80: 2025 Wrapped and I'm Taking an Instagram Break

In this end-of-year episode, I'm chatting with you about how 2025 went and also getting real about a decision I'm making to start off 2026 — taking a break from Instagram. 

I'm opening up about ups and downs of 2025, the burnout I've been experiencing, and why I feel called to loosen my grip on the platform that's been so good to my business. Plus, I'm walking you through what I'll be doing instead, and why this might actually be the best thing not just for me, but for YOU, too!

Join me for an honest conversation about faith, business, and what happens when you let go of what you think you need to hold onto. Here's to a new year and new possibilities!

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✹ Listen to Our Most Popular Episode of 2025 — "What I'd Do If I Were Starting From Scratch Today (As a Virtual Assistant)"

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

2025 was quite the year, as I have mentioned a few times on the podcast before. It started with my husband having his fourth shoulder surgery, fourth soldier shoulder surgery on the same shoulder, I should add. Us moving to a state that we had only ever been once and didn't know anyone. Then my husband restarting his career in law enforcement, having the biggest launch your behind-the-scenes BFF has ever seen. Four months of us not knowing if we would even move into the house that we built. Thank goodness that we did. Struggling with my health, and honestly, so many other ups and downs in between. Ultimately, all of these things have led us here the last few days of 2025 and my decision to take a break from Instagram for the month of January. And I want to let you in a little bit on that decision and how I'm learning that sometimes obedience isn't logical, and doing the thing that scares you might be the very thing that you need to see the fruit that you hope to see. So let's dive on in. Welcome to the Virtual Assistant School podcast. I'm your host, Kate, a teacher-turned entrepreneur, mom of two, and I teach women how to use the skills they already have to make money from home as a virtual assistant. Every Tuesday and Thursday, you'll get step-by-step strategies, behind-the-scenes insights, and hear honest, unfiltered conversations about making money and growing an online business so you can stop feeling stuck and start taking action toward your goals. Whether you're looking for a flexible side hustle or want to take your business full-time, this podcast is for you. Building a business or starting something new can be super overwhelming at times. But here, you don't have to do it alone. So grab your coffee or make another cup and let's dive into this week's episode. So 2025 was a wild year. And while I don't want to spend too much time on the nitty-gritty of it all, I did actually want to do kind of a 2025 wrapped kind of style for kicking off the podcast. Um, just kind of looking back over the last year and kind of talking about some highlights, talking about some lowlights, um, and even sharing some stats with you with your behind-the-scenes BFF. So you kind of heard a couple of things in the intro of this episode that there was just like a lot of life stuff happening this year. We started the year off with my husband having to have a fourth shoulder surgery on the same shoulder. So it's like his fourth one on the same shoulder. Um, he had had three other ones between high school and college, and then he had been struggling with some like impingement happening with his like collarbone and shoulder area. Um, and he was working at getting back into law enforcement. And there's a physical test, and like obviously being in law enforcement is physically demanding as well. And so he wasn't sure if his shoulder was gonna be able to handle that unless he got the surgery. And the surgery was also kind of risky because not risky and like like he was gonna be fine. It was orthoscopic, like it was all good, but it was risky because it was really close to when he would have to report to the academy, which again is like very physical. And so he ended up deciding to have the surgery. Um, it went so well. He healed so quickly. It has tremendously changed his quality of life, which I'm so happy for. And he, you know, was able to get back into law enforcement, went through the academy, um, now has his job here in a department and it went super well. So that's just like how our year started off. Um, and it was just kind of chaotic, you know? And then once we moved to Idaho in April of this year, um, we were actually in an apartment for a few months. We had to come up here early because his academy for the department started in April. And so we had to come up here and then we were waiting for our house to be built. Well, we ended up not being able to sell our house in Arizona. I don't know if I've mentioned that on the podcast, but we had to, we couldn't sell our house in Arizona. It was on the market for like six months, couldn't sell it, and we had to either sell it or get a renter in for us to close on our new house. We were supposed to close on our new house the like July 31st or August 1st, I can't remember now. So we needed a renter or the house to be sold by the beginning of July. So we ended up getting a renter, which was like such an answered prayer. And then that renter ended up having