Growing a Business with VAs and Its Challenges With Trenia Norford
Welcome to the insightful journey of “Master Delegator,” where Kristy Yoder sits down with experts to discuss the nuances and challenges of delegation in today’s fast-paced business environment. In this episode, we had the pleasure of hearing from Trenia Norford, a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of Connectricity,
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As she shared her experiences and wisdom on growing a business with virtual assistants and the inevitable challenges that come along the way.
Before diving deep into the specifics, it’s essential to understand the background of our featured guest, Trenia Norford. Kristy introduced Trenia as the founder of Connectricity, a professional matchmaking and coaching company. Trenia’s rich professional background includes stints in magazines, marketing, and banking. Having started Connectricity in 2012, Trenia transitioned to full-time matchmaking during the COVID-19 pandemic with the invaluable support of Smartpha, Kristy's virtual assistant company.
Client Status Tracking: A Simple Yet Effective Method
Kristy shared an effective and simple method her team uses for tracking client status through color coding: green for happy clients, yellow for those who might need some attention, and red for clients facing significant issues. This color-coded system allows Kristy’s team to quickly ascertain the client’s status and prioritize their responses effectively.
Facing Challenges in 2023
2023 was a challenging year for many businesses, including Kristy Yoder's and Trenia Norford's. While Kristy’s team faced its own struggles, Trenia’s business experienced substantial growth in 2022 and managed to maintain the same revenue in 2023. This was made possible due to her investment in business education, which not only helped her regain motivation but also resulted in increased gross profit. However, the challenge of self-motivation often cropped up, given that Trenia is a solopreneur.
The Role of Virtual Assistants in Business Growth
Trenia detailed how Smartpha's virtual assistants became instrumental in her business transition. Starting with administrative tasks, the virtual assistants gradually expanded their roles to include social media management, database management, website projects, and even digital course development. Trenia highlighted how these partnerships were pivotal in ensuring her company's sustained growth, even through difficult times.
Support System: A Backbone for Success
Both Kristy and Trenia placed considerable emphasis on the importance of having a robust support system. Kristy shared personal anecdotes about how her husband joined her business, serving not just as a business partner but also providing emotional support. This support, she noted, was crucial in alleviating the stress associated with running a business. The ability to share struggles with someone who understands the context of the business can make those challenges more manageable.
Embracing Vulnerability and Transparency
One of the standout takeaways from Trenia was the importance of embracing vulnerability and transparency. She candidly spoke about how bottling up emotions could lead to outbursts over small incidents. Having grown up in an environment where expressing emotions publicly wasn’t encouraged, Trenia found that authenticity and being open about struggles brought immense personal and professional benefits.
Future Plans: Preparing for Growth in 2024
Looking forward, Trenia shared her enthusiasm for 2024, planning to expand her team and services. Feeling re-energized by her investments in business education, she believes the upcoming year holds the potential for significant business growth.
The Power of Community and Mastermind Groups
Reflecting on the pressures faced by business owners, Trenia highlighted the concept of forming a mastermind group. Such a group would allow business owners to share best practices, provide accountability, and offer mutual support. Kristy echoed this sentiment by sharing her experience of creating a cohort of virtual assistant agency owners to discuss industry trends and challenges. Both agreed on the undeniable value of having a community where business owners can share struggles and solutions.
Finding Gratitude Amid Challenges
A remarkable theme that emerged during the conversation was the power of gratitude. Trenia named “Gratitude” as her word for 2024, emphasizing the importance of being thankful for small, everyday things. Both Kristy and Trenia discussed how easy it is to take small joys for granted and the profound benefits of recognizing and acknowledging them. Trenia suggested occasional social media cleanses to avoid negative comparisons and focus on personal gratitude. The key takeaway is that self-contentment and gratitude are essential for both personal and professional growth.
Encouraging Self-Improvement and Avoiding Comparisons
Trenia’s key advice to listeners was to focus on self-contentment and to avoid comparing oneself to others across different roles such as business owner, parent, or spouse. This aligns with her broader belief in authenticity and the value of shared experiences in enriching conversations.
Promoting Trenia Norford’s Services
As the episode drew to a close, Kristy took the opportunity to promote Trenia’s services. Trenia is active on Instagram (@connectricity), LinkedIn (Trinia Johnson Norford), and has websites (trinianorford.com and connectricitymatch.com). She offers group and one-on-one coaching sessions, with a particular emphasis on group coaching for professional women aged 35-55. The next session starts on March 5 and spans four weeks, covering topics like self-awareness, setting goals, relationship patterns, self-sabotaging habits, and key life values. The interactive workshops aim to provide collective learning experiences, garnering significant personal insights from participants.
Group Coaching Details
Trenia’s group coaching sessions are meticulously designed to foster personal growth and learning through the collective experiences of the participants. The format, which includes workshops and interactive sessions, ensures that every participant can derive valuable insights. The inclusion of men in these sessions provides diverse perspectives, enriching the learning experience. Feedback from these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive, with many participants reporting significant personal insights.
Gratitude and Closing Remarks
In closing, Kristy expressed delightful gratitude for Trenia’s enthusiasm and invaluable contributions to the podcast. She also promised to include all relevant links in the show notes, making it easier for listeners to connect with Trenia and explore her services further.
Learn more about Trenia Norford:
