27 Weeks Pregnant, Hospital Stay & How my Business Kept Running
PHEW. What a whirlwind of a few weeks you guys! I am grateful to be on the other side of this typing this post & feeling so much better.
Just a quick recap of everything that happened & then I’ll get into the purpose of this post: How my Business Kept Running with me being pretty MIA for 2 full weeks + in the hospital for 2 nights 🙈
How I got sick:
This is still a bit of a mystery for us… my 2 year old had a cold/cough the weekend of 4th of July, but she recovered quickly & we didn’t think much of it. As she was just getting better, I started feeling a sore throat and was thinking dang it, I caught her cold. After 9 days of my congestion, cough and fever getting worse - it was starting to be a little more evident that it wasn’t “just a cold.” I was also just so uncomfortable, having horrible pains through my left ribcage and shoulder and knew it was time to go in. We were obviously nervous it might be COVID19 and also had that tested.
After an eventful evening in Labor & Delivery to check on baby boy & then being transferred to the ER for all sorts of tests & a lung x-ray, we found that I had parafluenza virus + strep pneumonia. My left lung was evidently unhealthy and as my fever increased, my O2 levels decreased and pain worsened, they admitted me. I stayed 2 nights in the hospital with amazing nurses & doctors, we got the right antibiotics, pain meds & monitoring for baby.
Things really started turning around on day 2 and I was able to go home! It’s still been such a recovery process for my lungs & I just felt so physically drained, BUT I am so happy we got things figured out, baby boy is looking great & I am headed towards a full recovery 🙌🏼
How my Business Kept Running
As sh*tty as this all was - something I am really proud of is that I was able to take the time to unplug and recover without stressing too much over my business totally falling apart during this recovery period.
Did emails go unanswered longer than usual? Of course.
Did I completely stop putting up posts on Instagram during this time? Yes! Because I value my Instagram as a very personal and educational space & I wasn’t going to just slap up posts or have my assistant throw things up there without me being fully present 😅
Am I behind on my own timeline for some projects and a new course I’m creating? Sadly, yes BUT these are things that can be continued as soon as I’m ready.
But guess what also happened?
+ The retainer work I do as a Virtual Assistant was handled as I have understanding clients and we have systems in place, as well as things done in advance
+ My courses continued to sell because I have automated free guides, email sequences & saved information on my Instagram to promote these without having to talk about them on a daily basis
+ I have an assistant who handled any random tasks that came up that needed immediate attention & continued to do her monthly tasks that go on a regular basis for me
+ Traffic to my website, programs & social continued because I have a Pinterest Manager who has my account going on a regular basis to promote my ongoing offers
This didn’t happen overnight…
Sometimes, life happens and we are simply forced to slow down 😆 But the amazing thing is, we have the ability to put into place systems, automations & have others on our team to help us keep things going smoothly…
But this didn’t happen for me overnight! I started super simple as a Virtual Assistant working a few hours per week with a 3 month old baby and my business has developed and grown (along with my little girl! 😍). I didn’t have the support of an assistant initially or the passive income through online courses - but I do now because after my daughter was born, I simply chose to START.
If you’re ready to start your own business from home - watch this FREE 30 Min Training on How to Start your Virtual Assistant Business and send me a DM on the ‘gram afterwards to let me know you watched it. I’d love to answer any of your questions!
xo Helen
Helen Peterson is a work-from-home mom who has established herself in the online business industry as a Virtual Assistant & Launch Strategy Specialist. Along with helping her clients with launch strategy & successfully creating & selling their online courses, she also coaches other women in starting their own Virtual Assistant business (regardless of their current career path).
Her passion stems from guiding women into living the life they've always dreamt of with no financial boundaries & the flexibility to live & travel the way they want to.