About the episode
In this episode of the Mom Owned and Operated podcast, Rita Suzanne and Miriam Cinco discuss raising a family, running a business and remembering yourself.
A little about Miriam…with over 12 years of combined experience with customer service, project management, sales and marketing, it is my goal to help you reach the peak of success in your business. I believe in the idea that every human being follows a unique line of learning. I love to collaborate, mentor and coach people. I am happy to see my colleagues develop their professional skills and be a positive contributor of the business. My VA agency has been growing fast since last year. We have been in the business for over four years now, helping and supporting clients all across the globe. The journey never stops. I continue to explore and get into new beginnings.
You can find Miriam on Instagram or Facebook.
Listen to more interviews by visiting momownedandoperated.com and apply to work with Rita at ritasuzanne.com/apply/
Listen to the episode
Show Notes
SPEAKERS
Rita Suzanne, Miriam Cinco
Rita Suzanne 00:01
Welcome to the Mom Owned and Operated Podcast, the podcast about moms and for moms, where we have candid conversations about running a business, raising a family, and remembering ourselves. I’m your host, Rita Suzanne, a single mom of four, digital strategist and provider of no nonsense business strategies and tactics.
Hi, I’m Rita Suzanne, and today I have my guest, miriam, with me. Hi, Miriam, thank you so much for joining us. I am so excited to chat with you. Please tell everyone a little bit about you, your family and your business.
Miriam Cinco:
Hello everybody. So my name is Miriam and I’m a virtual assistant agency owner for over six years now. We are based in the Philippines, but most of our clients 60% of them are based in the US and the others are all across the globe. And I have a stepson who is 16 years old and he is actually currently diagnosed with ADHD. But there has been so many challenges with my kid, but right now we’re really very, very happy and, yeah, I think that’s it and I’m so excited to be here with you, rita, on this podcast.
Rita Suzanne:
Well, thank you so much for joining. It’s interesting that you said that I have. As many people know, I have four kids. My youngest is 13 and he has epilepsy, but one of the byproducts of epilepsy is ADHD, and so we just put him on medication. I didn’t put him on medication many years ago because he was already on too many other medications, but we just put him on medicine for his ADHD and it has been helping him so much, and so I’ve noticed a big, big change in him and so it’s it’s been a huge thing. So I can only imagine you know some of the struggles that you’ve been going through, because we’ve been going through it ourselves with, with my son also.
Rita Suzanne:
So one of the things that I always talk about with my clients is delegating and hiring sooner than you are comfortable with, because I know personally, I waited until I felt like I was quote unquote. I waited until I felt like I was quote unquote ready, because I, you know, I was like, oh, I can’t afford it. You know, like I should just wait, I should just wait. But really, what it did was it just. I think it took longer for my business to grow because I waited longer. Do you know what I mean. I waited longer. Do you know what I mean? So what do you feel about, um, about people who are like? Do you feel like they wait too long and then they decide to hire you and then they’re like they don’t know how to really delegate?
Miriam Cinco:
Yes, actually that’s most of the time. Um, when I reach out to clients or when we meet on the very first discovery call, as we call it, they would always say that we’re not ready yet, we don’t have the budget, we don’t know what tasks to assign to the remote worker, to the virtual assistant. But I would always tell them that we will wait for you when you’re ready, but the time is now. I would say that’s pretty funny. But, yeah, the time is now because right now, when you look at your business and you don’t have a process where there is delegation, there is accountability, there is a process in place where these tasks, these very small tasks, if they build up to so many things and you keep doing them every day, every single time for your business, you might be missing some of the things that are supposed to be your focus into growing your network. Like, for example, if you’re doing social media all the time, you’re doing your TikTok all the time, your videos and all those, it takes too much time of your day. But if you look at delegating this task to your virtual assistant, you’d be able to focus more on growing your network and building or talking to more prospects or to more potential clients. So these will help you much more be efficient when it comes to running your business and, at the same time, you’d be able to grow your business out there where people will know you much more better, like I.
Miriam Cinco:
We have a one client in in the us, uh Rita, where they are an MSP business. They’re just starting and we hired the very first remote worker for them virtual assistant, an executive assistant actually. So the president of the company was able to focus on building network within the chambers in the eastern coast. In the eastern coast, because all of the ad hoc tasks like email, social media marketing, admin, finance all of those are being assigned to the virtual assistant or the executive assistant. So all he has to do is just network outside of the business. So that way he’d be able to bring out his business out there for the clients. So the best time really for you to hire your virtual assistant or your remote worker is now. I would say that’s the most effective answer.
Rita Suzanne:
Yeah, I agree. I think that a lot of times people are so caught up with the busy work of being inside of their business and that they don’t want to relinquish that kind of control and give it to someone else. And then often I find especially like in the past when I’ve onboarded client or VAs myself it’s a process. It takes out so much energy for you, initially because you have to teach that person how you want the things done Right, and then then it’s like such a process you have to go through the thing and then if they’re not doing it correctly, then you have to go through it again.
Rita Suzanne:
And some people are, are not comfortable saying well, you’re not doing it right, so they’ll just let them continue to do it incorrectly, and, and so I think that that’s also an issue as well you’re not doing it right, so they’ll just let them continue to do it incorrectly, and so I think that that’s also an issue as well, because they’re afraid to really yeah, to say anything about it. So like, do you guys, how do you guys tackle things like that?
Miriam Cinco:
Very good question and I think much most of the clients that we have right now have these kinds of challenges. Where they have, they are having challenges with letting go of what they can control when it comes to the projects and all of that. So that’s where our management team will come in. So usually when we onboard a client, we ask if they have a project management tool, a process in place when it comes to tracking projects or tracking tasks for these employees to do so. For example, on an executive assistant’s day-to-day work, they are expected to have this to-do list. For example, on Trello, they have a checklist to follow where the first hour or the first two hours going to be email. Second hour is finance, third hour is the weekly meeting and all that. So the process is going to be documented. That’s the most important thing, because that’s going to help them be organized.
Miriam Cinco:
So if you are a business owner and you’re looking to hire your first virtual assistant not really an executive assistant, I would say your first virtual assistant because you feel like you’re very overwhelmed and you don’t know what to do first.
Miriam Cinco:
So all you have to do is this is part of our recruitment form, the very first form that you’re going to be getting, you will need to list all of the tasks that you want to delegate to your VA, and then we will look for that perfect person with the right skill set, experience and qualifications with, based on what you need, and then we will be shortlisting, like three candidates that match to what you need and your skill set and qualifications, and then you’ll be able to pick which person you would like to work with.
Miriam Cinco:
So, for first clients I mean for first time clients that hire, you know, remote workers or virtual assistants we get to have them on a two week trial, them on a two-week trial.
Miriam Cinco:
So when they decide to go with a second candidate, we tell them like proactively, I would tell them that, since this is going to be your first time to hire a VA client, it would be better if you’re going to do a two-week trial. It’s not going to be paid, though, but that’s going to be the trial. So that’s the period of time where you will be listing all of the lists that you need to, or the tasks that you need to delegate to the VA, and then so you’re expecting for them to do all of those things in that week, and then every Friday there’s going to be like a catch-up meeting with me in the VA, one-on-one, and then me with a client one-on-one, so that way I would know what is his or her experience with the VA, if he was happy or not, or if he want to move on to the next candidate and then do the test again.
Rita Suzanne:
Yes, I think it’s good, though, to have you meet with them, because then I feel like they would feel more comfortable giving you feedback, because then I feel like they would feel more comfortable giving you feedback and maybe not directly to the VA because of that potential confrontation especially, I don’t know, sometimes people are, you know, online businesses. They can maybe just not like to as solopreneurs, don’t like to do the confrontation. Very often I will say I will say that. So so, yeah, I love that, I love that you do that. A two week trial, though? That’s that’s crazy. So what would you say? I would say that, just based on my experience, that oftentimes there the hesitancy that people might have when hiring someone from the Philippines for, you know, overseas work is just maybe language barrier issues. Um, how do you tackle those issues?
Miriam Cinco:
Yes, that’s a very good point and I think that’s also one of the few challenges where clients are telling us when they this is not going to be the first time that they hired a virtual assistant from outside the country, or if they are based from Asia, and there is always a language barrier. When it comes to working with these clients, our skill set and qualifications or our hiring process, rita, was very, very extensive. So initially, our hiring process on the VA side is first they will have their initial screening right, and then the second screening is going to be the background check. So we cross-reference all of the information that we see from their CV or portfolio and we ask for see from their CVR portfolio and we ask for references from their previous clients. So that’s where HR is going to do that for us.
