Zoe Hill on Managing Assistants and Working with Small Businesses

Zoe · 0:00

Hi, my name is Zoe Hill. I'm a founder of Premier Admin Services, and I quote that I always live by, which is something that my dad has always said to me, is always expect the unexpected. I think that's something that we can utilize within our personal and professional lives.

Speaker 3 · 0:22

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

Jeremy · 0:39

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Zoe · 1:32

Thank you, real pleasure to be here.

Jeremy · 1:36

What part of the world are you in?

Zoe · 1:39

I am in the UK, London, just outside in sunny Surrey.

Jeremy · 1:47

Awesome. Are you from that area?

Zoe · 1:49

No, I was actually born and bred in Kent, which is also just outside of London. I actually moved here during the pandemic, packed up my bags and migrated over with the family. So, yeah, very nice.

Jeremy · 2:02

Awesome. Well, we're super excited to chat with you today. What's maybe something personally you'd like to share, like hobby, kids, pets, favorite thing to do when you're not working, anything like that?

Zoe · 2:16

So I love hiking. If there's anything that's going to clear my head, it's a hike. I've got a really big hill with a bunch of stairs that I climb up most Sundays, and I absolutely love that. I just kind of do that on a regular basis, just to refocus and recenter myself. I'm a massive cook and baker, so my mom used to be a chef, so I learned all my tips and tricks from her. So I tend to do a lot of hosting of dinners and gatherings. Yeah, I have a lot of fun. I actually did my best friend's wedding cake for her in December. So yeah, I have a lot of fun doing that. I could never do it as a job because I think then it would become a chore. But yeah, great hobby of mine.

Jeremy · 2:59

Oh, you're making me hungry. It's dinner time here. I'm like, wow, man, it sounds good. I'll have some wedding cake for dinner.

Zoe · 3:08

Do it. I'll just ship some over.

Jeremy · 3:13

Well, Zoe, tell us a little about your professional journey. How did you become an assistant and why did you become an assistant?

Zoe · 3:23

Yeah, so I actually became a clerical assistant at school for about three years when I was 18 years old. I actually never wanted to be an assistant. I'm just going to be very sort of like out there, I'm brutally honest, but it was a job. It was really local to home, so I could walk there. And I actually had a really bad experience at the school as a kid. But I went back there to work and I actually did a secretarial diploma via the Pittman Training Group whilst I was there. And that was really great. But all of my friends were traveling and spending time together, so I knew that I kind of had to get away from that school life. And I started to think about what my next steps were, so I thought I would continue down the assistant journey, just because it was something that I was kind of doing, I guess. It was very different from your normal assistant job. You know, counting dinner money and booking school trips isn't exactly your everyday scheduling of calendars and travel. But I all of a sudden found myself a job at JP Morgan, which took about 12 interviews to be able to kind of like get in. But I got there in the end. And, you know, I really didn't like it. I felt like, you know, the shoes were too big for me to be able to fill. I didn't feel like I was, you know, good enough to be able to be in such a huge corporation, you know, somebody with very little experience. But a woman kind of took me underneath her belt. I mean, she kind of taught me the ropes. She wasn't an assistant herself. She was actually a managing director, you know, quite high up there in the role at JP Morgan, you know, in middle office. And I ended up falling in love with the role. And I actually spent about 12 years at JP Morgan. I became a manager at the age of 25 and had a team of about four assistants, plus then kind of supporting managers as well. And shortly after that, I moved into investment banking. And by the end of my tenure there, I had about or nearly 40 assistants, three bankers, one in venture capital, and then one overseas that was also supporting past project management work. So it was quite the hefty role, but I absolutely loved it. Like everything about it was just absolutely amazing. But then you do kind of think to yourself, okay, so what's next? Like, what am I actually going to be doing? So I never actually anticipated to leave JPMorgan. I generally thought I was going to retire there, considering I started there at the age of 21. That was probably quite the naive thought. But I actually then found myself in a job in social media working with Arcade Media. So they are the talent agency for the sidemen. So you might have seen the bottles of Prime with KSI and all of that. So I ended up working with them on their venture capital side of the business as their Chief of Staff. Then about a year and a half later, I founded Premier Admin Services. So I offer mentoring and coaching to the admin population, but I'm also a hybrid virtual assistant. So what I mean by hybrid is I go and visit my clients as well.

