Streamlined CEO

The Unsexy Truth About Hiring Virtual Assistants (But Why It Works) with Guest Tamber Belshaw

• Karalee Gault • Season 2 • Episode 7

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Guest Appearance for the series: "How to Bring on a Virtual Assistant Effectively."

Join Karalee as she interviews Tamber Belshaw, CEO of Belco Virtual Solutions, a company that helps course creators launch and manage their courses. Tamber shares the unsexy insights on how to effectively bring on a virtual assistant (VA) and nurture a successful working relationship.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Invest in onboarding: Hiring a VA is an investment. Spend time upfront on clear communication, expectations, and training to see long-term success.
  2. Open communication is key: Regular check-ins, clear deadlines, and open dialogue are essential for a smooth and successful VA relationship.
  3. The honeymoon phase exists: When you properly onboard your VA, a "honeymoon phase" emerges where they take ownership and bring their talents to the table.
  4. Learning through teaching: Explaining tasks to your VA can help you clarify your vision, identify areas for improvement, and gain a fresh perspective on your business.

Connect with Tamber Belshaw:

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Karalee:

All right, hello, welcome back. Today I have one of our first guests. Her name is Tambor, and today we're going to start with how I got connected with Tambor to begin with, and then we're going to jump into her outlooks on bringing on a virtual assistant effectively. So Tambor and I connected three years ago I thought it was two until I reflected on the fact that we connected in 2021, not 2022. And I actually was one of her clients. She was having an offer about growing an agency and still to this day, I use some of the things that I learned that day and because I'm not sure what Tambor is actually calling herself and all of her agency is all today, I'm going to go ahead and turn that over to her so she can introduce herself.

Tamber:

Perfect. Thank you so much. I yes, I am the CEO of Belco Virtual Solutions. We essentially help course creators create and launch courses in Kajabi, and then we also are a digital marketing agency, so we provide backend social media tech and administrative support. We're really focused on helping our clients gain visibility and grow their audience so they can successfully scale through digital products. So we have a lot of fun over here.

Karalee:

Yeah, it sounds like it, and we're going to talk a little bit today about how you've actually grown your agency, because I was astounded to hear that you have 22 team members. So we're going to dig into that here in a little bit, but before we do that, I have a question for you, because I want to know what the not so sexy things are about bringing on a virtual assistant, especially because you've had you've 22 team members, which means you've kind of done this a time or two. So what are some of the not so sexy things you'd like to share with our listeners today?

Tamber:

Absolutely. What a great question, because you know one thing that we find right we're in all these groups and everyone's like when you get to the point where you get to finally scale your business, you get to hire somebody and that feels so monumental. I know it can be really scary and nerve wracking and it's hard to let go of that control, but it's also really exciting to know that your business is growing to the extent where you need to bring somebody on. And I think there's so much glamorized about hiring somebody and growing your team and growing your business and we get really excited to kind of let go of some of those tasks that were just like one or not do list Right, and so there's there's a lot of excitement there, as there should be, but a lot of people don't talk about the growing pains that comes bringing a team member on. And I think if we were a little bit more transparent about that process, if we took it slow and we really take the time to grow with whoever we bring into our company, a lot of people would see more success.

Tamber:

I know you can go online and see all the horror stories of like people being ghosted or just not having the best experience bringing in somebody new, struggling to like get the ball rolling, and sometimes as a business owner, it feels like, well, if I have to teach you and work with you so closely to get this done, then I might as well do it ourselves. You know we can save the time, just skip and do what we've always done. But one thing that I really drive home to anybody who's interested in hiring on a team member for the first time is if you take the time in the beginning to teach somebody how to do it and to learn and tonality and there's all these exchanges between the two of you like that's giving so much to the relationship. When you start the process with that understanding, then you have the opportunity to really nurture and grow that relationship, and usually that team member is going to go far beyond your expectations from when you first hire them, and so I think that is really a key element that we don't always talk about. It's like the not so sexy part is that you're going to spend more of your time, but then if you think about how many times in a month you take that action maybe it's scheduling your social media or handling your emails, even something as simple as creating a Canva graphic for your Facebook group. How many times, even this year, are you going to do that? Could you imagine saving all that time and getting all that time back?

