Latest / MaxValue Podcast / How Virtual Assistants Transform Business Productivity

Transcript

How Virtual Assistants Transform Business Productivity · MaxValue Podcast

• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Max Value, a show dedicated to helping business owners and their professional advisors maximize value.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about business valuation, exit planning, global staffing, and a lot of other interesting topics.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Ben Town, and today we are joined by Tessa Baracasa, owner of Birdie Consulting based in Bogota, Colombia.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think I even pronounced that right.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Her company provides virtual assistants, IT service professionals, and a host of other support staff for American companies.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: She's here to talk to us today about how hiring a VA can transform your life as a business owner and operator.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, Tessa, thank you very much for coming on.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to Colombia?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you, Ben.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I ended up in Colombia, uh natural fit.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: My husband is Colombian, so we just started our life here in Bogota.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And um we actually started the company um initially just to service IT companies, MSPs around the United States.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: California was our first client.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um yeah, that's kind of how we got started.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: It seemed like a good fit for uh near shoring to the United States because um time zone congruence, the cultural alignment.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um and to be honest, there's a lot of professional people in Colombia looking for good opportunities.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: And they have English, they have the experience, and they have the the skills.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: They just need the opportunity.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we we saw that and decided to start it, start, go for it to try our hand at the business here and see how it works.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so far it's been it's been a really it's been a success for us both personally and professionally, I would say.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: So it's enriched our lives in multiple levels.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And it's been two or three years now.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're we started in February of 2022.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: So sorry, I was gonna say March, but I think February is our actual official start date.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: So we're going on yeah, exactly.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So so as not to bury the lead, uh, I wanted to also mention right now that uh we uh are a client, uh my company, Town Advisory and Assurance Advisors, are clients of Birdie Consulting, and and we uh utilize a uh a virtual assistant.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: But that being said, and we'll get to that more later, uh Tessa, maybe you can tell us a little bit about what a VA or virtual assistant really is.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so when I envision a virtual assistant, and when we began this part of our business to start hiring virtual assistants, our vision was to hire people who can help professionals like yourself offload your own busy tasks that with like tasks that you don't necessarily need to be doing yourself, things that can be done in the background so that you have more time and freedom to do to dedicate to other tasks that are more important for you to be doing in person.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: So anything that can be done remotely, we we figure we can hire staffing for.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so in this instance, I think for you, um, the virtual assistant has been very helpful in helping you manage your calendars, managing your email inbox.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we can touch on that later.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: What else she helps you with?
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I think that was our main motivation and looking to hire this position was just to find people that can help professionals like yourself free free your work, free your schedule and free your workload.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and free up the time to be able to do this, which I've uh I've enjoyed a ton.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: So so thank you for that.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: Next question.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Why why Columbia?
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it such a good place to get talent for you know for this purpose?
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: So, like I mentioned earlier in the introduction, that we find that there's an abundance of talent here who are not only skilled, but also have high levels of English.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so it seems like a good fit.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And again, the time zone thing is really important for American clients.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're currently in central time, so we're the same time zone as Chicago, the same time zone as Texas.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we're two hours different from California and one hour off of East Coast time.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: So for most of the United States, this time zone works perfectly.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um the other factor is most people here are very familiar with American culture.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's so much a part of the culture here, even so that it's it's not like that for that big of a leap for for the for the communication aspect.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I've I found no uh no gap at all from the standpoint of kind of you know common common reference.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's still very uh I'll say very western uh in in terms of how you know how people uh just talk and you know some of the social mores and that that sort of thing.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so but getting right into it then, what how how is it that you find your people?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's a great question.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_01: We have used a variety of means to find people.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um primarily we use a recruiter.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, she's on our staff here locally, and she searches for we we set a profile based on the client's needs.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so then you as the client, you would set the parameters for kind of the main things that you're looking for in uh in a virtual assistant.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um then we have a recruiter go set a search based on those parameters, and she does the first filtering process.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but in other cases, we have found our talent through friends of our current employees, friends or family of current employees that have been recommended to us.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, some of our I don't want to rank our employees, but some of our top people have come from from those recommendations.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, we've done we've done it through a variety of mediums, but it's yeah, we we mainly use the recruiter for most of our most of our searches.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Gotcha, that makes sense.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um somebody dedicated to going and finding the right people.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so what when you are finding these right people for for businesses, what what types of businesses are really often using VAs and most successfully, and and why why is it the case that they are uh successful at it?
