The First 5 Tasks to Hand Off to a VA: Delegate the Drain | Renee Hastings

Manouchka: Hey boss mama, welcome back to the show. This is the space where we explore building a business you love, raising your family, and creating a life that works for you. I’m your host, Manouchka Elefant business coach and fellow mom entrepreneur.

If “I’m overwhelmed,” has become your default status, Then today’s episode is for you. We’re talking about treating support as self-care and how a virtual assistant can give you your time, your focus, and your peace back. But a quick note before we start. I know the feeling of being overwhelmed all too well and to prove it , we’ve recorded this interview about a year ago, and thanks for being so understanding Renee. But since then, I’ve actually started working with a VA just a few hours a week, and it’s already made a big difference in how much I can handle. So if you’ve been VA curious or VA nervous, you’ll hear exactly what helped me take action.

My guest is Renee Hastings. She’s the president and CEO of Executive Health now. She started as a single teen mom on welfare determined to write a different story, she spent two decades supporting C-Suite leaders, and now she leads a growing team, serving founders, creators, and busy executives with admin, podcast production and business support.

Some of the things we’ll be covering in our conversation today is how to know you’re truly ready for a VA and basically what you should be delegating first. But also the simple systems that make onboarding smooth and help you get quality standards right from the get go.

And most importantly, why support isn’t a luxury. It’s a leadership decision that protects your energy and your family time. And obviously as mom, entrepreneurs, both of these things are so important, right? So stick around to the end for a quick way to assess your own readiness for support and the next steps that you can take this week.

All right, let’s dive in with Renee.

Hello Renée, thank you for joining me on the show.

Renee: Hi, Manouchka. Thank you so much for having me.

Manouchka: I’m really excited because you have a very interesting business journey and I really want you to share with everyone how you started your business in the 90s and how it’s grown to what it is today.

Renee: Well, I would love to. So a little bit about, uh, a little backstory on me. So not a lot of people know, Manouchka, that I was a single teen mom on welfare here in the United States. And as a statistic, um, for young Black girls, um, in America, that really set, um, It really was a challenge for me to deal with that type of situation because I didn’t want to be a statistic.

When I was in high school, they were saying, One out of ten girls in this room is going to end up pregnant before they graduate from high school. And I said, Oh, no, no, no, it won’t be me. You know, but it was me. And so I didn’t want to be another statistic because they also said, If that teen mom ends, uh, if that per teen girl gets pregnant, she’s gonna end up on welfare.

And I said, oh, no, no, no, it’s not gonna be me. And, and sure enough, I ended up on welfare, having to get food stamps and medical assistance and live in low income housing and all of that. And. I did not want to be another statistic so I made an intervow to myself that I was going to do whatever it took to get off of welfare as quickly as possible and work hard to chart my own path to take care of this child that I have brought into the world. So from that time I ended up graduating from high school at 16 with a one month old son. And from there, I just focused solely on administrative type work because in school they offered clerical type classes and I was really good at those. And I loved marketing. I joined DECA, which was a Distributive Education Clubs of America.

I’m not even sure if it’s still around anymore, but that was back in the day. Um, but I started learning skills that would, um, prepare me for, uh, you know, a career in the administrative field. And so, um, since I, that was my passion, I loved helping people. There was a summer employment program, you know, while I was in school that was put on by the city that where I lived, and it helped teenagers or young people gain employable skills by exposing them to different opportunities of, you know, work.

And so through those experiences, through the classes that I took while I was in school, it really was the foundation of my preparation for what would later become entrepreneurship. Because, fast forward now, my kids are You know, have graduated from high school. They’re now grown and gone with their own families.

Um, so I have successfully raised the children and, uh, still there for them because you never stop being mom. And they, you know, they call, you know, you just guide them through a different thing. phase of life as I continued it to grow. Um, so just, just know that it never ends, but it just gets, it does get better.

Um, but as I’m making the switch then from corporate America, so I served in corporate America as an executive assistant to the C suite for about 20 years. And when you’re supporting high level executives in Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, you develop some serious skills, um, quickly when it comes to partnering, uh, with an executive, which also translates into partnering with potential new clients.

