Latest / Behind the Founders / How Andrew Baker Scaled a Financial Advisory Using Offshore Talent
Transcript
- andrew: I'm a financial planner. I started to realize very quickly that if I was not making content online and going digital and having an online presence I felt like I would probably pretty quickly fade away in the background. ⁓ I looked at content creation as something that wasn't really an option for me. And then it turned out that I actually really loved to do it. And so as I was to do what I could to it going I I quickly realized I needed to have a system in place. And I quickly realized how much work it actually is. I mean, it is a lot of work. and and I And as I was finding that passion, I also realized that, there are a lot of platforms, And it became very clear to me very quickly that I wanted to really grow my social media. and in particular, starting with my Instagram. And the only way to do that is by ⁓ is, you know, by consistently producing a lot of content. And being committed to also growing and making it better over time. That was a big part of this. I realized that there was no way I could do this without some sort of help. I went to Chat GBT and looked for the top VA editor companies that are here in the United States that can help pair me with somebody. And ⁓ Cherry was at the top of the list. ultimately ended up going with Cherry because ⁓ I do have experience with virtual assistant companies like yours from several years ago. but the I was looking for before was not for an editor, it was for like an actual administrative assistant. long story short, the process of pairing me in the past, I did not think was done with a lot of care or intention. And it just didn't end up working out well. So that's why I was hesitant in the first place to do it again. But when I met you guys and we started to go through the interview process, it was very, very evident to me that you guys put ⁓ a lot of work and intention behind candidates And they each had some unique qualities that of which that I was looking for. ⁓ what was a surprise to is it was an easy decision on who to go with. you really made that job hard, but I was really appreciative of that because felt like I didn't need to keep searching. I felt like you really ⁓ took that seriously and I really appreciated that about your process. shalayne: Amazing. Well, I really appreciate that insight, Andrew. Of I understand the need for bringing on a a video editor and perhaps what she's handling on a day-to-day, ⁓ supporting your social media and and so on. what real impact has that made for you on the day-to-day so far? andrew: I've been working with my candidate Brie for just over two months. and what's been really amazing is these months, she and I have ⁓ worked very closely And it's taking some time, more so on my end, to continue to get more organized for her so that we kinda have some systems and flow in place. But ⁓ now just two months in, I can say my content creation. is now a system with her. You know, I have a calendar built out to where I have like two weeks in advance. Not just the videos are filmed, but we're now getting more and more ahead into the next few weeks as far as videos being edited as well. And that piece has been huge for me because up until now a lot of the weeks have been, you I have clients that I have a responsibility for or with. ⁓ but then I also want to be building this. And so up until recently, it's been a lot of like, okay, I need to like kind of almost play catch up every week to kind of keep up with staying consistent on social media. Whereas now I feel like because now I'm ahead, now I can like take a pause each week and figure out, okay, how can I be better at this, you know, and put time and effort into how to grow and be more intentional with the type of content rather than just trying to whip something up really quick. ⁓ I'm starting to see more growth ⁓ and more momentum in that growth on my social media because I'm now able to spend some time focusing on what are the types of posts and videos that are growing my audience that are getting shared, getting saved. and and it's opened up a lot of time and space now that I have that process with Bree in place. shalayne: Amazing. Yeah, I I I've seen that work out quite amazingly with a number of different clients. You know, you at times you feel like you just bogged down, you're in the weeds the weeds of things, right? And I think one of the of the the great reasons to bring somebody on in like virtual assistant capacity is to free you up, just the mental capacity so that you can start thinking more strategically and planning ⁓ for whatever, you know, needs to happen moving forward so that you do grow, right? That's the ultimate goal, right? So I think that's awesome. you say that for hiring offshore, right? ⁓ and having a virtual assistant on board is something that you would recommend to people? andrew: ⁓ yes, absolutely. I mean, I would say like why this works for me specifically ⁓ is because I'm not the type of person that is ever going to want to micromanage or need to micromanage somebody. I like flexibility. I like how there's kind of room to kind of go at your own pace in a sense. ⁓ you know, I don't have this constant need of like knowing exactly what you're doing every minute of the day. ⁓ with a a ⁓ assistant, especially editing. Once we really have gone into this system and flow, there's there's really it's it's it's highly unlikely. I it's I don't experience it often where need or even want a response from my editor ⁓ ⁓ you know. So obviously there's time differences, but that that has not that has not been an issue at all for me it's more to use somebody offshore. I mean, for me, it's it's been like a ten out of ten, you know, experience. And ⁓ you know, it's allowing me to afford to get the assistance and help that I need in this space, So I mean, ⁓ I highly recommend it for for for ⁓ a business owner. shalayne: Awesome. All right. ⁓ Andrew, really, really appreciate ⁓ sort of your thought your thoughtful responses and insights. is anything that you ⁓ wanted touch on from your end, just outside of those few questions? andrew: ⁓ I mean, I just maybe I think it's important to reiterate what I said in the beginning about how how ⁓ important and impactful it was for me during during the interview process and the level of intention and care that you clearly put into that. that was that's probably the biggest takeaway. And then on top of that, I mean, Bree has, you know, the candidate that I went with has completely delivered on everything that I was hoping she would. ⁓ and more and I'm very, very happy with her. I can't wait to grow with her. you know, if if someone's out there and you know you know inside that you need to grow and you need this type of help or assistance in an in a way that's maybe a little bit more affordable but also will genuinely help. I mean I would definitely recommend your your services to any business owner. shalayne: Amazing. Well well we absolutely appreciate that. and appreciate you partnering partnering with us as we work through this process. ⁓ of course the goal is to see Brie with you long term, right? ⁓ and I see I see the making of that. andrew: Yeah, I I do too. So thank you so much.