134: How to Hire the Best Assistant for Your Interior Design Business
Michele 00:00
Hello, my name is Michele and you're listening to Profit is a Choice. Laura Licursi is the founder and owner of Elite Virtual Assistants, a virtual staffing agency that helps busy professionals like all of us listening, go from busy and overwhelmed to productive, by helping them delegate work that's keeping them in their business, instead of working on their business or really relieving that stress so that we can now work on the business. In our time together today, Laura and I are going to hit some of the following topics surrounding hiring a VA, which is short for virtual assistant. First, we're going to talk about what a VA is, how it's different than an OBM, I know lots of acronyms here, but I promise we're going to make sense of it. We're also going to chat about hiring from an agency perspective versus straight freelance. When to know if the timing is right. Can you afford them, how to onboard them, and what you need to have in place to do it all well? I have many VAs and they help support me and run my business. So listen in to see when might be the right time for you to bring on help in this area.
Michele 01:12
Every day, empowered entrepreneurs are taking ownership of their company financial health and enjoying the rewards of reduced stress and more creativity. With my background as a financial software developer, owner of multiple businesses in the interior design, industry, educator and Speaker, I coach women in the interior design industry to increase their profits, regain ownership of their bottom line and to have fun again in their business. Welcome to Profit is a Choice. Hey, Laura, welcome to the podcast.
Laura Licursi 01:44
Hi, Michele. Thanks for having me.
Michele 01:46
Oh, you're welcome. I am excited to have this conversation, all about virtual assistants and hiring and getting help. And you know, it's something that in the interior design industry, in any industry, that that we can always use. So, thank you for being here to have this much needed conversation.
Laura Licursi 02:04
Yes, I'm excited. It's my world. So, I know exactly.
Michele 02:08
That's why I brought you on. And Laura, just before we get started, share with us a little bit about what you did prior to starting an agency for virtual assistants.
Laura Licursi 02:19
Well, actually I was in corporate America until I had my first child, my daughter back in 1997. And I just knew for me personally, I wanted to continue working, but I wanted to be home. Back then remote work wasn't really a big thing. But I started working as a virtual assistant, really before it was a thing. So, it was in 1997, I answered an ad in the paper, I started working for a wholesaler doing face to face appointments for him, you know, scheduling, mapping out his route, where he was going to go, setting up seminars, and that just kind of snowballed. I stuck within that industry for years. And then I kind of, I think maybe about 2011, 2012, got interested in email marketing. I started doing things for clients that, you know, on that route. And then in 2015, my kids were older at that point. And I just was really ready to to really take on more of a leadership role, I guess you could say, and that's when I started the agency was 2015.
Michele 03:29
I love that. So, you know that I came home in 1998 when my youngest was a year, my youngest was born in 97. And I wanted to be home. Then I started my business in 2000. Trying to find a way to work from home and make some money and not go back into corporate, so similar. And you know, the internet was all very new back then. I mean, it was barely around. I mean, yeah, it was a big deal just to be able to check email and some days.
Laura Licursi 03:57
I mean, Google didn't come out till 98. So yeah, right, right.
Michele 04:02
I know it. I almost can't remember that world. I mean, I have to really stop and think about the time before. You know, I remember getting off her cell phone and it was a bad phone. I remember taking my husband's Jeep to the dealership, and having a phone mounted, mounted like a handset in the jeep, because that's what we had back then. It was the latest. It was like the thing, right? We did one that was in a bag so that we could carry it and his was hardwired into that Jeep Grand Cherokee. I still wasn't like oh my gosh, that was this Christmas present. Anyway, all that to say I came home the same kind of way you did and thought, what can I do? I don't want to go back into corporate. Well, I for me, I had two small children at home at that point and started my business from home. You know, doing custom window treatments and in the interior design industry as a whole. It's so interesting because now people can do that from home through the Internet. Like, you don't even have to just do it through Etsy or something, you don't even have to meet people. And you know, the virtual assistant world has exploded and changed, all of these things have shifted and changed. And I love how you have been so in it, that you have morphed your business over the years, to keep up with what's happening. But also, gosh, it's just more exciting to keep doing different things and growing with it. Right? My business doesn't look, I am now in my what 21st 22nd year of business, and it doesn't look anything like it did when I started. But it's all within the same industry. And I am loving it and enjoying it and growing all the time. And you've done the same thing.
