As a virtual assistant who genuinely loves marketing and operations, Abhilasha Manchanda takes great pleasure in working on all facets of the process, from the idea’s conception to the realization of the final product or service the client receives. With extensive experience in all facets of accounting, business development, training, and business process outsourcing, she currently holds the positions of Director and CEO of Virtual Bliss, the virtual assistant company. She sees herself as an independent business owner who collaborates with cross-functional teams, is in charge of ownership, is deeply ingrained in the value chain, and delivers outcomes.
In this interview with Business Upside, Abhilasha Manchanda describes her entrepreneurial journey with Virtual Bliss. Moreover, she also talks about other aspects, such as the difficulties of being an entrepreneur, how to achieve success by overcoming those difficulties, and more. Here is the edited excerpt from the Interview.
Business Upside [BU]: What is your job role in the current designation?
Abby Manchanda [AM]: I am a Founder at The Virtual Bliss.
[BU]: What was your mission at the outset?
[AM]: My mission is to establish a company where employees may learn different kinds of jobs while working remotely. People from other industries, such as banking, data entry, real estate, and others, can work with many clients at once in my company, which undoubtedly broadens the vision.
[BU]: Throw some light regarding your vision in this designation
[AM]: Naturally, I was quite ambitious and wanted to start my own company. Office politics were becoming too tiresome for me. I made the decision to start this business, and my goal is to create an environment where employees cooperate and use their earnings for their own benefit. It is not something where, even when individuals work from home, they still need to set aside a certain amount of money in order to manage their career. They can certainly look presentable, but my goal was to establish a company where employees can do whatever they want. They can work at their own pace and it’s for their own benefit. For me, that was the most crucial factor.
In addition, employees in the industry I work in frequently gain a broader perspective since they interact with various kinds of people. We have multiple and distinctive cultures in India. They get to work with the CEOs and the Founders. It makes them more ready to adapt if they decide to advance in their careers and switch companies in the future. It also helps them comprehend the working cultures of various countries. They benefit from it because they can engage in anything and discover their preferred fields of employment. After all, choosing to work is a very personal choice.
[BU]: What is unique about the strategy you follow to overcome the hurdles in life?
[AM]: I have faced N number of challenges in my life. I occasionally think that my life has been somewhat experimental. But it’s true I found that focusing on one thing at a time, one day at a time, one idea at a time, and one task at a time helped me get through obstacles in life. Of course, it sometimes slows you down, but it does so for the right purpose. You do not panic, you don’t get anxious, and you have a healthy work environment. You once strike a balance between your personal and professional lives. But you carry it out, right? You won’t choose ten tasks and botch them all up; instead, you’ll choose one or two and excel at them. In order to explore themselves from the inside, it is best to accomplish one thing at a time, take each day as it comes, and complete each task one at a time.
[BU]: How do you generate new ideas?
[AM]: Well, the issues that my clients bring to me inspire fresh ideas. Say, a client is having a difficulty; I would realize; I would brainstorm; See what projects I completed for earlier clients and how I assisted them; I would present my clients with one to two ideas and act accordingly. We can never be sure if they will be effective, but you still need to make an effort to do so in order to attract customers and sales. I frequently use brainstorming, the internet, and other research tools to come up with ideas for improvement in both my personal and professional lives.
Another practice I have is writing every day. If I have an idea, I shall record it. While I needed it, I would occasionally go back at what I had written in my diary because sometimes when you’re traveling or engaged in an activity, an idea pops up in your head that is useless at that moment. So, you should always record your thoughts so that you can use it whenever you want in the future.
[BU]: If you had one piece of advice for the freshers, what would it be?
[AM]:
- Walk on English language proficiency.
- Learn a different language such as Spanish or another language of your choice.
- Practice multitasking.
- Follow a routine in your personal life that will help you to be more organized and provide you some time to handle your business life. You’ll constantly feel disorganized and hurried if you lack discipline and don’t follow a regimen.
- Try and learn various computer skills. Let’s say you start working on Excel, start working on Google Drive, and Google Sheets, and you do not need to enroll in a course. You can visit YouTube to see how specific things operate.
- Always maintain a side business. Find out what motivates you, what gives you a sense of enthusiasm, and what you want to do, regardless of whether you have a huge or small job or are a recent grad. Try to do that every day so that you aren’t bored. That is tarot card reading to me. I’m a numerologist and a reader. That is therefore my side business, which I enjoy doing because I enjoy conversing with others. It also enables me to advance and explain many aspects of life to various people. You converse with individuals from various backgrounds, which helps you unwind from your hectic schedule.
[BU]: What do you look for in an employee?
[AM]:
- Honesty comes first.
- A willingness to learn ranks second.
- Number three is a learner who is curious.
After A, you have to write B, but if somebody’s curious, they will ask you thing that’s important.
[BU]: Do you believe there is some sort of formula or pattern to becoming successful in your career?
[AM]: Not at all. Success in a career cannot be achieved using a predetermined formula. The things that matter, such as someone would talk about being constant, being optimistic about the present market conditions, and just looking at your failures. Luck plays a significant part only if you think positively and are honest with yourself about your failures and the wonderful work you’re doing in your profession. Being both a hard worker and a smart worker simultaneously helps you advance in life. Although there is no assurance that you will succeed, even failing will provide you insight into what to avoid doing the next time.
[BU]: What has been the most satisfying moment in your professional life?
[AM]: Okay, so I talked to a few clients I was working with when I was considering launching Virtual Bliss, and they told me, “We don’t come up and give this advice to everyone, but you have it in you; So go ahead and launch your own business.” That was the first moment I felt confident that I had the ability and the wings necessary to fly. The second was when I started receiving lots of compliments and feedback from my client, all of which are posted on my LinkedIn page. It brings immense satisfaction to oneself. Of course, building a well-known corporation required a lot of effort. Although it requires 10 times as much effort as a job, it is incredibly rewarding. It brings immense satisfaction to oneself.
[BU]: What is your plan for the next 5 years?
[AM]:
- There’s no set plan as such, but I would obviously like to do a few things. The first thing I add to my day is reading. And I do it still. Every day, I read for an hour.
- The number two would be Upskilling myself occasionally; that’s important.
- Number three is to try and capture more markets. I’m currently working in Canada. So I would like to move to more markets. So, even in India, which works and has an office of my own in India, it’s currently a work-from-home setup— providing more services to the clients. That would be the current strategy.
Thank you.
More information
- Company URL- https://thevirtualbliss.com/
- LinkedIn URL- https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhilasha-manchanda-033464170/
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