Gabrielle Waxenberg is a seasoned EA with over 12 years of experience supporting CEOs and founders in various industries.
In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Gabrielle talks about transitioning from EA to business owner, advocating for and empowering EAs, and helping assistants get the recognition they deserve.
CONNECT WITH GABRIELLE
- Gabrielle on LinkedIn
- thewaxenbergagency.com
- info@thewaxenbergagency.com
- Intsagram: @waxenbergagency
- X: @WaxenbergAgency
ABOUT GABRIELLE
Gabrielle Waxenberg is a seasoned executive assistant with over 12 years of experience supporting CEOs and Founders across various industries, graduated from Drexel University with a BS in Hotel Restaurant Management, concentrating in Casino Management, and a minor in Business Administration. Drawing on her extensive experience as an Executive Assistant, Gabrielle opened her own fractional support and recruitment agency specializing in administrative professionals.
In addition to her business, Gabrielle is actively involved in several non-profit organizations, serving on advisory boards and contributing her time and expertise to support their missions. Now residing in Boston and a huge NY Jets fan, Gabrielle runs the Boston Jets Club, where her passion for sports adds a dynamic element to her personality.
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
00:00:00.180 –> 00:00:03.220
JEREMY: In-person meeting planning can be a lot to manage.
00:00:03.220 –> 00:00:05.940
JEREMY: That’s where TROOP Planner comes in.
00:00:05.940 –> 00:00:10.560
JEREMY: TROOP Planner is built to make life easier for busy assistants like you.
00:00:10.560 –> 00:00:19.640
JEREMY: Whether you’re organizing an executive offsite, department meeting, or team retreat, TROOP keeps it simple, fast, and organized.
00:00:19.640 –> 00:00:34.480
JEREMY: From choosing the perfect location to managing budgets, coordinating travel, and tracking attendee details, TROOP brings everything together in one easy-to-use platform, so you can save time and focus on what matters most.
00:00:34.480 –> 00:00:41.140
JEREMY: TROOP has an exclusive offer for Leader Assistant listeners through Administrative Professionals Day, so don’t miss out.
00:00:41.140 –> 00:00:45.180
JEREMY: Visit leaderassistant.com/troop to learn more.
00:00:46.400 –> 00:00:56.180
JEREMY: Hey friends, just want to let you know, in case you didn’t, that my best-selling book, The Leader Assistant, has a companion study and discussion guide to go along with it.
00:00:56.220 –> 00:00:58.900
JEREMY: It’s called The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:00:58.900 –> 00:01:12.480
JEREMY: Now, you can buy the Kindle ebook version of The Leader Assistant Workbook on Amazon or you can go to leaderassistantbook.com and get a printable PDF version of The Workbook.
00:01:12.480 –> 00:01:20.640
JEREMY: This version has all the space and margin in between the questions that you can write your own answers and take notes with.
00:01:21.180 –> 00:01:28.560
JEREMY: So, it’s a great way to print it out and keep track of your discussion and study guide notes.
00:01:28.560 –> 00:01:34.720
JEREMY: Again, go to leaderassistantbook.com and click on Workbook to check out The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:01:41.275 –> 00:01:48.875
<v SPEAKER_3>The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.
00:01:55.858 –> 00:01:58.218
JEREMY: Hey, friends, welcome to The Leader Assistant Podcast.
00:01:58.218 –> 00:02:01.698
JEREMY: It’s your host, Jeremy Burrows, and this is episode 316.
00:02:02.858 –> 00:02:07.178
JEREMY: You can check out the show notes, as always, at leaderassistant.com.
00:02:07.178 –> 00:02:12.178
JEREMY: And for this episode’s show notes, you can just type in 316.
00:02:12.178 –> 00:02:13.418
JEREMY: So leaderassistant.com/316.
00:02:17.338 –> 00:02:21.038
JEREMY: Today, I’m excited to be speaking with Gabrielle Waxenberg.
00:02:21.258 –> 00:02:31.918
JEREMY: Gabrielle is an, well, she has experience as an assistant, over 12 years of experience supporting CEOs and founders in various industries.
00:02:33.038 –> 00:02:39.838
JEREMY: But she currently is founder and CEO of the Waxenberg Agency, which we’ll dive into that here in a bit.
00:02:39.838 –> 00:02:42.998
JEREMY: But first off, Gabrielle, thanks for joining.
00:02:42.998 –> 00:02:45.578
JEREMY: Where in the world are you located?
00:02:45.578 –> 00:02:46.738
GABRIELLE: Thanks for having me.
00:02:46.738 –> 00:02:52.718
GABRIELLE: I am currently right outside Boston, originally from the New York, New Jersey area.
00:02:52.718 –> 00:02:57.478
GABRIELLE: I’ve been here now, seven, eight years.
00:02:57.478 –> 00:03:03.578
GABRIELLE: Still call New York, New Jersey home, but I’m here in Boston for now.
00:03:03.578 –> 00:03:04.258
JEREMY: Nice.
00:03:04.258 –> 00:03:08.058
JEREMY: What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not working?
00:03:08.058 –> 00:03:12.298
GABRIELLE: When I’m not working, I really enjoy Broadway and theater.
00:03:12.298 –> 00:03:18.298
GABRIELLE: Being from the New York area, always go to Broadway and now here in Boston, see as many shows as I can.
00:03:19.598 –> 00:03:22.418
GABRIELLE: I’m on a fun bowling team.
00:03:22.418 –> 00:03:26.018
GABRIELLE: Since I moved up here, I joined a social bowling team, me and some friends.
