We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Phylicia Taylor-Grant. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Phylicia below.

Alright, Phylicia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about making remote work effective.

At Phyli’s Virtual Office, my team works remotely, and it is not just our business model; it is the foundation of everything that we do. There are things that have been put in place to ensure that our ship sails smoothly.

We use systems and create structures by using tools such as ClickUp, Google Workspace, Zoho Workspace, CRMs, etc. These tools help our team to streamline task management, client onboarding, and communication both within the company and between the company and clients.

Strong communication is a must-have within this company, as without it things cannot run smoothly. Therefore, regular check-ins are mandatory to ensure that the client is kept up to date and the team is working according to the guidelines set out for them and in line with the principles of the company.

Where possible, we automate parts of the processes so that we are not burnt out as a team.

What is most important are team empowerment and health and wellness. While the team is encouraged to work efficiently and effectively, they can only do so when they feel valued, appreciated, and healthy, so boundaries are in place to ensure that each member has time to unwind and be connected to their families as well outside of work. Not only that, we do activities as a team where sometimes we meet and do fun things to let our hair down and relax and discuss what would make the team better, what works, and what does not work. I find that this inclusivity allows the team to be more focused on the tasks at hand when they are not stressed out.

The biggest pitfall that we have had as a team is finding the right fit for the team, as in our culture, remote work was not widely accepted before COVID, and even now that everyone has gone back to the physical office, the mindset has shifted back to ‘I need to be inside an official office with everyone else wearing a suit and tie to feel like I am at work, ‘ kind of a feeling. There were times when my team would say they were working but were actually wasting time. It definitely has not been the easiest thing to find the right persons to work on the team. There were many days when I had to be the only one doing everything.

One non-obvious benefit was working remotely opened the door for me to collaborate with skilled professionals from different parts of the world. This reduced training time, as I was able to tap into already skilled professionals who were already attuned to the remote work model.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Phylicia, the founder of Phyli’s Virtual Office, a virtual assistant and digital service business dedicated to helping busy entrepreneurs and small business owners reclaim their time, reduce overwhelm, and grow their businesses with confidence.

My journey into this industry started from a place of necessity and vision. As a single mother in Jamaica navigating life transitions, I knew I needed to build a flexible, sustainable income that allowed me to work from home while still being present for my family. I tapped into my administrative skills, love for digital tools, and passion for helping others — and Phyli’s Virtual Office was born.

What started as social media management quickly grew into a full-service virtual assistant company. Today, I provide a range of services, including

Administrative Support – (inbox management, client onboarding, calendar scheduling)

Social Media Management – (content creation, post scheduling, engagement strategies)

Website Design & Management – (simple, beautiful websites that match your brand and convert)

Customer Service Assistance – (email replies, order tracking, client follow-ups)

Business Automation & CRM Setup – (streamlining systems using tools like Zoho, Dubsado, and ClickUp)

What sets us apart is the level of integrity and excellence that we operate with on a budget for the clients we serve. We truly have a vision for the growth of our clients and to truly save them time so that they can truly enjoy doing what they love as we ensure that their businesses thrive without them having to micromanage.

The problems that my company solves are time loss, digital overwhelm, inconsistent online presence, and procrastination in getting things started. Too many times I encounter business owners who would say that they are the only ones in the business and they feel as if they are drowning or that they are trying to get systems set up and are feeling overwhelmed or that the social media management is too much for them. These are things that we can manage, so we offer therefore, we are able to save business owners anywhere between 10 and 40 hours a week. This allows them to go after new opportunities or even just to spend time with their loved ones.

I created Phyli’s Virtual Office to serve my community and my clients, not just to sell. When hiring my team, you’re partnering with someone who’s rooting for your success, ready to bring order to the chaos, and fully equipped to help you operate like the professional you are. Our clients rest assured that their clients will never feel like a 3rd wheel, as we treat them very well. You could never tell that we are not a part of the clients’ company.

I believe in excellence, transparency, and transformation — and if you’re ready to delegate, automate, and elevate your business, I’d be honored to support your journey.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

The best source of my stream of clients has been by word-of-mouth. We ensure that we offer exceptional service so much so that my clients often start telling others about us even before they have completed the service they came to us for. This has been very rewarding and if I must say, I am proud of the legacy and culture of the business I have created.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

The company started off as a social media management company. A friend of mine introduced me to an international client who needed remote assistance with social media. At the time, I had no idea of what remote working was or what it was like, but I accepted the job. After that first job, I realized that this model is widely accepted in the international market, and I started to do a lot of research and got coaching from industry experts who led me on my journey from just doing social media for companies on the side to transitioning into a full-time remote work business model where we offer a variety of services.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.phylisvirtualoffice.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phylisvirtualoffice
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyliciataylorgrant
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@phylisvirtualoffice
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@phylisvirtualoffice