A New Virtual Assistant Company
You may be shocked to learn that Bottleneck Distant Assistants is an ‘anti-virtual assistant company. Stay tuned, as we share several stories that will open your eyes to a brand-new way of thinking in the world of the traditional virtual assistant company.
Tom Kulzer, CEO of AWeber was incredibly transparent and I, for one, applaud him for his authenticity. He has made the difficult decision to make his company remote first.
He recently wrote a post on his company blog where he shared an email informing his staff that AWeber is now a Remote First Team.
While he still believes that teams in offices collaborate differently and better than remote teams, he is making his company remote-first in spite of it. He will be hiring and operating remotely and no travel for the rest of the year.
I have seen many studies that show how much happier and productive individuals are working remotely. The power of the ‘Hybrid Model’ as described below, is something I highly recommend you learn more about.
Articles about remote productivity:
The Genesis of a Category King
My name is Jaime Jay and I am the CEO and Founder of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, LLC.
Our mission is to help business leaders build deep personal relationships with real human beings from the Philippines so our clients can get their time back.
The first experience I had in hiring a remote team came in 2006. My business partner and I started a real estate advertising agency in Stockton, California.
As a graduate of the Leadership Stockton program class of 2006, I learned that Iloilo City, Philippines is a port city located on the southern shores of Panay Island on the Panay Gulf.
Iloilo was adopted as a Sister City by the Stockton City Council Resolution on August 2, 1965.
Times, They Are a Changing
Many people are turning to Bottleneck to learn more about whatever this ‘new normal’ is all about.
Here is a recent comment by a good friend and listener from our ‘Live with Bottleneck’ livestream:
Our world has changed drastically. The new normal is slowly rearing its head and we are seeing what our future is going to look like.
If you pay close enough attention, you will start noticing new trends and great, new and informative articles like our friends wrote at FluentWoof.com providing wonderful insights into how to navigate these uncharted waters.
Recently, my team and I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Christopher Lochhead. He literally wrote the book on Category Design.
If you do not know him or what category design is, you should. He is a former three-time Silicon Valley public company CMO, and entrepreneur. For crying out loud, he coined the term ‘Customer Relationship Management’ (CRM).
Christopher is the host of two amazing award-winning podcasts. The podcasts are Follow Your Different™ and Lochhead on Marketing. Lochhead authored two amazing books that you MUST read named, Play Bigger and Niche Down.
I have learned a lot from Christopher and the other influential people in this article, as you will soon learn.
Virtual Assistant MegaTrend?
The ‘Big Aha’ I took away from this amazing conversation was that we have been practicing social distancing before social distancing was a thing.
In Play Bigger, Christopher mentions the ‘From – To” theory. It is where we move the world ‘from’ the way the world is ‘to’ the way we want it to be.
Consider ‘from’ as a transactional technology assistant and the ‘to’ as a relationship with a distant human being. These two things would seem as opposites of each other. But putting them together results in a whole new dynamic – Intimate Distant Assistant.
With the onset of technology, the world is much smaller. We may have never known one another, but now we have the opportunity to build an incredible and intimate relationship.
Christopher shares an example from Henry Ford. He created the ‘horseless carriage’.
It is critical that you meet the demand where it currently is so you can tell them about where the category is going.
A Megatrend is on the horizon. We need to exercise radical generosity by sharing everything we have learned. Physical distancing is here.
We may not all be working from home, but a very large percentage will be working from everywhere.
Distributed Workforces; Do They Work?
Matt Muellenberg wrote an article called the ‘Distributed Works’ Five Levels of Autonomy‘. He shares an incredible interview on the podcast ‘Making Sense with Sam Harris’.
Matt is one of the founding developers of the WordPress platform. In 2005 he started Automattic which drives WordPress.com, JetPack, WooCommerce and Tumblr.
He has nearly 1,200 employees in 75 countries who work in a ‘Distributed’ capacity in 2020. Matt recommends building, growing and operating a company in a fully distributed capacity. He has a ton of experience with regard to growing a company efficiently.
Is Remote Work Better Than Working in the Office?
Tim Brennan from TalentSorter™, recently introduced me to a couple of amazing people.
He sent me a video wherein the CIO, Guy Vardi, of Silverstein Properties, leveraged Artificial Intelligence (“A.I.”) to segment company teams into a hybrid model.
I was impressed with the what happened and I had to learn more. I reached out to Guy and he introduced me to the co-founder of Dojo, Dan Goldstern. We had an amazing conversation on the ‘Future of Work and the Workplace” on my show “Live with Bottleneck”. Among many other amazing concepts we discussed, the ‘Hybrid Model’ stood out.