00:03:26.018 –> 00:03:31.718
GABRIELLE: We are not good, but it’s fun and it’s something social to do.
00:03:32.558 –> 00:03:37.098
GABRIELLE: As I was discussing with you, I’m a huge Jets fan.
00:03:37.098 –> 00:03:43.998
GABRIELLE: Out here, we have the Boston Jets Club, which is probably like an idiom you don’t hear very much.
00:03:44.038 –> 00:03:48.158
GABRIELLE: I’m a New York fan up in New England, but it’s a fun group.
00:03:48.158 –> 00:03:51.598
GABRIELLE: We all get together every weekend and watch and I help run that.
00:03:52.298 –> 00:03:53.738
GABRIELLE: That’s awesome.
00:03:53.738 –> 00:03:59.298
GABRIELLE: Now, our season is over, but it was fun for the last few months, all getting together up here.
00:03:59.298 –> 00:03:59.658
JEREMY: Cool.
00:03:59.658 –> 00:04:02.018
JEREMY: Well, that’s awesome that you do that.
00:04:02.118 –> 00:04:06.158
JEREMY: Then the bowling thing, I’ve always loved bowling.
00:04:06.158 –> 00:04:07.858
JEREMY: I’ve never really been a great bowler.
00:04:08.218 –> 00:04:11.058
JEREMY: I’ve had a couple of days where I’ve bowled it.
00:04:11.058 –> 00:04:13.478
JEREMY: I’m like, oh, that was a pretty good day.
00:04:13.478 –> 00:04:27.558
JEREMY: I remember we used to do, I was homeschooled growing up and we used to do homeschool co-op get-togethers, and we’d go bowling and we’d have an hour and a half time limit, and you could bowl as many games as you wanted in that hour and a half.
00:04:28.658 –> 00:04:33.698
JEREMY: I remember one time we were doing it and I never tried the spinning or anything.
00:04:33.698 –> 00:04:35.058
JEREMY: I just bowled as straight as I can.
00:04:36.838 –> 00:04:55.078
JEREMY: But I remember one time, I must have been, I don’t know, 13, 14 years old, and I started off the game with three strikes, and then I think I had a spare, and then I got two strikes in a row after that.
00:04:55.198 –> 00:04:56.698
GABRIELLE: Sounded good.
00:04:56.698 –> 00:05:00.718
JEREMY: Our time ran out and they turned off everything, and I was so mad.
00:05:00.758 –> 00:05:08.718
JEREMY: I was like, this is probably going to be my best score ever, and I remember I went up to the counter and I was like, can you print out my score?
00:05:08.718 –> 00:05:16.978
JEREMY: Because I know I didn’t finish the game, but to this day, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten three strikes to spare and two strikes to start off.
00:05:16.978 –> 00:05:17.678
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:05:17.738 –> 00:05:20.458
GABRIELLE: Like I said, we are not very good.
00:05:20.458 –> 00:05:29.358
GABRIELLE: We like to think we are, and then one of my teammates will curse when he gets one pin.
00:05:29.538 –> 00:05:35.098
GABRIELLE: I’m like, dude, all scores may be 100, 120, 300.
00:05:35.098 –> 00:05:38.458
GABRIELLE: We’re not good, but the emotions there.
00:05:38.458 –> 00:05:39.638
JEREMY: Yeah, competitive nature.
00:05:39.638 –> 00:05:40.318
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:05:40.318 –> 00:05:40.778
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:05:40.778 –> 00:05:41.478
GABRIELLE: We have a good time.
00:05:41.478 –> 00:05:43.038
JEREMY: It’s awesome.
00:05:43.038 –> 00:05:45.838
JEREMY: It’s making me want to go bowling, especially in the winter.
00:05:45.838 –> 00:05:46.518
GABRIELLE: I’m going to Boston.
00:05:46.518 –> 00:05:47.378
GABRIELLE: I’ll take you there.
00:05:47.378 –> 00:05:47.578
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:05:47.578 –> 00:05:50.478
JEREMY: It’s a great sport to play in the winter for sure.
00:05:51.658 –> 00:05:52.018
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:05:52.018 –> 00:05:52.878
JEREMY: Well, yeah.
00:05:52.878 –> 00:05:54.678
JEREMY: Thanks again for being on the show.
00:05:54.678 –> 00:05:56.198
JEREMY: Tell us a little bit about your career.
00:05:56.438 –> 00:06:13.278
JEREMY: How did you end up in the assistant world in your journey back in the day and kind of walk us through a little bit of experiences through that career and then why you ended up deciding to start your own business?
00:06:13.278 –> 00:06:13.638
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:06:13.638 –> 00:06:20.058
GABRIELLE: Well, I think like many assistants, it’s not something I went to school for or was looking to do.
00:06:20.058 –> 00:06:22.758
GABRIELLE: I kind of, as people say, fell into it.
00:06:22.758 –> 00:06:25.618
GABRIELLE: I actually went to school for hospitality and casino management.
00:06:26.178 –> 00:06:39.958
GABRIELLE: My first job was at a casino, doing that, and from there, working in hospitality, which I think a lot of assistants started in hospitality.
00:06:39.958 –> 00:06:40.638
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:06:40.638 –> 00:06:45.778
GABRIELLE: In the casino management field, it was a very finance-based career.
00:06:45.778 –> 00:06:51.758
GABRIELLE: I then went into finance, like entry-level stuff, APAR.
