Meet Alexandra Pina | Virtual Assistant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandra Pina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandra, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Discipline and self-care.

The majority, if not all, of our first 20 years of life are spent in school. By going through this system, we learn to have discipline in order to study for a test, stay organized, play a sport, while balancing school and a social life. We are rewarded for this discipline through good grades, praises, and admissions to our dream school, but, once out of school, it’s very hard to stick to that level of discipline. Yes, you have to have discipline to go to work, follow a diet, or learn a new skill, but the difference is that once you are an adult there is no reward that comes from being disciplined.

It took me some time to realize this fact, but once I did, I committed to have the discipline to show up for myself for both my professional and personal life every single day.

Part of my discipline included working on my business at least 2 hours a day (as I still was working a full-time job), and one hour of self-care a day.

Very often I heard entrepreneurs shouldn’t watch TV or go out on the weekends because they had a business to build, so any free time they had should be spent doing so. I respectfully agreed to disagree with such opinion. In my eyes, self-care is very similar to dieting – when you deny yourself from the foods that bring your joy, you’re more likely to cheat and binge. At the end of the day, it’s all about balance. You can work on your business, build your business, and also enjoy life.

I sometimes feel these habits fight each other but thankfully I have reached a point where I am able to tell when I need to be more or less strict with myself.

Two months after committing to be more disciplined and focus on self-care I announced my virtual assistant business, DUET Solutions, on social media. Less than a month in, I was already booked out which meant I could not accept any new clients. My business grew so fast in two months, I had to hire help in order to keep up with the demand. I know for a fact all of these successes came from the commitments I made for myself.

What should our readers know about your business?
A year ago I would have never imaged I would be an entrepreneur and a business owner. It always seemed very scary and risky to me. But, in September of this year I knew it was time to leave my full-time job as a talent agent so I started researching careers that would allow me to have the flexibility to work from home, travel, and earn what I knew I was worth. Through my research I found out about Virtual Assistants and it sounded like the perfect career for me. According to research, by 2027 70% of the workforce in the US will be freelancers and contractors, and traditional employees as we know them will no longer be the norm. These numbers, and all of the knowledge I had about VAs through my research, drove me to drop the fear and open my own Virtual Assistant business, DUET Solutions.

I took all of the month of September to research and build the base of my business. I decided my niche would be creative entrepreneurs, like photographers, MUAs, and influencers who needed assistance with administrative work and/or social media management to continue to grow their businesses. In October of 2021 I announced my business on social media, and three weeks later I was completely booked out which meant I could no longer accept new clients. This also meant I could quit my full-time job.

I am so happy with my results, proud of myself for putting fear aside and believing in myself. That’s the biggest lesson DUET has taught me – to believe in myself. I knew my strengths so I used them in my favor in order to have the clients I have now.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Impostor syndrome is so real and often times we block ourselves from seeing our truest potential. My two sisters and close friends are my biggest cheerleaders, and I wouldn’t be here, typing this paragraph if it wasn’t for them. They have helped me realize how special I am and everything I can bring to the table. They have been there for me through the highest of highs and lowest of lows. I am forever thankful they pushing me to be better and so blessed to have them in my life.

Instagram: @duetsolutions

Other: email: duetsolutionsinfo@gmail.com

Image Credits
Main headshot (yellow background) photographer credit: @ootdatlanta