How to Hire a Virtual Assistant For Your Your Wedding Planning Business - Special Guest Episode

This episode features my friend Maria Carras - VA Expert. 
( https://www.mariacarras.com )

During our call, she will cover topics like:
- What is a virtual assistant?
- How to know when you're ready to hire a VA?
- How to prepare your business for a VA
The benefits of hiring a VA
- What tasks you can outsource as a Wedding Pro
- How to find and hire your right fit VA

So, you want to learn how to become a wedding planner?
Breathe a sigh of relief. You’re in the right place. A proven process + supportive community for anyone wondering how to become a wedding planner who gets paid, published + personally fulfilled.

Free Launch Guide 👉 https://bit.ly/34ybGTl

FIND ME ON:
YOUTUBE
INSTA & CHANCEY CHARM INSTA
PINTEREST
MAIN SITE

Disclaimer: Occasionally I do share an affiliate link in my content, via social media posts, the blog, my e-courses, emails, digital downloads, youtube videos, and the site. This means that if you click a link and purchase a product, I receive a little bit in return. This allows me to keep creating quality, free content. But, please know that I only share things I absolutely believe in! I also occasionally share a product I received for free in exchange for a review. Again, the review I share is absolutely my own, and I only share products I believe in.

Disclaimer: This video does not contain legal advice, and the counsel of a legal professional is highly recommended before putting content into action....

Transcript

Hey guys. Thank you so much for joining today. I am so, so excited to have my friend Maria Caras here with us. She actually runs an incredible business that helps planners like you connect with the right virtual assistance for your business. I have personally benefited from her services when she connected me with my, uh, virtual assistant who does our Pinterest, our blog.

Her name's Claire Ccss. She's amazing. Looking up. Um, she's been life changing to me. She's given me so much of my life back, and I know that's a big problem that we are all facing in this industry is just overwhelmed. There's so much to do. So little time. If you are a part of, uh, the Wedding Chancey Charm Wedding Planner Academy, there's also a chance that you have a lot of other stuff going on in the background of your life, and that might be one reason why you even chose the career field as a wedding planner.

I know that's why I chose to be a wedding planner is because I wanted to have the flexibility to work from home and spend time with my family and friends. And so, In that pursuit of, I want to have more flexibility and freedom in my life. I had connected with Maria online. I don't, I don't even know how we connected.

It's just she's an amazing Do what you actually, we actually worked together. You hired me as your Oh. Oh my. I forgot about that. That is so crazy. I know. You're like, wow. Thanks a lot, . But um, for a short while, I think it was, it was really fun though. It was really fun. It was a long time ago. Was so long ago.

I feel like that was living in Atlanta. Maybe Beau was born. My life is like a blur that CSUN and my life with a newborn first child, um, days are just  on. So anyways, Maria was obviously amazing and I needed more help and reached out to her. And it's just been a really fun journey to see her go from being a VA to growing a business that helps train VAs, helps educate them on how they business, and ultimately has become a resource for, um, BA.

Super fun, super amazing. Maria, I'm just gonna let you take it from here. You can tell them all the things about yourself. Um, and I, I love, I love that. I forgot about the beginning of our journey. I'm just like, yeah, she connected to Claire. I'm like, how did I know about you? I just knew you. Oh, that's, that's when you've been this to me.

I. I love working with you because I got into virtual assistance back when I was living in Greece and I needed to sort of earn some supplementary income while I was at home with my newborns. And the beautiful thing about being a virtual assistant is that you can work with all kinds of country, all kinds of companies, rather in all kinds of countries all over the world.

So I was in Greece working with you, Sarah, which is insane. And I just, the, the, the variety of companies you can work with as a virtual assistant is just. Amazing. Like working with wedding planners in your company was just a dream because like how exciting is that? Um, yeah, and you're so right, like when you're a wedding planner, you're spinning so many plates, there's so many things to focus on.

You have your business, you have your life happening, and there is so much stuff going on that needs to happen, but is not within your zone of genius as a wedding planner. Yeah, you, the virtual assistant will come in and take that off your plate. You work with Claire, she does your Pinterest marketing.

Like that is not something you as a wedding planner should be focusing on. That's not your job. Your job is to plan weddings. So to have somebody else do the marketing for you, to do your customer communications, to do your vendor communications, like that is just a godsend sometimes. So, and whoever I speak to, wedding planner or other type of business owner, I just tell them, if you haven't hired a virtual yet, you absolutely need one.

And that is what we're talking about today. How hiring a virtual assistant can create more freedom in your business so that you can focus on your zone of genius. So as I kick off this presentation, I'm just gonna tell you a little bit more about myself. Uh, hi, I'm Maria. I run a BA agency and I support course creators and membership site owners.

