I am an American expat living in Israel. I moved there during COVID and was trying to think about what I could do as a business that would earn me an American salary. My husband suggested that since I had been in the catering business for 20 years and my main work in catering was the admin part, I should create a virtual admin agency, serving lots of businesses.
I decided to try it out and 5 years later, we have grown from 2 clients to over 20 and I have 16 contractors working for me! It’s been a roller coaster ride of growth and learning how to manage a team and lots of clients.
I am an empty nester with a large family who mostly lives in America still, so I am back and forth from Israel to America a few times per year to visit my kids and grandkids. I love what I do because I can take it with me wherever I go!
One of the greatest rewards of running my own virtual assistant business has been the flexibility to maintain a strong connection with my family, even across continents. Like some of the world’s most successful founders, I've learned that building a thriving business doesn't have to mean sacrificing family time or missing out on those meaningful moments, whether it’s a milestone birthday, a school play, or just a Sunday family brunch on Zoom.
Remote work and digital tools allow me to be present for my clients and my loved ones. Sometimes, that means catching up on emails from a quiet corner of Ben Gurion Airport or scheduling a client call between grandchild playdates. It’s not always seamless, juggling business and family life takes intention, boundaries, and a willingness to adapt, but it’s incredibly fulfilling.
Staying proactive, setting clear expectations with both clients and family, and truly embracing the "work from anywhere" mindset have been key. I’m grateful for the opportunity to show my kids and grandkids that you can build something meaningful and still be there for the people who matter most.
We provide native English-speaking virtual assistants specialising in executive assistance for small to medium-sized businesses, including synagogues and Jewish organisations. Leveraging decades of admin experience, I launched these businesses to maintain an American salary remotely from Israel.
Our virtual assistants are equipped to handle a wide variety of tasks, think everything from managing calendars, emails, and appointments to customer inquiries, digital marketing, and even social media management. Whether you need help with content creation, graphic design, bookkeeping, or simply keeping your day-to-day operations running smoothly, we can match you with an assistant who has the specific skills your business requires. This allows our clients to focus on what they do best, while we take care of the rest.
Anyone who’s built a business from scratch knows that time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Every hour spent buried in spreadsheets or chasing down overdue emails is an hour taken away from high-impact strategy, nurturing client relationships, or growing your brand.
For entrepreneurs and small business owners, effective time management isn’t just a handy skill, it’s the very backbone of success. When you master it, you unlock the ability to:
Put simply, the more efficiently you use your hours, the more value you can bring to your clients (and yourself). That’s why finding ways to reclaim your time, like working with a strong virtual team, isn’t just convenient; it’s transformative.
So, how does bringing a virtual assistant onto your team actually move the needle?
For starters, virtual assistants take the routine administrative load straight off your plate. They’re whizzes at managing overflowing inboxes, wrangling calendars, booking appointments, processing invoices, and all those bits and bobs that quietly devour your attention each week.
By delegating these tasks to capable professionals (often with specialist skills honed across industries and time zones), your core team is free to focus on the real drivers of your business, like client relationships, strategy, and creative growth. It’s like giving your plate a little breathing room so you can serve the main course without distraction.
Think of it like having your own Jill-of-all-trades, without needing an extra cubicle or even the same zip code. With virtual support, you no longer need to stress over chasing signatures, coordinating meetings, or tackling admin chaos before quarterly deadlines, a relief not just for you but for your entire team.
In my own experience, this shift has created space to innovate, expand services, and invest energy where it matters most: growing the business and delivering consistent results for our clients.
Running your own business means wearing a parade of hats, visionary one minute, bookkeeper the next, IT (in a pinch) just before bedtime. But, if you ever notice your energy dipping lower than your inbox at the end of a Monday, or worse, that creative spark that used to keep you up at night is nowhere to be found, you might be nudging up against founder burnout. Trust me, I’ve seen it firsthand, both in myself and others.
Here are a few red flags to watch for:
This is where smart delegation becomes your best friend (second only to a supportive WhatsApp group chat). By handing off those time-draining admin tasks to a skilled virtual assistant, you immediately lighten your load. Suddenly, you can invest your attention back into what makes your business unique, whether it’s building client relationships, plotting out your next campaign, or experimenting with new revenue streams.
I’ve found that when you let someone else clear the daily bottlenecks, it doesn’t just prevent burnout, it reopens space for that spark and drive that got you into business in the first place. And, chances are, your team (and your family) will thank you, too.
When it comes to growing a business, especially across continents, like I do, being smart about costs and nimble with resources is essential. That’s where hiring virtual assistant agencies shines over traditional in-house staff.
Think about it: with in-house employees, you’re looking at a long list of expenses, recruitment, onboarding, salaries, health insurance, paid time off, and don’t forget that overhead like extra workspace, office supplies, and tech equipment. It adds up quickly, much like catering for a 200-person wedding when you only needed to feed a minyon!