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: So the I think the businesses that have found the most success with this are professional sector, um, service industry, like professional services like yourself.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um we actually are some of our IT companies have also used virtual systems for various tasks.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And what works the best is when um they're already set up and understand what remote work is and how it's going to work.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: So they that piece is already in place.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so hiring somebody abroad, it's it's almost like they're not abroad.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_01: They're just a part of the team, they're integrated right away.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so the remote work is is just secondary to the fact that this is like an in-office atmosphere, and the person feels like they're a part of the team that they go to work for.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that's been where we found the most success is when it's not an us and them um aspect, it's more of a just us.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: This is our team, and it doesn't matter that they're in Colombia or they're in the United States, this is just our team.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: And those our clients that have have taken that approach have had immense success with this model.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and I I found that to be the case personally.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever we're talking about using remote staffing or global staffing, or however you want to term it, in this case, maybe near shoring is a is a good descriptor as well.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's there's a lot of there's a lot of challenges.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what are the the mythical challenges, the ones that don't really exist, but but exist in in people's minds.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so they are real from that standpoint.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then there are the ones that are, you know, an actual challenge.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, so let's talk about those for a second.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe you can talk about the communication barriers, uh, if if any.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the communication barriers, like I like I mentioned earlier, I think that can be eliminated if you do truly integrate them as a part of your team.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you add them to your teams or your your Slack channels, whatever it is, and you have a daily communication, and it's not it's not like I meet with this person once a week.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: No, this person is like they could be in the room next next to me.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that communication, if if it's just steady and constant and there's a steady stream and it's an open channel for both parties, that's when it works the best.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and as far as the language barrier goes, like the communication piece, like I said, there's an abundance of talent here that has high levels of English.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a part of our filtering process as well, is to make sure that they have a level of English that that that communication piece um is is non-existent.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: So um, but yeah, that as far as interpersonal communication goes, like I like I said, I think the most important thing is just to make sure that that person is included um in in whatever it is that your team is doing.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that's that's where the most success has been found.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: So another question, maybe one that's I'll say more in the reality sector, um, is you know, how how do you deal with confidential information and information security?
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because a lot of professional service firms really do work with some sensitive information from our clients, et cetera.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So it that that is a true concern.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: How do you guys deal with that?
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a very valid concern.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I would say that it would be the same almost as if you were to hire an employee locally.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: You you give them access to this to the things that you want them to have access to, and you control that on your systems and with your own personal IT teams.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, that's but it's a very valid concern.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: But like I like I mentioned, it's just that's a that's a piece that would need to be handled internally on your end to make sure that they're they're only having access to the things that you want them to have access to.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: But there is on our end, our all of our employees are subjected to to sign a confidentiality agreement to to be an employee, an employee.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so on our end, we do everything our that we can in our power to ensure that you're secure with your data.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then that's uh combined with the piece that you do on your end, we try to do everything we can to ensure that that confidentiality piece.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think the key the key component there, right, is that uh you're working together with the client because it's really going to be under the umbrella of what their uh what do they call it?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Info security posture.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's that's how they say it.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um uh the IT people who uh are much smarter than me at this stuff, but it does sound official.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but essentially how uh the client, i.e.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: me, um would make sure that any team member is being safe and confidential with information.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So that totally makes sense.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, the the coordination between the two sides of that is is the key component.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um so a little bit of an off-the-wall question uh next is I've gotten asked this uh before.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, do you ever get asked if this remote work is exploitative of the Colombian labor force?
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's that's a great question and it's a valid concern also.
