"COVID-19 accelerated so many things in 2020 for me and the rest of our team, and [Christina] went from learning our business and optimizing my schedule to becoming a valuable member of our leadership team as we looked for ways to pivot. When it would have been easy to cut her hours to save money, we increased our hours instead – twice."
— Jim Richards, President and CEO
The Challenge
Jim Richards built The Market Share Group on a deep belief in his own expertise. As president and CEO of a sports sponsorship and experiential marketing agency, he prided himself on hands-on execution and creative excellence. But that same drive for perfection was quietly strangling the company's growth.
"I was so focused on excellence in our execution that I had become a micromanager with everything we were doing – and it had become too much. I could see it, but I couldn't pull myself out of it. I knew we needed to grow – and I needed help."
In late 2018, Jim recognized the pattern but couldn't break it. A potential merger in December 2018 seemed like the answer, but philosophical differences led him to walk away from those discussions in October 2019. He was back to square one — still searching for a way to scale the business without becoming its biggest bottleneck.
The Solution
Jim's path to a solution came through an unlikely source: a podcast. After hearing BELAY co-founders Bryan and Shannon Miles interviewed, he was intrigued by the idea of a virtual executive assistant — even if the concept of delegating felt foreign to someone used to rolling up his sleeves.
"I like rolling up my sleeves, getting my hands dirty, so I struggled seeing myself as an executive – but I knew I needed help."
BELAY matched Jim with Christina, a virtual assistant based in Orlando, in late November 2019. Despite their very different backgrounds, Christina quickly read the room. She started small — managing emails and travel arrangements — while patiently helping Jim loosen his grip on the tasks that were holding him back.
"She immediately identified areas where she could begin to free me up to lead our organization."
Then COVID-19 hit. Forty percent of The Market Share Group's projected revenue disappeared overnight. Rather than cutting Christina's hours, Jim doubled down — increasing them twice. She evolved from calendar manager to lead researcher, then to a key member of the leadership team as the company scrambled to pivot.
"2020 will be known as the year that we finally solidified the foundation of our business and launched our logistics division. Our company is here today – in large part – due to the relationship we have with Christina through BELAY."
— Jim Richards, President and CEOThe Impact
The decision to invest in Christina during the crisis paid off in ways Jim couldn't have anticipated. With her research and operational support, The Market Share Group leveraged its DOT number and road experience to launch an entirely new logistics division — purchasing four box trucks and entering the freight business.
Christina didn't just support the pivot — she built it. She created and now leads the HR function for the logistics business, wrote the employee handbooks, manages onboarding, oversees insurance relationships, and handled all the regulatory filings that came with the company's rebranding.
"She is a sounding board for me daily as we continue to navigate through this weird time for us. 2020 will be known as the year that we finally solidified the foundation of our business and launched our logistics division. Our company is here today – in large part – due to the relationship we have with Christina through BELAY."
What began as a simple experiment in delegation became the lifeline that not only kept The Market Share Group alive through a pandemic — but positioned it to grow in an entirely new direction.