Laura Licursi 05:42
You have to be able to roll with the roll with the changes and the roll with the times.
Michele 05:47
Exactly. What's that book Who Moved My Cheese?
Laura Licursi 05:50
That's so funny. I just read that again last year. You know, it's nice to have a little refresher on those.
Michele 05:57
I know it right. And who would have ever thought that a book like that from all those years ago would still be relevant. I'll make sure I put that in the show notes. So, Laura, tell us about the business that you have today. And then we're going to open up our conversation about virtual assistants the difference between that and an OBM, an online business manager, we're going to talk a little bit I know you and I had some pre conversation about when to hire, how to hire whether you should go freelance or agency and when we got all the conversation. But tell us about what your business looks like today.
Laura Licursi 06:32
So today, which like you said, it's changed so much from the beginning, obviously, but as we've grown, you know, we found certain positions that were really important to keep everything running smoothly. So, you know, we work, we work with all different industries. A big part of our client base is attorneys. So, you know, we specialize in legal, and executive assistance, and then digital marketing assistance. So, we can do email campaigns and social media management, like I said, for all different industries. And then the way that the business is structured is, we've got a team of VA subcontractors that are highly vetted, you know, it's not easy to get on our team. So, you know, we have that piece of it, we have a sales personnel, which is somebody new that I've added this year, she's been with me now just about six months. And then we have our relationship managers, and as you know, so they really, they manage the entire relationship between the client and the virtual assistant. So, there's always somebody there, checking in with you making sure that, everything is running smoothly. Because what I found, especially in the beginning is when you don't hear from a client and you can't get a hold of them. That's, not a good thing. There's usually something wrong, either, you know, something's wrong on the personal side of things, or there's something wrong with the relationship, but nobody really knows how to approach it sometimes. Right? From both sides. So, adding that element, and adding that relationship manager piece has really helped bridge that gap for us and really help with retention.
Michele 08:18
In full disclosure, I use your services.
Laura Licursi 08:20
Yes, we love you.
Michele 08:24
And I actually work with two virtual assistants because of the needs that I have. And then I also have the relationship manager. And it was funny, I think, it was yesterday or today I got an email from Renee who is my relationship manager asking me, you know, Hey, how are you? How were your holidays? Everything going? Okay, do you need anything? And I have to say, and I think we'll go ahead, and we'll go ahead and talk about agency versus freelance. And while we're going, but I have, I thought it was really great when, you know, when you introduce me to her, and then also to my VAs, simply because I have been in a freelance relationship before. And I'm not saying anything's wrong with them, I still do some of them. But they are different to manage. By freelance, I mean, I'm hiring directly, somebody to be on my team versus going with an agency such as yours, right. And so I have, I have some freelance, and I mean, they're great. But I've also had some that were not great, just it's not always a great fit, or the needs of the business change. And so, the fit no longer is the same fit that it was at the beginning on all sides, right. So, it's very natural and normal. But it is different when you have no intermediary, it's different. Like you said, when there's a radio silence on either side that you don't know how to bridge and there's nobody there to help bridge it. And I appreciate that about the model that you've created. Because, I mean, I've got great VAs, I can talk to them. They're great support, like I really like who I work with. But knowing that if there was an issue or a problem that the two of us could not solve, there was somebody else that I could say, help me solve this or that they could say, help me solve this with Michele, right, coming from both sides. So, it's almost like we both have an advocate between us that I think adds, and what it does is it keeps me from having to manage some of the details of the VAs that I would have to manage in a freelance environment.
Laura Licursi 10:31
Yes, that's very true. Yeah, there's a lot of pieces. And I think it's probably not something that somebody thinks of right off the bat. But, you know, so you do have, like you said, if there's an issue, there's somebody there to help. But even as far as, you know, let's say, for whatever reason, like you said, the needs change, or for some reason, the VA ends up having to go a different direction, right? Like, this year is a perfect example. I mean, look at how many people went from, you know, probably working full time to also becoming full time teachers to their kids, or, you know, people situations just change, and there's not a lot that you can do about that. And like what we do in that case is we have transition plans that are in place, and you know, we help make that transition to a new VA. And we make it as seamless as possible. And again, that's been a lot of trial and error over the years. And you know, you're not responsible for paying them or vetting them. And like you said earlier, like going through, like tons of resumes. And so, yeah, there's a lot of benefits to it. But you know, there's also a cost that comes to that, because there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to keep all those wheels running. So I know that that's definitely a tradeoff. And I think it really depends on the type of position that you need, the type of support that you need. And, you know, like, if you only need somebody a couple hours a day, you probably could, you know, a freelance person like me more I work a little bit better than then going through an agency.