to back out. And this was like beginning of first week of July. They had to back out um due to like personal reasons, and then we were like, oh my gosh, we have like a week to get a new renter, like it was down to the wire. We ended up getting another renter, they have been great. We are still planning on putting our house back on the market, our house in Arizona back on the market this year. So if you know of anyone that is moving to Arizona and would love a pretty much brand new home, it was built in 2022. Let your girl know. Um, but once our tenant's lease is up, we are going to get it on the market and hopefully get that sold. So pray for that. Um, because we did not anticipate having to be landlords. Um, even though, like I said, these renters have been amazing and awesome. And we do have a property management company helping us. We just really don't want to have a rental. We really did not plan that. Um, so it was just really stressful because it was like, hey, if we don't get a renter, we're not closing on our house. We were very specific about the house that we got coming to Idaho, the lot, the neighborhood, the floor plan, everything. And so it was really stressful. Um, we'd also put a lot of money into it, like money that we weren't going to be able to get back. And so if we didn't close, like it was just a whole thing. So that was kind of like what the whole first year, first half of the year looked like. Um, not to mention, you know, just moving to a new state, meeting new people, coming up with new routines. I didn't have child care for a while because we were finding a new preschool, all that kind of stuff. And so it was just difficult, like a difficult transition, even though it was 100% the right decision. I'm so happy that we are in Idaho and not Arizona right now. Um I just feel so, so grateful. Like truly so much gratitude for it. Um, and then coming into the second half of the year, it really has just been more transitions and more adjustments. And um, personally, I've been dealing with some health stuff with which I'm gonna get into a little bit later on. Um, and just navigating all of this while also running a business. Um, so a couple of business things that I do want to call out, some wins, some really incredible stats when you look at 2025 and your behind-the-scenes BFF is um for our signature program, Beginner to Booked VA, we had 134 enrollments this year, which is 144 women who decided to go all in on themselves and start their business as a virtual assistant. And I am so proud of them. If you are listening, I'm so proud of you. That is incredible. It's really, really cool. We also had 57 people take our challenge, our five-day monetize your skills challenge. Our next one isn't going to be until March. Um, but the five-day challenge was something we had almost 60 people go through this year, which is great. I'm trying to think, I don't even think I hosted very many this year because of the move. Um, so I'm just not, I'm not totally sure how many that was per challenge, but um just a really cool stat to think about. Um, with the podcast, okay, this is crazy, you guys. I didn't put as much into the podcast this year as I wanted to. Like I really thought this was the year I was gonna be consistent with podcast, and I really struggled with it with all the transitions and all that kind of stuff, which we're gonna get to later on when I talk about my break from Instagram that I will be taking. So this year we only had 13 new podcast episodes. That's like an average of one a month, but it basically looked like I would take a month off, I'd do a couple, and then I take another month off, and then I do a couple more, and then it was kind of it was just really inconsistent. However, with only 13 podcast episodes, we had 10,979 downloads this year. That is wild. I was in shock when I saw that number. Um and that's all you, like you listening to the podcast. That is all you. It's those of you who are sharing the podcast when you write reviews that helps us, you know, more people see the podcast. Like it that is wild to me. Um with only 13 new episodes, almost 11,000 downloads. And last year we had um about 8,800 downloads. So we had about 2,000 more downloads this year with less episodes, I believe. I'd have to go back and check, but um, that's really, really cool. It just shows me that the podcast is growing. I love the podcast. I love creating content here. It is a huge focus for me in 2026. Um, I actually want that number of new podcast episodes. I did 13 last year. I want that to look more like at least 50, but closer to 100 because my goal is to do two episodes a week um at minimum one a week. That is like what I am really, really working towards. And so I'm excited to hear and see what that looks like next year. Okay, and then something else that I wanted to call out, um, like another stat is first and foremost, if you didn't know, um, when you go through Beginner to Book VA, you have the opportunity to then join a membership afterwards um that helps you with continued support with coaching. We do monthly calls, we do content ideas, um, we have a community, all that good stuff. But we also connect you with leads and people looking to hire a VA. Okay. So in 2025, we had 95 business owners get connected with VAs from our program. 