When people talk about “working online,” they don’t always talk about why they start.
For Haniza, it wasn’t about trendy freedom or passive income.
It was about burnout, exhaustion, and needing something that actually worked long term.
She knew something had to change.
So today, I want to introduce you to Haniza: a Virtual Assistant turned Digital Business Manager who not only upgraded her role and income… but finally stepped into work where her expertise was respected without having to prove herself over and over again.
Let’s get into it.
👋 Meet Haniza
Haniza (you can call her Han!) is based in Malaysia, but she frequently travels between Singapore and Thailand.
Before working online, she built her career as:
- An Executive Assistant in a fast-paced tech startup
- A team member inside a digital agency
Both environments were intense, demanding, and exhausting until she reached a breaking point and realized:
“I need out. I need to start working online.”
So in January 2020, Haniza officially entered the online space as a general Virtual Assistant.
About a year later, she upgraded her skills and niched down into more technical, higher-level work.
But the journey to get there wasn’t easy.
Why Haniza Started Working Online in the First Place
For Haniza, going online wasn’t a “nice-to-have.”
It was necessary.
At one point, she was juggling three to four jobs at the same time just to make ends meet:
- Morning tutoring
- A full-time office job during the day
- Evening tutoring
- Weekend work as a dental assistant and sometimes even a kitchen helper
That pace meant:
- Rarely seeing friends
- Barely visiting family
- Constant exhaustion: mentally, physically, emotionally
So when she landed her first Virtual Assistant role paying the equivalent of all four jobs combined (for about 20 hours a week), everything changed.
“At that moment, I felt this adrenaline rush. It finally felt possible.”
Life Before DBM Bootcamp: Doing the Work Without the Title (or Pay)
Before joining DBM Bootcamp, Haniza was already doing many Digital Business Manager tasks.
The problem?
She didn’t have:
- The title
- The positioning
- Or the compensation to match
She also deeply believed that higher-level roles ($50–$70/hr+) were only for people in Western countries, not for someone based in Asia.
So while her income was better than her old office job, she quietly capped her own growth.
Why Haniza Joined Digital Business Manager Bootcamp
After taking a long career break following childbirth, Haniza found herself stuck.
She needed:
- Structure
- Confidence
- A mentor
- And most importantly: community
When she compared OBM programs with DBM Bootcamp, something stood out.
DBM Bootcamp felt:
- Flexible
- Freelance-friendly
- Aligned with real online businesses and agencies
And after watching Deya’s content, Haniza knew the program wasn’t cookie-cutter.
“It felt real. That’s what gave me confidence in the quality of the program.”
How Haniza Worked Through DBM Bootcamp (Without Overwhelm)
Haniza approached DBM Bootcamp like a project management mission (very on brand).
Here’s what worked:
- Following the two-month drip schedule so she didn’t skim content
- Using Asana to structure her study plan
- Time blocking and communicating that schedule with her husband
- Watching modules during weekdays and completing capstone work on weekends
She finished the entire program in two months without overwhelm.
What Haniza Does Now as a Digital Business Manager
Today, Haniza works deep in the creator economy; not the “money-falls-from-the-sky” version, but real businesses with real teams.
Her role includes:
- Acting as a founder’s right-hand operator
- Turning data into decisions
- Breaking big visions into actionable steps
- Closing open loops
- Managing team workflows, capacity, and systems
Real impact she’s made:
- Helping an agency owner finally take peaceful time off
- Reorganizing workloads across time zones
- Introducing PM tools that eliminated internal conflict
- Creating SOP hubs and centralized dashboards so new hires can start confidently on day one
The Biggest Benefit of Becoming a Digital Business Manager
According to Haniza?
Instant respect.
“Since I got the DBM title, discovery calls go straight into pain points, capacity, timelines, and team dynamics.”
She no longer has to over-explain, over-prove, or oversell.
The title alone communicates authority which was especially powerful for her culturally.
Haniza’s Top Tips for Landing Higher-Level Roles
💡 Tip #1: Read the Job Post Like a Business Owner — Not a Task-Taker
When Haniza looks at a job post, she doesn’t just scan the responsibilities.
She studies the entire business.
That means:
- Reading the job description line by line
- Visiting their website
- Reviewing their YouTube channel, newsletters, and platforms
- Even downloading their freebies
Then she asks herself:
- What does their day-to-day actually look like?
- What would the weekly and monthly rhythm of this role be?
This helps her walk into discovery calls already understanding the business — not just reacting to instructions.
💡 Tip #2: Identify the Real Problem Behind the Hire
Before any discovery call, Haniza takes time to think deeply about why the role exists.
She asks:
- Why did they post this job now?
- What problem is hurting the business the most?
- Why can’t the founder solve this on their own anymore?
- Where is the team or capacity breaking down?
This is what allows her discovery calls to go straight into:
- Pain points
- Team capacity
- Timelines
- Decision-making bottlenecks
Instead of surface-level questions.
💡 Tip #3: Be “Prepared” by Thinking — Not Memorizing Scripts
Haniza doesn’t rely on scripted discovery calls.
Instead, she prepares by thinking everything through before the call:
- The business model
- The team structure
- Where decisions are getting stuck
- What success would actually look like in this role
“Being prepared isn’t about memorizing discovery call scripts; it’s about having thought everything through so you can ask better questions.”
That preparation is what positions her as a strategic partner, not just another applicant.
Does Haniza Recommend Digital Business Manager Bootcamp?
Yes — 100%.
“It feels like a mini-degree. Nothing felt missing. The experience was transparent, supportive, and genuinely rare.”
She especially loved:
- Clear pricing (no pressure or aggressive upsells)
- Real job opportunities
- Being visible in the DBM directory
- Having milestones celebrated along the way
“It made the journey feel seen and supported.”
If you’d like to connect with Haniza, you can find her on Linkedin here.
Wondering If Digital Business Manager Is Your Next Step?
If you’re a Virtual Assistant who:
- Is already doing more than execution work
- Wants higher-level ownership and strategy
- Is tired of proving your value over and over
Then DBM might already be the role you’re stepping into, whether you have the title yet or not.
👉 Check out our free intro class to see what Digital Business Managers actually do, how they’re paid, and how to level up without working more hours.
Want ALL the details on how to work online as a digital business manager?
Check out my FREE intro series where I break down exactly how I went from $2–3K months to a 6-figure freelance career – including what clients actually paid me to do, how much I charged, and where I found 40+ paying clients (yes, I show you the full breakdown!).