Michele 12:08
Well, I'll tell you this, like even when I hired, you know, two assistants through your team, it was I need you and I need you on Monday, like I talked to you. We're friends. So, I talk to you on a Saturday. So I know I got a little preferential treatment because I called you in tears saying I need somebody. Now, just because of some changes in my own business. And I need them quickly. And so, on Monday, I had two teammates. But I mean, we did talk, well, look, by Tuesday, you and I met officially on Monday. And by Tuesday, I had people that you were already giving me that we were already starting to hand over standard operating procedures and getting them up to speed. But what I had never had really considered until you just said it, Laura, so it's a really great point, I'm glad that you brought it up. Let's say that one of my VAs did need to take a step back. And, you know, I don't know the life change for whatever reason, they had to take a step back from the role that they were working with. If it was freelance, which I've had that happen, I now have nobody in that position. And I've got to start looking for somebody finding somebody vetting some, I've got to start that entire process all over again. Whereas working with you, you're going to say, Hey, this is something that we support, we're going to help move you over here. Here's some people we've already vetted, you're going to let me be part of the process, but you're going to help manage that behind the scenes. And that was one of the reasons. First, we're friends. But second of all, I knew that I needed that going forward because I couldn't take another disruption of having kind of a blanket pulled out from under me with a main assistant, in one moment in one fell swoop, I couldn't do that. Right, I need a plan. And so, working with an agency gave me that. And again, I have some others that are freelance, but those positions are the ones that I would say in some cases, not at all. But in some cases, if we needed to do something else, I would just go find somebody else, but they're not. They're not instrumental in the actual day to day operations of every single thing that I do. Right. And I think that makes a difference to your point. Right. So, I'm so glad that you brought that up because that that's another bonus there. All right. So, let's jump back a minute I want to talk about, on your team, you have executive assistants, you have virtual assistants, and there is a lot of conversation out there right now. And we're seeing a lot of acronyms thrown around. You know, we're a country that loves our acronyms. And so, we see VA and we see OBM and VA Virtual Assistant OBM is online business manager. And I know you and I even had this conversation when I called you back in April, April timeframe, when we were really talking about what I needed at that point in time. And we were looking through the job description, to even make sure that the virtual assistant was what I needed versus an online business manager. Can you explain the difference between the two of those just at the basic level, like what is the difference between a VA and OBM, so that we can even make a decision, which does what we need for our company, like so the listeners out there, the interior designers, and work rooms, and, you know, all my listeners that are out there can go Oh, that's the difference? And oh, this is the one that I need.
Laura Licursi 15:45
I think one thing too, that's important, too, to think about is, typically when you work with an OBM, they need a virtual assistant. So, an OBM is basically somebody who is going to help you with the entire overview of your business, they need to get into every little piece of your business, and they need to understand how it works, they will help put the processes together, and basically connect the dots and help you with that workflow. And that is their, you know, that's their, like, high level skill set, right where and then in order to do a lot of the implementation of virtual assistant will be with them, you know, or somebody on your team to implement the pieces that are going to go along with putting these processes and things together. So, a virtual assistant is more I'd say, your support staff, where the OPM is the basically I look at them, as you know, right underneath the owner.
Michele 16:53
The way we're looking at them, like in traction, like being the integrator, or the manager, if we were looking at it.
Laura Licursi 16:59
They are managing all the pieces.
Michele 17:01
The strategy up here, the vision, and then they are helping put it in place. They're sitting below the OBM is sitting below the owner, if you will, of the company, us. And then they're making sure that the vision is worked out and all the separate areas, and then the assistance and whatever role technical assistant virtual assistant, and, you know, whatever type of assistant, we have multiples in our companies, they're the ones that are that are actually doing the work. All right. So that makes sense. And so, for most companies, at some point, if we were even to look at EMA, you're talking technician, manager, you know, visionary, CEO, entrepreneur. And so we all kind of need those levels. So the virtual assistant would be the technician level, if we were looking at an EMA model.
Laura Licursi 17:56
That's correct.
