Episode breakdown
Barbara Turley is an investor, entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of The Virtual Hub – a business she started by accident that exploded in the space of 12 months to become one of the leading companies that recruits, trains, and manages support assistants for businesses who need to free up time and energy so they can go to the next level.
With a strong focus on customized training and ongoing career development, Barbara ensures that the team is trained in cutting-edge programs (like HubSpot, Ontraport, etc.) to best meet their clients’ unique needs in digital marketing, social media, personal assistant services, and administrative support.
Barbara is also a mom (to her gorgeous daughter Ruby), wife to her best friend Eti and an adventure lover with a passion for horses, skiing, tennis, and spending time in nature.
- Why Barbara left a job as an investment banker
- The relationship between structure and chaos
- How to get customers without a website, logo, etc. by solving a super niche problem in the market
- Barbara’s real story of entrepreneurial pain
- Advice for every entrepreneur in their 20’s
I'm not superwoman—I just delegate very, very, very well.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction & Accidental Success
Barbara Turley is introduced as the founder of The Virtual Hub, a company that exploded within 12 months by solving a critical business pain point: helping entrepreneurs delegate effectively through trained support assistants. She shares her excitement about being on the show and streaming globally.
01:22 - From Trading Floors to Team Building
Barbara recounts her background in equity trading and investment banking. Despite having no HR experience, she leveraged skills from fast-paced trading environments to build and manage large teams in the Philippines.
04:01 - Pivoting Through Crisis & Opportunity
After the 2008 financial crisis, Barbara joined a startup buyout in asset management, which grew to manage over $5.5 billion. This experience ignited her desire to build her own company and laid the foundation for The Virtual Hub.
06:45 - Embracing Chaos & Structure
Barbara reflects on her personality—thriving in uncertainty and fast decision-making, yet craving operational structure. She shares how her body signals discomfort when she’s misaligned with her strengths, guiding her toward better delegation.
10:10 - Intuition vs. Fear & Emotional Intelligence
She discusses the challenge of distinguishing intuition from fear, especially in early career stages. Barbara emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence and belief systems in shaping decisions and overcoming internal blocks.
15:44 - Boundaries, Communication & Leadership Growth
Barbara admits she struggled with boundaries and communication early on. Managing a team of 120 forced her to develop new leadership skills, especially around delivering feedback and navigating HR complexities.
18:40 - Self-Reflection & Business Alignment
She shares her philosophy: when something goes wrong in business, look inward first. Leadership begins with self-awareness, and the emotional state of the founder directly impacts the business trajectory.
21:24 - Launching the Business by Solving a Pain Point
Barbara describes how The Virtual Hub began unintentionally. After a failed launch of a previous venture, she started helping coaching clients find support assistants. A webinar titled “How to Confidently and Successfully Use VAs” led to 10 immediate buyers—validating the business idea.
24:42 - Early Challenges & Scaling Through Systems
Six months in, the business nearly collapsed due to poor delegation and communication between clients and support assistants. Barbara responded by building training programs for both sides, solving deeper operational issues.
28:01 - Marketing & Messaging That Resonates
She explains how the webinar succeeded not because of ads, but because the title spoke directly to a deep pain point. “Confidently and successfully” addressed the fear and past failures many entrepreneurs had with outsourcing.
29:50 - Beta Clients & Iterative Growth
Barbara emphasizes starting small—solving problems for five to ten people before scaling. She shares how early clients became long-term customers, and how feedback loops shaped the evolving business model.
32:57 - Getting in the Game & Decision-Making Momentum
Drawing from her trading days, Barbara shares a powerful lesson: indecision is paralysis. She encourages entrepreneurs to make a move—any move—to enter flow and build momentum.
38:00 - Listening to Clients & Employees
Barbara explains her philosophy of ignoring competitors and focusing on client and employee feedback. She views both groups as customers and believes balancing their needs is the key to building a powerhouse business.
39:10 - Resolving Conflicts Between Teams & Clients
When employee and client needs clash, Barbara digs deeper to uncover root causes—whether it’s system friction, understaffing, or cultural issues. She stresses the importance of listening and diagnosing before reacting.
41:08 - Motherhood, Boundaries & Personal Space
Barbara shares her experience balancing entrepreneurship and motherhood. She works three days a week and dedicates four days to family, but admits she neglected personal time and is now recalibrating to avoid burnout.
44:17 - Presence & Connection in Relationships
She reflects on the power of presence in relationships, especially with her daughter. Barbara emphasizes that true connection comes from making others feel heard—not just being physically present.
46:54 - Life Philosophy: Embrace the Adventure
Barbara describes life as an adventure filled with chaos, risk, and growth. She shares how accepting adversity and embracing uncertainty has helped her evolve personally and professionally.
49:15 - Early Belief Systems & Parenting Wisdom
Barbara credits her strong family upbringing for instilling positive beliefs. She encourages parents to be mindful of the messages they embed in their children’s minds before age seven, as these shape lifelong decision-making.
52:23 - Advice for Young Entrepreneurs
To the 24-year-old host, Barbara advises not to get too serious too early. She celebrates her own hedonistic twenties and encourages young entrepreneurs to explore, have fun, and trust that growth will come with time.