Now, here’s the kicker: when you tally everything up, hiring a virtual assistant can save businesses up to 90% compared to bringing on a full-time, in-house employee. That’s not just pennies pinched; it’s a whole lot of budget freed up to pour back into the projects and strategic initiatives that actually drive growth and innovation.
With a virtual assistant agency, you only pay for the support you need, when you need it. Need someone for a one-off project, or just a few hours each week to manage your inbox or help with membership databases? Done. No need to commit to full-time salaries or worry about idle downtime. This approach is a lifesaver for small businesses, nonprofits, and synagogues that have fluctuating needs or tight budgets.
In short, virtual assistants let you streamline operations and redirect those saved resources into what truly matters: growing your business, building relationships, or, in my case, spending extra time with grandkids on both sides of the Atlantic!
The beauty of partnering with a virtual assistant agency, something I’ve seen firsthand with RightClick and ShulClick, is that it completely changes the math for growing businesses. Instead of sinking resources into recruiting, onboarding, and paying full-time administrative staff (not to mention covering office space, equipment, or health insurance), you get skilled support precisely when you need it, minus all the hefty long-term commitments.
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
All this not only trims expenses but makes your business more agile, letting you focus resources where they matter most.
Let’s talk about a term you might have heard tossed around lately: fractional employment. In plain English, this is just a fancy way of describing hiring someone for only a portion of their time, be it a few hours a week, a few projects a month, or for temporary stints, rather than taking on a full-timer. This trend has skyrocketed, from Uber drivers and freelance designers on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, to fractional CFOs spinning gold for growing companies.
But how do virtual assistants fit into this picture? Like a glove. Virtual assistants embody the spirit of the fractional workforce, highly skilled, on-demand professionals who can jump in as needed, handle your to-do list, and disappear until you need them again. No need to add another face to the holiday Zoom party or figure out where to squeeze in another desk.
This is especially powerful for startups, small businesses, and nonprofits juggling limited resources. By bringing in top talent just when you need it, without long-term commitments or big overhead, you get the flexibility of fractional work with the peace of mind that a seasoned professional is just a Slack message away.
In today’s fast-paced market, this kind of agility isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s often the secret sauce that lets small organizations punch above their weight.
Transitioning my longstanding administrative skills into a full-fledged business felt natural. Initially, I relied on friends and family as clients, gradually expanding through various advertising methods like newspaper ads, social media, and responding to secretary job postings.
A significant turning point occurred three years ago when deciding whether to stay small or scale significantly. Taking the leap to scale transformed our trajectory. The journey hasn't been without challenges, firing clients and contractors, managing unreliable contractors, and making tough decisions taught me invaluable lessons about growth and resilience.
If you've spent any time around business folks, especially those who toss around buzzwords with the best of them, you'll hear "growth" and "scaling" used almost as if they’re interchangeable. But they’re really not, and understanding the distinction makes all the difference when you’re charting your organization's future.
Growth typically means you’re bringing in more revenue, but, you guessed it, also increasing your resources and expenses almost in lockstep. For every new client or project, you’re probably adding another staff member, another laptop, maybe even renting more office space (although I’d hold off on the office snacks unless you know your team loves peanut butter-filled pretzels as much as I do).
Scaling, on the other hand, is the art of increasing your revenue without a proportional uptick in expenses or resources. Imagine doubling your client roster, but without doubling your stress, payroll, or time spent troubleshooting the printer. This is where smart systems, cloud tools like Google Workspace, or a great freelance virtual assistant (hint: as found in many agencies today) come into play.
Here’s the bottom line:
When you focus efforts on scaling, streamlining operations, leveraging automation, delegating to experts, you free up bandwidth to say “yes” to new opportunities without burning out or breaking the bank. And for those of us balancing businesses with family life on two continents, that’s a win worth chasing.
Let’s face it: as entrepreneurs, we can be magnets for the hard way. Whether it’s out of sheer determination or a desire to control every detail, many founders, myself included, have a knack for picking challenging routes, even when easier paths exist.
Why is that? Part of it comes down to our natural drive and perfectionism. We’re wired to build things from scratch, chase big visions, and keep the ship afloat no matter how choppy the waters. Often, this means we try to wear every hat at once, bookkeeper, marketer, IT manager, and at times, even unofficial office therapist. (If you’ve juggled family life, a nonprofit launch, and a business Zoom call all before breakfast, you know what I mean.)
But here’s the rub: doing things the hard way isn’t always necessary, or smart. Sometimes, being deeply involved in every detail slows us down, burns us out, or keeps us from focusing on high-value work.
If you’re recognizing yourself here (guilty as charged!), here are some lessons I’ve picked up along the journey:
There’s bravery in building something yourself, but there’s wisdom (and sanity) in knowing you don’t have to tackle every challenge solo. The smartest founders recognize that leveraging help, whether from technology or talented people, doesn’t make you less entrepreneurial. If anything, it makes you unstoppable.
And if you ever catch yourself digging in your heels to take the harder road, remember: even Waze prefers the quickest route, potholes and all.
