Jenna Spencer - Founder and Visionary at AssistPro®

Jenna · 0:00

Hello, my name is Jenna Spencer, and I am Founder and Visionary at AssistPro. We are an executive assistant matching and training organization, where we help busy leaders let go of the vine. We also have community and professional development for executive assistants that want to connect, collaborate, and grow in their practice. Today, our quote comes from Jaco Willink, after all, there can be no leadership where there is no team.

Speaker 3 · 0:39

The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jeremy · 0:55

Assistants, game-changing assistants Are you a strategic senior executive assistant thinking about what's next? Whether you're ready for a promotion or loving the job you're in, NOVA Chief of Staff's certification course may be just the resource you're hungry for. With over 400 students across 20 countries and rave reviews, students graduate from NOVA's hands-on, self-paced online course with the confidence, knowledge, and power to make the move to Chief of Staff for their executive. But don't take my word for it. Visit leaderassistant.com/nova to find countless testimonials, the course syllabus, and lots of free resources to support you in your career journey. Hey friends, welcome to The Leader Assistant Podcast. It's your host Jeremy Burrows and this is episode 282. You can check out the show notes at leaderassistant.com/282. So today I'm excited to be speaking with Jenna Spencer. She's the CEO of assistpro.com and Jenna is a former assistant and now business owner. And so we're excited to have her on the show and jump in and talk about delegation and executive assistant partnerships and all the things related to the assistant world and trying to find the right fit for executives and assistants. So Jenna, welcome to the show.

Jenna · 2:23

Thank you, Jeremy. I'm excited to be here.

Jeremy · 2:25

And what city are you in?

Jenna · 2:27

I am in Anderson, South Carolina. So right between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.

Jeremy · 2:34

Okay, nice. Which airport do you like to trek to if you're right in between?

Jenna · 2:41

GSP, Greenville is where I fly out of. I get to avoid all the Atlanta traffic and it's a 45-minute hopper through Atlanta, which connects to everywhere. So it's the best of both worlds.

Jeremy · 2:53

There you go. There you go. Well, tell us a little bit before we jump in to your career. Tell us a little bit about you personally. Do you have dogs, cats, kids, all of the above? What do you like to do in your downtime? All the things.

Jenna · 3:08

Yeah. All of the above plus chickens. So during COVID, we realized that we wanted to be closer to family. And my husband's parents live on the lake here in Clemson, actually right by Clemson University. And so we decided to move during COVID. So we got the amazing opportunity to buy almost 20 acres, you know, the outskirts of the city. And so now we call ourselves hobby farmers because we have lots of animals, but really no income producing animals. So I have three children, 15 year old daughter and two boys who are 12 and 10. So we're very busy. We have lots of chickens and the kids have an egg business, which they just love. And then we have dogs and cats and lizards and turtles and bunnies and lots of fun, fun animals. In my free time, I love to play tennis. I started playing when we moved here. And I also recently have started gardening. So I love that. And just working on all beautiful things outside, my black thumb is turning slowly green. So we're getting there. And then I also love to read. So those are my favorite activities.

Jeremy · 4:34

Wow, that's great. That's a lot. So you have, I have two boys, ages 12 and 10. So, you know, definitely right there with you with the age of boys, you know, boy parent world. And then we love, we've talked about and debated having chickens, but we haven't pulled the trigger yet. We have some friends that have chickens and we get eggs from them. So that's definitely, you know, we'll see. We'll see how it happens. But I love farm fresh eggs. And then I also like the idea of, like you said, you're with your boys having the egg business, selling, you know, teaching them some entrepreneurial skills.

Jenna · 5:14

Yes, they love it. And the chickens are actually easier to take care of than I thought. And now it's really funny because when we go out there, they know we're bringing scraps or treats for them. And so they become more like pets, I think. But they're all named and it's a lot of fun. It's an afternoon activity every day to go collect the eggs.

Jeremy · 5:36

Nice. Awesome. Well, tell us a little bit about your career. So tell us a little bit about your assistant experience and how you ended up being an assistant. And then from there, how did you end up deciding to launch your own business?

