Badass Folx in Biz - Davey McConnell | The Eco Helper
Offering Virtual Help for Eco-Minded Entrepreneurs
There comes a time in every entrepreneur’s life when you just gotta make those big moves.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant for the first time felt like a huge leap of faith, and I had no idea how I was going to handle it.
For me, asking for help is hard, so the thought of outsourcing an aspect of my business felt extremely uncomfortable.
But I needed to do something to keep my biz ticking over while I popped out a new human and enjoyed some quality R’n’R time.
Because we all know disappearing on your audience isn’t going to do you any favours. So you need to hire someone who’s going to keep stoking the proverbial biz fire while you’re gone.
And I couldn’t think of anyone better than Davey, a.k.a. The Eco Helper.
Davey and I connected at the beginning of 2020 (pre-COVID, if I’m not mistaken...doesn’t that just feel like forever ago?!) Davey signed up to my mailing list, and then responded to my first email with such thought and care and realness - it made week.
She made an impression, and in the virtual world, that’s rare.
Since then we’ve kept in touch over Instagram and tend to run in the same eco-minded online circles. We both recently participated in the fabulous ECOPRENEUR SUMMIT 2020 - did you catch it?
I’ve been so inspired by Davey’s story - she’s living the nomadic life I’ve often dreamed of, and I like to think that maybe someday I’ll be able to catch up with her in person and share a cocktail on the beach with her and her wife, Daphnah.
But until then, I gotta make do with the virtual visits and online hangouts.
I know you’ll enjoy reading all about Davey’s amazing journey into ecopreneurship. Her story is a beautiful reminder that you are in charge of creating the life you want - a life that’s fulfilling, aligned with your values, and, most importantly, fun.
Be sure to read to the end to link up with her online!
You weren’t always working as The Eco Helper - how did you get started? And was there a defining moment that changed everything for you?
No, I wasn’t! I had left my long term full-time job at my alma mater in the U.S. two years prior to starting this because I was ready for a change, to go on an adventure to learn more about myself and what I wanted to do with my life.
At 30 years old with a degree, living paycheck to paycheck, I had reached a ceiling there that I couldn’t get past unless I went even further into student debt. The job was great and it allowed me to make an impact in my community and with my students. I was also able to travel which was amazing!
Once I made up my mind to leave, I soon found a job teaching in China that would pay me enough to travel and save money. The traveling part worked out (I met my wife and we visited about 13 countries) but the job was not ideal. The school collapsed and owed all the teachers a lot of money and I was also kinda stuck because my visa was due for renewal or I had to leave the country. I had 2 weeks to find a new job. So I did and I ended up commuting for about 3 hours a day (by foot, bus, and subway) or even spending the night away from home just to get up and do it all again.
This school was no better. Saying I was miserable is an understatement. I was broke and now in a legal battle with my first school. We won after a year but we’ll probably never see that money. (That’s a whole other story I could rant about but I’ve mostly let it go and accepted it, can you tell?).
Teaching English is a lucrative gig if you find the right company/school. I saw many people teaching online and soon realized that was my way out. But I also knew that I didn’t want to do only that. I had skills I had honed over 10 years working in an office (that full-time job I left). I also knew that I wanted to use those skills for good and for a purpose bigger than just myself, something I was passionate about. Once I combined those two ideas, the Eco Helper was born.
Since you started your online business, how has it transformed and evolved? What’s the journey been like so far?
I’ve learned so much since I started and I’ve met so many amazing people online that support me. In the beginning I swapped services with a business coach to get my feet wet and gain some direction. Plus, I stopped relying on Facebook groups and got on Instagram- that has been a game-changer! The community I’ve built on Instagram is amazing. I’ve also joined two memberships, Social Support Incubator and Coco Rose Community, and I hired Mel Bruce, Ecopreneur Coach, for some much needed coaching. She's been wonderful with keeping me on track, holding me accountable, as well as working on my mindset when it comes to being a business owner.
