Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Melissa Swink. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Melissa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about your team building process? How did you recruit and train your team and knowing what you know now would you have done anything differently?

I started my Virtual Assistant services company in 2012, and primarily worked on my own for the first six years. Of course, my first objective was to replace my corporate income. Once I was earning a relatively steady income, I was content. I thought I wanted a small, manageable business where I worked closely with my clients day-to-day. But over time, that small, manageable business started to manage me! I was doing everything in my business – from supporting my clients to managing the back end.

No matter how I structured my time or priced my services, ultimately, my income was limited to the number of hours I could work. In addition, I could never fully unplug from my business. If I wanted to take a day off or go on vacation, one of two things would happen. One – clients would continue to contact me because there was no one else to support them during my absence. Two – I would return to a mountain of work that would take days or weeks to catch up on.

I attended a business retreat in March 2018, and the coach who was leading it convinced me that I needed to build a team in order to continue growing my business AND achieve the time freedom I desired when I left my corporate role and started by business! Reality set in – I had created a job for myself. But now it was time to build a real company.

My quest to build a team started by creating a job description that captured many of the tasks I was doing for my clients. I posted the job in several Facebook and LinkedIn groups for Virtual Assistants, and I received about 20 qualified applicants! I asked them to send me a proposal for their services and an introductory paragraph about themselves. The introductory paragraph is very telling and I still request one from prospective team members today! It gives me a sense of who they are, what’s important to them, and most importantly, their written communication skills – which are very important when working virtually.

After interviewing a handful of candidates, I narrowed my decision down to two people. They each had very different skillsets – one was very analytical and organized, and the other was more creative. I decided to onboard them both, which ended up being a wise decision! I immediately had backup coverage on my team if one of them was unavailable. I’ve continued to grow my team in the years since, and today we’re a team of 25 including myself! I primarily hire based on two main criteria. One – do I like this person? Are they easy to communicate with? Will they vibe with our team and clients? Two – what are their skills? What do they love to do for others? I want to send them work they truly enjoy because I believe that also results in higher quality results.

If I could go back to the early days of my business, I would have built a team a lot sooner. My business model would have been scalable from the get-go.

Melissa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Prior to starting my Virtual Assistant services business in 2012, I worked in operations and logistics at a building materials company. I was fortunate to have survived a lot of layoffs during the housing crash of 2008 and the recession that followed, but I ultimately found myself in a role that wasn’t a good fit for me. I decided I needed to make a change – I wanted more control over the work I did and who I worked with. After I left my corporate role, I did some process improvement consulting in my area – I live in Green Bay, Wisconsin. When I was working as a consultant, it became very clear to me that most business owners knew what they wanted to be doing and what they should be doing. However, they didn’t have enough hours in the day to do these things themselves, or they didn’t have the skillset or expertise required in order to do them well. I was introduced to the concept of a Virtual Assistant (which in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2012 no one knew what that was!), and I knew right away that it was the perfect solution to so many of the challenges that business owners were facing. I started offering Virtual Assistant services in 2012.

Today, our virtual assistant services agency supports small business owners and nonprofit leaders with administrative, operations, and marketing support. What sets us apart is our team model. Instead of hiring one VA with a limited skillset, our clients get access to an entire support team. This structure gives clients reliable, proactive, and high-quality support across a wide range of needs — from inbox management and scheduling to social media and systems implementation. We’re known for being thoughtful, trustworthy, and deeply invested in the success of the businesses we support.

I’m most proud of the growth our clients experience when they’re no longer bogged down by the day-to-day. Many of them come to us feeling overwhelmed or stretched too thin, and within just a few months, they’ve launched podcasts, grown their revenue, created better systems, or finally found the space to take a real vacation. We also provide complimentary workshops, business promotion opportunities, and strategic support that goes beyond basic VA tasks — because we know that success takes more than just checking boxes.

Ultimately, our work is about stewardship — of time, energy, and resources — and helping purpose-driven leaders scale sustainably. We don’t just support businesses — we partner with people. And that difference is at the heart of everything we do.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

We put a lot of care into nurturing long-term relationships with our clients. It starts with our onboarding process, which includes intentional check-ins at the first 30, 60, and 90 days led by our team managers to ensure things are running smoothly and support is aligned with their evolving needs. At the 6- and 12-month marks, we offer complimentary growth mapping sessions to help clients reflect, reset, and plan for what’s next in their business.

We also love celebrating our clients! Every new client receives a welcome gift, and we send anniversary gifts each year as a small token of our appreciation. During the holiday season, we send thoughtfully curated gifts designed not just to say thank you, but also to equip our clients with tools that support their growth and delegation journey. It’s our way of showing genuine gratitude and reinforcing that we’re here to support them for the long haul.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Our best source of new clients has consistently been referrals — both from current and past clients, as well as from trusted peers in our network. We pride ourselves on building strong, long-term relationships and delivering high-quality, reliable support, so when someone refers us, it’s usually because they’ve experienced the impact firsthand or heard about it from someone they trust. That kind of word-of-mouth connection has brought us some of our most aligned and long-standing clients.

To show our appreciation, we offer a referral program that gives referrers the choice between an e-gift card or a donation to a charity that’s meaningful to them. Internally, we also reward our team members when they help grow a client account — whether by delivering outstanding service, identifying new opportunities, or building trust. These account growth incentives help keep our team focused on long-term client success and meaningful impact.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melissaswink.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissaswinkco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MelissaSwinkCo/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissaswink/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@melissaswinkco1858
• Other: https://www.melissaswink.com/podcast

Image Credits

KLEM + Co, Julie M Gile Photography