00:06:51.758 –> 00:07:02.938
GABRIELLE: From there, I’m still doing finance in a legal company, and from there, I worked my way up in that legal company.
00:07:02.938 –> 00:07:35.478
GABRIELLE: I became head of finance, head of billing, and then there was the scheduling and coordinating, and then I started working there, and then became head of that, and then I oversaw a few departments, and then, in fact, I became the office manager, and then it was a small office, and then I was overseeing people, became a manager, and did this, and then I was the right hand to the VP in the office, and it was just doing those basic EA tasks, but I wasn’t an EA, I didn’t know what an EA was, and I was doing that.
00:07:35.478 –> 00:07:39.238
GABRIELLE: When I left that company, I was burnt out.
00:07:39.238 –> 00:08:03.018
GABRIELLE: I was 23, 24, working 24-7 in this legal company, and I just needed something that wasn’t as much, and I ended up going to this actually pet food manufacturing company, mainly treats they made, and I took a job as an EA to the CEO.
00:08:04.698 –> 00:08:10.778
GABRIELLE: I can’t even remember how I got this job or why I was even qualified, you know, just from what I was doing at this legal firm.
00:08:10.778 –> 00:08:15.238
GABRIELLE: And I was there, I think, only a year, but I really enjoyed what I was doing there.
00:08:15.238 –> 00:08:18.718
GABRIELLE: And so from there, I just started looking at other EA jobs.
00:08:19.278 –> 00:08:25.078
GABRIELLE: And that was kind of the start of my EA career.
00:08:25.078 –> 00:08:28.858
GABRIELLE: And then from there, technically that was a manufacturing company.
00:08:28.858 –> 00:08:30.718
GABRIELLE: I kind of just did everything.
00:08:30.738 –> 00:08:38.958
GABRIELLE: I was in IT sales, I was in banking, I was in another legal firm, I was in healthcare.
00:08:40.818 –> 00:08:45.298
GABRIELLE: Just everything, as you know, like EA, you can kind of transfer those skills to any industry.
00:08:45.298 –> 00:08:46.818
GABRIELLE: It doesn’t need to be specific.
00:08:48.198 –> 00:08:55.498
GABRIELLE: Then when I moved to Boston, the Boston landscape is very pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare.
00:08:55.498 –> 00:08:59.758
GABRIELLE: So since I’ve been in Boston and I became an EA, it was mainly in the healthcare.
00:08:59.758 –> 00:09:08.238
GABRIELLE: I was with Fortune 4 Company, Aetna, CVS, very large, obviously 300,000 people, and then some startups.
00:09:08.298 –> 00:09:15.738
GABRIELLE: Boston’s also known for their startup cycle of all the MIT, Harvard, all of that, very startup heavy.
00:09:15.738 –> 00:09:18.638
GABRIELLE: So I’ve also worked for some startups here.
00:09:18.638 –> 00:09:28.278
GABRIELLE: About, I would say, two years ago and more, I’ve always thought about having my own thing, but never really did anything about it.
00:09:28.278 –> 00:09:32.038
GABRIELLE: One of the startups I was in did very well.
00:09:32.038 –> 00:09:37.778
GABRIELLE: We got unicorn status, we were valued at 1.1 billion, we went through a series C.
00:09:37.778 –> 00:09:40.818
GABRIELLE: I had shares, we did very well.
00:09:40.818 –> 00:09:43.498
GABRIELLE: That’s the hope for everyone when they’re working in a startup.
00:09:43.498 –> 00:09:56.198
GABRIELLE: My CEO left who I was working for and had the opportunity to stay, but he was the one I was working with, he was the one I had the relationship with, and I said, you know what, he’s going to go, I’m going to go too.
00:09:57.098 –> 00:10:01.498
GABRIELLE: I said, this is my opportunity, let me see if I can start something now.
00:10:01.858 –> 00:10:07.798
GABRIELLE: I’m young, I’m not as young as I thought I was, but I’m going to start it now.
00:10:07.798 –> 00:10:12.798
GABRIELLE: If I don’t do this now, I’m always going to kick myself in the butt, but let’s do this.
00:10:12.838 –> 00:10:21.678
GABRIELLE: You know what, if I fail, if it doesn’t work, I can always go back to work, but this is my opportunity, these are the signs, I’m going to do this now.
00:10:21.678 –> 00:10:28.138
GABRIELLE: I decided to start my own Fractional Assistance Company, and we have different branches.
00:10:29.338 –> 00:10:44.298
GABRIELLE: It’s not just Fractional Assistant work, I’m also doing recruiting for full-time EAs for those companies that still want that, and I’m also doing coaching for EAs, confidence coaching, interview prep, resume rewrite, LinkedIn, all those things.
00:10:44.298 –> 00:10:47.418
GABRIELLE: So there’s three branches to what I’m doing here.
00:10:47.418 –> 00:10:53.778
GABRIELLE: But the main goal was one, obviously, work for yourself, that’s the American dream, who wants to do that?
00:10:53.938 –> 00:11:09.698
GABRIELLE: And I was burned out from, it’s not a 40-hour job, an EA, you’re working 24-7, when you’re working for C-suite and board members and founders, it’s around the clock and I was on call at all times.
00:11:09.698 –> 00:11:12.178
GABRIELLE: I didn’t have a social life.
00:11:12.178 –> 00:11:14.798
GABRIELLE: When I put myself into work, I put myself into work.
00:11:14.798 –> 00:11:21.338
GABRIELLE: So my life was their life and a lot of that’s my fault, but I felt I needed to do this.