So there was a lot of transferable skills that I was able to put into practice as I was starting my business, which, um, Is it a virtual assistance service agency? Um, because I did what I knew how to do. I do what I made a business out of what came naturally for me and what I was really good at, because they said, if you were going to start a business, do what you know, and do what you love.

And when I was able to do that, um, it started back in 2014, uh, was when I started the business, um, in conjunction with my full time day job in corporate America. So I worked a full time day job during the day. Eight to five, came home, tried to cook my husband dinner, have some food. And then I’d start working on my business with my clients at about six or seven at night and work sometimes till two or three in the morning, get a couple hours of sleep and then do it all over again.

Well, moms out there with small children might know what that’s like, you know, because they’re constantly doing that. They’re, they’re up all night. So she said they have tiny children, you know, who still get up in the middle of the night. It’s a

Manouchka: still

does.

Renee: hard. It is hard. So, you know, I keep a strong cup of coffee next to me and I just, and I pray a lot and like, Lord, just give me strength just to continue doing the next thing or just keep going.

Staying awake, even staying aware

of what

Manouchka: love how you did this because I know that a lot of moms and a lot of women go towards executive assistants to So I’m going to talk to you a little bit about how you can get a job and how you can make other women’s jobs online, especially now, because it’s so easy to just get online and work with anyone anywhere in the world, but it’s not a job that’s easy to scale up and you found a way where it’s not just you anymore, you have a team of people that you’ve trained and that are as skilled as you can make them basically.

And since you have all of that wealth of knowledge and experience, then I can only assume that they’re super good at their jobs, but also you found a way to make other women work. And I’m not sure, maybe they’re also men in the team, but you met, you gave jobs to other people and you upscaled your own business.

So that’s really cool. Yeah.

Renee: been one of the most incredible journeys of my entire life and one of the most rewarding journeys of my life. Um, because not like you said, it’s not, it’s no longer just me. When I continued in that cycle of no sleep, I talked to my uncle about it and I was like, I’m so tired.

He said, you need an assistant. I do. And so long story short, I hired my own first virtual assistant. Her name was Ashley. And when Ashley came into my life, My life completely changed forever. It was absolutely a game changer in my own personal health and mental well being. But also, my business just then started to take off like fire.

It just caught on fire when I hired my first virtual assistant. And Ashley was also a mom, a stay at home mom, uh, who was looking for some flexibility in her schedule so that she could take care of her children, go to their games and, and go to their schools for, you know, class playtime or reading time or whatever, and still have that flexibility to come and serve Executive Help Now clients. So it was a perfect match and so I was so grateful to be able to not only provide her with income so that she could continue doing those things, but our clients. Absolutely loved Ashley because it no longer was it just me and one client. It was now that client kept telling their friends about us and how his life had changed since he brought us on.

And so the word of mouth just continued to grow. And the more they kept telling their friends about executive help now, the more virtual assistance we needed on the team. But like you said, there’s that. I have a very high standard of excellence that is the absolute core of executive help now, because it’s our reputation.

Our reputation is all we have, and so I train them. The, the culture that I want to continue to permeate our, our core being as a, uh, a company. Excellence is at the center of it all. And so as I do, you know, coach them and have an opportunity to lead them of what excellence looks like, even though they bring with them already a set of skills, the fine tuning that we get to do together is just magic.

And I absolutely love it. And now we have a team of, Almost 20 virtual assistants that all support one another. We all, uh, several of them are moms, you know, who, you know, are very active moms, coaches on their kids, soccer teams, or, you know, uh, and, and, Yeah. If you’re in volleyball, they do it all. They are super rock stars doing it all.

Manouchka: And so now your business is approaching its 10 year mark.

Renee: Yes.

Manouchka: I’m sure that a lot of our listeners, they’re at the beginning of their journey and they’re wondering like what it’s going to be like.

Can you share some of the highs and the lows that you went through? Because we always feel like it’s going to be easy to start, but starting is just that one milestone.

