July 22, 2025 • 56 mins
In this episode, we pull back the curtain on the world of virtual assistants (VAs) in healthcare. Join us as we chat with Jo, a VA managing a team for a multi-location New Hampshire outpatient practice, and Andre, a core team member at Virtual Rockstar who specializes in finding top-tier VAs.
Discover:
- The Personal Journeys of VAs: Hear directly from Jo and Andre about what led them to this profession and the deep passion that drives their work, from streamlining healthcare operations to connecting talent with life-changing opportunities.
- A Day in the Life: Get a candid look at the daily responsibilities and supervisory roles of VAs, and learn about the hidden tasks that contribute to the seamless operation of a growing company.
- Adapting to American Culture: Understand the nuances and initial challenges VAs face when working with American clients, from communication styles to cultural differences, and how they overcome them.
- Personal and Professional Growth: Explore the profound personal and professional benefits VAs experience in their roles, beyond financial compensation, including empowerment, leadership development, and work-life balance.
- Navigating Challenges: Learn about the biggest hurdles VAs encounter, such as communication barriers, managing expectations between clients and VAs, and avoiding burnout from over-promising.
- What Owners Need to Know: Gain invaluable insights from VAs on how private practice owners can successfully hire and integrate virtual assistants, emphasizing the importance of trust and hiring for potential over just skills.
- AI and the Future of Virtual Assistance: Dive into the "AI vs. VA" debate. Are VAs scared of AI? How are they leveraging artificial intelligence as a powerful tool to enhance productivity, and what roles do they hope AI will never take over?
- Rapid Fire Insights: Quick takeaways on favorite tasks, least favorite tasks, and moments that brought tears of joy or humility.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone considering hiring a virtual assistant, curious about the future of healthcare support, or simply wanting to understand the incredible human beings behind the screens.
Virtual Rockstars specialize in helping support or replace all non-clinical roles.
Learn how a Virtual Rockstar can help scale your physical therapy practice.
Subscribe here to our completely free Stress-Free PT Newsletter for your weekly dose of joy.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome back to the Willpower Podcast, rockstars.
I am pumped for today's episode.
We have, as part of our AIversus virtual assistant season,
two virtual assistants One thatwe work with who serves an
outpatient practice in NewHampshire with multiple
locations, and another virtualassistant who's on my direct
(00:25):
team, and we're interviewingthem to get behind the curtain
and understand every aspect ofwhat it's like to be a virtual
assistant.
What are the highs, the lows,the challenges, what's it like
working with Americans?
All the different things thatwe don't think about when we
talk about virtual assistants.
And we're also going to gettheir take of artificial
(00:46):
intelligence.
Are they scared by it?
Do they use it?
How do those things go togetherin the future?
We're gonna answer all thesequestions and more, and get to
know some real heart of thehumanity behind the future of
healthcare.
Let's go.
I have met the best leaders withzero formal training in the
Philippines, because they havefocus and they have heart.
(01:07):
So when you're hiring, whetherit's the Philippines or not, and
especially if you're likeconsidering ever going to the
Philippines, to not find someonewho's going to do the silly
things that you don't want to doand be worried about the accent
accent, all right.
(01:32):
Well, andre and Joe, welcome tothe Willpower Podcast.
Let's have you guys introduceyourselves right out of the gate
.
Tell us about you and what youdo professionally.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Okay, I'm going to start it up.
So, hi guys.
My name is Joe, I'm a frontoffice manager working remotely
and leading a team of 14filipino virtual assistants um
supporting five physical therapyclinics in new hampshire.
What we do on a daily basis wedo patient scheduling, billing,
follow-ups, insuranceverification and some more, so
(02:01):
we are pretty passionate aboutstreamlining healthcare
operations while maintainingpersonal relations to our
patients and to our co-workersin the US.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Very nice, that was very professional.
Jo, before we go to Andre, tellme about you personally, tell
me about your family and maybesome success that you had that
we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Okay, well, I am a single mom to a well now going
to college daughter, of whichI'm pretty exciting Bittersweet.
I live with my mom.
I'm just a simple girl who justloves cooking when I'm not
working.
I also sing and play musicalinstruments as my you know side
(02:44):
gig.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
You have such a great voice.
I want the audience tounderstand that when we get all
of our team together.
There was one time I challengedyou to sing and you did in
front of the group and it waslike professional level was so
good.
I love that joke.
All right, thank you.
Yeah, filipino Andre also has areally good voice, even though
you did country when we didkaraoke.
(03:06):
Andre, tell, introduce yourselfplease okay.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So, hey guys, my name is andre.
I am I would say I'm arecruiter, my profession, I've
I've had um six years ofexperience, uh, recruiting.
Initially, I would saycareer-wise, i've've started out
as a healthcare recruiter, likeactually recruiting healthcare
providers in the United States,matching them with opportunities
(03:30):
.
But recently I've shifted.
So I've spent the last yearwith Virtual Rockstar,
connecting amazing talents inthe Philippines with
opportunities that wouldotherwise be available locally.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I love that.
Now tell me about youpersonally.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Me personally, I would say ooh, where do I even
start?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I'll tell you where to start.
Talk about you being a leaderand entrepreneur, because your
vision is like to own a businessone day.
Tell them about your ambition.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yep.
So every day I work, I wake upwith a burning desire to conquer
the world so true, I, I just dothere's.
there's like the world is ripefor the taking and if I don't
get up and get after, it feelslike it's a wasted opportunity.
So whatever opportunity I see,I just take it, and one day I
(04:25):
envision owning my own business,being in the same space, doing
similarly with Will.
I'd say, interests-wise, thereare a lot of interests.
I also am very interested inmusic.
I played in a lot of bandsbefore I was working and I like
(04:51):
Star Wars.
I like a lot of things, man.
I don't even know where tostart.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I think that's a good intro, Andre.
I just want people to get asense of you.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
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your mind.
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Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.
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Moholland and subscribe to theStress-Free PT Newsletter.
(05:28):
Dude, I know how to get on theMoholland.
What I need to know is how thisStress-Free PT Newsletter,
which comes out weekly, outlay,dude, don't you know?
Stress is the new smoking.
You need to take the antidote.
The newsletter comes out everyweek and totally provides you
with fun information ways tode-stress.
(05:50):
It totally blows your mind.
So subscribe to the stress-freePT newsletter today.
Stress PT newsletter Made byPTs For PTs Launch launching on
July 21st.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I mean it's going to get better than that.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
We nailed it.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Let's get right into the nitty gritty, because right
now their minds are being blown.
They're like, wait a minute,people who've never worked with
VAs are thinking, wow, theyspeak perfect English and
da-da-da-da-da, because all thethings that are like stigmas.
But what got you guys intobeing a VA?
Let's get into the backgroundfor the Rockstars as to like why
did you choose this profession?
Rockstars is just obvious.
Like side note, joe is avirtual assistant for Virtual
(06:41):
Rockstar who works for a clientof ours, and Andre is on my core
team working to help find thevirtual assistants.
I thought it'd be really usefulfor people to understand the
perspectives and see thehumanity in this, because when
people think about virtualassistants, they often think
about being outsourced overseas,not understanding what's being
said, lower customer service,and that's quite the opposite.
(07:03):
But let's get into why.
Why did you become a virtualassistant and what drives you
from a place of passion?
Those might be two separatethings, jo, but let's start with
you.
Why did you become a VA andthen, what drives you from a
place of passion?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Okay, well, for the longest time I worked for a
corporate company though it's aBPO company for Australian
clients.
And then, come pandemic, allthe offices had shut down,
didn't have much option.
So I tried and ventured intothe VA world.
Though I heard about a lot ofstuff about it, I didn't really
(07:38):
had a chance because I thoughtthat working in a corporate is
like somewhat stable, like wouldgive me a stable income.
But then it blew my mind when Ihave researched about being a
VA.
Not only the compensation isway much better than what I am
getting when I was in acorporate world, but then I have
(07:58):
the opportunity to work fromhome and spend more time with my
family while earning more thanwhat I was earning before.
So that really hooked me up inlearning more about the VA world
.
And you know, just puttingmyself out there sending all my
resumes and I'm applying.
And luckily I stumbled uponRockstar and it's history from
(08:20):
there.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, I appreciate that.
It's such an interesting thingto see that motivation.
So what drives you from a placeof passion, jo, like what is it
that you're passionate about?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, before I was put into the corporate world, I
had took up a healthcare course,I took up nursing, but then,
because of a necessity, I didn'treally, you know, pursue that
passion.
But when I had ventured overthe phone and conversing,
learning medical things throughmy physical therapist and the
(09:10):
owner of my business, has reallyignited something in me.
Like my 19-year-old collegeself is being, you know,
satisfied with what I am doingright now.
So that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
That's neat that your daughter is graduating and
looking at becoming a nurse incollege, so you're fulfilling
that healthcare passion andshe's followed your lead, joe,
what a beautiful story and Ilove that.
Andre same question Why'd youbecome a VA and what drives you
passionately?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
okay.
So I'd say I I became anoffshore recruiter because I saw
the untapped potential in umstaffing everywhere.
Staffing is a problem for a lotof businesses and now,
especially that I'm working withvirtual rockstar, especially
from from from places like thephilippines.
There are so many highlyskilled, hard-working
(10:06):
professionals out there who justneed the right platform and the
right opportunity.
I wanted to be that bridge.
There's a lot of business to bemade there.
It's also incredibly fulfillingto just connect people with
worlds that change their lives,while helping businesses grow
(10:26):
with the talent that they didn'teven know that they needed.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, it's so true and it's a gift to be able to
recruit the way that you do, andit's so cool that you can.
You guys rock stars.
You hear that passion in theirvoices.
It's something that weoftentimes get disconnected in
the United States.
When we're just trying to quote, find ourselves At the end of
the day, for both of you therewas a financial motivation.
Just to give the rock star somecontext, the average Filipino
(10:52):
makes between $1 and $3 an hourwith the typical local positions
, even with some of these BPOs,and then the potential for
earning of that is literallythree to four times that, even
as they're working through anagency, like you guys are
currently doing.
It's a powerful change infinance, but there's still this
passion around what you found,your passion in it, whether it's
(11:13):
healthcare or building teams inAndre's case, it's a really
powerful thing.
So I want to know, I would likefor you guys to share.
Let's go to Joe.
What's a day in your life looklike?
Let's go with Joe on this one,because this is more typical of
the audience, of what they'regoing to hear.
What is this typical day?
Because you're over how manyVAs now?
Joe, 14.
So what does a day in the lifeof Joe look like at work.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Okay, well, first thing, my shift starts at 8.30
EST, so that's 8.30 pm here inthe Philippines.
You PST, so that's 8.30 pm herein the Philippines.
You start at 8.30 at night,locally, got it?
Yeah, locally, that's right.
But 30 minutes before I alreadylook into my messages because,
as a leader, you have to checkif your BAs had something, if
something has an emergency, youknow you need to make sure that
(11:59):
you have coverage before thelogin time.
So I do check that first thing.
And then, because I'm nottraveling anymore, unlike before
, like I have to wake up liketwo to three hours before to
prep myself, I only needed 30minutes of my time to maybe
something, pull up my toolsready, my device, my computer,
(12:21):
and set up my office.
And then which is well, veryconvenient, if you might say and
then when I log in, I just goover my virtual assistants,
check on the updates, checktheir attendance, have a meeting
with my owners, connect withthe PT managers and just do my
(12:41):
random day-to-day task withinthose five clinics that I
oversee.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That's amazing, and so you're running this whole
team, so it's a verysupervisory-based role.