Miriam Cinco:
And also there’s a language test, so we do them on a language test which is a written test. At the same time it’s a voice test, so it’s like I don’t know if you know Berlitz, but it’s very common here. So it’s like IELTS. Know if you know Berlitz, but it’s very common here. So it’s like IELTS. Or it’s an international English language test here where you have to pay for a fee and you’ll be qualified to do these levels of English, whether it’s intermediate, advanced or native or whatever. So, yeah, so we do those language tests and then we also, when we present this to clients, clients, we share them the results of these tests, yeah, and also it’s going to be part of the interviews that I do is that I would always disqualify. This is very funny. So I always disqualify those vas that really have good skill sets.
Miriam Cinco:
Yes, but if there’s really a language barrier, that’s really a very, very big challenge. I would say, based on my experience for over I don’t know eight years, nine years now, doing this kind of job, if you’re very high skilled, you are a good graphic designer or maybe a good, let’s say, programmer, but you have a language barrier and you have a difficulty with the comprehension, then that’s really going to be a big problem. So I would say I would tell them, like this is, this is how it’s going to work when, when it comes to you working for a client outside the Philippines, english is a must. So if that’s going to be a big challenge for you, then I think that’s something that you have to work on and go back to us so they can always reapply after three to six months and then we will re-evaluate.
Miriam Cinco:
And also, to point out, the entire interview, rita is also recorded. So when we present these candidates to the client, they will be able to see the recording of the, you know, of the interview and they will be able to see, like, what the responses of the candidates were, if they were able to understand the question or they just answered it right away, or something like that. So, yes, that’s our process currently. Yeah, process currently yeah.
Rita Suzanne:
So what type of skill set do most of your VAs or executive assistants do Like? What do they offer typically, or is it based upon the needs of the client?
Miriam Cinco:
Yes, so right now we’re at 22. So we have 22 VAs at the moment in the company and I would say 16 or 15% or 15 or 16 of the full-time virtual assistants are all executive assistant skills, so they’d be able to manage admin, you know, ad hoc tasks, like an executive assistant. And then we have three or four in the finance industry. So they are QuickBooks certified, xero certified. I have one who is my cousin, who is a CPA, so she does accounting for our Australian clients because she’s also Australian based, so she helps clients with needing accounting help and taxation. And all the rest of the remaining things are marketing, so social media, graphic designing, video editing and podcasts. So, yes, that’s a lot how?
Rita Suzanne:
do you delegate that many people at one time?
Miriam Cinco:
that’s, that’s a lot yes, so delegation is actually depending on the clients. So some clients they are already in the business for over 10 years or more, or five years, so these clients are already. I would say they already have a process, they already have a system to use. So the VA will just use that system or, for example, a CRM, where they will just have to, or project management tool. I would say they will assign the task to the VA and if the VA has this skill set of those tools, then it’s easier for them to execute the tasks.
Miriam Cinco:
But for those that are just new business owners, like two to three years old or below, or even the one that you mentioned, which is businesses that are running solo, like they’re the owner of the business and they also run the business, so yeah, so those that are just new, we would always expect that they don’t have any system at all. So they just use google, google drive, that’s it and then zoom. So we would always give recommendations to our clients, arita, depending on how they want to use them and also with their budget, because we always expect that these new clients running their business for over less than a year or three years, they wouldn’t, you know, they wouldn’t pay that much yet for a virtual assistant full-time Usually it’s always part-time. So we recommend, or we give them recommendations when it comes to using systems that is based on what their need is and what their function, and according to what they can afford at the same time, and that’s going to give them the benefit of using your VA with this tool and you’ll be able to organize everything from scratch.
Rita Suzanne:
So, yeah, able to organize everything from scratch. So yeah, so you’re kind of advising them along the way of what you feel like they may need, based on your experience. Yes, yes, so who is your target audience for your services?
Miriam Cinco:
So right now, most of the clients that we are working together with in the US are in the IT industry. So I myself, I was working for an IT MSP business for over four years five years actually and then my other executive assistants are also in the IT MSP business. So that’s our focus industry at the moment, and then in australia it’s all finance, so accounting and taxation. So those clients that need um accounting, help um when it comes to using zero and quickbooks, and also social media, which is the newest platform that we were um. I think that’s the newest industry that we were um getting projects last year at the third or last quarter of 2023. So, yeah, so social media, and also, at the same time, with recording videos. So it’s all in the marketing industry.