It’s keeping on going when it gets tough. That really matters. If you want your business to be successful, can you share a bit about that side of business?

Renee: Yes. So there were so many times when I didn’t think I could do it. I was, it was overwhelming. There were so many balls in the air and, juggled. But I am number one, a woman of faith. So I pray a lot. God and I have conversation like all day.

Manouchka: Very good.

Renee: So I continue to ask for wisdom and guidance and strength to do all the things, cause I truly feel blessed to be able to be a blessing and I want to do it. Right. And he’s just been so. Uh, faithful in providing me with amazing people in my life to be cheerleaders, to say, you got this. Come on, don’t give up.

All these skills you have, all of these things that you’ve been through up until now have prepared you for this. Don’t give up. You’ve got it. Keep going. So one of the things I would say that’s so important, so, so, so super important is to surround yourself with people who speak life into you when you need it the most.

That is so crucial. And then as you are discovering these new opportunities to have conversations that you never had to have before, like as a corporate employee, the boss handled all of the disgruntled.

Manouchka: Yeah.

Renee: When you are an owner of a business, you’re the boss and you get to handle all of the disgruntled conversations.

And so it’s just being wise and having a servant’s heart and trying to meet people where they are. I think that’s a new perspective that I had to adjust to, um, as a business owner, that now I’m the boss. Now I’m the leader. They’re looking up to me. They are looking to me for wisdom and guidance and structure and, you know, leadership.

direction. And so the way I deliver that had to be in a way where they would receive it well and in such a way that they would want to do it well.

Manouchka: Mm hmm.

Renee: That I think was really, um, uh, an opportunity for me to grow as a leader.

Manouchka: Oh, wonderful. And so when you’re looking at hiring people, because I personally, I haven’t worked with a virtual assistant, but for this podcast, I tried working with some freelancers and it wasn’t very, It wasn’t a success story at all. And now, you know, like I’ve worked with freelancers before for other kinds of work and it worked really well, but it, I feel like it’s such a hit or miss kind of thing.

And I’m sure there are better ways to do it, but a lot of times it takes time to find the right person. And so how do you know, how do you get the right people in your team?

Renee: Um, I love this question because I’m not sure very many people can respond this way. But the majority of our team members are referrals from other team members. So, because our team already knows me, they know how hard I am on, um, Uh, uh, serving well, that, um, they don’t recommend people that they don’t believe would be a good fit.

And so when I get an opportunity to talk to them and learn, uh, I also do skills assessments before I even bring them on to the team. Um, so if they’re a referral and they do well on their skills assessments, then they get an opportunity to work with me directly one on one. So I can see first hand. What their response time is like, what their quality of work is like, what their, how they engage with me, how, you know, all of the things, because what they do with me, they’re going to do with a client.

And so I have to know without a shadow of a doubt that they are going to represent us well. So our primary source of team members is other team members. When we do have to go out and look, we’ll, you know, put it out there on all the boards of, you know, the, for the moms that are working or for, you know, all people in the job market.

And then we have a screening process, a vetting process, and I’ll have someone on my team do the screening and the vetting because they know what to look for. They know what’s acceptable, what’s not okay. And based on their recommendation, they’ll either stay or they’ll, they’ll go.

Manouchka: hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah, that makes it a lot easier. If you have a number of people that can also help you and just find the right people from the get go. And so when you’re looking at entrepreneurs and people that are looking for virtual assistance, are there some that you actually turn away because it’s not the right time for them or when?

Do you know that someone needs a virtual assistant, basically?

Renee: So when you know that someone needs a virtual assistant, you hear them saying things like, I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so stressed.

Manouchka: But I feel that’s all the mom entrepreneurs!

Renee: I’m so overwhelmed. There aren’t enough hours in the day. Those people. Probably use a virtual assistant, um, and not probably, but absolutely need a virtual assistant because I absolutely believe that when you bring on a virtual assistant, it’s a part, it’s part and parcel with self care. So you have to take care of yourself.

