Meet the Mom behind VASupportPro: Marge Trajeco-Aberasturi

If you’ve ever researched about being a work-at-home mom, you’d have most likely come across the term “VA” or virtual assistant. According to Wikipedia, “A virtual assistant (also called virtual office assistants) is generally self-employed and provides professional administrative, technical, or creative (social) assistance to clients remotely from a home office.”

In the Philippines, more and more people — moms and non-moms alike — are discovering that working from home is totally possible, and that one of the most common work-at-home jobs available is that of being a VA.

One such person, who eventually put up her own VA business, is Marge Trajeco-Aberásturi. Here is her inspiring story.

“Pushed” into Working at Home
“I didn’t set out to start my own home business or to become a VA; the decision was made for me. I was actually pushed into starting a home business when I delivered our third child, Jude, prematurely and there were complications. The neurologist told us that we could not take the risk of having someone else take care of the baby, as there were signs that we should watch out for,” Marge shares.

“While I was still on maternity leave, I received news that I was being given another promotion, but that the new post would mean I could only see my family on weekends. My husband and I knew that we could not give up my income, but neither could we survive with this new setup being offered, so I used the remaining days of my maternity leave looking for ways to still earn without leaving the baby.”

Marge started with online transcription jobs and soon learned the ropes of being a VA on her own. She eventually set up VASupportPro, which stands for Virtual Administrative Support Professional, as her own home-based business.

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What is a Virtual Assistant Business?
According to Marge, her business is a service-oriented one, offering virtual office support to business owners overseas. “I provide administrative office support across the board, from mundane tasks like email management, to the more challenging task of website maintenance and customer service,” she explains.

“I think my business is unique because I serve my clients across-the-board. Actually, I am more of a partner than an employee. I learn the business goals and work for the attainment of those goals, without waiting for instructions. I put a lot of initiative on the table,” she continues.

Marge gives us a scenario: “One of my clients runs an online academy for triathletes. We provide training plans on three tiers. My client has provided me with a system sheet for all the tasks that I have been assigned with. When a member requests for cancellation of his tuition, my task is to reply with a standard email, asking them to reconsider. If the member insists on cancelling, I execute the cancellation and send out an email confirming the cancellation.

“After a week of following the system sheet, I decided to veer a little. Since I knew that the goal was to keep the members enrolled, I took the initiative to ask for the reason for cancellation, and then made an assessment.

“One of the main reasons [clients cancel tuition] was financial. They said they want to continue with the training but times are hard and the cost was just not within their budget anymore. So I went and reviewed the history of the canceling member with the academy. I found that the member had been with the academy for more than a year, so I wrote my client an email, seeking approval to offer that member a discounted rate,” she says.

“The first time I did this, the client was really surprised that I even thought of going that route, instead of just sending out the pre-written response. The thing is, I am always conscious of the fact that my client’s success is also my success. So I think like I own the business. I’m not a 9 to 5 employee. I protect the interests of my clients the way I would mine.”

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Reaping the Rewards
Marge says having her own home-based business has been challenging, but at the same time, rewarding, too. Here are some of the benefits of working at home, according to Marge:
- “I get to personally take care of my children, and homeschool them, too!”
- “I get to personally manage the household and in the process save on expenses that would otherwise put a dent on the household budget.”
- “I decide who to work with, what to work on, and where and when to work.”
- “I get to do a job that I can be passionate about and not feel like I’m really working.”
- “I get to dictate how much I earn. If I need to earn more, I just work more.”

Working at home on VASupportPro has also been financially rewarding. Marge says their family has fully recovered from the debts incurred from her financially challenging pregnancy and delivery. “We have also been able to make an investment, the amount of which came entirely from my earnings as a WAHM (work-at-home mom). Lastly, we get to give the children (aside from Jude, Marge is also mom to Xia, 13, and Bea, 9) a few extras that we would not enjoy had I not taken the plunge and started a home business,” she shares.

Tips for Aspiring WAHMs and Home Business Owners
Marge gives the following pointers for those who are thinking about setting up their own business, specifically, a business they can do at home:

“First is to find your motivation - the answer to ‘why would you want a home business.’ Then look for your inspiration - the answer to ‘what would make you happy if you were to do it.’

“It’s important that you can sustain what you started, so the happiness in your chosen business will play a vital role. It has to be something that you would want to make a career of - not just a job, but a career.”

“I’ve lost count of the moms who have come to me for work opportunities, only to give up because they find that working from home is really not for them. Running a home business is a lot more challenging than the daily commute employees go through every day. It entails mastering how you manage your time and setting priorities.”

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Marge also says that those who plan to start a home business should manage their expectations. “I left a corporate career that I loved with a mid five-digit salary, and embarked on a home business that gave me P3,500.00 on my first month. But I was really happy with that, because I knew my ‘cost to work.’”

She explains further: “Your take home pay as an employee is not really the amount that you take home – it’s your salary less taxes and contributions.  But you don’t actually take that home.”

“You use that money to pay the maids; to spend on your transportation to and from work; to spend on lunches at the office; to buy clothes, shoes and bags so you look professional in the office; to pay for the extra consumption of water, electricity and food because you have maids; to pay for the repairs that you can easily do yourself, but couldn’t because you are working; and whatever is left of that is finally what you will contribute to the real needs of your family.

“So yes, I was really happy that I had that P3,500.00 on my first month as a WAHM, which went directly to our savings account,” Marge ends.

Ultimately, starting your own home business is totally possible, as long as you have the determination to do it, and are willing to learn to realize your work-at-home goals. Just take it from Marge, who manages to juggle managing VASupportPro, homeschooling her two younger children, and keeping a happy - though admittedly, sometimes messy - home.

To find out more about VASupportPro, visit their website or their Facebook page.