Yes, man, that is such a coolthing, and as you're going
through this, you're living thatpassion of helping the
healthcare companies grow andscale.
I have a totally differentquestion for Andre, and I'm
really curious about this one.
For you, bud, what is somethingthat you do every day that the
(13:08):
company owner in this case mehas no idea that you're actually
handling?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Well, I don't think you know that I put up a lot of
fires that are just currentlystarting up everywhere in the
company.
We are getting larger by theday.
I think per week we are doingon average the TA team.
(13:36):
We're doing like seven groupinterviews a week, if I'm not
mistaken.
Six to seven group interviewsand that number of V and our
companies expanding rapidly.
And there's just I.
I answer a lot of questions waybeyond talent acquisition.
That I think if I can justsolve this I'm not gonna go to
denise or kayla about this if Ican just, um, if I can handle
(13:59):
this, I'm just gonna answer it.
You know.
So I it's, it's a big part ofmy job.
Every, every single day I reademails and there's a lot of
emails there um fires that needto be put out.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
That's amazing.
I can't thank you enough forhandling that, andre.
To put it in context, audience,this year we're in June, we're
filming this on June 6th and, uh, it'll be released next month,
in July, and this year alone, wecalculated that we've hired
over 100 virtual assistants sofar this year, and so it's been.
Yeah, that's a lot of work,because there's this amazing
team that you are a part of thatis just crushing it.
(14:34):
I didn't know that you'reputting out fires left and right
, andre.
Thank you for doing that, man.
Yeah, I love it.
Okay, so I have to ask you whenyou first became VAs?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
what was it like?
Adapting to the Americanculture?
Was that?
Were there cool things?
Challenges around that it'spretty cool, because working
with Americans is very different.
You guys are so straightforwardin a good way.
For me, um, it's all plain andsimple.
You know.
What see is what you get.
Um, challenges is, of course,before I I didn't get much of
(15:14):
your humor like are you talkingabout me personally or all of
the americans?
Why?
You personally, but just youknow in general, like um, if you
know my boss, steve, yeah yeah.
Steve is a good guy.
You know, when he sayssomething I have to pause and
think if I have to laugh or not.
Then we put some time to gethis humor.
(15:35):
But now we're pretty much okay.
I do get his humor.
So that's all good.
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
What about you, andre?
So that's all again, that'samazing.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
That's amazing what about you, andre?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Well, me personally, since I grew up very westernized
, being exposed to a lot ofAmerican media video games,
movies and TV shows I did nothave such a hard time adapting
to it and I also actually havean American friend that I speak
with almost every day, so Iguess it's not as hard for me to
(16:06):
make an adjustment to it,especially, um, since I've
already been exposed to it andI've got a lot of relatives in
america.
But definitely there is likethat little transition into oh,
am I, is this appropriate to say, is this, is this, um, is this
crossing the line?
Because sometimes Filipinoswill really really lose in our
(16:29):
conversation.
You know we say a lot of stuffthat we consider taboo in
American culture, so it'sdefinitely something you have to
think twice before saying that.
But over the years I've gottenaccustomed to it, like what to
say, what not to say.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, that's interesting, andre, I almost
want to ask you on air whatthose things are, but we'll get
privately as to what those taboothings are, but for now I'm
going to stay with you on thisone.
I would like to know, and I'llask both of you this, so I'll go
to Joanne, to Joe after this.
But, andre, what kind of growthhave you personally experienced
as a result of your currentrole?
(17:07):
What's some of the personalbenefit that you've gotten out
of your role outside of money?
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Okay, that's exactly what happened to me when I first
joined Virtual Rockstar.
For the better part of mycareer I have been doing since
there is a difference betweenrecruiting and talent
acquisition.
For the better part of mycareer, I've been recruiting
Recruitment's just filling ahole, and that's what I did.
I recruited nurses for travelcontracts and really the only
(17:40):
reason for it was money business.
But now, since I'vetransitioned into Virtual
Rockstar, it's more abouthearing people, empathizing with
them, knowing their story andknowing what kind of
personalities would go well witha client.
It's been a game changer for meto do this instead of what I was
doing before, because it's notjust money that's the driving
(18:02):
force in what I'm doing.
It's a passion and it'sfulfillment Every single day.
It's very fulfilling knowingthat I'm making a difference in
the work that I do, not justwith VAs, but also with our
clients that are in the USstruggling, struggling to make
(18:25):
time for their family,struggling with their business,
and it's really, reallyfulfilling for me.
So that's the word todayfulfilling.
Yeah, it's a ripple effect.
Remember that conversation wehad like almost a year ago.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Yeah, I mean both of you.
This is true.
Just because we're talking toAndre, I just yeah, you're meant
for so many big things.
Your name is going to be wellknown and it's because of that
passion and that urgency and Ithink there's so much humanity
to that aspect of it, andre, Iappreciate you saying that.
Joe, what about you?
What's something that you?
(19:02):
How have you personally grownfrom being a VA the outside of
money, of course you have waybetter like balance with your
kids and like, of course, themoney's better, but like what's
what's something?
How have you grown as a personduring this journey?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
I would copy Andre's word.
It's just the sense offulfillment.
Um, I was a VA for the firstmonths that I entered Virtual
Rockstar.
During that time I get to havelike a conversation with my
business owner, with the clientor the clinic owner.
It felt like I was not just anemployee to her.
(19:37):
You know like I felt that I amcontributing to her business,
that my ideas are being seen, mysuggestions are being taken
seriously.
So that's something that youknow.
It gives me a butterfly'sinterest.
I'm just talking about it it'sbecause I haven't experienced
(19:59):
that kind of um, boss andemployee relationship before.
And then when I got promotedinto a manager handling 14
virtual assistants, that's atotal different story.
I get a sense of fulfillmenthandling Filipino virtual
assistants, who had that samefeeling when I first entered
(20:21):
Virtual Rockstar.
You know they're earning waybelow and now they're very
thankful and very fulfilled withhow they work.
They have their work-lifebalance.
So that's an.
That's one aspect that I mostfeel the sense of fulfillment.
And then again, the sense offulfillment that my owners,
steve and irene.
(20:41):
They have their confidence inme.
Like they, they would give meauthority to make decisions in
my level, in my department, andthat's something that is very
empowering as a virtualassistant.
Even they're far away.
They make you feel like you'resomething important in the
business and in return, I amvery eager to make their
(21:03):
business more and more.
Uh, how this is productive andI want their business to expand
more.
I want to be with them whenthey fall.
So that's something that's very, very close to my heart.
I can feel the butterfliesagain.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, you guys are so amazing and I can tell you this
that, like for me on that end,it's so empowering to hear how
this position is empowering youright, because I think again,
where people get it wrong whenit comes to this idea of
overseas help whether it'scalled VAs or anything else is
that people are.
Those companies oftentimesaren't taking in the humanity of
(21:39):
the people on the other end ofthe phone and when you're trying
to do a business model whereyou're trying to get cheap labor
, that's very different thanworking with leaders who have
and creating new opportunitiesand rock stars.
Here's my experience People inthe States we're talking
healthcare practice providers,especially the PTs, ots and SLPs
that I've worked with.
They are, I think, some of thebest employers or leaders for
(22:04):
people in the Philippines,because no one gets into our
industry for money ever Like weare in it because of love and
wanting to be leaders.
We just need people who cansupport the vision.
So the first time I hiredsomeone overseas her name is Ann
this was in 2021.
I hired her through a companykind of like ours now and
there's a lot of good companiesout there.
(22:25):
I found this person and shecried when I hired her and she
was really open to likesupporting me and everything I
could.
So I poured into her and shegrew and made more money and
eventually she found a jobmaking way more money somewhere
else that I couldn't keep upwith.
And I just remember like thatwhole journey for me, rock stars
that was more impactful thanbecoming a healthcare provider
(22:47):
and I don't say that lightly.
Being a healthcare provider isstill who I am, but the reason
I'm so passionate about this isbecause it's so amazing to see
both the practice owners get thekind of help that they
desperately need, while they'reable to mentor and grow some of
the best human beings on theplanet.
So it's really cool to see howthat goes.
(23:07):
What would you guys say are thebiggest challenges of being a
virtual assistant in yourcurrent roles?
I'm really curious what Andreis going to say, but Joe, you go
first.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Okay, well, the challenge is well, I would say,
the communication with thevirtual assistants.
Like, if you don't have this,some of them are working in the
provinces.
We're not in the same city,even though we're in the same
country, right?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, a bunch of violence.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So the communication, that's one of the biggest
challenges at the start becausewe don't know each other
personally, we haven't seen eachother personally face-to-face.
So building a relationship withthis virtual assistants is very
important so that they can beopen to me and I can be open to
them.
So that is one of the biggestchallenges if you're leading a
(23:59):
team of virtual assistants frommy perspective.
But once you encounter thatbarrier with communication, you
get to know them personally.
You share their passion, theirvision, you know a little bit of
the story of their family.
They're more than willing toopen up and then you have like a
synergized relationship withinthe team with the same goal, and
(24:19):
then you embody thatrelationship through your bosses
or through your owners, andthen everybody's happy.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, so communication's big, culture's
big.
But once that's in place itaccelerates.
Andre same question.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Okay, so where do I start again?
Well, I'm not saying it's verychallenging, but I think the
most obvious thing that standsout is since we are a people
business and there arechallenges on both sides, not
just with our VAs, but with ourclients, not just with our
(24:58):
clients, but with ourprospective clients.
We are, I'd say, the middlemanbehind it all.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So challenges would be coordination, coordination of
all the different moving partsbetween the owners and the
employees.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, and setting up not just with that but also with
expectations, making sure thatexpectations are aligned, not
just with our partners but alsoour VAs, because sometimes
over-promising might be aproblem right In this industry.
(25:36):
Over-promising I'd say that'sthe number one challenge that I
am dealing with on a day-to-daybasis.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
How do you mean over-promising?
What does that mean Like?
What do you mean by overpromising?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Let's just say our let's start from the VA side.
So VAs they, they.
On the interview they say morestuff that they can actually
handle.
I've seen this happen a lot oftimes, and also not just on our
VA side, but with a partner side.
I'd say this is not overpromising, it's under promising.
(26:13):
They initially hire them for aset of tasks that are just this,
this, and that that they end updoing a whole lot of other
stuff.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
They become super VAs , where they're being hired for
one thing, but then, after theyget hired, they're doing 30
things and they're overwhelmed.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah, that thing doesn't fly well if it isn't the
right person, because the VAmight take it the wrong way.
This is currently happening allover our company, not to expose
, I don't care, I don't wantthis to be a commercial for
Virtual Rock expose.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I don't care.
I don't want this to be acommercial for Virtual Rockstar.
I really want this to be a raw,real episode for people,
because obviously I believe inour company, but I'm not trying
to sell my services.
This is just using what we inthis topic of freedom helping
people understand the pros andcons, so like our problems are
going to be.
Maybe some of them are uniqueto us, but I'm guessing a lot of
companies go through this.
So, like this, this thing thatyou're talking about, is really
(27:09):
important for people to hear.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Definitely.
Yeah, that's.
I'd say that's more liketraining and onboarding
expectations, because clientsoften expect VAs just to hit the
ground running.
You actually covered this in aprevious episode.
But yeah, but every clinic orbusiness, they have different
systems.
Misaligned expectations abouttraining or responsibilities can
(27:35):
cause frustration on both sidesof this setup.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Yeah, you're such a good salesman, you've gone from
a place of when you've gottenrecruits that you're ready to
prep them for interview.