00:11:21.338 –> 00:11:23.678
GABRIELLE: I was getting paid very well and I was doing things.
00:11:23.878 –> 00:11:31.358
GABRIELLE: I loved my job, but that was my life and I needed to find a better balance.
00:11:32.478 –> 00:11:42.238
GABRIELLE: Now, instead of working for one principal, 70, 60, 70 hours a week, I split my time and I’m doing a lot of different things.
00:11:42.238 –> 00:11:46.438
GABRIELLE: We also have subcontractors that sub out to other people.
00:11:46.438 –> 00:11:50.158
GABRIELLE: It makes for a better dad and I’m the boss.
00:11:50.558 –> 00:11:55.038
GABRIELLE: I report to myself and it’s a different relationship now.
00:11:55.038 –> 00:12:00.378
GABRIELLE: The EA’s that are going are doing the same work, but they’re business partners.
00:12:00.378 –> 00:12:01.578
GABRIELLE: It’s not their boss.
00:12:01.578 –> 00:12:02.658
GABRIELLE: They’re a business partner.
00:12:02.658 –> 00:12:10.118
GABRIELLE: There’s an SOW about what you’re going to do, and it’s just a different mentality going into it now.
00:12:10.178 –> 00:12:13.138
GABRIELLE: I just think it’s the breath of fresh air.
00:12:14.518 –> 00:12:15.238
JEREMY: That’s awesome.
00:12:15.238 –> 00:12:17.858
JEREMY: You’ve mentioned fractional EA.
00:12:19.318 –> 00:12:27.198
JEREMY: How do you think that varies in your experience from maybe just contracted virtual assistant?
00:12:27.198 –> 00:12:27.938
JEREMY: Does that make sense?
00:12:27.938 –> 00:12:28.338
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:12:30.578 –> 00:12:32.718
GABRIELLE: I don’t like to use the word virtual assistant.
00:12:34.478 –> 00:12:40.058
GABRIELLE: When people hear that, they assume offshore, international, this and that.
00:12:41.458 –> 00:12:44.118
GABRIELLE: I use the word fractional assistant.
00:12:44.118 –> 00:12:45.938
GABRIELLE: Most of it is remote.
00:12:45.938 –> 00:12:48.138
GABRIELLE: There are times when travel is needed.
00:12:48.138 –> 00:12:57.158
GABRIELLE: If there is a big off-site, a big board meeting, sometimes they want somebody in person for logistical reasons, or there’s trouble.
00:12:57.158 –> 00:13:08.718
GABRIELLE: There was an event that had to go do that was a big to do with a lot of important high-net-worth individuals, and I flew there to handle, to make sure everything was okay.
00:13:09.198 –> 00:13:12.218
GABRIELLE: But most of the work is done remotely.
00:13:12.218 –> 00:13:14.058
GABRIELLE: So that word virtual is okay.
00:13:14.058 –> 00:13:20.858
GABRIELLE: It’s just when a lot of people hear that nowadays, they assume it’s this offshore, and I want to get away from that.
00:13:20.858 –> 00:13:29.998
GABRIELLE: Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just a different level of service that we’re providing than an offshore company.
00:13:29.998 –> 00:13:42.398
GABRIELLE: There’s also the cultural differences of someone’s going to call and say, hey, can you make sure we get a five-star restaurant that has a private room that has this, that has that, and you want to know about, is there a valet parking?
00:13:42.398 –> 00:13:43.218
GABRIELLE: Where can they do this?
00:13:43.218 –> 00:13:44.118
GABRIELLE: Where can they do that?
00:13:44.118 –> 00:14:17.658
GABRIELLE: That somebody that’s familiar with certain cities are going to know that or someone, and I’m making this up, if you call a virtual system in the Philippines, just doesn’t know the nuances of America and of this, and do they know what downtown New York City is like on a Saturday night, around the holidays in December, that’s going to be chaotic and that GPS tells you it’s going to take 20 minutes to get there, that’s going to be an hour and a half drive, and you have to leave this much time and parking and this and that, and there’s just certain things that people don’t know in different cultures.
00:14:18.718 –> 00:14:29.398
GABRIELLE: So that’s why I stray away from that, and there’s obviously also the compensation differences between offshore and American, obviously, vast.
00:14:29.398 –> 00:14:50.578
GABRIELLE: But what I’m noticing is, is there’s still those companies, and I would say, in my experience, what I’ve noticed, the larger companies are still going with full-time EAs, but a lot more of these startups and these more tech companies are doing more fractional, they don’t need full-time, and they need certain more assistance.
00:14:50.578 –> 00:14:55.458
GABRIELLE: There’s also a difference between tactical assistance and strategical assistance.
00:14:56.758 –> 00:15:07.918
GABRIELLE: Some people just need those, I need help with scheduling meetings in my email and do this, and other people need more help with board initiatives and stuff that they’re doing on that level.
00:15:07.918 –> 00:15:14.678
GABRIELLE: There’s so many different levels of help that we can help with, depending on those people’s needs.
00:15:15.398 –> 00:15:19.058
JEREMY: Do you have a team that you work with?
00:15:19.058 –> 00:15:29.438
JEREMY: Do you have in and out finding people, or do you have a few full-time people that work with you all the time and that hire out of these different clients?
00:15:29.438 –> 00:15:30.758
GABRIELLE: It varies.
00:15:30.758 –> 00:15:34.138
GABRIELLE: They’re all subcontractors, they’re all 1099.
00:15:34.138 –> 00:15:40.078
GABRIELLE: Some want full-time work, some only want part-time work.
