by Tanner @ ExpertSumo
Wait! Don’t throw your self-esteem out the window!
I don’t mean “you’re a loser” like your 7th-grade bully meant it.
It actually means you have the potential to triple your salary, and you’re ‘losing out’ on that opportunity. And I have the data to prove it.
Let me start with a story that stars an NBA player, 204 freelancers, and you (yes, you!)
CHAPTER 1: LOSING ON ACCIDENT: Rage against the JR
CHAPTER 2: DISAPPOINTING SUCCESS Tragic Debra
CHAPTER 3: FALSE HOPE: Inspiring Meagan
CHAPTER 4: THE STRUGGLE: There is always a way
CHAPTER 5: THE CHOICE: Win or Lose
CHAPTER 1: LOSING ON ACCIDENT – Rage against the JR
This is LeBron James, yelling at his teammate JR Smith a year and a half ago. And a year and a half ago at the exact same time, I was yelling at my TV for the exact same reason.
This was a critical game in the NBA finals, and with 4.5 seconds left in the game, and JR Smith somehow, inexplicably, forgot the score.
In the final seconds of the game, he grabbed the ball right next to the hoop in scoring position, and instead of shooting to win the game…
…he ran away in the opposite direction. Because he thought his team was winning and didn’t need to score again.
I wanted to throw something at the TV. I hate interrogated the screen, making it my victim and therapist.
“How does a professional player forget the score?!”
“How does a professional player, with all their competitiveness, think they’re winning when they clearly aren’t?!”
“How does a professional player take all the good they’ve done and erase it with one stupid moment?!”
CHAPTER 2: DISAPPOINTING SUCCESS – Tragic Debra
This is Debra, one of the top virtual assistants on Upwork.
Debra is extremely accomplished as a virtual assistant. She has…
- An above-average salary
- Lots of clients/work
- A ‘top rating’ on Upwork
But she’s making the same mistake JR Smith made. She thinks she’s winning — when she’s not.
Here’s the data to prove it:
(Quick side note: I don’t know Debra, but I’m sure she’s lovely, and her success is admirable and inspiring: she’s being used as my example because I think she’s great – if I used someone less accomplished, my point would be as strong. Debra, if you’re reading this, I think you’re great.
Back to the data:
I pulled data on Debra and 103 other virtual assistants on Upwork, all of whom were designated as ‘top-rated virtual assistants’ by Upwork, and cleaned the data for workers who worked exclusively as virtual assistants.
I discovered two things:
- The average salary for all of these top virtual assistants? $29.87 an hour. Not too shabby. Better than most Americans.
- The top 10% salary point for these top-rated virtual assistants? $40 an hour. Many of them had years of experience, most were college-educated and several had skills in other languages, accounting, HR or masters degrees. But no matter how good, experienced or qualified they were as a virtual assistant, charging more $40 an hour was extremely difficult.
These successful VAs are actually trapped professionally, and they don’t know it.
And remember, these are the top-rated VAs. Think of how screwed everyone else is.
CHAPTER 3: FALSE HOPE – Inspiring Meagan
This is Meagan, a funnel builder. And I pulled data on Meagan and 99 other people who build funnels and cleaned the data for workers who worked almost exclusively as funnel designers.
Here’s what I discovered:
- People who know how to build funnels have an average salary of $86.17 an hour. 2.88x the amount of a virtual assistant.
- That increase in salary of 2.88x is a bigger difference than the salary difference between a high school graduate and someone who has earned their doctorate/Ph.D.
So why is this scene called “False Hope”?
(Here is where you come into the story):
CF Design School can help you do this. It can help you learn to be a funnel builder and multiply your income. That’s not an exaggeration and you know it because I just showed you the data. ( <— Hope )
But if you’re reading this, then:
1. You’re aware of CF Design School.
2. You’re aware of the success stories. But…
3. You haven’t purchased, which means you have one of two issues: You think you’ll fail, or you can’t afford it.
That’s the “False” part of “False Hope”.
I’m not going to talk mindset problem (‘you think you’ll fail’). Addressing that requires a dedicated post and probably some type of therapy. But I will address the financial problem.
This is a real issue for lots of VAs. They can’t afford CF Design School. They are VAs to help make ends meet, not to amass wealth, and most of what they earn goes straight to living expenses. When you have to pick between groceries and CF Design School, groceries always wins.
CHAPTER 4: THE STRUGGLE: There is always a way
This is Austin Allred. He’s now the CEO and Founder of a Silicon Valley company that has raised $48 million. But early on he was homeless, living out of his car, and he ran into a huge problem.
If you find yourself in a situation like him, and spending $997 on a course seems impossible, then you need to remind yourself: “There is always a way”.
Sometimes that means saving more or working extra.
Sometimes it means taking advantage of the monthly payment plan option CF Design School has.
Sometimes it means taking advantage of bonuses, like the scholarship bonus I give away on ExpertSumo.
But whatever you do, I’m telling you that there is always a way to get around the financial hurdles. You just need to be persistent and patient.
CHAPTER 5: THE CHOICE: Win or Lose
If you haven’t purchased CF Design School, ask yourself this question, and be honest:
From the moment you heard about CF Design School until now, has your professional life improved?
If it hasn’t, compare yourself to the people who have become students and added tens of thousands of dollars to their bank accounts.
You’re right next to the basket, so close to winning. You’ve seen testimonials from students, you’ve seen the value of the free content, and you’ve seen the data in this post. The rest of this story is pretty simple – it depends on your answer to a question:
Will you take advantage of the new tools and knowledge you’ve found in this post…
…and choose to win?
About the author:
Tanner is the founder of ExpertSumo.com, a review site that gives its readers huge bonuses and scholarships for products they buy.