You used to be able to likehelp them get ready for the
interview and be like hey, butnow you're realizing like no,
just show up like you are andlet's try to get to the raw
nature so that you don'toversell yourself.
And then, on my end that's whatI see as well is you have these
(28:08):
owners who are like I don'teven know if I want a VA, and
then it works out so well thatthey just start dumping on them
Like it's kind of this, you know, and so you're, you're in the
middle, like you said, helpingcause we don't just like stop at
hire You're, you're in there aswell as Denise and others from
our customer satisfaction teamtrying to resolve those issues
and VAs.
I will say this Filipinos, isit fair to say this?
The culture of the Philippinesis so respectful that sometimes
(28:31):
it might challenge some VAs tobe upfront with their employers.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
That's, you're 100% on the money.
There Will we definitely avoiddifficult conversations.
If we could, we'renon-confrontational and that
could sort of present a problem,because it's, it's, it's just
gonna boil, it's gonna boil andboil.
Then, um, a few months later,it's, it's gonna become a big
(28:59):
problem like oh, I can't anymore.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
It's gonna come to the point of burnout yeah, and
then they quit and you're likewhat happened?
It's like what happened there.
It's so interesting because youknow, the culture is partly
what I fell in love with in thisjourney in the Philippines
because it's got its own flavorand it's kind of Americanized.
But the hardworking, sincere,best people just are coming from
(29:23):
that culture and to a fault,like people I just are coming
from that culture and to a fault, like all of our weaknesses are
just our strengths amplified.
So this respectful nature turnsinto a limitation if we aren't
like helping people, because inAmerica an employee would never
have a problem saying, yeah, Idon't like that.
You know they'd be like, ifanything, you have the opposite
problem.
Where people are.
You find as an employer, you'retrying your employees.
(29:44):
You might feel like you'retrying to please your employees
because they're constantly upsetabout things.
So it's a good problem to have,but it still results in failure
if it's not addressed.
Yeah, so okay, guys, let's talkabout what you wish private
practice owners would know abouthiring a VA.
Like what would you want themto know as, as someone who's
like getting started in thisjourney?
(30:05):
What would you want them toknow as as someone who's like
getting started in this journey.
What would you want them toknow?
Take your time, I'm going tostart with Joe, but just what do
you would?
What would you tell a potentialperson who's going to hire a
virtual assistant?
What do you?
What would you want them toknow about that experience?
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Well, I just want them to know that they're in for
a surprise, as we say, filipinoVAs are very hardworking.
Like you, throw them a trainingsheet or a training document,
give them one to two days andthey'll be able to do it.
We are very like self-studying,self-training.
We're used to that.
(30:40):
But I just wish for the ownersto know that we are also looking
for dynamics.
I know the clinical job ispretty routine.
We do the same task every day.
There are several updates thatwould come up in the VAs, like
(31:10):
point of contact programs foreach clinics, and I encourage
one person every month to do aleadership role, like for the
whole team, and we'll take everymonth so that it's not going to
be routine for them month, sothat it's not going to be
routine for them.
So it's something that I againI'm very grateful to Irene and
Steve because all of mysuggestions they take my heart.
(31:34):
Yeah they're great leaders.
Irene and Steve are phenomenal.
Yes, and when I suggested forus to have like an incentive
program every month for a topperformer VA, I did not.
You know, they did not secondguess about it, they just loved
Eritrea and those who came upwith the same idea with the PTs.
Right now the physicaltherapists have their own
scorecards and they have theirawards, but their awards are
(31:59):
brutal.
Like with us, we only have thetop performer, the PTs.
They have their top and bottomperformer.
The bottom performer gets likea trophy.
that is a poop trophy, oh wowvery brutal, but again it's
steve's humor, so it's funnyyeah so there, I just wish that
(32:21):
some of the owners would knowthat we are also looking for
those kinds of um, like some alittle bit of excitement apart
from our routinary jobs everyday.
So I love that Be.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Be get ready for a surprise.
And I think you said like trust, you know.
You know, once you get arelationship established to
trust them, be surprised thatyou can trust them and that will
go well.
Andre, what would you want thepotential owners to know about
this experience?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Okay, I think this would really be an interesting
topic for me, since I actually Ium.
Well, let me just begin bysaying I wish they would, um, I
wish they'd know to hire forpotential and not just for
skills, that's powerful.
Yeah, I know you touched on thisa lot of times in the past in
(33:13):
previous episodes, because Ilisten to this podcast
religiously.
Every time I go on a walk Ilisten to this.
But anyway, it means you're notjust checking off a list of
past experiences, but you'reactually looking deeper at
someone's ability to learnquickly, grow into a role, adapt
to challenges and bring thatfresh energy into a team.
(33:36):
A VA might not have used yourexact EMR or scheduling tool,
but if they've shown initiative,critical thinking and, I'd say,
resilience in similarenvironments, chances are they
would get there fast.
They excel in that role Becausetools can be taught, Skills can
(33:58):
be learned.
But there's just some stuff thatyou cannot just change, like
curiosity, humility and thetenacity to get things done.
Those come from within and youjust cannot teach that, and I
hope our potential partnerswould hold that in higher regard
than just a specific set ofskills.
(34:20):
But skills are you've got tohave the foundation right,
They've got to have some sort ofexperience, but I hope they're
not as nitpicky with thetechnical aspect of it all.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Andre, that was gold Rockstars.
I need to punch somethingreally powerful that Andre just
laid out.
Listen to what he said.
Not even from just hiringsomeone overseas, but hiring in
general, hire for potential,hire for mindset and alignment
with culture.
Don't worry about skill set.
And you know, andre, it'sinteresting Cause I think that's
(34:52):
that's the biggest takeaway.
Rock stars I want you to hearfrom Andre is like these are
people, these are human beingsin the Philippines with
unlimited potential rock stars.
You've heard me say this beforeand I'm going to say it again,
(35:12):
and this is from my background.
Being faith-based is that if weare, in my world, children of
God and we have unlimitedpotential in life and we can
become creators because it'sliterally in our DNA.
That isn't unique to anycountry.
Those are man-made boundariesthat are silly.
This whole thing about humanityis what matters.
I have met the best leaderswith zero formal training in the
(35:33):
Philippines because they havefocus and they have heart.
So when you're hiring, whetherit's the Philippines or not, and
especially if you're likeconsidering ever going to the
Philippines to not find someonewho's going to do the silly
things that you don't want to doand be worried about the accent
or whatever.
I'm hoping these episodes areclearing that up in real time.
What I hope you'll take fromthis is you hire for heart and
(35:56):
potential, because I will tellyou and I'm not saying this to
be nice you are going to hearthese people's names.
You are going to hear Andre'sname.
I can say that moredefinitively because he's
directly under my wing.
You are going to know, andre.
He is going to be a force to bereckoned with in this world and
that's why I hired him.
So I did that.
Look, I just really love thatyou say that, andre, because I
(36:17):
wish people would know that toois that this is not just like
offloading crap they don't wantto do.
It's about building the bestteam they could have ever
dreamed of, with the rightpeople, and now it's starting to
sound a little bit like acommercial.
So we're going to shift gears toartificial intelligence.
It's just, but it's how I feel.
It's how I feel it's what thisis and it's why I'm so
passionate about it.
So let's get into artificialintelligence.
(36:39):
I'm really excited about goingthis, going there with you guys,
because I was told this is truethat if I don't start looking
at artificial intelligence as anowner of a virtual assistant
company that we're going to bedead in the water in 10 years.
Some have said last time.
I want to know how you guys arethinking about.
Let's start with Andre.
So do you think that AI isgoing to replace virtual
(37:00):
assistants?
Speaker 3 (37:01):
No, definitely not.
I would say no, definitely no.
Ai falls short on a lot ofthings.
Ai can't do a lot of thingsthat VAs can do is here to take
(37:27):
your jobs.
You should be scared.
Ai is here to replace people,but the truth is, especially
when we're talking about virtualassistants, it's not about
competition.
It's more about collaboration.
Vas who are really thrivingright now are not scared of AI.
They're the ones using it toreally supercharge the
productivity.
Well, think about it.
Ai can help you drop reports,even something as simple as
(37:47):
drafting an email right Formarketing stuff, brainstorming
content, summarizing long emails, generate leads, even handle
really boring, repetitive admintasks things that would normally
eat up hours upon hours, butnow a VA can do all of that in
(38:07):
just 10 minutes.
So, instead of replacing theirrole, AI would become a really
powerful sidekick.
It frees up the VA to focus onhigh value tasks like
communication, strategy andpersonal touches personal, human
touches that AI just can'treplicate.
I'd say the VAs who would winin this space are the ones who
(38:31):
treat AI like a tool and not asa threat.
They're learning how to use itto their advantage, and that
makes them 10 times moreefficient and even more
indispensable.
So VAs free up the practiceowners right.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Yeah, ais free up the practice owners right.
Yeah, ais free up the vas,that's so cool factors in the
whole equation seth, did youhear that?
Um, this is real time.
I want even I want this to berecorded, by the way, seth, I
want you, as my, my, uh creativespecialist, to hear that.
Let's put that out there.
So yeah, va's free up practiceowners, or no, va's free up
(39:12):
practice owners, ai's free upVAs.
That is so cool.
Joanna Joe, do you agree withthat?
I do Feel free to disagree,though.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
I do agree 100%.
If I just would correlate it towhat's happening right now
within our clinic.
We use ChatGPT.
I encourage my VAs to useChatGPT for emails.
Why?
Because our VAs aremultitasking.
They are receiving calls, doingwelcome wear check-ins and then
(39:44):
answering to emails, doingwelcomeware check-ins and then
answering to emails.
So if it's a general email,like just asking for a schedule
or something that is verygeneral, they already have a
template made by chat gpt torespond to that, which helps a
lot, right.
But again, chat gpt won't beable to respond if the patient
would respond on a more personallevel, like going to ask for
(40:08):
something specific within theirschedule.
So that's when the VAs wouldcome in.
Again, when I would quote whatAndre said about the human touch
.
So VAs would have theadaptability, flexibility and,
of course, the human touch andinteraction in each of the tasks
(40:30):
that we do With WelcomeWare.
It's pretty automatic when youput up the paperwork in the
screen, the patient can justsign on the screen and something
like that.
But most of the patients, whatwe come for at the kiosk is the
smiles of the VAs.
How did I know that?
Because of the survey inWelcomeWear.
(40:51):
Welcomewear has a survey.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
By the way, for those who are listening, WelcomeWear
is the company that we work withfor kiosks.
We're big fans.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Okay.
So it's super great becausethey have a survey and then the
patients can write down whatthey think about their
interaction with the VAs.
So when we started, thepatients were very skeptic about
like the video interaction, butwhen they saw the, you know the
personalized way how the VAstalked to them.
I would say I love your hat,how do you do today?
(41:21):
And something like that.
They feel a human interactioneven though we are far away or
even though we're not in theclinics.
So this the AI tools they makeour life easier but, again,
clinics won't survive without ahuman interaction, especially
with patients.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yeah, I love that my vision for this and who knows
for sure, but my vision for thisis that the companies are going
to have the healthcareproviders, the owners, and then
everything else will be AIthrough VA, and I love your
vision of like we did not chatabout this before audience rock
stars, like I really wanted toknow what they thought I didn't
know, and it's cool to see thatthey're using this as a tool.
(42:00):
You know the AI is used as atool to supercharge the VAs.
So then, andre, back to you.
