Are you overwhelmed, overextended, and still thinking “Eh, I’ll just do it myself—it’s faster”? Yes? Well the right answer should be NO.
That’s entrepreneur delusion talking. I know I because I am one and I’m not the best delegator and yes I too try and do far too many things myself. Good News! There’s plenty of affordable help out there if you know where to look.
On The Debbie Nigro Show, I linked up with the fabulous Jenna Eicholtz, partner at VA Growth Solutions, who popped in from Pennsylvania to drop some serious wisdom about delegating like a boss—without actually becoming a bossy boss.
Here’s the big takeaway: You don’t need a full team… you just need one really good virtual assistant.
Jenna’s company connects business owners with vetted, highly skilled VAs from the Philippines — fluent in English, aligned with U.S. time zones, and trained to slide right into your workflow. And get this:
- Full-time VA support starts at $1,000–$1,200/month (40 hours/week!)
- Starter options as low as $500/month — that’s literally $3–$7 an hour
- Over 8,310 VAs hired and 3,900 businesses served
- Client satisfaction score: 9.5 out of 10
Not too shabby.
Why Entrepreneurs Are Finally Giving In & Hiring VAs
Jenna and I hit on the pain points we ALL know too well:
· Social media burnout
· Inconsistent marketing
· No SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) because everything lives in your head
· Too many tasks, not enough hours, and zero desire to manage a giant team
Her message was loud and clear: Stop trying to be a one-person empire. Buy back your time.
Cool Bonus: Jenna’s Also a Pet Industry Pro
Before joining VA Growth Solutions, Jenna ran and still runs, her own branding agency for pet companies called Behind The Logo — so if you’re in the pet biz, she’s double dangerous. She knows exactly how to help you grow and who to delegate it to.
Final Thought: Freedom is the Reason We Started… So Why Are You Working More and Living Less?
If you’re a solopreneur, husband-and-wife team, or small-but-mighty business… this may be your sign to stop trying to do everything yourself.
Listen to the full podcast episode with Jenna Eicholtz from VA Growth Solutions on The Debbie Nigro Show — and prepare to loosen your grip on doing it all.
If you’d rather read than listen the transcript of the audio is below. ******************************************************************************************************************** AUDIO TRANSCRIPT: And now, back to The Debbie Nigro Show! terrible yourself, because everybody thinks, oh, I can do this. I might as well do it myself. It’s easier. It’s faster. It’s actually not. So hi, everybody. 0:00:52 (Speaker 1) Welcome to the Debbie Nigro Show. You’re going to meet Jenna Eicholtz, a gal who connected with me on LinkedIn. And so we linked up, and I was reading about her, and she had a good vibe. And I’m like, you know, more people need a virtual assistant, including myself. What do we do here? How does this work? 0:01:06 (Speaker 1) So hey, Jenna, welcome to the show. 0:01:10 (Speaker 2) Thanks so much for having me. 0:01:11 (Speaker 5) How are you? 0:01:11 (Speaker 1) Good, good, good. Welcome from Pennsylvania. I’m doing the show live from Greenwich, Connecticut. How’s your day going? 0:01:18 (Speaker 5) Good, pretty good. 0:01:19 (Speaker 4) How’s yours? 0:01:20 (Speaker 1) Good. I’m very good except for the allergies. Are there allergies in Pennsylvania? 0:01:24 (Speaker 4) Yes, yes. 0:01:25 (Speaker 2) I’m a pollen person, so yes. 0:01:27 (Speaker 1) You’re a pollen person. Is it my imagination or is this pollen off the charts this week? 0:01:32 (Speaker 2) Yes, absolutely. It’s been like that for almost probably two or three weeks here. 0:01:36 (Speaker 1) Oh, we’re commiserating on something ridiculous. All right, listen, I’m a fan of your energy. I picked that up very quickly in our little communication, but I’m more of a fan of what you’re doing and behind you. I will do a better posting for you. I wasn’t sure you were definitely coming, so I’m glad that you showed up here. I posted on Instagram the delegation workshop. 0:02:00 (Speaker 1) you’re behind. Let’s talk about what VA Growth Solutions does and the whole virtual assistant world and what you’re going to help people with. Go ahead. 0:02:09 (Speaker 5) Absolutely, yeah. 0:02:10 (Speaker 2) So kind of going off the delegation workshop, we’re here to educate business owners on what delegation could look like for them in their business, whether that is a virtual assistant, whether that’s a foot -on -the -ground employee. or potentially even automation and AI with how much that has grown over the past couple of years. The workshop itself really just helps to show people what it might look like for them. We kind of figure things out. We do a buy back your time, like little algorithm. I’m a very big fan of Dan Markell and the book Buy Back Your Time and just learning his processes and sequences of how he did everything. 0:02:50 (Speaker 2) And essentially, his end goal was virtual assistant. And that’s kind of what we do. We figure out what it is to delegate, and then we figure out if a virtual assistant could do those tasks or not. And if they can, we can help you get set up with a vetted, educated virtual assistant from the Philippines to implement into your business and start to get those tasks off your plate. 0:03:14 (Speaker 1) Okay, what’s interesting to me, is the Philippine connection. And I know that there’s a lot of reasons why that works in terms of a time difference between worlds, right? They can work when everybody’s sleeping here. Am I crazy or is that what I’m thinking? What’s the time difference? 