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A Day In The Life: Nicholas and Crystal Volinchak

We’re in the Trust Tree, right?

So, we have a confession. You know how we talk and talk (and talk) about how everyone works remotely at BELAY? Yeah, so … that's not entirely true. There are some of us who share an office.

We know, we know. So misleading. So misrepresentative. Except that those people also share a home. And a last name. And a bed, too.

We’re talking about Nicholas and Crystal Volinchak. And they both contract with BELAY.

Crystal joined BELAY in November 2018 and Nicholas in February of this year – and they both share the same ‘why’ for the reason they chose the third option: their son.

“[BELAY] gives us the flexibility to see our son grow up,” Nick explains. “Family is everything – and this allows us to have another child, even if we have to go on bedrest again.”

“It also gives us a great opportunity to work with some clients in industries we otherwise would not have been able to,” Crystal adds.

What about being a family was the impetus for working at BELAY?

“It was about watching our baby grow up,” Nick says. “Both of us came from homes where our parents worked so much that we did not get to see them much, so to have the option to watch our child grow up in front of our eyes has been awesome.”

So what has the third option afforded you that you didn't have or couldn't do before?

“It allows us to go to lunch together,” Crystal explains. “It allows us to sneak out during the Christmas season and see the sights. It allows us to work at night and gives us the opportunity to make our work fit in around our lives, which most people just do not get to do.”

How do you spend your time together as a family when you’re not working?

“We spend all our time with our son – it is really the most amazing thing,” Crystal says. “And when not working, I enjoy swimming, shopping and going out to eat, while Nick enjoys playing daily fantasy, trips to the casino and going out to eat, too.”

Sounds fun! What do you enjoy most about being a Virtual Assistant?

“We love that it is different every day,” Nick says. “It is great that my entrepreneur relies on me so much, so I know my role is a big part of the future of the organization.”

“And we have added to our skill set quite a bit,” Crystal adds. "We have both added to our resumes significantly while working with the clients we have.

"For example, Nick has been able to reduce marketing spending within the organization by 25%, which comes to almost $30,000 annually. They had a lot of redundancies in their operations that he was able to make more efficient.

“And my clients have grown and hired two additional VAs since January!”

That is amazing! How else have you used your background to help your client?

“We ran a marketing company of our own for a number of years,” Nick explains, “so that has helped that function of multiple clients we are working with.”

“And I worked with an organization that helped counsel entrepreneurs – and my client's product is geared toward entrepreneurs,” Crystal adds, “so I can add a lot of customer-centric advice.”

“I was also running a financial service firm virtually from across the country for over five years, so knowing how to communicate virtually is something that has helped our engagements exponentially,” Nick says. “I already knew how to handle issues when they came up and it has just made things move much smoother.”

Sounds like you were both ready to hit the ground running when you came to BELAY. Any issues adjusting to sharing a personal space for professional purposes?

“We struggled being in a household with two different working styles and how they can conflict. It is an awesome situation but it certainly has its challenges at times,” Crystal explains. “I have to work in my office more than on the couch because my surroundings affect my productivity. Conversely, Nick needs to have something on the television when not in meetings to provide background noise to allow him to concentrate.”

It must take some adjustment to learn how to live and work with your spouse, but it seems you two have found exactly what works for you – and your clients. So what’s one thing about what you do that makes you excited to get up tomorrow and do it again?

“Every day is different,” Nick says. “It can be so hard when you are stuck in a routine that doesn’t feel rewarding. But with BELAY, we are in the trenches with our clients, trying to figure out actionable solutions that they can use to bring their business to a more profitable position.”

Ready to make the switch? If you’ve ever wondered if working as a contractor with BELAY is right for you, visit our jobs page. You can thank us later!