We recently connected with Emilie Given and have shared our conversation below.

Emilie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

Emilie, 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?

My name is Emilie Given and I’m a 33 year old entrepreneur. I started with my virtual assistant agency called She’s A Given, which I started after I almost died in childbirth. That experience made me realize that life is too short to spend precious family time commuting! Over the past 5 years I’ve been building up the agency and staffing it with the most awesome virtual assistants ever. They have at least 3 years of experience as an executive assistant and are all united states based. We help business owners, startups, and nonprofits spend less time in the weeds and more time in the garden I like to say. You don’t have to do it all- and I can help you delegate in a way that doesn’t feel like “more work.” Of course bringing on a new team member is always a little bit of work, but I have proven methods that help save time and boost efficiency. What sets us apart from most other VA agencies is that I, the CEO was a former executive assistant. I have a unique perspective of having played both roles and understanding the dynamic that needs to be at play in a successful VA/executive pairing. I have also learned over my 10 years in the industry personality traits play a huge role in matching and I take great care to match based on both skillset and personality match. I truly care about each of our clients and I want them to be able to delegate efficiently and be able to actually enjoy their businesses. I feel like overwhelm is so common, and it’s because they don’t have a “right hand”. I’m here to provide that. Given the fact that I’ve build a successful agency, it’s my mission to also teach others to do the same. I built a multi-million dollar brand literally by trial and error/bootstrapping and without a college degree. I firmly believe that if people have the passion, drive, and success mindset they too can build successful businesses. I coach corporate women how to build online businesses so that they can spend more time with their families. I want everyone I work with to feel empowered, supported, and cared for both in the agency and my coaching business.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I always say that resilience makes a great entrepreneur. I’m no stranger to tough circumstances and being knocked down and kicked around by life.

For the first seven years of my life, I endured neglect and physical abuse. I took care of my younger siblings, got them ready for school, and made sure they had something to eat most days. Even now, the memory of canned chow mein haunts me. When I was seven, I was placed into foster care for a year while my birth mother “cleaned up her act.” Upon returning home, it wasn’t long before I moved in with distant relatives who ended up adopting me when I was eleven. Thankfully, the family who adopted me provided the love and stability I needed for a relatively normal adolescence.

Yet, I never truly felt like I fit in anywhere. I had a wide range of interests – choir, drama, dance, cheerleading – and excelled academically, but I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do “when I grew up.” I used to tell my (adopted) mom that I wanted to carry a briefcase and wear cute suits, envisioning a career as a news anchor, lawyer, or cruise director. I eagerly anticipated applying for colleges, believing foster kids received financial assistance, but was devastated to learn in my junior year of high school that this didn’t apply to me as an adopted child before the age of sixteen. Another roadblock.

Realizing I couldn’t afford college, I didn’t apply to any universities. I often wonder what experiences I missed out on. Would I have joined an acapella group like in Pitch Perfect? Joined a sorority? Would I have fun college stories to tell now? Uncertain, but I firmly believe I’m on the path I’m meant to be on. I chose vocational school to learn a trade and start working immediately to earn money. I enrolled in Medical Assistant school and began working upon graduation.

After four years as a medical assistant, I transitioned into a management role. Looking back, each position was a crucial step in reaching where I am today. Assisting doctors correlated to assisting executives, healthcare management to administrative support, which eventually led to what I’ve created now.

One of the toughest aspects of entrepreneurship is bouncing back after failure. It’s not if you fail, but when. It’s amusing to think my biggest fear was failure. Now, I actively seek out failure to learn and grow. Without failure, there’s no success. My childhood and all I endured prepared me for entrepreneurship. Initially, being told no repeatedly was disheartening, but then I reminded myself of the hardships I survived. Eventually, it was the resilience forged through hardship and the victories hard-won that made me realize that in entrepreneurship, I not only fit but truly belong.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation in the VA industry rests on authenticity and trust.

I’m the first to tell you if you’re not ready for my services. I’ll honestly offer alternative resources for you to explore, ensuring you do your due diligence when hiring administrative support.

Don’t get me wrong, I do want your business – but I want you to choose me because I have your best interests in mind. When that happens, I’m already providing the exceptional service you seek.

I tell potential clients that I’ll never compete on price, but I’ll always compete on quality.

Business owners have heard of virtual assistants, often viewing them as “cheap labor.” That’s not my philosophy at all. Paying professionals a living wage is and always will be crucial to me. I reject the notion that people are commodities and companies should shop around for the cheapest labor. It’s not my style. I value my team, and I want my clients to value their assistants too. If a client mistreats one of our assistants, they’re immediately fired. Respect, honor, and values are paramount to me.

The assistant-executive relationship isn’t hierarchical; it’s a true partnership.

I always outline the various hiring options to potential clients: overseas hiring, which is the cheapest; hiring a freelancer, which can yield excellent results; and agency hiring, which is pricier but includes management support, payroll services, and seamless transitions.

Just the other day, during a discovery call with a client, I called a competitor (a close friend) because they had something unique in common. I believed they were a better fit for her than me. I believe companies that act with such integrity earn respect from their communities. I serve with my heart and soul, and that has helped me build an excellent reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shesagiven.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/shesagiven_
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/shesagiven
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/shesagiven

Image Credits
Aurie Janae Photography Rebecca Ellison Photography Halls Visual Raven Ocean Portraits