How Assistants can improve productivity and unlock business potential

Business Confidential Now

Business Confidential Now

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Episode breakdown

Barbara Turley’s mission is to eradicate business overwhelm and remove the friction that stunts growth by helping clients to optimize their operations using offshore teams of support assistants, clever automations and streamlined processes.

The Virtual Hub makes this happen every day through support assistants who can aid with digital marketing, social media and administrative support plus consultants & system architects who optimize platforms and processes for growing businesses.

The Virtual Hub is a support assistant company with the added advantage of an operational efficiency consulting and implementation team. Rather than doing business “the usual way,” they actually create their own support assistant successes (and yours) through deep training programs (including software like Hubspot and Ontraport) as well as ongoing career development and customized coaching to best serve each of their clients.

Barbara proudly wears the label of Founder and CEO at The Virtual Hub as well as the titles wife and mom.

The mindset of ‘If I have to give that much instruction, I may as well do it myself.’ is the biggest roadblock to growth. Process the recurring things, delegate them properly, and free yourself up.

In this episode

Hannah introduces the topic of assistants, questioning how practical it is to hand over parts of a business to someone remote. She teases the conversation to come with Barbara Turley about how to find, manage, and benefit from assistants in today’s remote-friendly world.

Barbara explains how to identify suitable tasks for assistants by compartmentalizing business operations into departments and mapping out recurring tasks. She emphasizes process mapping to delegate efficiently and dispels the notion that assistants should be considered temporary solutions.

The discussion shifts to finding and hiring good assistants. Barbara highlights the importance of being prepared before hiring and recommends hiring versatile generalists for small businesses. She warns about common hiring mistakes and suggests using test tasks to assess candidates before fully onboarding them.

Barbara details the importance of having an operational framework for virtual collaboration, especially with offshore teams. She recommends tools like Asana for task management, Slack for chats, and Loom for async video instructions. A clear, agreed-upon communication plan is essential to avoid misunderstandings.

They discuss frequent communication pitfalls when working with assistants, such as language barriers, jargon, and assumptions. Barbara emphasizes developing clear written instructions and setting boundaries for updates and work expectations from day one.

Barbara tackles a common mindset issue among entrepreneurs — feeling it’s easier to do tasks themselves rather than delegate. She explains that without process mapping and recurring task identification, business owners risk creating more work for themselves, ultimately hindering productivity.

Addressing assistant turnover, Barbara highlights the importance of strong systems and processes to ease transitions. She describes how The Virtual Hub manages transitions with a structured handover period and process mapping support. For independent setups, robust business systems are equally crucial.

Hannah wraps up the conversation, summarizing the key takeaways about process mapping, clear communication, and structured delegation. She encourages listeners to consider assistants to free up their time and fuel business growth by following Barbara’s practical advice.

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