#130: Be One or Hire One: Virtual Assistants Are a Huge Asset - and Here to Stay! with Amber Gray

Amber Gray, Founder & CEO of Trusty Oak, has positioned herself brilliantly at the intersection of all things Virtual Assistant. This episode of Teacher Turned Entrepreneur highlights how the right pairing can be a game-changer for entrepreneur and VA alike! These collaborations offer a win-win, giving both parties the flexibility to optimize and shine. If you’ve got organizational, marketing or development skills to showcase, then you may be perfectly situated to work with Amber, whose agency trains VAs to industry standard, facilitates placement with clients and provides a community of support while navigating the job. And if, on the other side, you’re a small business owner longing for help, Trusty Oak is the perfect route to securing an assistant who will be accountable, reliable and up-to-speed on best practices.

You’ll learn in this conversation with Host Dori Stewart about how Amber came to carve out this niche seven years ago, what lies ahead for VAs in the face of a rocky economy (a relatively sunny forecast!) and what you can do as an entrepreneur to maximize your VA experience. “It’s all about all of us getting more efficient with our work,” she says. If you’ve got practical tools that you’ve picked up as a teacher, office worker, store manager or in some other life capacity, you may be perfectly suited to lighten the load for a busy independent business. And if you’re busily growing a new enterprise, then Amber knows exactly how to identify the best resource to lighten your load and move your dream into overdrive!

Here are key takeaways from the conversation:

·       Feeling stymied or like you’re in a dead-end at work? That may be your invitation to explore something bigger or entirely new!

·       A huge Trusty Oak value-add is the pre-vetting it does to ensure contractors are up to industry standards.

·       Do you have the skill set to be a VA? You’d be surprised at the range of jobs that prepare you well for exactly this kind of project management-oriented work!

·       Freelancing requires an investment of time out of the gate, so remove whatever stressors you can (such as personal debt) to give yourself a good runway.

·       Virtual Assistants are somewhat recession-proof as a cost-effective substitute when entrepreneurs need to downsize full-time staff.

·       If you’re pretty sure you could use help from a VA, try time tracking for a week or two to really identify the specific tasks you’d like to offload.

·       Nimble entrepreneurs are able to adapt to changing economic times, so don’t be afraid to assess and evolve as your business requirements change!

Are you ready to find your true calling and walk away from your teaching job once and for all?

It is your time to get a solid grasp on the potential opportunities available to you so you can get started on your entrepreneurial journey and change your life!

Download your copy of this free, valuable PDF resour