Virtual Assistants are very popular these days. But having a successful experience with a VA has much to do with you as it does with your VA.

We have brought on Samantha Prestidge today who has established a US based VA business now for a number of years.

Join us as Samantha shares not only key benefits of hiring a VA but how to make them useful and profitable for you in your business.

It’s not just another employee. Think of a VA as a laser focused expert to help you do all those things in your business you either don’t like to do, don’t have time to do, or don’t know how to do.

In this episode:

Advantages of working with a VA service

1. They will screen applicants before you even meet with them
2. Get the volume of work that is right for you. You don’t need to keep them busy for 40 hours.
3. Get help where you need it most.

Levels of Virtual Assistants

1. SM manager or bookkeeper
2. Entry level administrative assistant – Keep you on track
3. Executive assistant – Higher skills to brainstorm and plan with you if needed

Questions to ask to decide how a VA can benefit you.

1. What do you want to be responsible for?
2. What do you do today?
3. Whatever the difference is, pass on to a VA

Get into and stay in your zone of genius and let someone else help you with the rest of your business.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How Can We Honor God In Our Business?

We are salt and light in this world. Attract others with the core values you live by. How would Jesus serve in your position?

One Challenge from Today:

Ask the questions and start moving.

1. What do you want to be doing in your business?
2. What do you want your job description to be?
3. Start working on a way to delegate the rest of your tasks.

More About Samantha Prestidge

What to Delegate Guide: auxosvs.com/delegate

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samanthacordero-auxosvs/

More About David Schmidt

Subscribe to Redeeming Business Today Podcast Newsletter

Website redeemingbusinesstoday.com

Are you still stuck in indecision about a VA? Join us today to dig into a few more questions to ask yourself to uncover if it is the right time for you to hire or not.

US based VA business Alyssa Avant comes with over 17 years' experience serving others. Starting out small and eventually finding her niche Alyssa helps Christian authors, speakers, and coaches get more accomplished.

Starting with a common question of how she could stay home and still make an income without impacting her children, Alyssa found her way into the VA world.

Come listen to her talk about what makes for a successful VA experience, frustrations of a VA, and how to know what to delegate to your first VA.

In This Episode:

Steps to make a successful VA experience:

1. What are you wanting to outsource?
2. Know what your budget is
3. Are you willing to let this go?

Questions to discover how a VA will benefit:

• What is your end goal?
• What do you want off your plate?
• What are you struggling to get done?

Even if you don’t know how a VA can help you, if you know the end goal, they may be able to show you how they can help.

The two biggest frustrations of a VA

1. A micro-manager as a boss
2. A person who doesn’t know what they need

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Pray for your clients and business every day. It will change the way you see and treat them.

One challenge from today:

Make a list. This is how a VA can change your life.

1. What you don’t know how to do
2. What you don’t want to do
3. What you don’t have time to do

More About Alyssa Avant

Website: Alyssa Avant and Company | Christian Virtual Assistants

Free Tool: Top 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Virtual Assistant

More About David Schmidt

Subscribe to Redeeming Business Today Podcast Newsletter

Website redeemingbusinesstoday.com

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AI is like a hammer. In the hands of a craftsman, you can build great works of art and construction. However, in the hands of the careless it can do much damage.

AI is a tool that if used as such will save you lots of time. However, to get the most out of AI you must train and lead it. Don’t expect it to do all your work for you. You have to tell it what to do or you will only get average mechanical results.

Training AI to your way of thinking and writing style greatly enhances its value.

Today we have brought on Jennifer Elia, a digital marketer who has effectively learned how to train the AI model to get great results and save tons of time.

Like everything else, you get out of it what you invest into it. That said, it is fairly simple to train your AI model once you know what information to give it. Today Jennifer is going to open the doors to her wisdom to share what she has learned about AI and how it can be utilized effectively today.

In This Episode:

Three great uses of AI for business

1. Marketing research
2. Synthesizing information from searches online
3. Creating systems for repetitive tasks

Open AI models will take your information to teach and train the entire system so other people can use your data.

Closed AI models will take your information to teach the model for you but will not share your ideas with other users. This is how you can build highly trained AI models to suit your business needs without sounding generic and mechanical.

