"April is a pivotal part of that. As we keep growing, we have to consistently evaluate roles as tasks. I have four or five people in my business who don't touch chicken. Years ago, I was doing all of that and now I've got [these] people to do it because of how [much we've grown]."
— Danielle Alderson, Owner-Operator
The Challenge
Danielle Alderson has been an owner-operator at Chick-fil-A Eastpoint in Baltimore, Maryland for 20 years — a tenure during which her restaurant's volume has grown tenfold. As the business expanded, so did the administrative demands on her time, and the cracks began to show.
Managing four separate email accounts — including one with nearly 20,000 unread messages — had become an overwhelming burden. Coordinating calendars, researching hotels for the annual operator retreat, and keeping pace with day-to-day communications left Danielle stretched thin and unable to focus on what mattered most: leading her team and growing her business.
"When I started [as] a franchise owner, our volume was a tenth of what it is now. You start as a franchise owner doing everything... As the business grew, there were still little things that would fall through the cracks."
Danielle knew she needed help but wasn't sure where to find it — until a chance conversation on a plane changed everything. Seated next to fellow Chick-fil-A operator Rob Herold on her way to the NEXT annual conference, she heard about BELAY and decided it was time to make a change.
The Solution
After connecting with BELAY, Danielle was matched with Virtual Assistant April Swiger — and the impact was immediate. April began by tackling Danielle's overflowing email accounts, bringing order to the inbox and introducing tools that made communication faster and less time-consuming.
"April showed me two or three new resources to use that [made] messaging a little bit quicker for me because for me writing is time-consuming."
One of those resources was Voxer, a voice messaging app Danielle embraced so enthusiastically that she implemented it with her entire team and now uses it during her 40-minute daily commute. April also took on a uniquely personal task: writing and mailing handwritten cards to team members for prayer requests and new baby announcements — close to 700 cards over the years, each one generating heartfelt responses back to Danielle.
As the partnership deepened, April expanded her scope to include posting daily labor reports, food-cost reports, and time-punch reports, reviewing them for violations, and keeping the team informed — tasks she could handle efficiently while returning valuable hours to Danielle's day.
"There are only so many hours in the day, and when you've got a multimillion-dollar business that Chick-fil-A is, you need to grow leaders and you can't spend time with everyone."
— Danielle Alderson, Owner-OperatorThe Impact
The results of partnering with BELAY have been both practical and profound. With April managing the administrative load, Danielle reclaimed the time and mental clarity needed to grow her multimillion-dollar restaurant and invest in developing the leaders around her.
"The efficiency and professionalism I get from April is [something] I didn't know I needed. April is professional, and she does her job. April picking up these tasks has given me freedom and more time to do things with my team."
Danielle's restaurant now employs four to five people in non-operational business roles — a direct result of the growth she's been able to drive. Years ago, she was handling all of those responsibilities herself. April's support has become central to that evolution, giving Danielle the capacity to think strategically, document processes, and launch new initiatives with confidence.
"I can actually think and plan, and when I do need to document and protect the business, April can help me. And when I need assistance with launching things, April is there for that as well. When I'm better, then I'm better for my team."