00:15:40.078 –> 00:15:45.578
GABRIELLE: Depending on the clients, of course, we match them accordingly.
00:15:45.578 –> 00:15:51.478
GABRIELLE: I have a couple that work full-time with multiple executives.
00:15:52.518 –> 00:16:00.618
GABRIELLE: For instance, I have one that has three, and so with those three, she works full-time hours, but with each of them fractionally.
00:16:00.618 –> 00:16:09.018
GABRIELLE: I have another one who she only wanted to work a max of 20 hours a week, has young kids at home and didn’t want to work the full-time hours.
00:16:09.018 –> 00:16:15.518
GABRIELLE: She works with one client, she has about 10 to 15 hours a week, and that’s the max that she wants.
00:16:15.518 –> 00:16:17.918
GABRIELLE: To her, she’s full-time, that’s done.
00:16:17.918 –> 00:16:19.438
GABRIELLE: It really depends on the individual.
00:16:20.318 –> 00:16:33.078
GABRIELLE: They stick with the same clients, of course, unless some contracts are open-ended, some are a three-month contract, some are I just need it for a project, we’re doing it off-site.
00:16:33.078 –> 00:16:34.998
GABRIELLE: Can you help us plan this and do this?
00:16:35.038 –> 00:16:40.278
GABRIELLE: We’re having a huge company party, there were holiday parties going on and things like that.
00:16:40.278 –> 00:16:43.338
GABRIELLE: We have a 500-person company, can you just do this?
00:16:44.098 –> 00:16:47.058
GABRIELLE: Something like that might take a month or two to handle.
00:16:47.058 –> 00:16:57.318
GABRIELLE: But most of our contracts are open-ended, where it’s just assistants until they either want to close the contract or modify the hours or something like that.
00:17:01.158 –> 00:17:10.178
JEREMY: The ping-pong back and forth game of manually scheduling meetings is unnecessary and inefficient in today’s automated world.
00:17:10.178 –> 00:17:15.678
JEREMY: It’s time to embrace calendar automation for increased productivity and capacity.
00:17:16.458 –> 00:17:21.678
JEREMY: You Can Book Me by Capacity is my favorite automated booking solution.
00:17:21.678 –> 00:17:25.098
JEREMY: It’s a game changer for me and my executive.
00:17:25.098 –> 00:17:34.578
JEREMY: You can manage scheduling for your entire executive team, send automated reminders, add buffer time between appointments, and much more.
00:17:34.578 –> 00:17:42.878
JEREMY: You Can Book Me integrates with your existing Microsoft and Google calendars so you can add automation without disrupting your current workflow.
00:17:43.518 –> 00:17:52.778
JEREMY: Go to leaderassistant.com/calendar to learn more and sign up for a free trial of this powerful scheduling automation tool.
00:17:52.778 –> 00:17:54.158
JEREMY: That’s leaderassistant.com/calendar.
00:18:01.158 –> 00:18:01.538
<v SPEAKER_3>Nice.
00:18:01.538 –> 00:18:02.898
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:18:02.898 –> 00:18:04.858
JEREMY: So that’s great.
00:18:04.858 –> 00:18:08.778
JEREMY: Congrats on getting that business set up and going.
00:18:08.778 –> 00:18:10.118
JEREMY: You mentioned you do some training and stuff.
00:18:10.318 –> 00:18:18.138
JEREMY: What are your thoughts on advocating for assistance in different organizations?
00:18:18.138 –> 00:18:28.918
JEREMY: Like, hey, you need a full time, you need a strategic assistant here, or even empowering those assistants to see themselves as strategic partners.
00:18:28.918 –> 00:18:29.178
JEREMY: Yeah.
00:18:29.478 –> 00:18:34.338
JEREMY: Any thoughts on advocating for and empowering assistants?
00:18:34.338 –> 00:18:35.998
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:18:35.998 –> 00:18:52.638
GABRIELLE: Earlier in my career, I didn’t speak up, I just hung out in the background, and I didn’t really feel like there was anyone in the company, whether it be HR, my direct supervisor, that even really spoke up for me.
00:18:52.638 –> 00:19:20.018
GABRIELLE: I also noticed that a lot of the times within these companies, there’s training budgets, there’s L&D budgets, and making this up, the marketing team or the finance team, they would go on maybe a day off site, the whole team, and they would have a team retreat or a team learning thing, or they would be allowed to go to a conference and learn something, could be a payroll thing or some kind of marketing thing.
00:19:20.018 –> 00:19:21.858
GABRIELLE: But EA’s never did it.
00:19:22.358 –> 00:19:28.698
GABRIELLE: There were no conferences, or even if there was a training, you’d be like, we’re not spending money on that.
00:19:28.778 –> 00:19:42.598
GABRIELLE: It always seemed like they were pushed to the side, and there was nobody advocated for them, and there really were no trainings, one even dedicated to them, and if we found something, the money could be used better somewhere else.
00:19:42.598 –> 00:19:48.618
GABRIELLE: The L&D and training money didn’t go to them, and they sometimes, not always, depending on the company, they weren’t really part of department.
00:19:48.618 –> 00:19:52.658
GABRIELLE: Maybe you were the marketing EA, but you weren’t part of the marketing department.
00:19:52.658 –> 00:19:58.338
GABRIELLE: Sometimes the EAs were part of their own group, and so there was an administration department, whatever it may be.
00:19:58.338 –> 00:20:02.418
GABRIELLE: And it always frustrated me because a lot of EAs felt like they were stuck.