If you’re not taking care of yourself as the mom. Then you’re not good to anyone. You have to be there for the kids. You’ve got to be there for your husband. You’ve got to be there for, you know, your community. If you’re involved in your church and things like that, there’s so many hats that you wear, you may have parents that are aging.

And so not only do you have little kids, you also have parents to take care of. There’s so many hats to wear. That moms have to wear that it can get overwhelming and there’s absolutely no shame in saying, look, I’m not Superwoman. I don’t need this Cape You know, And I’m ready to, you know, bring on a team member to help me. Even if it’s just somebody to um, you know, not from a virtual assistant perspective yet, but even like maybe a housekeeper, someone to come in and help you with, with the children while you go and work on your business, they can watch the children.

You know, that sort of thing, but our services also run the gamut of all of that. not only administrative support and social media management and podcast production, we also offer personal assistance services. So we have some high level single moms as clients who are, you know, like chief human resource officers over, you know, thousands of people in major corporations, but they’re a single mom.

And so when they’re not running their, They’ve got these little kids that need to get to soccer practice, or get haircuts, or get to the doctors, or you know, things like that. Or get someone to pay the lawn guy. You know, because she’s just busy and overwhelmed with these other things. that we can take those things off of her plate.

And she absolutely loves working with us. We love working with her. She’s, um, we have several clients like that, that we are able to lighten their load and be there an extra set of hands for them, even in their personal life, to, to take those things off of their plates so that she can focus on her family.

When she’s has family time, she can focus on her family. Um, so, and that’s super important. So, um, I say, if you are saying, I’m overwhelmed, there’s too much, it’s just too much,

don’t keep depriving yourself of support. That’s what a virtual assistant is. A virtual assistant is the support that you need to live a more balanced and fulfilled and rewarding and peaceful life.

Manouchka: Yeah. So basically, I like how you said it’s self care because it means you’re taking a little bit off the load you have on your own shoulders and you’re spreading it out to someone that has the resources and the bandwidth that you might be short on. But um, when it comes to mom entrepreneurs, I feel like a lot of them, and me included, We’re always scared because budgets are tight. Where does it start with virtual assistants? Like how much or how little can we estimate is a good place to start with?

Renee: Right. Well, there, like you said, when you, there are so many different people out there offering virtual assistant services, but trying to find a good one is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Um, I’ve been there myself before Ashley came along,

Manouchka: Mm

Renee: so I know what that is like. Um, but one of the things you have to think about as you’re thinking about your budget.

is where is your priority? Is your priority on your health, on your personal well being, and what are you willing to pay to keep that peace? in your life or to bring about peace in your life. So it’s up to each individual person, what that dollar amount looks like. And when you hire a virtual assistance service agency, we’ve already done the vetting.

We’ve already found the people, we’ve already found the needles in the haystack and they’re on our team. And so you call us and then we make a match based on yours. needs based on the capacity, the amount of time that you need them. And when I make that match, then, you know, you can hit the ground running with whatever it is that you need to have to do that.

No,

Manouchka: really practical because otherwise you end up testing people yourself and wasting time and money. And believe me, it’s not fun.

Renee: it is not. And, and it can be sometimes so frustrating trying to. You know, if there’s a language barrier or the word quality that you get back and then you have to redo and, it’s just not worth it.

Manouchka: Yeah, completely. Like, I, I mean, I’ve worked with people from different countries that are English speaking and with the experience that I’ve had and, you know, like I’ve worked with people in the Philippines, for example, and I have family in the Philippines and I even lived there when I was a teen. So I’m, I’m quite accustomed to the culture, but still the cultural barrier can be quite high and sometimes you think you’re very clear in explaining what it is that you need, but But you end up with work that is just not at all what you expected.

And so

that is such a big frustration. And that’s why I love the idea that you go for people that are already trained that will be good to hit the ground running and just like understand what it is that you need

basically.

Renee: absolutely. And me being in America, it’s important for me to have people on the team who understand American business and what, what the expectations are. From a client, um, as it relates to their business, because then when they hire us, we become an extension of their team. So we need to know our stuff.

Manouchka: Mm hmm.

