Episode #154 - Making The Hard Work Happen Without Burnout: An Interview With Katie Santoro

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Welcome to the podcast where relationships, confidence, and

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determination all converge into

an amazing, heartfelt experience.

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This is Speaking From The Heart.

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Joshua: Welcome back to episode

number 154 of Speaking from the Heart.

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Today, we have Katie Santoro, and Katie

is a burnout survivor on a mission

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to help others avoid the same by

offering virtual assistance to business

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owners and busy professionals while

simultaneously creating employment

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for individuals needing flexibility.

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In 2019, Katie left her corporate

job in the insurance industry to

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run her first business, a yoga

studio, after experiencing burnout.

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When she closed her yoga studio

during the pandemic, she began

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considering a return to corporate life.

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Knowing she couldn't return without

risking another burnout, she used her

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experiences in the legal and insurance

industry with running a small business and

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began assisting clients as a freelancer.

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As she grew, she recruited from her

network of friends who were leaving

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the workforce due to struggles of

child care during the pandemic, and

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River City Virtual Assistants was born.

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The company is dedicated to providing

assistance to clients and is committed to

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providing meaningful employment to parents

and caretakers within the United States.

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I love this episode

for many, many reasons.

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It's given me even new hope on the

fact that the era of virtual assistants

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is here to stay, but Katie's story is

one of the many stories that we often

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hear, even post-COVID world, about how

the skills sometimes that we're left

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behind, have been transferred, they have

been accumulating into what ultimately

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becomes opportunities for others, become

the best versions of who they are.

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I love that she even involves herself

today with talking about her employment,

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why that was such a big catalyst to

starting this conversation, to starting

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this business that she has now, and how

she helps so many people, regardless of

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what they might have as businesses, and

managing the expectations that they have

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to have, in order to have those demands

be met at the times that are needed.

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I think you will find that Katie's

story about burnout is quite different

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from other stories and how she's

turned that burnout into purpose,

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and how she's been able to help so

many find their purpose as well.

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But with that, let's go to the episode.

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All right.

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We're here with Katie Santoro.

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Katie, thanks for sharing

your heart with us today.

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Katie: Thank you.

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I'm glad to be here.

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Joshua: I am so glad that you are here

too, and I feel like we have a lot to

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cover today, and we have a lot in common

from what I read to my audience about

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you, so Katie, I did let them know a

little bit about your background, but

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I have to start from the roots, the

origin story, of what you started.

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Obviously, you started a business after

a lot of events happened in your life,

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and I find that we have that similarity

in our life, so I have to follow this.

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This is like an interesting trail for me.

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You did insurance as a first business,

then you did a yoga studio, and then

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after that, it was the pandemic, and

then you started the current business.

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Walk us through why the different

jobs, and what led to the

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burnout that you experienced.

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Katie: There's a lot of overlap in

all of those things, so my career

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was in the legal and insurance world.

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My last job was working in insurance

claims, and I did that for a little over

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five years and a couple of years into it,

I felt like I needed more in life, and I

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opened a yoga studio, so the yoga studio

and the career happened at the same time.

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They coincided, and that's

what led to the burnout.

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In 2019, I finally got to the point

where I knew that I could not stay in

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my career if I wanted to live the life

that I wanted to live, and I left.

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I left my job.

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I was running the yoga studio.

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That was my full time gig, if you will.

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Actually, my full time gig at that

time was healing from burnout, because

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I had gotten to the point where it

was affecting every part of my life,

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so the yoga studio was going on.

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I went to Costa Rica to get

some more training in yoga.

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Also part of my healing journey

really helped me heal energetically.

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While I was there, the border shut

down; I was there in March of: 2020

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and yeah, I came home, I figured out

how to run a yoga studio online, ran

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it online for a couple of months,

and then originally, what was it?

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We were going to close down for two weeks,

right, and then it was seven weeks, and

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it just kind of kept on going on and

on, and I was teaching classes out of my

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office on Zoom, and I still had bills to

pay for the physical studio that I had.

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We had a personal guaranteed lease,

which was really scary for me, and

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I was going to go back to work.

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I could go back to my old job.

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I could find another job.

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I have tons of experience.

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I have licenses and certifications.

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I could do whatever I needed to

do, and my now husband talked

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me out of it, and he was right.

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He said, "You were a monster.

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You can't go back.", and he's so right.

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If I had gone back it would have

been extremely detrimental to

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my emotional and mental well

being, so I started freelancing

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as an administrative assistant.

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Skills I had; things that I could

work with, and the business has

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really just grown from there.

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First, I found a lot of clients that

needed what I could give, which was

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being reliable, being consistent,

knowing how to do the admin work.

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I'm very curious.

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I always like to figure

out how to get things done.

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I'm a natural problem solver, and then

I started realizing that there was a lot

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of women in my same situation who had

left work or were not returning to work

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because of COVID, and for a lot of them,

it was childcare; taking care of their

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children, and that's kind of how we grew.

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I started recruiting people, women

from my network that wanted to work,

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but wanted to work virtually, and

matching them with clients that I had.

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I have more clients than I could handle

who needed good, strong assistance.

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Joshua: Finding that good assistant,

or finding someone that has the skill

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sets that you have, I have to say.

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First off, there was a lot that you shared

with just the different fields that you've

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been in, because for many people to be

able to take that in one big package and

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be like, "This is what I can offer you."

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That takes some great creativity and

opportunity, and you capitalized on

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something that for many years now,

a lot of people were like, "Eh.

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I don't know how this would work.",

but the pandemic kind of pushed

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everybody to think outside the box.

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Now, I have to ask you this because

you said something that is, for many

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listeners, they probably never really

heard this other side of what COVID is

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all about, so you were in Costa Rica,

and you were teaching yoga virtually?

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Is that what you were doing?

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Katie: No, no.

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I was in Costa Rica taking a training.

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I was getting my 500 hour yoga

certification, and when I got back-

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I actually started before I got back,

because we knew what was going on.

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It was very weird.

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I remember calling my husband and

being like, "What is going on at

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home?", because here, we're like

in this little bubble, right?

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We're in this yoga retreat.

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You're with 27 other people.

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Everybody's holding hands and hugging, and

it's just like this little yoga bubble,

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and I was like, "What in the world is

going on at home?", and he was like,

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"Well, things are starting to shut down.

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People are freaking out.

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There's no toilet paper.", you know.

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All of those things, so I

started connecting with my

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students virtually at that point.

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I sent an email out to everybody.

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I said, "I'm in Costa Rica.

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I'd love to have a class, just

virtually on Zoom to connect with

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you all.", and then the next day,

the school that I was at closed.

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They basically said, "You don't have

to go home, but you can't stay here.

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The borders are closing.

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You got to go.", so I came home and

immediately started teaching yoga.

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Everything was closed by the

time I got home and immediately

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started teaching online.

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Joshua: Okay.

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You had me nervous there

for a second like, "Oh.

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Well, I was stuck in Costa Rica for a

few months.", and I almost thought that

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maybe you had to work through that,

but even then that's still a challenge.

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Katie: There were people that stayed,

and it was interesting because in a

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yoga training, you're with people who

are 18 to 60, across the gamut, and

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there were some people that decided to

stay because they were like, "Well, the

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borders are closing, but that doesn't mean

that my country won't let me back in."

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I'm like, "They will let you back

in, but are you going to be able

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to get a flight home?", so for

me, I was like," I'm going home.

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I'm getting this flight.

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I'm getting home as soon as I can to

be where I need to be.", but again,

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at that time, we just thought we were

going to be closed down for two weeks.

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Joshua: That's very smart that you were

thinking like, "Maybe I should get out of

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here and not be trapped here.", so that

was a smart move on your part because

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I remember that I took a trip to Paris

about two months before, and there were

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some rumblings of it, because in January

: 2020

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world stage, but it wasn't anything that

really hit home, but I was thinking, "Man.

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If this would have happened to me

when I was taking this trip to Paris,

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when I was overseas, I wonder what the

logistical nightmare would have been."

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I would have been freaking out.

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I would have needed to

hire a virtual assistant.

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Katie: There was a group of people in

the yoga community, in the city that

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I'm from, they were in Peru doing a

training, and they couldn't get back,

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and they had to charter a private plane,

and there was a big GoFundMe to get them

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home, just because the borders are open

doesn't mean that people have to fly you

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back, so the airline shut down Anyways.

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Joshua: No, it's a very fascinating aspect

of it, so here's another question I have

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before we dive into your business, because

I think this might've set some of the

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stage for what you ultimately started.

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Do you feel that learning to adjust

with the different technologies that

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you had to utilize, especially with

yoga and things like that, do you think

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that was the precursor to helping you

start your business that you now run?

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Katie: Absolutely.

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When I first opened the yoga studio,

I didn't know what the heck I was

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doing, so I hired a business coach.

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Everyone should at some point

work with a business coach.

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I also worked with a coach when I

started this business, but the coaching

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program that I did for the yoga

studio was very technical literacy,

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so like working on your website,

setting up your CRM, doing your email

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automations, like all of that kind of

digital literacy of digital marketing.

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That helped me.

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I don't know if I would have

been able to start the business I

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have now without that foundation.

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I use so much of it, although it's

a completely different industry, a

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completely different business that was

a solid foundation for me, just like

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with digital marketing that allowed

me to make the switch, and being a

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virtual assistant, it was something

that had sat in my mind for a while.

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I remember when I was at the insurance

company, I had a friend- we're still

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very close friends, and we have worked

at other places before together, and

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I remember we sat next to each other.

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We had these low cubicles, and I

remember, popping over it one day

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and being like, "Let's just quit.

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Let's just leave, and we

could, like, freelance, and do

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this stuff for somebody else.

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Let's just leave."

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there was another day where I

tried to convince her to quit

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our jobs and start a mimosa cart.

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I thought that was a great idea too.

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Very early in my burnout.

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I was already starting to spiral, but

it's an idea I'd already always had, but

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I didn't know how to do it, and it kind

of like that convergence of learning

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the digital marketing, opening my first

business as the yoga studio, getting the

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confidence, and then the world shutting

down, and me having to figure it out.

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I reached into my toolbox, and I pulled

out what I had, and I just rolled with it.

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That same friend, we always

joke about, one time I said,

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I was like, "You can quit.

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You've got skills.

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We don't know what they are, but

you've got them.", and that's like,

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I kind of always think about that

in how I started this business.

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I was like, "I have skills.

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I don't know what I

have, but I've got them.

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Let's figure it out."

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Joshua: Well, this leads into maybe

one of my last questions before we

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dive into business, because it has

some curiosity rolling in my mind,

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but, you have all these skill sets.

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What was the one thing that you felt you

had to stretch yourself in doing when

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you started out, meaning, was there a

particular skill that you didn't feel

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as good about, but maybe you needed to

learn a little bit, because you mentioned

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something about having a business coach.

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I have to say, I think Gary- Gary's

the one that really helped me with

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getting started with my business

and setting some of the foundations,

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like, "Why are you doing this?

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Why are you doing that?", kind of helping

me out with some of the same, so I'm

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wondering if there's something that helped

stretch you to get to that point where

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you were like, "I'm ready to do this."

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Katie: My husband.

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We weren't married then.

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We're married now.

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We probably would have never gotten

married had I not left my career, and gone

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on this path, because I was a completely

different person, and it wasn't the

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nicest person, but I remember one night

we were talking about this new client

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that I had just started working with,

and they worked on a program Kajabi.

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I don't know if you've ever heard of it.

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It's a learning management system, and

I didn't know how to do it, and I was

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afraid to take on this new client, and

we kind of talked it through, and it's

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like, "I think I can figure it out, but

I might mess it up, and how do I even

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market myself as someone who can do

something if I don't know how to do it?",

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and he was like, "Eventually, you're

just going to have to take on assignments

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that you don't know how to do, and you're

going to have to figure it out.", and

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he was so right, and I still do that.

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I don't do client work anymore,

but in my own business, I say,

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"This is something we want to do.

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I don't know how to do it.

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Let's figure it out.", so just

constantly pushing yourself outside of

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your comfort zone, which we all talk

about that, but it's actually making

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yourself do things you don't think you

can do because you really can do them.

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Joshua: Oh.

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That's the old adage that I keep saying

to myself too is that I need to just

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do it, and just see what happens, and

it's gotten me to where I'm at now too.

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I'm sure you have many stories

just like what I can think

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of relating to that as well.

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I think, if anything, I know that

we hear a lot about corporate

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America kind of like, "Oh yeah.

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They're inventing all these new things."

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it's small business that is really

diving into those ideas, so kudos to you.

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Katie: Yeah.