Specifically, we have one or two clients still that we're working. While I kind of focus more on coaching and mentoring women to start their own virtual assistant businesses, I've helped countless businesses hire their VAs, uh, through our free VA matchmaking service, which Sarah took advantage of. Yes.

Multiple times. Multiple times. Multiple times. Multiple times. It's totally free. I train virtual assistants and then I place them in. So it's a dream come true for, it's like a win-win for everybody. I love it. Um, I'm a wife and a mom to two young boys. You might see one of them kind of bursting in here any second now.

Um, I'm obsessed with homemade banana ice cream. I don't know why I put that in there, but I am . I'm also a film up and I kind of do publicity work on the side for films as well. How old are your boys now? How old are my boys? They're like nine and. Okay. Yeah. I feel like they were really little when we were working together.

They were, they were. We were just, yeah. . You had a newborn, is it? You had a newborn. Is it the one or is it this one? I have one. One bio child, and I have, I'm a foster mom. Nice. Okay. Yeah. We're about to adopt, so really excited about that. Oh my God, that's great. Yeah. Yeah. She's awesome.

Okay, so what can you expect to learn in this presentation? What is a virtual assistant? I'm sure a lot of you already know what a virtual assistant is. I'm just gonna cover that really quickly. What are the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant? How to prepare your business for a virtual assistant, because it does require a little bit of preparation, how to find an onboard a virtual assistant.

and what mistakes business owners make when hiring and working with a virtual assistant and how you can hire your first VA today. And I'm gonna kind of tailor it a little bit to wedding professionals as well. So you guys are getting the most from this. Okay. In return, I ask that you pay attention, , if this is something that you're serious about for your business.

I'm sharing a lot of really good information, um, with you. So it, it'll be great if you were focused and kind of. Uh, before we start, if you wanna connect with me, I'm at Hey, Maria Harris on Instagram. Like, Instagram is my favorite, stomping Brown. So if you wanna connect, you can come and say hi over there.

So, In this presentation, I just wanna make sure that we are all here for the same reasons, so you're in the right place today. If you are a business owner or a freelancer who wants to stop doing all the things that we just talked about in your business and start focusing on your zone of genius, you wanna start focusing on your clients.

You wanna be a fantastic wedding planner. That's what you're here to do. You wanna scale your business, do more, and make more in less. If you want more freedom and flexibility to pursue other interests, spend time with your family. Take extended vacations. If you wanna step away from your business knowing that everything is being taken care of, you are in the right place.

Who doesn't want that? Right? You're in the wrong place. If you believe the only way to succeed in your business is if you do everything. Uh, you're also in the wrong business if you're afraid to invest in your business. So if you are, um, averse to investing in your business, uh, you're gonna try to do everything yourself and you're gonna burn out.

Hopefully not, but that is the likely scenario for a lot of people. So what is a virtual assistant? A virtual assistant is a business owner. They're a remote contractor. They have a variety of different expertise. Um, they typically charge by the hour or they can create retainers and packages to work with you, but they are a business owner that you bring on into your business and you agree on deliverables and a pay rate, and you have them in your business for as long or as little as you need.

So that is the beauty of a virtual assistant. It can be a really flexible working relationship. Uh, you can hire different virtual assistants for different areas of expertise. Sarah is working with Claire for her Pinterest. You can hire somebody else to do your blog. You can hire somebody else to do your, um, inbox management, your, uh, appointment setting.

You can hire different people with different expertises to do different things in your business. So what I actually have like so many bas right now. Do you, how many do you work with? I mean, I have Claire, she does Pinterest the blog, she formats the blog. So she puts a pin in does Pinterest. She does Google my business review request.

Um, I feel like there's something else, uh, that she does that I'm forgetting. And then I have two other women that I recently hired to do.  because just the volume. So one is specifically like a search engine optimization writer, and then the other one is, um, a lady who does, is getting into writing. So she's doing some of that for me, but mainly she's been creating lists for me.

So I have like a mark. I'm now marketing for wedding planners, so she's creating a giant list of wedding planners that I can email. Um, we're pursuing venue partnerships. She's making me a giant list of venues that we can contact for those. So she's doing a lot. Task that I just like really wanna do, but don't have time for.

That's Trisha, right? Am I? Yeah. Yes, I know. And like, how much easier does it make your business when you have like a complete list of like venues to contact for partnerships? Like, isn't that like a hurdle that you've just like overcome and now you can just run with it? Yeah. I just love that. Yeah. And then the other one that's, um, more seo.

