A Certified Sommelier with a multifaceted business in the wine industry, Casleah Herwaldt is no stranger to the hustle of a solo entrepreneur. And with the nature of her business having many different branches, it’s hard to keep afloat and get things done efficiently without a virtual assistant. It’s even hard to have the bandwidth for her creative genius, and for the crucial income-generating parts of the business.
As the CEO and Founder of By the Stem, Casleah’s expertise are all things wine-related. This includes providing wine education through virtual wine tastings, marketing collaborations, as well as social media management for multiple accounts. She also has her very own wine brand called Casleah Wine.
Apart from that, she has a wine club built around supporting small-production wineries. She also aims to create a fun and inviting community for wine lovers to come together. And she also does consult for Cozy Meal and Lifetime Vintage, on top of her business.
Her passion, vision, and mission
Casleah has big goals and a vision for her business. Wine has been a huge part of her life as she grew up around a vineyard. Her love for wine eventually led her to leave her full-time job in the healthcare industry. She then grew her business into what it is now out of that burning passion.
“I love to educate anyone who has an interest and I love that every bottle has a story! Through By The Stem Tastings, my Wine Club, and the Casleah Wine label, I’m striving to create an environment of positivity and a community to feel welcomed to learn! I want to inspire people to try new things and experiences.”
With the hustle comes a huge hassle
I struggled with feeling unorganized and behind. I spent too much time on busy work and being unable to spend time on things that I enjoy about the business and in growing the business.”
Since she didn’t have an online virtual assistant, her juicy plans were getting stifled and stunted. Rather than being able to grab life by the stem, she was instead getting strangled and unable to be on top of her game.
A failed first attempt hiring a virtual assistant
Casleah wasn’t new to hiring an online virtual assistant, and also didn’t have an issue with budget. But her previous experience was rather disappointing. Her former office assistant was unable to take direction well. They asked too many questions without researching first, was not as self-directed, and wasn’t professional or friendly in customer email support. She then reached out to Linq in the hopes of finding someone better.
Working with Linq’s virtual assistant service
The first step of the VA Matchmaking process is getting really specific about their needs. To determine the nature of work needed, the next step is to identify specific tasks that need to be delegated. After which comes what responsibilities the role entails, as well as skill requirements and preferences.
Through the process, Casleah identified her ideal assistant – someone who can do administrative and social media management tasks for her. She also desired someone who is friendly, open to critique and collaboration. And she wanted someone who is creative, detail-oriented. and able to multitask over the different businesses.
After identifying her needs during the consultation, the team went on to create a job description that fits all her specifications. The team then proceeded with the hunt from there, from screening applications to conducting video interviews and evaluating who will be in the shortlist for Casleah to choose from.
“Riah and her team helped make managing my business less stressful by taking care of the interview process and narrowing it down to 3 amazing candidates.
The nitty-gritty process of hiring is what irks most business owners. The work that searching for their own virtual assistant is a turn off. And Casleah knew having someone else do the dirty work would save her the hassle. She knew it would spare her the overwhelm on top of her already hectic schedule.
One of the things she loved the most about the process was being able to decide from the already narrowed-down selection of candidates. The top 3 recommendations were sent to her. It came with a detailed report on their profile, qualifications, work samples, and initial interview recordings. From there, Casleah reviewed who among the 3 she would like to meet for the final interview, which is the last stage of the selection process.
“Everything was great! The highlight of my experience was choosing my assistant!”
Additional support after hiring her assistant
The process doesn’t end there. Casleah was also given tips and best practices on how to manage your virtual assistant. Recommended tools to use for different aspects of the business was also given by the Linq team. These suggested tools aim to make the process more seamless, efficient and streamlined.
“They introduced me to tools that help me get organized such as Lastpass and Loom.”
Casleah indicated in the beginning that she wanted to have more free time to work on growing the business. She also desired to get organized and be on a schedule so things are not so last minute. She also wanted to be able to delegate tedious tasks.
Luckily, her chosen assistant met her expectations.
“My virtual assistant is a perfect match for me and completes everything in excellence. Very happy customer here!”
Freedom of grabbing life by the stem
Caleah took a leap of faith and is happy with her decision. She may have had a negative experience with hiring an assistant in the past but it didn’t stop her from trying again. This time with Linq Consulting Solutions, she now feels free to really flex her genius.
“I highly recommend working with Riah and Linq. I am so pleased with my new assistant and beyond excited about the freedom created when delegating tedious tasks so I can focus more on what matters and growing my business.”
To know more about Casleah’s up-leveled passion for wine, her story, and how she serves her community, visit her website at bythestem.co or her Instagram here!
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.
All my love,
Riah Gonzalez