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Yeah, and the flip side of that is being

really aware of where I'm pushing myself

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too hard, because that's what got me

into burnout is my own expectations of

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myself having too high of expectations,

and constantly feeling like I'm not

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able to meet them, so even now with

the business, I'll say, "I want to do

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these things and then I look at what

I can actually handle right now with

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everything else on my plate.", and

there are things that I'll say, "Look.

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Now's not the time to learn this new

skill, or do this new thing, because

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my focus needs to be elsewhere, and I

don't need to set myself up for failure."

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Joshua: Absolutely, and it's about

managing those expectations of what you

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can and cannot do, which that leads into

a perfect segue about your business.

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Let's dive into it, because you

run River City Virtual Assistants.

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First off, what's the River City?

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Is that based on some sort

of place that you lived?

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Can you tell us a little

bit about the business name?

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I find that very unique.

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Katie: Yes and no, so River City is- I'm

in Richmond, Virginia, and it's considered

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River City, but there was a couple of

plays on that word, so River City Virtual

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Assistants, so it's River City VAs, and

I'm in Virginia, so it can also be RCVA,

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and then the other one is I knew that

there's lots of cities in the United

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States that call themselves River City, so

like San Antonio, Texas, also River City,

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so I was like, "This will give us enough

ambiguity to have that virtual aspect."

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Joshua: That is so cute.

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I love that, because that does

leave a lot of interpretation and

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variety that you can dive into.

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Absolutely.

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Tell us, what do you call a virtual

assistant, because I will set this

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out, and this is from my listeners too.

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I've heard this all the time of, "Well,

if you hire me as a virtual assistant,

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this is what I can do for you."

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"If you hire me, this other person, as

a virtual assistant, this is the things

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that I can do, but I can't do.", so

tell us what you consider what a virtual

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assistant is in today's environment,

and what you do to fill that gap.

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Katie: In the very clean sense of it

is we provide executive admin support,

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marketing support, operational support

to business owners, small businesses,

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solopreneurs, and executives.

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That's very broad though, right, so

people always ask, "Well, what do you

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do?", and the answer is everything.

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: 00:16:16

The thing that we do differently

at River City Virtual Assistants

293

: 00:16:19

is we recognize that one virtual

assistant cannot know everything they

294

: 00:16:23

need to know to work for a client.

295

: 00:16:24

If you're working with a couple of

different clients, those clients

296

: 00:16:27

are going to have different needs.

297

: 00:16:28

One might be on HubSpot.

298

: 00:16:29

One might be on Copper.

299

: 00:16:31

One might be on Squarespace.

300

: 00:16:32

One might be on WordPress, so there's

all these different things that

301

: 00:16:35

you're having to kind of constantly

pivot, so the way that we've worked

302

: 00:16:39

around that is we've created kind

of like a communal learning system.

303

: 00:16:44

Everybody who comes to work with us

goes through a three month mentorship.

304

: 00:16:48

They meet with their mentor once a week.

305

: 00:16:49

They talk about the different things they

need to learn, that mentor helps them,

306

: 00:16:53

and then if it's outside the mentors

skill set, you've got 20 other people on

307

: 00:16:56

the team so the mentor will say, "Hey.

308

: 00:16:58

Let's check out who's

working on what program.

309

: 00:17:00

We've got like a spreadsheet

of what everybody works on.

310

: 00:17:03

I'm going to connect you with this person.

311

: 00:17:05

They can train you on how to do whatever

it is that's outside of your skill set."

312

: 00:17:09

Everybody says you need

to niche down, right?

313

: 00:17:12

The riches are in the niches.

314

: 00:17:13

You have to have this 1 thing

that you work on, and I believe

315

: 00:17:18

that a good assistant needs

to be more of a generalist.

316

: 00:17:21

They need to have the support system

to learn the things that they need to

317

: 00:17:25

learn, and the resources to learn those

things, but they need to be able to

318

: 00:17:29

go outside of just their little niche.

319

: 00:17:32

We can find somebody who really

specializes in WordPress, right?

320

: 00:17:35

We have people on our team who

are like, "I love WordPress.

321

: 00:17:37

I love working on it.", or, "I love

working on Kajabi.", but they're

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: 00:17:41

going to need to do more than that

to be your assistant, so we train

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: 00:17:44

them on all the different things.

324

: 00:17:45

Well rounded.

325

: 00:17:46

Joshua: I personally use Wix

for my website, so you got

326

: 00:17:49

anybody with Wix on your team?

327

: 00:17:50

Katie: I have to check our tech stack.

328

: 00:17:52

I've never worked on Wix, but

I'm sure someone on our team has.

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: 00:17:55

Joshua: Awesome, so that tells me though

that you're very resourceful, and that

330

: 00:18:00

is something I especially think as a

virtual assistant, you have to be able to

331

: 00:18:04

dive into a number of different things.

332

: 00:18:07

When you look at some of

the people that say, "Yeah.

333

: 00:18:10

I offer virtual assistant

responsibilities and duties."

334

: 00:18:14

What do you say distinguishes yourself

from some of those other companies?

335

: 00:18:20

Katie: What distinguishes River City

Virtual Assistants from some of the

336

: 00:18:22

other companies and our competitors,

something that we do very differently

337

: 00:18:25

is we employ everybody on our team.

338

: 00:18:28

We do that for multiple reasons.

339

: 00:18:30

One is if you contract somebody,

and we hire a lot of parents and

340

: 00:18:35

caretakers who are at home, so if

you're contracting someone, you're

341

: 00:18:39

putting the entire tax burden on them.

342

: 00:18:41

They're having to pay the 25 percent tax

burden of self employment, which we didn't

343

: 00:18:46

feel was right in working with parents.

344

: 00:18:49

They're working to get some extra income.

345

: 00:18:51

We don't need to put an additional

burden on them, so that was important

346

: 00:18:55

to us to help pick up some of that

burden that keeps them with us for

347

: 00:18:59

longer, right, so we offer employment.

348

: 00:19:01

We offer health benefits.

349

: 00:19:03

We offer PTO.

350

: 00:19:04

We offer training.

351

: 00:19:05

We offer mentorship, and then

we offer just kind of that full

352

: 00:19:09

container of employment, right?

353

: 00:19:10

We have coffee breaks together, and they

have an entire team that they can talk to.

354

: 00:19:15

They can call me at any time.

355

: 00:19:16

They can hop into the group

chat at any time, and get help.

356

: 00:19:19

I really think that sets us apart.

