Resources & Tools
Rise Up & Lead Well
How Leveraging An Assistant Will Change Your Life & Maximize Your Time
A new ebook to eliminate the uncertainty and get a clear plan for how to effectively use an assistant. This isn’t fluff, theory, or pure inspiration. It’s battle-tested tactics directly from our CEO.
Book
One Next Step Podcast
The Small Business Mentor You've Always Wanted
Are you ready to get more done and see more results? One Next Step is the most practical business podcast in the world. We aim to provide takeaways and actionable insights for you every single week so you can affect change in your business as soon as possible.
Podcast
Juggle Less
How To Maximize Your Inbox
Learn how to manage your email efficiently and effectively with some of our most tried-and-true tips, tricks, features, and tools to help you regain control of your inbox.
Course
Ultimate Virtual Assistant Master Class
Learn all things essential to becoming a rock star virtual assistant. We’re talking nuts-and-bolts, nitty-gritty, everything-you-need-to-know kind of information to equip you to become a virtual assistant with the confidence to pursue your dreams.
Course
Managing Remote Teams
Be the best at managing people who work remotely. Productivity does not have to wane. Culture does not have to suffer. Employee engagement does not have to dwindle. In fact, they can all thrive while working remote– and you can have fun, too! Successful remote leadership is possible. And this course shows you how.
Course
The Ultimate Guide to Working with a Bookkeeper
There are so many questions our clients have when they first start working with a Bookkeeper. We compiled the most often asked questions and concerns and addressed them here for you to gain a better understanding of what a Bookkeeper does (and doesn’t do).
Resource
The Ultimate Guide to Working with a Virtual Assistant
Life has a sneaky way of getting in the way of our best intentions. We know what we’re supposed to do – but often, we just can’t quite figure out how to do it. But as with any struggle or obstacle in life, the first step is admitting you have a problem: You may not have everything under control.
Resource
Your Personal Guide to a Productive Work Week
What does it mean to be productive?
Let this be the year you finally make the most of those precious 24 hours – both personally and professionally.
Resource
Case Studies
Listen. We think we’re pretty great, and that how we serve our clients is extraordinary. But you don’t have to take our word for it — take it from our clients!
Resource
Fresh from the BELAY Blog
How to Be More Than Your Achievements
If there's one thing most industries have in common, it's a narrow definition of success. Instead of focusing on what we really want, we tend to ask ourselves questions like, âHow many zeros are in my bank account?â and âWhat letters come before and after my name?â If these questions frame your vision of success, you may make great strides in your career but struggle to find substantial joy and fulfillment beyond the short term. So, how can you stop spending the vast majority of your time and energy on career goals alone?In this episode, I'll dig into how you can live your greatest life without sacrificing your success (or vice versa). Joining me on this journey is Sheri Riley, a life strategist, empowerment speaker, and author of Exponential Living: Stop Spending 100% of Your Time on 10% of Who You Are. Riley became exceptionally successful early in her career â managing DJs, creating her own radio program, and rubbing shoulders with entertainment executives by 27. But all that long, hard work took its toll just a few years later, leading to Riley resigning (or in her words, âcrashing and burningâ), before starting her company GLUE. This story is all too common with high-performing leaders, especially in America. But it IS avoidable. How? Riley tells us it's by defining success for ourselves, and then making decisions with our time allocation that align with that definition.
How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Increase Customer Retention
In today's competitive business landscape, customer retention is no longer just a desirable goal; it's a necessity for long-term success. Acquiring new customers can be costly and time-consuming while retaining existing ones can significantly boost profitability. However, managing customer relationships effectively can be a daunting task for many business owners.That's where Virtual Assistants come in. By leveraging the expertise and efficiency of a VA, businesses can significantly enhance their customer retention efforts. Here we'll explore how a Virtual Assistant can help you improve customer satisfaction, build loyalty, and ultimately, drive long-term growth.
Stu Halsall
Stu Halsall is the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, the Kennedy Mountain Campus, Wellness & Recreation of the University of Denver.The University of Denver is passionate about offering its student body â roughly 6,000 undergraduate and 6,000 graduate students â the opportunity to build the skills, knowledge, and perspective they need to make a difference in our world and create real, lasting change.Stu's primary responsibilities include facilitating the student experience at the University of Denver and ensuring they reap the benefits of the 4D experience: advancing intellectual growth, pursuing careers & lives of purpose, promoting well-being, and exploring character.
