From burnout to breakthrough: How this accidental entrepreneur is helping people work with freedom and flexibility

Vivian Garcell used to spend all her lunch breaks the same way: reading travel blogs at her desk, dreaming of a life beyond cubicle walls. 

“I lived vicariously through people who were nomads and who travelled the world while I was stuck in an office,” she recalls. “I started digging into what they did for a living, and learned that most of them were bloggers and freelancers.”

After years of struggling with burnout and panic attacks, she decided to stop thinking and start doing. In 2016, she started freelancing as a virtual assistant and blog writer; six months later, she handed in her two-week notice to travel the world. Today, the former corporate worker has 145K followers on TikTok, 25K email subscribers and a $500K training business helping others build their own remote careers. 

An accidental entrepreneur

Garcell calls herself an “accidental entrepreneur”—and she means it. “I didn’t set out to build a business. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur,” she says. “It all kind of fell into place.”

As her virtual assistant side hustle gradually grew into a six-figure income, she started sharing behind-the-scenes advice on becoming a virtual assistant on TikTok. When her videos went viral, she suddenly hit 10K followers in a month and received a surge of messages from people asking her to teach them how to replicate her success. 

That outpouring of interest is what inspired Garcell to create her first online course using Thinkific. For months, she had worked 14-hour days juggling virtual assistant clients, content creation and course building to create what she calls “THE virtual assistant course.” 

“I remember being completely lost on where to start as a VA and having to figure it all out by myself,” she adds. “Once I saw how many people wanted to learn from me, building a course was a no-brainer…I set out to create the course I wish I had when I started.”

In 2022, she launched the Virtual Freelancer Academy. The course covers everything from setting up a business and building a standout portfolio to finding clients, running discovery calls and sending proposals. It also includes lessons from lawyers and accountants on registering business, invoicing tracking expenses, taxes and more. 

Community over followers

But beyond the comprehensive coursework, Garcell’s key to success is showing up for her students and her community. Having been ghosted after enrolling in courses before, she prioritizes making herself available to her students, whether to answer questions, give feedback, or just talk. 

“The most important thing is learning to connect with your community and your audience,” she says. “Every dollar of those $500K came from people who trusted me and wanted to learn from me, and I don’t take that for granted.”

Rather than chasing viral moments, Garcell focuses on the audience she has and strives to build trust with them by consistently sharing free tips and hosting Q&As. She says a large social media following isn’t necessary when trying to become a successful course creator, but forming real connections is. 

This community-first approach seems to resonate especially with women seeking flexibility and independence (Garcell’s core audience). “I used to be in their shoes, so I know exactly how they feel, what they want, their goals,” she says. “They see themselves in my story and realize it’s possible for them too.”

Remote, rich and unbothered

With the success of the Virtual Freelancer Academy, Garcell is now focused on growing her second course Remote, Rich and Unbothered, where she teaches creators how to build their own brand and launch digital products. She has also been sharing more content about her financial freedom journey—documenting her CoastFIRE journey, sharing income breakdowns, investment strategies and money lessons.

“Not sure if that will go anywhere,” she says. “For now, I’m just enjoying the process, trying to inspire as many people as I can along the way, and proving that you don’t need a huge following to make a big impact. You just need to start.”