We are back this week with episode 21 of the WIIRE podcast and joining us this week is our friend, Cat Storing who recently joined us at our WIIRE retreat in Orlando. Cat is going to be sharing with us all about her experience in hiring Virtual Assistants (VA) to work on her team. Cat had so much to share and brought an amazing energy to the retreat, and we are so excited to have her on this episode. 
 

All About Cat

Cat is a business coach, is really good with technology (her claim to fame), is an author, hosts the REI Podcast, is excellent at figuring out processes, and is really into real estate investing. And while she loves doing all of the things, she is still just one person, so this is where hiring a VA has come in really handy in her business. She has worked as a personal stylist and also in purchasing and now has transitioned into real estate and business coaching. Cat helps people monetize their expertise and is an amazing resource to so many people. 

Cat’s First VA

When Cat hired her first VA, she was ready to really dive into the world of social media but knew the demands of social media and the dedication it requires. She also knew she couldn’t be doing all of these things, and posting to social media while still working her full-time job. Cat found her first VA (located in India) on UpWork and her specifics was giving the tasks to her VA and having them complete them overnight so that when she got up in the morning she could review them first thing. The problem (that she now realizes) is that she did not manage them well enough and they wound up taking advantage of her. She paid him on a weekly basis and since she wasn’t reviewing the tasks, he quickly figured that out, and simply stopped completing the tasks. 

Now, Cat has learned how to successfully manage her VAs and review their work, prior to submitting payment. Her biggest recommendation for those looking to hire their first VA is to allow them to learn your ways. 

Cat’s Best Tips for Hiring a VA

• Decide exactly what tasks you need to outsource (or what you simply don’t want to do)
• Look for a VA in your niche if you are looking for a real estate VA look for those specifically)
• Once you begin working well together figure out if they are teachable and want to learn more tasks before offloading additional tasks on them
• Have a system in place to review their tasks regularly
• Treat your VA the way you would want to be treated
• Start before you need to hire someone (i.e. NOW!)
• Test the waters with different VAs

If you want to see more about what Cat does, visit her website or connect with her on Instagram. 

Thank you so much for joining us, we’ll catch you in the next episode!

Resources

• Join us March 2-5, 2023 for our retreat in Salt Lake City
• Check out Cat Storing’s website
• Connect with Cat on Instagram
• Hear Amelia’s episode on the REI Podcast
• Hear Grace’s episode on the REI Podcast
• Find your first VA on UpWork