"Just looking at the number of things that I would otherwise be needing to do that she's doing on my behalf is very, very nice, and gives me some breathing room and some capacity to spend with the kids and my wife. So for me, it's worth spending two hours [meeting with Sabrina] to get my schedule in order for me to have many more hours back."
— Christian Catron, Managing Partner and Business Development & Operations Executive
The Challenge
Christian Catron, Managing Partner at Redeem Realty Solutions in Cedar Park, Texas, was stretched across multiple demanding roles simultaneously. With responsibilities spanning commercial multifamily properties, acquisitions, renovations, and cash-out refinancing — all while maintaining a separate full-time job — the administrative weight had become unmanageable.
The strain extended well beyond the office. His wife described herself as "an innocent bystander in this chaos that we call life" — a characterization Christian took to heart. The situation came to a head when she gifted him a Michael Hyatt book for Christmas, a hint he says was not lost on him. His motivation for change was clear:
"I enjoy being married and I intend to stay that way."
Christian recognized that if he was going to scale what they were building at Redeem Realty without adversely impacting his personal life, something had to give. The volume of administrative tasks he was personally handling — email management, scheduling, event coordination, and research — was simply unsustainable on its own.
The Solution
Christian partnered with BELAY and was matched with Virtual Assistant Sabrina, who was given full access to his accounts and email from the start. Her initial focus was sorting and filing incoming messages, with a longer-term goal of being equipped to respond on his behalf.
"A lot of her support has been planning and coordinating events, doing research, filing and sorting,"Christian explains. But Sabrina's role quickly grew beyond administrative basics. Inspired by Lincoln's advice about sharpening an ax before cutting a tree, Christian used the COVID period strategically — and Sabrina was central to that effort. She helped him develop and prepare the launch of the Redeem Team Mastermind, positioning the business for a pipeline Christian describes as fuller than it was before the pandemic.
As his needs evolved, Christian realized Sabrina could be trained into roles he had planned to fill with new hires.
"It became apparent that I could train Sabrina to be those very things that I was going to hire somebody to do."The two also collaborated to create tenant payment plans for residents financially impacted by the pandemic, reflecting a commitment to the communities Redeem Realty serves.
"It became apparent that I could train Sabrina to be those very things that I was going to hire somebody to do. And so while she didn't necessarily come with the skillset or the experience that that was needed, I felt confident we could get her trained and up to speed. It's been a good thing."
— Christian Catron, Managing Partner and Business Development & Operations ExecutiveThe Impact
With Sabrina managing the administrative load, Christian gained something he hadn't had in years: genuine breathing room. Tasks that once consumed his personal time were now handled on his behalf, freeing him to invest energy where it mattered most — in his business strategy and his family.
"Just looking at the number of things that I would otherwise be needing to do that she's doing on my behalf is very, very nice, and gives me some breathing room and some capacity to spend with the kids and my wife,"Christian shared. The tradeoff was simple and compelling in his view: two focused hours each week with Sabrina to organize his schedule yielded far more hours of capacity in return.
Professionally, the results were equally strong. Redeem Realty's acquisition pipeline grew fuller than it had been before COVID — a direct outcome of the strategic groundwork Christian and Sabrina laid together during the pandemic. And personally, Christian was able to re-prioritize his marriage, something he had always valued but struggled to protect amid the chaos of his many roles. The partnership with BELAY didn't just make his business more scalable — it made his life more sustainable.