Michele 17:57
Okay, great. implementer and attraction model. Okay. So, with that, tell us a little bit about how would we know that we're ready to hire a virtual assistant?
Laura Licursi 18:10
So, I have a lot of people that asked me that question, like, when is the right time, and I can tell you the wrong time is when you're in over your head. So, the best time is to and I understand the very beginning, it's usually a budget, that's usually the biggest issue, right is money, it all comes down to the dollar. But a lot of times you cannot grow any bigger than the time that you have to dedicate. So, when you see yourself, stretching yourself so thin and you know, putting in an insane amount of hours and you're not getting anywhere, you know, you need to start delegating to somebody. And that is to me, that's a really good indicator. So, you don't want to wait until you're drowning. Because then what happens I've seen it happen, people try to offload everything at once and it's a disaster. You want to start like, my biggest thing is to start with repetitive tasks. Start with things that you do on a regular basis, because that helps keep someone engaged with you. Because I see again, sometimes what I see is people will want to hire a virtual assistant, they really don't take the time to think and out too much. And they just are giving little spurts of work here and there. And it's very hard for somebody to learn somebody's business to be engaged on a regular basis if they're only doing little tiny bits and pieces. So repetitive work, even if it's a couple hours a week to get started. It's still something that you are not doing anymore and you're trusting somebody else to do and then as you see the fruits of that, then you can start adding to it but I always say start small but start as soon as you can.
Michele 19:57
That that is a really good point. I know when I was first looking to hire a virtual assistant, one of the things that I did, because, again, you're balancing your time and your money. And I, my thing was, I didn't want to hire somebody and then feel like I was wasting their time because I didn't know what to give them to do. And so, to your point, some of the exercises that I went through before I hired that first time was, I started asking myself, I'm a list maker, I'm a detail of everything.
Laura Licursi 20:29
I've got list everywhere.
Michele 20:31
You know, I've got an Asana list, I got, this, and I made the big joke, my list of babies at night, the next morning, but I remember looking at it and think asking myself when I was going through the process, I've got to get something off my plate. So the way I'm going to start is I'm going to look and say, if I never have to do that, again, would I be okay with that, write it over here on the list. And so I just started writing some things down that I thought that I could hand off. And again, I think this is important, Laura, we're not saying things that you want to hand off and get done in a junky way. We're saying what can you hand off that with training and correct operating procedures that you could trust that somebody else could do on your behalf, right? So we don't want to forget, there's a trust building there is operating procedures building, like there's work to be done. It's not a dump and run type of thing. But when I started making those lists, then I could start to see these things are more marketing related, or these things are more admin really, and that could start grouping. And then I started asking myself, what's the next thing that I need? And so you know, I hired somebody to help with the marketing. And then I hired an assistant to help with my automation and all the backend. And then I made sure that I hired somebody to help me doing the virtual assistant more admin type things of sending out my newsletter, sending out those repetitive things, that Yeah, I create the content for but I'm not one having to go sit down, and necessarily re-type it in and schedule it out. And you know, do those things that can easily be handed off to somebody else, who just jazzed over doing that, like that's what they enjoy doing. And so it was a good process for me to write down even now. I just hired somebody in an OBM manner. And I'm also or an OBM role. I'm looking for another type of position in my company. And I just keep writing down, what else can I get off of my plate? And how does it start to look? And then how can I give enough work? for them to be able to do it? So and I agree with you, I think, when you're overwhelmed is the rush is when you need them, but you actually needed them before. Yes, you need them to be ready. Because if you hire near in the middle of the overwhelm, and you don't take time to onboard them, I've done that too. That's horrible for everybody. They can't help you; you're frustrated, you think it's their fault. It's really your own fault. And it's just a hot mess.
Laura Licursi 22:57
That's a really good point, though, Michele, it is, it does take time on the client side, to make sure that you dedicate time in the beginning, like you said, to onboard them properly, you know, to make sure that they know what your expectations are, that you have a communication plan in place like okay, if I have a question, I need to know how to get ahold of you to get an answer. How many times are we going to connect or meet in the beginning so that we make sure so that I can check in, okay, like I did this task? Did I do it right? You need to take that time to review it, go over it. And then you know, offload one thing after another. And the best way to do that as a list. I'm a huge list person myself.
