FINDING THE RIGHT STRATEGIC BUSINESS PARTNER

Over the past few weeks, I have gotten my steps up while travelling across the eastern seaboard of Australia to meet incredible and inspiring women in business and leadership. I wanted to hear about their journey and why they have made a footprint in their profession.

The most prevalent issue I saw with these women was that more than 80% didn’t have a Virtual Assistant (VA) or Online Business Manager (OBM), or as I would call it here, at Door 20a and The Australian Admin Awards, their Strategic Business Partner.

Just over 12 months ago, I recruited my own VA; Her name is Jen Smith, and she calls herself my Chief Wrangler. When I hired Jen, the expectation was that she needed to have five skills in her tool kit to bring to the table. This was a non-negotiable and crucial part of getting the support I needed. Initially, I wanted someone based in Sydney, as at first, I was wary. Yes, believe it or not, someone who advocates for the profession as I do was wary of having a VA. I didn’t want a VA-based offshore at a cheaper cost; it was important to me that they be based in Australia because we need to support local candidates.

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So, I did things my way and posted on my Instagram story that I was looking for a VA for 10 to 15 hours per week. This post highlighted the importance of the five required superpowers as the non-negotiable required skills. I was looking for someone with experience and who was an expert in these tools, platforms, and processes.

Jen was one of the eight individuals that applied for the job, with the other seven owning their own VA or OBM businesses. Five out of seven individuals were VAs who were juggling many different tasks, leaving me confused by their service offerings. I chose Jen because I quickly learned that she was a mother of three, planning to have more, and before being a domestic engineer, she was a C-Suite Executive Assistant at a large corporate for 12 years. I was confident that she knew her stuff and how to wrangle a woman with power and process and, most importantly, manage my day in and day out.

Jen joined the business as my Executive Assistant/VA/OBM, and when she was creating her signature cards, she asked what she should put as her title. I told her she could create her title because titles don’t define you; it’s the skills that pay the bills.

Now, back to the burning topic on the end of my tongue. When meeting with these successful businesswomen, we discussed the biggest challenges that they were facing. These women had recruited VAs or OBMs that were initially responsible for undertaking one task, such as CRM rollout, assisting with their customer journey, or setting up their Instagram accounts. These individuals quickly became the entire support function for the business, falling short when taking on responsibilities they didn't have the skills for. When these individuals didn’t stay in their lanes and areas of expertise, they would unknowingly make mistakes, leading to tasks taking two to three times longer to complete. It was clear to me that they didn’t have a ‘Jen’ in their businesses.

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Lauren Calvert, Director of the successful outsourcing business The Well-Suited Group explained that people are often looking for a ‘Unicorn’. They unreasonably expect a former C-Suite EA to perform in many different roles, such as a Social Media Manager. Calvert emphasized that employers need to “Prioritise what you need in your business and work with your VA to help you find the right resources in areas such as social media management or copywriting content, for example.”

?Yes, I can run a social media account. Yes, I can reconcile business accounts. Can I create excel spreadsheets? Of course! But is that my area of expertise, and am I choosing to stay in my lane? By outsourcing my weaknesses and choosing someone stronger than me in these areas, I can stay in my lane and showcase my strengths and expertise.

A stunning example of when individuals don’t stay in their lanes of expertise is when Jen reaches out to someone to arrange an appointment or to ask for a file or an image. They respond themselves when in fact, it should be their VA, but their VA doesn’t have the capability to download an image from Dropbox, manage their diary, or respond to an email. They were brought on for another purpose, and now they’re trying to pick their way through the mush, the mud, and the mess. This highlights the importance of figuring out the business support you need to outsource. I’m sick and tired of seeing these women in business fail because they have an inefficient support team around them, and they are the ones sending me the files or calendar invites.

Leah Selfe, the winner of the 2021 Australian Admin Awards Manager of Co-Dependence category, emphasized the importance of a clear and defined structure within a business when starting. “A successful strategic business partner is an extension of any business. Working congruently with the visionary leader to help them bring that vision to life. But if the journey to that vision is unclear and your VA/OBM has blurred the lines of their expertise, that assistance almost becomes null and void.”

?Selfe continued, “Without a clear and defined structure within the business, you are requesting assistance without understanding what the outcome needs to be. Confusing everyone and making no progress forward.”?

Another frustrating thing is when a VA or OBM advertises their services, saying they have many years of experience as a VA. After looking at their LinkedIn profile, I see that less than 12 months ago, they were sitting in a finance department of a large corporate company. And now, suddenly, they become social media managers or event managers, when in their previous roles, they were in Finance or Human Resources. I fully support anyone that has a passion and wants to bring that passion to life through a side hustle or launching a full-time business but don’t say you’re an expert with many years of experience just because you think it sounds good. You must earn that title. You must work in the trenches for many years to gain that experience. Then, you will become an expert.

One other point of frustration I am encountering is the rates that a VA or OBM charges - it is ridiculous, and, in some cases, the value offering isn't worth the deliverable outcomes. “Your pricing should be based on your knowledge, experience, and the quality of the product or service you offer. It should NOT be based on someone else’s perception of your value," says Tahnee from The Strategy Studio.

So, for those out there wanting to get a Strategic Business Partner to support them in their business, you need to be very clear on which superpowers and skills these individuals need to bring to your organization. You need to be very clear on what you need from them within the short space of time they are within your business and ensure they are staying in their lane and area of expertise.

If you are an Executive Assistant and have been in this space for 10+ years and want to go out by yourself because returning to work in the hybrid working model isn’t working for you, I’m fully supportive of it and will be here cheering for you. To all those VAs, OBM, or Chief Wrangler - to be successful and run a great business, please stay in your lane and slay there. Write down your skill set and your superpowers. Understand your strengths, and that is what will be your winning secret sauce.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone; own your area of expertise. Just be you, do you, amaze you, and that is enough.

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Michelle Bowditch

Founder & CEO of Australian Admin Awards

[email protected]

www.australianadminawards.com