Bianca is the CEO and founder of Simplified Marketing Services. She believes in a simplified business and helps female entrepreneurs simplify their business through social media management, virtual assistant services & content repurposing. Bianca partners with entrepreneurs who are in the growing/scaling phase of their business and who need to outsource in order to continue to grow. She takes you from overwhelm to streamlined through her program and services. Bianca is passionate about spreading awareness on how outsourcing can help you grow your business, as well as supporting VAs on their journey to owning their own business.
Benefits of a Marketing Agency
With Bianca's marketing agency, you get a team behind you. The word "agency" can have a bad name, so she focuses on the word "team". People may need help with social media, a VA, or someone to repurpose content - and her agency covers all of that. Bianca's agency also helps virtual assistants who are just starting out. For VA’s working as solopreneurs, you have to hustle and grind to find your own clients. But with an agency, those clients come to you and you do not have to worry about extra costs. The rates are a bit lower, but this is a great way to gain skills. You learn a lot and can take that back to your own business and apply it there.
Will I Know My VA?
If you need a VA or social media manager, you will get to meet them before you start working together to make sure it is a good fit.
With content repurposing, you will be working with multiple people (but it may only feel like one because everybody's on the same project management systems). They will take your long-form content, which can be a podcast or blog, and they will repurpose it. The social media manager will do the copy and graphics, do the pins … and everybody works together. But the good news? It's no extra cost or work for you, and that is one of the great benefits of working with Bianca.
You Need to Know What You Really Need
One of Bianca’s favorite things to do is help you figure out what your business really needs. She loves this industry and wants to educate you about all of the ins and outs of the industry. Sometimes you think you need a VA, but what you really need is an online business manager to give you strategy versus implementation. Or possibly what you really need is a social media manager. If Bianca notices this, she walks you through the different job descriptions and explains how they can serve you.
The best thing a business owner can do before they outsource is to really educate themselves on who they really need. You may not even need to outsource - you may just need to fix your systems and processes. If you do not need what Bianca has to offer, she will let you know!
Assistance with Becoming a VA
One thing about this industry is everybody wants to work from home. So many people tell you, “just become a VA!” Bianca tries to educate others that this is not a “how to get rich quick” job.
This is running a business.
It can take you up to 6 months!
You'll probably see someone who landed a client in 3 months, but sometimes that's a referral or their own network of family and friends.
This is a business, it takes a lot of time. This industry is not all rainbows, unicorns, and sprinkles, it’s going to take hard work, dedication, late nights, and early mornings (especially if you have kids).
The first step is to decide if this is what you want to do - if you’re really ready to go the business route. You will have new skills to learn such as trying to get clients, covering expenses, and finding a community.
The good news is, Bianca offers a Facebook community for VAs! It is a place to learn from those who have done this before. She often hears moms say, “I need time!” and the fellow moms in her group will explain that maybe you will work a little in the morning and in the evening, or during nap time. You may not get as far as someone without kids, and that is ok. Everyone has their own seasons.
In her Facebook group, Bianca has a monthly coffee chat. She trains and gives resources and encourages you to use those free things first. If you feel stuck, THEN consider a monthly membership and start to grow. But she doesn’t recommend going there first.
The Benefits of Having a VA
VA's give you more time to essentially make more money. For example, if you're a business coach, having a VA gives back a lot of hours that you can now use with a new student… so you can actually make more money with outsourcing.
Think of all of the tasks that a lot of CEOs should not be doing in their business, such as checking email. A VA can help with that inbox and take care of the digital clutter. You can also have a VA manage a calendar to schedule your guests.
There are just so many things that a lot of CEOs don't need to be doing that a VA could come in and help. Your business needs you to be the visionary!
Grow Your Business Through Outsourcing Guide
Bianca tries to simplify the whole process of outsourcing with her free guide Grow your Business Through Outsourcing. It is important to take the time to figure out what you actually do in your business, and Bianca's guide will help you write these down. For example, marketing. If you find marking to be a pain - it is something you can outsource.
When you are done you will have a birds-eye view of all that you do for your business. Maybe you realize you like social media but hate organizing all the details for your calendar, invoices, and emails - now you can see you're looking for a VA.
If you're not clear on who you need to hire, you may hire someone that does not meet your needs and end up wasting a lot of time and money. Be clear before you bring somebody on.
Tips for Outsourcing
If you're a business owner, the biggest tip is to take a step back: don't micromanage. Let your team member do what you hired them to do.
Those who are not fully ready to let go - their VA will do some tasks but be nitpicked for every little thing. When your constantly doing that, you are not ready to outsource
You have to communicate and understand the person you hire, and that they will need some time to learn everything. They need time but also excellent communication.
Working with Bianca
The first thing you will do is fill out a lead capture form on her website, to make sure you are a good fit. Bianca works for business coaches, but she will never leave you hanging. She has an amazing network so she will always recommend you to someone.
Once you fill out the lead capture form, Bianca will reach out to set up a coffee chat (which is a discovery call, but she loves coffee...and a coffee chat just seems less stressful, right?!) Bring some coffee - and chat with Bianca!
Bianca takes the time to listen. What do you need? What are you struggling with? Are you ready to work with the agency? You may need to do a little more work before you're ready, or there may be something major to clarify.
If you are a good fit, you will receive a proposal, contract, invoice, and then set a strategy session. You will also fill in a questionnaire and get sent to the onboarding web tool. Bianca has a system to get you onboard that is easy to follow and very clear!
In the first few weeks, you will have an audit for social media as they look at the copy, graphics, and branding for the voice of your business.
If you working with a VA you get connected and get to know each other because they're going to be your point of contact. When it comes to social media, Bianca does a lot of the strategy, so basically her team does a lot of the implementation.
Bianca understands the fear of having somebody in your business, it all comes down to the trust factor. She uses this time to connect and build trust with you and the team.
And after that, it is time to start working together! You can meet with Bianca whenever you need to, but she often meets with clients once a month. She is always there for questions!
What is Bianca is Learning Right Now
Right now Bianca is doing a deep dive into marketing, doing a lot of research and education. She uses Fridays for her training days and she has about 6 hours of training.
That may seem a lot, but social media has been changing so much! A LOT of changes in the last two months alone! Bianca makes sure she keeps up with those changes so she can continue to serve her clients.
