"I gave her access to everything right out the gate. I felt secure because [BELAY] is a corporation that does this – instead of somebody that applied to an ad. So I felt more secure – plus I hit it off with her immediately and felt good about Katie. She seemed very trustworthy."
— Jeff Hilimire, CEO
The Challenge
As CEO of Dragon Army — a purpose-driven digital engagement company with clients like Coca-Cola, Delta, and the American Cancer Society — Jeff Hilimire had built a career around maximizing impact. The company itself comprised three subsidiaries with roughly 25 full-time employees and 10 to 15 contractors. But Jeff's responsibilities extended well beyond the agency walls.
In addition to leading Dragon Army, Jeff oversaw two nonprofits, had authored several books, and was raising five children. The sheer breadth of his commitments made it clear that another generalist hire wouldn't cut it — he needed a true professional who understood how to support a high-performing executive.
"I just had a lot going on – and having somebody help me with some of that was a priority. I had used some full-time and part-time people before, but I was looking for more professional services – people who really knew what they're doing."
After years of hearing a trusted friend enthusiastically recommend BELAY, Jeff finally decided to give it a try.
The Solution
BELAY took the time to understand Jeff's working style, personality, and specific needs before pairing him with Virtual Assistant Katie. The match was immediate, and Jeff's confidence in BELAY's vetting process gave him the trust to hand over full access from day one.
"It was great. I loved the idea that [BELAY] heard my needs, my personality, the things I was looking for and then selected the best person for me. She was fantastic. I really enjoyed working with her."
Katie handled the core executive support — calendar management, email triage, and meeting coordination — and together they built a streamlined process quickly. When Katie had a baby and later chose to stay home, the transition to VA Kristin was handled with remarkable care. A week of overlap ensured continuity, and Kristin not only maintained the existing workflows but expanded her scope significantly — taking on podcast production by editing audio files, writing episode descriptions, and uploading content to the platform.
Kristin also turned out to be unexpectedly talented at designing branded merchandise. Over time, their communication evolved from weekly check-ins to a streamlined text-and-email cadence powered by shared tools — a natural sign of a mature, highly functional working partnership.
"We actually had the best two months in the company's history the past month or two."
— Jeff Hilimire, CEOThe Impact
The results of Jeff's engagement with BELAY registered both on the balance sheet and in his day-to-day quality of work. Dragon Army achieved back-to-back record months — the best two-month performance in the company's history.
"We actually had the best two months in the company's history the past month or two."
Beyond the bottom line, Jeff gained something harder to quantify but equally valuable: the mental bandwidth to lead at the level a CEO should. With Kristin managing the operational details, Jeff could concentrate exclusively on the strategic work that only he could do.
"I think it's really important for leadership to be able to focus on the things that [they] should be focusing on. It's very easy for leaders to find themselves doing a lot of things that someone else could do. And they're either doing that because they haven't thought or figured out how to have someone help, or they don't trust enough to have someone help."
For Jeff, BELAY wasn't just a staffing solution — it was a force multiplier. By trusting a skilled VA with the right tasks, he freed himself to accomplish more than he would have otherwise, proving that strategic delegation is one of the most powerful tools available to any high-performing leader.