Four years ago, John McKenna started The Emerald Group Consultants, a successful mortgage recruiting and business development company for growing organizations based in Pepper Pike. Even though he specializes in recruiting talent for his clients, in 2021 McKenna found himself looking for an assistant.
The COVID-19 pandemic was still going strong, and McKenna was trying to decide whether he wanted to hire an assistant to work on-site in his offices. The dilemma he faced led to an opportunity he had never heard of: McKenna hired a Virtual Assistant (VA)—a remote employee who offers administrative business support—to help him with Emerald Group.
“I was actually in the process of looking for an assistant myself, and I didn't know if I wanted to bring somebody in the office full time at that time,” he recalls. “I didn't know what a virtual assistant was, so I was just kind of doing research, came across the space and really dug into it.”
When he began learning more about VAs at the end of 2021, McKenna also saw a great business prospect.
“At the same time [I was looking for an assistant], it was just kind of by happenstance that I was looking to expand my business and came across this opportunity of a virtual assistant company that was for sale,” he recalls. “It was kind of serendipitous, if you will.”
By March 2022, McKenna had a new San Francisco-based virtual assistant for Emerald Group and had acquired a new company, Peachtree Versatile Assistants (Peachtree VA).
According to FlexJob's 2023 State of Remote, Freelance Jobs, executive assistants top the list of the 10 most in-demand job titles for remote and freelance work in 2022. Today, Peachtree VA has 85 virtual assistants working in 30 states for 150 clients.
John McKenna, Peachtree VA CEOMcKenna boasts a 97% retention rate at Peachtree VA, citing a win-win set up for both the assistants and businesses. Business owners win because they can delegate tasks like payroll, so that they can focus on strategy and growth; while the VAs can work from home and on their own schedules.
Part of Peachtree’s success, McKenna says, it is making sure the VA is the perfect fit for his clients’ needs. All of Peachtree’s VAs have college degrees and are thoroughly vetted.
“I guess the special sauce is, if a client comes to us and needs fractional administrative support, we've got kind of a curated process that we've developed,” he says, adding that he has 12 members of his corporate team with anywhere of five to 10 years of experience with virtual assistants.
“We've got two dedicated employees who match our clients with our virtual assistants based on a few factors, based on needs, skill sets, availability,” McKenna says. “And we're making sure that the virtual assistant [who] we're pairing you with is going to meet your needs. It’s not a perfect science, but it is very hands on. We're making sure we're really getting in-depth as to what you need.”
McKenna admits that a virtual assistant is not the answer for everyone. But for an entrepreneur or a small business owner, a VA can handle the administrative tasks while the boss focuses on revenue-generating tasks. “There's a lot of things we can take off their plate, quite frankly,” he says.
Caroline Taich, founder and president of Kirtland ConsultingFor Caroline Taich, founder and president of Kirtland Consulting, a strategic planning consulting firm in Kirtland, discovered virtual assistants last year on a national Zoom networking meeting with other consultants.
“During the meet and greet, I asked [another consultant] ‘how did you make your first hire,’” Taich recalls. “She said she hired a virtual assistant and it was one of the best decisions that she made. Finding Peachtree was an unusual coincidence, because it turns out John is one of my neighbors.”
After going through the screening process, Taich hired Megan, who is based in Atlanta. The two have never met in-person, but Taich says the relationship is ideal.
“It’s great, Megan is fantastic and hit the ground running,” she says. “She’s taught me a bit about the different tools and helped with ideas. She’s a great thought partner.”
Taich says she uses Megan for invoicing, scheduling, and billing, as well as takes notes on whatever project Taich is working on. “I’m an independent contractor, it’s just me working out of a home office,” she says, admitting that she does need the help that Peachtree offers.
“One of the benefits of working with John to find an assistant is they do the hard work for you,” she says. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had an in-person support person.”
Even after the VA is placed with an employer, McKenna says his team checks in regularly to make sure it’s the right fit.
“Every month, we're checking in to make sure that the VA is doing right, doing what's needed, seeing if there's more services we can provide, more if you need more hours or less hours, he explains. “It's very flexible. That's kind of the beauty of it.”
The VA is paid by the hour, and McKenna says their clients can hire the VA for as few as 25 hours per month.
McKenna is quick to stress that the Peachtree’s VAs are real people, not automated assistants. “That is the question [clients] always ask—'is this a little thing that pops up when I go to a website?” he says, “The business has been around for 15 years. But especially since the Pandemic, the industry itself is just exploding.”