Jenna · 5:56

So becoming an assistant was at a pivotal time in my personal life when I had just had my third child. And I did not want to continue climbing the corporate ladder. Like what I thought the definition of success was, I had somehow planted that seed within me. And granted, we need those types of people and I appreciate them so much, but I always felt like a fish out of water. So imagine pre-COVID, pre-everyone working virtually and understanding that. I told my husband I really wanted to work from home. So I started applying for positions everywhere through Craigslist and through different ads or through different websites like Monster and Career Builder were big back then. And so I ran across an ad in Atlanta for an executive assistant position. And I just put my heart on my sleeve in that ad and said, Hey, this is what I'm currently doing. But what your this ad sounds exactly like what I want to do. And I'll come to Atlanta once a month, you know, just kind of put my heart on my sleeve. And it turned out to be two business coaches. They specifically were EOS implementers. So entrepreneurial operating system and became their assistant, left the corporate world, and realized very quickly that I loved being an assistant. I loved being behind the scenes. I loved making sure everything was perfect for them. It was so much fun. And about six months into that journey, one of them called me one day and said, Hey, I've had maybe five or six people in the last month asked me for a Jenna. They need an assistant specifically with EOS. You know, it's a packaged coaching process. They said, well, we really need assistance trained on this process. And so they asked me if I'd ever thought about being an entrepreneur or having my own business because my background included people management, you know, managing others, some culture, things like that. And so at that time, I'll never forget talking to my husband about that because I had women who were asking me if they could work from home as well. And then this opportunity came up. And so in that moment, I really just went off of a gut feeling and said, yes, absolutely. I'll do this. And then they became my two amazing mentors. They coached me through opening the business and growing and sending people to me before I felt like I was even ready for that. And really just fell in love with what I was doing. And my main goal from day one was to find clients that wanted a great assistant and find a woman or a friend at that time who wanted to be a great assistant and see if they would gel together and put them together. And that was how we got started.

Jeremy · 8:53

Wow, that's awesome. So what's maybe I know we've talked about, I've talked to at least one guest, maybe two guests in the past, about the EOS system. What's maybe a high-level overview for the systems listening that haven't really heard of it or don't know a lot about it?

Speaker 4 · 9:16

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Jenna · 9:48

Yeah. So EOS at its highest form is a set of tools and practices for companies to implement, to grow their business. So it helps them with three things. It helps them clarify their vision, gain traction in the business, and have a healthy team. And so through this set of tools and practices, it creates the momentum and the alinedness for the leadership team to grow. And what I love about it is there's, it's a very simple system and everything is simple and condensed and clear and easy to understand. And if you implement it, really you're going to grow. It's, it's that simple and it takes lots of different things like measurables and quarterly goals and things like that. And it, they have their own terminology for everything. But it's condensed it down into one package system rather than getting all of those different things from outside places and putting it together on your own.

Jeremy · 11:00

So then how do the assistants working in that system, is it, do they function almost like a project manager? Do they kind of implement it and manage it?

Jenna · 11:12

To some degree. So really where, so that is the arena that I operate in mostly because a lot of our, most of our clients either use EOS in their business or they're a coach that implements it for a business. So by the assistants understanding the terminology, the names of the tools, kind of the lingo and how the cadence of EOS works, it really is very helpful to the entrepreneur or the leader because they are able to speak the same language. Most of our assistants still do a lot of regular professional and personal support. So still calendar, email, scheduling, travel, all of that. And then also a lot of personal side stuff, kids' doctor's appointments and soccer schedules, all of those types of things. But for our clients that run on EOS, having an assistant that understands it, it just closes that gap a little bit on the terminology and the lingo.

Jeremy · 12:13

And then are these assistants part-time, full-time, contractors or remote or does it depend on the situation?

Jenna · 12:25

Yeah, it really depends on the situation. So I firmly believe that the more comfortable a client feels, the more likely they are to delegate more and delegate more often. It's about having that trusted relationship. So I would say for the most part, our assistants are part-time up to 25 hours a week. Majority of them are virtual or hybrid with majority on the virtual piece because you can get a lot more done than being in an office filing things. We do also place local assistants and full-time W-2s as well because it all depends on the client. But I would say most times clients all enter virtual and enter part-time and as that relationship develops and they both decide they're a good fit for one another, then a lot of times it will develop into either full-time or they work together on their own.

Jeremy · 13:32

And then what about, you have this term right-fit assistant.

Jenna · 13:40

Yes.

Jeremy · 13:40

What is, what's, could you share any of your process or interviewing or recruiting assistants? And there are a lot of assistants listening who unfortunately are out of work and they just had big layoffs at their software company they worked for or they're unemployed for whatever reason and they're kind of fighting the crazy job market right now. So what are, what's some insight you can share from both sides? Like, you know, when you're working with the executives, how do you help them figure out what type of assistant they need, who the right fit for them is? But then on the assistant side, how can we as assistants and those looking for work really stand out among the crowd and be that right fit for an executive?

