Outsourcing success: a digital marketing specialist's perspective with Lea Rice

Meet Lea Rice, a Digital Marketing Specialist and founder of Heart and Soul Digital who has been outsourcing to me since her usual VA went on maternity leave in July 2017. Lea and I clicked straight away, which is so important when building any relationship, and makes working together an absolute pleasure. Finding a great VA to work with is not just about finding someone who can do the tasks that you want to outsource, it's about finding someone who is a great fit for you and your business.

"Emma is an incredibly quick, careful and thorough virtual assistant, and someone I also call a great friend since I started working with her. I'm not the most organised of people, but Emma has been brilliant at working around me or helping me keep to schedule, which has been so valuable whilst work has been so busy. She's a lifesaver, and I'd recommend her to anybody without hesitation. Trust me, you need her!"

~ Lea Rice

I hope you enjoy reading Lea’s interview…

Hi Lea, please introduce yourself

I’m a Digital Marketing Specialist dedicated to changing lives through digital media. I’ve worked with organisations big and small to unleash their offerings online. Charity campaigns, wonderful products and inspiring initiatives are my jam. I've also just started working more closely with the Social Media Manager community to support them in being more effective and strategic in the way they do their work, enabling them to progress up the career ladder and fall in love with their job all over again.

What challenges did you face before you started working with me?

You were recommended to me through my usual VA, who was going on maternity leave. But even though I was handing that work over to someone I'd never worked with before, I had nothing to worry about. I could still hand all of my client's social media scheduling to you (the only bit of content creation I hate!), so I could spend less time doing that part and more time strategically and creatively surging my business forward. Before I worked with VAs, I would lose HOURS to the scheduling part because I disliked it so much, so rather than get it over with quickly my natural default was to procrastinate, let myself get distracted and waste hours doing a simple job. No longer a problem with you around!

What made you decide to work with a VA rather than employ someone in-house?

I honestly couldn't manage someone in-house at the moment. My working week is made up of in-house contracts and fast-moving clients, and I just do not have the time to invest in an onboarding process and someone's constant development. I'm also not always convinced that hiring in-house is the most economic solution for freelancers or new, solo business owners. If for any reason the position isn't working out - which is never an ideal position to be in but does happen now and then - you can feel a bit like you're paying someone to do the bare minimum while they look for a new job. If you're really busy yourself, it's surprisingly easy to not notice that happening at the time. I'd much prefer to outsource to a VA who has started her business through the love of those tasks and belief in the businesses people like me startup. And as a woman who's done it herself, you totally get where I'm coming from!

What were you looking for in a VA? 

I really needed someone who could work flexibly around my crazy schedule, could learn new scheduling tools really quickly and who has a sharp eye for proofreading, as in the grip of a creative spurt I can occasionally forget that all-important last check before I send social posts to you for scheduling. As much as anything though, I need to work with someone approachable and friendly. Corporate talk is not something I am keen on, and you fast became a friend as well as a colleague.

What difference has working with me made to your business?

You have made a whole world of difference to me! You keep me on schedule, spot anything I might have overlooked and meet every deadline. You're faultless!

What would you say to someone thinking about working me?

Oh, just do it. Working with Emma and her team will change your whole life, and be a ray of sunshine to boot. Make the investment, and good things will come from it.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Just a great big THANK YOU Emma!

If you’d like to learn more about Lea you can visit her website here where you can also buy her Content Planners (I use these content planners to manage ALL my client's digital content - they are simply brilliant and they make planning so much easier)!

If you’re thinking of outsourcing to a VA, get in touch and tell me what you need. I’d love to help!