"Having Ari [gives] me the headspace and the bandwidth to even think through things because before, it was just like, 'I'll have to focus on what's coming in. I have to put out the fires.' Now it's kind of like, 'Oh, well now we have some space to breathe and think and actually dream about what might be possible.'"
— Katie Lantukh, Certified StoryBrand Guide
The Challenge
Before discovering BELAY, Katie Lantukh was running her StoryBrand consulting practice in a state she described simply as chaos. As a certified StoryBrand guide at Murphy Marketing, Katie was managing every aspect of her business alone — client deliverables, invoices, scheduling — and even her tools were failing her; her Calendly wasn't working half the time.
The toll was significant. Katie was staying up working until 3 a.m. most nights just to keep pace, all while navigating the equally demanding role of being a mother to two small children.
"We were burning the candle at both ends, like to the clinical definition. And I was just at my wit's end."
Rather than face a lengthy hiring process, Katie saw BELAY as a lifeline — a way to get experienced help within a month without the exhausting work of recruiting and interviewing on her own.
"I needed help – and I needed help now. I knew about [BELAY] and it just seemed like the light at the end of the tunnel for me. I could get somebody that knew what they were doing that they could start within a month."
The Solution
BELAY matched Katie with Virtual Assistant Ari Adler, and from day one, Katie chose to lead with trust. Reasoning that if BELAY vetted Ari, she could too, she immediately handed him access to her inbox, calendar, and every login he would need.
"If BELAY trusts this person, then I'm going to trust this person. And right out of the gate, I had him in my inbox, in my calendar, and sent every login that he would need. And it was overnight."
Ari's first order of business was bringing structure to Katie's chaotic inbox — implementing a color-coded system so she could instantly see what demanded her attention first. But Ari didn't stop at the tasks he was assigned. He proactively identified broader operational problems and worked to solve them systematically.
Together, they implemented Trello as a project management platform, creating a shared reference point for ongoing projects and weekly priorities.
"He was able to see the big picture and see what the problem was and how to actually solve it — not just doing tasks that I asked him to do."
"If BELAY trusts this person, then I'm going to trust this person. And right out of the gate, I had him in my inbox, in my calendar, and sent every login that he would need. And it was overnight."
— Katie Lantukh, Certified StoryBrand GuideThe Impact
The results Katie experienced were both immediate and far-reaching. Her short-term goal had been simple: stop working at night. With Ari's support, she achieved it quickly — her calendar was managed, her inbox organized, and she could finally close her laptop at a reasonable hour.
The longer-term impact ran even deeper. With the mental bandwidth Ari freed up, Katie became more present in client meetings, found room to grow her business, and gained meaningful quality time with her family.
"Having Ari [gives] me the headspace and the bandwidth to even think through things because before, it was just like, 'I'll have to focus on what's coming in. I have to put out the fires.' Now it's kind of like, 'Oh, well now we have some space to breathe and think and actually dream about what might be possible.'"
Perhaps most powerfully, Katie found relief in something she hadn't realized she was missing: a true thought partner who helped carry the mental load of running a business.
"I finally felt like I didn't have to think of everything. I had somebody that was helping me think of everything."