minutes, you know, then yes, you can have a work life balance. But also whenever you are trying to strategize about how do you take your business to the next level? Sometimes yes, it is extremely hard having a work life balance, especially for me being a mom and a wife.

Acquania Escarne 18:44

I get that I totally get that. And that's me too. But, you know, my husband and I, we've had constant conversations about this. And we really define what's temporary versus what's long term.

So like, the grind right now is temporary.

Dalynn Hare 18:59

Yes, that's good.

Acquania Escarne 19:01

And then you know, we have that plan. We have a vision, and we have a timeline. So I actually like that. Okay. So the name of the podcast is called The Purpose of Money. So I asked all my guests this question, what is your purpose for money?

Dalynn Hare 19:18

My purpose of money is definitely to build generational wealth because my parents didn't do it for us, you know, even though they have life insurance, thank God because I was a life insurance agent. So they have life insurance, but to me, it's not just having life insurance, but it's what you do with that money. You know, are is someone gonna pass away and you just get it in a lump sum and you spend it all? Or is someone gonna pass away and it's allocated to a trust fund, you know, that will go to your children and their children and beyond? Because really, that's the only way that you build generational wealth, and also to educate my son about you know, how to use money as a tool for longevity, and not just you know, for the here and now. So for me is to use it as a tool to build generational wealth for generations that I may never see, you know, once I'm gone.

Acquania Escarne 20:08

I love that. I think that's a beautiful answer. Thank you so much. Now, before we go, I want you to tell all my listeners, how do they get in contact with you? How do they hire you? How can you become their coach and their VA business, drop your social media website and other links now?

Dalynn Hare 20:28

Yeah, so you can follow me on all social platforms at @essentialtimesolutions_ on Instagram, it has an underscore at the end. Or you can find my website at www. essentialtimingsolutionsva.com. At every platform, you will see a link in my bio where you can click a book an appointment with me and everything is laid out pricing, scheduling, times, just click that and also it's automated. So you'll get an email immediately to give you a reminder, so be sure to follow me tap in and let's work together.

Acquania Escarne 21:01

I love that and I have enjoyed working with you. So I highly recommend that others do it too. Alright guys, if you have any questions about how to monetize your skills, or to start your own VA business or you need someone to help in your business, definitely reach out check out the website and read in the show notes for all the details because I will drop the links there as well. Until next time, keep building generational wealth.

Thank you for listening to the purpose of money podcast. For more resources and information, check out my website the purpose of money.com and while you're there, please sign up for our newsletter so you have the latest information on new episodes and blog posts. Until next time, keep creating freedom in your life today.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai