"I continue to think that BELAY has just separated themselves. You're going to find high-level thinking capacity through the people that BELAY selects. I just don't have any concerns there. And so when I pick up the phone and say, 'Hey, I need to look at this position. I need to support this person.' I just don't have to worry about any of the what-ifs. That's sort of all taken care of for me. It's a no-brainer."
— John Gwaltney, Co-Owner
The Challenge
John Gwaltney, co-owner of Outback Deck Inc., had built a thriving outdoor living contractor business in the North Atlanta suburbs — completing roughly 200 projects annually and generating $10 million in revenue. Managing 25 employees across eight contracted teams, John was responsible for both operations and financial oversight, a demanding dual role that required his full attention at the executive level.
But John had a self-awareness that many leaders lack.
"I learned about myself a while ago that I am great in structure. I'm just not great at creating structure. And so, left to my own will, I will get myself confused and unorganized."
His inbox and calendar reflected that reality. Emails piled up, scheduling was chaotic, and administrative demands kept pulling him away from the high-impact leadership decisions his growing company needed. Outback Deck had already been working with BELAY for five years — contracting two Bookkeepers and a Virtual Assistant — but John had yet to bring on a VA for himself. He knew it was time to change that.
The Solution
When John decided to hire a Virtual Assistant through BELAY, he was quickly matched with Jenn Albrecht — and the partnership proved immediately transformative. Jenn began by tackling John's most pressing operational pain points: a cluttered inbox and an unmanaged calendar.
"In a pretty short amount of time, [Jenn] got that moving right. And she handles almost all my emails now. She manages probably 80% of my calendar and then she does project stuff for me that, from an administrative standpoint, just takes it off my plate and gives me time back."
Beyond professional tasks, John also leveraged Jenn's support for personal scheduling — dinner reservations, date nights with his wife, and travel arrangements. He restructured his entire week so that Fridays became his own, routing those eight hours through Jenn's support. Working 15 to 20 hours per week, Jenn became essential to how John led his business — freeing him to focus exclusively on the high-value work only he could do.
"The qualifications of the people that they brought to me were really high. I was super surprised. Most people had advanced degrees. From a qualification standpoint, I cannot recommend BELAY enough."
— John Gwaltney, Co-OwnerThe Impact
The impact was immediate. With Jenn managing the daily administrative load, John gained the mental clarity and time to operate as a true executive — staying focused on strategy rather than getting pulled into operational details.
"I've gotten space, time [and an] ability to remove some stuff from my plate, which has given me greater ability to make better high-level decisions. The simple example is I get to stay at 3000 feet rather than dropping down to ground level, which is really where I am in the company. So that's helpful."
John gained an estimated 10 additional hours each week to invest in his leadership team, and started every Monday with his week already planned and ready for execution. Looking ahead, Outback Deck is in full growth mode — with ambitions to double the size of the business within 36 months. John is already exploring expanding BELAY's role across the organization, including Virtual Assistants for his leadership team, a Controller for his growing accounting department, and a Marketing Assistant for his marketing manager.
For John, the value of the partnership is simple:
"It's a no-brainer."