Michele 23:46
Well, even in my Aim with Intent Methodology, which is what I teach in my program to scaling. Whether it is a virtual assistant or an employee who sits at the desk beside you, I'm really a firm believer that we need to, we need to hire however, and whoever we hire with a with a very detailed plan. And that plan is, here's the job description. Here's what we expect 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, because that helps you decide how to onboard. I'm all about an onboarding strategy. And that's what you were really great at with your team when I started working with like, here's our strategy. Here's what we go through. Here's our process. And I know that, you know, when I started working with the virtual assistants from your team, it was very much I'm not dumping everything on you on day one. Here's what the first things I need you to do here the procedures that we have going with them. Let's tweak these procedures for the two of us to work because they may have worked a little differently with my other admin support, because she worked a little differently. And I think one of the other really great things that I found when I started working with Paige on your team was saying to her, Okay, so here's the way we've done it in the past. But if you have a better way that you are more comfortable with that will support you and me and my business and my clients, I am open to hearing it. And she came back to me and suggested Airtable for a process that we manage.
Laura Licursi 25:13
Oh she loves Airtable.
Michele 25:15
Yep, yeah. And she said, this is what I've done with other clients where I'm doing similar work to what I'm doing for you, I think that we can make this work. And it will be efficient and effective, and everybody's going to have the information they need. Because I think in the past, we were trying to run it by an Excel spreadsheet. And then we were using Dropbox, we still kept some of the structure, but we shifted it. And I really appreciated that because I didn't have time to go sit down and say, how do I make that process better? I just was trying to get through the process, because I had bigger work to do, I had different work to do. And so giving her after the trust was built, giving her the autonomy to say, tell me if there's a better way. And she did. And we implemented it, and she ran with it. And it's beautiful. I mean, I I'm just like, oh, here's what I'd like to see. And next thing I know, she's got it built out to do that. And I think that is the value of hiring the right person is that they're bringing a value add to your company, they're not sucking up your resources, they are actually providing you with input and with resources and information and strategy for the role that they have. She wasn't coming in to give me strategy on my marketing, that wasn't what she was hired for. I mean, if she had it, I'd take it. But she's coming in to give me strategy on the processes that she's running for my company. And that's when I think a good thing to know about the person you're hiring is, are they just going to do what you tell them to do? Write or ask them to do or put in a job description? Or are they actually going to help you enhance what you do, because they love what they write.
Laura Licursi 26:58
Right. And there's a big difference between that like a list checker, right, just a task door, or somebody who's proactive, who will go out there. And you know, like you said, just try to find a bigger, better way to do things for you. And your, you know, the two of you to work together or your team like in your case your team to work together.
Michele 27:20
I think when we call whether we call an agency or whether we freelance whatever we do when we need that virtual assistant, it's about really having an idea of what do we need them to do? What are, like you said earlier, what are our expectations of this position? I always love the how are we going to communicate? And when are we going to touch base? And if we I also this was a big one to me. And I remember having this conversation with you, when we get something wrong. What are we going to do? Like how do we react if something goes wrong? Because we're all going to make mistakes? What do we do about that? And one of my big pet peeves is for somebody on my team to do something wrong and not own it. Like my whole tagline is if you own it, you can change it or just own it. Like, I can tell you I make mistakes all the time, I'll own them. And so I love when the people on my team own right. And then the next conversation piece is this is usually what happens. Okay, we made a mistake. And this is where I left when they say Okay, so let's walk back to the operating procedures and see if we need to update that. Or let's go look at the checklist that goes with these operating procedures to see if we need to add another checkpoint. Like that's how you walk back to see how do we keep it from happening again, sometimes things just fall through the cracks. But again, that way of thinking that it's not like, Oh, well, so sad, you know, I've gotten that before I, oops, bad. And I'm like, okay, no, no, no, I need more than just too bad. I need, why did it happen? What's the root of the problem? What did we miss? Were we just overwhelmed? Like, what was it so that we cannot repeat it? Exactly. Right? And so looking and finding that which is what I love about to the way that you vet tell us a little bit about how you vet to see who's even going to be on your team? Like what are some of the things that you look for in a good virtual assistant.