Renee: So it’s really, really important. Um, That we hire the right people on our team who have that understanding, who know what the expectation is, and who can understand when you give instruction, what the desired outcome is and can deliver on it right the first time.

Manouchka: Quick pause. If you’re carrying stress today, my free Mompreneur Reset Guide will help your breath, reset and get your brain back. It’s packed with simple exercises I share with clients to feel calmer, clearer, and more in control, even on your busiest days. Download it now at heybossmama.com/reset.

Yeah. Wonderful. And when you look at your business overall now with the ability of looking back and having perspective, what are some of the things that you think you’re so happy you did it right the first time? And what are some elements that you might have like taken a longer time to figure out? Mm hmm.

Mm

Renee: One of the things I’m really happy that I did right the first time is number one, hiring the right people and, and knowing that whoever is brought on the team is a, an extension of me.

Manouchka: hmm.

Renee: And as an extension of me, I have to be able to trust them to act like I would act, to talk like I would talk, to behave like I would behave, um, and that sort of thing.

One of, uh, the things I’m also most, um, I’m glad that I did from the beginning was to document, have documents in place like contracts with clients. Verbal agreements are as good as the paper they’re written on.

Manouchka: Yeah.

Renee: Right? So when you have a document that explains how you operate, what, to manage expectations, what they can expect from you, what you expect from them, The turnaround times, all of the different things, um, you know, payments, late payments, consequences for not paying, you know, all of those things. Having your documents in order from the beginning is an absolute non negotiable.

You’ve got to have your documents. Um, confidentiality agreements, NDAs, all of the things. Um, I’m really glad that I, I started the business with those documents. Um, because unfortunately I’ve had to refer back to them as I’m having conversations with the clients. It says, remember you agreed to this and you know, it’s in writing and you signed it.

So, um, uh, yeah, so your documents are super important. Um, as I was scaling the business, I was glad to scale slowly

and not go from zero to a hundred, you know, overnight, I was glad to be Make mistakes while I was still small so that as I got bigger, I had learned from those mistakes and put things in place to keep those things from happening again.

As we got bigger and more and more volume came in a shorter amount of time.

Manouchka: Yeah. Very good. What about some things that you wish you’d had done differently?

Renee: So some things I wish I had done differently. Wow. Um,

Manouchka: I know that’s a tough one. No, they’re, they’re gone and forgotten and back. Mm

Renee: the thing is, as I was growing the business, It revealed some things in me personally that I didn’t realize was there.

Manouchka: hmm. Mm

Renee: some insecurities that I had that I didn’t even know existed. It revealed some feelings of inadequacy or imposter syndrome or even the relationship with money that I had.

You know, as I was, you know, raising my family, it was all about, you know, making sure bread was on the table, the rent was paid, food, you know, clothes were on their backs. And so I would, you know, my relationship with money was very different. And then as more and more money, you know, came in, it started.

Making me feel some kind of way that I hadn’t expected to feel.

So all of these new experiences and these new, uh, things I was going through, um, I wish I had, um, been better prepared for that.

Manouchka: Mm hmm.

Renee: I just wasn’t. It just kind of caught me off guard, out of left field, that, that I’m dealing with these things on a personal level that I never expected to have to deal with.

I never expected would be something I’d have to deal with. So I wish I had been better prepared for that.

Manouchka: Yeah. I feel like mindset, confidence, and just knowing that we can, that’s something that no matter where you’re from, no matter what business you’re starting, we’re all going to go through as mom entrepreneurs. And at the same time, we’re like, we have to get this right because there are so many stakes.

And when we’re single and we start a business, that’s one thing. And of course it’s important that we’re able to earn money and pay our bills and be proud of what we do. But when we’re doing it as moms, I feel like we have so much more of a responsibility, responsibility. To ourselves, because first of all, we want to be happy with what we’re doing and not just do it because we have to, but also because we’re trying to set an example, because we want to show our kids that we’re capable, all of these things that just come in and make it so much more important for us to succeed.

But then we’re also all the, all the more scared of not succeeding. Right?

