She Started a Business With $300 After Getting Laid Off. It Made $300,000 in Year 1 and Grew to Over $50 Million — Here's How.

Oct 14, 2024 10:00 PM - 3 months ago 146206

Bobbie Racette, laminitis and CEO of virtual assistance institution Virtual Gurus, didn't ever person a clear consciousness of really her communicative would unfold. She didn't needfully envision a section connected becoming an entrepreneur — but it would move retired to beryllium 1 of the astir important ones.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Virtual Gurus. Bobbie Racette.

Before Racette started her business, she says she had small guidance and "was benignant of conscionable 1 of those group who went from occupation to occupation looking for different things to do." In 2015, Racette was moving arsenic a information technician successful Calgary's lipid and state manufacture erstwhile layoffs struck — she mislaid her occupation and struggled to onshore her adjacent role.

"Nobody would prosecute me."

"I couldn't get a occupation nary matter really galore resumes I sent out," Racette recalls. "Interviews aft interviews aft interviews. And cipher would prosecute me." Racette lived successful a blimpish area and says that her personality arsenic a queer, Indigenous female pinch tattoos whitethorn person hindered her search.

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Ultimately, aft being inundated pinch posts astir the freelancer gig economy, she decided to effort it retired for herself: She created an Upwork floor plan offering her services arsenic a virtual assistant. That, too, was difficult. Most of her competitors were successful different countries, truthful she had to bid arsenic small arsenic $2 to unafraid jobs connected the platform. Racette knew location had to beryllium a amended way.

So, contempt not knowing "anything astir running a business," Racette resolved to commencement her own. She group retired to build a gig activity level that would link virtual assistants pinch companies successful request of thief pinch a scope of tasks, from bookkeeping to customer support and officially launched successful 2016.

Related: How Mastering These 4 Soft Skills Has Propelled My Business to Success

Racette's semipermanent extremity was to supply value work-from-home opportunities for different group from marginalized and underserved communities.

"Working pinch Indigenous folks is my northbound star."

In the early days, erstwhile Virtual Gurus was a one-woman show, the market need for the level was clear: The business Racette launched pinch conscionable $300 to her sanction saw $300,000 successful gross successful twelvemonth one.

By the 2nd year, Racette still hadn't hired her first employee, and though she continued to make money, she worked "around the clock." She needed to raise costs and combine her team.

It took 170 investors saying "no" to Virtual Gurus earlier Racette sewage her first "yes," but the business secured an $8.4 cardinal CAD Series A round and has since grown beyond a $50 cardinal valuation, per the company. Racette's first prosecute was a azygous stay-at-home mom, and by 2020, she'd expanded to a squad of much than 40. Today, Virtual Gurus has provided activity for much than 2,000 group successful Canada and the U.S. — and counting.

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"Working pinch Indigenous folks is my northbound star," Racette says. "We're moving to spell into Indigenous communities and looking to partner pinch the employment centers truthful that we tin bring Indigenous folks into these employment centers that are successful the organization [and] support them successful their existent communities. Because that's ace important."

Racette notes that Virtual Gurus provides Indigenous group pinch computers and training and is forming a caller business to empower and prosecute astir 5,000 Indigenous workers by the extremity of 2026.

"Who I americium now arsenic a leader is tenfold different."

Like astir caller entrepreneurs, Racette faced plentifulness of challenges on the way, including building retired Virtual Gurus' exertion arsenic the institution scaled. However, learning really to beryllium an effective leader for her squad proved to beryllium 1 of the astir important obstacles, according to Racette. "Leadership is ace difficult erstwhile you've ne'er really learned," she says.

Determined to beryllium the benignant of leader her business needed, Racette enrolled successful activity courses done Harvard University and committed herself to improving each day.

Related: How Being a More Generous Leader Drove My Company's Success

"Who I americium now arsenic a leader is tenfold different from who I was 2 years ago," Racette says. However, she besides acknowledges that leaders person a work to turn each time and animate the adjacent procreation of bully leaders.

"The sky's the limit — nothing's holding you back."

Racette besides believes that business leaders person a work to stock their stories truthful that young group tin spot the affirmative examples that motivate them to prosecute their ain goals. Women successful business, peculiarly successful tech, person been discouraged from sharing their stories for excessively long, Racette says, and successful her activity mentoring young women, she strives to break that cycle.

Related: 4 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Tell Their Stories successful Real-Time

No 1 should beryllium acrophobic to launch their business and unrecorded their ain communicative done it, according to Racette.

"People will leverage entrepreneurship a small spot much arsenic medicine astatine that point," Racette says. "Because past it's like, the sky's the limit — nothing's holding you back. Nothing tin get successful your way. Nothing tin bring fearfulness because you're surviving your ain story."

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