95. And that is a difference of over 30 from last year. So in 2024, we had 64, and then this year we had 95. And to me, that is just probably the coolest number um to look at, besides podcast downloads. I mean, that is just wild. But, and I'm so thankful for you that is listen that are listening to the episode right now, um, because the downloads are literally all you. But 95 leads, 95 business owners that are getting connected with VAs that have gone through our program that we certify as your behind-the-scenes BFF VAs. 95. Like that is so cool. And that's 95 women from our program that are winning and getting connected with clients. And that is just like a perk of being in our ecosystem. That's not including clients that the VAs from our program are going out and finding on their own. A lot of VAs in our program are also finding clients through their personal network, through social media, um, through referrals, all that kind of stuff. And so that is just that alone is just for the people that have gotten connected through our membership. So that was really cool to see and to look at. Okay, so let's dive into what I feel like everyone is waiting to hear about. Um, and it's why I'm taking an Instagram break and what that's gonna look like and what it's gonna look like for both me personally and my business, all of that good stuff. So I'm gonna take you back. If you didn't see my post on Instagram, this might be like a surprise to you. Um, but I posted like two weeks ago, I think, that I was gonna take a break. I wanted to give everyone a heads up so that if you enjoyed my content or you want to keep learning more about what it looks like to become a VA, then you know where to find me. Um, but I posted on Instagram and I shared a little bit about what I'm gonna share, but I'm gonna try and dive in a little bit more. So eight years ago this month, Instagram changed my life. I started posting on Instagram with like 500 followers or less with my side hustle and network marketing. Um, I was a teacher. I was just starting my very first online business and I didn't think anything, I really just wanted to do it as a side hustle. I didn't think anything of it um really. And then within like seven months, I had six or seven months, I had exceeded my teaching income and ended up leaving teaching. So that first business is why I was able to leave teaching initially. Um, and I ended up growing it to a multiple six-figure business. Um, and then ultimately in 2021, at the end of 2021, I felt like it was time to lay it down after four years, um, including the platform that I had built of over 30,000 followers from that first like 500. And I wanted to just start fresh in 2022 with actually the account that you see today, which is the YFFK account. I was really burnt out. I was really tired of constantly being tied to my phone and wanting something different at that point because I had just become a mom. I was like a year into becoming a mom and having my first baby. So a big reason why I became a virtual assistant was because I didn't want to be on social media all the time. That was like a huge reason. That's why my company is called Your Behind the Scenes BFF, because I love being behind the scenes. And most people who are VAs can agree with me that we love being behind the scenes. We love doing things from like the comfort of our couch or um just having like our laptop on our laps while we're, you know, just hanging out in a comfy chair and we don't have to worry about like posting content constantly. Um social media obviously can be a great tool, and I'll mention that a little bit in later in this podcast, but I just really didn't want to be on social media all the time, like I had been when I had grown this platform with network marketing and was doing a lot more like content creation and affiliates and like that kind of thing. So I obviously became a virtual assistant in early 2022, and your behind-the-scenes BFF was born. I booked all of my first clients simply by texting a couple friends and through word of mouth, referrals, all that good stuff. And it felt really good to be able to build an income that wasn't reliant on social media, which again is a huge reason why I do what I do and why I actually show women how to be VAs too, because it's so possible to do it and not be reliant on social media and it really be more of a tool. But obviously, as the brand grew and we introduced courses and coaching and digital products and all that kind of stuff, I started to pour more into the content creation side because that's what I've always known to work. Like that's how I've just always done things. Also, to be fair, I love Instagram. I love being able to connect with so many of you that are listening to this episode. We've connected on Instagram. Instagram is who like it's the tool that's introduced me to so many people in my life that I would have never met before. I love connecting with other people on Instagram. I do actually enjoy creating content most of the time. And so it's it's just something that I've always known to work. I've naturally kind of been good at sharing there. But then this year happened and around like July, June, July-ish, I just kind of felt the Lord nudging me to lay down Instagram. Um, when it first happened, I actually took a two-week break. I took two weeks off in July and it was really life-giving. I think I actually have a podcast episode about