The Power of Virtual Assistants in an AI-Driven Business World with Denise Cagan

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Denise Cagan on Using Virtual Assistants to Scale a Small Business in the Age of AI

Denise Cagan runs a virtual business support company that began as a cleaning business and grew into a provider of virtual assistant (VA) services across several industries. In this episode of Your Brand Amplified, she explains to Anika Jackson why virtual assistants can be a better fit than in-house hires for many entrepreneurs. Her main advice: document your processes and develop leaders inside the business so VAs can actually drive growth.

How did Denise Cagan build a virtual assistant business?

Denise Cagan started with a cleaning company. Running that business showed her how much flexible, low-cost support could do for growth, so she rebuilt her model around virtual assistants. That shift let the company grow and serve clients in a range of industries.

She scaled through deliberate networking and uses podcasting to share practical knowledge with small business owners. She also consults on operations and hiring, which gives her a close view of how other companies use support staff.

Are virtual assistants better than in-house employees?

For many entrepreneurs, Denise Cagan argues, virtual assistants offer advantages that in-house employees do not. She points to four:

• Cost savings compared with full-time in-house staff.
• Flexibility to adjust support as workload changes.
• Access to global talent rather than a local hiring pool.
• Scalability as the business grows.

She also shares client stories in which VAs had a measurable effect on growth.

What do businesses need before hiring a VA?

Documented processes come first. Denise Cagan stresses that written processes let a virtual assistant do the work well and consistently. She pairs that with leadership development inside the organization, so someone can direct and support remote team members as the business scales.

Key takeaways

• Denise Cagan grew a cleaning company into a virtual business support provider by building around virtual assistants.
• Strategic networking and podcasting have been central to how she scales and reaches small businesses.
• VAs offer cost savings, flexibility, global talent and scalability compared with in-house hires.
• Documenting processes is the first step to getting value from a VA.
• Developing leaders inside the business keeps VA support effective as the company grows.

Listen to Anika Jackson's full conversation with Denise Cagan on Your Brand Amplified.