"Having Helen has empowered me to focus on what I actually really want to do. And to me, that is an accomplishment. This is the first time, as an entrepreneur, I've been able to focus on the work that I want to do rather than focus on building my own business."
— Vonetta Young, Owner & Outsourced Chief Strategy Officer
The Challenge
Vonetta Young built her consulting practice, Vonetta Young Advisors, around helping others — specifically empowering women and people of color to access capital and build generational wealth. But as a solopreneur, she found herself in the very position she helped her clients escape: overwhelmed, unsupported, and stretched dangerously thin.
With a four-month-old baby, no permanent childcare, and two demanding careers between her and her husband, the administrative demands of running her business had become unmanageable. Vonetta was handling her own scheduling, invoicing, and every operational detail — all while navigating the chaos of new parenthood.
"I was trying to get my consulting work done. I was scheduling my own calls and doing my own invoices, and I was about to lose my mind."
The breaking point came the very week she reached out to BELAY. Her household fell ill, her newborn got sick for the first time, and every system she had in place collapsed at once. A self-described organized person, Vonetta simply had no bandwidth left.
"I'm a very organized person, but I had no bandwidth because there was just too much going on."
The Solution
Vonetta had heard about BELAY through a colleague who spoke highly of her own assistant, and she reached out — connecting with Virtual Assistant Helen Fitzhugh. From the start, Vonetta invested time in setting their partnership up for success, creating a detailed 'life spreadsheet' that mapped every facet of her professional and personal life, from clients and nonprofit boards to social media, writing projects, and her personal schedule.
"That literally laid out all the facets of my life. I knew it would be well worth spending the time mapping out all of these things so that [Helen] and I could be very clear about what was going on."
Vonetta also documented standard operating procedures covering her preferred call days and durations, vendor contacts, and account credentials. The pair held two dedicated onboarding meetings before settling into a weekly virtual check-in cadence they still maintain today.
Helen initially took over scheduling, CRM management, and email list maintenance. But the scope of support quickly expanded to encompass Vonetta's personal life as well, as it became clear that the help she needed went far beyond the office.
"I think I had all the pain points. I was overextended. My husband and I got sick, my baby got really sick for the first time, and everything went completely and totally haywire. I just didn't have any support at all."
— Vonetta Young, Owner & Outsourced Chief Strategy OfficerThe Impact
The partnership between Vonetta and Helen transformed both her business operations and her personal life. A pivotal moment came when Vonetta's son developed eczema and she realized she had no mental capacity to call the dermatologist — so Helen made the appointment. That moment was a revelation about the full potential of their collaboration.
"I was like, 'Oh this is great. She's able to make my son's dermatologist appointment. That means she can help with basically everything else in my life.'"
On the business side, Helen took on backend setup for virtual workshops, vendor payments, and event registrations. On the personal side, she planned and coordinated her son's entire first birthday party — ordering the tent, cake, food, and decorations, all delivered directly to the house. Vonetta made a point to gather her guests and collectively thank Helen before singing Happy Birthday.
Most significantly, the engagement gave Vonetta something she had never experienced as an entrepreneur: the freedom to focus entirely on the work that matters most to her.
"Having Helen has empowered me to focus on what I actually really want to do. And to me, that is an accomplishment. This is the first time, as an entrepreneur, I've been able to focus on the work that I want to do rather than focus on building my own business."