Tamber:

So I think that while we highlight the excitement of letting things go off of our plate, we're not talking about the onboarding process, which is not so sexy, right Like it's not so great to think that we're going to pour more time into it, that it might not 100% work out, that we have to learn how to like co-create with other people.

Tamber:

But when you do that part of the process and you take that relationship slow, kind of like dating right In the beginning, you're like learning about each other.

Tamber:

You're telling about your favorite colors and the way you like designs and how you do things and how you take care of your clients, and you give the opportunity for somebody who's eager to be in the support role like most VAs are the chance to step in and feel that pride and educate themselves on your brand and connect with you in a way that then is going to make all of their work very similar to your output or your expectations and bring their own flair and you really get this beautiful zone of genius.

Tamber:

That I like to call like the honeymoon phase, when you're just like unloading things and then the VA is like taking and running with it and they're bringing new aspects to it and then you get to grow and scale. So I think if we focus on some of those pieces in the beginning one, it alleviates the fear right of letting go, knowing that we're still in the driver's seat. We still get to make sure the final product is what we want. It allows us to step back and really think okay, what are all the pieces that this team member might need in order to execute it? And when we just take it slow versus diving in headfirst even though that doesn't sound as sexy as just letting it all go and being done with it we get that process developed and we learn so much more about us and our vision and get so much clarity when we're explaining it to somebody else that it's that much more impactful.

Karalee:

I would say do you feel, like when you actually bring on a virtual assistant, that you're actually learning more about your business and what you truly want, like they actually like help you, slow down and like really think it through? Because that's totally what happened to me and I can see kind of like as you're saying, like growing the relationships and things like that and letting things go that.

Tamber:

Absolutely. I think the biggest mirror you can have is the process of walking somebody through, like almost you would walk like a five-year-old through, like I love that statement by Albert Einstein, like if you can't explain it to a five-year-old, you can't explain it well enough something along those lines that you've done automatically that lean into your process. You start to really understand what that is mirrored back to you and sometimes that's great and sometimes that's like, yeah, the clarity here is that that is not what I want. That's not authentic to me anymore, it's not a part of my brand or my business. My ideal client has changed right. So the concepts and content and design and all these different ways that we subtly usher them through our client journey is different. And as you explain that to a team member and you hear how the team member interprets it, I think that's actually the most valuable piece.

Tamber:

I'm always asking my VAs and this is something I've learned as a checkpoint reiterate back to me what you feel you're supposed to be doing, because when I hear it back one, I can hear the gaps of the things that I thought and didn't explain or feel intuitive to me, because that's my zone of genius versus, and then same for them. They can be like that's great Tambra, I want to implement that for you, but we're missing X, y and Z because that's their zone of genius. So it allows for that yin and yang and it definitely gives you a ton of clarity of what what it is you're outputting is versus, like, what you're conceptualizing when building on your brand, which we know is huge.

Karalee:

Yeah, I've had that exact same kind of you know, back and forth too is like there there can be a lot of miscommunication. So creating like an open relationship with your VA, which is like, as you were saying, like teaching them in the beginning or, you know, just making sure they have everything that they need, is like it is a. It's really a big difference and I've worked with clients that have those things in place and they have that open communication and I've worked with clients that don't. So would you say, obviously, how that open communication can make or break a relationship with a virtual assistant?

Tamber:

Absolutely, and this is really important for the client and for the VA. One thing that I really preach is so different about working with my agency is that we really have our onboarding process down as much as we can, where it's always evolving, it's fluid, we're always working on it. Anytime we have a new experience with a client where we're like well, we didn't do that checkpoint here and that led to this let's add it in Like it's not always needed to get where you need to go, but when you're covering your bases like that, so productive, because that the onboarding opportunity is so huge. And I think that's what happens.