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um yes, we have been asked at various times about that aspect, especially um about outsourcing in general, because sometimes it can kind of have a bad name.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but one of the things that we set out to do when we began this business was to create a model that we are not going to be that kind of a business.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um we place a priority on our employees' well-being.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that includes like frequently checking up on them, making sure that they're okay, that their workload is okay.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's that's the piece that uh my husband does more than me because he is Colombian.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: He understands their culture, he understands the language here more than I do.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um and he can he can communicate with them on a level that that really I can't enter into as deeply.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um so he can he can play that role kind of in the background, making sure that they are they're okay, they have everything they need, they're you know, not being exploited during their work hours.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we also set we we also try to set some fences as far as that goes too with the with the clients.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: So we create a schedule and this they're going to work this many hours and that cannot be exceeded.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_01: And if it does get exceeded, then we need to know about that immediately so we can step in and intervene.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we try to play that role as a bridge between client and employee so that that doesn't happen.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: We do everything in our power to make that not be a factor.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but as as far as that goes, as you as a client, you also have a role to play in that, and to making sure that you're not overloading the the workload and and the employee with more than they can handle and understanding kind of too what their limits are um and what they're capable of.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I think I think it's a team, a team player event that we all work together in making sure that that doesn't happen.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: So does that make sense?
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, totally does.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we there's responsibility on both sides, and of course, there are horror stories out there.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Not that we need to go into any of them.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think you know that those those get reported in the news or or whatnot.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but also, you know, when you when you think about it, uh, you know, you guys pay a fair wage and expect a fair, you know, fair day's work, but no more, right?
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you're not trying to take over anybody's life, and you know, it's on it is also incumbent on the client to make sure that we're not being that person either.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to work with that person, and neither do I.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so now we're gonna do something a little different.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're gonna reverse this.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, since I'm actually a user of a virtual assistant, uh, Tessa, why don't you interview me and ask me some questions about how I do it?
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, this is awesome.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, first, then, as my client, as one of my clients, how have you justified for yourself the risk of adding a full-time person to your staff?
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's it is a this is like the first hurdle to get over when you're when you're thinking about bringing on somebody to lighten your load, especially since you when when you're a professional, you just do all of the things.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, for the most part, nobody can do them, you think, as well as you can.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so maybe I'm doing something for five hours a week that would take somebody else longer, but man, I really want those five hours back.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the the the way I initially got into the the mode of thinking about this, uh I'll say appropriately, but uh that's my opinion, is really thinking about it in smaller chunks.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: So, not hey, I need to bring on a full-time equivalent person, or in this case, an actual full-time person uh for you know XYZ, you know, fee, charge, salary, whatever.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but okay, can I fill somebody's time up for 20 or 40 hours in a week?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: And what can I fill them up with?
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: And and actually, once you start really going down that that list, once I started going down that list of okay, what can I can I get help with?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: There it wasn't like this uh static list of okay, this is gonna take 15 minutes and this is gonna take an hour and da-da-da-da-da-da, and like adding up.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I love adding up things, but I wasn't able to add up to 40 hours a week.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: However, I knew that there's always other things that are coming through as well.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: So if I could have a nice solid list of things that were routine that I could get off my list or or or even just leverage a little bit.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not off my list, but I'm getting a little help and getting it pushed down the the uh process, then I would be able to fill with all kinds of other things.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, when and when I think about where I could get that help, uh, you know, if if I can stop being a bottleneck to the rest of my team and you know, focus on what what I need to with them, focus on the clients, focus on podcasting, uh whatever, um, I'm a little happier and I'm a little more effective.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: And guess what?
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm working on spending more time on the clients, the turnaround for projects for me, because we're probably mostly project-based, the turnaround on projects is is faster.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: And when that happens, revenue accelerates, and actually that that goes into profit.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, oftentimes I hear people say, Well, you know, if you pay this person XYZ, but then you don't you you can bill another hour.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's that's true, but it's very, very much a facile argument because of course you're not going to take that hour that you were used to be checking emails and put it right into a billable hour.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: That doesn't really happen.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean it can, but not most of the time.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you know what it is for me is okay, that turns into 15 minutes of more direct billable time.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: That turns into 15 minutes of working more with a with a uh one of the project managers, and then you know, 15 minutes of going to you know my kids' hockey game or or whatever, right?
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so that's that's where the math works out for me, where it's not just math.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it has to be part of it, obviously.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but that but that's it.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, what else can the team use the use the VA for?
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: Not just me.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I I try to be very careful about saying that you know our VA is the team's VA, not just Ben's assistant.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: First off, I don't I don't need to have that much ego despite being up on on the on video here.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but also, I mean, really, again, it's a team effort, not just a Ben effort.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: About it.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great answer.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I love I love the way you you have utilized your VA.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: And um anyway, it's been it's been a great model even for us to understand better how we can show clients how this works.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: So would you say I'm a model client?
