"I trust [Sally] a lot and I see her take on gnarly problems and just dive in and figure that out. I appreciate that because I don't have the time to do all those things. Oftentimes, they would have to sit until the evening or the next day. She's allowed me to have more time in the evening to not have to look at work because she is doing things I don't have to worry about — which is awesome."
— Amanda Sleger, Founder / Owner
The Challenge
Lone Fir Creative, a digital marketing agency established in 2015, hit a major inflection point when it merged with another agency in January — instantly doubling both revenue and workload. For founder Amanda Sleger, the growth was exciting but operationally overwhelming. Her focus needed to be on building a sales team and driving new business, yet the demands of day-to-day operations kept pulling her away.
"We initially reached out [to BELAY] at the beginning of the year. We [had] growth goals and I needed to be able to focus more time on building out a sales team and sales itself instead of [spending] time on the operational side."
Amanda was clear about where her energy belonged. Growing new revenue — not managing existing clients — was the priority. The agency also needed someone who could actively support its marketing consultants and relieve pressure across the team.
"My goal is to grow new revenue, not necessarily to manage existing revenue or existing clients. We really needed somebody in a role that could help our marketing consultants take the load off of them and also somebody who is a problem-solver."
The Solution
BELAY matched Lone Fir Creative with Virtual Assistant Sally Robbins, whose experience aligned closely with the agency's areas of specialization. From early on, Sally demonstrated a level of personal investment that stood out — especially in a remote environment where accountability can be harder to gauge.
"I can tell that [Sally] cares about her own personal reputation and isn't just there to get a paycheck. She wants to do good work for our team. She wants to make sure that I'm satisfied with the work that she's doing. And I really value that — especially as a remote company."
Amanda admitted she had been hesitant at first, having struggled in the past with employees adapting to the tools and workflows her agency relied on. Sally quickly dispelled those concerns — documenting processes, recording calls, and absorbing far more responsibility than Amanda had initially expected. The trust built quickly, and within months Amanda had already increased Sally's hours to keep up with the growing scope of her role.
"If everything stayed as is, I would be beyond-the-moon happy. I did not imagine it going this well. I'm looking forward to growing and scaling my team because [Sally] is handling something that I don't have to handle anymore."
— Amanda Sleger, Founder / OwnerThe Impact
The results of bringing Sally on board extended well beyond task completion. Sally's ability to independently take on complex, open-ended problems gave Amanda real breathing room — both professionally and personally. Tasks that once waited until evening or the following day were simply handled.
"I trust [Sally] a lot and I see her take on gnarly problems and just dive in and figure that out. I appreciate that because I don't have the time to do all those things. Oftentimes, they would have to sit until the evening or the next day. She's allowed me to have more time in the evening to not have to look at work because she is doing things I don't have to worry about — which is awesome."
About three months into the engagement, Amanda expanded Sally's contract — a direct reflection of how much the relationship had evolved. Sally had become more than an assistant; she was a collaborative presence who contributed ideas and pitched in for others across the team. Looking ahead, Amanda envisions the role growing to full-time.
"If everything stayed as is, I would be beyond-the-moon happy. I did not imagine it going this well. I'm looking forward to growing and scaling my team because [Sally] is handling something that I don't have to handle anymore."