"I've gained so much in terms of saving time, saving automation, and I feel like I can see more clearly as a leader. I have the time to look forward where before it was reactionary because there are so many inbounds coming to you as a leader."
— Dave Rodriguez, Restaurant Operator
The Challenge
When Dave Rodriguez relocated from Texas to California to operate a Chick-fil-A franchise in Rialto, he arrived with a motivated team but no leadership infrastructure in place. As a new operator in a region where Chick-fil-A locations were less common, Dave faced the dual challenge of building a cohesive leadership team while learning the specific dynamics of the quick-service restaurant industry in California.
His employees were eager, but needed structure.
"We found really good help, but they needed leadership training, personality assessments, and understanding of themselves and their leadership styles. I knew that I needed help with that."
On the recommendation of Michael Hyatt, Dave considered hiring a virtual assistant — but the concept was a hard sell. As an operator in an environment defined by physical presence, he struggled to envision what a remote team member could contribute.
"Most of our items are so asset-intensive, real-estate-intensive, guest-intensive, and everyone — from our perception — has to be in person. So initially, I didn't know where to start or how to cast vision [to a virtual assistant]."
The Solution
BELAY matched Dave with Virtual Assistant Amy Cates, and their work together began with a deceptively modest goal: email management. But what started small revealed enormous potential almost immediately.
"We started with email and realized there was so much to gain just from doing that. Something as small as email, that seemed insurmountable, became something I actually felt like there was a hope of managing and getting ahead of."
From that foundation, Amy expanded her contributions significantly. She automated reporting systems, streamlined accounting workflows, overhauled hiring processes, and began supporting leadership team meetings and process mapping. Her HR instincts, while not part of the original scope, became one of the most valuable parts of the engagement.
Dave notes that Amy's impact organically grew far beyond the initial ask:
"Streamlining all of this has helped our HR process even more. That was not Amy's original goal, but we got there because we realized Amy is really strong in those areas."
"Our numbers are up, our process is up, and I feel like we have better quality of hires, but that's not why I even called Amy. It was just an added benefit of bringing her on."
— Dave Rodriguez, Restaurant OperatorThe Impact
Heading into their second year working together, Dave and Amy have built the systems and leadership clarity that were missing when they started. With predefined responsibilities, protected time blocks, and automated processes in place, Dave has traded reactive leadership for intentional, forward-looking strategy.
"I've gained so much in terms of saving time, saving automation, and I feel like I can see more clearly as a leader. I have the time to look forward where before it was reactionary because there are so many inbounds coming to you as a leader."
The business results followed naturally: improved hiring quality, stronger processes, and better overall numbers — none of which were the original goal. Dave also jokingly noted a very personal win: many more hours of sleep. Amy sees the impact through the lens of her people-first philosophy:
"The win for me has been seeing the team — from Dave to the members of the leadership team — being able to look at what they do differently and see the opportunities for automation or coaching or improvement in different ways that empower them."
Together, Dave and Amy have demonstrated that a virtual partnership — even in a deeply in-person industry — can transform how a leader operates, delegates, and grows.