Renee: Right. Right. Absolutely. And one, as you were talking, uh, Manouchka, it made me think about, you know, what else I would have done differently. And one of the other things, if my children were still at home while I was running this business, I would have loved an opportunity for them to sit with me while I work through the budget of the business.

Well, so they could see. What money looks like coming in, that money, you know, comes from work.

Manouchka: Yeah. Mm

Renee: when you work, money comes, and when money comes, this is what you do with it. This, this is how you pay this, and this is how you pay that, this is how you save, and this is how you invest, and this is, you know, all of the different things.

Um, I think would have been, if my children had learned that from a very young age and started thinking in terms of being a business owner or an entrepreneur, that they would have been better positioned as adults to be, you know, have the right mindset and the right mind frame of, and the right relationship with money.

So that they too would be successful, more successful.

Manouchka: Yeah, definitely. I, my dad actually gave me a copy of, uh, Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Renee: Mm hmm.

I

Manouchka: I think it’s, it’s, a classic, but, uh, it’s definitely something that my kid is way too little now. He’s, he’s just turned one a month ago, but it’s something that we, we need to like integrate into the education that we give them because it’s not something they’re going to learn in school, at least not until they go to university.

Renee: right. That is absolutely right. Another great book is called The Millionaire Next Door.

Manouchka: Okay.

Renee: Um, that’s a, a really great one. Profit First. Yeah, Profit First is another great book, um, to, you know, help understand how to structure your business so that you pay yourself from the beginning. Um, a lot of entrepreneurs start a business and they don’t make money for themselves because, you know, for a number of reasons.

So, Profit First is a great book. Um, another great book and I’m, um, The Pumpkin Plan

is another great

book,

um, to help you understand what it’s like to set up a business. And then the Profit First book is a continuation of The Pumpkin Plan. So, um, it’s written by, um, I think his name is Mike Michalakowski or something like that.

Anyways, fantastic books that are great aids in helping Mompreneurs, entrepreneurs, you know, seasoned business owners, you know, with teams or whatever. If you’re in business, those are amazing, fantastic books. And then, um, Atomic Habits. Those

are the books on my bookshelf

Manouchka: Yeah.

Renee: that are really, um, instrumental in, um, making sure that the business can not only thrives, but continues to be able to grow and scale at a healthy level.

And then the last one that I’m going to recommend is called Who, Not How.

Manouchka: Okay.

Renee: And that talks about making sure you have the right people in the right place.

And it’s not you doing

Manouchka: Yeah, that is tough, you know, because we were talking before like how having a virtual assistant can free up some of your time so you have self care, but let’s not forget that especially if you’re a mom and you have to run to get the kids after soccer practice or your kids are still toddlers, like, your pockets of time are not that Extensible?

Renee: That’s right.

Manouchka: that an English word? They’re, They’re, They’re, not elastic. Yeah, thank you. And so if, if you have a virtual assistant, you’re able to spend more time on the tasks that add value to your business. And that’s usually not all the administrative stuff.

Renee: That’s right. Absolutely. Those administrative things can easily be done by somebody else. You just have to trust that someone else can do it. Just as well as you, which I discovered along the way can be an issue for

some people, myself included. But I quickly got over it

Manouchka: Good.

Renee: because it was worth it to me to have someone else be able to join me on this journey.

To help lighten my load. So I could focus on what the future looks like, or I could focus on, you know, making my husband a decent meal, you know, whatever the things are that are lacking because you’re so overwhelmed in the business can now, can get that time back.

Manouchka: Yeah, wonderful. And so one of the things that I’m still figuring out for my own business is setting up systems, systems so that I know how to do something again and again, without having to rethink like, Oh, how did I do that last time? But also if I want to hire someone else to do it for me, first of all, I should probably have an idea of what it is that I want the outcome to look like, but I should also share my process with them.

If I want it to be consistent with what I’ve used to do. Right. How do you explain that to clients? What kind of systems should they have in place?

Renee: So, uh, that’s a fantastic question and it just depends on number one, what their goals are. Um, of what the type of business that they’re in, um, their new client onboarding could be an entire system. So the way you onboard a new client, you know, can have a particular structure where maybe you, you know, have your discovery calls with them.