Tamber:

You get there's tons of great virtual assistants out there, there's amazing clients, but so much to get lost in that beginning shuffle and you know it's kind of like you spill a drink on the table on your first date.

Tamber:

Then you know you get some on your clothes and then you're like walking outside and it's cold and like there's all these ripple effects, right.

Tamber:

So it's so important for your virtual assistant to have a solid onboarding process and for you to be really considerate of how you're onboarding a team member and like what all you're giving to them immediately and how they're getting started, because I think that's the hardest part when people start and they have that comfortability of like, okay, let's figure it out together and get going, then it becomes less intimidating, it's less scary, people are less likely to ghost you make a mistake, you're less likely to be down to a crunch deadline if you're taking those initial steps. So I just think that that onboarding process on both ends which is a great question if you're ever vetting VAs like what does your onboarding process look like? What do you need from me to start? How do you prefer to start projects? Do you like to get on a Zoom and get going? Do you want to do an initial layout and lay out a project plan? And then I'll reply back to you Like there's all of these little things you can do that can make that process so much smoother.

Karalee:

I love that you're like what do you need to be able to work with me? Like that's a good starting point. I love that. That's what I do with my VAs, too, and that's what I suggest as well, so that's awesome. So I really want to know the answer to this question, so we're going to jump right into it. What would you say is the biggest lesson learned after having a team of 22 team members?

Tamber:

That's insane Slack for communication is very necessary. Team members.

Tamber:

That's insane. Slack for communication is very necessary. I love Slack too. Yes, an open line of communication and checkpoints. I think it just goes back to what I was saying initially, but I'm always asking a VA like what did you need on this task? How's the task going? Is there anything you're missing?

Tamber:

I've really learned give people plenty of opportunity to ask questions and I have to sometimes work on this too, to be really receptive to questions that might fill baseline. I want my company to demonstrate a place of togetherness and collaboration, and so I think that's a really big piece of it. That I've learned is to not just expect that like when you say it, then it's done, which sounds counterintuitive, because my VAs are great. Most of my VAs have now been with me for, you know, three or four years. I have a lot of VAs on my team that have been there from the start. Obviously, we've added more as we've gone and we've had a lot of long-term relationships, and that's because we allow the room for people to ask questions and again get the ball going.

Tamber:

The other piece piece, too, is just really slowly letting people in. I used to because we pair with clients. So we have a project we bring specific BAs in that meet those project requirements and we get going. Now, when you start working for my agency, I give you tasks behind the scenes to get you going and you work on Belco tasks and then we bring them client facing and that has been really successful when building an agency, because it just allows a little bit more space and it's not a long time, like probably 30 days.

Tamber:

They're just doing a few things, but they start to learn who I am as a business. They start to see how we communicate with clients from the back end. They start to understand the workflow. So then, when they're on the forefront with a client and they're getting a project and they're assigning it or they're, you know, working with other team members or whatever it takes to get to the finish line, they have those pieces and then I can trust them and I have that relationship with them too, which, as the CEO, is really important, and I tell this to my project manager all the time too.

Tamber:

Like we, we really are there to support them as they support their clients, and my main belief is that, like you might be managing an email inbox Maybe you are building a Canva graphic right but you're helping your client reach their clients and their clients.

Tamber:

Reach their clients and their clients affects their family and their livelihood Like the ripple effect of your one email is huge. So I really like to channel that message and I found my biggest lesson is just keeping that line of communication open with team members to really grow and expand, because then that's empowering them to do what they do best, which is support our clients all around. And that can really translate even if you're not running an agency or working with other virtual assistants or a large team, even if you're just somebody running a business and you have one person like. If you can just really step back and think about this as an investment in the future of your business and treat it as such, then you're gonna handle it with those knit gloves right and you're gonna get it off to a good start and you will start reaping the benefits within 60 days.