it. And I think I'm like, I'm gonna prioritize the podcast. I'm gonna focus on that and not on social media and blah, blah, blah. And then I ended up getting sucked back into Instagram and creating content there. Surprise, surprise. Um, no, but I really didn't know at first if I was gonna come back after those two weeks because it felt so good to be disconnected. It felt so good to pour into the podcast. It felt so good to um create content this way and not feel like I'm tied to my phone, feel like I'm having to like check my DMs or see how content is performing, or even just like getting distracted and doom scrolling and like using it not just for work, but personally as well. And so I don't know, like it felt okay when I first came back. And I kind of thought like, oh, well, maybe I didn't really need to be off Instagram entirely, like maybe I can handle this. But the last month or so, as I've been looking towards 2026 and kind of praying about what I want that to look like for our family and our business and my health and all that kind of stuff. Um, I've just have felt the nudges again and ultimately decided that I'm going to take all of January off of Instagram um and just give myself a solid break from creating over there and really focus my energy and my time on other aspects of my business, which I'm gonna get into. Um, this kind of stemmed, like this actual decision was made because I felt like I was kind of honestly forced into a corner to make it. Um, a couple of weeks ago, I got some news about my health, which I'm fine. I like it, it's all fine. But I got some labs done and I've been struggling with my health all year. I rapidly gained a lot of weight this year because my hormones were shot and the stress was like really getting to me. I have PCOS, I have insulin-resistant PCOS and have always struggled with stress affecting my health massively. And so when I got these labs done, everything just pointed to burnout. And my practitioners that I'm working with were like, something has to give. Like you have to slow down, you have to get your body out of this fight or flight. Nothing is going to like work, quote unquote, until like we can manage your stress. It was kind of just that moment where I was like, okay, something like they said, like something has to give. I don't want to give up my business. I like at all. Like my business is, I love my business, and it's also, you know, what provides for my family financially. Um, and I don't want to stop doing that. But I also am a mom and a wife, and we've just gone through a lot this year. And so I knew that I needed to slow down. And when I started praying about like what does that look like? I just kept feeling like I was being asked to lay down social media, lay down Instagram specifically. Um because I do spend a lot of time there. I spend a lot of time there, I spend a lot of energy there creating content and all that kind of stuff. And so I decided that in January I'm taking that break. Um I ultimately kind of got to this point of like feeling like the end, I'm at the end of my Self and that I have to surrender, which I'm gonna mention in a little bit that that's actually my word for the year of 2026 is surrender. Um, and so I got to this point of surrender. I got to this point of like, what do you need me to do, Lord? Like, I'll do whatever it takes to be well for my family and to also like steward my business well and to help people and help the women that I want to help through my business well. Um, and I just I cannot do it all. I can't, I can't control everything, um, which is hard as an eldest daughter high achiever. Um, but I just I can't do it and I don't have to do it by myself because like I have faith in the Lord. Um so I don't know. It it's interesting because it doesn't make sense, quote unquote makes sense. Um, Instagram's always been my main lead generator for our courses and our programs. And we actually have a launch in January. So, like at face value, and you when you look at like business strategy in general for courses and all that kind of stuff, like it really doesn't make sense. Like, why would you get rid of the one thing that has been the main source of your leads um all these years? And yet I feel like I'm learning that obedience doesn't always make sense, you know? And I feel like oftentimes it doesn't make sense. And I don't expect anyone to get it necessarily because honestly, I'm not even sure if I do. Um, I feel like I am just at peace with the decision and I'm honestly excited about what it's going to mean for like your behind-the-scenes BFF as a whole, starting out 2026. Um, I don't know, it's it's very unpredictable. