Leveraging Support Assistants to take your business to the next level
The Digital Slice
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Episode breakdown
Barbara is an investor, entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of The Virtual Hub – a business she started by accident that scaled quickly to become one of the leading companies that integrates in-house trained support assistants into clients’ businesses. Barbara’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.
- Barbara talks about how she stumbled into founding The Virtual Hub after a 10-year career in the financial industry
- Barbara talks about the fact that every size business has departments
- Barbara talks about the importance of delegating tasks so you have some time to enjoy your life
- Barbara talks about how “time” is the most valuable resource
- Barbara also talks about how she built a company where they train their own assistants
We train VAs initially in being great VAs in certain areas. And then we work with a client account to figure out what are the personalized trainings for that account that this VA needs
In this episode
00:00 Barbara’s background and journey into entrepreneurship
Barbara Turley shares her global upbringing, career in finance, and eventual transition into entrepreneurship. She describes how personal experiences led her to create The Virtual Hub, growing it from an accidental start to a business with 300 employees in the Philippines.
03:15 Common growth challenges for small businesses
Barbara discusses a universal business issue: entrepreneurs stuck in a cycle of doing everything themselves, unable to scale because they lack staff, and unable to hire because they’re not growing.
04:53 Starting an assistant business by accident
Barbara explains how her coaching clients needed operational help more than coaching. She sourced assistants assistants for them, which became so successful it evolved into a full business model.
06:24 Marketing strategies for an assistant business
Barbara highlights the importance of personal brand-driven marketing, webinars, podcasting, and thought leadership for building trust in industries like virtual assistance, where relationships matter.
08:24 How entrepreneurs can use assistants
Barbara outlines how businesses, big or small, have operational departments with recurring tasks that can be delegated. She encourages business owners to inventory their responsibilities and identify delegable work to free up time for growth activities.
10:11 Overcoming the delegation workload fear
Brad expresses the common hesitation that delegating is too time-consuming. Barbara reframes it as an investment in time with long-term payoffs, comparing it to compounding interest.
12:03 Concerns about assistant qualifications
Addressing skepticism about offshore assistant capabilities, Barbara recommends testing candidates with actual tasks and explains how her company pre-trains assistants internally before deploying them to client accounts.
13:32 Tasks that shouldn’t be delegated to assistants
Barbara clarifies the distinction between assistants and specialists. While assistants handle recurring, process-driven tasks, roles like writers, developers, or designers should be filled by specialists.
15:09 Ethics and guilt about paying lower wages overseas
Barbara tackles concerns about wage disparities, explaining the importance of understanding local economies and focusing on job creation rather than guilt. She shares how reframing her mission to create sustainable jobs eased her own ethical concerns.
18:23 Preparing for successful assistant hiring
Before hiring an assistant, business owners should map out tasks and responsibilities. Barbara stresses the importance of creating simple, clear processes for recurring tasks to streamline onboarding.
20:20 Giving constructive feedback to assistants
Barbara explains how assistants in the Philippines typically value feedback. She recommends setting clear expectations of success, scheduling performance reviews, and distinguishing between skill and will issues when problems arise.
22:44 Full-time vs Part-time assistants and their impact on loyalty
Barbara advises against hiring for just a few hours a week. Committing to part-time or full-time engagements leads to better loyalty and consistency, especially for growing businesses.
24:40 Agency vs Freelance assistant hiring models
She compares DIY freelance hiring time-consuming and risky to working with agencies like hers that handle recruitment, training, and ongoing management — offering peace of mind and operational support.
26:49 Cost comparison and pricing structure
Barbara clarifies their pricing is competitive within the market, ranging from $9 to $16 per hour depending on assistant expertise, with services offered on monthly subscription models rather than hourly.
27:59 Scaling assistant teams as business needs grow
Many clients start with one assistant and expand as they realize the potential. Barbara shares her philosophy of optimizing a company’s people strategy by delegating lower-value tasks and focusing existing talent on high-impact activities.
30:12 Addressing final hesitations and commitment to delegating
Brad expresses his remaining hesitation about the upfront work involved in delegating. Barbara reiterates the importance of viewing delegation as an investment with exponential returns in time and freedom.
30:50 Key takeaways on scaling and operational efficiency
Barbara summarizes her message: the final frontier of business optimization is in people strategy. She advises focusing on the three P’s — platforms, processes, and people — to build scalable, efficient businesses.
32:30 Closing and contact information
Barbara shares where to find her and The Virtual Hub online. Brad wraps up the episode, encouraging listeners to subscribe and consider integrating virtual assistance into their business strategy.
