?? My Rice Factory Job, Neurodiverse Entrepreneurs, VIP Day Success & My Story!

Hey friends, Hannah here ??

I've been go, go, go lately, from wrapping up VEA summer enrollment and the 5 Day VA Challenge, to welcoming our incredible new VEA members, hosting classes, and more. It's exciting times here at DNK HQ aka my living room. I finally had some time to sit down and write, and I'm so excited about all I have to share with you today.

In today's newsletter:

?? What I Learned from Working at a Rice Factory

??? VA-cation Full Steam Ahead! Info & More

?? Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit

??? Podcast Spot: The Adventure Calls, Two-Part Interview

Let’s dive in! ??

?? What I Learned from Working at a Rice Factory

Over a few emails, I'm going to detail a few of my previous jobs before entering the world of online business and virtual assistance. Why? One because I think some are fun stories, two, to demonstrate how we can always have beneficial learning moments that support us later in our careers, and three, to demonstrate the transferrable skills that we accrue throughout our lives.

One of my jobs in my late teens was in a rice factory. Glam, I know. This one to be exact:

I worked long hours on a production line. I had one simple responsibility: six bags of rice were placed into a box on a conveyor belt by a machine arm. My job? Watch this process all day long. I was given one of those long stools with no back support, just for leaning on, so I couldn't accidentally fall asleep fully. Once or twice a day, the machine would drop a bag of rice next to a box instead of inside it - that's when things got exciting. ?? I had to press a big red panic button to stop the production line, climb onto the machinery, put the rice neatly into the box, and press the start button again. All in 10 seconds or less.

It felt all rather pointless at the time, hiring me on a full-time wage to put single bags of rice back on track twice a day. The math wasn't mathing, those rice bags were a couple of $ each. But then one day it became clear why this was an important role.

I drifted off to sleep, it was hard not to in all honesty, even with the anti-sleep stool. As my head bounced up, an alarm was sounding, I saw smoke, and someone was rushing toward me, waving their arms and shouting. I didn't hear initially as I had huge noise-canceling headphones on as part of my uniform. I had missed a bag of rice being dropped next to a box, it had gone much further along the conveyor belt unboxed, fallen into a gap between machines, caused a belt to get stuck and start burning, and boxes were backed up to my post. Yikes. I was in trouble. They had a maintenance crew come in to repair the belt and a piece of machinery damaged due to my lapse in concentration. It was a costly mishap, they didn't tell me how much, but it sounded like more than they wanted to spend that's for sure. I didn't lose my job (I would later quit over an entirely separate and very toxic harassment case), but I did learn a valuable lesson that day.

No no, not that I didn't see my future in a factory, that was obvious from the get-go. I learned that things being done properly is important. That skipped, missed, or loosely done steps have a negative knock-on effect. It's important to quality-check things before they ship. While perfection should never be the goal, it's impossible anyway - if it were then those machines would have been better built from the start - but when we do a job, no matter what it is, no matter how seemingly simple and unimportant it may seem, we should do it well to avoid painfully costly F ups later down the line. Costly in time, money, energy, pain, soured relationships, and more.

Beyond doing so from a place of fearing later repercussions, this lesson also instilled in me a sense of pride over my outputs, and a desire to be the kind of person who leaves things a little better than they found them. Since that day, I decided that no matter what job I was doing, I would do it to the best of my ability, and always double-check my work.

I owe that to the people investing their trust in me, and I owe it to myself. This has been a hugely helpful lesson working as a VA and now as a VA coach, where lapses in diligence can easily lend to, say, automations not being set up and tested well, meaning time and money to manually fix problems, or less-than-ideal client experiences. Not the end of the world it would seem, but costly nonetheless.

Enjoy this story? Want more like it? Hit reply and let me know.

??? VA-cation Full Steam Ahead! Info & More

Our much-awaited VA-cation, a vacation for VAs, freelancers, and service providers is back! I am super excited to already have 5 brilliant people joining us this December - woohoo! You've probably heard about it by now, but if you haven't, here are the deets:

?? Where: Madeira Island, Portugal

?? When: Dec 5-11th 2024

? What: A week-long conference with exclusive VA-cation benefits, like curated networking opps, masterminding before and after, and a private coaching call w/ me!

?? Who: This event is in partnership with Nomad Island Fest, the premier entrepreneurs and digital nomad event of the year. It brings together business leaders, business starters, location independent folks, and YOU, VAs, and freelancers, who attendees want to hire!

?? Why: Paraside island, new friends, new learnings, new clients, hanging out with me and other DNK folks, great swag, networking effectively, private support, luxe accommodations, and so much more!

?? How: See all the details about this incredible event below, purchase your ticket, and book your flights!

1. View the info page here to see the full itinerary, photos of the location, the VA-cation package details, and book!
2. Want more info? Nomad Island Fest founder Michelle Maree and I went live last week answering more questions, watch the replay here.

We already have a crew of 5 brilliant folks joining us, and spaces are limited due to room availability. If you want the experience of a lifetime, with lasting memories and business connections to elevate you to the next level - all in one of the most beautiful locations you'll ever see - it's time to jump on board.

Join Me in Paradise This Dec for the VA-cation x Nomad World Fest VIP Experience ??

?? Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit

Being a neurodivergent entrepreneur, I’ve bought tons of courses and invested in mentors whose content just simply didn’t resonate or work for my particular brain. That is why the VEA and DNK's content overall is a magnet for other neurodiverse folks - we do things a little differently around here because we recognize that everyone is inherently, a little different in how they learn and approach business.

That's why I’m so excited to announce that I’ll be speaking at and attending the Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit later this month - and I think if you identify as neurodivergent - you should too!