Like what are your?
Joe mentioned some of her tools.
What are the tools that youlove to use that are AI-based?
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Well, not to be the back-in-my-day guy.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Back in your day.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
Well, as much as possible.
I don't use AI to drop myemails if I can help it, but if
it's something that's reallylong, I would use AI Probably.
I just use Gemini to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
Why Gemini over ChatGPT?
Just out of curiosity, Becausethose are similar products.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
It's free and faster and it's like a similar.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Do you know that?
I pay for the advanced Geminiversion for our virtual rock
star.
As a side note, you have accessto the highest level of virtual
.
This might be Seth.
We might want to cut this, butjust so you know we have access
to the highest level.
I don't know that.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
I don't know that we I don't know that.
I don't know that we're payingfor anything right now.
I'm just very manual the waythat I source people.
Okay, so there's this AI toolcalled Vivian.
I'm not sure if you know thatit's a recruiting tool that just
screens resumes for you.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Yeah, that's, vivian, what you have to use because
you have hundreds of applicants.
Speaker 1 (43:16):
for every open position that you hire for, you
have hundreds of applicants, soyou use some AI to help you
screen.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
To some degree, yeah, but there's nothing beats like
you just screening the resume,because sometimes there's a lot
of times that AI gets it wrongjust picks up a few words and
then calls it a good buyer.
So what we use in our ATS it'scalled Zoho.
I'm pretty sure you know thatyou pay for it To some degree.
(43:46):
There is an AI function therethat ranks the resumes based on
how qualified they are for theposition, and I'm not sure how
it does that, but sometimes Iuse it.
I I rent their resumes, but Iwould still need to use my human
eye, my own discernment, to, um, judge these resumes based on
(44:09):
how good they would fit for therole, because ai doesn't catch
stuff like longevity or, uh, youknow, yeah, all of like human
nuances that are part of yourpersonal background and
experience.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Almost the feel of it , yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
Yeah, yeah, there's just like I said.
There's just some stuff that AIcannot replicate.
It can catch words, like on theskills part of the resume.
It can catch, like, let's justsay, emrs.
It picks up a certain EMR andplaces that candidate very high
up the list.
But then again you take a lookat the resume and see, oh, this
(44:45):
candidate has been jumping fromjob to job within the last few
months.
Even They've had three jobs inthe past six months and to me
that's not as attractive as whatAI is telling me six months and
to me that's not as attractiveas what AI is doing.
So I guess that would be themost relevant AI application
that I use in my job, but prettymuch everything is manual I do.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
I love that.
All right.
So I want to now ask you guyswhat is a part of your job that
you wish AI could take over, andwhat's a part of your job that
you hope AI will never touch?
I'll start with Joe.
I'll go first.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
Yeah, Insurance verification.
Please Take it away.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Take it away.
Okay, you know, it's justcalling these insurance
companies.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
It's just calling these insurance companies.
It's just taking a lot of time.
Oh, it's horrible.
Yeah, the waiting line on thephone is like over 30 minutes,
when, in fact, if we have AI whowould run insurance
verification, can do it in aminute.
So I really pray and hope thatwe do have an AI for insurance
verification and authorizationrequest as well, so that would
(45:58):
take a lot of you know, thestuff from our shoulders.
And then what I wish AIwouldn't take away is still the
check-in process.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Because you have a very personal human.
You guys are patient, facing onscreens like you're very
progressive.
You don't want that to go away.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
No, I don't, Because having a relationship with a
patient, it's something that isvital to our jobs.
My virtual assistants they feelvery connected when they talk
to patients.
Like most of the patients inthe PTs are going there twice a
week.
Twice a week they practicallyknow each other.
(46:36):
Like when they see each otherin the screen they would say, oh
, how did your week go?
You said you were going to beon vacation.
What happened then?
So it's something that is againtaking them out of the routine
task every day.
Just having a conversation withthose patients is something
very refreshing in experiencingour day-to-day task.
So no, I don't wish for that togo away.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
It's interesting because a lot of people, when I
talk to very successfulprogressive people, joe, they
tell me they're like well, Idon't want to work with VAs
because I'm worried about losingthe human touch.
Isn't that so funny?
That the thing that you hope AInever touches is the fact that
you guys are owning the humantouch so well and in that
practice we've seen increases inpercentages of arrival.
(47:20):
So I love that you shared that,andre.
Same question.
Speaker 3 (47:24):
Okay.
So if there's one thing that Iwish AI could do better, it's
screening resumes, but on ahuman level, like you want that
off your plate.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
You would love for it just to be like here's your
best 10.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
Yes, exactly, not just keyword matching or
checking for buzzwords, butactually sensing the potential
in someone Like can this persongrow with the client?
Are they a good cultural fit?
Are they hungry, coachable andadaptable?
Those are the things that don'talways show on paper and I'm
(47:57):
not sure how AI would do that,but maybe in the future, right,
I'd love it if AI could justhandle the initial grunt work,
just sift through the noiseshortlist based off of values or
soft skills that align withwhat clients need, and that just
neatly slot interviews into oneblock of my calendar, like
choose your interview power hourback-to-back high potential
(48:20):
candidates go.
That would be amazing.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Oh, freaking cool.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Even with all that automation.
Well, I don't think I'd everwant to fully give up that human
connection.
For me, recruiting just isn'tabout matching skills I am a big
proponent of that.
It's about seeing people, theirenergy, their communication,
their passion.
I still want to be the one thattaught the, guide them, and
(48:48):
it's a root for them.
That part, that's the part thatAI just can't replace and
honestly, I wouldn't want it to.
But maybe someday in the futurewhere AI could develop feelings
of its own.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I think that's an interesting perspective because
right now again, what'sinteresting?
When people look at AI versusVAs, there's this like
conception for many beginnersthat VAs is a distancing from
the relationship because peoplearen't physically in a room Not
that that doesn't createchallenges, but there's
definitely still a human.
As long as you get the righthuman, it's going to be more
(49:24):
than fine.
If the AI ever gets to thatpoint where it can match that, I
have a feeling that the worldwill be at such an advanced
place that most people don'thave to work.
We're probably going to havemore than enough food and water
and shelter and opportunity tolive a different life.
But until then, I agree, thatconnection just can't go away.
All right, let's get into ourrapid fire.
(49:44):
We're at the end of our podcast.
We're gonna do some rapid firea little bit different with
YouTube versus what we're doingacross the board, because I want
it to be more VA specific.
So let's answer as briefly andquickly as we can.
We're going to go Joe, thenAndre, and then we'll reverse it
just to kind of match it up.
So, Joe, starting with you,what's your favorite part of the
job?
Speaker 2 (50:06):
Talking to my VAs.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
Talking to your VAs, andre.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
Connecting people with the right opportunities.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Love that.
What's the least favorite taskyou still have to do?
Andre, I guess you answered it.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
Same.
Sometimes it might end up beinga bad hire and I have to do it
all over again.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Yeah, repetition in the work.
Got it, joe.
What's your least favorite task?
You still have to do.
Speaker 2 (50:27):
You know it.
Insurance verificationVerification.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
Yeah, all right.
What's the one thing that madeyou cry, happy or sad, since
becoming a VA?
Joe, happy tears, but what wasone thing that made you cry,
happy or sad, since?
Speaker 2 (50:39):
becoming a VA.
Jo Happy tears.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
But what was one thing that made you cry?
Speaker 2 (50:44):
My VA telling me how much time she has now when she
has a toddler.
She has more time with hertoddler.
She's crying and just bawling.
She can't believe she got a joblike this.
Speaker 1 (50:58):
Wow, wow, andre.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
Okay, so this is not really rapid fire, but there's
this one time where there's thisVA that just thanked me.
She was on our candidate poolfor like two months and then she
told me that I really want tothank you because it's been
months since we've had somethingdecent to eat and wow, that's
(51:21):
so humbling to me, Wow.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
It's been.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
Wow, Like that.
Maybe I didn't cry like actualtears, but emotionally I was
really humbled.
I was like, oh, that it's thatkind of impact that we are
putting out.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
Yeah, I love that.
I'm going to answer it becauseI feel like I need you guys to
know.
For me, it was when I met youguys in person in the
Philippines.
That day, that night, I got onmy knees and just thank God that
I got a chance to meet you guys.
All right, moving on Number 18.
Okay, let's get into this nextquestion.
Jo, if your practice owner islistening right now, what's one
(52:02):
thing you'd want them?
What would you like to say tothem?
Speaker 2 (52:06):
I just want to thank them for letting me be a part of
the organization, like, reallybe a part of the organization.
They gave me authorization,they gave me liberty to make
decisions for the business, andI'm just so happy to be a part
of it.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
Oh Jo, that's great.
Well, I am going to have tochange that answer to that
previous question.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
I just want to add something to that?
Will I just want to addsomething to that?
I think it's because of yourleadership.
That's why the business owners,the culture that we set you set
for all the clients that wehave.
They have the same drive andthe same attitude towards their
(52:47):
VAs.
I think it's what sets our rockstar VA apart.
It's because you embody theculture with the clients and the
clients would also embody itthrough their BAs.
That's why we feel so valuedand seen.
We feel so seen, valued andvery important.
So I thank you for that because, you know, not all the agency
(53:09):
owners would exert the effort toyou know, to have their culture
passed on to the clients.
Not everybody does that.
So I really want to thank youfor that.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
Well that that means a lot to me.
It was one of the reasons I wasso excited to have you on the
show.
You're a people that I want tobe like, um, so that means a lot
to me, and I I will tell youthis, and I want the rock stars
to hear this too is that this iswhat happens when we hire great
people, is they see the good inus.
I've had employees Joe andAndre that thought I was the
(53:41):
worst, and there was a timewhere that was probably true,
but I will tell you that thebiggest difference in terms of
value for me, in terms of likemy purpose, has been to just
surround myself with people whosee the good side of me and
believe in that.
And let me just tell you it isso easy you guys make it so easy
to see the good side and what'spotential for you.
So, rock stars, as you'relistening, that's what's
(54:02):
possible when we hire greatpeople.
They, they are able to see thegood and help you overcome the
challenges that you face, which,for me, are many.
Joe and Andre, I can't thank youenough.
I have to.
I have to now pivot this to thequestion I'm asking at the end
of all of these episodes andhonestly answer.
It's the final definitivequestion of the interview.
(54:22):
Is it VA or is it?
Speaker 2 (54:26):
AI.
It's definitely a co-lamb, ai xVA co lamb.
Looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (54:33):
Hey, seth, the wonderful and powerful creative
specialist.
Let's mark that on the screenfor the YouTubers and the people
who are watching this podcast,keeping tally of the score.
Yeah, I want to thank you bothfor everything.
I don't even know how to beginto thank you other than just to
say, at least for now, for beingon the show and being
yourselves and for all theamazing work you do.
(54:58):
The lives that both of youchange are many, and it's not
lost on the people who arefortunate enough to get to work
with both of you.
I would love to just turn itover some parting words.
Final messages Jo.
Speaker 2 (55:07):
Well, if you're a VA and you're watching this podcast
or you're listening to thispodcast, just be brave, go out
there, explore.
There's a lot of opportunitiesin the VA world.
So you just got to equipyourself with skills.
Don't be afraid to apply intoyour resume and just build your
(55:29):
confidence from zero.
Not everyone is confident atfirst, but as you build yourself
, you talk to different people,you try and try.
You'll get there someday andyou'll experience the best,
highest paying jobs, the best ofthe both worlds, because you
have time for yourself and foryour family.