There are two levels of training the AI model:

1. The internal training that comes with the model that enables it to read, understand, and synthesize data
2. The personal training you give it to tell it who you are, how you write, who your ideal customer is and what they want

Misconceptions around AI. Just because AI can help you shar a lot of content doesn’t mean you should. It’s always better to share less but better content. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

We have a special mission to help others fulfill their mission. It’s not all about us, life is about serving others.

One challenge from today.

Have an open mind about AI but be cautious. AI has limitations. You have to know something about a topic before you can have AI do that task for you. Your creativity is still the catalyst for creative content you produce.

More About Jennifer Elia

Website:

AI is a tool to use to communicate better to our customers and take some repetitive tasks off our hands. But it is a tool, not the replacement of humans.

Today we are joined with AI expert Mat Koenig as he explains a few ways AI can be used responsibly in your business.

AI can be used as a customized chat bot on your website to answer questions and book calls all the way to answering your phone calls and responding to texts and emails.

However, like all good things, it takes effort, intentionality, and diligence to make it work effectively.

Whether you are new to the AI discussion or are a current user, this conversation is filled with useful information for you to weigh out to see if using AI is the right fit for you. And if it is, how you will use it.

In This Episode:

Learn the three basic guidelines necessary for training your business AI model.

1. Role – What role will your AI play?
2. Goal – What is the goal you want your AI to accomplish?
3. Context – What are the boundaries your AI needs to remain in?

And don’t forget to tell your AI not to make up information. You will need to tell it what to do if it does not have the answer. If you don’t, your AI might “hallucinate” and make up an answer just to complete it’s program.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Do good business. Operate with integrity. Lead with integrity and excellence to show you honor God in your business.

One challenge from today.

Start using AI to get familiar with it. Like everything else, there is a learning curve. Take the time to learn how to train your AI model. Hire Mat if you want to go faster.

More About Mat Koenig

Check out Mat’s website and learn more about how AI can free you up from repetitive tasks so you can invest more in your core business.

Non-Church Version www.rockstarinfo.com

The Church Version www.managemychurch.org

More About David Schmidt

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Mentioned in this episode:

Step Up Referrals

Ever wished you had all your business information in one place? With Step Up Referrals, you can! It’s the ultimate digital referral card that makes sharing your...

Are you pro-choice or pro-life?

Life has a purpose. There is a purpose for why you were born.

Your business also has a purpose, but it is engulfed in God’s greater, bigger, grander purpose for why this world exists and where it is going.

Join us today as we take a trip through the lives of three individuals to see how the Lord brought them into this world for a specific purpose.

Find out that you too have a God given purpose that goes beyond your personal pleasure and

why that is so important to your life and by extension to your business.

See if you can spot the common thread between Pharoah, Jeremiah, David, and yourself.

Spoiler: God created man in His own image.

Therefore, man is unique and set apart from the rocks, trees, and animals.

We are different, and we are to respect the sanctity of life and not throw it away mindlessly. It

is not ours to take.

God is pro-life or none of us would exist today. The choice of life is not ours to make, it belongs to our Creator.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

Ephesians 2:1 …you were dead in trespasses and sins

Ephesians 2:5 …you were made alive in Jesus

Ephesians 2:10 …you are God’s workmanship, created for good works, which God has prepared…that we should walk in them.

(the above are not exact quotes but pulling out key points for clarity)

More About David Schmidt

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Mentioned in this episode:

Step Up Referrals

Ever wished you had all your business information in one place? With Step Up Referrals, you can! It’s the ultimate digital referral card that makes sharing your business and showcasing who you’re connected with easier than ever. Step Up Referrals helps you stand out from the crowd, build relationships, and grow your network. Follow the link below and get started today.

Step Up Referrals

Be anxious for nothing, but everything by prayer… let your requests be known to God… And the peace of God which passeth understanding shall guard your heart and mind (Philippians 4:6-7).

It’s a great promise, you just need to do it. But it is easier said than done. Yet it is a command not a suggestion.

It’s not God’s intent for you to be anxious, give your cares to Him and don’t be stressed.

Today we have Jodi Howe with us who is passionate about helping people overcome anxiety.

Jodi was once having been overwhelmed with debilitating anxiety to the point of struggling to eat, breathe, and move. A relationship with God has allowed her to overcome this anxiety and so much more.

If you are a habitual worry wart all the way to struggling with debilitating anxiety listen in and find encouragement along with practical steps to take to start your journey away from anxiety.