It’s a free 4-day event to help you toss out the "rules" and build your online business to work for YOUR unique brain, all designed by neurodiverse entrepreneurs, for neurodiverse entrepreneurs. It’s the perfect way to complement your journey and gain more insights from other respected business professionals.

For 4 days, July 22nd – July 25th, my friend Claire Paniccia is bringing you presentations from 17 industry experts (all neurodivergent!) who have found ways to make online business work for their unique brains. You’ll hear about everything from alternative approaches to marketing that might work better for you, to managing rejection sensitivity and fears about visibility, to developing a supportive relationship to discipline, with lots of big perspective shifts around big picture strategy and more.

I’m personally going to be talking all about how neurodivergent folks can hire VAs and freelancers effectively - which will lend great insight for YOU as VAs and freelancers to see things from the other side of the equation and learn how to best support neurodivergent clients - giving you a unique competitive advantage ??

And yep - it’s totally free to join which is why I’m extra excited to invite you along ??

There’s more I’d love to tell you about this summit, but I’ll let you check out all the details for yourself via the link below and I hope to see you there ??

Get Your Free Ticket to the Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit Here! See You There ??

??? Podcast Spot: The Adventure Calls, Two-Part Interview

The Adventure Calls Podcast by my friend Jessica Drucker is one of my favorite shows out there! Jessica is also the founder of Rainbow Relocation Strategies, where she's helping LGBTQ+ folks up, move, and thrive abroad.

I had the pleasure of bumping into her in Salt Lake City earlier this year and was so glad we had that opportunity to connect before she had me guest on her podcast, she's a hoot and a great host who asks thoughtful questions that deviate from the typical "what do you do" solely business focused stuff. Trust me, as a business owner, it's such a relief to have a down-to-earth conversation, taking a more holistic view of my life, experiences, ideas, and more. I love Jessica's almost journalistic approach to interviewing her guests and am so honored to have been featured in not one, but two back-to-back episodes. We talked about so much juicy stuff it needed to be split into two!

In episode one, we talk about my childhood, teen years, coming out, leaving a bad relationship, and starting my life on the road. We also talked about my move to Mexico, what prompted it, how I met and married my wife, and more.

• Listen to episode one "Moving to Mexico and Living as a Digital Nomad, with Entrepreneur Hannah Dixon" here.

In episode two, we talk about the business side of things, how I got started, how DNK grew, how we help people, and how others can get started as a VA or freelancer.

• Listen to episode two "How to Become A Virtual Assistant and Work From Anywhere with Digital Nomad Kit founder Hannah Dixon" here .

You can find both episodes on Spotify too by searching for "The Adventure Calls". Thank you Jess for having me on the show!

??? Upcoming Events & Experiences

?? Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit , Jul 22nd - Jul 25th, 2024. A free 4-day online event to help you toss out the “rules” and build your online business to work for YOUR unique brain.

?? VIP Day Mastery: Create 4-Figure Transformations for Your Clients, August 20th, 7pm New York. Discover the art of designing 4-figure transformative experiences for your clients, using the skills you already have! Get your ticket here, I can't wait to share this knowledge with you.

???? Nomad World Fest, Oct 7 - Oct 13, ?? Albufeira, Portugal.

Put on by the community building go-to in the nomad space, Goncalo Hall, this event promises a blend of business, lifestyle, AI, social impact, and community-centric events and learning. Plus, I will be speaking! Grab your ticket now , prices start from only 59 euros.

?? VA-cation at Nomad Island Fest , Dec 5 - Dec 11, ?? Madeira, Portugal.

Did you see the news yet? VA-cation is back and this year we’ve partnered with Nomad Island Fest to bring you the best of this unique and premium conference experience paired with all the usual trappings that make VA-cation so damn fun. From included masterminds with yours truly, to exclusive swag bags, a one-on-one coaching call, and the entire lineup of amazing events happening in paradise this December, this is one not to miss! Tickets are limited due to space, this is first come first served. Go ahead and check out the intimate networking opportunity I'm organizing just for you and grab your ticket here .

?? Virtual Excellence Academy Inner Circle Events

These events are exclusive to VEA students at no additional cost, if want to join this life-changing program & forever support membership, join the waitlist here.

???? Inner Circle Coworking (weekly, Thurs-Fri): Come together with other VEA members to get sh!t done! Have fun in the breaks and expand your network.

?? Digital Decluttering Session (monthly): Dedicated time to optimize our digital environment for maximized productivity and peace. Whoever finds the weirdest download wins!

?? July: Finding Balance - Self-Care for Life-Work Balance, with Kim Gorchs. Life-Work balance, not work-life—that’s because here we prioritize LIFE! This is your chance to recalibrate, becoming aware of different life areas and shifting priorities for the second half of the year. Come and connect!

?? Remote Work 101 with Libryia Jones. Libryia, the “Queen of Remote Work” herself, is joining us in the VEA to discuss landing remote jobs in 2024 and balancing remote work with building a business. With her extensive experience as a freelancer, remote worker, and entrepreneur, she brings a unique perspective to the remote work landscape—so come prepared with questions for Libryia to answer live!

*Login to the Inner Circle community to RSVP to all upcoming events, view past recordings, and connect with your fellow VEA peers. Imagine a membership with all the benefits, endless learning, and activities - at no added cost for VEA students - join the waitlist to enroll in the next cohort.

?? That's a Wrap!

Next week, I'm heading to Europe for work, my brother's wedding, and a quick visit to my wife's family in Germany. Zurich - Frankfurt - London and back! I can't wait to share my travels with you on Instagram. Follow me there and join my broadcast channel "Business etc." for real-time updates!

Stay cool ??

Hannah