Karalee:

Wow, that's so good. So communication is like the absolute key in making sure that your virtual assistant feels like they have everything that they need and, you know, using their specialties to your advantage, right? So, oh my gosh, I love that Like. I feel like we're so in tune of like how we're totally thinking, so this has been a great addition to the podcast and the series that I was doing. So is there anything else? You want to share Any stories or anything like that?

Tamber:

Okay.

Tamber:

So there's one other piece of advice that I think is crucial. Expectations are everything. One of the things we do at my agency is, when we receive a task, I really try to drill home what the expectation of when that task will be completed. So, if it's something as small as creating a Canva graphic or if it's creating a funnel thank you so much. I've received this Within the next 48 hours I'm going to review and make sure I have everything I need. If I don't, I'll reach out to you for the assets. I expect this to be back in your office for review on the 6th Because, virtual assistants, we manage a lot right and we have a lot of moving pieces and we're in a lot of different areas of people's business.

Tamber:

So projects have to funnel in and they have to be delegated and they have to be planned, Then they have to be executed, then they have to be checked right. So we allow for that space. When a client is unclear about what the status is and what's going on, it starts to have that micromanagement. It starts to leave people like nobody wants to be left in mystery. It's so much better to have that expectation. So if you're a virtual assistant and you're working on a project, communicate to your client what your expected timeline is. That will save you so much.

Tamber:

And if you're a client and you're handing out a project and you have a deadline, let's say you have a deadline for May 10th to get all the assets turned in for your marketing plan hey, it's May 1st. I have this deadline on May 10th. Can can that be met? What are the expectations? When can I have to review and, most importantly, build in time for edits when it comes to project planning? So that's like my project planning tea. Never forget there will be edits, there will be time to review and be really, really clear and articulate what it is that you're going like, what your process is and when it'll be developed.

Karalee:

I absolutely love that. I just had a conversation with one of my VAs on my team and she was like you have to give me deadlines because otherwise I don't know how to prioritize things. Like she's like I just, I just don't know, and some, some CEOs will give you deadlines, some, you know, project managers, some of them will, and some of them are like I just kind of need it, like let me know when it can be done, and it's like ah like there's no way Right Because you're trying to prioritize it in a funnel of a bunch of other tasks and rarely are you the only client Right.

Tamber:

And I think that's another really big piece when you're hiring somebody, unless you're hiring them to be exclusive and you're, you know, including that in your contract you do have to understand that virtual assistants, while we're assistants, we're not like just waiting for your tasks. There's a lot that goes into the workflow and so, to set yourself and everybody on your team up for success, just be really clear with what your needs are, so your virtual assistant can be really clear. If they can meet them and even if it's something that you're just creating, you don't have a deadline for that's great. You can say, hey, this is low priority for me because it's not on an active deadline. I'd like to see it done within 14 days, work it into your workflow how you need to and you can be even that light with it. So that way it maintains that priority, because you know that's key when building anything out.

Karalee:

Yeah, I love that. Oh, this has been so much fun. Have you enjoyed yourself too.

Tamber:

Yes, I love it. This is my favorite thing to talk about.

Karalee:

So I would love to hear any questions surrounding it as well. Oh, let's see, I don't have any questions for you. I feel like I already asked all of them that I have. But I do want to know, I do want to let our listeners know how they can connect with you further, especially if they're a course creator and they might need your services or anything else you offer, because we do not offer the same things, which is awesome, so we can support each other in this manner, and so how can they connect with you further?

Tamber:

Yeah, so you can always visit our website belcovirtualsolutions. I also run All Things Kajabi, which is a Facebook group. For course, creators and those exploring Kajabi are currently using it, and then you can follow me at Belco underscore virtual underscore solutions at Instagram as well.

Karalee:

Awesome, all right, well, thank you for coming on the podcast. I learned so much and I'm sure our listeners loved it too, and we'll have we'll have to do this again and we'll have to do this again though?

Tamber:

Yeah, absolutely. I can't believe it's been so many years since we had our VIP day, but it's always so great to see how agencies are expanding. So super exciting. Okay, all right, thank you.