Our revenue has doubled twice over the past two years, a testament to our constant drive for professional improvement. Effective marketing strategies include leveraging LinkedIn, Facebook, word-of-mouth, and a recent partnership with a marketing agency.
What distinguishes us is our white-glove service delivered by native English-speaking virtual assistants who bring extensive administrative experience. We price accordingly, emphasising quality and professionalism.
The rapid growth of virtual assistant agencies has ushered in a new era for small and medium-sized businesses, especially for those of us looking to operate with agility, save on costs, and punch well above our administrative weight. Instead of juggling endless to-do lists or hiring expensive in-house staff, organisations can now tap into a deep pool of professional support, available when and how they need it.
From Admin to Specialist Expertise
Virtual assistant agencies cover much more than simple calendar management or inbox-taming. Today’s teams are packed with specialists who bring years of real-world experience to the table, everything from executive assistance to social media, bookkeeping, customer service, and even project management. Need help with a bulk mailout, handling donor records, or updating your CRM? There’s a VA for that.
What’s more, these agencies don’t just fill admin gaps, they help close the broader skills gap that every growing business eventually faces. With access to a flexible roster of professionals from varied backgrounds, you can tap into a deep well of expertise for almost any task. Whether you need someone with a knack for event planning, someone who’s wrangled unruly spreadsheets, or a pro who can troubleshoot digital tools without breaking a sweat, there’s a specialist ready to jump in.
This wide-ranging talent means you’re not limited by your own team’s bandwidth or skill set. Virtual assistants often bring valuable insights and best practices gleaned from years in diverse professional settings. Their ability to slot into your business, understand your processes, and get up to speed quickly makes them an asset from day one.
These agencies challenge the old model of hiring full-time, in-house admin teams, a huge relief for businesses trying to keep overheads lean. Instead, you get access to versatile support on your terms: hourly, per-project, or as ongoing help depending on the ebb and flow of your workload. That flexibility has proven invaluable for businesses scaling up, or down, without the headaches of recruitment or layoffs.
Boosting Productivity and Staying Competitive
The real game-changer? Outsourcing routine (and time-draining) admin frees up in-house teams to focus on what truly matters: clients, growth, and strategy. It’s the kind of shift that can double productivity and transform what a small team can accomplish. Plus, with access to highly-skilled talent from around the globe, businesses can stay competitive, innovative, and nimble, even on a modest budget.
So, it’s no surprise the business landscape is changing. Virtual assistant agencies are enabling organisations, from busy catering start-ups to established nonprofits, to channel their resources where they count most, all while keeping quality and professionalism front and centre.
So, where does this all lead? The magic really happens when you pair human know-how with smart technology. On one side, you have the nuanced judgment, creativity, and problem-solving prowess that seasoned virtual assistants bring to the table, think tackling sensitive donor queries, customizing reports, or navigating tricky scheduling snafus with the kind of grace that only experience delivers.
Add to that a layer of powerful digital tools, whether it’s Asana for project management, Slack for instant communication, or QuickBooks for no-fuss bookkeeping, and suddenly, you’re not just getting things done, you’re getting them done faster, smarter, and more accurately.
The payoff?
In essence, this blend of people and tech gives even small and mid-sized teams the edge they need to turn a mountain of admin into a series of smooth, conquerable hills. That’s how you keep your business adaptable, your team energized, and your growth trajectory firmly pointed upward.
The surge of virtual assistant agencies has completely reshaped how businesses manage administrative support. Where once freelancers or solo assistants handled basic scheduling or email management, companies now have access to teams of highly skilled professionals, often with specialized backgrounds in executive assistance, digital marketing, and customer relations.
This evolution has brought a new level of reliability and polish to the industry. Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as nonprofits and synagogues, can count on a consistent standard of service and broader expertise. Many agencies, inspired by pioneers like Belay and Time Etc., hand-pick assistants with specific industry knowledge, making it easier for business owners to delegate confidently.
Thanks to this growing professionalism, more organizations are outsourcing critical admin tasks, freeing leaders to focus on strategy and growth, rather than being bogged down by day-to-day details. As demand has grown, so has the variety of services on offer, from project management to social media support, making virtual assistance an even more integral part of how modern organizations operate.
A critical lesson learned is to trust your instincts regarding potential clients or contractors, if there are red flags, heed them to avoid future regrets. If starting again, I would approach hiring and client relationships with less fear, prioritising strong leadership over people-pleasing tendencies.
I strongly advise entrepreneurs to invest in coaching and mentoring. Continuous support from mentors and coaches has been instrumental in my growth. Recommended resources include podcasts by Robin and Debbie Sasson and books such as "Smarter, Not Harder" by David Asprey and "Rocket Fuel" by Gino Wickman.
My vision is to grow the business into a $10 million enterprise before eventually selling it. We continuously adapt to trends like AI integration, ensuring our team remains well-trained and our services stay cutting-edge.
To learn more or connect, visit our website or find me on LinkedIn.