Michael Taggart is the COO and CTO of the informational technology and development team at Envoy Media Group, Inc., a leading-edge organization of innovative marketing, communication, and information technology specialists who act as trusted messengers – or envoys – for its clients’ products, services, and brands.
Leveraging the power of multiple integrating marketing channels, including TV, Radio, the Internet, Direct Video, and more, Envoy serves a select group of respected companies through the careful design and execution of highly targeted online and offline direct response campaigns that achieve powerful, measurable results.
“The company is growing.”
That’s how Michael explains the impetus for reaching out to BELAY – and he’s not kidding.
Since the start of 2021, Envoy has added three people to its 16-employee roster. The rest of his roster is contractors, six – yes, you read that right – BELAY Virtual Assistants.
But his partnership with BELAY started as so many do: Email overload.
“I’m looking at my email inbox – it’s 4,000 unread messages deep plus,” he shares. “It was just a lot. And you start to get overwhelmed to the point [where you] don’t even know how you’re going to get out of this thing.
“I started really being self-aware, [saying] ‘I need some extra help here.’ I would be missing stuff from clients.”
And thanks to some friends, Michael knew where to turn.
“I had some friends that had used BELAY before and they were telling me, ‘Oh, it’s amazing!’”
And so Michael gave BELAY a call, and his Client Success Consultant Kristi was there every step of the way.
“The process with BELAY was fascinating,” Michael shares. “[I had a] multi-hour call with Kristi unpacking who I was – personality types, all these things. And it took me several weeks before I was matched with anyone.
“Because I’m unique – I’m a programmer. I’m doing artificial intelligence, as well as operations and HR. I’m this personality type and so on.”
Jackie came equipped with an MBA and an HR background with companies that had grown quickly – and so did Michael’s trust in her.
“I’m one of these people where once I decide I’m going to do it, I’m like, ‘Jackie, here’s the bank accounts, the card logins – you can log in wherever and pretend you’re me.
“I was kind of desperate, but I knew with how much care you guys took, Jackie was going to be a great fit.
“What was hard – and is still hard – is [that] I’m an entrepreneur. A roll-up-my-sleeves, do-it-myself kind of a thing [so] it took me a while to [say], ‘Clicking around the screen for 40 websites to change all the Google pixels is probably not a good use of my time.’”
Jackie agrees.
“I was really well-matched,” Jackie shares. “Mike and I just jived and we were able to just start running with it, like going through like that inbox – those 4,000 emails.
“I just sat down, made a list of all the ones that I was seeing multiples of and [asked], ‘Do you need to see this one? Do you need to see this one?’ I was able to kind of get that down so now I don’t have to ask anything. I just instantly know what he needs to see.”
Michael was so impressed with his partnership with Jackie that he started asking other executives at Envoy if they wanted a BELAY VA of their own.
And just like that, Envoy had six BELAY VAs, each matched to cater to the unique needs and personalities of the executives they serve.
“Productivity in the company and morale improved,” Michael shares. “We have a great team and we all have a lot of fun together, but sometimes you just get mired in the overwhelming amount of things. So [the additional VAs] really helped a ton.
“Jackie has just been a huge alleviation, giving me headspace and freedom to work without getting mired in other things,” Michael says. “They’re important things, but you have your strengths and you want to really leverage those strengths and not get distracted.”
But Michael isn’t the only one who’s noticed a difference since onboarding Jackie.
“My wife [compares] the person I am now versus the person a few years ago – trying to plug every hole in the dam, do this, run over there, be distracted, coming home late, not being present with my kids,” Michael adds. “I’m always talking about maintaining balance, but my actions would show work as a different priority.
“Being able to delegate [now] affects even your personal life and everything in a very positive way.”
For Jackie, her win is to see Michael win.
“The win is building trust,” Jackie says. “It’s making it so Mike doesn’t have to stay late. It’s making it so Mike doesn’t have to figure out Google. It’s figuring out processes and improving them. There are so many little wins that make up a big win. And I think that we’ve been able to do that, which is nice. The joy comes out of serving, giving him space and time – [that’s] a win.
“He doesn’t have to focus on all the things in the weeds. He can do the things that are important. He can focus on the things that are specific to him.”
“I’m a big [BELAY] believer,” Mike adds. “Someone that’s adept at moving with me and being agile like Jackie is – that’s worth its weight in gold.”