This model determines two factors when setting up an office environment:
- Collaborative Workforce
- Remote Workforce
A software company was studied using artificial intelligence. The findings were pretty alarming.
With the onset of the employees working from a remote location, there was overwhelming data that showed individual developers were much more productive. Developers were writing a lot more lines of code.
On the flip side, new software introduced to the market place fell off dramatically. Teams were not able to collaborate effectively, and so the solutions weren’t able to go to the market.
The collaboration decreased, while individual productivity increased.
Enter the ‘Hybrid Model’
While there are certain aspects of every company that can leverage the power of the remote workforce and saving money on overhead are at the top of many leaders list.
There is a certain, much larger segment of the workforce, that are able to save time being face to face. Dojo.co uses the data to identify what departments work better in a collaborative environment while others can thrive from the comfort of their own home.
There are many examples of companies leveraging the power of a distributed workforce. If you are looking for other examples, please reach out to us and learn more.
Don’t Do Business with a Virtual Assistant Company
If you are still reading, then you deserve to know why. After years of working hard creating a service we could be proud of, I have to admit that I missed several key areas in building this business. So many other entrepreneurs were successful… how did they do it?
What was I missing?
During the meeting with Christopher and the Bottleneck team, it came to me. The messaging was off. Everything we were saying was just adding to the noise that was already too loud.
COVID-19 has created an environment of social distancing and physical distancing. Two things that were not around before 2020.
It wasn’t necessarily the brand, it was the category. I just did not know it yet. It comes down to this question, “What problem do we solve”? While the product or service is very important, it only works if it addresses the PROBLEM.
The Difference Between Branding and Category Design
Branding is about ‘us’ or the ‘company’. Category design is about the ‘customer’ or the ‘client’. Category design is about introducing the world to thinking about a problem or an opportunity in a new or different way.
“In category design, pay attention to what things are called. The name of sh*t matters. The reason we have words is because you can tell me what the f*@k you are thinking.”
– Christopher Lochhead
Words create actions. Category design, in a nutshell, is the difference of ‘capturing demand’ and ‘making demand’.
“There are people who play the game, and there are people who invent the game”.
— Christopher Lochhead
Enter the Dedicated Distant Assistant
Ask yourself, “are your daily tasks getting in the way of you doing your best work”? This is how, with incredible insight from Lochhead, we have identified our Provocative Point of View.
My intent is that you, as a successful business leader, will see Bottleneck Virtual Assistants in an entirely new way.
Welcome to the world’s first Dedicated Distant Assistant company. We feel the ‘Distant Assistant’ is the new model. Believe this or not, together yet distant, Bottleneck Virtual Assistants is an anti-virtual assistant company.
What is a virtual assistant? Google it. You will most likely see the first several results are related to artificial intelligence. And if is not run by A.I., it is often more of a transactional-based relationship.
If this is going to work, guess what, we MUST say we are not virtual assistants. We are distant assistants that are human beings. We are not A.I. and we are not transactional. Adding the word ‘Dedicated’ to Distant Assistants destroys the message of normalcy.
A major challenge I found with the industry is that to keep overhead low, one had to assign a virtual assistant to many clients. I get it; you can get more if you charge more clients for less virtual assistants. But do these companies truly have their client’s best interest at heart?
I am here to challenge the status quo – I am here to challenge you.
Will a Dedicated Distant Assistant Work for You?
It’s a gamble knowing whether the time you invest in an assistant will work.
What if you could find a ‘Dedicated Distant Assistant’? A highly-skilled and talented person that would work with you and you alone?
Would it be difficult or challenging in the beginning? Of course. Was it easy for you to start your own business? Surely it wasn’t. Otherwise, we would have a lot more entrepreneurs in this world.
It will take time, but the more time you spend with someone, the more the bond between you grows. Pretty soon, there is no one else in the world that gets you like your Dedicated Distant Assistant.
Virtual assistants are a mistake. They are the machine we are raging against! You want an intimate relationship that is closer to an actual workplace than a quick transaction when needed.
Let’s Get Intimate
Now wait, before you think I have gone too woo-woo, let me elaborate. We have over-rotated in the VA space on technology. At Bottleneck, we rotated it back to ‘Human’. We, here at Bottleneck, aim to create intimate-distant relationships”.
A ‘Dedicated Distant Assistant’ (DDA), is someone that you have a deep, intimate relationship with digitally. This is the opposite of a virtual assistant. It is an intimate-based relationship, not a transaction-based relationship.
A Dedicated Distant Assistant is a committed partner. Who happens to be physically distant, but relationship-wise, be very close.
Why Virtual Assistants are No Longer The Best Choice
Virtual assistants sound good at first. But the reality is, it is about savings, technology and worst of all, it is about transactions. Legendary assistants are not about appointment setting.