And then following that, there is an automatic email that they get. And then after that, the email invites them to go someplace and do something feeds them down a journey. A lot of that can be automated with different systems so that once you have the conversation and you put into your platform, whichever one you decide to use, then it automatically starts a chain reaction of Taking that client through an onboarding process, um, including getting payment and getting started, uh, with the services that you have to provide.

Manouchka: Okay. And so basically that was a description of a marketing funnel, right?

Renee: Yes. Yes. Yes.

Manouchka: about a lot, uh, since marketing coaching is my, my passion and that I’m telling people and I’m running a mastermind at the moment and I’m also telling them like, you have to think about your marketing funnel because you want to get things as easily as possible done so that people who don’t know about you and your product, they first of all get to know you and then they end up liking and trusting you and then finally buying from you.

Like, no, wait, how does it go again?

No, like, trust, buy. And that is so important. A lot of that can be automated. And so you’re telling us that we can actually do a lot of that work with a VA.

Renee: One hundred percent. Yes, your VA can help set that up for you. Um, and that’s just one system once they get in. And then once they get in, there are other things that you do on a regular basis that can be systematized. And, you know, templates that can be created that are, you know, repeatable and customizable.

Um, you have a standard format and you just, you know, populate a couple of blanks here and there to customize it just for them. Um, those sorts of things. So I, I’m, we’re strong proponents of templates, um, um, you know, standardized, uh, messaging across your social media platforms. You know, all of those, all of those

things are important.

Manouchka: the wheel each time.

Renee: Definitely not. Definitely not.

Manouchka: And so for your own business, what kind of marketing funnels are you using? How did you develop them or do you tweak them little by little?

Renee: So, for myself, I actually, so I’ve started so many funnels, and then they, I haven’t gotten brought them to completion. So you and I may need to have a conversation. Um,

Manouchka: I’m here for you.

Renee: thank you. Um, because, um, a lot of our business has come up again, just like our team has grown by word of mouth. A lot of our business has come by word of mouth and I haven’t had to actually do a lot of outreach to.

Bring, initiate conversations with people to, you know, get them to be clients. That’s just something that just started new for me this year, like this year. And so it’s a different position to come from when you have to actually be the one making the first move. And instead of being on the other end where people are coming to you saying, Hey, I heard about your services.

Let me see if we could be a match, you know, which is how the business has grown to date. To you now being the one saying, Hey, this is who I am. This is what we have to offer. And how can we help you? It’s a very different, very different mindset and a whole different ball of wax.

Manouchka: Yeah, completely. And you know, I’ve gone through something similar because I started my business in 2020. For me. At first it was for word of mouth and I had some very big clients, so I didn’t need to look for new business. And as time went by, like I was advising my clients on how to do their funnels and how to do everything, marketing basically for their business in a very strategic way.

But then when I got pregnant, I thought, Oh, I’m just going to close a few things and Get rid of the clients I don’t like working with so much, you know, like that kind of stuff, you know, a little bit of a cleaning at the same time, but anyways, I hadn’t in place any of those funnels that I keep recommending and I thought, okay, we’ll, we’ll figure it out later.

But now that I’m in a new position that I’ve actually pivoted my business to, I realized how much I’m lacking in terms of getting a lead of new clients and having an audience that’s already. Enjoying my content, enjoying what I’ve got to share with them and who are eager to know more and eventually work with me.

And I feel like this is something that a lot of business owners are overlooking because when we start and we’re very hyped and maybe our capacity is not that big, we’re like, Oh, I’m just happy with what I have. Like I should just be grateful for that, but you have to be ready for rainy days too. Or for simply when you’re want to switch a little bit, your business.

There’s always going to be an eventuality where you have to have a lead of people waiting to be able to work with you.