Jeremy · 6:35

Oh, interesting. Awesome. So lots of questions. That's a great rundown of your professional journey. The first question is, what is maybe your number one tip for managing multiple assistants? You know, managing that team.

Zoe · 6:55

Yeah, I think it's never react to a situation. You never really know what's lying underneath the surface. You never really know what people have going on at home as to why things are actually working out the way that they are. So one of the top tips that I've always done is, you know, if I feel like I need to spend time with a particular assistant, because perhaps, you know, I feel like they're, you know, not performing the way that they were usually performing at, I would actually not have a meeting with them in the building. I would actually take them out for coffee. Unless it was an actual, you know, real serious meeting that I actually had to have, I like to take them away from the building. You know, it's mutual territory. You know, there's no hierarchy involved. You know, they feel more comfortable to be able to talk and kind of, you know, really discuss what is actually lying beneath the surface. And I just found that that really helped with, you know, open communication, true honesty. It made for real partnership, you know. When I was, you know, a leader at JP Morgan, I didn't see myself any different to any other assistant that was sat within that particular team. And I think that's something that's so important. You know, you are part of that team. The only difference being is that I'm writing their year-end reviews. I'm doing their mid-years, you know, I'm making sure the capacity levels are, you know, as they should be. So it was really important that they understood that I was, you know, I wasn't there for a hierarchy and you have to remember as well, you know, at the time when I was working in investment banking, I was, you know, 27 to, you know, the age of like 31. So a lot of my assistants were older than me. So it was gaining respect. It was trying to make them understand that actually, you know, I'm part of the team as much as what they are. So, yeah, having those, you know, meetings outside of the building really made quite the difference.

Jeremy · 8:53

That's great. So did you, what was the most challenging part? You mentioned, you know, you're the young, you're younger than many of them. Was there ever, because you had been an assistant before you kind of transitioned into leading the team of assistants, correct? So I'm sure that helped like, oh, you know, this is just not some random manager that has never been an assistant before. But what was maybe the challenge or one of the bigger challenges in that time?

Zoe · 9:24

So, so twofold, I guess. So when I was in middle office and I first became a manager, there were certain assistants that reported into me that had seen me go from being a real junior assistant to all of a sudden their boss. That's quite a hard dynamic to be able, for anyone to be able to comprehend. So that was really tricky. And you have to kind of navigate that in the best way that you can and just continue to be yourself. And then, you know, I made a mistake when I moved into investment banking, I listened to some people as to what investment banking was like. And I went on with this hard hat and it bit me hard. And I made some royal mistakes. But because of that, I learned extremely quickly that you can't go in with this hard hat into investment banking. You know, these assistants, you know, they are well trained. They know exactly what they're doing. They don't need to be told because they are exceptional assistants. You know, they know how investment banking works. So what I should have done was just go in, be myself like I had been, and just got to know everybody and observed. I think that's one of the key lessons that I've definitely learned is before making decisions, make sure that you actually observe everything that's kind of going on before making changes, trying to get people to move in the way that you feel might actually be a better direction. But yeah, that was definitely a challenge.

Jeremy · 11:04

So that's great. So now my question is, you know, you moved, you left JPMorgan, and you were a Chief of Staff in the other organization Arcade Media. So was that intentional? Like, I'm going to go try to find a Chief of Staff role. Was it I'm going to find a Senior Executive Assistant role, but then this one came up? Like, how was that whole, you know, EA to Chief of Staff transition for you?