Rita Suzanne:
Yeah so with the social media, because I think that would be probably the most applicable to this audience. What would you offer for them in social media?
Miriam Cinco:
So, for social media, we have two current packages at the moment and it’s all focused on small businesses, so all medium businesses and it’s on a recurring, monthly, you know, subscription’s. There’s no, there’s no um term, so you can cancel anytime with this service. And then what we offer really is, first, engagement right, that’s the very first thing. You want to make sure that we’re not just growing your following, we’re not just growing your audience, but, at the same time, targeting the right ones. And then the second is building your brand, which is really really something that most businesses would not have, I would say, because, yeah, they have a logo, they have this stock photos, but the brand is not there. Like, if you read or look at their content on social media, you won’t be able to relate or understand what their business is or what are the clients that they’re trying to attract. And, at the same time, we build your profile and optimize them.
Miriam Cinco:
So, initially, for social media projects, rita, we do the digital marketing assessment, so that digital marketing assessment is going to give you your rough number of your online presence all across the internet, so not just Facebook, instagram, so we dig deep into your analytics on your Facebook, all of your social media platforms, also e-commerce.
Miriam Cinco:
So that’s the most recent client that we have last month. So we did all of her digital marketing assessment from social media Amazon, etsy, pinterest and then we checked about the inventory with Shopify and we’re going to give you the numbers, what you currently stand and what we would recommend and what’s the timeline, which is very important because most clients will always ask. And what’s the timeline, which is very important because most clients will always ask how long are we going to take to? How long is it going to take for us to reach this amount of sale or this amount of followers, or when are we going to launch another brand or another product or something like that? So we will give you the recommendations or the actionable items on that digital marketing assessment and then you will have to approve whether we’re going to implement them or not. So, yes, Love that.
Rita Suzanne:
Yeah, I’m all about.
Rita Suzanne:
you know timelines and you know, providing the checklist of okay, we’re going to do X, Y, Z, and this is where we’re. This is our starting point, this is where we’re trying to go. I love that. I think that that’s that’s the best way to do it, Instead of just saying, look, I’ll offer you, you know, 10 social media posts a month. I’ll do you know, I’ll do this for you, I’ll do you know, 10 posts a month, a month.
Rita Suzanne:
And that sounds great, but it’s really not, um gonna get you to where you need to go, and I think that a lot of times, people’s because you know, I’m really into branding oftentimes the profile is the number one, the thing that’s really um missing the most. I think oftentimes it just it’s really they don’t, they’re not optimized or they’re completely off the mark. They don’t know what they’re, nobody knows even what they’re doing. There’s no links to websites. There’s nothing on there at all. So I think, if you know, if, if somebody wants to just review their own profiles, they could probably get themselves halfway there really quickly, Okay, so my favorite question that I always ask is you know, what are you doing now, pardon me for yourself, Like, how are you doing this? You know there’s a lot of business stuff going on, and then you have your, your stepson, which is a lot going on as well, especially with his. You know his extra needs. What are you doing for yourself, Like, what do you do for you know self care for you, Miriam.
Miriam Cinco:
Very good, that’s, that’s really nice. And for you, miriam, very good, that’s that’s really nice. And um, yeah, so initially, before I wear my mom hat in a day, I always go out like 5 30 in the morning with my dogs. I have two dogs, so they’ve been, because in the Philippines it’s very difficult to have them as a support dog, but I consider them as family and support dog for me. So ever since I started getting my dogs, rita, it’s been very it’s helping me a lot to get better with mental health right, and so I walk my dogs in 5.30 in the morning when I wake up and then that’s gonna be like 30 minutes. And then when I go back I get to prepare breakfast with my son because he’s gonna be going to school at seven, so his dad’s going to bring him to school before like 6 30, so we’re gonna prepare breakfast for him.
Miriam Cinco:
And then after that is I listen to jim quick’s. Uh, I don’t know if you know jim quick, so I listen to his podcast. So he’s like a coach, for I think he he had like a brain tumor or something like that, a brain injury, and then his podcast talks about brain focus, how you would want your brain to function efficiently in a day. Yes, so it helps you. He gives like insights about talking about brain focus and what is the right diet for your brain, something like that. Because I’d say, in this time of age and in this type of you know life that I have, where I get to think of so many things, I don’t know what to prioritize, I don’t know what to do first, I get to tell myself that everything’s going to be priority, so you have to do all of them. So so gym quick was really very, very specific when it comes to making sure that you’re able to focus a day at a time.