357

: 00:19:21

There's some that have been with

me since I was freelancing in: 2020

358

: 00:19:25

They've been with me since the very

beginning, and then we don't have a lot

359

: 00:19:29

of turnover, and that's great for our

clients, because you don't want somebody

360

: 00:19:33

who's going to work with you for 6 months,

and then go on to the next job, because

361

: 00:19:37

once you build that relationship, there's

so much value behind the relationship

362

: 00:19:40

between an assistant and a client.

363

: 00:19:42

You don't want them to just leave, because

you lose so much value when they leave.

364

: 00:19:45

Joshua: Especially in a setting like

that, I have to say, it makes such a

365

: 00:19:48

big difference to know that you can

trust those people, especially if they

366

: 00:19:52

are going through similar types of life

situations, so like you were saying about

367

: 00:19:56

parents and caregivers are mostly a lot

of people that come to work for you.

368

: 00:20:01

With what you said, I think it's so

interesting that you say that you hire

369

: 00:20:05

them, because nowadays, I'm always

hearing about the gig economy, so being

370

: 00:20:11

able to be contracted, and not have

that burden, because you're right.

371

: 00:20:15

They didn't have to have the taxes that

they would normally pay, whether it's

372

: 00:20:19

employment or other things, they would

have to do that all by themselves.

373

: 00:20:23

Why give them that much value, Katie?

374

: 00:20:25

I mean, you could be like everybody else

and say, "Yeah, you just be contracted.",

375

: 00:20:31

and I know you explained a little bit

about, "Well, that helps with retention

376

: 00:20:34

and other things.", but do you feel

that you create a culture at River City

377

: 00:20:40

Virtual Assistants as a result of that?

378

: 00:20:42

Do you feel like there's a

lot more opportunity to buy

379

: 00:20:45

in and give ideas and input?

380

: 00:20:47

Do you feel like you create that

kind of culture because of that?

381

: 00:20:50

Katie: Yeah.

382

: 00:20:51

I think so.

383

: 00:20:51

I think that, and this is

just my personal feeling.

384

: 00:20:54

Everybody is welcome to do whatever

they want to do in their business and

385

: 00:20:58

run it however they want, but I think

that the gig economy takes advantage

386

: 00:21:02

of parents and caretakers, right?

387

: 00:21:04

Being like, "Oh.

388

: 00:21:05

Well, you could DoorDash, and make

extra money for your family.", but

389

: 00:21:08

then, they don't get the benefits

of working for a company, and I

390

: 00:21:11

think that that's really important.

391

: 00:21:13

Women will stay in jobs and relationships

for longer than they need to,

392

: 00:21:19

because they're afraid to go without

health insurance, and that was me.

393

: 00:21:22

I didn't want to leave my career,

because I didn't know what it would

394

: 00:21:25

be like to not have health insurance,

and I didn't know if I could afford

395

: 00:21:27

it on my own, and I wasn't married.

396

: 00:21:29

I stayed in a situation that was

toxic, and so bad for my mental

397

: 00:21:33

health, because I didn't want to have

something as simple as health insurance.

398

: 00:21:36

Originally, people were contracted

on our team, and I knew that I did

399

: 00:21:40

not want to be that type of business.

400

: 00:21:42

I knew that I wanted to employ.

401

: 00:21:44

I knew that I wanted to offer benefits

of employment to my team members.

402

: 00:21:49

For me, it's the thing to do.

403

: 00:21:50

It goes along with our values.

404

: 00:21:52

It goes along with our mission, and

I do think it helps culture, right?

405

: 00:21:55

Our team members know that we employ

them, that they work for us, and

406

: 00:21:58

they can come to us, and talk to

us about things, and learn from us.

407

: 00:22:01

They're not just a one off.

408

: 00:22:03

One of the worst things you can say

to somebody is you're replaceable,

409

: 00:22:07

and we don't want them to feel that

way at all because they're not.

410

: 00:22:11

Joshua: I feel that we often forget

about the fact that we shouldn't

411

: 00:22:14

think of ourselves as replaceable,

because we all bring something.

412

: 00:22:17

We contribute to the table,

and I think that's even part of

413

: 00:22:20

the interview process, right?

414

: 00:22:21

Your interviewing someone to see if they

are good fit for not just what you're

415

: 00:22:26

providing for the job description,

but for the culture as a whole.

416

: 00:22:30

What would you say is an ideal person

that would want to be a virtual assistant?

417

: 00:22:36

Is there a certain set of skills?

418

: 00:22:38

Now, you're bringing something unique

in which you have a well roundedness

419

: 00:22:41

as somebody that's founded it, and

also works with a variety of different

420

: 00:22:45

clients now, but what if somebody is

interested in maybe starting a gig

421

: 00:22:49

like this and maybe working for you?

422

: 00:22:52

What would you say would be somebody

that is successful in this environment?

423

: 00:22:57

Katie: One of the biggest

things we look for is curiosity.

424

: 00:23:00

Curiosity, and what do you do

with your curiosity, right?

425

: 00:23:02

Are you asking questions and then

figuring out the answers to it?

426

: 00:23:05

Are you teaching yourself things?

427

: 00:23:07

Are you taking classes for fun?

428

: 00:23:09

We like to ask people in the

application process, "Tell us

429

: 00:23:12

something that you taught yourself,

and how did you teach yourself to

430

: 00:23:15

do it?", and people are like, "Oh.

431

: 00:23:16

Well, I took a class on 3D printing,

and now I 3D print earrings and sell

432

: 00:23:20

them on Etsy, and I set up my Etsy page,

and like.", you know, all these little

433

: 00:23:23

things that we do just kind of for fun,

how does that translate into your work?

434

: 00:23:28

There is no that I'm aware

of- there's no accredited

435

: 00:23:31

certification for virtual assistant.

436

: 00:23:33

Sure.

437

: 00:23:34

There's plenty of programs you can take.

438

: 00:23:35

There's courses you can take, but

as long as you have that aptitude to

439

: 00:23:39

learn something new and that desire

to learn something new, I think

440

: 00:23:41

you're going to be pretty good at it.

441

: 00:23:44

I always say this isn't rocket science.

442

: 00:23:45

We're not doing rocket science.

443

: 00:23:46

We're doing administrative assistance,

which some of it can be pretty intense,

444

: 00:23:50

and be like pretty technical, but some of

it is just sorting somebody's emails, and

445

: 00:23:54

anybody can learn how to do it, really.

446

: 00:23:56

Joshua: Oh!