Renee: Yes, absolutely. So, lead generation is definitely, um, an area that I think is a growing area for business owners. Um, and so, when, uh, so, we have folks on our team who are also Great lead generators as well, uh, who are very familiar with the marketing funnels. And so, um, they bring that expertise with them, you know, when they come to our team and, you know, so I haven’t quite leveraged them the way that I should, I’ve been just primarily focused on assigning them to clients

Manouchka: Yeah. Yeah. We always put the clients first. Yeah,

Renee: the worst shoes. Sometimes I feel that way. It’s like all the good stuff is for everybody else. We’ll just take whatever’s left. Um, but yeah, so. It’s so important to automate as much as possible, to have those marketing funnels that are effective and leading people through a nurturing relationship that turns into business for you.

Manouchka: have one last question for you, Renee. Your kid’s already a little grown up, right? How old are they now?

Renee: Oh my gosh, Manouchka. Okay, I’ll put it this way. My baby is 35. See,

Manouchka: But,

Renee: you could be my daughter.

Manouchka: what I want to ask you is, When you’re not around and your son is talking to himself or to his wife or what do you wish he would say about you?

Renee: I wish he would say,

I know I can always count on my mom, no matter what it is I need. If it’s good advice, if it’s money, if it’s prayer, I can always count on my mom.

Manouchka: I love it. Beautiful. Thank you.

I love asking those questions because I always get goosebumps because I just find it so emotional and it’s like Most of the time people don’t expect that I’m going to talk about something like or ask them something like that. I’m always like eager to hear the answer.

Yeah.

Renee: I love that question, i’ve never been asked that question. and I’m so, I even feel good saying it. and you know, If I heard my son say that, that to anybody, I mean, my life would be complete. You know what I mean? I already do it, and I just don’t even know, you know what I mean? But that, that is, that would, you know, be everything.

Manouchka: Lovely. Where can everyone connect with you, find out more about your services, and simply follow you on your journey?

Renee: Um, they can always send me an email. I’m at renee at executivehealthnow. org. They can say that they heard me on your show and I would, of course, welcome a conversation with them. You asked a question about how do they know if they’re ready? I have a brochure that I put together called, How do you know when you’re ready for a VA?

Manouchka: Perfect.

Renee: They can send a text to a toll free number and get this brochure. So they text the letters VA Now. So that’s V A N O W two one eight six six. 943 3591. Then they’ll get an automatic download of that brochure that will kind of help give them some ideas and thoughts to consider as they’re thinking through this process of whether or not they’re ready and it’s time for them to bring on someone.

And of course our website, um, executivehelpnow.org. We’re on all the socials, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, um, at Executive Help Now, um, And yeah, I

think those are all. And I have a YouTube channel. I have a YouTube channel called Renee Speaks and, uh, where I bring guests on my show as well to talk to other women business owners about their, uh, lessons learned and tips and tricks for being successful and scaling and taking their business to the next level.

Manouchka: Wonderful. We’ll include all of that in the show notes. So it’s easy to click.

Renee: Yes.

Yes. I will definitely send you all the details.

Manouchka: Thank you. Thank you so much for joining me on the show, Renee. It’s been really interesting to hear your take on executive assistance and how you set up your business and your whole journey. It’s really inspiring.

So thank you

Renee: Oh, thank you, Manouchka. This has been so wonderful, and I know all those moms out there are going to absolutely kill it with their journeys. They are going to impact lives, they’re going to change lives, and they are going to take care of themselves along the way. So thank you so much for this opportunity.

Manouchka: All right. I don’t know about you, but I just find that Renee is such a ray of sunshine. I completely adored this conversation and even listening to it again a year later, I’m like, oh my God, she’s so fun. So here’s what I want you to take away from today’s episode. Support isn’t extra, it’s essential. So start by listing the recurring tasks that they So start by re, so start by listing the recurring tasks that drain you.

Pick one or two to hand off and create a simple template or checklist so your VA can win from day one if you want a friend. And don’t forget, if you want a friendly place to compare notes and get referrals. Join us in the mom pruner space on Facebook. Link is in the show description.

Join us on The Mompreneur Space on Facebook. Simply go to hey www.bossmama.com/momspace, and if this episode helped subscribe and leave a quick review on Apple or Spotify so more moms can find the show.

And remember, until next time, boss Mama, you’ve got this.