"That experience went so well – such a great demonstration of capability, support, enthusiasm, and personality that we decided to give BELAY an opportunity to help us with another virtual assistant that could help us in an area of financial organization where you have to collect a lot of the documents for our clients and organize them in a very certain way and do certain systems in a very organized fashion. I think that that's a real testament to the quality of folks BELAY is choosing – their personality, their capability set."
— Eric McDermott, Managing Equity Partner
The Challenge
Eric McDermott, Managing Equity Partner at Pacific Advisors, faced an unexpected staffing gap when his executive assistant of a decade went on maternity leave. With a firm of more than 150 advisors, 2,000+ active brokers, and dozens of staff, Eric depended on reliable executive support to manage the complexity of his role — and losing it, even temporarily, was not a simple inconvenience.
Bringing someone in-house wasn't a practical solution. The position was temporary, the onboarding investment was high, and the nuances of supporting a senior partner in financial services made it a daunting hire. Eric needed flexibility, but he didn't yet know whether a flexible arrangement could work.
When he came across BELAY, his hesitation was immediate — and understandable. The financial services industry carries strict liability and compliance obligations. Any outside support would need to be fingerprinted, pass a background check, and operate on a dedicated, secure machine. These weren't negotiable requirements. Eric needed a partner willing to clear every hurdle without reservation.
The Solution
BELAY addressed Eric's compliance concerns directly and without hesitation. Rather than treating the financial industry's security requirements as obstacles, BELAY made clear they would meet every standard necessary to protect Pacific Advisors' clients.
"That means going out and getting fingerprinted. It means making sure background checks can be run. It means issuing a different computer than you might've normally have given them so that they can honor all of our information, security, cybersecurity regulations – and BELAY was the only organization that made it really clear that you'll do what's necessary to clear those hurdles; you didn't balk at all."
With compliance cleared, BELAY matched Eric with Virtual Assistant Elizabeth Young. Liz quickly became essential to managing a complex, multi-party calendar.
"The CEO and I oftentimes – as partners in the firm – have to get bundled into certain meetings together. So it's been helpful to have Liz. There are certain things she knows how to do now across multiple calendars."
The success of that first placement opened the door to a second engagement. Pacific Advisors brought on an additional BELAY VA to assist with financial document collection and organization — a role requiring precision, consistency, and adherence to industry-specific systems. What began as a temporary gap-fill had evolved into a deliberate staffing strategy.
"It is not lost on our leadership team that it is another way in which we can acquire great capability and be innovative and grow. Not only were you, as an organization, willing to support us, all of the people that you bring in are enthusiastic – a big differentiator right out of the gate."
— Eric McDermott, Managing Equity PartnerThe Impact
The outcomes at Pacific Advisors exceeded the scope of Eric's original need. The firm is now actively considering a third BELAY contractor — a far cry from the cautious, temporary arrangement Eric had first envisioned.
"We could hire somebody – or we could consider BELAY again. Because you guys said, 'Hey, if that's what you need, we stand ready to support you and – you did.'"
Both existing VAs have seen their hours increase, and Eric doesn't see that trend reversing. The firm has also taken note of BELAY's expanding service offerings, including a specialized social media service aligned with upcoming projects.
"We've increased the times on both VAs – and I don't rule that out as continuing to happen. And the fact that we just got an email saying you're launching a specialized focused social media service that fits a project is good news."
For Eric and Pacific Advisors' leadership, BELAY has become more than a staffing vendor — it's a lever for innovation and growth.
"It is not lost on our leadership team that it is another way in which we can acquire great capability and be innovative and grow. Not only were you, as an organization, willing to support us, all of the people that you bring in are enthusiastic – a big differentiator right out of the gate."