Zoe · 11:31

Yeah, it was really strange, actually. I never actually thought that I would get a Chief of Staff role. I, when I was looking at JP Morgan, I was looking at, like, business management, HR, compliance, like all of these different other options. I mean, again, I had no intention of leaving JP Morgan. But I kept seeing all of these ads for, like, Chief of Staff roles on LinkedIn. And, you know, I started to deep dive into it as to what that actually meant. But I was put off because I didn't go to university. I actually left school when I was 15 years old. And, you know, all of the job roles that were out there for Chief of Staff were around, you know, you had to have this university degree. And I just didn't have that. But when this one role kind of come up with Arcade Media on LinkedIn, I was like, I'm just going to go for it. I've got nothing to lose if I just apply for this particular role. It could be so different from JP Morgan. I mean, you're talking sort of like real corporate finance to all of a sudden working in the world of YouTube and Instagram. And I just generally thought, I want to be able to give this a go. And I felt like the experience that I'd got at JP Morgan from a project management standpoint and strategic thinking, that actually I could be quite qualified for the job, even though I didn't have the university degree. And yeah, I was successful, but huge change, huge change.

Jeremy · 13:02

Yeah. What was the biggest difference do you think, or what is the biggest difference that you've seen in that transition, in that experience, but then just in general, between the executive assistant title and the chief of staff title?

Zoe · 13:17

Yeah. So I've been part of many a panel of events when we've kind of spoken about this, and it's a huge difference. You're not doing that calendar, you're not doing that travel, this is pure business strategic thinking. So you're not just thinking about a few weeks, a couple of months, maybe three months ahead of what might happen with your exec. You're thinking at least minimum of like 12 months. Okay, so we've got this coming up. We need to make sure that we're doing this from a business standpoint, with regards to the KPIs, with regards to sort of like the P&L. It's all of that strategic thinking where you can actually turn around and make executive decisions from a business standpoint that says actually, no, we're not going to be able to hit that target. Here's why, and this is the course of action that we need to be able to take and implement to be able to get us to be able to meet those targets. It was a real change from actually what I was doing. I loved the Chief of Staff role. I thought it was absolutely fabulous, but I did miss doing that EA work. You work really closely with somebody anyway from a Chief of Staff standpoint, but it's a very different look and feel in comparison to the EA role.

Jeremy · 14:37

Nice. That's awesome. Thanks for sharing. I'm really interested to hear, so what made you want to jump from that Chief of Staff role? You said you missed some of those tasks, but to your founding your own admin services company, and give us a little bit more insight. Do you have virtual assistants that work for you to help clients? Are you a virtual assistant or a hybrid assistant, as you said, for clients? Is it a little bit of both? What's the structure there?

Zoe · 15:11

Yeah, so probably about mid-last year in 2023, I actually had one of my previous assistants turn around and say to me, why haven't you founded your own business yet? I didn't really take it seriously. But then actually when I started to look at the gaps in the market as to where perhaps I could add value, I actually presented the idea to my brother in January of this year. And within about three days, everything was kind of built. And the foundation of Premier Admin Services is purely just to be able to help people. And that's exactly what we're looking to do there. You know, whether it's from a mentoring and coaching standpoint to help assistants be able to grow and unlock their potential, or whether it's to go into small businesses and already mentor and coach their established EAs that they have. They want to invest time, but they don't know how to because they don't have the expertise. Then that's something that I offer as well. And then, yeah, more recently, I've done the Hybrid Virtual Assistant. So I do have a few clients. I specialize in venture capital and influences. Venture capital is something that I really do enjoy. I understand it. I find it to be really fulfilling. And yeah, so we'll have what Premier Admin Services will offer is kind of two-fold. You'll have two different types of assistants working on the business side, you know, also non-profit businesses, but also assistants who will help out influencers. You know, they're a growing business YouTubers, you know, and they need the same sort of support as one, you know, a business does like venture capital.