00:20:02.418 –> 00:20:06.018
GABRIELLE: Once you got to a certain level, if you were an EA to the CEO, where do you go next?
00:20:06.018 –> 00:20:07.118
GABRIELLE: You’re done.
00:20:07.118 –> 00:20:12.598
GABRIELLE: There’s nowhere else in the company unless you wanted to not be an EA anymore, and then go do something else.
00:20:12.598 –> 00:20:17.578
GABRIELLE: And these were a lot of thoughts that when I spoke to EAs, they all felt the same way too.
00:20:17.698 –> 00:20:20.418
GABRIELLE: I’m at this pinnacle, and now I’m done.
00:20:20.418 –> 00:20:20.798
GABRIELLE: What?
00:20:21.078 –> 00:20:24.338
GABRIELLE: Do I become a Chief of Staff, but I don’t really want to be a Chief of Staff?
00:20:24.338 –> 00:20:26.078
GABRIELLE: That’s a totally different job?
00:20:26.078 –> 00:20:30.538
GABRIELLE: Do I have to be a project manager now because that’s kind of the only realm of an EA?
00:20:30.538 –> 00:20:33.518
GABRIELLE: Or I’m done now, and that’s it.
00:20:33.518 –> 00:20:41.318
GABRIELLE: And I’ve also seen where a lot of EAs are, if their boss leaves the company or something happens, sometimes they’re out of a job.
00:20:41.318 –> 00:20:43.278
GABRIELLE: They’re linked to that person.
00:20:43.278 –> 00:20:45.778
GABRIELLE: Someone who takes over their job, had their own EA comes.
00:20:46.118 –> 00:20:53.778
GABRIELLE: But so a lot of times, they’re not their own person, or they’re just this extra body in the company, and there was no one there for them.
00:20:53.778 –> 00:20:56.298
GABRIELLE: And it happened with me.
00:20:56.298 –> 00:21:07.178
GABRIELLE: I’ve had almost, I think it was three or four times in my career, where my C-suite exec moved on, and I was just gone because, what now?
00:21:07.218 –> 00:21:14.158
GABRIELLE: They’re eliminating his position, so bye, because there’s no open EA, but something like that.
00:21:14.158 –> 00:21:22.958
GABRIELLE: And so as I got older, and I got my voice, and I started speaking up, sometimes it wasn’t accepted as much.
00:21:22.958 –> 00:21:24.358
GABRIELLE: I could be brash.
00:21:25.458 –> 00:21:32.718
GABRIELLE: I started seeing some of the younger EAs come in, and feeling like a big sister to them, and saying, this isn’t acceptable.
00:21:32.718 –> 00:21:34.118
GABRIELLE: I was seeing what was happening.
00:21:34.758 –> 00:21:41.818
GABRIELLE: And I would kind of, I don’t want to use the word mentor, but kind of feel like I was mentoring them, and saying, don’t let this happen to you.
00:21:41.818 –> 00:21:42.878
GABRIELLE: Speak up now.
00:21:42.878 –> 00:21:49.218
GABRIELLE: Don’t get into this position where I feel like I’m stuck now, but you can make these moves quicker.
00:21:50.598 –> 00:21:53.518
GABRIELLE: And I saw some changes.
00:21:53.518 –> 00:22:02.018
GABRIELLE: And then I got involved with the Admin Awards, which was a huge recognition for admins and help advocating for them.
00:22:03.998 –> 00:22:11.458
GABRIELLE: And when I first got involved with them, I was very, I guess the word’s queasy about it.
00:22:11.458 –> 00:22:18.298
GABRIELLE: Admin, they don’t want to ask their bosses for a letter of recommendation, any money, can you do this for me?
00:22:18.298 –> 00:22:23.258
GABRIELLE: Because half the time, we end up doing the thing anyway.
00:22:23.258 –> 00:22:24.818
GABRIELLE: We write the letter of recommendation.
00:22:24.818 –> 00:22:27.198
GABRIELLE: I have to write my own thing about me.
00:22:27.198 –> 00:22:28.018
GABRIELLE: I have to do this.
00:22:28.018 –> 00:22:29.698
GABRIELLE: So it was weird.
00:22:30.818 –> 00:22:34.578
GABRIELLE: But I had a great relationship with my boss at the time.
00:22:34.578 –> 00:22:37.618
GABRIELLE: This was that same company where I said he thought Unicorn Tadis.
00:22:37.618 –> 00:22:43.038
GABRIELLE: And I said to him, hey, I want to ask you two things and pick one.
00:22:43.038 –> 00:22:48.078
GABRIELLE: And it was kind of a, you know, I didn’t know how to do it.
00:22:48.078 –> 00:22:51.958
GABRIELLE: So I figured if I gave him two options, maybe he’ll pick one of them.
00:22:51.958 –> 00:22:53.258
GABRIELLE: And they were both for me.
00:22:53.258 –> 00:22:54.638
GABRIELLE: So it was kind of like a weird thing.
00:22:54.638 –> 00:23:13.878
GABRIELLE: And I said, hey, can you either write me this nomination and do this thing because I was nominated or, and at the time I was sitting on a charity, and he knew, like, I was very philanthropic and doing things, would you and or the company donate to my charity and putting on this event?
00:23:13.878 –> 00:23:16.678
GABRIELLE: So do you want to give me money personally or would you write this?
00:23:16.678 –> 00:23:19.638
GABRIELLE: And he was like, well, which would you rather?
