Growing a new business had its fair share of challenges for Catharine Kuerbis, CEO and founder of Broken Record Social. Although she’s been used to doing things on her own for a while now, one of the biggest challenges that hindered her from up-leveling her business, was not having an online virtual assistant to take on a chunk of the tasks that was eating up her time.
Apart from owning a hot sauce company together with her husband, Catharine recently started Broken Record Social – her new social media marketing firm, where she helps business owners create unique, consistent, and creative brand messaging that aligns with their specific target audience. Her services include social media content creation, digital ad campaigns, and target audience definition, among others.
At capacity, things are not getting done the way that she needs them to be. Add a budgetary constraint to that, virtual assistant services didn’t seem like a practical solution. Yet.
Catharine knew that if she wanted to focus on her genius zone, she would need an extra set of hands.
“There is NO WAY I could even think about growing my new social media marketing firm without hiring a professional, reliable team member to take over a large part of my client workload.”
Finding an online virtual assistant on her own
While most solo-preneurs are hesitant, Catharine was in fact already open to the idea of hiring an assistant. She knew it was what would help her push the needle forward in a big way.
Catharine went for it herself thinking it would be easy, only to be met with a huge roadblock ahead.
“My hiring budget was small and I had heard of the value of hiring overseas Virtual Assistants but was quickly overwhelmed by hundreds of applicants when I posted a job listing and tried to hire on my own.”
The challenge
Many business owners hesitate to hire their own assistant because they think they cannot afford to hire someone. The tediousness of going through hundreds of applications is also usually a turn off.
But Catharine was persistent. Until she reached her threshold.
“I actually broke down in tears as I was already overworked and overstressed — the application tidal wave put me over the edge!”
Catharine tried to do it herself in the hopes of cutting down on cost. Little did she know that the cost would take an even bigger toll on her already full plate.
She knew she needed help.
When reaching out to the community pays off
Catharine received a recommendation from a colleague on a Facebook group. She admits to having second thoughts at first.
“ I was nervous to sign on because the agency’s hiring fee is not tiny. However, after personally seeing how many applications they would be wading through to find me an excellent fit and knowing that I had zero clue how to work with a Virtual Assistant based halfway around the world, I decided to take the plunge.”
Despite feeling he took the leap of faith as she has witnessed firsthand the tediousness of the recruitment process, and that what you get from paying a bit more for someone to take care of the hiring, is also buying her valuable and untradeable time and energy.
“Riah and her assistant Pam were prompt and professional from start to finish. They delivered on all promised aspects of hiring a Virtual Assistant, including sending me recorded interviews of my top three candidates based on my hiring criteria (loved this!)”
The hiring process
Working through the consultative process with Linq’s Founder & CEO, Riah Gonzalez, Catharine worked through her specific needs, skills requirement, tasks she would like to delegate, and other preferences. From there- the rest was taken care of. From the screening of applications, to the video interviews, all the way to finalizing the top 3 candidates. Catharine scheduled final interviews with the top 3 candidates, and from there she assessed who resonated with her the most.
Catharine was also briefed by Riah and her team on onboarding tips and best practices.
An unexpected hiccup
All went well with the hiring process. However, things took an unexpected turn.
Despite meeting the candidate and reviewing their credentials, things apparently did not work out with her first virtual assistant.
“My first hire was a total flake (despite being my favorite out of my 1:1 interviews).” Even then, despite the setback, Catharine knew the service was worth the investment.
Sweeter the second time around
No matter how thorough, there are no guarantees with any hiring process. Finding the best fit required some trial and error.
Catharine immediately reported the issue and the matter was resolved right away.
“I emailed Riah to ask what I could do to find a replacement and she and her team immediately jumped into action and lined up three additional interviews within about 24 hours.”
While this is a special case, Catharine was patient enough to understand that these things do happen even when the process was done thoroughly. Her satisfaction with her second hire made up for the previous incident.
“My second hire has been beyond amazing! She has taken over all the daily client tasks that were holding me back from growing my business and has blown me away with her organizational skills and efficiency. I will definitely hire through Linq Consulting again in the future when I decide it’s time to grow my team.”
Deciding to live her best life
Now, Catharine feels like a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She feels sane again and she is now free from what has been keeping her and her business small. Her new online virtual assistant has lived up to her expectations, and is helping her achieve her goals.
“I have not regretted it for a single moment!”
For someone like Catharine who is in love with what she does and struggles with slowing down while running several other businesses, things can get pretty draining. Not only does having an online virtual assistant allow her to focus on the things that grow the business, it also allows her to have enough time to spend with family and loved ones.
“Hiring Linq Consulting Solutions was one of my top business decisions in 2021, hands down! Thanks, Riah! You and your team have made it possible for me to feel sane again and dream big dreams for my small business.”
A perfect match!
With Catharine’s trust in our process, she eventually found her perfect match! It is always a deeply rewarding feeling whenever we link people together in a destined partnership.
If you’d like to know more about the marketing magic Catharine is making with her up-leveled team or ask her questions about her experience with Linq, you can reach her at hello@brokenrecordsocial.com or visit the Broken Record Social website.
You deserve to find your perfect match who will help you grow your business too!
Free yourself up to do what you’re best at with our Virtual Assistant Matchmaking Program, helping you find the right fit for your business.
Love,
Riah