0:03:32 (Speaker 2) No, that is absolutely correct. They do work our time. So depending on where you are across the U . S. 0:03:38 (Speaker 1) , the different time zones, they are working our hours. Okay, and then what about the English language and the interpretation? 0:03:45 (Speaker 2) Is there anything that you have to worry about hiring somebody from the Philippines culturally, language -wise and otherwise? Actually, they’re very, they are actually very Americanized. They do speak very good English. 0:03:59 (Speaker 1) It actually is the number one language over there. 0:04:01 (Speaker 2) Okay. 0:04:02 (Speaker 1) Some people do think that it is Spanish, but it is English and most of them are learning it, dual language of course, but learning it from from the age of one. It’s funny, I’ve had only really wonderful interactions with communicators from the Philippines. I’ve commented each time, wow, that was a great experience. It’s been a really terrific experience in my past. In terms of hiring somebody, it’s always about cost, especially if you have your own business. Half the reason people do their own stuff, I’ll handle it. 0:04:34 (Speaker 1) It’s going to cost me money. It’s cheaper if I do it myself. 0:04:37 (Speaker 2) Talk to the pricing of hiring somebody and why you’re company’s platform or rate card is very interesting and appealing. Typically, you can get yourself a full -time virtual assistant for us for about $1 ,000 to $1 ,200 a month, and that could be for 40 hours a week. kind of taking over whatever task it is that you need done. And then we do offer kind of like a business liaison in the middle. That’s a client success manager that helps you and your virtual assistant kind of train together, figure out what those processes are, make sure that the relationship is going to work because a lot of people don’t know how to work with a virtual assistant and that’s okay. 0:05:22 (Speaker 1) But they do need one, so we have to kind of be in the middle to help figure out what that looks like. Well, so far, you’re explaining a system that works because apparently over 3 ,200 business owners and entrepreneurs have now trusted this source, right? 3 ,900 businesses served, 8 ,310 virtual assistants hired, average client satisfaction score 9 .5 to a 10. Very loud. about the success of this, okay? And the reasons, let’s just go through a couple reasons why somebody would hire a virtual assistant. 0:05:58 (Speaker 2) I’ll give you the first one that I read about that I know is my problem, social burnout. platform for people to get new leads. Yeah. 0:06:20 (Speaker 1) So stay on top of messages, those types of things. It is something that can really lead out to kind of spending a lot of time on it and you know the wheels are turning but nothing may be happening because it’s not your expertise. Yeah I’m totally on board with social burnout. Not enough hours in the day you know. You know landing a couple clients is easy but you know we speak to the fact together that scaling takes more than a you know a little bit of effort and it’s a lot of work, right? They call it a bloated mess. 0:06:56 (Speaker 1) You pile on extras until your offer becomes a bloated mess. So that’s one reason you’d hire a VA. Inconsistent marketing is another. 0:07:05 (Speaker 2) People hate writing. What are SOPs? So a standard operating procedure. So a lot of business owners, you know, don’t even, don’t know what it is, or don’t even have one. And I was one of those business owners. Everything, you know, lived in my head. 0:07:22 (Speaker 1) So if I went on vacation, or I went anywhere, and nobody was doing anything that I was doing, because I was the only one that could do it. Right. Getting those written down and figure out what that, you know, looks like and making the tweaks so that it does actually become a process that you are using time and time again. Awesome. And then people start making sacrifices. And this is some loud, piece of the puzzle here. 0:07:42 (Speaker 1) You know, the reason why people start their own companies… entrepreneurs, and it happens at every age and happening more and more because they’re looking for freedom, personal freedom. 0:07:49 (Speaker 2) Instead, people end up often working more, earning less, and missing out on the important things in life that they’d rather spend their time on with family and friends and even the gym. A lot of people don’t know how to cut back on that without thinking everything is going to fall apart. You’re saying based on your experience with the virtual assistants, that company you’re working with, growth solutions, that this is the answer. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s one of the biggest things that Dan Martell talks about and that we talk about a lot. For a lot of us, for me, it was buying back my time, being able to have some flexibility. 0:08:26 (Speaker 2) Just because I have a business doesn’t mean I need to be working 80 hours a week, and also doesn’t need to be that I’m trying to do everything that there is. 0:08:34 (Speaker 1) There are things that I don’t know how to do, and that’s okay. And there’s not enough time to learn how to do them correctly. So figuring out what delegating looks like so that you don’t work those 80 hours a week because you’re trying to learn a new task that you could hire somebody to do faster and better. perspective on things. The piece that I’ve always had a challenge with, and you address it, is managing people feels overwhelming. Like, I just, I don’t want, you know, there’s all these other people you have to worry about if they’re working for you. 0:09:11 (Speaker 5) It’s not my thing. 