BOOK A CALL

Buy Back Your Time

How to hire and work with Virtual Assistant to grow your coaching business.

Dan Martell - Buy Back Your Time

Introduction

As business coaches and business leaders, we all face common challenges that can hinder our effectiveness and limit our company’s growth. How many of you have experienced the constant time pressure, the never-ending email deluge, or the struggle to balance strategic thinking with day-to-day operations? These issues impact our business performance, personal well-being, and relationships.

Today, I will share a proven system that addresses these pain points head-on. By implementing the strategies I discuss, you’ll learn how to reclaim your time, boost your productivity, and achieve a better work-life balance. More importantly, you’ll discover how to scale your impact and take your business to the next level without sacrificing your personal life or health.

Are you ready to transform the way you work and lead? Let’s dive in and explore how you can buy back your time and revolutionise your approach to business leadership.

As a coach, you will face many challenges each day

  1. Time Scarcity: Constantly feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything.
  2. Email Overwhelm: Spending hours each day managing an overflowing inbox, often at the expense of more important tasks.
  3. Meeting Overload: Calendars packed with back-to-back meetings, leaving little time for strategic thinking or focused work.
  4. Difficulty Delegating: Struggling to let go of tasks, often due to perfectionism or lack of trust in team members.
  5. Work-Life Imbalance: Sacrificing personal time, relationships, and health due to work demands.
  6. Reactive Mode: Constantly putting out fires instead of proactively steering your coaching practice.
  7. Strategic Planning: Difficulty finding time to focus on long-term vision and strategy while managing day-to-day operations.
  8. Personal Productivity: Struggling to maintain focus and energy throughout the day.
  9. Burnout Risk: Constant stress and pressure leading to potential burnout and health issues.
  10. Opportunity Cost: Missing out on valuable opportunities due to lack of time and mental bandwidth.
  11. Decision Fatigue: Being bombarded with decisions throughout the day, leading to mental exhaustion and decreased decision quality.

There is a remedy for these coaching ailments

Today is about giving you the script that will solve your pain.

My Virtual Assistant Background

  • I have been working with Offshore staff since 2006.
  • China office for 12 years when I was an employee.
  • India & Philippines as a business owner.
  • At the moment, I work with 7 VAs from the Philippines.
  • I have been through all the pain, solved the pain and now enjoy working with Filipino VAs.

Fix the business owner, and the business often thrives

Let Fix You Today.

No WooWoo.

No Self Improvement.

Just how to give you assistants who can help you focus on what makes you money or makes you happy.

Quotes from business coaches I have worked with:

Business owners are usually the biggest problem in the business. Get them right, and the business gets better. How do we get them flourishing? Work on them, and we will get the biggest ROI.

Today, we are going to work on YOU!

The solution to your problems is an Executive Assistant and/or a Virtual Assistant

What is an Executive Assistant?

A professional providing high-level administrative support to executives, managing schedules, communications, and key organisational tasks.

An executive assistant works to manage the CEO or business owner.

What is a Virtual Assistant

A remote worker offering various administrative, technical, or creative services to clients from a home office.

A virtual assistant works on business-related tasks.

We are going to combine these roles.

When we talk about an executive assistant through the talk today, we will refer to someone who will work to manage the business owner for some of the week and then work on marketing and admin tasks for the rest of the week.

From now we are going to use the term Virtual Assistant.

Cost

You can hire an executive/virtual assistants ranging from AUD $700 – $1400/mth.

I currently pay one team member $700 per month and another $1400/mth.

Team member A – Works as an executive assistant and is low-skilled – $700/mth.

Team member B – Works in a marketing role is highly skilled, and is paid $1,400/mth.

I believe you could combine these skills and pay between $1000 – $1400/mth.

Why do I like working with Virtual Assistants from the Philippines?

  • The timezone difference is only 2 hours.
  • It means they can work 6:00am – 3:00pm their time, which is 8:00am – 5:00pm our time, and it gives them their life back. Most of them work in the US timezone and work overnight, so they are grateful to work with Australians.

Who currently has a Virtual Assistant?

Who is currently struggling with…

  1. Not Productive – Not getting the most out of them.
  2. Frustrated – with the work they output.
  3. Firing – Thinking of getting rid of them.
  4. Low Value – Not seeing the value.
  5. More Work. More Stress – They are giving you more work than they are saving because of rework and training.

Most Small Business Owners Fail at working with Virtual Assistants

There are two main reasons why most coaches fail at using virtual assistants:

  1. They hire the wrong person.
  2. They don’t manage them properly.

The following pages will show you my bulletproof process of hiring, onboarding and managing virtual assistants.

Since I started hiring and working with virtual assistants this way, virtual assistants have gone from a stress point in my business to a joy that releases me to do more and enjoy the business more.

Let me show you everything I have learned from 20 years of ups and downs working with virtual assistants to help you get it right in the next 90 days.

The Core Concepts of working with Virtual Assistant

These concepts collectively demonstrate how to systematically free up your time, focus on high-value activities, and scale your impact as a leader. By implementing these strategies, entrepreneurs can achieve greater success in both business and personal life while avoiding burnout.

  1. The Buyback Principle: Don’t hire to grow your business; hire to buy back your time.
  2. 80% Rule: 80% done by someone else is 100% awesome.
  3. Loom (Camcorder) Method: Record yourself performing tasks to easily transfer knowledge.
  4. Playbooks: Create detailed guides for tasks and processes. – Why I love Clickup – everything in one place.
  5. The Perfect Week: Design an ideal weekly schedule that optimizes your time and energy.
  6. Email GPS: A system for managing and categorizing emails efficiently.
  7. Sync Meetings: Regular, structured meetings with your assistant to stay aligned.
  8. Definition of Done (DoD): Clearly define what “done” means for each task.
  9. 1:3:1 Rule: For problem-solving – define 1 problem, offer 3 solutions, give 1 recommendation.
    • At the beginning I ended up spending so much time helping them help me. I would spoon feed them everything. Now I use this to save my mind energy and get better results.
  10. Transformational Leadership: Focus on outcomes rather than micromanaging tasks.

Working Effectively with a Virtual Assistant

Here’s a playbook for working effectively with a Virtual Assistant (VA).

1. Inbox Management:

  • Set up an Email GPS system with specific folders/labels.
  • Train your VA to manage and categorize all incoming emails.
  • Only review emails your VA has flagged as needing your attention.
    Email GPS System

2. Calendar Management:

  • Give your EA full access to your calendar.
  • Establish clear guidelines for scheduling (e.g., meeting times, buffer periods).
  • Let your EA schedule all appointments and meetings.
  • What I did:

3. Daily Sync Meetings:

  • Schedule regular (daily or every other day) sync meetings with your VA.
  • Use a standardised agenda (e.g., off-load tasks, calendar review, action items).
  • Keep these meetings brief (e.g., 30 minutes)
    • Daily scrum meetings.
    • My EA Sam runs the meeting. I always tried to run the meeting, but I realised she wasn’t helping me. I was helping her, so I gave her control, and now she manages the meeting and me.
    • Task list in ClickUp – I add everything to this task list, and we manage it together – https://app.clickup.com/6915647/v/l/6-901600960326-1 
    • I will use Skype to send voice messages.

4. Task Delegation:

5. Communication:

  • Establish preferred communication methods and times.
  • Use tools like Skype, WhatsApp, Slack or Microsoft Teams for quick exchanges.
  • Set up a system for urgent matters – what platform they have always to be accessible on.

6. Reporting:

  • Define what metrics or information you need regularly.
  • Have your VA prepare and present these reports.

7. Travel and Expense Management:

  • Delegate all travel arrangements to your VA.
  • Set up a system for expense reporting and reimbursement.