00:23:19.638 –> 00:23:23.118
GABRIELLE: And I was like, and I was very honest with him.
00:23:23.118 –> 00:23:25.878
GABRIELLE: I was like, well, I hate asking for things myself.
00:23:25.878 –> 00:23:27.978
GABRIELLE: So I’d honestly rather you donate to the charity.
00:23:28.958 –> 00:23:30.078
GABRIELLE: And that’s what I said.
00:23:30.078 –> 00:23:32.498
GABRIELLE: And he was like, you know what?
00:23:32.498 –> 00:23:35.038
GABRIELLE: I think I’m going to do the nomination.
00:23:35.038 –> 00:23:38.638
GABRIELLE: And I think the company will still dominate to the charity.
00:23:38.638 –> 00:23:39.618
GABRIELLE: And he was so nice about it.
00:23:39.618 –> 00:23:41.098
GABRIELLE: I was actually shocked that he did both.
00:23:41.098 –> 00:23:45.058
GABRIELLE: And in hindsight, it was like, both things were really no big deal.
00:23:45.058 –> 00:23:45.398
JEREMY: Right.
00:23:45.398 –> 00:23:48.498
GABRIELLE: Like I wasn’t asking him to donate a million dollars.
00:23:48.498 –> 00:23:50.758
GABRIELLE: You know, I was asking him for something little.
00:23:50.758 –> 00:23:54.838
GABRIELLE: And he wrote the nomination, which I had never seen.
00:23:54.838 –> 00:23:56.898
GABRIELLE: And I ended up being nominated.
00:23:56.958 –> 00:23:58.978
GABRIELLE: I became fine as I didn’t win, which was fine.
00:23:58.978 –> 00:24:07.038
GABRIELLE: But the act of doing all that gave me so much confidence as an EA and just a person.
00:24:07.038 –> 00:24:11.538
GABRIELLE: And he gave me this voice to say to admins, don’t be scared to do this.
00:24:11.538 –> 00:24:12.158
GABRIELLE: Don’t do that.
00:24:12.158 –> 00:24:15.338
GABRIELLE: Yeah, some executives might say no.
00:24:15.338 –> 00:24:16.038
GABRIELLE: You might be scared.
00:24:16.038 –> 00:24:26.938
GABRIELLE: But if you are a good admin and you have that relationship with your boss, one, if you’re scared to ask them, you are not working for the right person.
00:24:26.938 –> 00:24:38.098
GABRIELLE: If you don’t have a good enough relationship where you can’t even simply ask for a recommendation, you’re not in the right workplace, and that is not a good work environment for you.
00:24:38.098 –> 00:24:43.878
GABRIELLE: And the worst end, it’s not, the worst that can happen is they’re going to say no.
00:24:43.878 –> 00:24:46.338
GABRIELLE: And you have to work on your relationship with your boss.
00:24:46.338 –> 00:24:52.478
GABRIELLE: I always say working with someone as an EA, I mean, that is one of the closest relationships.
00:24:52.478 –> 00:24:55.878
GABRIELLE: I know their families, I know their kids, I know you’re social, I could steal your whole identity.
00:24:55.878 –> 00:24:58.438
GABRIELLE: Like, I know everything about you.
00:24:58.438 –> 00:25:01.398
GABRIELLE: You should, for the most part, know almost everything about me.
00:25:01.398 –> 00:25:04.058
GABRIELLE: It’s one of those closest relationships.
00:25:04.058 –> 00:25:07.378
GABRIELLE: I know some of my execs closer than my sister or my parents.
00:25:07.378 –> 00:25:09.498
GABRIELLE: Like, I know they’re ins and outs.
00:25:09.498 –> 00:25:18.218
GABRIELLE: So if you can’t be that vulnerable to ask them one question, there’s something a little wrong with that relationship there.
00:25:18.218 –> 00:25:22.418
GABRIELLE: Again, you may not want to ask me in your first three months of working with them, but I mean, as you get comfortable with them.
00:25:22.838 –> 00:25:35.378
GABRIELLE: And so since then, I’ve just been advocating, I’ve been working with the Admin Awards, and some of my dear friends who I know are a little scared and timid, I’ve seen them come out of their shell.
00:25:35.378 –> 00:25:50.058
GABRIELLE: Some of them, I got into the Admin Awards, we’ve nominated them, and just to see them kind of stand up and be that person and see them change as admins, they become better admins, better workers, and more of this community, I think is amazing.
00:25:50.058 –> 00:25:51.398
JEREMY: That’s awesome.
00:25:51.398 –> 00:25:51.858
JEREMY: That’s great.
00:25:51.958 –> 00:26:04.778
JEREMY: Yeah, and I think that even your point about asking and then them saying no, I think even the act of putting yourself out there and asking can give you confidence.
00:26:04.998 –> 00:26:05.938
GABRIELLE: Oh, yeah.
00:26:05.998 –> 00:26:07.678
GABRIELLE: The scary part is the unknown, right?
00:26:07.718 –> 00:26:13.098
GABRIELLE: There’s so many things I’m scared of, and once I do it, I’m like, oh, that wasn’t that big, but it’s the anxiety.
00:26:13.158 –> 00:26:15.158
JEREMY: Exactly.
00:26:15.158 –> 00:26:16.058
JEREMY: Cool.
00:26:16.058 –> 00:26:29.138
JEREMY: Well, what is maybe one of your favorite parts about the assistant role in your career?
00:26:29.138 –> 00:26:41.198
JEREMY: Maybe one of your favorite tasks that you’ve accomplished or just a general element to your career in working as an assistant.