0:09:13 (Speaker 2) Nor is it the thing of many people who are entrepreneurs. Speak to that. Absolutely. I mean, that’s one of the best things about the virtual assistant space is that you can’t have one or two employees to help you get those tasks done. You do not necessarily need a team of 10 people that you need to kind of keep track of. 0:09:33 (Speaker 1) And when you just get an extra person or two able to help you, it really does make a difference. And I think 0:09:40 (Speaker 2) you would be surprised at how much you can actually handle those two people versus a team of ten plus. So Jenna Eich from Middletown, Pennsylvania, I noticed, because I spent some time reading about you, that Yes, you support business owners with this VA Growth Solutions, saving time and growth, but you also help pet brands build trust with your company behind the logo. So let’s move to that for a quick second. Yeah, so that is really where my business started and why I have a virtual assistant to help with that business. I do branded marketing for pet brands. I love the pet industry. 0:10:21 (Speaker 2) It is a super growing industry. 0:10:24 (Speaker 1) I have pets for kids of my own and they are absolutely my kids. So I just, you know, like to be a part of the new brands, the things that are up and coming, really connecting emotionally to the business owners as a pet parent. 0:10:39 (Speaker 2) by helping to build those brand and marketing standards for businesses and brands that are coming, maybe rebranding or coming up with a new product or a new service in the pet brand. So since you do this, what sticks out in your head as a new cool thing in the pet industry that you know about or you’re working on? Just tip us off. Well, it’s got actually a lot of the different health things that they have, such as insurance and the different testing and tracking and things that they have with animals. It’s really great. And pet insurance can really be helpful depending on what type of breed you have. 0:11:18 (Speaker 1) I mean, I have a German Shepherd and she was actually just recently diagnosed with arthritis. 0:11:23 (Speaker 4) So we’re getting into the area of her being a little bit older and probably needing a little bit more vet care than typical. 0:11:29 (Speaker 1) And that’s where, you know, pet insurance can help out with that. Yeah, it sounds like grandma insurance. Yeah. 0:11:35 (Speaker 2) Getting a little older, a few things can, you know, you need to help out with a few things. So this is very interesting, because you obviously are an expert in the pet industry, but then you realized you needed help, so you went to the services of VA Growth Solutions, and now you represent them. Am I getting the routine correct? Yep, yep. I decided to join on as a partner this year. I loved the process. 0:11:59 (Speaker 2) I loved everything about it. 0:12:00 (Speaker 1) Another avenue for income, and I was like, yeah, sign me up. I love to, you know, get in front of other business owners who are like me and let them know that there is a little solution. where you don’t want to build a big team, but you do need somebody else there in order to break through that next growth level. 0:12:15 (Speaker 2) And who is coming to you as a result of this? Are you seeing a trend of who you’re attracting with this message? What does that person look like that’s been contacting you? A lot of people are the solopreneurs, are the smaller teams, husband and wife teams, or maybe there’s two people working on a team. 0:12:36 (Speaker 1) That is really who we’ve been seeing a lot of wanting, you know, that extra help. Knowing that there are some funds there, but it’s not as expensive as having, you know, a full -time employee with benefits and overhead and all of that stuff. It’s very much still like having a 1099 contractor. Yeah, it’s great. And I did spend a lot of time on this. And this is probably the least expensive, most efficient company I read about for virtual assistants. 0:13:05 (Speaker 1) I kind of liked reading about it and I’m going to probably do something about this myself. They have real professionals that they have recruited and trained with the right background, the right experience, people who know exactly what most people need. Their point is, this company you represent, their approach is unlike anything you’ve seen before. You get a customer recruiter assigned to you, you get one -on -one coaching, your virtual assistant gets a one -on -one coaching. -one coach and there’s all kinds of training videos and live weekly calls. I mean, if you want. 0:13:35 (Speaker 1) Otherwise, you just get it going and as I understand, this is probably Again, when I say least expensive, you mentioned $1 ,000 to $1 ,200 a month, but you don’t even have to go that high. You can hire somebody, I think, between $500 and $800 a month just to get it started, right? 0:13:55 (Speaker 2) Which comes down to like $3 to $7 an hour or something ridiculous. Amazing. 0:14:01 (Speaker 1) All right, so I’m glad we met, Jenna Eichholz. Yes, I’m glad I met with you, too. 0:14:06 (Speaker 2) Thanks for having me. You got a nice way about you and I wish you the best of luck and I’m going to put everything up. 0:14:12 (Speaker 1) Once we’re done with this interview, I’ll make it a podcast, put it up with a blog on social media, put it out there and let’s stay in touch, okay? Yeah, sounds great. Thank you so much. You’re welcome, Jenna Eicholz. Have a great day. And that is, of course, a representation of a terrific company, VA Growth Solutions. 0:14:29 (Speaker 1) And, of course, behind the logo is Jenna’s company, if you’re in the pet industry and you need somebody who knows what they’re talking about. All right. 0:14:35 (Speaker 3) This is the Debbie Nigro Show. More to come. This is Trending Tuesday. Next.