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what you're saying?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a model client.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, uh, what kind of core tasks do you use the VA for, like specifically?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, let's let's get let's get actionable.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um so one of the things I kept thinking about when getting ready for having a VA, uh, and you know, in implementing and integrating that into you know my everyday life.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um have you ever read the four-hour work week, the the book by Tim Ferris?
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: No, I have not.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you should because it basically says, hey, you need a VA.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh that's I'll put that on my list.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: What are the big takeaways?
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, four-hour work week, obviously, that's you know, that that's uh specious for most people.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm not even trying to work four hours in a week only.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want that.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: I like what I do.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um and I don't really have enough other things to fill the other 36 hours with anyway.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: I guess I could fill it with the kids, but you know, not enough hobbies at this point.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but the I would recommend to you and anybody else to go out and and read uh that book just because it has some really great great philosophical ideas about how to uh leverage yourself and and not tie your own self-worth to how much you're tied to your desk.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh it's uh uh that's a little bit freeing if if you kind of let it soak in.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: So sorry, that that was a little high-level.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get actually actionable.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the very first place that I had uh Geraldine, uh Geraldine is our wonderful VA.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the very first place I had her jump in was actually in email, uh, creating an email basically sorting system.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I won't go into the details uh right now, but Basically, every single email that comes in inbound to me goes through her first.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: She filters it through and you know, puts things that I don't need to worry about or don't need to worry about right now into a certain place, puts things I do need to worry about right now in another place, and messages me if there's an emergency.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's not that I'm not checking my email all the time still, which I absolutely am, but it does focus it up.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: So when I am checking my email all the time now, I'm not there's no time wasted on things that aren't important.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that that's super important.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and you know, she's able to take care of some things like scheduling meetings, which we'll get to in a second, that I don't have to ever worry about.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's really important because uh when I'm so busy, then having that friction between jumping between tasks and just the the decision making.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you get decision fatigue, and so if some of that I'll say just easier decision making is done by Geraldine, man, that's that's saves my decision making energy, if you will, uh, for just stuff that I'm going to have to be dealing with anyway.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so things that uh to be more actionable here, giving uh Geraldine some guidance as to these are the things that constitute, you know, important and these are the things that aren't, and helping her sort, and of course, using the technological tools within in our case, uh uh Outlook to help her leverage herself is important as well.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: So the the net result is you know is really, really, really useful.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's see what else we have uh calendar manager.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: So basically every meeting, especially every external meeting, uh goes through the VA, Geraldine.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because she knows how to read my calendar, what's in it, what's important, what can be moved around, uh, and is able to provide that touch to the other person that I'm trying to organize a meeting with.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, you're you're not getting shunted off to Calendly.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: I like Calendly.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: We actually use Calendly to back up uh Geraldine, and she uses it as a tool.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: However, sometimes, you know, if you ever get that email, go look at my calendar and pick a slot, that's fine.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes that can come off a little bit impersonal, or at least that's that's what I found with with some of my clients and and uh and referral sources.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I do love the fact that Geraldine, a lovely person, can go talk to them and offer some some suggestions, not just say do it yourself.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, so I I think we've had a much better response, and I'll say even maybe even quicker turnaround with scheduling meetings by doing it that way.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Again, leveraging myself with Geraldine, and then Geraldine leveraging herself even with some technology to to back it up.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because again, she does use Cownly attached to my calendar.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and you know, I'll say those are just the the two easy low-hanging fruit type of uh type of tasks.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there's just all kinds of things that just pop up.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um we found that guess what?
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_00: I hate doing time entry like every other professional service person ever.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so she does it for me based on my calendar.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I feel like I'm outing myself a little bit, but uh I didn't I didn't start my firm to do timekeeping.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and uh uh especially not if I can uh get somebody else to do it for me.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: So uh so she does.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh that that may be a little bit of a kind of a guilty uh admission there, but um, but she also works on our CRM, uh, which by the way, I didn't have time to really even do much of until I had Geraldine.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we kind of have a CRM that is at least functionally functioning minimally because of uh using a VA.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh stuff like uh arranging travel, uh hotel stays, helping me create presentations.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um AI can't do that by itself.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Now, AI helps her do it, AI helps me do it, but again, it's if you use AI for the whole presentation, it'd be very boring.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so again, using technology to leverage somebody who is also leveraging, you know, uh my time is super important.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, let's see, research.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, what else?
