OneSite Finance

Tell us about your role in the business and how you started.

My name is Li Zaki. I live in Sydney, and I've been a mortgage broker for almost 20 years now. I came from Indonesia, came to Sydney when I was 15, and pretty much did engineering. I fell in love with property, started a mortgage broking business, and here I am now.

What was the trigger or catalyst that made you decide to hire your first VA?

As a business owner, you try to do everything yourself, and I'm one of those people who likes to do everything myself. However, by speaking to other business owners, I learned that you can't grow unless you have a great team. Obviously, I have my team in Australia, but the concept of hiring someone overseas was pretty new to me. From what people told me, the experience was great, so I thought I'd give it a go. I actually just Googled it and came across VA Platinum. I contacted a few outsourcing companies, and Mark Wilson was the first one to respond so quickly. He was very responsive, called me, and set up an appointment. I thought that was a great first impression — to know that he's on it. He explained how it works and walked me through the process, and it has been a great experience ever since.

What were your fears or apprehensions when you were starting VA Platinum?

So again, this was new territory for me. I had no idea how I was going to communicate, how I would train, or how assigning tasks and making sure they understood would even work. However, I think VA Platinum has a great process. Mark explained right away that there's a success manager and a training program you can opt for to ensure your VA is well-trained. Of course, we have to train our VA according to our policies and processes, but to see VAs with zero experience get to where they are now in three months has been amazing. They sit amongst their peers, and if they have questions, there's always support. They never feel alone and always have someone to help if needed. So, all the fears I had didn't even remain fears because everything was managed so well, and it worked perfectly.

What’s an area of the business that you feel needs improvement where your VAs are involved in driving or helping?

So for us, what we needed to improve was the speed of converting the application from the initial interview until we submit it to the bank. There are so many steps and so many documents we have to collect. Having someone ready to go—renaming files, doing data entry, and inputting information into the systems—makes a big difference. Obviously, if we submit a lot of applications, there are only so many hours we can work, right? We all get tired from looking at so many different things. So, having another pair of eyes to do it, with their job solely focused on helping with the admin, really helps. They do it so well that it increases the quality of your business and the delivery to your clients. Overall, it gives you much better customer service, which leads to more business. The VA has helped me with everyday tasks—pre-settlement and post-settlement—and there are a lot of them if you want to do it well. That’s where they come in and help me.

What would you give as a tip to a new client who’s just starting their journey with their VAs?

So I think the tips would be, before you hire someone, you need to identify which areas you need help with. Then, you need to communicate with a company like VA Platinum, for example, about the areas you need help in so they can find the right person for you. You need to be upfront about what you like or don't like in your VA, even in terms of personality or skills. For example, I was very upfront that I wanted someone who is very detail-oriented because I'm quite pedantic about a lot of things. They made sure that during the interview process, they asked the right questions. I wasn't sure how to select someone to be part of my business, but VA Platinum did a great job of matchmaking skills and personality. In the end, we have the final say on whether there's a connection. My tip would be to use your heart as well. I found my VA to be very hardworking and willing to learn. You have to give them a chance to develop—don't judge too quickly. They take feedback well and want to improve, so the more you teach them, the more they will deliver and help you with your business.

How’s your overall Cebu Trip?

It's been only a few days, but I'm loving the food. We go out every day to eat. Everybody is so nice, and it's easy to get around. The kids are having fun skating at the moment with my husband. I wish I could stay longer, but I will definitely come back.

Any feedback - good or not for the VA Platinum team in terms of your visit?

I don't have any bad feedback. I think it's been great. Everybody has welcomed me and gone above and beyond. For example, Van turned up at the airport at 1:00 a.m.—she didn’t have to, but she did. Everyone was just so welcoming, setting up everything for me. I feel like I'm part of the family. I would love to stay here and work longer, but I have to go home. Overall, it's been great. Thank you very much.