447

: 00:23:56

I have a full inbox, Katie, please.

448

: 00:23:58

I'm going to hire you to

take care of that for me.

449

: 00:24:01

Katie: We will talk after this, and I

will give you some tips and tricks on

450

: 00:24:04

how to easily source your email inbox.

451

: 00:24:06

I freak out when mine gets above 50,

so I have some tips and tricks for you.

452

: 00:24:10

Joshua: I have to ask you this.

453

: 00:24:12

I always enjoy asking this question,

especially those that are in the

454

: 00:24:15

service industry and they have

clientele, so without having to

455

: 00:24:18

mention their name, because I respect

the confidentiality of everybody in

456

: 00:24:22

terms of this sort of environment.

457

: 00:24:24

What would you say was the most

interesting client that you've had

458

: 00:24:28

in terms of helping them with your

services, meaning, was there something

459

: 00:24:32

unique about it that you were trying

to navigate with them with a variety

460

: 00:24:37

of different things that you offer?

461

: 00:24:39

Maybe there was some sort of company that

was, maybe out of the blue that you never

462

: 00:24:43

heard of before, that was like, "Oh!

463

: 00:24:45

That's really interesting.", or maybe

it could be just as generic as, "Yeah.

464

: 00:24:48

I helped my best friend."

465

: 00:24:49

Either way, what would you say is the

most memorable client you've worked

466

: 00:24:55

with?

467

: 00:24:55

Katie: I have a lot of them.

468

: 00:24:57

Joshua: That's always the best thing

to have a lot of trying to choose one.

469

: 00:25:01

Katie: Yeah, so one of my very, very

first clients, and he's still with us.

470

: 00:25:05

I no longer work with him because

I don't do client work anymore,

471

: 00:25:08

but one of our first clients.

472

: 00:25:10

He owns a business, and they had a

growth plan, and because of COVID,

473

: 00:25:13

their growth plan just blew up.

474

: 00:25:15

They hit their growth plan within the

first three months of COVID, and then

475

: 00:25:18

it kept on going, because the world was

kind of crazy then, and he's my age,

476

: 00:25:23

but I always felt like he was like much

more older and wiser than me, and he

477

: 00:25:29

just took the time every week to meet

with me, and ask me, "What do you need?

478

: 00:25:32

How can I help you succeed in this

role?", and I learned so much from him.

479

: 00:25:36

He was the CFO, so I learned a

lot of like businessy things from

480

: 00:25:40

him, and we're still in touch.

481

: 00:25:42

Like I said, he's still

one of our clients.

482

: 00:25:44

I love it when I work with people who

have done it before me, and they're

483

: 00:25:47

interested in what my business is doing,

and they're interested in helping and

484

: 00:25:51

giving their advice and their mentorship.

485

: 00:25:52

It's very much like a

two way street, right?

486

: 00:25:54

I can figure out how to find a contractor

to change your electricity in your house

487

: 00:25:59

right now, but you can also teach me how

to do something, so you learn from all of

488

: 00:26:03

your clients in some way, and sometimes

just through the problem solving process

489

: 00:26:07

of helping them solve problems, you learn.

490

: 00:26:09

I have so many clients that

I just think so fondly of.

491

: 00:26:13

It was really hard for me when I

decided to stop doing client work.

492

: 00:26:15

It was really, really hard for me to step

away from it because I just like the work.

493

: 00:26:21

Joshua: Yeah, and I know of people

that have to step away, because they

494

: 00:26:24

have the bigger vision that they're

working on with it, and they have

495

: 00:26:27

to support some of the people that

they're going to trust to be able to

496

: 00:26:30

do the work and carry that forward.

497

: 00:26:32

Doesn't mean that you don't touch base

with them or anything by all means,

498

: 00:26:36

but you always have that relationship,

which I love that you foster.

499

: 00:26:39

That's something that I even

work with my clients on.

500

: 00:26:41

It's about having that relationship

with someone, especially in a coaching

501

: 00:26:44

relationship, that is really important

if you're ever going to make progress,

502

: 00:26:48

but it is very, very important with what

you said t hat we're able to foster that

503

: 00:26:53

Katie, we're almost at the end of our

time, and I really have this one last

504

: 00:26:57

question for you because we led this

conversation really starting from the

505

: 00:27:01

fact that you experienced burnout.

506

: 00:27:04

Do you feel a sense of burnout doing

this sort of job now, and if so, why,

507

: 00:27:11

or if not, why, and when you explain

that answer, let us know why that is

508

: 00:27:19

the case, meaning what propels you

to not feel burned out, or if you

509

: 00:27:23

do feel burned out and you've got to

switch careers, please just tell us

510

: 00:27:26

right now what that's going to be?

511

: 00:27:29

Katie: Not going to switch careers.

512

: 00:27:30

I love what I do, so I think that,

at least for me and my experience,

513

: 00:27:35

after experiencing burnout and

healing from burnout, I feel like

514

: 00:27:38

those pathways are open in my brain.

515

: 00:27:41

The overachieving feeling

is always going to be there.

516

: 00:27:45

I'm always going to struggle with

not feeling like I'm doing enough.

517

: 00:27:48

Could I burn out in this role?

518

: 00:27:50

100% yes.

519

: 00:27:52

Do I have moments where

I feel like I'm tipping?

520

: 00:27:54

Yes.

521

: 00:27:55

Today was a moment.

522

: 00:27:55

I had a moment today where one of the

things that starts to show me that I'm

523

: 00:27:59

getting overstressed that I need to step

back is when I lose my ability to be kind,

524

: 00:28:03

and it's like the first thing that goes

when I get tired, and I know that about

525

: 00:28:06

myself, so I have a business partner.

526

: 00:28:08

I called my business partner.

527

: 00:28:09

I said, "I'm at the end of my bandwidth.

528

: 00:28:11

I need you to help me with

this.", and she's like, "Cool.

529

: 00:28:13

I'm on it.

530

: 00:28:14

I'll take care of it.", so just

being able to recognize that

531

: 00:28:18

I can burn out at any moment.

532

: 00:28:19

You can burn out doing things you love.

533

: 00:28:20

People do it all the time, but being able

to recognize when you're starting to go

534

: 00:28:24

down that slope and asking for the help

that you need, so with business owners,

535

: 00:28:28

and we work with so many business owners

who are in a similar position, you can

536

: 00:28:32

burn yourself out doing what you love.

537

: 00:28:34

Our goal is to make sure you

don't .You can ask for help.