Turning Social Into Sales & Followers Into Ambassadors
When companies think of staff or customers posting on their social media channels, they become fearful. What will be said? Will this hurt my business? How can I make it stop if it gets out of hand?Phil Pallen, CEO of Phil Pallen Collective and the host of the Brand Therapy podcast joins Tricia and me in this episode to help you overcome these fears and see how social media can be an incredible sales tool, allowing you to use your team members and customers as ambassadors for your brand.
Announcing BELAY’s New Chief Operating Officer
We're thrilled to announce that Krisha Buehler has been promoted from Chief Experience Officer to Chief Operating Officer at BELAY!As the new COO, Krisha will now oversee all aspects of our day-to-day operations, leading us into our next chapter of exponential growth and success.âI'm both honored and excited to step into the role of Chief Operating Officer at BELAY,â Krisha said. âHaving worked closely with the incredible team here, I've witnessed firsthand the impact we have on organizations by providing top-notch virtual staffing solutions. As COO, I look forward to building on that foundation and driving the innovation and operational efficiency that will help us better serve our clients and continue to grow.â
Got a question? No problem.
Our team is here to help!
Well, that depends on you. It takes time to onboard your new team member. Your commitment to training them and giving them what they need will greatly impact how quickly they’re up and running. For most of our clients, it takes about 90 days.
We get it. Handing over the decision on who will work with you is a tough one. But what we also know, after helping people just like you, is that you don’t have time to devote to screening and setting up interviews. We have a customized system to match you to someone equipped to handle everything you need accomplished.
Your contractor’s hours can “ebb and flow” throughout the month. We just shoot to come in at the contracted amount at the end of the month. If they go over, we simply bill the extra hours, but they do not roll over to the next month. We track and report on those during on-boarding to make sure you are at a good amount of hours for the work needed.
Yes, you should set them up with a company email address. Having everyone on your team have the same email domain shows inclusion and builds trust. It’ll show they are acting on your behalf, too, if you have a Virtual Assistant who will be setting meetings for you.
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. The more you set clear expectations and give feedback, the more your contractor can learn and understand the way you work. If you commit to sharing what you have going on, they will be able to find additional ways to better assist you.
Your Virtual Assistant is not a bookkeeper, however, he or she might be able to perform light expense and invoicing duties for you. We are happy to talk through our Virtual Bookkeeping service line with you to discover if this will be of benefit to you and your organization.
We’ve had clients introduce their new team members in many different ways. Consider having your contractor write up a short bio and send a photo for you to email out to your existing team. You can share how the contractor will be supporting you and the team, and include his/her bio and photo. It’s really important to include your contractor to your team calls/meetings, even if it is a live meeting and they join by Zoom.
Onboarding your new team member will take a commitment from you to invest time into their training. This includes training sessions with you and your contractor, transferring information you have about the projects or tasks they’ll be handling, and helping to connect the big picture to the day-to-day work.
You should over communicate – the more information you give, the faster your contractor can understand what is expected of them. Delegate and trust quickly – share log-ins and passwords. If you’re using a Virtual Assistant, give them access to your email and calendar right away.
Commit to make your Client Success Consultant check-ins and Calibration Calls a priority to assess progress, identify areas to tweak, celebrate wins, and talk through what’s next.
On average, a Contractor placement takes two weeks after the Discovery Call.
Train your Contractor, trust quickly, let go and delegate, share real-time feedback, celebrate and recognize when something is done well, make weekly 1:1s a priority, and treat your Contractor as part of the team.
We have a very thorough vetting process to ensure a great fit for BELAY and for you as our client. If you want the peace of mind from a background check, you have the option of running your own upon kick-off. Because of the scope of what our Bookkeepers do, they have a background check on file.
We do not do personality assessments, but we are confident in our matching magic to place a Contractor that complements your personality and communication style. If you want that extra layer to better understand how you both can collaborate and communicate, you are welcome to have your Contractor take one post kick-off.
While our Contractors come to BELAY very qualified and have extensive professional backgrounds, it takes time and intentionality on the client’s end to thoroughly onboard to ensure the engagement is set up for success. Example: While your Contractor may have had Salesforce experience in a previous role, they will still need training from you on how to utilize Salesforce in your company.
BELAY understands how important it is to protect you and your sensitive financial information. For our Bookkeepers, we have processes in place to properly vet each bookkeeper including conducting background checks and talking with their references to be sure we are placing a trustworthy bookkeeper with your organization. We have internal checks for compliance ensuring everything remains above board. If you have any additional questions about this, please ask! We can connect you with the people who have all the answers.
This is a common request and, yes, many Contractors assist with personal tasks as well as business. Be sure to mention what type of tasks you have in mind to your Client Success Consultant so we are sure to match you with a Contractor who has experience in those areas.