Laura Licursi 29:17
Our vetting process starts with an online application. Then once they get through the application, there's an assessment based on the position that they're applying for. And I can't tell you how many people don't make, don't even want to be bothered with the assessment. You know, so many people just are like, just look at my resume. And it's like no, if you if you really want to work with our team, you have to submit your resume, but you also have to take the time to fill out the application and you have to take the time to do the assessment. Our assessments, we hand grade, and you know they have to have 85% or higher in order to even move on to an interview. And then we have a two-part interview process. So, you know, my recruiter, she handles the first interview, and then she'll decide if they should move on, or they shouldn't. And then when they come to me, we have a completely different, you know, set of questions that we asked, some are the same questions, which is funny, because you and I talked about this, because what we like to do is see if the answer is going to change, or, you know, are we getting like similar responses? Right, and we need to, you know, decide what we're going to do. And then, you know, there's one, there's a third interview, where we just kind of go over, you know, the way that we operate? And can they do you know, do they agree to that, like, you know, for us, a big thing is turning in your hours every Friday to your client and sending that like weekly wrap up report that's really big for us, because we promise our clients that VAs have to be able to follow through with that, you know, logging in hours, things like that. And so that's, you know, that's the process, it takes a little bit of time. It's not, we don't bring on people quickly, let’s put it that way.
Michele 31:06
You know, I really appreciate that too. And I do love your process. And I think it's, again, that's one of the things that if I hired freelance, I'd have to be, okay, I need an accounting of this, I need an accounting of that and needing to get, I'd have to be the one to manage and to chase it down and to get it. Right. Whereas you handle all of that with your agency behind the scenes. But it is nice to get that Friday report that says here's how our time was spent. Because what's good for me is to be able to say, Okay, here's how much more I think I need. Like I can plan, I know the speed with which each person works, I have an understanding about what it takes to get XYZ done. And so now I can start to look at it as a multiplier of more work, right? Or however, or less whatever I need. And so that I really appreciate. So I love that you've built that in. Let me ask you this, when you do your assessments, are you I'm assuming the assessment in some ways they're uniform across opposition's but in some ways, I bet, you must have some different questions or things that you look at based on the role that they're applying for.
Laura Licursi 32:16
Yes, we do. So like, for example, for our executive assistant position, and the legal assistant to you know, there's just there's certain tasks that they have to do within there that a lot of people just refuse to do, they will actually have people say, just look at my resume, or I don't know how to do this, and I'm not going to go any further. Like, that'll be actually something that they say in there. So for us, it's good, because we know who's really dedicated and who's not, but we'll have them, you know, create calendar invites and, and upload them to one of our test calendars, we'll have them do a sample greeting, you know, when they're talking on the phone, we'll have them, you know, say something? Or what is your response to like this question, how would you respond to something like this. And so and that gives us right off the bat, it gives us an idea of the level of professionalism, you know, that that we're dealing with. And as far as like digital marketing, or social media, we have them, you know, create certain pieces around an event that will, you know, we change throughout the assessment, and so that they have to think pretty quick on their feet, you know, but be able to put something together to upload. So it's always taking that extra step. It's not just, if it's the creative position. It's geared around, you know, that creativity piece, and the other one like for an executive position, it's geared around the professionalism of how are you going to respond to clients?
Michele 33:48
And so yeah, I think even all of that are all the things that need to be done in an interview process anyway. But most of us and a one to one, number one, I wouldn't think, on my own, I would think more now about it having had multiple VA's over the last 10 years. But I didn't think about it at the beginning. At the beginning. I was like, Oh, you can do that. Great, come on in. And I didn't realize that when somebody told me I would ask for pieces of their work. It wasn't like I went into a completely blind, but I certainly didn't go into it as detailed as I do now.
Laura Licursi 34:21
And we learned that the hard way too. They say, "I've done that before," while doing it before and being an expert at it are two completely different things.
Michele 34:34
So let me ask you this, then how do you um, so when we talked about being prepared, one of the things I always ask people to do is to try to save three months of salary or whatever they're paying to bring somebody on. So for example, if I I hired two of your VA s at one time, because of the just the different things that I had to do, but I wanted to make sure I had three months. Have that fee set aside, because the onboarding, while they years came on, and they were, you know, we still had, I want to say like a two or three week overlap with my prior assistant for us to get everything translated properly and get them up to date, which means for two to three weeks, I was paying double, right. And I also couldn't expect them to be immediately as productive as the person walking out when it was all new to them, they're doing it the first time and they were learning it. And so really, not just planning the time to go through a process and listen, whether they're hiring freelance or through an agency, there's still time, they still have to talk to you, they've still got to talk to the person, they've still got to do the onboarding, there's still time involved. But I think building that a minimum of three months into reserves to be able to do it actually gives you the ability to breathe a little more that you can pay, to help that person get up to speed, it's going to take them longer at the beginning. And then after they get into kind of you know, they understand the operating procedures, they've created a rhythm, they know what they're doing and how they're doing it. And so I think it's about budgeting for time to bring them on and budgeting for money to bring them would you agree that that is a good practice law? Or do you have something else that you would add to that?