Speaker 1 (55:50):
Man, such a great closing words.
Thanks for tuning into theWillpower Podcast.
As always, this is WillHumphries, reminding you to lead
with love, live on purpose andnever give up your freedom.
Until next time.
Welcome back to the Willpower Podcast, rockstars.
I am pumped for today's episode.
We have, as part of our AIversus virtual assistant season,
two virtual assistants One thatwe work with who serves an
outpatient practice in NewHampshire with multiple
locations, and another virtualassistant who's on my direct
(00:25):
team, and we're interviewingthem to get behind the curtain
and understand every aspect ofwhat it's like to be a virtual
assistant.
What are the highs, the lows,the challenges, what's it like
working with Americans?
All the different things thatwe don't think about when we
talk about virtual assistants.
And we're also going to gettheir take of artificial
(00:46):
intelligence.
Are they scared by it?
Do they use it?
How do those things go togetherin the future?
We're gonna answer all thesequestions and more, and get to
know some real heart of thehumanity behind the future of
healthcare.
Let's go.
I have met the best leaders withzero formal training in the
Philippines, because they havefocus and they have heart.
(01:07):
So when you're hiring, whetherit's the Philippines or not, and
especially if you're likeconsidering ever going to the
Philippines, to not find someonewho's going to do the silly
things that you don't want to doand be worried about the accent
accent, all right.
(01:32):
Well, andre and Joe, welcome tothe Willpower Podcast.
Let's have you guys introduceyourselves right out of the gate
.
Tell us about you and what youdo professionally.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Okay, I'm going to start it up.
So, hi guys.
My name is Joe, I'm a frontoffice manager working remotely
and leading a team of 14filipino virtual assistants um
supporting five physical therapyclinics in new hampshire.
What we do on a daily basis wedo patient scheduling, billing,
follow-ups, insuranceverification and some more, so
(02:01):
we are pretty passionate aboutstreamlining healthcare
operations while maintainingpersonal relations to our
patients and to our co-workersin the US.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Very nice, that was very professional.
Jo, before we go to Andre, tellme about you personally, tell
me about your family and maybesome success that you had that
we're talking about.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Okay, well, I am a single mom to a well now going
to college daughter, of whichI'm pretty exciting Bittersweet.
I live with my mom.
I'm just a simple girl who justloves cooking when I'm not
working.
I also sing and play musicalinstruments as my you know side
(02:44):
gig.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
You have such a great voice.
I want the audience tounderstand that when we get all
of our team together.
There was one time I challengedyou to sing and you did in
front of the group and it waslike professional level was so
good.
I love that joke.
All right, thank you.
Yeah, filipino Andre also has areally good voice, even though
you did country when we didkaraoke.
(03:06):
Andre, tell, introduce yourselfplease okay.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
So, hey guys, my name is andre.
I am I would say I'm arecruiter, my profession, I've
I've had um six years ofexperience, uh, recruiting.
Initially, I would saycareer-wise, i've've started out
as a healthcare recruiter, likeactually recruiting healthcare
providers in the United States,matching them with opportunities
(03:30):
.
But recently I've shifted.
So I've spent the last yearwith Virtual Rockstar,
connecting amazing talents inthe Philippines with
opportunities that wouldotherwise be available locally.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I love that.
Now tell me about youpersonally.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Me personally, I would say ooh, where do I even
start?
Speaker 1 (03:53):
I'll tell you where to start.
Talk about you being a leaderand entrepreneur, because your
vision is like to own a businessone day.
Tell them about your ambition.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yep.
So every day I work, I wake upwith a burning desire to conquer
the world so true, I, I just dothere's.
there's like the world is ripefor the taking and if I don't
get up and get after, it feelslike it's a wasted opportunity.
So whatever opportunity I see,I just take it, and one day I
(04:25):
envision owning my own business,being in the same space, doing
similarly with Will.
I'd say, interests-wise, thereare a lot of interests.
I also am very interested inmusic.
I played in a lot of bandsbefore I was working and I like
(04:51):
Star Wars.
I like a lot of things, man.
I don't even know where tostart.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I think that's a good intro, Andre.
I just want people to get asense of you.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
Next on the Real PTs of Cuck 6 County.
Paperwork, crazy insurance andpatient care can make you lose
your mind.
Dude, I would have been thisstressed out if I found out
Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.
Dude, what you need to do isget on the 202, take it to
Moholland and subscribe to theStress-Free PT Newsletter.
(05:28):
Dude, I know how to get on theMoholland.
What I need to know is how thisStress-Free PT Newsletter,
which comes out weekly, outlay,dude, don't you know?
Stress is the new smoking.
You need to take the antidote.
The newsletter comes out everyweek and totally provides you
with fun information ways tode-stress.
(05:50):
It totally blows your mind.
So subscribe to the stress-freePT newsletter today.
Stress PT newsletter Made byPTs For PTs Launch launching on
July 21st.
Speaker 1 (06:09):
I mean it's going to get better than that.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
We nailed it.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
Let's get right into the nitty gritty, because right
now their minds are being blown.
They're like, wait a minute,people who've never worked with
VAs are thinking, wow, theyspeak perfect English and
da-da-da-da-da, because all thethings that are like stigmas.
But what got you guys intobeing a VA?
Let's get into the backgroundfor the Rockstars as to like why
did you choose this profession?
Rockstars is just obvious.
Like side note, joe is avirtual assistant for Virtual
(06:41):
Rockstar who works for a clientof ours, and Andre is on my core
team working to help find thevirtual assistants.
I thought it'd be really usefulfor people to understand the
perspectives and see thehumanity in this, because when
people think about virtualassistants, they often think
about being outsourced overseas,not understanding what's being
said, lower customer service,and that's quite the opposite.
(07:03):
But let's get into why.
Why did you become a virtualassistant and what drives you
from a place of passion?
Those might be two separatethings, jo, but let's start with
you.
Why did you become a VA andthen, what drives you from a
place of passion?
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Okay, well, for the longest time I worked for a
corporate company though it's aBPO company for Australian
clients.
And then, come pandemic, allthe offices had shut down,
didn't have much option.
So I tried and ventured intothe VA world.
Though I heard about a lot ofstuff about it, I didn't really
(07:38):
had a chance because I thoughtthat working in a corporate is
like somewhat stable, like wouldgive me a stable income.
But then it blew my mind when Ihave researched about being a
VA.
Not only the compensation isway much better than what I am
getting when I was in acorporate world, but then I have
(07:58):
the opportunity to work fromhome and spend more time with my
family while earning more thanwhat I was earning before.
So that really hooked me up inlearning more about the VA world
.
And you know, just puttingmyself out there sending all my
resumes and I'm applying.
And luckily I stumbled uponRockstar and it's history from
(08:20):
there.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Well, I appreciate that.
It's such an interesting thingto see that motivation.
So what drives you from a placeof passion, jo, like what is it
that you're passionate about?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Well, before I was put into the corporate world, I
had took up a healthcare course,I took up nursing, but then,
because of a necessity, I didn'treally, you know, pursue that
passion.
But when I had ventured overthe phone and conversing,
learning medical things throughmy physical therapist and the
(09:10):
owner of my business, has reallyignited something in me.
Like my 19-year-old collegeself is being, you know,
satisfied with what I am doingright now.
So that's pretty awesome.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
That's neat that your daughter is graduating and
looking at becoming a nurse incollege, so you're fulfilling
that healthcare passion andshe's followed your lead, joe,
what a beautiful story and Ilove that.
Andre same question Why'd youbecome a VA and what drives you
passionately?
Speaker 3 (09:41):
okay.
So I'd say I I became anoffshore recruiter because I saw
the untapped potential in umstaffing everywhere.
Staffing is a problem for a lotof businesses and now,
especially that I'm working withvirtual rockstar, especially
from from from places like thephilippines.
There are so many highlyskilled, hard-working
(10:06):
professionals out there who justneed the right platform and the
right opportunity.
I wanted to be that bridge.
There's a lot of business to bemade there.
It's also incredibly fulfillingto just connect people with
worlds that change their lives,while helping businesses grow
(10:26):
with the talent that they didn'teven know that they needed.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, it's so true and it's a gift to be able to
recruit the way that you do, andit's so cool that you can.
You guys rock stars.
You hear that passion in theirvoices.
It's something that weoftentimes get disconnected in
the United States.
When we're just trying to quote, find ourselves At the end of
the day, for both of you therewas a financial motivation.
Just to give the rock star somecontext, the average Filipino
(10:52):
makes between $1 and $3 an hourwith the typical local positions
, even with some of these BPOs,and then the potential for
earning of that is literallythree to four times that, even
as they're working through anagency, like you guys are
currently doing.
It's a powerful change infinance, but there's still this
passion around what you found,your passion in it, whether it's
(11:13):
healthcare or building teams inAndre's case, it's a really
powerful thing.
So I want to know, I would likefor you guys to share.
Let's go to Joe.
What's a day in your life looklike?
Let's go with Joe on this one,because this is more typical of
the audience, of what they'regoing to hear.
What is this typical day?
Because you're over how manyVAs now?
Joe, 14.
So what does a day in the lifeof Joe look like at work.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
Okay, well, first thing, my shift starts at 8.30
EST, so that's 8.30 pm here inthe Philippines.
You PST, so that's 8.30 pm herein the Philippines.
You start at 8.30 at night,locally, got it?
Yeah, locally, that's right.
But 30 minutes before I alreadylook into my messages because,
as a leader, you have to checkif your BAs had something, if
something has an emergency, youknow you need to make sure that
(11:59):
you have coverage before thelogin time.
So I do check that first thing.
And then, because I'm nottraveling anymore, unlike before
, like I have to wake up liketwo to three hours before to
prep myself, I only needed 30minutes of my time to maybe
something, pull up my toolsready, my device, my computer,
(12:21):
and set up my office.
And then which is well, veryconvenient, if you might say and
then when I log in, I just goover my virtual assistants,
check on the updates, checktheir attendance, have a meeting
with my owners, connect withthe PT managers and just do my
(12:41):
random day-to-day task withinthose five clinics that I
oversee.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That's amazing, and so you're running this whole
team, so it's a verysupervisory-based role.
Yes, man, that is such a coolthing, and as you're going
through this, you're living thatpassion of helping the
healthcare companies grow andscale.
I have a totally differentquestion for Andre, and I'm
really curious about this one.
For you, bud, what is somethingthat you do every day that the
(13:08):
company owner in this case mehas no idea that you're actually
handling?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Well, I don't think you know that I put up a lot of
fires that are just currentlystarting up everywhere in the
company.
We are getting larger by theday.
I think per week we are doingon average the TA team.
(13:36):
We're doing like seven groupinterviews a week, if I'm not
mistaken.
Six to seven group interviewsand that number of V and our
companies expanding rapidly.
And there's just I.
I answer a lot of questions waybeyond talent acquisition.
That I think if I can justsolve this I'm not gonna go to
denise or kayla about this if Ican just, um, if I can handle
(13:59):
this, I'm just gonna answer it.
You know.
So I it's, it's a big part ofmy job.
Every, every single day I reademails and there's a lot of
emails there um fires that needto be put out.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
That's amazing.
I can't thank you enough forhandling that, andre.
To put it in context, audience,this year we're in June, we're
filming this on June 6th and, uh, it'll be released next month,
in July, and this year alone, wecalculated that we've hired
over 100 virtual assistants sofar this year, and so it's been.
Yeah, that's a lot of work,because there's this amazing
team that you are a part of thatis just crushing it.