8. Personal Tasks:

  • Decide which personal tasks (if any) you want your VA to handle.
  • Clearly communicate boundaries and expectations.

9. Feedback and Growth:

  • Regularly provide feedback to your VA.
  • Encourage your VA to suggest process improvements.
  • Invest in your VA’s professional development.

10. Boundaries:

  • Respect your VA’s work hours and personal time.
  • Clearly communicate your availability and preferences.

11. Trust and Empowerment:

  • Resist the urge to micromanage.
  • Trust your VA’s judgment and allow them to make mistakes and learn.

How To Get Started

To start working with a virtual assistant, take it easy and start by doing the following:

  1. Start with inbox and calendar management.
  2. Gradually introduce other elements as you and your VA become comfortable.
  3. Regularly review and refine your processes.
  4. Be patient – it takes time to build an effective working relationship.

How to Hire a Virtual Assistant

Put them through a test

We need to create a test that simulates the environment of working with us. So we can see how they respond and if they will fit us well.

Don’t believe resumes and what people say in the job interview. Put them to the test, squeeze them, and see what comes out.

Camille Example:

Camille didn’t finish the test. I worked back late to finish it. She was positive the whole time. Finished at 8pm on a Saturday, and when I spoke to her about the job her eyes lit up. She said this is the type of job I want.

Camille actually didn’t “PASS” the test. She technically failed it but still got the job because:

  1. She made all the changes I asked for.
  2. She took negative feedback well.
  3. Was happy to do extra work and work overtime for the opportunity.
  4. Engaged with me and asked for help.
  5. She showed enthusiasm and saw the job as a privilege she wanted to be a part of.
  6. I enjoyed talking and working with her for the day.

     

Within six months, Camille now runs our team of VAs and has excelled at her job. She has outperformed my expectations and has become a real partner in our business, not just an employee.

The test is NOT testing their skills but their attitude, perseverance, communication skills, and desire to succeed.

Finding Candidates

  1. Put job on www.onlinejobs.ph. 
  2. Ask a secret question at the end of the Job description to see who is paying attention. If they don’t answer the question, don’t consider their application as it shows a lack of attention to detail.
  3. Triage the candidates – Look at resumes to see who has the right degree and select mostly people with the correct degree, but if their experience is great, then put them through to the next round.
  4. Select 15 candidates to interview.
  5. Book interviews – Make a calendly over 2 hours at 10 minutes apart – https://calendly.com/marlonmar/voyager-agency-va-assessment
  6. Ask 6 important questions to determine if they are the right fit, and write answers in a spreadsheet.
  7. Rate each candidate – out of 10 on 6 different characteristics.
  8. Select the candidates to test – Offer the top 4-6 an 8-hour, unpaid test. 
  9. Book the test – Pick a 1.5 period of time two days later to complete the test and book in a 15-minute timeslot for each person.

