5 reasons you fail with a Support Assistant
Service Business Mastery
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Episode breakdown
Tersh and Barbara Turley talk about why people fail when it comes to hiring and keeping a support assistant. Below is a list of the five most common reasons Barbara sees!
1. You think your support assistant can do everything.
2. You hire a support assistant and you expect them to just ‘know’ your business.
3. You haven’t created systems and processes yet for your support assistants to properly execute tasks.
4. You didn’t guide your support assistant to success.
5. You squeeze your support assistant and try to get productive work out of every second you are paying for them.
- Leadership today means maintaining control and structure without micromanaging, even in remote setups.
- Support Assistants are there to execute your processes—not to create strategy or lead generation plans.
- As the business owner, your role is to build systems and train your team to run them.
- Support Assisstants thrive when given clear task lists paired with well-defined processes.
- Record simple step-by-step processes so future issues can be solved quickly with minimal effort.
- Use realistic task lists, structure, and project management tools to stay organized and aligned.
- Know the difference between tasks and projects, and delegate with clarity and leadership.
- Daily huddles asking three key questions help surface issues and improve team communication.
- Create a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered to contribute.
You’ve got to lead—you are the conductor of the orchestra, and the orchestra are looking to you to delegate, to let them know when their moment is or what to do.
In this episode
00:00 - Podcast Introduction and Sponsor Message
Tersh opens the episode by introducing the Service Business Mastery Podcast and sharing details about the sponsor, My Easy Install — a customer referral network for HVAC contractors dealing with the rise of online equipment sales. He talks about how the platform protects contractors’ margins and addresses common objections. Tersh also mentions his recent honor of being named to the ACHR News 40 under 40 and encourages listeners to screenshot and share the episode on social media.
05:33 - Guest Introduction and Background Story
Tersh welcomes Barbara Turley to the show and chats about time zones and locations, with Barbara joining from Sydney, Australia, originally from Dublin, Ireland. They briefly joke about Australia’s wildlife myths and discuss Barbara’s move from Ireland to Australia as a backpacker 17 years prior, which led to her settling there permanently.
07:54 - Virtual Work and Business Model Shifts
They discuss the general unease service-based business owners feel about managing support assistants and the larger shift in how modern businesses operate remotely. Barbara explains how this discomfort isn’t unique to service industries and reflects a broader challenge in balancing control and flexibility in virtual work environments.
09:38 - Barbara’s Accidental Entry into the Support Assistant Industry
Barbara shares how she accidentally built her support assistant business. With a background in investment banking, she began consulting small businesses after leaving corporate life. Many clients struggled with growth because they couldn’t afford staff. Inspired by Tim Ferriss’s Four Hour Workweek, she started recruiting Support Assistants informally to help her clients, which snowballed into demand for her services and ultimately a full business.
13:39 - Strength in Delegation and Process Building
Barbara highlights her natural and professionally developed skills in delegating, process mapping, and building systems with clear oversight and accountability. This strength became a cornerstone of her support assistant business, allowing her to help clients delegate effectively while retaining operational control.
15:56 - Why Support Assistant Setups Fail
Barbara outlines the most common mistake: unclear expectations. Many business owners hire a support assistant, hoping they’ll figure out strategy or processes on their own. She stresses that a support assistant’s role is to execute existing processes, not create them. Failure happens when owners skip creating clear, documented task lists, processes, and outcome expectations.
18:12 - The Importance of Recurring and Project-Based Task Lists
Barbara explains the importance of creating two types of task lists: recurring (daily, weekly, monthly operational tasks) and project-based (one-off initiatives). She advises business owners to list tasks by business department and create simple, step-by-step processes for each. Recording training videos while performing tasks is one practical way to build these processes, something Tersh confirms he already practices.
19:44 - Structure and Oversight for Virtual Teams
Barbara advises against giving support assistants complete schedule flexibility without structure. Human nature tends toward procrastination without clear parameters. She recommends creating defined working hours or windows and ensuring task lists fill a realistic 40-hour workweek for full-time support assistants, establishing accountability and performance measurement systems.
23:05 - Project vs. Task Delegation and Leadership
Barbara discusses the importance of distinguishing between projects and tasks, and how effectively delegating these is a core leadership skill. She compares a business leader to a conductor orchestrating their team, emphasizing that clear delegation reduces confusion and inefficiency.
24:20 - Process Mapping and Explaining the 'Why'
The conversation moves to process mapping, stressing that even when processes are in place, issues often arise because implicit, in-the-leader’s-head knowledge isn’t communicated. Barbara highlights the need to explain not just what to do, but why it’s done that way, using a phone answering example to illustrate how minor oversights happen when the rationale isn’t clear.
26:27 - Fixing Process Issues Before Blaming People
They reflect on how problems in task execution often trace back to missing process clarity. Barbara urges leaders to review their processes before blaming staff, noting that consistent hiring frustrations without self-assessment leads to costly turnover and ongoing inefficiencies.
28:13 - The Importance of Oversight and Daily Huddles
Barbara introduces daily huddles—a brief, structured meeting asking three essential questions to maintain team alignment and quickly surface obstacles. She highlights how oversight isn’t micromanaging but ensures momentum and accountability, particularly vital for virtual teams.
32:24 - Running Virtual Huddles and Building Accountability
The discussion turns to virtual team management. Barbara prefers Zoom for huddles over chat apps like Slack, believing face-to-face video fosters accountability and stronger team connection. She emphasizes leaders must treat these meetings as non-negotiable to maintain commitment and culture.
33:51 - Timing and Structuring Huddles for Remote Teams
They address scheduling huddles across time zones, noting flexibility is key depending on business rhythm. Barbara shares how her business coordinates huddles at midday Philippines time to accommodate different shifts, while acknowledging global operations may need alternative solutions like asynchronous video updates.
35:01 - Building a Virtual, Process-Driven Business
Barbara talks about scaling her 24-hour, fully virtual business across multiple countries by implementing strong processes, clear roles, and transparent result reporting. She dispels the myth that remote businesses lack control, asserting that disciplined processes offer ultimate operational control.
37:15 - Resources and Next Steps for Listeners
Barbara invites listeners to download a guide on the five reasons people fail with Support Assistants, access free resources on scaling with virtual teams, or book a strategy call. She also mentions being available on LinkedIn, while balancing business growth with family life.
38:32 - Closing Remarks and Podcast Purpose
Tersh wraps up by reiterating the podcast’s goal: to answer the unasked questions service business owners have. He encourages listener interaction, feedback, and content sharing, while sharing updates about his social media presence and future plans for the podcast.