Jenna · 14:31

Yes. So the, to me, the magic lies in an assistant being a great fit for many different types of clients. And an assistant superpower, I believe, is being able to communicate with lots of different types of people in a way where all of those different people feel heard or connected with. So for clients, we, on the right fit piece, we talk to them about synergy and about conversations and about, you know, obviously the skill set. Do they have the skill set to get the work done? But when you have a conversation with this assistant, is there a natural flow to your conversation? Are there any, you know, similarities in family structure or, you know, geographical or any type of similarity? But really on the assistant side is where kind of the magic lies. So for an assistant, I believe that if you can be a good communicator and learn how to have an adaptive communication style to communicate with lots of different types of people, that's really going to set you apart. So being able to pick up on and understand who you're talking to, like maybe someone is very financially motivated. Maybe someone is very motivated by giving back and how their business serves a bigger purpose. So being able to understand who you're talking to and what excites them, but also understanding is this person a verbal processor? Do they like to talk to me or do they like to text? Do they like to email? So being able to pick up on cues on who you're talking to on a potential client and be able to meet them where they're at is really something that will set you apart. And then this might sound a little bit silly, but to me, the fortune is in the follow up. So with all of our assistants, we say always follow up with the client and always reference something very specific that you talked about in your conversation. Because being able to reference back on that, it's going to let the client know that you listened and that you cared. And in a world where things are moving so fast, a very personal but quick follow up lets them know that you were on their mind. So those are two very action based things, one very simple, but one a little deeper, that we get compliments on our assistants all the time when they're executing on those two things.

Jeremy · 17:16

What's maybe a good example of a really good follow up email that you've seen?

Jenna · 17:23

Yeah, so just for example, in this conversation, I've already learned that you want to potentially have chickens one day and put that entrepreneurial spirit in your two boys. Your two boys are the same ages as my two boys. I already know what two sports your sons play. So in my follow up, I would just say something very simple like, Hi Jeremy, I really enjoyed our conversation today. I hope to hear from you if you start the egg business for your boys. I hope your week goes so great with all of the sports games that you have scheduled. If you have any questions or if you would like to talk further about what working together might look like, I'd love to set that up for us or to take the next step and help you in any way that I can. Thank you so much. Just making something super personal about and tying back to what we've talked about.

Jeremy · 18:16

Yeah, that makes sense. Super helpful. Thanks for sharing. And I will definitely have to keep you posted on the chickens.

Jenna · 18:24

Yes, because I will email you and ask you.

Jeremy · 18:28

Awesome. Well, let's talk a little bit more about delegation. You know, a lot of times, assistants get bombarded with the tasks that the executives we support fire at us, you know, and it's like a fire hose of tasks and requests. And so, you know, you could say, well, you know, the executives are doing a good job of delegating because they're just sending everything our way. How can assistants delegate and how can we use the leadership skill of delegation, if you will, in our role?

Jenna · 19:10

Absolutely. So I think being able to delegate out kind of depends on the specific structure, you know, that you have access to. So if you are supporting an executive within another, within a business with lots of other employees, you know, what are some things that they are firing at you that might be best handled by another department? So being able to be that not only the, I guess it's the opposite of the gatekeeper. It's the person to take everything and then kind of farm it out to who might be the best person to get that done. So I know a lot of times with clients, their assistant is their main person. So they just kind of rapid fire everything. But it's like, I don't, like with my assistant, I don't necessarily assume that she's going to do everything, but I assume she's going to figure out how to get it all done. I think really having that mindset for assistants rather than, well, everything they've given me, I need to actually do it. You know, first have that initial conversation with your client. Like, hey, if you're getting into it and firing things off, do you want me to just figure out a way to get it done? Even if there are other people in the company involved, just make sure you have that permission. There are also lots of, you know, technology things. So like if you work with maybe a startup entrepreneur or a small team, you know, and you're doing things like social media or blog writing or, you know, other things, how can you delegate some of that out to automated processes or AI, things like that? If it's more personal stuff, you know, how can I arrange to have food delivered? So really thinking beyond, I need to do every thing of this and just embracing the mentality of, well, who do I know that could get this done? How else could I get this done? Is a great place to start. I don't know if that really answered your question.

Jeremy · 21:15

I mean, that was like 30,000 foot. No, that's great. When we were starting our company in 2017, I was the only non-engineer, non-software engineer. And I had to do the HR stuff. I had to do the accounting. I had to do all this legal stuff. And I'm not a math guy and I'm an introvert. I'm not a people person. So I was like, okay, sure. Yeah, I can do this. And so I called some experts and was like, hey, can we contract you to handle the payroll and the tax stuff? Or can you help with the, you know, visa situation for some of the engineers, the international students that were working with us? So anyway, I think the point is I found people that know, knew how to do it. And so I took care of it. Like you said, I didn't necessarily do every single part of the process. And I was able to find experts to help make sure the work got done and got done well and legally and all those things. While my CEO could focus on the engineering and software and product side of the thing.