00:26:41.618 –> 00:26:45.478
JEREMY: What’s maybe your favorite thing that you’ve done or your favorite aspect of it?
00:26:45.478 –> 00:26:46.098
GABRIELLE: Let’s see.
00:26:46.538 –> 00:26:53.238
GABRIELLE: I don’t know a specific task, but for me, maybe a lot of you see this.
00:26:53.238 –> 00:27:05.498
GABRIELLE: I’m a little OCD crazy, but for me, even in my personal life, like I make to-do lists, what do I got to do this weekend, my errands, my this, I love crossing off my lists.
00:27:06.098 –> 00:27:22.938
GABRIELLE: As an EA, I constantly have a list like 20 things right here, and there’s constantly more come, but I love just crossing off, and I still use paper and pen.
00:27:22.938 –> 00:27:39.618
GABRIELLE: I know there’s monday.com and all these things that you can electronically use, which I have, but I double it up and I do it on paper and pen, because I love crossing off when I do things, and at this level of support that I’m providing, there’s just like a million things to do every day.
00:27:39.618 –> 00:27:43.138
GABRIELLE: And so my lists are crazy long, but I love crossing it off.
00:27:43.138 –> 00:27:46.958
GABRIELLE: And I know I get such satisfaction out of that.
00:27:46.958 –> 00:27:48.598
GABRIELLE: I know it sounds very nerdy, but-
00:27:48.598 –> 00:27:52.218
JEREMY: No, I’m married to a list person, so I get it.
00:27:52.218 –> 00:27:54.398
JEREMY: I get it.
00:27:54.398 –> 00:27:56.718
GABRIELLE: But do you get getting those lists from her?
00:27:56.718 –> 00:27:59.718
JEREMY: Well, yeah, I’m like, I don’t want to write lists.
00:27:59.718 –> 00:28:02.178
JEREMY: I just want to do the work and not put it on a list.
00:28:03.998 –> 00:28:09.958
GABRIELLE: See, but I’m also visual, so I have to see everything I have and then know what’s most important, right?
00:28:09.958 –> 00:28:10.898
GABRIELLE: Not everything’s urgent.
00:28:10.898 –> 00:28:12.278
GABRIELLE: People say it is.
00:28:12.458 –> 00:28:19.958
GABRIELLE: So then other things get added, so I have to switch it up in the line of where it goes, so that not everything can get done in a day, right?
00:28:19.958 –> 00:28:22.778
GABRIELLE: So you got to figure out when to do it.
00:28:22.778 –> 00:28:23.998
JEREMY: Awesome.
00:28:23.998 –> 00:28:26.738
JEREMY: Well, Gabrielle, thank you so much for being on the show.
00:28:26.738 –> 00:28:40.998
JEREMY: To wrap things up, what is the best place or where is the best place for people to reach out to you if they want to learn more about your agency or your training and all that jazz?
00:28:40.998 –> 00:28:42.578
JEREMY: What’s the best place for people to find you?
00:28:42.578 –> 00:28:42.678
GABRIELLE: Yeah.
00:28:42.678 –> 00:28:53.018
GABRIELLE: So I think the quickest and easiest is always LinkedIn, Gabrielle Waxenberg, and I have LinkedIn for the Waxenberg agency, and obviously for work.
00:28:53.018 –> 00:28:54.978
GABRIELLE: From there, you can get all my works up.
00:28:54.978 –> 00:29:04.578
GABRIELLE: I have public, so everyone, when you hit the contact info, you can see my work e-mail and all my socials, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, just The Waxenberg Agency.
00:29:04.578 –> 00:29:06.478
GABRIELLE: You can find them everywhere.
00:29:06.478 –> 00:29:13.638
GABRIELLE: Then from there, you can get to my e-mail on my website, which is The Waxenberg Agency, and contact me in any way.
00:29:13.638 –> 00:29:13.978
JEREMY: Perfect.
00:29:13.978 –> 00:29:18.018
JEREMY: Well, I will put the links in the show notes for sure at leaderassistant.com/316.
00:29:20.178 –> 00:29:36.258
JEREMY: Thank you so much again for being on the show, and congrats on a great career as an EA and as a business owner now, and thanks for the work that you’re doing to recognize and empower assistance of the world.
00:29:36.258 –> 00:29:37.338
GABRIELLE: Thank you so much for having me.
00:29:37.338 –> 00:29:38.178
GABRIELLE: I really appreciate it.
00:29:48.534 –> 00:29:57.174
<v SPEAKER_3>Let’s review on Apple Podcasts.
00:29:57.174 –> 00:30:10.230
JEREMY: GoBullos.com Hey friends, my best-selling book The Leader Assistant has a companion study and discussion guide to go along with it.
00:30:10.230 –> 00:30:12.910
JEREMY: It’s called The Leader Assistant Workbook.
00:30:12.910 –> 00:30:25.930
JEREMY: Now you can buy the Kindle ebook version of The Leader Assistant Workbook on Amazon, or you can go to leaderassistantbook.com and get a printable PDF version of the workbook.
00:30:26.530 –> 00:30:35.130
JEREMY: This version has all the space and margin in between the questions that you can write your own answers and take notes with.
00:30:35.130 –> 00:30:42.570
JEREMY: So it’s a great way to print it out and keep track of your discussion and study guide notes.
00:30:42.570 –> 00:30:48.730
JEREMY: Again, go to leaderassistantbook.com and click on Workbook to check out The Leader Assistant Workbook.
