Crafting a World Free of Burnout: an interview with Katie Santoro, founder of River City Virtual Assistants

Katie Santoro founded River City Virtual Assistants in 2020 at the beginning of the global pandemic and at the end of a very long period of burnout. When the weight of the world feels like it's resting on your shoulders, sometimes the bravest thing you can do is set it down. That's exactly what Katie Santoro, founder of River City Virtual Assistants, teaches us through her own story of overcoming burnout and reshaping her life's priorities. Our discussion revolves around Katie's experiences navigating career paths, establishing boundaries at work, addressing burnout, and crafting a balanced life. Katie's entrepreneurial journey has led her to create a flexible, supportive work environment for her team and forge a path towards a world free from the stresses of burnout“Our mission has evolved from keeping women in the workforce to crafting world free of burnout. So we help our team members do that by allowing them to balance their caretaking and work responsibilities, and then we help our clients do the same. So entrepreneurs, solo entrepreneurs they're trying to do it all. And we believe you shouldn't have to do it all and you don't have to do it all. So we help them craft a world free of burnout by matching with one of our assistants who has the skills that they need to help them take some things off their plate.” - Katie SantoroKey takeaways: - Before going on to graduate school, see if you will actually enjoy working in the profession you’re choosing to study. Katie had assumed that she would attend graduate school in order to improve her earnings power, and started “playing” with the idea of attending law school. She decided to work at a law firm and is so glad she did because, six months later, she realized that the culture was not for her. She figures she saved herself hundreds of thousands of dollars of tuition costs!- Notice when you’re choosing the burnout. Katie described experiencing classic symptoms of burnout: gaining weight, skin breaking out, being exhausted but not sleeping. Upon further exploration, it became clear that that burnout wasn’t simply from working in an unfulfilling job. Instead, it came from having too much on her plate as she tried to find alignment by opening and managing a yoga studio while keeping her full time job! She had bought into the cultural message that she had to do it all!- Take an inventory of your skills when considering a career pivot. Running a yoga studio was no longer enjoyable for Katie, to say the least, when the pandemic hit in 2020. So, Katie took an inventory of her skills. She had worked as a paralegal for a number of years. She had litigation experience, as well as a number of  licenses and certifications on the insurance side. She put the word out that she was available to freelance, and what became River City Virtual Assistants snowballed from there!About the Guest: Katie Santoro is a burnout survivor on a mission to help others avoid the same by offering virtual assistance to business owners and busy professionals, while simultaneously creating employment for individuals who need flexibility in their work style in order to care for their families. In 2019, after a long period of burnout, Katie left her corporate job in the insurance industry to run her first business, a yoga studio. Next, came River City Virtual Assistants where she combined her years of experience in the legal and insurance industry, blended it with her experience running a small business, and began assisting clients as a freelancer. Now, she and her team of trained virtual assistants assist clients in a wide array of industries with everything from basic admin tasks to content management and website building. River City Virtual Assistants is dedicated to providing reliable, consistent, and intelligent assistance to clients and is committed to providing meaningful employment to parents and caretakers within the USA.Website: https://rivercity-va.com/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiesantoro/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rivercity_va/ Interested in booking a free consultation? Schedule a call.Stay connected:Connect with Laura on LinkedIn@Rotters5 on TwitterConnect with Laura on FacebookSubscribe to my YouTube channelSubscribe to my newsletterGet your free copy of Unlock Your Money Blocks Workbook : Your step-by-step guide to unlocking your blocks to financial freedom.Disclaimer: Please remember that the information shared on this podcast does not constitute accounting, legal, tax, investment or financial advice. It’s for informational purposes only. You should seek appropriate professional advice for your specific information.