In this episode:

Three truths to start fighting anxiety:

1. Your anxiety is not from God
2. God can most definitely heal your anxious heart
3. Western medicine is beneficial for physical aspects of worry

Steps to take today to fight anxiety:

1. Get a full physical evaluation to rule out any physical factors that could be causing or promoting anxiety
2. Evaluate your habits and change those factors that promote anxiety
3. Take care of any hormonal imbalances you may have
4. What is left is spiritual, give it to God (Philippians 4:6-7)

Overcoming anxiety is like getting physically in shape. It takes time putting in good habits that will grow stronger over time.

God will take care of your anxiety, but you have to know Him first. Get to know God and you will find He is strong enough to help you with everything.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Honor God by living in integrity and by the authenticity of His Word. When you take God at His word, you show to the world that God can be trusted.

One challenge from today.

Do a heart check daily to see where you are in your relationship with God. Walk with God and seek to live out the fruit of the Spirit every day. “Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” Galatians 5:22-23

More About Jodi Howe

Instagram @jodi.b.howe

Facebook: Jodi Howe

www.jodihowe.com

More About David Schmidt

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Seek first to understand. It’s the core of emotional intelligence and being able to navigate your life without reacting and being out of control by the people and circumstances that surround us.

We have brought in expert Candice Johnson today to break down this important topic so we can understand what it is, why it is important, and how we can get better.

How do you respond when people come with bad news? How do you respond when the same person comes for conversation who always makes you mad?

The answer to resolve this conflict is simpler than you think. The great news is you have complete control over it. Lean in and learn today from Candice.

Redeem Your Business Today by the Following:

How can we honor God in our business?

Stay on assignment. Don’t get stuck but be open to God’s leading even if He wants to change the direction your business is moving.

One challenge from today:

First seek to understand, then seek to be understood. Spend time understanding others and what makes them tick so you can truly be a blessing to them.

In this episode:

Be Neutral: As you learn to be neutral in your response it will create the space others need to grow and be better.

Biggest Mistake: Reacting. When you react to other people’s words or actions you are giving them the reigns to control your life.

Why do we react? We react because we have not healed, handled, or dealt with something internally.

We react because of us; it’s not the other person.

Getting Better:

1. I wonder what would have me ___(react this way…)__?
2. Give curiosity the power not the trigger.

More About Candice Johnson

WEBSITE: www.youtube.com/@candiceelisejohnson/streams.

Instagram @candiceelisejohnson and @thegodcontroversy

More About David Schmidt

Subscribe to Redeeming Business Today Podcast Newsletter

Website redeemingbusinesstoday.com

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Mentioned in this episode:

Step Up Referrals

Ever wished you had all your business information in one place? With Step Up Referrals, you can! It’s the ultimate digital referral card that makes sharing your business and showcasing who you’re connected with easier than ever. Step Up Referrals helps you stand out from the crowd, build relationships,...

If your business were dissolved today, would anybody care?

Your answer to that question is the measure of your culture.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast” –Peter Drucker

Having a great business is more than making money, it’s about how you treat others, especially those who work for you.

With 70% of employees disengaged in corporate America today because they don’t feel cared about there is ample amount of room to improve.

Join Michael Weisman and I as we talk about principles to develop a great culture your employees will love and not want to leave.

In This Episode:

Stop focusing on pruning the branches of your tree, focus your efforts on preparing the soil so the tree can grow. It’s the difference between focusing on making money or investing in your people.

5 Principles for a Better Culture

1. Competence
2. Consistency
3. Candor
4. Concern
5. Connection

Values are like fingerprints, and we leave them all over those we touch.

One Challenge from Today:

Pause and ask: What is your intention for today? How are you going to show up? How will your values touch the lives of others?

More About Michael Weisman

thehighergroundlife.com

21-Day Growth Challenge: Competence Growth Challenge

mikew@thehighergroundlife.com

More About David Schmidt

Subscribe to Redeeming Business Today Podcast Newsletter

Website redeemingbusinesstoday.com

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Donate to the Show

Mentioned in this episode:

Step Up Referrals

Ever wished you had all your business information in one place? With Step Up Referrals, you can! It’s the ultimate digital referral card that makes sharing your business and showcasing who you’re connected with easier than ever. Step Up Referrals helps you stand out from the crowd, build relationships, and grow your network. Follow the link below and get started today.

Step Up Referrals