(14:34):
I didn't know that you'reputting out fires left and right
, andre.
Thank you for doing that, man.
Yeah, I love it.
Okay, so I have to ask you whenyou first became VAs?
Speaker 2 (14:52):
what was it like?
Adapting to the Americanculture?
Was that?
Were there cool things?
Challenges around that it'spretty cool, because working
with Americans is very different.
You guys are so straightforwardin a good way.
For me, um, it's all plain andsimple.
You know.
What see is what you get.
Um, challenges is, of course,before I I didn't get much of
(15:14):
your humor like are you talkingabout me personally or all of
the americans?
Why?
You personally, but just youknow in general, like um, if you
know my boss, steve, yeah yeah.
Steve is a good guy.
You know, when he sayssomething I have to pause and
think if I have to laugh or not.
Then we put some time to gethis humor.
(15:35):
But now we're pretty much okay.
I do get his humor.
So that's all good.
That's amazing.
That's amazing.
What about you, andre?
So that's all again, that'samazing.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
That's amazing what about you, andre?
Speaker 3 (15:46):
Well, me personally, since I grew up very westernized
, being exposed to a lot ofAmerican media video games,
movies and TV shows I did nothave such a hard time adapting
to it and I also actually havean American friend that I speak
with almost every day, so Iguess it's not as hard for me to
(16:06):
make an adjustment to it,especially, um, since I've
already been exposed to it andI've got a lot of relatives in
america.
But definitely there is likethat little transition into oh,
am I, is this appropriate to say, is this, is this, um, is this
crossing the line?
Because sometimes Filipinoswill really really lose in our
(16:29):
conversation.
You know we say a lot of stuffthat we consider taboo in
American culture, so it'sdefinitely something you have to
think twice before saying that.
But over the years I've gottenaccustomed to it, like what to
say, what not to say.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
Yeah, that's interesting, andre, I almost
want to ask you on air whatthose things are, but we'll get
privately as to what those taboothings are, but for now I'm
going to stay with you on thisone.
I would like to know, and I'llask both of you this, so I'll go
to Joanne, to Joe after this.
But, andre, what kind of growthhave you personally experienced
as a result of your currentrole?
(17:07):
What's some of the personalbenefit that you've gotten out
of your role outside of money?
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Okay, that's exactly what happened to me when I first
joined Virtual Rockstar.
For the better part of mycareer I have been doing since
there is a difference betweenrecruiting and talent
acquisition.
For the better part of mycareer, I've been recruiting
Recruitment's just filling ahole, and that's what I did.
I recruited nurses for travelcontracts and really the only
(17:40):
reason for it was money business.
But now, since I'vetransitioned into Virtual
Rockstar, it's more abouthearing people, empathizing with
them, knowing their story andknowing what kind of
personalities would go well witha client.
It's been a game changer for meto do this instead of what I was
doing before, because it's notjust money that's the driving
(18:02):
force in what I'm doing.
It's a passion and it'sfulfillment Every single day.
It's very fulfilling knowingthat I'm making a difference in
the work that I do, not justwith VAs, but also with our
clients that are in the USstruggling, struggling to make
(18:25):
time for their family,struggling with their business,
and it's really, reallyfulfilling for me.
So that's the word todayfulfilling.
Yeah, it's a ripple effect.
Remember that conversation wehad like almost a year ago.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
Yeah, I mean both of you.
This is true.
Just because we're talking toAndre, I just yeah, you're meant
for so many big things.
Your name is going to be wellknown and it's because of that
passion and that urgency and Ithink there's so much humanity
to that aspect of it, andre, Iappreciate you saying that.
Joe, what about you?
What's something that you?
(19:02):
How have you personally grownfrom being a VA the outside of
money, of course you have waybetter like balance with your
kids and like, of course, themoney's better, but like what's
what's something?
How have you grown as a personduring this journey?
Speaker 2 (19:15):
I would copy Andre's word.
It's just the sense offulfillment.
Um, I was a VA for the firstmonths that I entered Virtual
Rockstar.
During that time I get to havelike a conversation with my
business owner, with the clientor the clinic owner.
It felt like I was not just anemployee to her.
(19:37):
You know like I felt that I amcontributing to her business,
that my ideas are being seen, mysuggestions are being taken
seriously.
So that's something that youknow.
It gives me a butterfly'sinterest.
I'm just talking about it it'sbecause I haven't experienced
(19:59):
that kind of um, boss andemployee relationship before.
And then when I got promotedinto a manager handling 14
virtual assistants, that's atotal different story.
I get a sense of fulfillmenthandling Filipino virtual
assistants, who had that samefeeling when I first entered
(20:21):
Virtual Rockstar.
You know they're earning waybelow and now they're very
thankful and very fulfilled withhow they work.
They have their work-lifebalance.
So that's an.
That's one aspect that I mostfeel the sense of fulfillment.
And then again, the sense offulfillment that my owners,
steve and irene.
(20:41):
They have their confidence inme.
Like they, they would give meauthority to make decisions in
my level, in my department, andthat's something that is very
empowering as a virtualassistant.
Even they're far away.
They make you feel like you'resomething important in the
business and in return, I amvery eager to make their
(21:03):
business more and more.
Uh, how this is productive andI want their business to expand
more.
I want to be with them whenthey fall.
So that's something that's very, very close to my heart.
I can feel the butterfliesagain.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Well, you guys are so amazing and I can tell you this
that, like for me on that end,it's so empowering to hear how
this position is empowering youright, because I think again,
where people get it wrong whenit comes to this idea of
overseas help whether it'scalled VAs or anything else is
that people are.
Those companies oftentimesaren't taking in the humanity of
(21:39):
the people on the other end ofthe phone and when you're trying
to do a business model whereyou're trying to get cheap labor
, that's very different thanworking with leaders who have
and creating new opportunitiesand rock stars.
Here's my experience People inthe States we're talking
healthcare practice providers,especially the PTs, ots and SLPs
that I've worked with.
They are, I think, some of thebest employers or leaders for
(22:04):
people in the Philippines,because no one gets into our
industry for money ever Like weare in it because of love and
wanting to be leaders.
We just need people who cansupport the vision.
So the first time I hiredsomeone overseas her name is Ann
this was in 2021.
I hired her through a companykind of like ours now and
there's a lot of good companiesout there.
(22:25):
I found this person and shecried when I hired her and she
was really open to likesupporting me and everything I
could.
So I poured into her and shegrew and made more money and
eventually she found a jobmaking way more money somewhere
else that I couldn't keep upwith.
And I just remember like thatwhole journey for me, rock stars
that was more impactful thanbecoming a healthcare provider
(22:47):
and I don't say that lightly.
Being a healthcare provider isstill who I am, but the reason
I'm so passionate about this isbecause it's so amazing to see
both the practice owners get thekind of help that they
desperately need, while they'reable to mentor and grow some of
the best human beings on theplanet.
So it's really cool to see howthat goes.
(23:07):
What would you guys say are thebiggest challenges of being a
virtual assistant in yourcurrent roles?
I'm really curious what Andreis going to say, but Joe, you go
first.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Okay, well, the challenge is well, I would say,
the communication with thevirtual assistants.
Like, if you don't have this,some of them are working in the
provinces.
We're not in the same city,even though we're in the same
country, right?
Speaker 1 (23:35):
Yeah, a bunch of violence.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So the communication, that's one of the biggest
challenges at the start becausewe don't know each other
personally, we haven't seen eachother personally face-to-face.
So building a relationship withthis virtual assistants is very
important so that they can beopen to me and I can be open to
them.
So that is one of the biggestchallenges if you're leading a
(23:59):
team of virtual assistants frommy perspective.
But once you encounter thatbarrier with communication, you
get to know them personally.
You share their passion, theirvision, you know a little bit of
the story of their family.
They're more than willing toopen up and then you have like a
synergized relationship withinthe team with the same goal, and
(24:19):
then you embody thatrelationship through your bosses
or through your owners, andthen everybody's happy.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Yeah, so communication's big, culture's
big.
But once that's in place itaccelerates.
Andre same question.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
Okay, so where do I start again?
Well, I'm not saying it's verychallenging, but I think the
most obvious thing that standsout is since we are a people
business and there arechallenges on both sides, not
just with our VAs, but with ourclients, not just with our
(24:58):
clients, but with ourprospective clients.
We are, I'd say, the middlemanbehind it all.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
So challenges would be coordination, coordination of
all the different moving partsbetween the owners and the
employees.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Yeah, and setting up not just with that but also with
expectations, making sure thatexpectations are aligned, not
just with our partners but alsoour VAs, because sometimes
over-promising might be aproblem right In this industry.
(25:36):
Over-promising I'd say that'sthe number one challenge that I
am dealing with on a day-to-daybasis.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
How do you mean over-promising?
What does that mean Like?
What do you mean by overpromising?
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Let's just say our let's start from the VA side.
So VAs they, they.
On the interview they say morestuff that they can actually
handle.
I've seen this happen a lot oftimes, and also not just on our
VA side, but with a partner side.
I'd say this is not overpromising, it's under promising.
(26:13):
They initially hire them for aset of tasks that are just this,
this, and that that they end updoing a whole lot of other
stuff.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
They become super VAs , where they're being hired for
one thing, but then, after theyget hired, they're doing 30
things and they're overwhelmed.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah, that thing doesn't fly well if it isn't the
right person, because the VAmight take it the wrong way.
This is currently happening allover our company, not to expose
, I don't care, I don't wantthis to be a commercial for
Virtual Rock expose.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
I don't care.
I don't want this to be acommercial for Virtual Rockstar.
I really want this to be a raw,real episode for people,
because obviously I believe inour company, but I'm not trying
to sell my services.
This is just using what we inthis topic of freedom helping
people understand the pros andcons, so like our problems are
going to be.
Maybe some of them are uniqueto us, but I'm guessing a lot of
companies go through this.
So, like this, this thing thatyou're talking about, is really
(27:09):
important for people to hear.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
Definitely.
Yeah, that's.
I'd say that's more liketraining and onboarding
expectations, because clientsoften expect VAs just to hit the
ground running.
You actually covered this in aprevious episode.
But yeah, but every clinic orbusiness, they have different
systems.
Misaligned expectations abouttraining or responsibilities can
(27:35):
cause frustration on both sidesof this setup.
Speaker 1 (27:41):
Yeah, you're such a good salesman, you've gone from
a place of when you've gottenrecruits that you're ready to
prep them for interview.
You used to be able to likehelp them get ready for the
interview and be like hey, butnow you're realizing like no,
just show up like you are andlet's try to get to the raw
nature so that you don'toversell yourself.
And then, on my end that's whatI see as well is you have these
(28:08):
owners who are like I don'teven know if I want a VA, and
then it works out so well thatthey just start dumping on them
Like it's kind of this, you know, and so you're, you're in the
middle, like you said, helpingcause we don't just like stop at
hire You're, you're in there aswell as Denise and others from
our customer satisfaction teamtrying to resolve those issues
and VAs.
I will say this Filipinos, isit fair to say this?
The culture of the Philippinesis so respectful that sometimes
(28:31):
it might challenge some VAs tobe upfront with their employers.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
That's, you're 100% on the money.
There Will we definitely avoiddifficult conversations.
If we could, we'renon-confrontational and that
could sort of present a problem,because it's, it's, it's just
gonna boil, it's gonna boil andboil.
Then, um, a few months later,it's, it's gonna become a big
(28:59):
problem like oh, I can't anymore.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
It's gonna come to the point of burnout yeah, and
then they quit and you're likewhat happened?