Entrepreneurship has its ups and downs, as you are well aware I’m sure, but what I wasn't aware of was the personal changes I’d have to deal with. And it's mainly in regards to dealing with imposter syndrome and the anxiety that comes with putting yourself out there and the long hours of trying to figure everything out while trying to deliver valuable work for clients. The start was a little slow and it took me 5 months to book my first paying client. 10 months later now I have 10 clients from various types of businesses and backgrounds from all over the world.
I feel like the reason I’ve been able to do this is because I’ve taken the time to build relationships with people in my online community. Through those relationships I’ve collaborated with a few fellow entrepreneurs on things like interviews like this, appearing on podcasts, or going live on Instagram. The exposure these types of outlets provide is priceless.
As things have grown, I’ve been able to see more clearly what my ideal clients need and restructured my services and packages, as well as the systems I use every day. But I’ve also had to take a look at my own schedule and mindset. It’s important to me to have a good balance of work and play and to do things in my business that I feel good about and feel aligned with. You won't see me doing a bunch in your face launches or trying to sell my services every day. I’ve learned what works for me and that’s simply just showing up, sharing my value, and cultivating those relationships.
What’s the best part of your day as The Eco Helper? What aspect of your work do you enjoy the most?
The best part of the day is waking up knowing I’m helping to make an impact by supporting my clients to make an impact as well. It’s exponential! It’s also waking up knowing that I’m living life on my terms. I get to choose who I work with and only do work I feel good doing. The work I enjoy doing the most is helping my clients increase their visibility and brand awareness through their content- social media, blogs, newsletters… They create such amazing and valuable content so it’s an honor to be a part of it and to help spread their powerful messaging. We also share the same ethical and eco-centered values, so I’m always doing something I feel aligned with.
Your wife has joined The Eco Helper team now. What’s it been like working alongside your partner?
When I first started the Eco Helper, she saw me working day and night in between my online teaching classes. I was going at it alone, really immersing myself. She’s also an online teacher but had some time to spare, so one day she sat down and asked me “What can I do? I want to help.” The weight lifted off my shoulders that day was immense.
Daphnah has supported me from day one because we share the same dreams and eco and social values so I knew that when she offered to help it wasn’t just to get me to stop working earlier each day, it was because she truly cared about the impact we could make. Her contributions and ideas and support have been invaluable to the success we’ve seen so far.
We did have to create some systems and get organized in a way that worked for both of us. Trying to explain my vision plus a lot of the things I had been learning and were swirling around in my brain has been challenging but we make sure to set aside strategy meetings at least once a week where I can share these things, brainstorm, and divvy up the work. The challenge for me has come from letting go of control of some aspects of the business, but the freedom that provides is amazing.
It’s definitely been a learning experience and added a new dimension to our marriage but we make sure to leave it at the end of the day and take time off to spend time together so it doesn’t consume us.
How did your sustainability journey begin? And how do you incorporate your values into your business?
I’ve always loved being out in nature since I was a little girl. And once I started to grow up and see what was happening to the environment, I knew that I had to do whatever I could to reduce my own personal impact. It started in little ways like picking up garbage out of the creek on our property and saving every little container I could possibly reuse one day.
At university, I worked in the Office of Leadership which coordinated all the community service programs. I helped organize tree planting and cleanup days in the community. That position turned into the full-time job I mentioned and soon I convinced my boss to take students to the Dominican Republic where we learned about the importance of biodiversity and volunteered with an environmental school to remove invasive species while planting native flora.
And to be honest, I actually got more into it in my personal life because I was broke. I stopped using shampoo and conditioner for two years, using only apple cider vinegar and baking soda. I started buying groceries in bulk and bought a menstrual cup. I shopped second-hand when I needed clothes. I was conscious about not buying things I didn’t truly need, choosing to go without, while avoiding plastic and excessive packaging wherever possible. Money instead went to experiences instead of stuff.