Miriam Cinco:
Yeah, and also last year I decided to to study caregiving and, at the same time, health, um, being a being a licensed practical nurse. And that decision of going to that route was because of my stepson, because initially, when I started taking care of him, it was very difficult, you know, building and, at the same time, building a good relationship with your stepson and also his needs, like understanding his needs, sons, and also his needs, like understanding his needs. And when we did his assessment of his brain or his intellectual quotient or whatever that that is being called, he was like six years old, rita, so you wouldn’t be able to understand the same as how a 16 years old would would be or what would be expected to understand. So, yeah, so you’re looking at a 16-year-old but his brain functions like a six-year-old, so that’s really a very big challenge. And, yeah, but it’s been.
Miriam Cinco:
I’ve been very happy already since last year, where I finished, you know, the study of caregiving and, at the same time, understanding kids with special needs like him, and that really helped me cope a lot with what’s going on. And also, the business was really successful last year. We’ve been reaching so many clients and the business was also very successful in growing the network right, and yeah, I think last year was really the highlight of the business all all across. But, as for me, what changed this year is that I get to do my vision board very funny. So I attended two sessions of my vision board for a client in canada, in canada. So they did like vision board sessions, so I thought I attended two. I created my vision boards and, um, what’s gonna be the goal for me for the next five years? Or something like that, and I’ve been very happy. Yes, and I also attended yoga classes already.
Miriam Cinco:
So love it yes, which is really, I think, outside of just looking at the computer working hard so much every day and all the house chores which is really taking up all of me. I would say you would. You would also be able to relate.
Rita Suzanne:
Yes, definitely. Well, I, you know I put my kids to work, so, but, and I try to make it to the gym about six days a week. So I’m definitely trying to prioritize myself nowadays, and especially now that my kids are teenagers and so, um, yeah, I definitely can relate to that. So it’s, I think it’s important. I think that I said this the other day, you know, when I had I made a quick video saying, you know, like, thank you to everybody for 10 years of business, and I said, if I was really prepared, I would have made like 10, 10 lessons or something that I learned you know, over the years or something.
Rita Suzanne:
But I think the biggest lesson that I’ve learned over time is like, essentially like build your life, you know, I mean build your business around your life and not your life around your business. And when I first started, I definitely was building my life around my business. I was obsessed with my business. I had a lot to prove, I needed to show everyone that I could do this, and I was working myself to, you know, to death, and it was. It was just not healthy, and so now I’m like it’s time for me to take care of myself, and so I’m glad to hear that you’re doing stuff for yourself now as well. So where can everyone find you online? Where are you at? So where can everyone?
Miriam Cinco:
find you online? Where are you at? Yes, so we’re on Instagram Onboard VA and we’re also on Facebook, so you can call, you can check out Onboard slash VA or Onboard VA and feel free to have a chat over there. I’ll be the one to respond right away on those social media platforms. And yes, we’re really excited for clients to decide and to move forward to the next level of delegating tasks to virtual assistants, Because I think in the next five or 10 years there’s going to be a high demand of this kind of industry and we don’t want you to be left behind.
Rita Suzanne:
Well, I definitely think that you know having an assistant it helps you as, especially as a solo business owner, it helps you grow a lot faster because you’re able to focus on generating more income versus being caught into those daily tasks. So I recommend to my clients to always hire as soon as possible.
Rita Suzanne:
And that’s usually right away, and no matter if it’s getting someone for the smallest tasks and this build up from there. I do think that you need help right away and I wish that I would have started hiring a lot sooner. So thank you, Miriam, so much for coming on. I appreciate it. It’s been such a pleasure chatting with you. Thank you, Reba.
Miriam Cinco:
Thank you for having me.
Rita Suzanne:
And there you have it. I want to encourage you to remember that being a mom who runs her own business is not easy. We all struggle, but just keep moving forward. And don’t forget to make time for yourself. As moms we are usually the first thing to go to the bottom of the list. If your business is overwhelming you and you need real solutions, not just some sugar coated suggestions apply to work with me at ritasuzanne.com/apply