The Test

  1. Test #1 – Written and Verbal Skills Test – Give them test #1, which is a written test. This tests their listening skills, written skills, comprehension and ability to ask questions and clarify if they don’t understand. Give them a letter to write. Give the instructions verbally so they can rely on their listening skills. See test https://app.clickup.com/6915647/docs/6k1hz-12056/6k1hz-8276 
  2. Test Rules – Tell them they can ask as many questions as they like during the test. They don’t lose marks for asking questions. Encourage questions.
  3. Time Limit for Test #1 – Give them one hour to write the letter.
  4. Test Feedback – Then get them on Zoom and review the letter with them, giving them positive and negative feedback. Look at how they react to the feedback.
  5. Test #2 – Skills Test – Then give them part two of the test. This is a much more complex test that pushes them to the limit. Ideally, it will include tasks they don’t know how to do so you can see how well they perform under pressure, if they can learn from Google how to do something new, and if they call you to ask questions. See test https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mMaDZIKBvmaiQLHDEWhUtcft9GBkCix4sMHNj58DzdQ/edit?usp=sharing 
  6. Constant Feedback – At each test stage, give them positive and negative feedback and ask them to do additional work. See how they respond, if they are accommodating, happy to make the changes, or if they get upset that there is extra work. This is the part of the rest where you see if they are the type of person you want to work with.
  7. Interact with them –  This is why you are doing the test to see if they can do what they say, if you like working with them and if they can handle the pressure.
  8. No Calls. No Job – If they don’t call you and you don’t speak to them, then during the test, you can’t hire them as you have learned nothing about them.
  9. Push them to the limit – Give them extra tasks, give negative feedback, ask them to fix the problems to see how they react.
  10. Final Feeback – At the end of the test, give them positive and negative feedback, see how they respond and make a decision if you want to work with them.
  11. Make an Offer – Then hire them and send a letter of offer using something similar to https://docs.google.com/document/d/10_czLfLri_kIn9kVZxX9Tab6jj7CzYSlITu7lKmOSlo/edit 

How to Onboard

  1. Give them an Induction Training in Clickup – https://app.clickup.com/9003078718/docs/8ca051y-4476/8ca051y-5196 
  2. Give them training to learn – If you have been part of the 12-week Lead Generation Bootcamp you can give them that training in the first 2-4 weeks.
  3. Start holding daily meetings.

How to Train

  1. Give them a training program in the first week where they have to complete tasks by watching videos – for example, the 12 week Lead Generation Bootcamp training.
  2. Record every task on video as you go so it is the last time you will have to teach it to a VA. Make the onboarding process for the next VA.

How to Manage

  1. Project Management Software
    1. ClickUp
  2. Document the processes
    1. Loom
    2. ClickUp Docs
  3. Communication
    1. WhatsApp
    2. Slack
    3. Skype
  4. Calendar & Email
  5. Daily Scrum Meetings – 3 questions – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSFfyse_EXM 
    1. What did you do yesterday?
    2. What are you doing today?
    3. What are you stuck on?

Working Effectively with a Virtual Assistant

  1. What I have learned from 20 years of outsourcing:
    1. Hire slow. Fire fast.
    2. Put them through a full-day test to try before you buy.
    3. I will probably go through 2-3 people before I find the right one, so be ready to replace them.
  2. In General, Filipino VAs:
    1. Don’t tell you when they don’t understand at times.
    2. Don’t communicate when things are going wrong for them. They say nothing and then just resign.
    3. They say they can do everything even though they are not good at it.
    4. Their expectation around design standards are much lower than mine.
    5. Their family is more important than their job, so they will be unreliable in their job if their family needs them.
    6. They have multiple jobs and don’t tell you.
    7. They can outsource the work and have other people working for them, but they tell you they are working full-time for you.
  3. In general, bosses of VAs:
    1. Expect them to be able to do three different jobs and have unrealistic expectations.
    2. Don’t spend enough time with them.
    3. Don’t communicate what done looks like enough.
    4. Don’t equip them with enough skills or knowledge to be able to do the job properly.
    5. Think they are supermen or women.
    6. Stick with them for too long if they are not a good fit.
    7. Most of the time, You are the problem. You need to fire fast, manage well, treat them well, educate them well.

Next Steps

  1. Voyager Virtual Assistant Training – If you are interested, then register your interest by emailing me at marlon@enzango.com
  2. Voyager Bootcamp Membership – https://voyager-agency.com/bootcamp-membership/

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Specialising in winning marketing funnels that attract, nurture, and have helped some of the world’s largest organisations scale. 

Links

Find out how businesses using Voyager win, and you can too.

BOOK A CALL

Specialising in winning marketing funnels that attract, nurture, and have helped some of the world’s largest organisations scale. 

Links

Find out how businesses using Voyager win, and you can to.

BOOK A CALL
Voyager Agency © 2026 All Rights Reserved