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh really just anything that a smart, motivated person can do, she does.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's the uh important part.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, that was kind of a long answer, but I have a lot to say because I mean she that's great.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great answer.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I totally agree with you.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes some of those things that you don't necessarily think take a lot of your time.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's amazing how much time is freed when you do delegate, and you you find you find new avenues that you didn't even know you could use this person for.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: So that was a great answer, Ben.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um okay, my next question is kind of launching off of that same track is how do you know what you can use your VA for?
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: That that absolutely is is crucial because I can say I want all these things all day long, but if it's not within the skill set of the other person, then then that's not gonna be a good fit, or it's the expectations are gonna be misaligned, all that stuff.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, really, first off, and you had alluded to it before, you have to define the role.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what really are the key things that I need this person to do?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is it is it bookkeeping?
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is it uh like a lot of small offices do?
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: Is it answering the phone?
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is it X, Y, and Z?
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: So the the really understanding what a virtual assistant should do for you as kind of the target is super important so that you can go find that person or you know, a little uh pool of people to uh to interview.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you know, in your process, I was able to, you know, interview those people that you had already winnowed down to a really excellent pool.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, that then it was kind of a relatively easy process and a not not totally unenjoyable process of getting to know a couple of people who are very skilled and then be able to pick the right the one, the right one, the one I that I thought would uh would work the best with us.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so you know, really understanding, you know, what what are the have to haves and what are the nice to haves, if if there are any, um, and how far down the the skill set you need to go.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, you know, I mentioned the CRM before.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, did does does this person need to you know be a Salesforce master or you know you know be a Hubspot guru?
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or do they really just need to know basic data entry and you know how to how to deal with that?
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because both of those are you know dealing with the CRM, but but they're very different in the type of person you would need to handle that task.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're talking about, well, I need somebody who's really good at Salesforce, obviously now we're not talking about a VA anymore, uh, we're talking about a very different person.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's again totally okay.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_00: Just get clear about what are the rules that that you actually need.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, in a similar vein, do you need somebody who can create a PowerPoint and put your logo on it, or do you need somebody who can create your logo from scratch?
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, also two different things.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, and as I said, the the term VA is widely, broadly overused because it can be applied to people who do you know three different roles.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um it can be uh uh misapplied, you know, when I need somebody who's really, you know, who's answering the phones, maybe, but that's different than somebody making sales calls, even though you know functionally they seem the same, they're just totally not.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um let's see.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Uh I guess all I would say, you know, from from the expectation standpoint is you know, even though, especially for for a professional service practice, some some things seem very easy or maybe not complex, it doesn't mean that the other person necessarily is going to know that off the bat, and it's not gonna be, you know, learning anything is not gonna be easy the first time, anyway.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I think there are some people out there who who really think that even though a VA really can come and improve a person's life like mine, um they they kind of think of it as getting a cut rate superhero uh to save them, right?
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: It it can't you can't approach life that way, and a particularly, you know, if a client came to you and said, Well, I need you to fix all my problems and you need to do it right now, and you need to do it for cheap, you would probably hang up the phone.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so that same same thing happens, happens here, and then um also you know, once the person is in, once the VA is in, uh you figure it out, you know, there is that.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not not to you know, not to cop out, but say this is you know, the the the team member is a real person too, just like you are.
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: So they they have particular strengths and particular weaknesses and you know hidden skill sets a lot of times.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so they probably do have some hidden superpowers, just maybe not the you know, not not Superman level.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so you uh you have to figure that out.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, here I'll just say this is probably a good time to give a uh give a shout out to Geraldine.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um hey Geraldine, you want to come on and say hi?
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: My camera is not showing.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: Oh there she is.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: There she is.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and you know, actually, it turns out one of her superpowers is the fact that, you know, just with with a little extra uh self-motivated learning and uh a little guidance, she's actually the producer of uh of this show.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and she's she's a VA.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: So honestly, I think I think that's so good.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's great.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited about it.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_00: But also, you can't expect every VA to be able to do that because that was that was just kind of the hidden bonus with Geraldine in particular, who's also very good at the rest of the job.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Let's not let's not forget that.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um but that wasn't that wasn't on the list of things that I had to have.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: It was, it just happened, thankfully.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um you need to really get an understanding of where you can use best.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so correct me if I'm wrong, but this your usage of Geraldine has over time grown because of your familiarity with her skills.
