Learning to delegate and hiring Support Assistants to scale
Productize Podcast
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Episode breakdown
Barbara is the founder of The Virtual Hub. We do a deep dive on today’s conversation, all about on how to outsource to support assistants. We don’t just talk about those best practices, but I also wanted to understand how Barbara’s been able to build and grow Virtual Angel Hub. She started managing some VAs for herself, and scaled into a powerhouse with 70 support assistants in the Philippines and growing.
- Training the Support Assistant and training the manager
- The value of outsourcing recruiting of Support Assistants
- Internal systems to support the Support Assistants
- On-boarding process
- The importance of getting clients ready and set up
- How the management between Support Assistants and clients looks like
- People involved in recruiting
- Steps to deal with the “curve-ball” situations
- Solving new problems and using clients testimonials as marketing
Delegation isn’t just about offloading tasks—it’s about building a cohesive system where leadership, process, and clarity empower everyone to thrive.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction & Delegation as a Business Imperative
David Barnett introduces Barbara Turley from The Virtual Hub. They set the stage for a deep dive into delegation—framing it as a critical skill for any entrepreneur aiming to scale beyond themselves.
02:13 - Employee Expectations & Leadership Clarity
Barbara explains that employees thrive in structured environments with clear leadership, direction, and room to grow. Chaos and ambiguity lead to disengagement and turnover.
05:48 - The Myth of Autonomous A-Players
Hiring top talent isn’t enough. Even high performers need frameworks, communication norms, and leadership cohesion to succeed—especially in small teams.
08:30 - Onboarding Mistakes & Long-Term Thinking
Barbara highlights the lack of onboarding as a major delegation failure. She contrasts onboarding timelines for support assistants (6 weeks) versus senior hires (up to 6 months), emphasizing the need for patience and strategic integration.
11:57 - Business Acquisition & Delegation Parallels
David draws a parallel between onboarding and business transitions. New owners, like new hires, need time to understand legacy systems before making changes.
13:59 - Mandates, Blank Canvases & Role Clarity
Barbara outlines how to delegate to senior hires versus support assistants. Senior roles need strategic mandates; Support assistants need defined processes and training. Confusing the two leads to inefficiency.
17:06 - Strategists vs. Executors
Business owners often expect support assistants to act like strategists. Barbara clarifies that support assistants are execution-focused, and expecting strategic input without proper context or training is unrealistic.
19:46 - Spotting Unicorns & Promoting Strategists
If a support assistant shows strategic aptitude, promote them and delegate execution tasks further down. This maximizes talent and cost-effectiveness across the team.
22:31 - Assistants for Assistants & Layered Support
As team members grow, they may need their own support. Delegating lower-level tasks frees up high performers to focus on strategic work and prevents burnout.
25:13 - Human Capital Budgeting & Hidden Costs
Barbara urges leaders to audit how team members spend their time. Many high-paid employees are doing low-value tasks that could be outsourced for a fraction of the cost.
28:30 - Burnout & After-Hours Execution
Executives often work late doing tasks they shouldn’t be handling. This leads to dissatisfaction and burnout, despite appearing productive on paper.
30:43 - Change Management & Communication Strategy
Introducing support roles must be handled with care. Poor communication can make senior staff feel threatened or undervalued, undermining morale.
32:46 - Delegation as a System, Not Just Leadership
Delegation requires systems, reporting lines, and clarity—not just handing off tasks. Most problems stem from process gaps, not people.
34:56 - Letting Go of Perfectionism
Entrepreneurs fear losing control. Barbara shares how accepting 80–90% quality at a lower cost can be a smart trade-off, especially when paired with light-touch oversight.
36:59 - Copywriting Example & Layered Editing
Barbara describes how she delegated copywriting and now only tweaks drafts. This saves time and maintains quality without starting from scratch.
38:16- Closing Resources & How to Connect
Barbara shares how to find her on LinkedIn and access resources via The Virtual Hub’s special landing page. She offers guides, podcasts, and consultations for businesses exploring virtual support.
