In 1997 I was booted out of a job that I loved, and had thought was to be my career. I'd been there 10 years and pretty much loved everything about it. Something snapped within when that happened, as I was never again happy at any job, and I began job-hopping, which was very uncharacteristic of me.

In 2003 I happened upon the term "virtual assistance" while doing a web search (that started out as looking for transcription work), took some training, and today I am a virtual assistant with 6 ongoing clients.

Most of my long-time friends thought I was crazy to give up a steady paying job with benefits for the risk of falling on my face by creating my own business. I basically ignored them, just thinking that they were being pessimistic.

I could say many things about my ability to put it all together when I'd never run a business before, but the one thing that I believe was the most important factor was my belief that I could do it, against all odds.

Once you decide on a goal, the most important thing you can do is to forge ahead with blinders. You may have days when you are totally broke, yes. You may have times when you can't imagine how you'll ever make a profit, true. But, those are just events that will pass.

This was the biggest financial risk I've ever taken. No one I knew had even heard of virtual assistance, nor could they grasp the concept when I explained it. Today, it is its own industry. Vision and belief in myself helped me to create a world that is so much more suited to me than that of employee-employer. If I, who always believed in lack, can do it, then anyone can.