Hey! Do I Need a VA?

About Hey! Do I Need a VA?

Many times overwhelmed entrepreneurs are told to “hire a virtual assistant” but not how to do it or what to look for. The term Virtual Assistant (VA) is not a one-size-fits-all. When clients hire someone without knowing all the facts it can result in bad experiences or worse the entrepreneur walking away from much needed support. This podcast is what actual VAs want potential clients to know about the pros and cons of working with virtual support. We will explore topics like: What is a VA? What can a VA help with? How much does a VA cost? Working with a VA goes beyond your task list. What is the interview process? And who leads it? What preparation should a client do before hiring a VA And so much more… Hosted by Rachael Davila with Extra Hands! Virtual Assistance. She brings 18+ years of administrative and business owner experience to the mic, along with a cast of virtual assistant friends and colleagues who bring different backgrounds, view points and skill sets. Listeners will get a peek into the world of virtual assistants and hear stories, strategies and successes to thrive within the virtual workforce. Through our episodes we hope to educate, inspire, and motivate business owners to do the necessary pre-work before navigating the journey to find, hire and work with a virtual assistant.

Publisher

Hey! Do I Need a VA?

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Feb 2024

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

49 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Oct 2026

   All-In-One Systems: Do You Need an Expert, a VA, or Both?

   What happens when your business outgrows the collection of tools you've pieced together along the way? Your email marketing is over here. Your contracts are over there. Your calendar, courses, payments, CRM, and automations all have their own logins. At some point, your tech stack may start creating more work than it's saving. In this episode of Hey! Do I Need a VA?, Rachael, Bree, and LeAnn are joined by Go High Level specialists Paula Allen and Elaine Turso to talk about all-in-one systems and what business owners should consider before making the move. We talk about when an all-in-one platform makes sense, why strategy should come before technology, and the different roles an expert and a VA can play in building and maintaining your systems. In This Episode When your tech stack may be hindering your growth Whether to start with an all-in-one system or grow into it Why your customer journey should come before your systems The difference between having an expert build the system and a VA maintain it Why strategy matters before building automations The value of building your systems step by step One of the biggest takeaways from this conversation is that the system itself isn't the strategy. Before deciding which platform to use or what to build inside it, get clear on your business, your customer journey, what you need the technology to accomplish, and where you're trying to go. Then you can decide what needs to be built by an expert, what can be maintained by your VA, and what you need to understand as the business owner. And remember: Go High Level isn't right for every business. The right system is the one that supports the way your business needs to work. Connect With Our Guests Paula Allen | Services For You Paula Allen is a business strategist and speaker who helps entrepreneurs create clarity, strengthen their systems, and build businesses for sustainable growth. Through her "Fix It" sessions and strategic work, Paula helps business owners identify what's out of place, remove bottlenecks, and move forward. Guest Profile: https://www.heydoineedava.com/guests/paula-allen/ (https://www.heydoineedava.com/guests/paula-allen/) Website: https://paulaallen.org/ (https://paulaallen.org/) Elaine Turso Elaine Turso is a Business Reinvention Partner who helps established entrepreneurs reinvent the businesses they’ve outgrown. Combining strategy, intuition, humor, and her signature “Intuitive Pop Rocks,” she helps business owners realign their brand, offers, customer experience, systems, and visibility around what comes next. She’s also a retired photographer, Friends fanatic, chai latte enthusiast, and grandma who believes everything is figureoutable and no one is going to die. Website: https://elaineturso.com/ (https://elaineturso.com/) Have a question you'd like us to tackle this season? Email us at heyvapodcast@gmail.com (mailto:heyvapodcast@gmail.com). Visit HeyDoINeedaVA.com (http://HeyDoINeedaVA.com) to find more episodes and resources to help you prepare to find, hire, and work with the right Virtual Assistant. If you enjoyed this episode, follow the podcast, leave us a review, or share it with another business owner who's trying to make sense of their systems and support.

2. 

   25 Sept 2026

   AI or VA?