• 33:24
  SPEAKER_00: Oh gosh, absolutely.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I I really have to make sure that I'm not overusing uh her because there's at this point, I think there's even more than than a uh than the number of hours available uh that I could use her for.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's it's gone from a question of okay, well, what can I use her for to make to make the you know the the monetary piece of this work to how what's the most important stuff I can get done?
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's good.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think I think that's really key and how you've you've learned what Geraldine's capable of over time.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_01: So it hasn't you didn't overload her on the first couple of weeks.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_01: You waited to see how you could use her best, and that's it's been awesome.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: Uh okay.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_01: The next question is how how do you get used to this?
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: How do you get used to offloading your tasks?
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: How do you get used to delegating when you're somebody who's used to doing it all yourself?
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: This is actually the the real challenge.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_00: This is really the challenge.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um this really pops up with people, well, like like me, like professionals, like CPAs and attorneys, where if if we get something wrong, there can be big consequences, right?
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so when we're in that uh, you know, something that feels pretty high stakes, and it is, let me not uh uh prevaricate on that.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um when you are in that in that instance, uh delegation can be hard.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so on the one hand, that's all true.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, you know, I don't want to kind of ben splain this whole thing, but you know, on the other hand, you do need to delegate, otherwise, you're gonna be a solo forever.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so, which is fine, be a solo forever.
• 35:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't that that's that's a perfectly good way of of operating your life and your business.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_00: But if you know, going down this road of of expanding, you know, you have to get used to delegating.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: And whether that person is in Colombia or in India or in LA or New York or wherever, the same concepts totally apply.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really just about you.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: You know, delegating is a skill that you can work on just like anything else.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, some of the work that you do may be less risky than other work.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so you start somebody out on that until the trust factor and the skill level uh can be uh can be vetted out.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I think that we make a lot of our you know high uh high risk, high reward or whatever type of uh uh type of situation where we should probably be thinking about even even more uh high-risk situations.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what about an operating room surgeon?
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: They're they are the professional.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you get you get the certain head surgeon in there, they're the most qualified person in the room, uh, and another person's life often you know actually rests in the balance.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but you don't see them going alone, right?
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're not in there by themselves, they have a team of people supporting them.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and not everybody is as good or skilled or whatever at surgery as that head surgeon.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: But in order to make the very high stake surgery go off, you need the the nurse, you need suction, you need you know, the anesthesiologist, which is also a very high uh skilled position.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: But at the same time, everybody has their own their own job.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: And at the same time, the head surgeon can have direct responsibility based on establishing the procedure and the trust and the communication amongst everybody, which is you know, which is why it's uh important to you know have your have your process in place.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's absolutely true.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it's a great example too, because like you mentioned, when you go to surgery, the anesthesiologist and the doctor doing the surgery, everybody has their own role and everybody excels in that what their role is.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: So in that sense, you just are basically doing implementing the same concept in it in a professional setting, like your like your your practice.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a great answer, Ben.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I have one more question.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_01: This is actually um probably one of the more important questions, too.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I'm actually very curious to know how you answer this question because we do meet all of our employees in person.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious to know how you would answer this as somebody from a distance.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um how do you build trust with somebody that's so far away that you've actually never met in person?
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: How does how do you establish that rapport?
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: That that is that is an interesting, good question.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: The um well, it helps.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: You can't always do it this way, but it helps when there is a basis to start from, meaning there's a transfer of trust.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, I've I had gotten to know you over time, Tessa, and had built a rapport and some trust with you such that when you know you were recommending some people, I could I could take a little bit of a leap of faith that they probably didn't suck.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: And that that turned out pretty pretty darn okay.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's not always the case.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, that still begs the question well, how do you establish you know trust and relationship with Tessa in the first place, for example?
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's like any relationship, you know, the you you basically have an expectation going in and allow the other person to meet expectation or not meet expectation, figure out what you know what that means and where it's coming from.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, if somebody is you know being genuine and you know trying to meet you halfway, then you can continue down the path.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a you know, do I now trust this person or now I don't trust this person?