Acentric kind of writer. She's working on some email funnels for me, so I sent one of her emails yesterday, made 200 bucks. It's like, wow, that just paid for her time. Yeah. So you know, it's, I have all these ideas and so it's been awesome to just grow a team of women who I can say like, you're the expert.

You're gonna do this a million times better than I can, and faster than I can. And yeah, just to hand things off right and left. It's a huge blessing and it really. I always see a return on that investment. Mm-hmm.  every time. That's amazing. So I have a list here of what do virtual assistant do. Sarah's very kindly just listed a few things that virtual assistants do, but just to give you an idea across like marketing, admin, a, systems and automation and tech.

So marketing will include things like what Sarah said, Pinterest blog writing, SEO admin will do stuff like maybe what Trisha's doing, like creating like a list of venues doing research, data entry, um, invoice chasing contract sending. All of that stuff. And then you've got the funnels and, and, and webinars set up, potentially CRM set up assistance, automation, and tech that you might need in your business.

Then you will find VAs who will specialize in all these different areas, and like you said, Sarah, they will do them quicker and easier and better than you, so it's absolutely worth investing in that help. Yeah. Who hires virtual assistants while wedding planners, but we've helped all of these kinds of people.

Let's see. Do I have wedding planners in this list? It, they should be. It's not an alphabetical order. Yeah, they're, they're like number 10. . Yes. Wedding and event planners, um, make a good use of virtual assistance and then a whole bunch of other people as well, but they're very popular and very widely why.

Widely used . I feel like just one of those days, . Oh. So why would someone hire a va? I think, I don't, I don't feel like I need to be preaching to the choir here. Um, they'll save you time if you don't have time to complete the small tasks. If you don't know how to do the small tasks. If you're not within your zone of genius, if you don't know, have the skill or the desire to do the small task.

then you would hire a virtual assistant to do that for you. Because you need to be focusing on your zone of genius. You need to be focusing on your couples. You need to be focusing on your vendor communications and your, and just making sure that your clients are happy and that you're providing a professional experience for them.

So anything that is outside of that, you can absolutely outsource. And you don't have to start with like a really big package. If you're tight on cash, if you bring a virtual assistant on in your business for maybe, uh, an hour a week. Like that will set you back maybe 25, $30. But then you'll have somebody in your business who knows your business and can and can kind of, if you ever ramp up in any way, they can kind of take what they know and run with it.

But you will see a return instantly if you bring somebody on and take some of those smaller niggly tasks off, cuz you'll be able to focus on, you know, the revenue generating tasks in your. So what are the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant?

Oh, my backwards, it's no benefits. No. Um, my presentation is getting stuck. Uh, so yes, if you're just starting out, if you're bootstrapping, you don't wanna be hiring full-time employees because they're expensive. Um, There's a lot of legality around that. If you find that they're not a good fit, it's really hard to, um, end, end contracts like that.

So a VA is flexible. You can work with them for as little or as, um, as much as you'd like. Uh, you don't need to worry about desk space or software or equipment for your virtual assistant. They kind of. Um, handle all of that because that's part of their business. Um, you can hire virtual assistants as needed, and you can also hire multiple VAs for a number of different specialties rather than hiring one person to do all of the things to kind of an average level.

So you've done really well, Sarah, kind of having different VAs focusing on different things. Yeah. I.  and like, I, I emailed you earlier this week. I'm like, I think I need someone else. . Yeah. Cause I just have too many ideas. But the, the marketing stuff, you know, is, I think that's where people, especially planners get really overwhelmed is the marketing stuff.

And if they could just hand that off, even like you said, an hour a week, make some progress every month. Huge. Mm-hmm.  huge. Yeah. It like, marketing is such a sticky subject for so many people, isn't it? It's like your business can't survive. , but it's also not what your business is. Your business isn't marketing and it's, it's, it's, yeah, it's huge when you can do that because you know it's happening in the background.

And you don't have to worry about it. So how much do virtual assistance cost? I said it before. Um, if you hire somebody even for an hour a week, it could probably cost you, you know, 20 to $25 an hour for a beginner virtual assistant. And if you're going more specialist, you know, 40 to $50 an hour is kind of what you're looking at.

And specialists will have lots of experience. They'll be kind of experts in your. Um, they'll have a really good reviews, they'll have a really good portfolio, they'll have really great results, and specialists will kind of focus maybe on a specific platform. Uh, they might be sort of really tech savvy and do setups of funnels and webinars and websites and all of that stuff.

So depending on where your budget lies or what your needs are, you can expect to pay, you know, 20, $20 to $40 an. Probably in a lot of cases, a lot more, but there are so many virtual assistants out there who are looking to kind of get that first client that they're happy, you know, with 20, $25 an hour, um, to get that experience and build up their reviews.

