“What is your time worth?”
This is the question our partner, 33Vincent, regularly asks busy leaders who are exhausted trying to “do it all.” Co-founders Casey Putschoegl and Paige McPheely saw a gap in support for high performing executives and were drawn to change that. They launched their virtual Executive Assistant business in 2013, with a goal of providing flexible, high quality support to executives who need help without the headaches of hiring.
For many of 33Vincent’s clients, the prospect of finding, screening and onboarding an in-house executive assistant were overwhelming and cost prohibitive. Add to that, many executives need great support quickly, but don’t have the time, energy or experience to identify exceptional EA talent. 33Vincent recognizes that a full-time EA hire may not be the right move for everyone’s business model.
“By hiring a proactive, efficient, and detail-oriented EA, our clients have seen immense gains in their own productivity and focus…Our EA team is energized by the real-time impact we see when an executive is freed up to focus on what matters most to them.”
“When considering EA support, our clients need to first understand what their time is worth,” says Casey. “If their calculation factors out to $200/hour, and they’re spending 10 hours/week managing their inbox and calendar instead of, say, making valuable connections in their industry, something needs to change. By trying to ‘do it all,’ leaders create a bottleneck to their own success and exhaust themselves in the process.”
“By hiring a proactive, efficient, and detail-oriented EA, our clients have seen immense gains in their own productivity and focus. Not to mention, our clients often share that their EA can get work done significantly faster than they did, at a fraction of their own $200/hour rate,” notes Casey, who enjoys when clients share that their EA ROI exceeded their expectations. “Our EA team is energized by the real-time impact we see when an executive is freed up to focus on what matters most to them.”
There are a multitude of services that a virtual Executive Assistant can provide to clients, including email management, travel planning, process management, CRM support, project and event management, and calendar management, all starting at 10 hour-per-week packages.
Casey also believes great Executive Assistants straddle the line between a typical administrative assistant role and a chief of staff role. In order to be truly effective, the EA should function as a gatekeeper and a thought partner to their client. “Our 33V EAs are more than just task-takers. We proactively make sense of chaos in a fast changing environment, and we work hard behind the scenes, planning ahead and creating solutions for impossible scenarios. To supercharge our abilities, our EAs are backed by our dynamic community, with access to peers who continuously raise the bar on quality, offer expertise, collaborate on projects, and share best practices. It’s hard to find this level of camaraderie and mutual development among EAs in a conventional workplace.”
Potential clients interested in working with a virtual, 33Vincent Executive Assistant will begin with an intake form describing their support needs. Next, they’ll receive a call from 33Vincent’s Client Success department to dig into their pain points and preferences, and to discuss the potential fit of a part-time, remote EA. In the following weeks, the 33Vincent Leadership Team puts extensive thought into the right EA match for the executive. They seamlessly guide the client through the onboarding process and make sure the Executive Assistant is ready to hit the ground running from day one.
In their fifth year, 33Vincent has a team of about 40 Executive Assistants and a diverse group of approximately 60 clients, which has been 100% built by referrals and encompasses a wide mix of industries: non-profit, finance, tech, sales, and entrepreneurship, to name a few.
Each Executive Assistant takes on anywhere from one to three clients, with two being ideal. 33Vincent maintains a thoughtful balance between client needs and EA workflow. “Our EAs collaborate and support one another, as well. They pitch in on one another’s projects during busy times, offer their unique expertise to their peers, and leverage full-team knowledge to maximize their impact with their clients,” says Casey. “When you work with a 33V EA, you don’t just get access to one individual – you get access to a wealth of EA knowledge and best practices.”
Beyond business support, the Executive Assistants at 33Vincent have also helped their clients with personal ventures as well. One example is a client who owns an AirBnB property as a side hustle, which their EA has helped coordinate and manage.
“Every day, we are focused on effectively maximizing our clients’ time and focus.” Casey says. “At the end of the day, our success is based on our clients’ success. When we free up leaders to grow their companies, increase their impact, and invest their time in what matters most to them…that’s the real sweet spot for us.”
Casey Putschoegl is the Co-Founder & Managing Partner of 33Vincent, which provides high-quality and flexible Executive Assistant based services to its clients, as well as ongoing work opportunities for individuals seeking balance and flexibility.
Madeleine Niebauer is the Founder & CEO of vChief Virtual Chief of Staff service, which offers part-time and interim chief of staff support to start-ups, nonprofit organizations, and businesses of all sizes.
