I'm a 24-year-old virtual assistant making $8,000 a month. Here's how I built my business and find clients.

• Mary Carrasquillo launched her virtual-assistant company, Create With MKC, in December 2020.

• By January 2022, she was booking more than $8,000 in monthly revenue.

Mary Carrasquillo had just graduated from Florida International University with a degree in marketing when COVID-19 forced companies to close and freeze hiring. Like many, Carrasquillo applied to hundreds of jobs over the first few months of the pandemic but didn't hear back from a single employer.

Between applications, she turned to TikTok for entertainment. There, she came across a video posted by Jessica Hawks, a virtual assistant and business coach, explaining the virtual-assistant business model and how she'd made six figures doing what she loved. Carrasquillo thought it was too good to be true, but a gut feeling told her to inquire further with Hawks.

Five months later, Carrasquillo officially launched her virtual-assistant company, Create with MKC.

"I can't even express how far I've come into my business and how much it's grown," Carrasquillo said. "I would've never imagined it, knowing that it all came from a single TikTok that I saw."

Since her December 2020 launch, she's grown to six consistent clients and booked more than $8,000 in revenue in January 2022, according to documents verified by Insider. What's more, Carrasquillo is one of many Gen Zers who performed freelance work in 2022. Others are graphic designers, photographers, or Amazon description writers.

In an interview with Insider, Carrasquillo shared her experience finding a career she's passionate about. The as-told-to interview has been slightly edited for length and clarity.

Find a space that's moving forward

It was summer 2020 when I graduated from college. For the majority of my life, I was taught that after attending college and earning a degree, I'd practically be guaranteed a job. With that mindset, I applied to hundreds of jobs. I did not hear back from a single company. I was extremely discouraged, considering I'd just spent the past 12 years in school working toward the future.

I was spending free time on TikTok when I came across Jessica Hawks. Her videos opened my eyes to online business. Even though so many in-person businesses were closed and it seemed as if the economy were at a standstill, there was an entire online economy that continued regardless of the pandemic.

What really encouraged me to take the career path seriously was the potential freedom. Being able to work from home, decide my hours, set my prices, and wake up every day and do what I love for work was something I was drawn to.

Finding clients with specific services and outreach

One of the many benefits of virtual assisting is the variety of responsibilities; it allows you to test out what work you enjoy and build those skills over time. It also lets you break up your work with different types of tasks depending on clients' needs.

Since many of my clients are brand and web designers, my tasks include project management, scheduling, sending invoices, collecting deposits, and sharing contracts. Overall, my job is to ensure my clients' businesses run smoothly.

Discovery calls are another element of my work. The Zoom calls are one hour long; there I'll speak with potential clients to discuss what they're looking for and build their strategy.

To find clients, I make sure my communication is very specific. I create content based on solutions I know they're struggling to find and have professional but meaningful conversations with them. I message brands I love on Instagram, but I don't "pitch" myself. Instead, I tell them I love their work and let them reach out to me after looking at my account.

Use the skills you already have, but don't be afraid to ask for guidance

I applied the marketing knowledge I learned in school to help me stand out in the industry. Since I knew I wanted to work with designers, my branding had to be extremely cohesive but still true to myself and my aesthetic.

Many virtual assistants' Instagram pages not only represent them but also their portfolio of work. Having a well-crafted page that showcases skills, visions, and projects gives you credibility when brands are deciding whether to work with you. Most importantly, you have to stay on your toes and constantly evolve with your business.

I think finding a business coach was a huge stepping stone in building my business. Other entrepreneurs should not be scared to reach out for help. Having someone guide you and teach you the tools that you should be using, what niche to enter, and the services to provide help decide who you are going to be as an entrepreneur.