From Service to Success

Customer Service

My first experiences providing great experiences for my patrons was in the food service industry. At what used to be know as Kentucky Fried Chicken, diners wanted their fried foods fast, fresh and with a faint friendliness. Then I moved on into waiting tables at a diner - heavier on the friendly, a little more lax of the fast. My career path led me to cocktail serving, bar-tending and eventually training others to do food & beverage service jobs. I got really good at delivering superior service with a smile and caring about my customer's happiness.

Client Support

Twenty-five years later and my focus is ensuring fantastic support for my clients in the dance studio industry. They want their systems smooth and streamlined, their information flows clear, concise and correct. Not so hard when you have 1 client (and your own kids dance there) - but now I have moved on to coordinating contractors, creating machines to run my processes, and once again - training others to do dance studio client support jobs. I am still pretty good at delivering superior support with a smile and caring about my client's happiness.

This past week I realized that I do indeed offer so much more than just Virtual Assistance. My clients can talk to me about things they can't share with their staff and families because Studio Owners have to maintain and objective, fair and neutral environment for their students to belong to. Their jobs are more about building community than developing dancers, truth be told. They may use dance as the method to connect, but the "vibe of the tribe" is what keeps those tiny tappers and bitty ballerinas returning year after year.

Continued Success

It's super important that my clients' billing is accurate, and the tuition is calculating correctly, and the team fees are added to all the right students, tshirt and jacket orders are collected, missing information is found and communication with their families is fostered. These are the tasks that my team and I do - but  the most important thing we offer our Studio Owners is peace of mind. In whatever way they need it. We are there to partner, serve or mentor - whichever suits their style (and sometimes morphing in and out of the roles).

Studio Owner Advocate

In other news, after 90 days of being an independent contractor, I accepted the full time role with Dance Studio Pro Support. I am excited, though a bit disappointed by the starting pay. I am after all their first employee in California! But the opportunities for advancement are solidly there. And benefits- though I don't yet even know what they are like - the main one is more freedom over my schedule and workflows while taking on more responsibility with the systems and documentation for the team as we grow. My favorite things.

Happy Sunday!

Two of my four "whys"

Building the Machines

Successful Systems

Creating systems is one of my favorite things to do. I love looking at how things work, how they are not working and what can be done to fix the breaks, streamline the workflow and capture ALL the data. Without data it's all just guesswork.

My motto is "Try all the Things!" So I am compulsively downloading and signing up for free trials and putting them through my process. This month I have tired 4 Project Management, 3 Accounting, 3 Email Marketing and 3 e-course platforms (I really need to find the time to share my experiences with all these apps - so many apps, so little time).

Tiffany Bellah, VA 

For my own personal "side hustle" I have been setting up a system that will allow me to bring on more clients, and subcontract some of the tasks I do- offering work to other moms with wifi and attention to detail, an aptitude for tech - and a willingness to wait as I grow.

Systems & Support

Iterations!

Slack, with integrations - Workast and Tracking Time are a nice trio for systematization and record keeping. And I am using Zapier to automate some of the information flow.
Iteration 1, done.

Training & Development
Facebook and Slack are set for internal T&D, and I have two subcontractors currently going through my first training session.
Iteration 1, in process.

Thinkific, an ecourse platform- with room to grow- is for my external T&D. I threw a course up and got a few leads, but it is definitely not what I want my online learning options to look like.
Iteration 1, done.

Sales & Marketing
HoneyBook and MailChimp are the selections I have made for keeping up with all the possibilities and opportunities.
Iteration 1, stalled a little.

Dance Studio Pro

Today is the day I have the big talk very short chat with one of the Co-Presidents of Dance Studio Pro. For about a month and half, I have been contracted to provide email support to their users- and the plan has been for me to move into full time and grow my role.

It's been interesting to say the least. Going from Invisible (radical transparency, lots of meetings, over communication through many channels) to DSP (zero visibility on growth plans, occasional texts, no communication channels created) has me itching to get in there and take over!

