The right way to scale your business with Support Assistants
Growth Experts
Want the transcript? Download it here.
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 her 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 shares why she migrated from Ireland to Australia as well as why she transitioned from corporate to entrepreneurship.
- She shares some of her entrepreneurial failures and setbacks.
- We talk about how she got the idea for her now multi 7 figure Virtual Hub business.
- Barbara talks about why one of her biggest focal points is company culture.
- She then shares her proven step by step process for leveraging support assistants to help you scale your business.
- We talk about the important of tracking when it comes to proactively managing your support assistants to get the best results.
- She shares her favorite growth tool/software that helps her grow her business.
- Barbara shares and recommends one of her favorite books that has helped her to grow her business.
The problem you have is not that you don’t have staff—the problem you have is that you don’t have a machine you can plug staff into.
In this episode
00:00 - Introduction and Guest Background
Dennis introduces Barbara Turley and her company, The Virtual Hub, which scaled rapidly by providing trained support assistants to businesses. Barbara shares her journey from Ireland to Australia and her transition from investment banking to entrepreneurship.
03:30 - Early Career and First Business Attempt
Barbara recounts her corporate career in investment banking and her first entrepreneurial venture, Energize Wealth, which aimed to empower women financially. Despite initial enthusiasm, the business struggled, leading her to pivot.
07:37 - Accidental Launch of The Virtual Hub
While coaching small businesses, Barbara noticed a recurring need for support staff. She began informally connecting clients with support assistants, which quickly evolved into a formal business. A successful webinar marked the official launch in March 2015.
08:46 - Growth and Scale of the Business
Barbara outlines the growth of The Virtual Hub to over 120 employees, with plans to reach 200 by year-end. She emphasizes the importance of sustainable scaling, cultural alignment, and long-term client and employee retention.
12:49 - Core Framework for Scaling with Support Assistants
Barbara introduces five key steps for successfully integrating support assistants into a business. She stresses that the issue is often not staffing but the lack of systems into which staff can be plugged.
13:48 - Step 1: Define Tasks and Priorities
Business owners must identify recurring tasks, project-based work, and a “stop doing” list to clarify what can be delegated.
16:41 - Step 2: Build Processes and Documentation
Processes must be mapped for each task to ensure clarity and consistency. Barbara recommends using screen recordings and having support assistants convert them into written SOPs.
20:25 - Step 3: Onboarding and Communication
Effective onboarding requires clear communication rhythms. Barbara suggests daily 10-minute huddles and using tools like Asana or Trello to manage tasks.
24:10 - Step 4: Training and Familiarization
Even experienced support assistants need time to acclimate. Barbara recommends a 3–8 week window for training and emphasizes the importance of availability during this phase.
25:53 - Step 5: Reporting and Accountability
Barbara highlights the need for consistent reporting structures, such as daily updates and weekly huddles. She also shares her use of dashboards to make fast, data-driven decisions.
27:47 - Final Advice and Mindset Shift
She encourages entrepreneurs to embrace the tedious but critical work of systemization, noting its long-term payoff in scalability and asset value.
28:33 - Recommended Tools and Resources
Barbara endorses Asana, Ontraport, and Zapier as essential tools. She also recommends the book Built to Sell for its insights on creating scalable businesses.
30:10 - Closing and Contact Information
Barbara shares how listeners can access resources and book a readiness call via thevirtualhub.com/growthexperts.
