134: How to Hire the Best Assistant for Your Interior Design Business with Laura Licursi

Laura Licursi is the founder and owner of Elite Virtual Assistants, a virtual staffing agency that helps busy professionals, like all of us listening, go from busy and overwhelmed to productive by helping them delegate work that is keeping them IN their business so that they can work ON their business. 

In our time together today, Laura and I will hit some of the following topics surrounding hiring a VA. First, we will talk about what a VA is, how it is different to an OBM – I know, lots of acronyms, but I promise we will make sense of them. We will chat about hiring from an agency vs. straight freelance when to know if the timing is right, and what you need to have in place to do it well.  

I have many VA’s and they help support me to run my business. Listen in to see when might be the right time for you to bring on help in this area. 

Topics Mentioned:

• Virtual Assistant 

• Online Business Manager 

• Agency vs. Freelance 

• Readiness 

Key Thoughts:

• The virtual assistant world has exploded and changed, all of these things have shifted and changed. Michele (05:05)

• It's almost like we both have an advocate between us that adds value, and keeps me from having to manage some of the details of the VAs that I would have to manage in a freelance environment. Michele (10:00)

• People ask me when is the right time, and I can tell you the wrong time is when you're in over your head. The best time is the very beginning. You cannot grow any bigger than the time that you have to dedicate. Laura (18:39)

• The way I'm going to start delegating is to look around and say, if I never have to do that, again, would I be okay with that? If so, write it over here on the list and start delegating it to a VA. Michele (20:46)

• It does take time on the client-side, to make sure that you dedicate time in the beginning, to onboard the VA properly, to make sure that they know what your expectations are, and that you have a communication plan in place. Laura (23:00)

• If you are financially prepared to hire the VA, you are going to be so much further ahead of the game than if you're scrambling every month to try to come up with the money to pay somebody, that's just going to cause undue stress on all parties. Laura (37:44)

Contact Michele:

• Email: [email protected]

• Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting

• Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL

Contact Laura:

• Website: elitevirtualassist.com/

• VA HUB Website: elitevahub.com

• Elite VA Match Website: elitevamatch.com

• Facebook: Elite Virtual Assist

• Twitter: @evassit

• Instagram: @elite_assist

• LinkedIn: Laura Licursi

• Email: [email protected]

References and Resources:

• The Designers' Inner Circle - Become a Member Today

• Traction by Gino Wickman

• E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber

• Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson