It’s 5:05 a.m., and I’m typing this while my baby boy sleeps on my chest and my daughter’s still curled up, hugging her Barbie pillow tight. The house is quiet except for a Hillsong United worship song playing softly in the background, and honestly? I’m grateful for this early peace. Because by 6 a.m., I’ll be deep in client work, answering emails or preparing sales proposals, while also being fully present for diaper changes, snack requests, and the inevitable “Mommy, watch me dance!”
I’ve learned something beautiful over these years of supporting clients around the globe: asking for help isn’t giving up. It’s leveling up.
And friend, if you’re reading this at 11 p.m. after finally getting the kids down, still staring at your to-do list that somehow grew instead of shrunk today… I see you. I’ve been exactly where you are.
Let me share the signs that whispered (okay, sometimes shouted) to my clients across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia that it was time to bring a Virtual Assistant into their world.
The Honest Truth About Growth
Here’s what I’ve watched happen with the business owners I’ve served for years: the moment they decided they were ready for support was often the same moment their business took its biggest breath of fresh air.
Not because they were failing. But because they were finally ready to protect their energy, reclaim their time, and focus on what only they could do.
Growth isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about doing less of what drains you so you can do more of what lights you up.
7 Signs You’re Ready for a Virtual Assistant
1. You’re Spending Hours on Tasks That Don’t Need Your Specific Magic
I’ll never forget the CEO who told me she spent four hours every Monday just organizing her inbox and scheduling social media posts. Four hours. That’s half a workday spent on things that, while important, didn’t require her unique vision or leadership.
When you find yourself:
- Manually scheduling posts across multiple platforms
- Copying and pasting the same information into different systems
- Searching through emails trying to find that one conversation from two weeks ago
- Updating spreadsheets when you’d rather be serving clients or creating
That’s your sign.
Those tasks matter. But they don’t need YOUR hands on them. A skilled VA can handle these with joy, freeing you to do what only you can do.
2. You’re Turning Down Opportunities Because You “Don’t Have Time”
This one breaks my heart a little because I’ve seen it so often.
A speaking opportunity comes through. A potential collaboration lights you up. A client wants to expand their project. And you hear yourself say, “I just don’t have the capacity right now.”
Not because you don’t want to. But because your days are already packed with admin work, email management, calendar juggling, and trying to remember which client needed what by when.
Here’s the shift: When you have someone handling the backend of your business, you suddenly have room to say YES to the things that grow your impact and income.
3. You’re Working When You Promised Yourself You’d Be Present
Let me get real with you for a moment.
How many times have you sat down for family dinner with your phone face-down on the table… but your mind was still running through your task list?
How many sunset beach walks have you cut short because you “just need to send one quick email”?
How often do you tuck your babies in at night feeling like you were physically there all day but mentally somewhere else?
I’ve done this. And it’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about what I do now.
A VA doesn’t just give you back hours. They give you back presence.
When someone else is managing your inbox, scheduling your content, handling customer inquiries, and keeping your systems running, you can actually BE in the moment. You can watch your daughter’s entire dance performance without checking your phone. You can hold your baby during his wake windows without your laptop calling to you from the other room.
4. Your Business Growth Has Stalled (But Your Ideas Haven’t)
You have SO many ideas. You know exactly what your next offer should be. You can see the email sequence that would serve your audience beautifully. You’ve been meaning to update your website, start that podcast, launch that mini-course.
But the day-to-day operations of running your business are taking up every available hour.
This is the growth gap that a VA bridges.
I’ve watched business owners go from stuck to expanding within weeks of bringing on support, not because they suddenly worked harder, but because they finally had the mental space and actual time to implement what they’d been dreaming about.
5. You’re Making Small Mistakes That Shouldn’t Be Happening
Double-booking client calls. Forgetting to send that follow-up email. Missing a deadline that you absolutely knew about but somehow slipped through the cracks. Sending the wrong attachment or calling someone by the wrong name in an email.
These aren’t signs that you’re bad at your job. They’re signs that you’re doing too many jobs.
When your brain is trying to hold everything from strategic planning to data entry, from client delivery to social media scheduling, things fall through. Not because you’re not capable, but because you’re human.
A VA becomes your safety net, your detail-keeper, your “I’ve got this handled” partner.
6. You Can’t Remember the Last Time You Took a Real Break
And I don’t mean a break where you’re still checking email or “just quickly” responding to messages.
I mean a real, full-exhale, phone-on-silent, present-with-your-family kind of break.
If the answer is “I can’t remember” or “not since before my business launched,” we need to talk.
Sustainable business growth requires rest. It requires space to refill your cup so you can keep pouring into others.
With a VA handling the daily essentials, you can actually step away knowing things will keep running smoothly. You can take that weekend beach trip with your family. You can have a sick day without your business falling apart. You can enjoy your own life while your business continues to serve and grow.
7. You’ve Caught Yourself Thinking, “There Has to Be a Better Way”
Maybe it was while you were responding to the same question for the tenth time that week.
Maybe it was during another late night of scheduling social media posts when you’d rather be sleeping.
Maybe it was when you realized you spent your entire “focus time” just organizing files and updating spreadsheets.
That whisper? That’s your intuition telling you you’re ready.
You don’t have to do everything yourself to prove you’re committed to your business. In fact, the most successful business owners I’ve worked with understood early on that building a team (even if it starts with one VA) is a sign of wisdom, not weakness.
What Changes When You Say Yes to Support
I’ve had the honor of serving business owners through some of their biggest growth seasons. And you know what I’ve noticed?
The transformation isn’t just in their business metrics. It’s in their energy.
They laugh more during our calls. They share stories about family adventures they actually went on. They talk about new projects with excitement instead of exhaustion. They sleep better. They show up more fully, not just for their clients, but for themselves and their families.
One client (a mom of two running a thriving recruitment agency) told me six months after we started working together: “I didn’t realize how heavy everything felt until I didn’t have to carry it all alone anymore.”
Starting Small and Growing Steady
Here’s the beautiful thing about bringing on VA support: you don’t have to hand over your entire business on day one.
You can start with:
- 5-10 hours a week of inbox management and calendar scheduling
- Social media planning and posting so your presence stays consistent without consuming your evenings
- Client onboarding and follow-up so every person feels cared for without you drowning in admin
- Research and data organization for that project you keep putting off
And as you experience the shift, as you feel the relief, as you see your business continuing to run (actually, running better), you can adjust and expand.
This isn’t about giving up control. It’s about gaining freedom.
You’ve Already Built Something Beautiful
Can I remind you of something?
The fact that you’re even reading this means you’ve already built something worth protecting, something worth nurturing, something worth supporting properly.
You’ve created a business. You’ve served clients. You’ve shown up on hard days and celebrated victories on good ones. You’ve proven you can do hard things.
Now it’s time to let it feel easier.
Not because easy means less meaningful, but because sustainable, joy-filled, family-honoring business growth shouldn’t require you to sacrifice your peace, your presence, or your well-being.
Your Next Joyful Step
So here’s my invitation to you today, friend:
If you recognized yourself in even two or three of these signs, it might be time to explore what VA support could look like for you.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect plan or a massive budget. You just need to be open to the possibility that asking for help could be the kindest, most strategic thing you do for your business this year.
Try this tonight after the kids are asleep: grab your journal and write down three tasks you do regularly that someone else could handle just as well (or better). Just three. See what comes up.
And if you’re feeling ready to have a real conversation about what support could look like in your world? I’d genuinely love to hear your story. Every business is different, every season is unique, and finding the right kind of help starts with understanding where you are and where you want to go.
Because here’s what I know from years of doing this work: you don’t have to choose between a thriving business and a present, peaceful life.
You can have both.
You deserve both.
And sometimes, the bridge between where you are and where you want to be is simply saying, “I’m ready for help.”
You’ve got this. And you don’t have to do it alone.
With so much hope and belief in what you’re building,
Jocelyn
Joyful Narrative
Supporting businesses around the globe, one joyful task at a time. ☀️
P.S. — That thing you’ve been putting off because you “don’t have time”? Imagine if it was already handled. What would you create with that space? Hold onto that feeling. That’s what’s waiting for you on the other side of asking for support.
Joyful Narrative 