So you can definitely find the support that you need at a budget friendly price. So how do you prep your business for a virtual assistant? So what I like to do, if you don't know what you wanna outsource, a lot of people do already, like marketing is a huge thing to outsource. So a lot of people know they wanna outsource their Pinterest, they wanna outsource their Instagram.

Um,  and kind of that's easy to hand off. But if you're somebody who doesn't yet know what exactly they wanna outsource, I recommend people kind of take a, take some time, take a week, take two weeks to actually track your time that week with a free tool like Toggle or Clocky, see what you're spending your time on and really sit down and review which of those tasks that you were completing that week are actually revenue generating.

And what can you outsource? So make a list of what you can outsource by tracking your time. Then create a list of those tasks and the tools that you use on a regular basis that you would want your VA to use. Then document your processes. So if you have set processes for onboarding clients, for, um, writing your blog posts and formatting your blog posts, grading your Pinterests, um, your pins, if you have processes and um, standard operating procedures.

now is the time to start writing them down and you don't have to do for your whole business. Find one thing that you wanna outsource and create a process for it that will make it so easy for your virtual assistant to come into your business. Look at the process and just follow the steps. And also you might wanna sign up for any necessary tools.

When you're bringing anybody onto your team, you might want to look at, um, a project management software like Asana, where you can assign tasks and you can set deadlines. You might want to look at cloud sharing software. I actually have them list it here. If you're sharing files with clients like Google Drive or Dropbox, you will want to have your VA have access to that information so they can get all the materials that they.

Um, you might want to also look at a password sharing app like last Pass, one password where you can give your VA access to your different accounts, like Tailwind or your email marketing software without actually giving them your password so they can access your accounts kind of with a hidden password and it'll see what you see when you log.

So those are kind of the three main tools. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Um, obviously it depends what you're hiring them to do. So if you've got, if you are outsourcing social media, you'll wanna have kind of a scheduler like Tailwind or later or Buffer that you'll want to schedule your post through.

Um, but these are kind of the main ones I think. I don't know, Sarah, if there's anything that you use that you would give access to your VA's, your. Yeah, I use, um, I, I like the last pass, I, I was just thinking, oh, maybe I should be doing that. But I give everybody all my passwords,  to Gmail, and we use Google Drive and Gmail mainly.

Mm-hmm. , my team uses Slack to talk. Oh, that get's good. Yes. Is great. But I don't have any of my bas on there. I'm just, yeah. Emailing with them and doing Google Docs and that kind of, Okay. They have my WordPress website, password. They have everything. They could just take me with the wrong word. I'm very That's fine, that's fine.

If, if any of their, um, computers or anything gets compromised, your, your, your information might be compromised as well, but like That's fine. It's fine. . Hey, I'm gonna meet you in last pass later today, . It's really easy to do. It's like, Um, I'm gonna do it . I'm not telling you all. Um, so how do you find this unicorn and this hiring?

How do you find this amazing ritual assistant that will support you in your wedding wedding plan business? So, I see a lot of business owners making this mistake of like, they'll go into Facebook group and they'll be like, I need a virtual assistant now, and. You know, you'll get virtual assistants underneath saying, you know, but what do you actually need help with?

Um, you know, there's so many details about working with a virtual assistant. You can't just blindly say, I need a virtual assistant. Like, you need to be a little more specific. It's kind of like going, I need a doctor, but like, what kind of doctors do you need? So I would suggest you actually create an application form writing down exactly what you need.

We actually help you do this through our free VA matchmaking survey. I think Sarah, you've done it Yeah. In an application form that asks you every single detail that we need to know to, to create a job application that, that provides all the information, the be needs to know if this job is a good fit for them.

So you need to be thinking about, um, what tools do you need your VA to be familiar. What exactly do you need them to do? You need to be aware of your budget. You need to be aware of whether you need them to be available during specific times of the day. Um, and you also need to kind of be aware of any nice to have, like personality traits.

Cause working with a virtual assistant and having a harmonious relationship is so much about the personality fit and how well you guys. So just be aware that that is kind of one of the key factors, and that's true of any team member. But with a virtual assistant, I feel like it's even more so because they're like your right hand person.

You need to be on the same wavelength. So first thing you need to do is to actually create an application form. Um, where do you share the application form? I would share it with your, if you have an audience, share it with your. Um, share it on your Facebook profile. You can go on LinkedIn, lots of virtual assistants there, and then, um, set interviews with them, like have lots of interviews with them, with different virtual assistants, because like I said, you need to find a really good personality fit.