In my business, it’s the same way. I’d love to have eco friendly pens and recycled notebooks for all my ideas and thoughts, but I have an iPad that works perfectly well. My laptop case is falling apart but it does the job. And once I learned of the impact of emails and things stored on clouds, I’ve made it a priority to clean up my digital carbon footprint. I’ve also been trying to find the least impactful ways of working online like avoiding emails if possible, communicating through messaging apps instead, and making sure my website is as green as possible.
It’s also very important to me to only work with other entrepreneurs who share these values of working in an eco-friendly and ethical way, putting people and the planet over profit. Whether that is built into their actual business and who they serve, or simply just their personal values. It’s these shared values that attracts a lot of my clients too. By working with someone who cares about the issues, they are in turn making their own businesses more eco-friendly.
What’ve been the highlights and challenges of your life as a “digital nomad” so far? And who or what first turned you on to this lifestyle?
The extent of my digital nomad life so far has been in Vietnam but we are trying to make the most out of it. Now that we have a strong foundation of the business and are growing, we feel more comfortable moving around and traveling more because it's relatively safe to do here. The highlights are definitely being able to work while traveling and not having to choose between the two. We can work from literally anywhere.
The challenges are definitely more personal at this point. Moving around doesn’t lend itself well to cultivating a social life. Don’t get me wrong we’ve met some great people and made some wonderful friends, but we do miss our friends back home as well as our rugby team and fellow expats from China. Of course we’re also away from our families and missing out on special or important moments like death, birth, and illness. It can bring a feeling of helplessness and even grief on a different level. Daphnah is from the Netherlands and I’m American so we can’t just take one trip to visit family. And now with the pandemic and closed borders, there’s a whole other added challenge brought to this separation.
I’m not sure when I was first turned on to the lifestyle, but I was searching around the web a lot looking for ways to do it without realizing there was a name for it. I discovered large networks of freelancers and entrepreneurs who were doing it, and doing it in almost every country. The course I took to start my virtual assistant business was actually from the Digital Nomad Kit which provides education and resources to make this lifestyle a reality.
I was immediately excited and felt so aligned. I wanted the freedom to live life on my terms, not by vacation days that were earned or allotted to me. When Daphnah and I first met we connected over this idea so I think having a partner who shares these same dreams doesn’t hurt.
You’re currently living in Vietnam - what’s that been like? Is there anywhere else you dream about taking your life/work?
Vietnam has been incredible. We moved here just as COVID started to spread around the globe. We actually had just made the cutoff of entering the country because we had been living in China. They’ve taken very serious precautions to protect the health of the people in the country. We even got locked out of our city while traveling because there was an outbreak there. Like most people around the world, we had to deal with 2 lockdowns but these allowed us time to really focus on the business. If we had been hopping around South East Asia like we had planned, I’m not sure we’d be where we are today in terms of the success we are seeing.
The country is absolutely gorgeous, the food is incredible, and the people are so kind and welcoming. I also really love the focus of the government and people on protecting the environment. I was so happy to find refill shops, eco-conscious restaurants, and organizations focused on keeping the beaches and waterways clean. We do dream of completing our journey through South East Asia once borders open and even heading over to South America one day to live and travel in a converted bus. I’ve always been drawn to tropical warm regions with strong cultures still intact.
What’s next for The Eco Helper? What are some of your big dreams for the future?
We are looking at ways to start creating passive income with the business. Whether that’s through digital products, courses, or collaborations. The big dream is to work less and be able to spend more time exploring and traveling and giving back however we can.
We also dream of turning the business into a social enterprise one day which would support the education of global youth on environmental issues and entrepreneurship, providing resources to empower and provide opportunities for innovation so they may give back and provide for their communities. We’ve just started working with our first charity client whose focus is on drowning prevention, water stewardship, and environmental education with children all over the world so I’d say we’re heading in the right direction.