Laura Licursi 36:30
Well, I actually, I think that's a really important piece of it, too. I know so many times, that's what holds people back too is, you know, kind of, A being afraid to take that leap to, you know, your business is your baby. And so the first person that you bring on, you're trusting them to do certain things on your behalf. And that's not easy to do. So you've got that coupled with maybe it is financially really difficult for them, to pay to have somebody so having that in reserves, because I've seen people back away, because they just were not prepared, you know, to, to really have that payment every month to have somebody help them. So, like you said, having that reserves because it is going to take a little bit of time like to be realistic, you know, like the first 30 days should really be just about learning how you guys are going to work together, what's going to be your best form of communication starting to learn processes, you know, and we really don't even say that until like that third month, should the person be working completely independently. And you know, because you need to take those baby steps. I mean, a lot of times, it happens sooner rather than later. But like you said, if financially, you're prepared for it, you are going to be so so much further ahead of the game than if you're scrambling every month to try to come up with money to pay somebody that's just going to cause undue stress on all parties. Because that's the other thing I've seen is and I understand working within a budget, but sometimes, you know, VA have to stop working because there's, you know, they can only do so many hours in a month, and then they have to wait until you know the money is there again. So this way you have a nice flow in the beginning. And then you'll start seeing some benefits to within those first, you know, 90 days.
Michele 38:23
Right? Sure. Well, and I have with all of mine. I mean, I don't think I've ever had one that I didn't have benefit quickly. But it wasn't full speed on day one. And so assuming that it will be is really an unrealistic expectation. And sometimes I've seen Well, he or she didn't do what I needed them to do. Well, did you give them enough time? To understand it? Did you make yourself available enough? To get them updated? I always use my five E's. Did you educate them? Did you equip them? Did you empower them? Did you set expectations? And then did you encourage them? Because if you didn't do those five things? Like how could they have been successful? What and this doesn't matter? Again, whether it's an employee or subcontractor, it's like, how do I help you do the best that you can do to help? Exactly right, and it takes time, and it takes money. And I also just found that by doing that I can almost breathe through the we're going to be a little slower. We're not going to get it done. But it helps me prioritize what absolutely has to get done. versus what is. I'd like to get it done. And what then can I add on what sighs see what you can do and handle? How can I add on more? What else can I do? Right? Right? So being prepared is huge.
Laura Licursi 39:39
It is that, and I mean that really goes along with everything I feel the more prepared, the more planning you can do. What does that saying? 10 hours of planning saves. I forget how there's a saying I just saw it again recently. But the more you plan, the better off you're going to be and the less time you're going to actually have to spend doing.
Michele 40:01
So, as we wrap up, I'd love to ask you this last question, what is kind of the process that you go through when you are... like, let's say that one of the listeners said, you know, Okay, I'm ready for a VA, I've done some of this work, I've got some money, I know that I'm in need. And I know that I'm, I'm quickly approaching that point of overwhelm, when it's going to be almost like, too late, but much needed. And so I'm going to give Laura and her team a call, how do you, I'm going to say, interview the client, to figure out what a good fit is, what do you look for when you are? So you've already done all the vetting? For the people that are on your team? How do you then couple them with new clients who are calling? What are some of the things that you look forward to see if there will be a match?