Don't just go with the first one that you find. You need to kiss a lot of frogs to find the one that's good for you. And when you do find the good. Have a trial period with them and you know, don't commit to anything long term. Just have that trial period first, and then, you know, take it from there. Um,

how to find your right fit virtual assistant. Okay. So where do you find your virtual assistant? I kind of went over a little bit earlier, but you can also go outta job boards, like Upwork, fiber freelancer. You can go to Facebook. You can go to agencies, like time, et cetera. You can come to me. Maria Care is creative and I can help you find somebody, or you can ask your audience, like I said, if you have one.

So how do you conduct interviews so that you are hiring people that are a good fit for your business? Oh, sorry guys. Yes, interviews. What makes a great virtual assistant? So you're gonna be wanting to look for somebody ideally, who has proven experience in what you wanna do, or at least a strong willingness to learn.

A really good work ethic is huge and a good understanding of what your business is done and what your goals are. You want a good communicator, someone who writes really clear, um, emails, who talks clearly on the interview, on the discovery call. Someone who is open and honest about their experie. About meeting deadlines when you're working together about any snags that they're hitting someone who is open and honest, that is huge.

You want someone who has a positive attitude, a good work ethic. This goes for any team member. Uh, you want someone who shows in initiative who can foresee problems before they happen. And if they're an experienced virtual assistant, they will be well versed in this. They're not afraid to ask questions.

They're not afraid to ask clarifying question. Um, and you should be encouraging them to ask questions. You shouldn't make them feel afraid to ask questions as a lot of virtual assistants do, because they don't wanna feel like they don't wanna come across as though they don't know what they're doing. So you want them to feel comfortable asking questions cause they need that information to do a good job.

And of course, a good personality fit. As with any team member, you want someone who is on the same page as you, who's on the same wavelength as you, who understands your goals and the way that you. And, um, you guys get along and have fun together.

Some of the most common mistakes. No, no, that's not, I'm going . Uh, so how do you onboard and start working with your virtual assistant?

So when you interviewed quite a few people, you find someone that you really like, what are the next steps? They will then send you a proposal if everything looks good on the proposal, which will include the quote, um, the deliverables, the way they work, the rates, and all of that stuff. You will agree on that.

They will then set you, send you a contract. You sign the contract, which kind of includes the same information. But also some extra legal stuff will protect, which will protect them and you. And then I would recommend you said a trial period. Like I said before, trial them out from month, whatever makes sense to you.

But be clear about when the trial period ends, because if you find out you're not a good fit, either they find out they're not a good fit or maybe you decide they're not a good fit for you, it's a really good way, um, of ending that relationship without any awkwardness. Like there's an out for both of. So definitely set a trial period.

Um, give them small tasks to start off with. Don't give them the keys to the castle from the get go. Just start with like small tasks so that you can build that trust and you can kind of get a sense of how they work, how they communicate, how, um, and they can get the same from you as well. So definitely set a trial period.

Definitely sign a contract so that you're both protected and that you're both, um, agreeing to the same. Um, establish primary mode of communication. Um, Sarah, you said you use Slack with your team members. Um, I also use Slack with my virtual assistant. So if you establish a primary mode of communication, that could be Slack, it could be email, it could be Asana.

Um, it's definitely makes it easier in the long run if you just have one place where most of the communication happens. I know it can, it can kind of get tricky when you're kind of in all the different. But it, it will avoid kind of messing us down the line and miscommunication as well and missing important information.

Um, and I would also encourage you schedule time for in person reviews. It's so easy when you're working with a virtual team that you kind of just get on with the work and you don't see each other, you're not next to each other. Um, then you just get on the, with the work and you forget to check in on how the working relationship is going.

I would schedule. Once a month, every two months, just a review and holding space for just checking in with them to see how's everything going for you? Do you think there's anything we could be doing better? Is there anything that, um, that you're not happy with? Just like not work related kind of working, working relationship related conversation.

And if you can meet regularly to discuss like the ongoing. If the work recalls, if the work calls for it. Like if somebody who's doing your Pinterest and if you just kind of have a system for how the pins are reviewed and scheduled, then that's fine and you can kind of get a, you know, let it roll, that's fine.

But if it's stuff that's kind of more intensive, more client facing, it might be worth meeting regularly to discuss your agenda for the week to discuss your. Um, and to set, um, action items.

Gosh, I'm still getting hang of this candid presentation thing. Okay. What are commonly outsourced tasks for wedding professionals? Uh, social media, a hundred percent. P Trust, blog writing, seo like you're doing. Sarah. Graphic screens typically for. Social media appointment setting and appointment management with clients, vendor communications, client communications, contracts and invoices, chasing them, sending them press outreach.