Speaker 4 · 17:05

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Jeremy · 17:50

So your hybrid model, so tell us how that works. Is it dependent upon the needs of the client or is it like, hey, I'm going to come into your office once a week? How does that work?

Zoe · 18:04

Yeah, so I'm quite forceful on that actually. I love meeting people. I'm not just a robot behind a screen. I have a personality and I just feel like you can get so much done when you're actually talking. If we think about emotional intelligence, I can read somebody's body language and really understand what their stress levels are if I'm sat physically in front of them. Normally, I see my clients each maybe once or twice a month, and I spend the entire day with them. I either drive to them or if they're in London, I just catch a train and go and sit with them for the day and with the team. What that means is that I'm able to fast-track my relationship with them. I'm able to really get to know them. I go to their events, I go to their conferences. Everything that they've got going on, I am physically there, I am present, I am visible, so that they always know that I am around. I'm not just this person that they're texting. That's what Premier Admin Services is all about. It's ensuring that you get that hospitality service and that the clients that we do have, they're able to really fill that. I don't want it to be just a tick box exercise. I want them to know that if they hire their own assistant who was in the office every single day, they're going to get the exact same thing from having a virtual assistant as well.

Jeremy · 19:28

Nice. It's pretty interesting. I really like how you do that because you're essentially spending that time building that relational rent, building that camaraderie with the team, but then you're also working from home getting stuff done.

Zoe · 19:48

Yes. Absolutely. It's great working from home. I've got three screens set up, so I get a lot done at home. I was never somebody who liked working from home, but I do like to mix it up and work from different locations. It makes it more productive.

Jeremy · 20:06

Awesome. Then what's something that, I'm looking at the website, Premier Admin Services, and I'll put this website and your LinkedIn and everything in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/292, leaderassistant.com/292, so that you all can check out Zoe's resources and reach out and say hi. But tell me about your mentoring services. What's the more popular use case for mentoring? Who are the ideal mentees?

Zoe · 20:41

Yeah, of course. So I mentor anyone. Anyone that needs help, that wants help, that wants to unlock their potential. And I do it not just from a career standpoint, I also mix in that personal as well, because I always feel like there is, especially with an assistant, there is that crossover. If we talk about imposter syndrome, for example, when we talk about sort of like confidence, that is always overlapped. And so if we're able to conquer different scenarios in our personal lives, it makes it sometimes a little bit easier to be able to then face things from a career standpoint. So, you know, and it's also international. So, you know, I've had clients, you know, from a mentee standpoint in like Germany, which has been super fun. So those ones are obviously always virtual. But what I guess that I do differently is that my prices direct to assistants are in line with assistant salaries. And I think because if somebody wants to have help, the first thing that they're going to think about is, can I actually invest in myself? Do I have the financials to be able to invest in myself? That's why I tailored those particular prices to match the assistant population so that they can actually unlock their potential just by having another voice who they don't actually really know that well and can deliver a message in a, I'm going to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear type approach. And then from a business standpoint, those very dependent on what sort of business that it is, what it is that they're actually looking to do, whether they're looking to implement a new career roadmap for assistance, for example. So that's something that I look into as well and help with businesses to be able to make sure that they've actually got a projectory for assistance and actually a promotion platform for assistance to be able to work up because we all want to achieve something. We all want to kind of aspire to something. What are the next steps? What are the goals? If the business is unable to align to that, that means the assistant themselves has to kind of write down their own job descriptions. They have to write down their own career roadmap. But by hiring somebody like myself to be able to come in and actually deliver those services anyway, that's then done. And it's something that the assistant doesn't really have to worry about too much. All they have to do is making sure that, you know, they aspire to the goals of the business that has been been written out in a very clear and defined assistant career roadmap.

