Wealth strategist turns
Support Assistance expert
Annette Lackovic Podcast
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Episode breakdown
Barbara Turley is an investor, entrepreneur & a wealth strategist for ambitious women who are ready to get their money pumping to fuel their life vision and feel more alive. She has launched two of her own businesses – Energise Wealth – a wealth strategy and coaching business that meets women at whatever stage they are at in their wealth journey – and The Virtual Hub – a business that recruits, trains and manages superstar ‘Support Assistants’ that can fly into any business and free the business owner to focus on growth and scalability.
During her 15-year financial markets career, she was a trader for some of the world’s largest investment banks, successfully traded her own money, managed relationships with some of Australia’s largest wealth management businesses and became a major shareholder in a $3 billion asset management business and several other high-growth companies.
She is also an adventure lover and a self-confessed idea junkie with a passion for inspiring women to step into their power, overcome their resistance to money and embrace it as the ultimate tool designed to enable our greatest visions.
- How cost effective it is to hire a Support Assistant
- How to train them, the biggest mistake to avoid when you have one
- How to keep them when you find a ‘Gem’ Support Assistant
- Getting Investor Ready
- The Secrets In Hiring Your Support Assistant ‘Dream Team’
- How to systemize so you are not overwhelmed
- The Importance of being able to scale your business
Delegating does not mean losing control — it means gaining more control because you control the process.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction
Annette Lackovic introduces Barbara Turley, highlighting her background as an investor, entrepreneur, and wealth strategist. She previews the discussion on Barbara’s career pivot from finance to building The Virtual Hub.
02:09 - Early Career in Finance
Barbara shares her journey into the financial markets, overcoming gender barriers to become a trader. She describes the aggressive, masculine environment and how it shaped her but eventually led her to reconsider her future.
05:04 - The Financial Crisis and Setbacks
Barbara recounts leaving her job to travel before the 2008 financial crisis hit. Returning to Europe, she struggled with unemployment and financial hardship, eventually securing a short-term role at Deutsche Bank.
08:11 - Management Buyout Opportunity
Barbara explains how a group from Deutsche Bank launched Ironbark Asset Management. Despite lacking funds, she became a shareholder, leveraging family support and sweat equity. The company grew into a multimillion-dollar business managing billions in assets.
11:21 - Lessons on Investment and Scalability
Barbara emphasizes the importance of leadership, timing, and scalable systems in business success. She notes that investors look for strong founders and businesses that can operate independently of the owner.
16:46 - Pivot to The Virtual Hub
Barbara describes how her coaching clients consistently struggled with time and systems. By helping them implement Support Assistants, she uncovered a new business opportunity. The Virtual Hub was born almost accidentally and quickly scaled without formal marketing.
21:14 - Signs You Need a Support Assistant
Barbara outlines key indicators, such as overwhelm, burnout, and inefficiency, that signal when entrepreneurs should hire a Support Assistant. She contrasts physical staff with Support Assistants, noting the effectiveness of offshore support.
25:41 - Building Effective Support Assistant Relationships
Barbara stresses that Support Assistants need training, inclusion, and communication. She reframes mistakes as opportunities to improve systems and processes rather than failures of individuals.
28:28 - Overcoming the Bottleneck
She introduces the “bottleneck” concept, explaining that business owners must sometimes pause projects to fix systems before scaling further. She provides strategies for onboarding Support Assistants effectively.
31:51 - Structuring Teams and Tasks
Barbara explains the difference between business maintenance tasks and projects. She recommends having a general Support Assistant act as a project manager while tapping into specialists for technical or creative work.
34:48 - Resources and Training
Barbara offers a free three-part video series on outsourcing success through The Virtual Hub. She also directs listeners to Energise Wealth for broader wealth and business resources.
35:48 - Feminine Wealth TV
Barbara discusses her online show, Feminine Wealth TV, which showcases female entrepreneurs and their journeys, emphasizing that success is rarely linear.
38:08 - Advice for Entrepreneurs
For startups, Barbara advises focusing on solving customer problems rather than obsessing over branding or websites. For established entrepreneurs, she stresses the importance of delegation, systems, and building teams to scale effectively.
40:42 - Closing
Annette thanks Barbara for sharing her journey and insights. Barbara reiterates her mission to help women create wealth and impact through scalable businesses and effective delegation with Support Assistants.