   AI or VA? How Do You Know Which Support You Need? With everything AI can do now, do you still need a Virtual Assistant? It's a question we're hearing more and more, and the answer isn't as simple as AI or VA. In the Season 5 premiere of Hey! Do I Need a VA?, Rachael, Bree, and LeAnn dig into where AI can save you time, where a VA brings something different to the table, and why the best answer may be learning how to use both. AI can write content, generate code, help brainstorm ideas, build automations, and tackle tasks faster than ever. But it still needs direction. It doesn't automatically understand your business, your goals, your audience, your brand, or how you think. And sometimes, it doesn't know which questions it should be asking. That's where the human side of support still matters. In this episode, we talk about: Why clarity matters whether you're delegating to AI or a VA The difference between completing a task and thinking through the bigger picture Why you still need to review what AI creates before putting your name on it How VAs can use AI as part of the support they provide Where human experience and context can catch things AI misses Why AI-generated systems and automations still need checkpoints and oversight The potential costs, security considerations, and risks of AI tools Why the "best" AI tool depends on what you're trying to accomplish Setting expectations with your VA about when and how they use AI Thinking of AI as another member of your support team rather than a replacement for the people on it One of our biggest takeaways? AI can be a thought partner, a tool, and even a digital team member. But that doesn't mean it replaces the value of a human who knows your business, asks questions, sees the bigger picture, and can say, "Have you thought about this?" The question may no longer be AI or VA? It may be: What kind of support does this particular task, project, or decision actually need? Have a question you'd like us to tackle this season? Email us at heyvapodcast@gmail.com (mailto:heyvapodcast@gmail.com). Visit HeyDoINeedaVA.com (http://HeyDoINeedaVA.com) to find more episodes and resources to help you prepare to find, hire, and work with the right Virtual Assistant. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love it if you'd follow the podcast, leave a review, or share it with another business owner who's trying to figure out where AI, a VA, or both fit into their business.

3. 

   4 Sept 2026

   VAs After Dark with Ingrid Carleton

   Sometimes the best support isn't about doing more. It's about creating systems that make everything flow more smoothly. In this episode of VAs After Dark, Rachael sits down with Ingrid Carlton, founder of Ingrid's Digital Desk, to talk about her journey from environmental science to professional organizing to building a virtual assistant business supported by a talented team. What began as helping people organize their home offices evolved into helping business owners organize their digital worlds, streamline their systems, and create automations that save time and energy. If you've ever felt like your business has great ideas but too many moving pieces, you'll enjoy getting to know Ingrid. In This Episode How a career in environmental science led Ingrid to entrepreneurship Why professional organizing became the foundation for her VA business How Ingrid's Digital Desk was born in 2019 What it was like growing a business during the shift to online networking Why she decided to build a team sooner than expected Her love of creating automations and simplifying systems How technology can help business owners serve more clients with less effort The coaches, speakers, and consultants she loves helping most A Little About Ingrid Before launching Ingrid's Digital Desk, Ingrid Carlton spent more than 15 years working in environmental science before transitioning into entrepreneurship through professional organizing. As clients began asking for help organizing digital files, websites, social media, and marketing systems, she discovered a passion for helping business owners create order in their online businesses. Today, Ingrid leads a team that supports coaches, speakers, consultants, and other service-based business owners by creating systems, automations, and workflows that allow them to spend less time managing technology and more time serving their clients. What makes Ingrid unique is her ability to look at a business, identify where things are getting stuck, and create solutions that make everything work together more effectively. Connect with Ingrid 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingridcd/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ingridcd/) 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingridsdigitaldesk/ (https://www.instagram.com/ingridsdigitaldesk/) 🌐 Website: https://ingridsdigitaldesk.com/ (https://ingridsdigitaldesk.com/) Looking for a Virtual Assistant? VAs After Dark is a companion series to the Hey! Do I Need a VA? podcast, designed to help you get to know the talented Virtual Assistants featured in the directory—not just what they do, but who they are. Because sometimes finding the right support comes down to more than skills and services. Sometimes it's the vibe. Connect with Rachael for Directory support: https://extrahandsva.com/hire-a-virtual-assistant/ (https://extrahandsva.com/hire-a-virtual-assistant/) hello@extrahandsva.com (mailto:hello@extrahandsva.com) Please leave a like, comment, or review, and share our podcast with someone you know who could benefit from our content.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

448

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 29 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

19

Social presence

0

YouTube

66

Engagement

32

Contact Hey! Do I Need a VA?

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.