Dedicated Distant Assistants should be a powerful relationship and perform mundane tasks/jobs so you can do more of your work!
I want to take this time to invite you to learn more. We have completely turned the world of virtual assistants on its head.
Consider how Bottleneck Distant Assistants may be able to deliver a fresh perspective to grow your business. Win back your quality of life and build a relationship with a Dedicated Distant Assistant.
Special thanks to my good friend and mentor Christopher Lochhead. Your wisdom and guidance will never go unnoticed as we embrace category design forever.
About Jaime Jay
Meet Jaime Jay – a man who wears many hats, and wears them all admirably. He's a master connector, an entrepreneur extraordinaire, and a published author who knows how to get things done.
Before he found his way to the business world, Jaime served his country as a brave paratrooper in the U.S. Army. But that's just the beginning of his many accomplishments.
He's the founder of the renowned Bottleneck Distant Assistant Services firm, and his book "Quit Repeating Yourself" has become a must-read for entrepreneurs everywhere.
When he's not busy building his empire, you can find him on his beloved Harley Davidson, cruising through the countryside and taking in the invigorating effects of Uitwaaien – a Dutch practice that involves facing the wind to boost health and relieve stress.
He enjoys spending his free time outside building stuff with his wife, Nikita the dog and their two kittens (for now at least) Tommy and Tater.
He is ‘over-the-moon’ happily married to his wonderful wife Sara, his amazing daughter, Jessica, who is serving our country as a United States Army soldier. Jaime and Sara are the proud grand parents of two beautiful little girls.
Victoria Dorsano2023-09-17Bottleneck has been such an amazing support for my business! They have a seamless process to ensure you find the right fit for your DDA. I am so thankful I started working with them! I'm now able to accomplish so much more in my business with a personal DDA and editing team on my side. Thank you!!
Rockwell Felder2023-03-15I cannot thank the team at Bottleneck enough for their incredible support of our business. Their team has played a vital role in helping us staff our customer support and ensuring our customers were satisfied with our services. Their Distant Assistants were extremely helpful in answering inquiries promptly, handling complaints, and providing solutions to our customers' needs. Their professionalism, attention to detail, and communication skills are exceptional. Working with Bottleneck has been a fantastic experience, and I highly recommend their services to anyone needing a reliable and efficient virtual assistant, especially for customer support.
Karen Ravano2022-09-24I am grateful and blessed to be part of this team. It’s such a wonderful experience because i gain more experience and help me enhance my basic skills. This will be my stepping stone to my career as a newbie in this kind of industry. It would help to reach my goals.
Jeany Mercadal2022-09-16Bottleneck Distant Assistants can lessen the burden of company owners. We provide excellent services depending on our client needs. We are not scam, clients surely get more than what they pay for. Being part of this team helped me hone my skills and become excellent in all my works.
Jeff Peñaflor2022-09-14I started last March 24, 2021 as a Dedicated Distant Assistant and it was an awesome experience. In this new journey, as Security Administrator of Bottleneck Distant Assistants, I have been supported by the team, A LOT !!!! All help that I need, the whole team is there to support me. I know that there are a lot of room for improvements with my skills and what I know, but because of BNDA, I became equipped with all the weapons I need to conquer the daily challenges especially with my tasks. With BNDA, they will not just help you to aim high, but soar the skies!
Tinoe D2022-09-09I don't remember the last time I loved what I was doing until Bottleneck came into the picture. I love working for bottleneck, they are professional. The management makes the workplace fun and they're very flexible. I definetly recommend that you make that important switch and be part of something big today by joining BNDA.
Michael Goodcliffe2022-09-09Jaime and his team are incredible at what they do! Joining them has been one of the best decisions in my life! I whole heartedly recommend them to anyone who are looking to scale and improve their business. Their highly 'Dedicated Distant Assistants' are well trained. They are top notch!
GM Simon2022-09-08Working with Bottleneck is not just having one or two assistants working alongside you. You have the support of the whole team behind them as well.
Ma. Edeliza Silot2022-09-07Aside from the knowledge gained, the trainers are highly commendable.
Sara Knox2022-09-07What an awesome business! Finally, a way to hire the RIGHT person for my administrative tasks and they are remote! No office space to consider, W2's, 1099's or payroll. Jaime and his team of remote workers are top-notch! I hired my first assistant in May. I recently suffered a motorcycle accident and it left me unable to work for 2 weeks. But my assistant stepped right in to guide our CEO on all matters financial. It’s so nice to have that stress eliminated from my life!
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Quit Repeating Yourself provides guidance for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and managers to help prevent unknown challenges from ruining their business.