538

: 00:28:37

There's someone here to help take the

burden, to take some of the mental

539

: 00:28:39

load off of you, whether that be with

your business, or maybe you need your

540

: 00:28:43

virtual assistant to help you with

some things going on in your personal

541

: 00:28:47

life, like running a household, and

raising children, and being a spouse,

542

: 00:28:50

all those things are really hard.

543

: 00:28:51

Could I burn out?

544

: 00:28:52

Yes.

545

: 00:28:52

Am I going to?

546

: 00:28:53

I don't think so.

547

: 00:28:54

I think I've put good boundaries in place.

548

: 00:28:57

Joshua: Boundaries.

549

: 00:28:58

That is something is so important,

because I also, and we were talking

550

: 00:29:03

about this before the show, about how

that has been a big deal for even me,

551

: 00:29:08

and we kind of associate with that.

552

: 00:29:09

I think it's so true, and I also find

myself getting a little angry sometimes

553

: 00:29:13

too, and I have to push it away, and

walk away, and come back, and that's

554

: 00:29:17

always a great way and technique,

even if you don't have somebody

555

: 00:29:21

else, just to step away from it too.

556

: 00:29:23

I think all those are great ideas in

itself, and you have yoga to always lean

557

: 00:29:27

back on, so that's always a good thing.

558

: 00:29:29

Katie: Yeah.

559

: 00:29:30

One of our values is

being self reflective.

560

: 00:29:33

It's very important for us, and our

team members, to understand when we're

561

: 00:29:37

getting angry about something, or when we

are getting frustrated about something.

562

: 00:29:39

Why are we getting frustrated, and

how can we ask for help, and kind

563

: 00:29:43

of step back from it, so yeah.

564

: 00:29:45

Very important.

565

: 00:29:46

Joshua: Big step backwards.

566

: 00:29:48

Yes, in order to be able to

take a big leap forwards.

567

: 00:29:51

That's always the key.

568

: 00:29:53

Katie, thanks so much for this.

569

: 00:29:55

I really enjoyed our conversation.

570

: 00:29:56

I want to give you the

last few minutes here.

571

: 00:29:58

I'm sure people are interested,

especially some of my business owners.

572

: 00:30:01

Maybe they are excited to

work with you and your team at

573

: 00:30:04

River City Virtual Assistants.

574

: 00:30:06

Maybe you can share a little bit

of information on how they can get

575

: 00:30:08

in contact with that, how they can

get in contact with you, if they're

576

: 00:30:11

interested in talking more about what

you've shared today, even if they have

577

: 00:30:15

interest in the services, maybe you

can run through some of them, which we

578

: 00:30:18

haven't really overall talked about.

579

: 00:30:20

I know you have a variety of different

things, but I'm going to give you the

580

: 00:30:22

last few minutes to do all of that.

581

: 00:30:24

Katie: Yeah, sure.

582

: 00:30:24

We have a website, rivercity-va.com.

583

: 00:30:28

If you go there, we have a services list.

584

: 00:30:30

You can find out about

our upcoming webinars.

585

: 00:30:32

Every month we do a different webinar,

and we do them on things such as

586

: 00:30:36

learning to delegate, learning to set

boundaries, how to use AI and your

587

: 00:30:40

marketing, things like that, so things

that we're doing, and we do a little

588

: 00:30:44

webinar on that every month and it's free.

589

: 00:30:46

We also have a newsletter that

you can sign up for, which is

590

: 00:30:49

some of that same information.

591

: 00:30:51

We call it The Virtual Assist, so

we're here to lend a little hand.

592

: 00:30:55

It's a navigating the waters

of entrepreneurship and life.

593

: 00:30:58

You can follow me on LinkedIn at Katie

Santoro, and we also have a River City

594

: 00:31:04

Virtual Assistants business page, where

you can find a lot of information.

595

: 00:31:08

We take our blogs and we break them down

into smaller information for our business

596

: 00:31:12

page, and then you can just email me.

597

: 00:31:14

Katie at, and it's K A T

I E, @rivercity-va.com.

598

: 00:31:20

Like I said earlier,

I am a problem solver.

599

: 00:31:22

I love to talk through business problems,

how to solve them, different programs

600

: 00:31:28

that can be used, things like that,

so I'm always willing to have a call

601

: 00:31:31

about how you might solve your problem,

whether or not we are a fit for you or

602

: 00:31:35

not, which we probably are, because we

have lots of diverse skills, but whether

603

: 00:31:40

or not we're a fit for you, I'm happy

to chat through things at any time.

604

: 00:31:44

Joshua: Love all of that.

605

: 00:31:45

I find that what makes the backbone,

and which is why there's a day even

606

: 00:31:50

named after these sort of people:

Administrative Professionals Day.

607

: 00:31:54

I always love it because if it

wasn't for people like you, and I

608

: 00:31:57

know you do so much more than that.

609

: 00:31:59

Don't get me wrong, but I think that

that is so important for us to run with

610

: 00:32:04

the races of life, business, whatever

that is that we're trying to achieve.

611

: 00:32:09

I love the fact though, too, that you

took all these career aspirations, and

612

: 00:32:13

you dive them into this business that

is a fully functional service where

613

: 00:32:19

you can go and get whatever you need.

614

: 00:32:21

I love that, and if you don't

have that service, you train.

615

: 00:32:24

You care about your employees.

616

: 00:32:26

I love that.

617

: 00:32:27

Those are all great things that I

think we sometimes overlook, and yet,

618

: 00:32:32

in today's day and age, that's what

causes a lot of the burnout too, is

619

: 00:32:35

being overlooked, and I appreciate you

flipping the script and doing that at

620

: 00:32:40

River City Virtual Assistants, but for

all those reasons, Katie, thanks a lot for

621

: 00:32:43

being on Speaking from the Heart today.

622

: 00:32:45

I really enjoyed our conversation.

623

: 00:32:46

It was a privilege to talk to you.

624

: 00:32:49

Katie: Same.

625

: 00:32:49

Thank you so much for having me.

626

: 00:32:51

Joshua: I want to thank Katie so much

for allowing me to share her story to

627

: 00:32:55

the world, and I want to thank her so

much for being on the show for allowing

628

: 00:32:59

me to understand a little bit more

of how freelancing works, but more

629

: 00:33:04

importantly, how it connects to the

broader conversation that we need to

630

: 00:33:08

have about focusing on our purpose.

