"I was immediately freed up creatively. My job is so creative, and I was bogging myself down with a lot of administrative tasks that [were] taking away from creating, and creating leads to money. Within just a few months, I started to feel a lot more freedom to create — and then also to sell."
— Bri McKoy, Food Blogger, Kitchen Teacher & Cookbook Author
The Challenge
Bri McKoy is an accredited food blogger, kitchen teacher, and cookbook author who built her business around helping home cooks find joy and confidence in the kitchen. But behind the recipes and live cooking classes was an operational challenge that was quietly draining her creativity.
As a military spouse, Bri relocated every two to three years — and each move meant starting over when it came to building a local support team.
"My husband is in the military, and we move around a lot. Originally it was important to me to work with someone who was in the city that I was [in,] in case I needed them to be with me for certain filming opportunities and things like that. And it was just getting a little unmanageable because we were moving every two to three years."
The constant cycle of hiring, training, and losing local assistants left Bri burdened and distracted from the creative work at the core of her business. It wasn't until a fellow content creator shared her own success with BELAY that Bri began to consider a different approach — one that wasn't tied to geography.
The Solution
After reaching out to BELAY, Bri was matched with Virtual Assistant Madeline MacDonald — and the experience of being matched stood out from the start. Rather than leaving Bri to sort through candidates on her own, BELAY took the time to understand what she truly needed.
"I was involved in a way that was helpful, but I wasn't overly burdened to find someone who would work well for me. [BELAY] took the time to figure out what is important to you in an assistant, what do you need, what has worked, what hasn't worked? And then from there, they were able to get me an assistant that I have really, really enjoyed working with."
Madeline joined Bri's team just one month before her cookbook launched, immediately stepping in to help plan a release party. From there, she took ownership of a growing list of responsibilities: editing newsletter and masterclass content, monitoring social media growth, tracking newsletter numbers, managing Basecamp tasks, and supporting quarterly planning.
The working relationship clicked quickly. Bri noted that Madeline's professionalism, efficiency, and genuine enthusiasm for the work — including making Bri's recipes and sharing them with friends and family — created a partnership that felt meaningful, not transactional.
"Obviously we've blown past that three months, and I can't imagine doing my work without her, and so at this point, I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, it's worth it.'"
— Bri McKoy, Food Blogger, Kitchen Teacher & Cookbook AuthorThe Impact
The results Bri experienced with BELAY went beyond task completion. With administrative work off her plate, she felt an almost immediate shift in her creative bandwidth and business momentum.
"I was immediately freed up creatively. My job is so creative, and I was bogging myself down with a lot of administrative tasks that [were] taking away from creating, and creating leads to money. Within just a few months, I started to feel a lot more freedom to create — and then also to sell."
Bri had entered the relationship skeptically, giving herself a three-month trial period — partly because BELAY represented the most significant investment she had ever made in an assistant. That skepticism didn't last.
"Obviously we've blown past that three months, and I can't imagine doing my work without her, and so at this point, I'm like, 'Oh, yeah, it's worth it.'"
Looking ahead, Bri is expanding Madeline's role to support her growing YouTube presence and long-form video content. For the first time, she's excited about what long-term strategic planning — not just week-to-week task management — can do for her business: "I think if I can have that time and that space to plan long-term, I will see more ROI just across the board."