After reading up, and absorbing all the great advice from two of my favorite SaaS companies Typeform  (https://www.typeform.com/blog/guides/customer-success/build-and-onboard-customer-success-team/) and Zendesk (https://www.zendesk.com/resources/maintaining-world-class-customer-support-in-a-fast-growing-organization/) I am rearing to go!!

We will see what their vision is and I will begin driving forward with my Strategic Plan, adjusting it to fit their Mission & Values as I learn more. I know I am the right person for this role, I have the right mix of experience, personality, passion and opportunity.

Iteration 1 - let's go!!

Adminja vs HoneyBook for Virtual Assistants

Over the past month I have been setting up my systems and bringing in my team.

Being a software enthusiast, I put 11 programs through my process of non-scientific analysis. My approach has to do with what I am drawn to, what app calls out to me when I wake up in the pre-dawn hours and grab my device.

And then- what also provides me a command central when I sit down to dig in and get busy.

So, I have spent the last month trial-ing software, looking for a project manager / CRM to help me with logistics of sub-contracting some of the work I do for my clients, and an LMS (learning management system) to create training for other VAs. I tried Adminja, HoneyBook, 17hats, FreshBooks (and I really liked FreshDesk, too) and Podia, Patreon, Thinkific, Teachable.
Today it came down to HoneyBook vs Adminja

Fascinatingly enough, I also got to communicate with the founders of both programs today.

Adminja

HoneyBook

Truth be told - both systems are really amazing, and I am so excited to see that they are focusing on the human connections made by the technology that brings us ease and style.

Enjoying every moment,
Tiffany

Studio Owner Support

VAs Blog, Webdate 31001.1

And so it begins. I find myself wanting to capture the details of my journey through the VA universe. It's a brave new world, where anyone with wifi and a laptop can provide an array of supportive digital tasks, as a Virtual Assistant. And so because I am white and nerdy I must blog. (Ok, well the white part is only because of the song, I don't think only white people blog. That would be super silly.)

My "mobile" office

My passion for all things technical and desire to systematize, combined with my strong sense of customer service and "work anywhere" attitude lead me to this place. People ask what I do, and often scratch their heads, saying "That's a thing?"

When I first began seeing myself as a VA, it was out of necessity. My girls dance. Dance is expensive. I am resourceful. I began helping with data entry at the studio they dance at. They used Mindbody and they hated it. So I took it on myself to research other software programs designed for Studio Management. I discovered Dance Studio Pro, The Worlds Best Dance Studio Software.

Hurtling through time and space, I have spent the last 18 months learning and improving my skills for my client. Then in the past month I have added 3 more clients to my roster. Susan shared about me in a professional group and referred me to a colleague. My clients are just amazing, I am blessed and so filled with appreciation for them, and I just genuinely like them all.

This is all I need to work.

About 6 months ago, I applied to DSP because they were hiring their first support person. I wasn't selected. But I didn't give up. I kept pestering them (professionally, of course) and last month I was hired to manage West Coast Support. Starting as an independent contractor, with a path to full time mapped out, I am loving the balance I have between the "job" and my VA business.

Now comes the real work fun part: find others with wi-fi and a laptop who also want to support Studio Owners and train them to do what I do. Build a strong network of Studio Owner Support and offer training, motiVAtion and connection to those who see themselves as ready to embark on this journey, too. To prepare, I have started using Adminja to keep my client tasks organized and prioritized. Next month, I will review it here on this blog, so be sure to follow if you'd like to know more about this new tool designed specifically for VAs.

In order to help grow, and then scale my business, I joined VAClassroom University, because I truly believe in lifelong learning (it's like the main reason we homeschool). There are so many courses, and certifications and then there is the community. So many seasoned professionals and inspired newbies- the entire VA industry is booming and it's exciting to be a part of the magic.

Join me and we will rule support the (Studio Owner) universe!