Why scaling is non-negotiable for success
The Boss Mom Podcast
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Episode breakdown
We’ve all heard that scaling is important for businesses to grow, but it’s also beneficial to your family’s well-being. How can scaling impact your children? What can you do to make the process easier?
On this episode, CEO of Virtual Hub, Barbara Turley, is here to discuss why you need to build a company you can step away from.
Focus on the most important part of your business. All the problems that you have will be solved by sales. –Barbara Turley
- Build a saleable asset
- Embrace your inner “control freak”
- Start with your personal vision, then look at the business
- Most entrepreneurs want to scale their businesses, and with good reason
The more systemized your business is, the higher the asset value — and the easier it is to scale, sell, and plug in the right people at the right cost.
In this episode
00:00 - Podcast Introduction & Guest Overview
Host Dana Malstaff welcomes listeners to Boss Mom Podcast episode 386 and stresses the importance of not being an island in business—delegation is essential. She introduces guest Barbara Turley, founder and CEO of The Virtual Hub, which specialises in recruiting, training, and managing support assistants for digital marketing and social media. Barbara lives in Australia, is a mum to Ruby, and enjoys adventure sports.
03:13 - Barbara’s Journey from Corporate to Entrepreneurship
Barbara spent 15 years in financial services before deciding against being a corporate mother. The 2008 financial crisis led to her joining a management buyout from Deutsche Bank, where she worked as both employee and shareholder for five years. She launched Energize Wealth to inspire women about money and impact, but despite traction it lacked profitability. Through coaching, she discovered that clients were overwhelmed and stuck doing everything themselves. She began sourcing virtual assistants from the Philippines, and demand quickly grew, leading to the creation of The Virtual Hub.
07:43 - Motherhood & Business Vision Alignment
Barbara pursued IVF while growing the business, and her daughter was born in the middle of its expansion. Motherhood drove her to scale strategically with systems, processes, delegation, automation, and strong teams. Her goal was to build a saleable, self‑running business while being present as a mother. The business now operates largely without her direct involvement, allowing her to focus on strategic and promotional work.
12:28 - Modelling Work & Independence for Children
Barbara models healthy work habits for her daughter, such as weekend “strategy coffee” time with her nearby. She encourages independence and decision‑making from an early age.
15:56 - From Overwhelm to Delegation & Scaling
Barbara explains that the heavy workload of digital marketing delivery prevents sales growth if done alone. Offshore support assistants provide cost‑effective, skilled support for businesses at all stages, and larger companies also use them to strengthen profit margins.
22:32 - Lessons from Early Support Assistant Business Challenges
The first six months were chaotic, with client complaints, poor results, and mismatched expectations. She identified three problems: clients unready to delegate, lack of delegation skills and processes, and inconsistent support assistant capability. Her solutions included readiness assessments, process‑building support, and pre‑training support assistants before placement.
28:07 - The Virtual Hub Process
Potential clients book strategy calls with trained consultants, not Barbara directly. The calls assess readiness, preferred tools such as Asana, and fit. Clients receive process maps and templates to speed onboarding. Support assistants complete a three‑week training before placement, with typical lead time of two to three weeks, while advanced CRM‑trained assistants may take six to eight weeks.
33:00 - Designing a Business Around Personal Life Vision
Barbara starts with her personal life vision and then builds the business around it. For her, this means mobility, scalability, and flexibility to live in Europe or Australia. She is preparing to move to Europe with no business disruption and emphasises aligning business models with personality type.
36:43 - How to Connect & Resources
Barbara offers a special resource page at thevirtualhub.com/bossmom with a download on why people fail with virtual assistants, a free seven‑part e‑course on support assistant strategy, and the option to book a strategy call.
38:06 - Working Smarter with Support Assistants
Founders should delegate building tasks even if they are skilled in certain tools, taking on an editor role instead. Giving assistants permission to try and fail fosters innovation and confidence.
40:04 - Three Things Making Barbara Happy
Barbara finds joy in the positive impact her company has on employees in the Philippines, in her chatty two‑and‑a‑half‑year‑old daughter, and in expecting a baby boy later in the year.
42:00 - Closing Remarks
The host recaps the importance of starting small with delegation before scaling, encourages connecting with Barbara for support assistant support, and reminds listeners about the Boss Dad Podcast and upcoming episodes.