It's like what happened there.
It's so interesting because youknow, the culture is partly
what I fell in love with in thisjourney in the Philippines
because it's got its own flavorand it's kind of Americanized.
But the hardworking, sincere,best people just are coming from
(29:23):
that culture and to a fault,like people I just are coming
from that culture and to a fault, like all of our weaknesses are
just our strengths amplified.
So this respectful nature turnsinto a limitation if we aren't
like helping people, because inAmerica an employee would never
have a problem saying, yeah, Idon't like that.
You know they'd be like, ifanything, you have the opposite
problem.
Where people are.
You find as an employer, you'retrying your employees.
(29:44):
You might feel like you'retrying to please your employees
because they're constantly upsetabout things.
So it's a good problem to have,but it still results in failure
if it's not addressed.
Yeah, so okay, guys, let's talkabout what you wish private
practice owners would know abouthiring a VA.
Like what would you want themto know as, as someone who's
like getting started in thisjourney?
(30:05):
What would you want them toknow as as someone who's like
getting started in this journey.
What would you want them toknow?
Take your time, I'm going tostart with Joe, but just what do
you would?
What would you tell a potentialperson who's going to hire a
virtual assistant?
What do you?
What would you want them toknow about that experience?
Speaker 2 (30:20):
Well, I just want them to know that they're in for
a surprise, as we say, filipinoVAs are very hardworking.
Like you, throw them a trainingsheet or a training document,
give them one to two days andthey'll be able to do it.
We are very like self-studying,self-training.
We're used to that.
(30:40):
But I just wish for the ownersto know that we are also looking
for dynamics.
I know the clinical job ispretty routine.
We do the same task every day.
There are several updates thatwould come up in the VAs, like
(31:10):
point of contact programs foreach clinics, and I encourage
one person every month to do aleadership role, like for the
whole team, and we'll take everymonth so that it's not going to
be routine for them month, sothat it's not going to be
routine for them.
So it's something that I againI'm very grateful to Irene and
Steve because all of mysuggestions they take my heart.
(31:34):
Yeah they're great leaders.
Irene and Steve are phenomenal.
Yes, and when I suggested forus to have like an incentive
program every month for a topperformer VA, I did not.
You know, they did not secondguess about it, they just loved
Eritrea and those who came upwith the same idea with the PTs.
Right now the physicaltherapists have their own
scorecards and they have theirawards, but their awards are
(31:59):
brutal.
Like with us, we only have thetop performer, the PTs.
They have their top and bottomperformer.
The bottom performer gets likea trophy.
that is a poop trophy, oh wowvery brutal, but again it's
steve's humor, so it's funnyyeah so there, I just wish that
(32:21):
some of the owners would knowthat we are also looking for
those kinds of um, like some alittle bit of excitement apart
from our routinary jobs everyday.
So I love that Be.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Be get ready for a surprise.
And I think you said like trust, you know.
You know, once you get arelationship established to
trust them, be surprised thatyou can trust them and that will
go well.
Andre, what would you want thepotential owners to know about
this experience?
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Okay, I think this would really be an interesting
topic for me, since I actually Ium.
Well, let me just begin bysaying I wish they would, um, I
wish they'd know to hire forpotential and not just for
skills, that's powerful.
Yeah, I know you touched on thisa lot of times in the past in
(33:13):
previous episodes, because Ilisten to this podcast
religiously.
Every time I go on a walk Ilisten to this.
But anyway, it means you're notjust checking off a list of
past experiences, but you'reactually looking deeper at
someone's ability to learnquickly, grow into a role, adapt
to challenges and bring thatfresh energy into a team.
(33:36):
A VA might not have used yourexact EMR or scheduling tool,
but if they've shown initiative,critical thinking and, I'd say,
resilience in similarenvironments, chances are they
would get there fast.
They excel in that role Becausetools can be taught, Skills can
(33:58):
be learned.
But there's just some stuff thatyou cannot just change, like
curiosity, humility and thetenacity to get things done.
Those come from within and youjust cannot teach that, and I
hope our potential partnerswould hold that in higher regard
than just a specific set ofskills.
(34:20):
But skills are you've got tohave the foundation right,
They've got to have some sort ofexperience, but I hope they're
not as nitpicky with thetechnical aspect of it all.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Andre, that was gold Rockstars.
I need to punch somethingreally powerful that Andre just
laid out.
Listen to what he said.
Not even from just hiringsomeone overseas, but hiring in
general, hire for potential,hire for mindset and alignment
with culture.
Don't worry about skill set.
And you know, andre, it'sinteresting Cause I think that's
(34:52):
that's the biggest takeaway.
Rock stars I want you to hearfrom Andre is like these are
people, these are human beingsin the Philippines with
unlimited potential rock stars.
You've heard me say this beforeand I'm going to say it again,
(35:12):
and this is from my background.
Being faith-based is that if weare, in my world, children of
God and we have unlimitedpotential in life and we can
become creators because it'sliterally in our DNA.
That isn't unique to anycountry.
Those are man-made boundariesthat are silly.
This whole thing about humanityis what matters.
I have met the best leaderswith zero formal training in the
(35:33):
Philippines because they havefocus and they have heart.
So when you're hiring, whetherit's the Philippines or not, and
especially if you're likeconsidering ever going to the
Philippines to not find someonewho's going to do the silly
things that you don't want to doand be worried about the accent
or whatever.
I'm hoping these episodes areclearing that up in real time.
What I hope you'll take fromthis is you hire for heart and
(35:56):
potential, because I will tellyou and I'm not saying this to
be nice you are going to hearthese people's names.
You are going to hear Andre'sname.
I can say that moredefinitively because he's
directly under my wing.
You are going to know, andre.
He is going to be a force to bereckoned with in this world and
that's why I hired him.
So I did that.
Look, I just really love thatyou say that, andre, because I
(36:17):
wish people would know that toois that this is not just like
offloading crap they don't wantto do.
It's about building the bestteam they could have ever
dreamed of, with the rightpeople, and now it's starting to
sound a little bit like acommercial.
So we're going to shift gears toartificial intelligence.
It's just, but it's how I feel.
It's how I feel it's what thisis and it's why I'm so
passionate about it.
So let's get into artificialintelligence.
(36:39):
I'm really excited about goingthis, going there with you guys,
because I was told this is truethat if I don't start looking
at artificial intelligence as anowner of a virtual assistant
company that we're going to bedead in the water in 10 years.
Some have said last time.
I want to know how you guys arethinking about.
Let's start with Andre.
So do you think that AI isgoing to replace virtual
(37:00):
assistants?
Speaker 3 (37:01):
No, definitely not.
I would say no, definitely no.
Ai falls short on a lot ofthings.
Ai can't do a lot of thingsthat VAs can do is here to take
(37:27):
your jobs.
You should be scared.
Ai is here to replace people,but the truth is, especially
when we're talking about virtualassistants, it's not about
competition.
It's more about collaboration.
Vas who are really thrivingright now are not scared of AI.
They're the ones using it toreally supercharge the
productivity.
Well, think about it.
Ai can help you drop reports,even something as simple as
(37:47):
drafting an email right Formarketing stuff, brainstorming
content, summarizing long emails, generate leads, even handle
really boring, repetitive admintasks things that would normally
eat up hours upon hours, butnow a VA can do all of that in
(38:07):
just 10 minutes.
So, instead of replacing theirrole, AI would become a really
powerful sidekick.
It frees up the VA to focus onhigh value tasks like
communication, strategy andpersonal touches personal, human
touches that AI just can'treplicate.
I'd say the VAs who would winin this space are the ones who
(38:31):
treat AI like a tool and not asa threat.
They're learning how to use itto their advantage, and that
makes them 10 times moreefficient and even more
indispensable.
So VAs free up the practiceowners right.
Speaker 1 (38:51):
Yeah, ais free up the practice owners right.
Yeah, ais free up the vas,that's so cool factors in the
whole equation seth, did youhear that?
Um, this is real time.
I want even I want this to berecorded, by the way, seth, I
want you, as my, my, uh creativespecialist, to hear that.
Let's put that out there.
So yeah, va's free up practiceowners, or no, va's free up
(39:12):
practice owners, ai's free upVAs.
That is so cool.
Joanna Joe, do you agree withthat?
I do Feel free to disagree,though.
Speaker 2 (39:21):
I do agree 100%.
If I just would correlate it towhat's happening right now
within our clinic.
We use ChatGPT.
I encourage my VAs to useChatGPT for emails.
Why?
Because our VAs aremultitasking.
They are receiving calls, doingwelcome wear check-ins and then
(39:44):
answering to emails, doingwelcomeware check-ins and then
answering to emails.
So if it's a general email,like just asking for a schedule
or something that is verygeneral, they already have a
template made by chat gpt torespond to that, which helps a
lot, right.
But again, chat gpt won't beable to respond if the patient
would respond on a more personallevel, like going to ask for
(40:08):
something specific within theirschedule.
So that's when the VAs wouldcome in.
Again, when I would quote whatAndre said about the human touch
.
So VAs would have theadaptability, flexibility and,
of course, the human touch andinteraction in each of the tasks
(40:30):
that we do With WelcomeWare.
It's pretty automatic when youput up the paperwork in the
screen, the patient can justsign on the screen and something
like that.
But most of the patients, whatwe come for at the kiosk is the
smiles of the VAs.
How did I know that?
Because of the survey inWelcomeWear.
(40:51):
Welcomewear has a survey.
Speaker 1 (40:53):
By the way, for those who are listening, WelcomeWear
is the company that we work withfor kiosks.
We're big fans.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
Okay.
So it's super great becausethey have a survey and then the
patients can write down whatthey think about their
interaction with the VAs.
So when we started, thepatients were very skeptic about
like the video interaction, butwhen they saw the, you know the
personalized way how the VAstalked to them.
I would say I love your hat,how do you do today?
(41:21):
And something like that.
They feel a human interactioneven though we are far away or
even though we're not in theclinics.
So this the AI tools they makeour life easier but, again,
clinics won't survive without ahuman interaction, especially
with patients.
Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yeah, I love that my vision for this and who knows
for sure, but my vision for thisis that the companies are going
to have the healthcareproviders, the owners, and then
everything else will be AIthrough VA, and I love your
vision of like we did not chatabout this before audience rock
stars, like I really wanted toknow what they thought I didn't
know, and it's cool to see thatthey're using this as a tool.
(42:00):
You know the AI is used as atool to supercharge the VAs.
So then, andre, back to you.
Like what are your?
Joe mentioned some of her tools.
What are the tools that youlove to use that are AI-based?
Speaker 3 (42:10):
Well, not to be the back-in-my-day guy.
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Back in your day.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
Well, as much as possible.
I don't use AI to drop myemails if I can help it, but if
it's something that's reallylong, I would use AI Probably.
I just use Gemini to do stuff.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
Why Gemini over ChatGPT?
Just out of curiosity, Becausethose are similar products.
Speaker 3 (42:38):
It's free and faster and it's like a similar.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Do you know that?
I pay for the advanced Geminiversion for our virtual rock
star.
As a side note, you have accessto the highest level of virtual
.
This might be Seth.
We might want to cut this, butjust so you know we have access
to the highest level.
I don't know that.
Speaker 3 (42:54):
I don't know that we I don't know that.
I don't know that we're payingfor anything right now.
I'm just very manual the waythat I source people.
Okay, so there's this AI toolcalled Vivian.
I'm not sure if you know thatit's a recruiting tool that just
screens resumes for you.
