Several people have mentioned to me recently that they don’t “get” what it is that I do for a living. They see that it is fun and successful, but can’t seem to wrap their head around what I actually do each day… my husband included!! So let me bring you all up to speed not only about the day to day, but on how I got here.
It all started when I was pregnant with my son Nathan. I was looking for work and wound up having a game-changing conversation with a coach named Jacquie Lesser… at the time I remember telling people that I def had a girl crush on her.. at least from a business standpoint! We’ve never met in person. 
She introduced me to a local woman who was looking for someone to come to her house and help her with misc business tasks. It was in my conversation with this woman that she mentioned that she had a “Virtual Assistant.” Given the fact that I was pregnant and had years and years of exec support assistance, my curiosity was definitely piqued! I remember racing out of there to rush home and learn as much as I could about the industry.
To pay the bills, I took a job working nearby as a Project Manager for a Clinical Research Company. It was still on my mind and I was still researching it throughout my pregnancy. After my son was born I knew that it was now or never to start my business. I continued working at the company in a flexible way that allowed me to be home with my son a few days and still bring in some income.
While working there, I began building my business. I brought on my old employer @ the University of Penn. I brought on a few new clients, who I would manage at night after work. By manage- let me explain: a virtual assistant does the same thing as an in-office assistant, so we schedule meetings, and manage projects and do research… the only difference is that we work (mostly) from our homes, virtually.
We typically work with clients who are solopreneurs (ie, they also work for themselves). In most cases they don’t have office space or budgets, or even the need for someone to help them full-time. We make a great team because we’re able to support these busy business owners in the most ideal of ways. We’re highly skilled at what we do, we are also business owners and we cover all of our own software, technology, training and expenses. They pay one flat hourly rate to work with us- no overhead, no employment taxes, unemployment, social security.. you get the picture. They get to focus on building their business and rely on us to provide them with a professional front and execute the details on their behalf. My clients say that their income increases dramatically as we start working together, because they don’t have to worry about all the back and forth minutia. I have a small, exclusive team of VAs that are absolutely amazing to work with, and manage their own clients through my business. My company niches as “Boutique Executive Support”- we like to work super-successful entrepreneurs who need a stellar Executive Assistant. There are many niches out there for Virtual Assistants, and this one fits for us!
That’s where my company’s name, Delegate comes from. Delegation is crucial to the success of any entrepreneur. So Delegate continued to grow impressively, and I began to get a drive to do great things with it. About a year in, the company I was working for decided to re-locate. After securing another client, I submitted my resignation letter and off I went… and guess what- they came with me! Because I knew the business, I was able to support the exec team virtually from my own home! They, along with the Univ of Penn are still with me today as clients.
Nathan James
At this point, my husband was also laid-off from work, so the onus was on me to make things happen while he looked for work. For a good 2 years I worked 80 hours a week consistently, doing all the billable client work and then building the business at night; typically I worked until 3am. It was exhausting and exhilirating. I was working from home and my husband was managing the house and our son. I was featured in the NY Times, NBC News and Martha Stewart (dream!!) Radio. I hired multiple unemployed friends over the years to help me with all the work and planning.
One of those people was my now business partner Cheryl. Cheryl worked as a Publisher for a local magazine which sold and she was looking for work. We were introduced through a mutual friend, and we did great work together. Delegate continued to grow and I became more deeply involved in the indusrty and was filled with ideas for expand on what we were already doing.
It was from these growing pains, that my second business, Entrepreneur’s Entourage was born. Cheryl and I joke that I “proposed” to her! It’s true though because I literally took her out for coffee and shared the idea with her and asked her to be part of the adventure. We launched Entourage in May of 2009. We captured the whole start-up process on our vlog (video blog) in a series we called “Watch Us Launch.” It was super-fun, exciting and oh-so relevant to our audience.
Entourage was created to solve a problem faced by all entrepreneurs. They reach the point of delegation and they are at a loss because at that point they don’t have the time to source a web designer, a copywriter, a bookkeeper a social media expert and graphic designer… and they certainly don’t have time to manage all of those moving parts. And most importantly, they don’t have budgets to hire expensive firms with highly salaried employees, let alone get all of these firms to talk to eachother to present a cohesive brand.
Cheryl and Emily
This is precisely what we provide. We bring together teams of experts (all freelancers/ solopreneurs), customized to exactly what the client needs. We have one dedicated Project Manager that oversees all of this. This ensures that the client has one person accountable to them at all times that is in the loop with their marketing, branding and business goals. Because we have literally no overhead, we are amazingly affordable, and the entrepreneur only has to talk with one person each day.
Because we love entrepreneurs and believe in promoting the community here in Philadelphia Cheryl and I host “coworking” events each month.
Coworking
Coworking is just a chance for entrepreneurs to get together and work and share ideas, problems, network and make new connections in a totally casual environment. It’s like going to work at your fave coffee shop, but getting together with all of the other people that are working there to make authentic connections. These are some of our favorite days. We meet new clients here, new team members for Entourage and always learn something new.
Our days are filled with client work, client calls, invoicing, blogging, entrep events, presentations and lots and lots of coffee! I, myself rarely work from home anymore. You can find me in Philly a few times each week, at local South Jersey coffee shops or at Cheryl’s house doing strategy meetings for Entourage.
Last year I also launched a site, “Virtual Fabulosity” designed to be a resource for all of us virtual business owners to connect, access resources and tools, trainings, shop (!) for cute office supplies and products and promote the idea of being fabulous in life and business. There’s never a dull moment, and Cheryl and I are already brainstorming two new projects that we want to implement when we find the time! All relevant to what we already do, but with a more “passion project” perspective.
I can truly say that I love what I do, I’ve never felt more free in my life. I get to have a flexible schedule, on my own terms, spend time with my family and run my business from my laptop and blackberry. It’s invigorating and inspiring and on top of it, I am part of an incredibly committed and involved virtual/entrepreneurial community, where the sky is the limit.