Though I had a client once, a wedding photographer, I've had two wedding photographers who, um, were looking to be placed in magazines in local magazine. Online websites and stuff. So I was tasked with researching the application deadlines and how to apply to get their photos featured and all of that stuff.

So that is something that your VA can do, um, if you're a wedding photographer as well. Photo editing and organizing of files and sending of files is also another thing that they can do. And again, then you bend your research, which is again, what Sarah's doing. So is there anything else that you can think of, Sarah, that you would out.

So I think one of your earlier slides said that bookkeeping is an admin task. Mm-hmm. . Um, and then, um, yeah, PR is the other person that I use. I've used Kristen with publishing pretty for years. So that's press outreach on here. Um,

I'm taking notes too. , this is a great presentation. I'm like, oh. Um, yeah. I'm sure there's lots. I think that this is a really cohesive, I think review outreach if that's not on here. Oh, right. Yeah. Okay. That's something that Claire's doing. Uh, she's asking for reviews for us. That's great. Yeah. She's asking for reviews for like 30 plus planners, so it's awesome.

Um, trying to,

I think this is really comprehensive. . Okay. Okay, cool. Okay. So common mistakes business owners make when they're hiring a virtual assistant. Uh, they don't know what to outsource. So I've already given you tips. You know, think about what it is that you actually wanna outsource. You don't wanna be in the position where you hire somebody and you're paying them and you don't know what it is that you want to have.

so. Make sure you're clear on what it is that you wanna outsource first. Um, they don't create a formal application form. I get this. I get it. It's a lot of work to create a formal application form and a lot of, um, wedding planners or business owners will just go to Facebook group or ask their friends for recommendations such as point number three.

And that's fine, that's fine. I just encourage you to kind of make it a more of a formal interview if possible. , the perfect VA for one person may not be the perfect VA for you. So don't just take somebody on, on someone's recommendation. Obviously you should interview them and have them actually apply so that they can see exactly what it is that you need as well.

And good form makes that pretty easy. The application form. Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty easy, you know, for sure. So it shouldn't, there's no excuse not to have one. Yeah. But some people when they hire, they're like so desperate. And I've seen this so many times. They're like, I need a VA yesterday. And so they'll just take the first person that applies and that's just gonna set you up for so much Ugh.

Frustration down the line. Yeah. So hire before you're ready is kind of my other thing. Um, I don't have it listed down here, but higher before you think you are ready. Like I said, an hour a week is gonna set you back 25. Just before it gets insane, just bring somebody on to take the reins when it does get insane.

Yeah. Um, not having a trial period, um, is a mistake. I see. And I don't think a lot of people do do trial periods, but I think it's hugely important, like I said before, so that you have that out for both of you in case it doesn't work out. And it's so to avoid any awkward conversations and also, People who hire VAs and then they don't actually delegate anything to them.

And that might be someone who's, um, I don't wanna say control freak, I like to be in control and it's not freakish to wanna be in control. So it is what's going on.

I mean, there's a lot of planners that struggle with that. Unsure cuz you're handing so much of your business to somebody else that you need to trust that they'll do it to the same standard as. It's hard to let go, isn't it? It's hard to let go, but you have to let it happen if you, in order for you to grow and so you don't burn out.

And eventually, even though there might be some hiccups at the beginning, this person will learn your style, they'll learn your standards, they'll learn your, your communication style, but you have to allow them that grace to learn. And then when that happens, when you hit that kind of like that smooth sailing period, it's like magic.

And as you have that shorthand and you truly feel like you have a team member and it's just, I, it's just amazing. And you don't have to double check their work. It's brilliant. But you have to allow that to happen. And my, my final thing, higher before you're ready, . I love that because it's true . So if anybody here isn't working with a virtual assistant, or you want to add a virtual assistant to your team, another virtual assistant to your team, we offer a free VA matchmaking service, um, where we create an application form based on your specific needs.

We share that with our network, who are all trained by me, and we send you suitable a. To pick from, to interview and eventually, hopefully hire. But there is no obligation to hire. We don't take anything from your agreed um, pricing. We just match you guys and leave you to it, and that is what we do.

Thank you guys. Exciting. I'm happy to take any conversa, any conversations, any questions, um, about virtual assistant. About becoming a ritual assistant, hiring a ritual assistant, anything at all. I am here. Hi, I'm Natasha. Hi Natasha. Hi. How are you? Yeah, I was so interested in this topic cuz I have been truly like trying to figure this out and the more people that I've reached out to, I've interviewed, um, they have packages, right?

So I can't just like pick and choose and I've been really struggling with like that commitment of like 20, 35 hours and it's just a. Really big investment. Honestly, for someone who I am a control freak, so to even try to hand things off for 20 hours feels a lot. So, um, I guess I was encouraged to hear you say, Start small, but I guess I don't know where those people live.

Where are those people? Yeah, in her listing . Yeah. Cause I, I mean, I feel you, I, um, well, I will say admission is the first step towards progress. Right? You've admitted that it is hard to hand off things, which is like Yes. Everybody in the wedding industry. Yeah. Yeah. Congratulations on that. I think, um, you know, when I've worked with people that Maria has recommended, they've never.

Really, they've never come to me with a package because they're still figuring their packages out because she's just trained them. Sure. But I've had nothing but the most amazing experiences with them, um, because she's trained them. They made that investment in her training. So they're very serious about what they're doing.

They're not just like, they didn't decide this like yesterday. And that's been really great. And I really encourage you to reach out to her list because basically like. There's a package that was built on her experience with the Chancey charm. So it was great for me because I was able to tell her exactly what I needed and what I was able to afford in terms of that monthly investment.

Sure. And, um, yeah, so I, I mean, I really recommend that because there are people, but whereas like, uh, just the other day I reached out to someone who had this shiny website about social media, and then I was like, I don't think I can afford that investment. Yeah, that's pretty hard. I have a pretty big business.

Yeah. So, um, you know, you're not alone in feeling like that's a big commitment. I'm a little overwhelmed by that number, right? Mm-hmm. . Yeah. And honestly, it's just surprised to like, get on and hear, I guess I thought you would like pitch yourself, right? As you know, a virtual assistant. That's usually when I get on these things and there's a speaker that's usually like a pitch at the end.

Um, so it's like, I don't know, encouraging and cool. And I was expecting like, here are our packages and this is what we do. Oh no. Yeah, I just, my, my goal here is to help my, you guys find That's awesome. My VAs to find clients. Really? Yeah. That's my main goal. So, yeah. Cool. But, but you're right. Like Sarah, you hit the nail on the head.

A lot of them are new to this and they're just figuring out the pricing in their packages and they will happi. Um, come on and work with you for an hour, two hours a week while they figure out their packages. And that's why it's so cool when you do the trial period for like a month, two months, you kind of get a sense of how much it's gonna cost you, right?

And then you kind of create like a, almost like a retainer, depending on what it is that they're doing every month, rather than having an hourly, you can kind of set agree on like a set monthly rate and, and, and kind of, and agree on deliverables as. So, yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. I bet that you're super organized, Natasha, and the handoff will be so much easier than you expect.

Sure. I hope so. , I like to think that I am. Yeah, it was for me, , it was really easy for me. So I don't know, like I, I feel that for you, like, I think that you will do really well with it. Just giving your life back, you know? Yeah. I don't know what that is. . Like, I know one big thing that a lot of planners hand off is just like doing hotel blocks.

Mm-hmm. . Cause they hate doing hotel blocks, you know? Yeah. Um, I mean, there's just so many little tasks that we do that. You know, it doesn't have to be you. The client doesn't even have to know. Mm-hmm. . Sure. You know, like with Maria, like, it's so, I'm so embarrassed that I was like, where did, how did we meet

So, sorry. I'm still just riling reeling from that. But you know what, it's because I didn't even tell anybody that I was working with you. I remember wanting to pretend like I could do it all. Just so excited me. But I think I was very nervous. Yeah. For clients, my team, anybody to know that I actually couldn't do it.

All that I needed help, which just shows you how far I've come cuz now I'm like telling the world about my ba. But I think I just really was struggling with that, you know, not being able to do it. But you know what it, what does it show to your clients when you have an assistant, right? Yeah. Doesn't that feel like you're a legit business when you have an assistant and you have your clients talking to your assistant?

Like, I feel like that gives the impression, like if you're gonna charge higher rates, it's totally justified because look at them. They have a team. They're so organized. Yeah. And like, you're almost this like untouchable planner. Not that you wanna be untouchable, but you know, you know what I mean? Like you're.

You're managing your team and you're also planning weddings, like you're super cool. Um, I just, I like the impression that a VA gives to a business. Yeah. Oh, I think it's great. Now, I just, I, um, I,

there's. I just put a lot of pressure on myself. Like I didn't want them to know I had a life. I didn't even want 'em to know I had like a birth . Uh, I just, you know, yeah. It was just about them, and I also wanted them to think that I had my hand on everything. There are a lot of brides who want to believe that the planner is doing every little thing, and so yeah, I just, I really struggled with it, Maria.