Jenna · 22:32

Yes, I love that. And that's so valuable to your client as well, because I know even myself as a visionary, as my assistant, it's always so great to when she comes back to me and says, Hey, we had this meeting last week or this heavy download session, as we call them, because as a visionary who procrastinates things, build and build and build. And then I'm like, Oh, yeah, let's have a one hour meeting. And I kind of rapid fire. But what I love is when she comes back to me and she says, Hey, Jenna, here's everything that you kind of downloaded to me last week. Here are my different buckets for you. Here are things that I can do. Here are things I can immediately ask other people to do. And here are things that I can manage, but I need to find other resources to do these. So I need a budget expectation or a timeline expectation. And so when we, when she owns it and manages it and breaks those things down for me, then it just kind of gives me back at a high level, what's moving, what's someone else doing that she's overseeing, or what are some things she's going to start working on? So that's also another way to do it. If maybe you're not in a place of like, well, would my client, let me go spend money on this or that, you can still take it and download it and then bring it back as kind of that higher level conversation on here's where everything is in my next steps. Awesome.

Jeremy · 24:03

Well, what's maybe one thing that you help assistance with? I know you've got the AssistPro University. How have you shaped that based on, you know, with topics and content? What's maybe the top use cases or the top testimonials from people, the assistants going through those resources as far as, hey, you know, what I'm seeing right now is assistants are hungry for ABC.

Jenna · 24:40

Yes. I would say the biggest value piece, because AssistPro University is newer to the public. So it has been an internal university with our assistants match with our clients. So I am a visionary. I'd be happy to send you some testimonials. I don't remember them off the top of my head. However, I would say the biggest. So there's a couple of different pieces. One is our resource library. So we have a huge resource library that is full of all the different shared processes and systems and technologies. You know, the top 20 CRMs and task management systems. So people can become experts through the experts on their specific systems because all clients operate differently. Then we have the community piece, which is communication and, you know, all the different shared and fun things, just that collaboration. And then we have events. So we have webinars, we have learnings, we bring in really great speakers, talk about different topics. I would say, overall, the highest level and most valuable piece is the relationship piece, because a client and assistant relationship, executive assistant relationship, it is a relationship, you know, because you are working with your client. You're seeing all of them, you know, because you manage their life. You see the underbelly of them. You see the good days and the bad days. So really the relationship piece and navigating that, because the communication and staying on the same page and working with someone at different points in their life, you know, you're working in tandem. And so the more that we can focus on the relationship and staying on the same page, managing conflict, navigating difficult communication pieces, all of that, it really helps to keep their relationship in a healthy place and keep things moving forward. So a lot of what we do is around that.

Jeremy · 26:37

Nice. Awesome.

Jenna · 26:38

Yeah.

Jeremy · 26:39

So if you were able to buy a Super Bowl ad, produce a Super Bowl ad or maybe buy a billboard and it was targeted to assistants of the world, what would that billboard say or what would that Super Bowl ad's message be?

Jenna · 27:00

That is a great question. I have never been asked that question before. I would say that... What would that billboard say? Well, you know by now that I'm a wordy person, so being sustained is not one of my superpowers. But I would say that, hmm, assistants are... I think assistants are highly underrated. I really think that they are. I think being an assistant is an amazing position, full of lots of leadership and growth opportunities because you get connected to so many different people. But it really is under... Like being an assistant is underrated. So I don't know, I'm going to have to get back to you on that because I want to come up with the perfect thing to say. And I don't have that in this moment.

Jeremy · 27:55

I think that's good. Assistants are underrated. That's a solid one. I mean, you know, people spend millions and millions of dollars trying to figure out what their one sentence would be. So you did good when I put you on the spot. So nice to have you.

Jenna · 28:07

Well, thanks.

Jeremy · 28:09

Cool. Well, Jenna, thank you so much for being on the show. Appreciate the resources you put together and how you help executives, you know, match with an assistant that makes sense. Thank you. And how you help assistants find clients and executives to support. So what's, yeah, we appreciate you being on the show. What's the best way for people to reach out and say hi and find out more?

Jenna · 28:39

So obviously our website, assistpro.com, you can find everything there that you need. There's contact pages and all the things. Also on my LinkedIn, Jenna Spencer. Love to connect with any of your listeners. And then we also have LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, which is all AssistPro. So would love to connect with anyone that maybe even wants to continue their journey, you know, figuring out if they want to be an assistant. My passion is helping assistants find great clients for them. Because I know that assistants have such amazingness to give. And that is my passion is to help match them with something they actually they actually love working with. And they're excited to be behind this person in this company.

Jeremy · 29:29

So great. Well, I will definitely put all those links in the show notes. leaderassistant.com/twoeighttwo. And thank you again, Jenna, and best of luck to you.

Jenna · 29:40

Thank you, Jeremy. Please review on Apple Podcasts.