Laura Licursi 40:50
So we actually, we have an outline that we go over, and we and, you know, ask all different questions to the client. You know, one of the big ones is has you have you worked with a virtual assistant before? Because we like to know are, do they have realistic expectations of working with somebody. So that might mean, if they haven't worked with somebody a VA before, we will tend to put them with a more experienced virtual assistant, because they will know how to guide that client? If it's more Oh, yeah, I've worked with them, you know, for years, you know, I just, I'm making a change, or what have you, that person doesn't have to be, I feel quite as advanced as far as how long they've worked with somebody because this person is used to the relationship and they understand how it works. And then, you know, we just go into, we get a really, really thorough job description, things that they know that they need to start with. And then we also like to see what they think they might need in the future. Because that also goes along with the pairing process, we use a disc assessment for, you know, our VA is. And so we talked through those with the client, like, okay, you know, what, what type of support is going to be best for you? You know, so we like to know, are you a visionary, and sometimes they'll have a disc assessment themselves that they'll send us, which is extremely helpful, because that really helps with the pairing. But yeah, we, you know, so we really go through the personalities, a big part, the expectations, and then obviously, the job description and matching the skills to that. So you know, I always say if, you know, let's just say for example, sometimes people come to us with these really odd pieces of software that they use that, you know, maybe we haven't heard of before, but let's just say it's a CRM, for example, if you've worked within one or two CRMs. Before, it's usually really easy to jump in and learn something quickly. So that is the one thing because I know sometimes people, they will come to us and say they have to know this, this, this, this this software to find somebody that knows that exact combination is typically difficult. So as long as they know how to work within those types of software, then we feel we can there's other pieces to the match we can make.
Michele 43:10
Yeah, I've found the same thing that not everybody has the exact tech stack you're looking for. And so you know if you know how to do, like you said, even Asana then you know how to do maybe Trello and then maybe Basecamp isn't, you know, you start to walk through them and if you know when you can pick up another right. Oh, right. Oh, that's awesome. Laura, if somebody was looking to find out more about you, your company, your offerings, where can they go? What Where? Where are you hanging out? Alright,
Laura Licursi 43:40
Alright, so our website is elitevirtualassist.com. They can also find me and connect with me on LinkedIn. Laura Licursi, I'm in the Cleveland, Ohio area. And we're also you know, we're actually we're everywhere. We're on Facebook and Twitter and Pinterest. So we have lots of we're on all the channels other than Snapchat.
Michele 44:04
Are you doing tik tok video?
Laura Licursi 44:05
No, I haven't got there yet. No, I laugh though, because my son is just his head is always buried and kicked off. Pretty funny.
Michele 44:15
I told someone, I wonder if I need to start doing tic Tock videos on how to balance your checkbook, and how to check your financials and how to grow your company as it I get to come up with a teach that maybe people will pay attention to. That's right. That's right. We'll have fun if we're doing our hands. They can be fun, too. So well, I really appreciate it. I will have links to all of your information in the show notes. I do want to give you a shout out on your LinkedIn you put a lot of really good information and articles and case studies and all types of things out there. And so I really want to encourage people not only to check out what you have on your website, but to follow you on LinkedIn and to really watch Were you out there, this is good. And thank you, thanks, patient on nature. And so I really appreciate that and enjoy what you have to say out there, right. But, um, thank you for, for being a great friend and for running such a great agency you. And you know that Paige and Jenne, you know who I work with, they say to me, and I really enjoy having them on my team and having Renee to check in. And you know, and then having you, knowing how you're managing and running your own company is a, it makes me comfortable knowing that I'm working with a company that cares so much about people and about bringing in the right people and about making the right connections. And just the whole way you have it structured, has brought me a lot of peace. And during a year of great turmoil in a year, you know, for all of us, and just put me in a position to be able to hold on and keep moving and to do it with ease. And that's what we're all looking for when we hire in these positions, is we're looking to be able to do more of what we do really, really well with ease. And you and your team. Absolutely 100% hands down have provided that to me, and I thank you.
Laura Licursi 46:12
Oh, thank you, Michele and I am so grateful for you for your friendship and for being part of our VA team and our EVA family. We love working with you. I know Paige loves working with you. She always says it.
Michele 46:25
She's a sweetheart. Yeah, she's enjoyable. Well, thank you again for sharing and shedding some light on virtual assistants, what they are when we need it, how we need it, how to go about some of the questions even to ask. I think that this has been a very rich conversation and I'm so glad that we had this conversation.
Laura Licursi 46:42
Thanks, Michele. I really appreciate it. Have a great day.
Michele 46:44
Thanks, you too. I'm so thankful to Laura for joining us and helping us unpack the world of hiring a VA and many clients who come to me have some support already or they're in desperate need of it quickly to grow and scale their business. If you need help determining your next hire and you want support for your decision making as you grow, check out our work with me page over at ScarletThreadConsulting.com and then fill out a discovery form. I'd love to be able to chat with you and see if we can support you as you also get support to run your business. make the choice to be profitable with your time, your energy and your money. Because profit doesn't happen by accident.