631

: 00:33:11

I think it's really important to even

understand that when we have all these

632

: 00:33:14

things that are going on in our businesses

and our lives, we need that help.

633

: 00:33:20

I'm a strong advocate, even myself, on

finding that niche that we really want to

634

: 00:33:25

learn and grow in, giving everybody else

the things that we don't want to do, and

635

: 00:33:30

allowing ourselves to develop our craft.

636

: 00:33:33

Katie did exactly that, in

a different kind of way.

637

: 00:33:37

Her story really exemplifies how many

people, even post-COVID, have been

638

: 00:33:42

trying to challenge the status quo,

find their purpose in this world, and

639

: 00:33:47

find it in a way that can help others

be able to escape what has been the

640

: 00:33:53

traditional 9 to 5 job, usually taking

place before pre-pandemic times.

641

: 00:33:59

We have seen a lot of development in

these areas of virtual assistance,

642

: 00:34:04

and being able to learn a little bit

more today gives us a perspective

643

: 00:34:08

of how you can create this model for

yourself by helping others whether

644

: 00:34:13

you're far away or even close by.

645

: 00:34:16

Seeing that this is a play on even some of

the more traditional roles of babysitting

646

: 00:34:21

even as a kid, or even doing some of the

things that are menial in nature, Katie

647

: 00:34:26

takes this to the professional level,

helping those to get their time back, and

648

: 00:34:31

I love that so much because what we're

leaving behind when we're not working on

649

: 00:34:35

our business, when we're not working on

ourselves, is that craft, that energy,

650

: 00:34:41

that purpose that we were designed

to do, so it allows us to make the

651

: 00:34:45

actions that we need to take come alive.

652

: 00:34:49

Don't consider this as a

freelancing opportunity.

653

: 00:34:52

I think Katie really set the platform

as to why virtual assistants are

654

: 00:34:56

so different from a freelancer.

655

: 00:34:59

It allows us to develop areas, creating

that value for our business or each other,

656

: 00:35:04

so it allows us to also have opportunities

to do the things that we need to do,

657

: 00:35:09

as I've already mentioned, but the

unintended skills that we can learn from

658

: 00:35:13

these types of jobs might be because of

the people that want to invest in them.

659

: 00:35:19

They want to see that growth become

exponential, and I love the fact that even

660

: 00:35:24

for her story herself, Katie admits, in

many different parts, that she didn't have

661

: 00:35:29

all the knowledge, she didn't have all the

abilities, but her ability to keep moving

662

: 00:35:34

past that to create that vision of what

she ultimately wanted to see, allowed her

663

: 00:35:39

to escape from being burned out again.

664

: 00:35:42

It allowed her to have that flexibility,

and create the opportunity for so many

665

: 00:35:47

other people, to allow them to surround

her, to be able to help others be

666

: 00:35:54

surrounded with the services that they

need to have, but I think that you have to

667

: 00:35:59

learn from her story, is that what kinds

of people are you willing to work with?

668

: 00:36:05

How many others would you be willing to

invest in, even if it was your significant

669

: 00:36:09

other, to create that awareness of

expectations that you want to achieve?

670

: 00:36:15

Let's face it.

671

: 00:36:16

I'm sure that we've had people in

our lives that have come and gone,

672

: 00:36:20

thinking that they were really going

to help us get to where we need to

673

: 00:36:22

be, but the problem with that is that

we often find that we have rifts.

674

: 00:36:27

We have differences of the approach

that we need to take, and I've talked

675

: 00:36:31

about on numerous occasions on this

podcast about how we can manage

676

: 00:36:35

conflict, how we can defuse it, how

we can use what we have going on

677

: 00:36:39

in our lives to a better advantage.

678

: 00:36:42

It doesn't mean that we should stop with

the conversation, and give up, throw

679

: 00:36:46

up our hands and say that we shouldn't

be doing what we're doing right now.

680

: 00:36:50

That is not the case here.

681

: 00:36:52

What kinds of things can we get

ourselves involved in should be really

682

: 00:36:56

the conversation that we have instead.

683

: 00:36:59

What can we do to make sure that we can

work through this problem so that we can

684

: 00:37:02

get to the solution that we have at hand?

685

: 00:37:05

It's being aware of what you're expecting,

and having that conversation of what

686

: 00:37:09

you're expecting in return, and I

think that personalized approach here

687

: 00:37:13

at River City Virtual Assistants that

Katie's business is all about creates

688

: 00:37:18

that context for so many of our clients

and is why it is rapidly growing.

689

: 00:37:24

It is why people like this want to have

that connection, that relationship that

690

: 00:37:29

we've always got back to, especially

in the early parts of this podcast;

691

: 00:37:34

right here is a prime example of how

that success can come alive, but that

692

: 00:37:40

connection, those skill sets are so

important for us, not just from a

693

: 00:37:44

generalist perspective, whether that's

doing basic accounting work, whether

694

: 00:37:49

that's doing administrative work, whether

that is putting up a social media post,

695

: 00:37:53

even redoing some research, helping that

client get to where that ultimate goal is.

696

: 00:37:59

Being employed is the number one

thing that we all want to do, but we

697

: 00:38:03

got to do it with our own flexible

scheduling, because in this day and

698

: 00:38:08

age, with so many different types of

opportunities that lie ahead ,and the

699

: 00:38:12

income that we can all make, there's no

excuse to say that we are flat broke.

700

: 00:38:17

It just means that we have to

put a little bit more effort

701

: 00:38:20

in, in some areas over others.

702

: 00:38:22

It doesn't mean that overnight,

magically something will occur,

703

: 00:38:26

just like those fantasy world social

media posts that oftentimes you see.

704

: 00:38:31

Those people dug deep, got back in their

trenches, dug into themselves, trying to

705

: 00:38:38

figure out what is the niche that they

needed to bring to the table, and is

706

: 00:38:42

exactly why Katie's story, amongst many

others, are featured on this podcast.

707

: 00:38:48

It shows a glimmer of hope, a way

in which we're able to create that

708

: 00:38:52

context, that connection with benefits,

that allows our environment to thrive.

709

: 00:38:57

That's why people are jealous.

710

: 00:38:59

That's why even like you, my listener,

might be a little jealous of what

711

: 00:39:02

she's been able to accomplish, but you

heard what she had to go through to

712

: 00:39:08

get to that point, and that's exactly

why I relate to her story so much.

713

: 00:39:14

I was burned out after I tried

to kill myself four and a half

714

: 00:39:18

years ago, and it still stuck with

me for a long period afterwards.

