Julie Bray Case Study

You may have heard us talk about the benefits of hiring a Virtual Assistant for your business, but with all the sensitive information that you’re entrusted with, bringing on virtual help can be complicated.

Check out how our partners at BELAY helped this CFP® get out of her inbox and back to doing what she does best — without having to worry about compliance issues.

As the President and Client Wealth Manager at GW Financial, Inc., Julie Bray has been offering comprehensive financial planning for nearly three decades.

GW Financial, Inc. is a wealth management and financial planning firm for individuals, families, and organizations to address their broad financial needs through integrated advice and asset management. With 120 clients, tasks can add up — and quickly — especially when it comes to email.

Julie always wanted to respond quickly, but as her firm grew, these ‘low-value’ tasks — as Julie described them — demanded more time than she could afford.

Her Client Services Assistant just did not have the bandwidth to take on more responsibilities, but even if she could, Julie was ready to give her the promotion she had earned.

Julie decided to turn to BELAY.

After just a few short calls, she was matched with her new Virtual Assistant, Jherika Martin.

With Jherika on board, Julie was able to let go of her email.

She went from sorting through hundreds of emails a day to reviewing a single folder of her most important messages.

With Jherika triaging her messages, deleting junk, and handling simple, repetitive questions, Julie suddenly got hours back in her week.

Jherika also enabled Julie’s Client Services Assistant to improve her production by taking at least 25 percent or more of her administrative tasks off her plate.

As Julie explains, “Jherika gave both of us a little bit of margin that also enabled us to focus on what we do best. I’ve really liked that.”

However, Julie admits that initially, she struggled with how to keep such sensitive financial and personal information secure for her clients with a contractor.

“I had to figure out how to work with a virtual person when I have so much information around people and their personal finances — so much nonpublic information,” Julie explains.

“So we worked with our compliance officer and technology expert here.

Jherika has a lot of information – but she doesn’t have access to all of it; she has access to what she needs.

“We were able to have IT limit Jherika’s visibility in our CRM. That’s been key for us.”

And in no time, Jherika has gotten into their workflow.

She understands how to keep things moving along and has a level of attention to detail that Julie appreciates.

“Jherika elevated me to the next level of being able to scale,” Julie says. “

“And to be more efficient and more effective as well.”

For Julie, however, the biggest win is knowing she’s got the right people — and company in her corner.

“What I really like about BELAY is that I’ve hired a company who’s hired the right person,” she shares. “

So I can think and plan for my business over the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years, and I don’t have to worry.”

If you’re hitting a roadblock in your growth as a business, it might be time to look at how you’re spending your time.

Are you bogged down in repetitive tasks that are better handled by someone else?

Is your inbox dominating valuable time that could be better spent on high-impact work?

Are your team members ready to take the next step but just waiting on you to empower them?

If any of that sounds familiar, our partners at BELAY can help you take the next step in your leadership with an exceptional, U.S.-based Virtual Assistant.

Find the same freedom that Julie did to plan confidently for the next 20 years!