Speaker 1 (43:10):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
Yeah, that's, vivian, what you have to use because
you have hundreds of applicants.
Speaker 1 (43:16):
for every open position that you hire for, you
have hundreds of applicants, soyou use some AI to help you
screen.
Speaker 3 (43:22):
To some degree, yeah, but there's nothing beats like
you just screening the resume,because sometimes there's a lot
of times that AI gets it wrongjust picks up a few words and
then calls it a good buyer.
So what we use in our ATS it'scalled Zoho.
I'm pretty sure you know thatyou pay for it To some degree.
(43:46):
There is an AI function therethat ranks the resumes based on
how qualified they are for theposition, and I'm not sure how
it does that, but sometimes Iuse it.
I I rent their resumes, but Iwould still need to use my human
eye, my own discernment, to, um, judge these resumes based on
(44:09):
how good they would fit for therole, because ai doesn't catch
stuff like longevity or, uh, youknow, yeah, all of like human
nuances that are part of yourpersonal background and
experience.
Speaker 1 (44:22):
Almost the feel of it , yeah.
Speaker 3 (44:24):
Yeah, yeah, there's just like I said.
There's just some stuff that AIcannot replicate.
It can catch words, like on theskills part of the resume.
It can catch, like, let's justsay, emrs.
It picks up a certain EMR andplaces that candidate very high
up the list.
But then again you take a lookat the resume and see, oh, this
(44:45):
candidate has been jumping fromjob to job within the last few
months.
Even They've had three jobs inthe past six months and to me
that's not as attractive as whatAI is telling me six months and
to me that's not as attractiveas what AI is doing.
So I guess that would be themost relevant AI application
that I use in my job, but prettymuch everything is manual I do.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
I love that.
All right.
So I want to now ask you guyswhat is a part of your job that
you wish AI could take over, andwhat's a part of your job that
you hope AI will never touch?
I'll start with Joe.
I'll go first.
Speaker 2 (45:24):
Yeah, Insurance verification.
Please Take it away.
Speaker 1 (45:29):
Take it away.
Okay, you know, it's justcalling these insurance
companies.
Speaker 2 (45:33):
It's just calling these insurance companies.
It's just taking a lot of time.
Oh, it's horrible.
Yeah, the waiting line on thephone is like over 30 minutes,
when, in fact, if we have AI whowould run insurance
verification, can do it in aminute.
So I really pray and hope thatwe do have an AI for insurance
verification and authorizationrequest as well, so that would
(45:58):
take a lot of you know, thestuff from our shoulders.
And then what I wish AIwouldn't take away is still the
check-in process.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Because you have a very personal human.
You guys are patient, facing onscreens like you're very
progressive.
You don't want that to go away.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
No, I don't, Because having a relationship with a
patient, it's something that isvital to our jobs.
My virtual assistants they feelvery connected when they talk
to patients.
Like most of the patients inthe PTs are going there twice a
week.
Twice a week they practicallyknow each other.
(46:36):
Like when they see each otherin the screen they would say, oh
, how did your week go?
You said you were going to beon vacation.
What happened then?
So it's something that is againtaking them out of the routine
task every day.
Just having a conversation withthose patients is something
very refreshing in experiencingour day-to-day task.
So no, I don't wish for that togo away.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
It's interesting because a lot of people, when I
talk to very successfulprogressive people, joe, they
tell me they're like well, Idon't want to work with VAs
because I'm worried about losingthe human touch.
Isn't that so funny?
That the thing that you hope AInever touches is the fact that
you guys are owning the humantouch so well and in that
practice we've seen increases inpercentages of arrival.
(47:20):
So I love that you shared that,andre.
Same question.
Speaker 3 (47:24):
Okay.
So if there's one thing that Iwish AI could do better, it's
screening resumes, but on ahuman level, like you want that
off your plate.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
You would love for it just to be like here's your
best 10.
Speaker 3 (47:36):
Yes, exactly, not just keyword matching or
checking for buzzwords, butactually sensing the potential
in someone Like can this persongrow with the client?
Are they a good cultural fit?
Are they hungry, coachable andadaptable?
Those are the things that don'talways show on paper and I'm
(47:57):
not sure how AI would do that,but maybe in the future, right,
I'd love it if AI could justhandle the initial grunt work,
just sift through the noiseshortlist based off of values or
soft skills that align withwhat clients need, and that just
neatly slot interviews into oneblock of my calendar, like
choose your interview power hourback-to-back high potential
(48:20):
candidates go.
That would be amazing.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
Oh, freaking cool.
I love that.
Speaker 3 (48:25):
Even with all that automation.
Well, I don't think I'd everwant to fully give up that human
connection.
For me, recruiting just isn'tabout matching skills I am a big
proponent of that.
It's about seeing people, theirenergy, their communication,
their passion.
I still want to be the one thattaught the, guide them, and
(48:48):
it's a root for them.
That part, that's the part thatAI just can't replace and
honestly, I wouldn't want it to.
But maybe someday in the futurewhere AI could develop feelings
of its own.
Speaker 1 (49:03):
I think that's an interesting perspective because
right now again, what'sinteresting?
When people look at AI versusVAs, there's this like
conception for many beginnersthat VAs is a distancing from
the relationship because peoplearen't physically in a room Not
that that doesn't createchallenges, but there's
definitely still a human.
As long as you get the righthuman, it's going to be more
(49:24):
than fine.
If the AI ever gets to thatpoint where it can match that, I
have a feeling that the worldwill be at such an advanced
place that most people don'thave to work.
We're probably going to havemore than enough food and water
and shelter and opportunity tolive a different life.
But until then, I agree, thatconnection just can't go away.
All right, let's get into ourrapid fire.
(49:44):
We're at the end of our podcast.
We're gonna do some rapid firea little bit different with
YouTube versus what we're doingacross the board, because I want
it to be more VA specific.
So let's answer as briefly andquickly as we can.
We're going to go Joe, thenAndre, and then we'll reverse it
just to kind of match it up.
So, Joe, starting with you,what's your favorite part of the
job?
Speaker 2 (50:06):
Talking to my VAs.
Speaker 1 (50:07):
Talking to your VAs, andre.
Speaker 3 (50:10):
Connecting people with the right opportunities.
Speaker 1 (50:12):
Love that.
What's the least favorite taskyou still have to do?
Andre, I guess you answered it.
Speaker 3 (50:18):
Same.
Sometimes it might end up beinga bad hire and I have to do it
all over again.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
Yeah, repetition in the work.
Got it, joe.
What's your least favorite task?
You still have to do.
Speaker 2 (50:27):
You know it.
Insurance verificationVerification.
Speaker 1 (50:30):
Yeah, all right.
What's the one thing that madeyou cry, happy or sad, since
becoming a VA?
Joe, happy tears, but what wasone thing that made you cry,
happy or sad, since?
Speaker 2 (50:39):
becoming a VA.
Jo Happy tears.
Speaker 1 (50:41):
But what was one thing that made you cry?
Speaker 2 (50:44):
My VA telling me how much time she has now when she
has a toddler.
She has more time with hertoddler.
She's crying and just bawling.
She can't believe she got a joblike this.
Speaker 1 (50:58):
Wow, wow, andre.
Speaker 3 (51:00):
Okay, so this is not really rapid fire, but there's
this one time where there's thisVA that just thanked me.
She was on our candidate poolfor like two months and then she
told me that I really want tothank you because it's been
months since we've had somethingdecent to eat and wow, that's
(51:21):
so humbling to me, Wow.
Speaker 1 (51:24):
It's been.
Speaker 3 (51:26):
Wow, Like that.
Maybe I didn't cry like actualtears, but emotionally I was
really humbled.
I was like, oh, that it's thatkind of impact that we are
putting out.
Speaker 1 (51:39):
Yeah, I love that.
I'm going to answer it becauseI feel like I need you guys to
know.
For me, it was when I met youguys in person in the
Philippines.
That day, that night, I got onmy knees and just thank God that
I got a chance to meet you guys.
All right, moving on Number 18.
Okay, let's get into this nextquestion.
Jo, if your practice owner islistening right now, what's one
(52:02):
thing you'd want them?
What would you like to say tothem?
Speaker 2 (52:06):
I just want to thank them for letting me be a part of
the organization, like, reallybe a part of the organization.
They gave me authorization,they gave me liberty to make
decisions for the business, andI'm just so happy to be a part
of it.
Speaker 1 (52:22):
Oh Jo, that's great.
Well, I am going to have tochange that answer to that
previous question.
Speaker 2 (52:27):
I just want to add something to that?
Will I just want to addsomething to that?
I think it's because of yourleadership.
That's why the business owners,the culture that we set you set
for all the clients that wehave.
They have the same drive andthe same attitude towards their
(52:47):
VAs.
I think it's what sets our rockstar VA apart.
It's because you embody theculture with the clients and the
clients would also embody itthrough their BAs.
That's why we feel so valuedand seen.
We feel so seen, valued andvery important.
So I thank you for that because, you know, not all the agency
(53:09):
owners would exert the effort toyou know, to have their culture
passed on to the clients.
Not everybody does that.
So I really want to thank youfor that.
Speaker 1 (53:20):
Well that that means a lot to me.
It was one of the reasons I wasso excited to have you on the
show.
You're a people that I want tobe like, um, so that means a lot
to me, and I I will tell youthis, and I want the rock stars
to hear this too is that this iswhat happens when we hire great
people, is they see the good inus.
I've had employees Joe andAndre that thought I was the
(53:41):
worst, and there was a timewhere that was probably true,
but I will tell you that thebiggest difference in terms of
value for me, in terms of likemy purpose, has been to just
surround myself with people whosee the good side of me and
believe in that.
And let me just tell you it isso easy you guys make it so easy
to see the good side and what'spotential for you.
So, rock stars, as you'relistening, that's what's
(54:02):
possible when we hire greatpeople.
They, they are able to see thegood and help you overcome the
challenges that you face, which,for me, are many.
Joe and Andre, I can't thank youenough.
I have to.
I have to now pivot this to thequestion I'm asking at the end
of all of these episodes andhonestly answer.
It's the final definitivequestion of the interview.
(54:22):
Is it VA or is it?
Speaker 2 (54:26):
AI.
It's definitely a co-lamb, ai xVA co lamb.
Looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (54:33):
Hey, seth, the wonderful and powerful creative
specialist.
Let's mark that on the screenfor the YouTubers and the people
who are watching this podcast,keeping tally of the score.
Yeah, I want to thank you bothfor everything.
I don't even know how to beginto thank you other than just to
say, at least for now, for beingon the show and being
yourselves and for all theamazing work you do.
(54:58):
The lives that both of youchange are many, and it's not
lost on the people who arefortunate enough to get to work
with both of you.
I would love to just turn itover some parting words.
Final messages Jo.
Speaker 2 (55:07):
Well, if you're a VA and you're watching this podcast
or you're listening to thispodcast, just be brave, go out
there, explore.
There's a lot of opportunitiesin the VA world.
So you just got to equipyourself with skills.
Don't be afraid to apply intoyour resume and just build your
(55:29):
confidence from zero.
Not everyone is confident atfirst, but as you build yourself
, you talk to different people,you try and try.
You'll get there someday andyou'll experience the best,
highest paying jobs, the best ofthe both worlds, because you
have time for yourself and foryour family.
Speaker 1 (55:50):
Man, such a great closing words.
Thanks for tuning into theWillpower Podcast.
As always, this is WillHumphries, reminding you to lead
with love, live on purpose andnever give up your freedom.
Until next time.
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