It's just so silly. Now I look back and I'm like, why was I like that? Because you felt clear to everybody. Do what? What made you make the switch? Just be like, I'm just gonna be, you know, oh, like, not show them that I can do everything  that I, that I have to do everything. I think that there was a change, a mindset.

Mindset change for me into what you're thinking of, what you're talking about in terms of. This is awesome that she has an assistant, like now I'm marketing for 25, 27, maybe almost 30 planners, and I'm like, Hey, I just hired like really amazing advertising team to work with us. You know, they're doing our Facebook ads and Google ads and all that kind of stuff, and I can brag on them now cause I'm like, I have an expert standing Mc Claire, like, I have an expert doing this.

They're gonna do a way better job than me. I see that now. A win for my team, a win for my business, um, elevating the brand. But it just is a mindset change. I maybe, I hope and pray that some planner out there who thinks they have to do it all is listening to this and maybe they're crying. Cuz I could have cried , you know, back in the day.

So, you know, I, I mean, I was burning out. I was, my ship was mm-hmm , it was a dumpster fire. So, you know, bas saved my. Aw, I'm glad.

awesome to see you go from being a VA to having a business that's training VAs and helping connect, um, people with VAs and just, man, that's awesome. Yeah, I'm glad cuz there's so many people who like wedding planners, other business owners who are like, they've been burnt so badly from bad virtual assistance and working relationships where they've just been ghosted.

And I just want that to stop and I want the relationship between the two parties to be healthier and more efficient and just happier. So hopefully like the VAs in our network, they're, like you said, they've invested in themselves, so they're serious about this and they're serious about like doing really good work with their clients.

So I just wanna make that whole thing better relationship better for everybody. Yeah. That's awesome. Well, it's life changing. It gives so many people their lives back. It helps so many people's face. Sanity business grow, just all the good things. I mean, that must feel really great. You doing good work. And I appreciate what Natasha said about just like, yeah, you didn't come on here selling your package.

You came on here with just some really great quality advice. I love the trial period. I've never done that. Mm-hmm. , you, you were like, don't hand the keys to the castle, is what I do every time. So, um, you know, really appreciated that advice. Let's see. Kimberly says, you know, hire before your ready tip. I think that that is key.

150% to growing in a sustainable way. Um, in a healthy way. In a good way. Um, and to grow to growing . Yeah. If you wanna grow, um, And yeah, she liked the idea about having a VA research venues and reach out. Yeah. Having them research venues, uh, for yourself, for marketing also for your clients. Uh, what if every time you took on a new client and you sent on an email that was like, um, I.

Date, can you let me know all the venues that are available in the Richmond area? That's an easy task to hand off that we often get so caught up in because you email all these venues and then you get a response from all those venues. Yeah, and it just takes over your inbox in your life. So, um, and I have my VA's login and use my email, so it does look like it's coming for me.

I guess that's still a little part of the . Wanting, I'm doing everything , so I'm still guilty of that , but with other creatives, I'm very open about, you know, that I'm not doing it all. . Good. Great. Um, yeah. And yes, tracking your one to two weeks and tracking what you're doing, I think you'd be shocked at what you're doing that's not directly, um, related to bringing in clients or revenue.

And like the venue research and the venue back and forth is one of those things, but it's, it's eye opening when you kind of do that. Absolutely. And then you have a very clear list of what you can hand. . Yeah. Yeah. So if you guys want a va, you can come that, that's the link, mary harriss.com higher. This is, this is my pitch.

come and help us find you a virtual assistant. It doesn't cost anything, just dipping your toes. Um, you can just try it out and see how it feels to hi to, um, look to hire somebody. It's exciting. Yeah, and I love your process because you basically fill out a form, then people reach out and say that they're available or that they feel like they have a good, they're a good fit for what you're, what you're asking for, not providing.

And then you can look at their website, you can get to know them, you can do the interview process. You need trial. It's very, uh, seamless. You can pump the brakes to any time if you're like,

they look really great, but I need another week to get my stuff together. It's not like a pushy sales process or anything like that. Mm-hmm. . So really fun. And yeah, I've just loved everybody that I've met through that program. So thank you so much. This, I think this was so invaluable, such a blessing to everybody who is, has joined us.

Thank you ladies, so much for joining and I think, you know, there's gonna be a lot more eyes on this video and it's just gonna be a blessing to a lot of people because what you're doing. A blessing to them and to their time, their life, their work, their business. So I'm really excited. This has honestly just probably been way too long in the makings, and it's just fun to like get to see your face and hear from you.

And maybe one day in Greece we'll meet up. Yeah, I . I wish. I wish. Um, but yeah, just super grateful. Thank you so much friend, for your time and just for doing this.