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it. Cause again, it's like releasing that control and all of that kind of stuff. But I know that time and time again throughout my life, and especially in 2025, the Lord has been faithful. Um, and in this time where I feel like I need to slow down so I can focus on my health and my family and growing the business, like something has to give, right? And I was talking to a friend about it actually this morning, and I was like, gosh, like, am I like, and I am I making a mistake? Like, should I like is this a bad idea? And she ultimately reminded me that scared doesn't always mean wrong. And that is from my friend Amy at Hello Co-Creative. Um, she was like, scared doesn't always mean this is the wrong decision. Sometimes we can be scared or nervous or you know, feel anticipation toward taking a step in the right direction. And it's just because it's outside of our comfort zone, it's something new that it can make us feel kind of like those neck like negative feelings. But when I, you know, look at it overall, like it is absolutely the right decision. So it's very exciting. It's very exciting, it's very nerve-wracking, it's very different. Um, but I do want to share about what I'm gonna be doing in January instead, because I am very much still working and running my business. I had like two people ask me that question, like, well, are you still gonna be like doing your business and stuff? And like the answer is absolutely yes. And I think it's funny because I think when we are in online business, if someone like takes a break from Instagram, we think that they're like taking a break from their whole business, but there's so much more that goes into business than just a social media app and like that tool. And I think that's what I'm excited to focus on is other areas of the business that haven't gotten as much focus as I think they need to and deserve to, um, because I've just been focusing on Instagram. So I the plan is to take 30 days, which I'm going to be open-handed with that. Because if the Lord calls me to lay it down for longer, I'm going to be obedient because I believe that there is fruit on the other side of obedience. Um, the plan is to take January off. And during the month of January, I'm going to be creating content, but for the podcast, hello, those of you listening, uh, my email list, which I'm gonna put links for my email list um and some other ways that we can connect in the description below. But I'll be sending out weekly newsletters again, which I used to do, and it just got away from me and I haven't been able to do that. Um, I'm also launching a YouTube channel, which I'm really excited about. That's a couple years like in the making. We are going to officially be launching it in February. So we're going to be preparing to launch and recording and all that kind of stuff in January. So I'm excited about that. Um, and then I think that I'm going to also be hanging out on threads, which threads, if you don't know, it's like Instagram's version of Twitter. It's just text-based. Um, I don't feel like that is like it's not something that is a heavy lift for me when it comes to creating content because it's honestly just like a fun place to like post thoughts that I'm having or like, I don't know, I'm funnier on threads. So if you want to come hang out on threads, come hang out. Um, but it's a place that I can like connect with other people and it, I don't even have to have the app on my phone. I can just post on my computer and that kind of thing. So I think I'm gonna be on threads here and there, which is why I say I'm taking a break from Instagram specifically and not all of social media, because I think I'll be on threads a little bit and then potentially LinkedIn, which is a strategy that I'm just considering. Something, something someone brought up to me. And I don't know, we're gonna look into it. I'm trying to not do like so many things all at once. But I actually think that this plan is going to be so beneficial for everyone involved, especially you, because I actually feel like I can create better content, educate well, coach well, all of that kind of stuff so much better on the podcast and then eventually on YouTube, because it is way easier for me to like get my point across in like a 20 to 30 minute podcast episode than it is for like a seven-second reel. Um, not to mention that like Instagram, the algorithm and all that kind of stuff, like doesn't always show us other people's content. And so I know those of you that are really wanting to learn how to become a virtual assistant, how to start your business as a VA, if you're someone who wants to grow your business as a VA, like you're looking for those resources and that content. And it's not very easy to do that on like in short form type of content like Instagram. And so I'm excited to pour more into this long form content because I'm, let's be honest, I'm a yapper. I love to chat and love to have conversations. Um, and also through email, I love to write. So that's gonna be really fun as well. So make sure that you're on the email list if you're not already to get those newsletters and also like get updates. I'm gonna document this whole process because ultimately, like this is also I have said ultimately so many times in this podcast episode. I need to find a different word. Um, I'm just gonna call that out because it is what it is. Um oh my gosh, I literally lost my train of thought. What were they saying? Um, oh, oh, oh, oh. While this is like an act of obedience, it's also a really cool experiment for business because, like I said, most of my marketing has been through Instagram. And I'm just curious what would happen. What would happen if I shift my content creation, my marketing, all that kind of stuff to other areas of my business? And like, what will this launch look like if I'm not using Instagram? It's gonna be really great data. It's really great data. Um, and so I'm gonna take you along for that. I'm gonna document it. I'm gonna also document like how I feel