Jeremy · 23:19

Love it. Love it. I love what you mentioned about how, you know, assistants, we have to sometimes and oftentimes write our own job description. We're self-managed in a lot of us. So you have to own your career and you have to really, you know, literally write your own job description, write your promotion. Like I've told, I coach, I coach assistants and there's a couple I was talking to over the last couple of weeks and, you know, I'm like, you know what, this is the perfect transition, the business is growing, things are going well. Don't go to your HR department or go to your executive and say, hey, I'm ready for a new job description and a new title change and a compensation increase. No, instead, actually write the new job description, write the new title, you know, do some research on the compensation, then go to them and say, hey, I already did all the work for you. All you have to do is sign off.

Zoe · 24:15

Exactly that, exactly that. Then let's not forget about actually the job description as assistants, that isn't actually written down. All of those in-between things that we actually do. It might be something stupid like, do you know what I've seen you've been in meetings all day long, here's a cup of coffee. Do you know it's those tender loving care things that assistants do, which is what I absolutely love about the role. It's that unwritten job description that all assistants know about, but businesses don't actually know anything about at all.

Jeremy · 24:45

Yeah.

Speaker 3 · 24:46

Well said.

Jeremy · 24:48

Well, Zoe, this has been super fun and sounds like you're doing some good things. What was maybe the push that, I know there are assistants listening and they reach out to me all the time. I'm in this full-time assistant grind and I want to be my own boss, and I want to take the leap from having health insurance and all the safe things, and I want to take a risk and I want to run my own business and I want to run my own virtual assistant firm and I want to get clients on my own and I want to have my own schedule. What was that push that got you to do that and what do you recommend to those people considering that leap?

Zoe · 25:33

Yeah. I think my push really was my brother. I think if it wasn't for my brother kind of being like here like you need to do this, like this is an amazing opportunity and you have all of the skill set. So if you like it was an outside voice that kind of put me in my place as to come on Zoe, you can do this. Like you stop being what are you so afraid of if it fails, you'll get another job. You have 16 plus years experience being an assistant. So you could just get another job doing an assistant role. But if you don't try this now, you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. And it's always going to be that what-if moment. But I think from building Premier Admin Services, something that I have definitely learned is make sure that you do as much due diligence and research as you possibly can. Network. Networking is absolutely key. So speak to other VAs who have agencies, speak to other VAs who are part of agencies, speak to clients as well. This is something that I did. So that's why I decided I wanted to be a hybrid virtual assistant because they turn around and say, actually, it would be really nice to be able to see the assistant every once in a while, have them integrated as part of the team. So speak to those people, really understand what it is that you could then deliver. Speak to accountants as well, understand how all of the finances work. We all know an accountant that we can speak to. Yeah, and just kind of make sure that you do your research and get yourself a business coach as well. I did, I actually have a couple and they are phenomenal. You know, there is nothing wrong with asking for help. And I think that as assistants, we tend not to do that because we are the problem solvers. But when you own your own business, you need to ask for help. You need that.

Jeremy · 27:27

Yeah, and that's very, very important. I did a lot of asking for help, especially early on, and I did a lot of research and I was just basically figuring things out and trying to find people that had done what I was trying to do and learn from them and get them to at least point me in the right direction. So that's a huge, huge part of it for sure. Well, Zoe, thanks again for being on the show. It's been a great conversation. For those listening, you can reach out to Zoe at premieradminservices.com and I'll put her LinkedIn URL as well as her website URL at leaderassistant.com/292. Please do reach out to Zoe and she's got lots of great resources on her website. Yeah, it'd be great for you all to connect with her. So Zoe, thanks again. Is there anything, any famous last words you'd like to share with the assistants of the world?

Zoe · 28:27

There are no mistakes in life, just lessons. So as long as you're learning, nothing's a mistake.

Jeremy · 28:33

Love it. It's almost like you were ready for me to put you on the spot. I love it.

Zoe · 28:37

There you go.

Jeremy · 28:40

Well, best of luck to you and thanks again for taking time out of your evening. We'll look forward to staying in touch.

Zoe · 28:49

Pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 3 · 29:02

Please review on Apple Podcasts.

Speaker 4 · 29:11

goburrows.com.