715

: 00:39:24

Some of my closest friends, even in posts

six months after I tried to hurt myself,

716

: 00:39:29

saw again that I wanted to do it all over,

because that level of support, during that

717

: 00:39:35

COVID period, was extremely tough for me.

718

: 00:39:38

I felt alone.

719

: 00:39:40

I've had other guests that we've even

talked about why that has occurred.

720

: 00:39:43

It's a mental energy.

721

: 00:39:44

It's a process in which you have

to change your brain patterns,

722

: 00:39:48

and create that aspect of your

life that you want to envision.

723

: 00:39:52

It's not just putting it on paper, but

it's empowering yourself to see the

724

: 00:39:57

same, but yet, even as my one former

guest, Mike Van Pelt, even put it.

725

: 00:40:03

It's about being curious of what you

want to work on that will ultimately

726

: 00:40:07

dictate how you want to best achieve it.

727

: 00:40:11

It's no coincidence of having

Katie to follow right after that.

728

: 00:40:15

She shares her perspective

of that curiosity.

729

: 00:40:18

How we can learn from others

through that curiosity.

730

: 00:40:21

How we can build our own

businesses through that curiosity.

731

: 00:40:25

How we were able to have that "ah ha"

moment come alive in those curiosity

732

: 00:40:29

moments, but if we can recognize the

kindness of helping others, being able

733

: 00:40:35

to create that consistency for others

to achieve what they ultimately want

734

: 00:40:39

to achieve, you'll see that these kinds

of results can happen for you as well.

735

: 00:40:47

Let's be real.

736

: 00:40:49

It isn't easy for some of us to

easily drop into the bucket of

737

: 00:40:53

starting a business like this.

738

: 00:40:55

It takes a lot of hard work.

739

: 00:40:56

It means that you have to have some tough

conversations with the people that are

740

: 00:41:00

around you saying to them that it's okay.

741

: 00:41:03

I know what I'm doing.

742

: 00:41:05

Give me the faith, and if you have

broken those relationships with

743

: 00:41:08

people, they're going to be even more

skeptical of you trying to achieve

744

: 00:41:12

what you're trying to achieve today.

745

: 00:41:14

It doesn't mean, though, that you give up.

746

: 00:41:17

It doesn't mean that you don't stop.

747

: 00:41:19

It doesn't mean that you pivot

into a different kind of direction.

748

: 00:41:22

It means that you have to find, as

I've even said to one of my clients

749

: 00:41:26

recently, what your sphere of influence

is, and who your inner circle is,

750

: 00:41:32

that allows you to create those

opportunities that you're seeking out.

751

: 00:41:36

It could be anything like reading

books, listening to podcasts.

752

: 00:41:40

It could be all kinds of healthy

activities like dieting, exercise.

753

: 00:41:45

Anything that helps to fuel you,

that influences you, is that sphere

754

: 00:41:49

of influence, but that inner circle

are the people that are going to make

755

: 00:41:53

sure that hold you accountable to what

you're ultimately trying to achieve.

756

: 00:41:57

Even if it is from a sales perspective,

even if it is from your own personal,

757

: 00:42:01

professional development, this story that

we're hearing today is the prime example

758

: 00:42:07

of somebody that changed their sphere

of influence, got themselves into the

759

: 00:42:12

inner circle of people that are willing

to help get her to where she needs

760

: 00:42:15

to be, and be able to be successful.

761

: 00:42:20

I don't know about you, but it means that

sometimes we have to break that bubble,

762

: 00:42:25

pop that balloon, if you will, of the

things that we thought were really our

763

: 00:42:30

manifest destiny, the true vision of

what we ultimately wanted to accomplish.

764

: 00:42:36

It's a lot of work.

765

: 00:42:37

It's a lot of development.

766

: 00:42:38

It means that we have to go in areas

that oftentimes we're afraid to go

767

: 00:42:42

into, especially in the world of virtual

assistants, but I think that Katie

768

: 00:42:47

shows her legitimacy, along with her

clientele and the people that she hires,

769

: 00:42:53

of why it's so important to not think

of this as a casual freelancer, but

770

: 00:42:57

somebody that you should take seriously.

771

: 00:43:01

I can take you seriously too if you're

willing to work on those skills, being

772

: 00:43:05

able to build up what you ultimately

have as values right now, if you're

773

: 00:43:10

willing to have the right mindset

to open the potential possibilities

774

: 00:43:14

in investing yourself, whether it's

monetarily, or in the knowledge sense.

775

: 00:43:21

If you can manage those expectations,

if you can play on the words that are

776

: 00:43:25

allowing you to create that vision of what

you're manifesting, and if you're able

777

: 00:43:30

to work on all kinds of things that allow

you to be gainfully employed, and manage

778

: 00:43:35

the expectations that you have in front

of you right now, you will create those

779

: 00:43:40

successes just like Katie did as well.

780

: 00:43:43

That connection of what we learn from

others, what we're truly capable of

781

: 00:43:48

becoming, and what we're ultimately

able to achieve, allows us to see things

782

: 00:43:53

that we, ultimately, sometimes can't

see right in front of us, but even if

783

: 00:43:58

we recognize it down the road, if we're

able to see what we're able to do right

784

: 00:44:02

now, I think that that is what is more

important than anything else, and for

785

: 00:44:08

all those reasons, that allows you to

create the best version of yourself.

786

: 00:44:12

That allows you to see what

you're able to ultimately become.

787

: 00:44:16

It allows you to see what nobody

else might see today, but will

788

: 00:44:21

ultimately see in the future.

789

: 00:44:23

Don't wait any longer.

790

: 00:44:25

Be like Katie.

791

: 00:44:27

If you want to get control of your

life, if you want to ultimately

792

: 00:44:30

achieve the best version of yourself,

this is where the hard work begins.

793

: 00:44:36

Today.

794

: 00:44:38

Thanks for listening to episode

number 154 of Speaking From the

795

: 00:44:42

Heart, and I look forward to

hearing from your heart, very soon.

796

: 00:44:47

Outro: Thanks for listening.

797

: 00:44:48

For more information about our podcast

and future shows, search for Speaking From

798

: 00:44:52

The Heart to subscribe and be notified

wherever you listen to your podcasts.

799

: 00:44:57

Visit us at www.yourspeakingvoice.biz

for more information about potential

800

: 00:45:04

services that can help you create

the best version of yourself.

801

: 00:45:08

See you next time.