My Business Origin Story (From Someone Who Never Thought They’d Be An Online Business Owner)

If you’re new around here, I’m Sarah Latorre – former teacher turned virtual assistant turned online business manager (OBM) + systems strategist. I love helping female business owners with all things behind the scenes in business - from building systems with Honeybook, Dubsado, or ClickUp to creating content workflows and helping execute and get content out into the world.

I also love helping with the operations of the client experience. We strategize together to elevate your client’s experience, ensuring they have the best experience with your brand.

But this isn’t where I started two years ago. A LOT has changed in the past three years. Let’s take a walk down memory lane together. 

Before The Business

Picture this: You're staring at a positive pregnancy test, and instead of pure joy, panic sets in. Not about the baby – about everything else. Your job. Your future. The crushing realization that the career you've invested everything in might not be the life you actually want.

That was me in 2021, two months before I started my fourth year of teaching elementary school.

I became a teacher because eight-year-old me fell in love with the idea in Mrs. Gutierrez’s third-grade classroom. I got my master's degree. I was supposed to love this. It’s all I ever envisioned for my career (with one moment of thinking I wanted to be a missionary on college campuses or a pastor… but that is a story for another time). 

But teaching through 2020 was brutal. The stress, the constant changes, the worry about safety – it all felt unsustainable, especially with a baby on the way.

The Search for "Something Else"

During maternity leave, I found myself googling "remote jobs for moms" at 2 AM while my son slept on my chest.

That's when I stumbled into the world of virtual assistants. I saw moms and former teachers using their existing skills – organization, communication, project management – to build businesses that fit their lives instead of the other way around.

I realized that as a teacher, I already knew how to manage systems, create content, and solve problems. I had no idea there were ways to use those skills to support online business owners, and it opened up a whole new world to me.

The Scared-But-Doing-It-Anyway Phase

I'll be honest – I was terrified. I'd never seen myself as an entrepreneur. The idea of marketing myself, making sales calls, and showing up online? Absolutely not.

But I started building after bedtime, one small step at a time. I took a course, created basic systems, and began reaching out to business owners who seemed overwhelmed by their backend operations.

The beginning was slow and filled with self-doubt. Some days, I wondered if I was crazy for thinking I could make this work. But I kept noticing business owners sharing their frustrations – the same feelings of being overwhelmed and scattered that I recognized from my teaching days.

And Then It Happened

My first two clients changed everything. Not because I was making big money yet (I wasn't), but because I saw the immediate impact I could have.

One client had been manually sending the same emails over and over. Within a week, I had templates and workflows set up that saved her hours. 

Another was drowning in content ideas with no system to get them published. I built her a content workflow that turned her scattered thoughts into consistent, strategic posting.

By December, referrals started flowing in. Clients were telling their friends about me because they were finally experiencing what it felt like to have organized systems and consistent content without the stress.

Where We Are Now

Three years in, I've evolved from someone who just executed tasks to someone who helps business owners see the bigger picture. I help them spot bottlenecks before they become major problems, build systems that scale with their growth, and create workflows that actually work for their specific business needs.

The work I do now – systems strategy, content creation, client experience optimization – helps business owners reclaim their time and energy for the parts of their business they're truly passionate about.

If you’re reading this and in a similar season, trying to figure out what’s next to better align your business to your season of life, I see you.

Whether you're a fellow business owner who's found their groove or someone still figuring it all out, I'm grateful you're here reading my story. The path from "what else can I do?" to "this is exactly what I'm meant to do" isn't always easy, but worth it.

Thanks for taking this journey down memory lane with me! If you enjoyed getting to know the story behind the business, I'd love to stay connected. Sign up for my weekly newsletter "The Systems Journal" where I share more behind-the-scenes stories about building a business that fits your life.

Let's connect on Instagram @heysarahlatorre – I love meeting new people and hearing their stories too!