like health-wise and um my time. Like, I don't know. I just want to document everything and share that with you because like I said, it is an experiment. Um, I have some like hypothesis, hypothesis, hypothesis, I don't know. I have an idea of what it might look like or the outcome that might happen, but I don't know if that's gonna be the thing, you know? So it's gonna be, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun, it's gonna be good. Um, and I'm really, really excited. So I had mentioned earlier about my word for the year. And it's really interesting because every year I pick a word of the year. And in 2025, my year or my word of the year was becoming. And what I know is that becoming requires change. And while I've experienced plenty of change this year, I kept trying to steady my grip on certain things because it's quote unquote what I know works, or quote unquote, this is what I've always done. And what I've learned is that you cannot become who you are meant to be when you are holding on to old patterns, beliefs, or identities. So I don't know, I don't have this all figured out. Like I said, I'm still learning kind of what this means for me, but what I do know is that in order for me to become the person that I want to become and to fulfill the purpose that the Lord has for me, I need to loosen my grip enough to let something new take place. Which leads me to my word of 2026, which is surrender. Taking this break from the thing that I feel like has almost become an idol, especially in my business, which is Instagram, is me surrendering. It's me surrendering outcomes, it's me surrendering um strategy. Like it is really me starting the year off walking the walk of obedience and surrender, which is what I want my theme for 2026 to be because I'm I'm tired. I'm tired. I could just stop there. No, I'm tired of trying to control everything or trying to white knuckle things that I have no control over. And I'm ready to just trust that the input that I put into my work and my relationships and my goals and my health, like that it will work out for the better. Um even looking at goals, like I'm really trying to shift away from setting goals that are outcome-based and really set goals that are focused on the input versus the outcome, right? So um instead of saying, like, oh, I want to hit like X amount of revenue next year, actually putting into place like the things that are going to help us get there. Like how many emails am I gonna send every month? How many podcast episodes are we going to post? How many, like all of those different things because ultimately, like those are the things that are going to get us to where we want to be. Um, the action has to match like where we want to go. And I can control what I put into something. I can't control what happens on the other side, you know. Obviously, I still have ideas and outcomes in my head that I would like, but I'm really trying to focus more on the goals around my action. So that's all I have for you. I know it was a lot. It was kind of a word salad. It was kind of just me brain dumping, chatting with a best friend, honestly, like about what I've been kind of mulling over, um, noodling on, if you will. And it's the last podcast episode of 2025. And I really hope this one ages well. No, it'll be good. I really feel at peace with the decision. I think it's going to make me a better leader, it's gonna make me a better coach, a mom, a wife, everything in between. And like I said, it's gonna be a fun experiment. And I'm excited for those of you that want to follow along. Also, I would be just so silly if I didn't mention this. If you are someone who wants to start an online business and you want to do it without having to live your life on social media, then you should absolutely join our wait list for our beginner-to-booked VA program. Doors open in January, January 12th for the wait list. And like I mentioned, my first few clients were word of mouth and referrals. And even when I relaunched my VA business for clients last month, several came from people referring me. In fact, I actually have a discovery call with a lead that my hairdresser referred to me next week. Okay, like they don't even follow me on social media, none of that kind of stuff. Um, so there's just there's so many other ways to get clients as a VA. Social media can obviously be a great tool for marketing. You've heard me share it on the podcast. I have a mini course all about how to book clients using social media, but it's not the only way, especially as a virtual assistant. So if you are curious about how you can make money from home as a VA, make sure to jump on the wait list. Like I said, doors open to waitlisters on the 12th of January. And you do get$200 off your enrollment and some other perks for being on the wait list. So you're not gonna want to miss out. All right, thank you so much for being here. I really am so excited about 2026. Happy new year. And if you loved this episode, I would love it if you sent us an email. Like I said, I'm not gonna be on Instagram. So I'm like, how do we chat? We chat on email. Um, send us an email, write us a review. Like, like I would love to hear. I would love to hear what you think. Um, and maybe even what your intentions are going into 2026. So I will see you in the next episode. As always, I'm rooting for you. Talk to you soon. Bye.