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a long time to you know establish you know trust and rapport.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um you know, in it if if I give feedback, like you know, if if I say, hey Tessa, I need something different, you know, I need you to change something or this isn't really working, let's talk about it.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, how is it that that person responds?
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh are are they coming at it from a defensive posture or a constructive posture?
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you know, also do you like the person?
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean like necessarily going to have a beer, although we can have a cerveza anytime.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but also like I, you know, most people really do have a good feeling for whether the other person is a good person, you know, you uh you have a good rat detector.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um and again, you don't just jump in to the deep end of the pool, you go slowly.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so, you know, you we can extend trust.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if and if we, you know, if Tessa makes a promise to me and then she doesn't keep it, then that tells me something about her.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_00: If, you know, uh it but when she does, as she always has, uh, you know, you've always you know kept your promises, then okay, this up to this point at least, this is a person that you know I can rely on to, you know, to deliver on their word.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you build slowly from there.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, at you know, at at some point, you know, the I think the the caution is you know uh is unwarranted, it is off, and you know, now now we have you know have a great relationship, even you know, and even if at some point you know there's there's a a slip-up, you know, there was a lot of goodwill built now.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that wouldn't be, you know, that wouldn't be the killer at that point.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so thank you.
• 41:23
  SPEAKER_00: That was fun.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: I uh turning it around and me being uh the one to answer the questions was kind of fun.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um thanks for that.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and I'll I'll take the reins again.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um now are there are there any last thoughts that that you have that you want to leave uh the the listeners with about virtual assistance, Colombia or anything?
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um well my last thoughts, I guess, would be I I think Colombia is a very highly misunderstood country coming from the United States.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: I think most of Americans think of this as I don't know, the show Narcos or something.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um but honestly, it's it's this country is wonderful.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I love the people here.
• 42:07
  SPEAKER_01: I love the culture.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_01: I've really enjoyed my time living here.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and um I think I can probably safely speak for you, Ben, and saying that you've enjoyed your time meeting Merrill Geraldine, knowing a little bit more about her and your small sample size of the Colombian culture.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I understand Yeah, that's true.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I yeah I would just probably say Colombia is a lot more than the stereotypes.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_01: That would be my takeaway piece.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um and about virtual assistants, I think I think there's real potential out there for a lot of use for them if people can like like you have, open your minds into different ways that you can use them and understand the value of it, not just for you, like like you were mentioning earlier, not just for you professionally, but it's also opened up avenues for you to have a happier personal life.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so if people can just see that and utilize it, that would that's my my main plug, I guess, for virtual assistance.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think that may may lead into one of the other questions I was gonna ask you.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_00: Why is this rewarding to you?
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what you do, why is that rewarding?
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I mean, you're you are helping people every day.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um actually that's been one of the unexpected um benefits, I guess, I get to this business that I when we first started out, I did not anticipate was finding out that this could be immensely rewarding for us.
• 43:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's it's enriched our lives.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: We've gotten to know people that we would have never been connected with otherwise.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: And um it's because we're we're still kind of a small operation, we're still like a family with our employees.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we've had them over to our house for pizza.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um we play we've we've done karaoke nights with them.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that was one time, but probably maybe we shouldn't do that again.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: Anyway, so that no, but what what I mean is just that like the the unexpected reward for for this thing for me has been just getting to know these people and it they're they're amazing.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: They're they've been incredible for us.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it's been it's been really rewarding for just me personally, and I think I can safely speak for my husband too.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's been it's been really great for us to kind of expand our family, even in Colombia.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: So awesome.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, just a couple of you know, very quick get to know you uh questions.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're all trying to improve ourselves.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: What are you reading these days?
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's a funny question.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_01: I just actually finished reading audit and assurance.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's a textbook because I was finishing my bachelor's degree in accounting.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: But that's done.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_01: So now I am looking forward to picking up a novel for the first time in a while.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_01: So I have time to actually read a book.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_01: But um, based on your recommendation, I might pick up the four-hour work week as my next read.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_00: All right, and where can people find you?
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, they can find me uh they can email me at Tessa at birdieconsulting.com.
• 45:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or you can search for me on LinkedIn under Tessa Faracasa at Birdie Consulting.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: All right, awesome.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much for joining us, and thank you to all the listeners out there for sticking it out to the end.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Join us next time to hear more about how to maximize your value.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.