Taking the Leap with a Virtual Assistant
When life handed Jill Vaughan a challenge — her longtime position at the Virginia Lottery was eliminated following a leadership change — her next journey began. After a lot of soul-searching, yoga, and reflecting, she decided to launch her own business.
Vaughan, who has more than 25 years of communications and leadership experience in consumer products, economic development, government, and gaming, is founder of JLV Communications.
Vaughan has more than a dozen clients ranging from economic development, city government, corporations — even a mattress company. In a nutshell, she is busy, which led her to a virtual assistant.
Vaughan asked conference attendees for examples of great assistants. The group identified the following attributes of top assistants they knew from their own careers:
- Anticipate issues
- Organized
- Friendly and approachable
- A machine whisperer
- Good with transitions
VPC’s own Sue Bland was flagged by fellow member Martha Steger as a top-notch example due to her background in corporate strategy.
When Vaughn was exploring a virtual assistant (VA), she had a few trial-and-error moments and realized she needed someone with a specific skillset. She chose to use an agency specializing in VAs. Much like a matchmaker — the company was able to match her with a VA following an extensive process where they learned what she needed from both a personality and business perspective. Vaughan’s “must haves” included someone who was responsive, could represent her brand, and was a skilled writer.
“Essentially, I wanted an administrative wizard,” Vaughan shared. “And I wanted this person to also be comfortable with some personal tasks, things like the marching band schedule for the year, researching college scholarships for my son, and scheduling family vacations.”
Vaughan quickly learned that the pandemic and great resignation had resulted in a lot of talented people trying to get into this field. Vaughn was matched with a VA we’ll call “M” for privacy. M was in her late 20s, had a background in corporate marketing, and had non-profit experience. Vaughan has never looked back. It was the right option for her.
She shared the “Top Five Reasons You Might Need an Assistant,” which include:
- Get your time back.
- Accomplish more stuff.
- Protect your priorities.
- Keep focus and look ahead.
- Have peace of mind.
