Meet Your Summit Hosts

Sam Browne

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Sam is the founder of the Virtual Assistant Network of New Zealand, the professional association of VAs in NZ and the go-to resource for NZ business owners to easily find their match made in VA heaven.

Together with business partner Jo, they've taken the airwaves by storm with the go-to podcast for aspiring and established VAs – The Sam + Jo VA Show!

A creative thinking, rule breaker Sam loves empowering Virtual Assistants to embrace their uniqueness to shape and scale successful businesses.

Jo Jensen

With a passion for empowering women on their virtual assistant business journeys, Jo founded The VA Foundry after growing her virtual assistant agency, Strictly Savvy^®.  

Having supported over 350 businesses, Jo knows a thing or two about bringing on clients and running a team. Her agency has over 25 team members and the business now runs without her. She has created a life that gives her the ultimate in freedom, control and flexibility. 

Meet The 2024 Speaker Line Up

Erika Cramer

International keynote speaker, The Queen of Confidence

Keynote: Show Up Stand Up Speak Up - Kiss Impostor Syndrome Goodbye And Take Your Space.

Erika Cramer, also known as The Queen of Confidence, is a confidence coach, international speaker, podcast host, and author, empowering women worldwide to reclaim their confidence and transform their lives.

Throughout the session, Erika will share practical strategies and insights derived from her experience as a confidence coach, international speaker, and author. Attendees will learn how to navigate through self-doubt, silence their inner critic, and step into their power with confidence.

It’s time to own who you are and stand out from the crowd.

Session Time: Tuesday 12th March at 9.15am NZDT

Tyron Noble

Graphic and Digital Designer, Rocketspark

Common Web Design Mistakes And How To Fix Them

Tyron is a seasoned web designer with a flair for crafting engaging websites. He's here to share his expertise on avoiding common design pitfalls that affect user engagement.

In his session, Tyron will highlight the key differences between web and print design, focusing on capturing and retaining visitor attention. Expect practical insights on design principles, text hierarchy, consistency, calls to action, and the effective use of imagery.

Join us for a session filled with valuable tips to refine your web design skills. See you there!

Session Time: Tuesday 12th March at 10.00am NZDT

Cathy Sheppard

International Speaker, Trainer, Mentor and Coach, BSI People Skills

The Power of Understanding Emotions at Work: Introducing the Emotional Culture Deck

In this dynamic world of hybrid workplaces, virtual assistants like you play a key role in navigating the emotions of your team and clients. 'The Power of Understanding Emotions at Work' introduces you to the Emotional Culture Deck, a practical tool designed to level up your emotional intelligence.

In this engaging session, you'll explore realistic strategies for recognising emotional cues, building empathetic connections, and fostering a harmonious atmosphere in both team and client interactions. Learn how the Emotional Culture Deck can help you become more emotionally attuned and impactful, making meaningful improvements in the way you interact and lead in the modern workplace.

Join us to gently elevate your approach to emotional intelligence, and see how these newfound insights can positively influence your everyday interactions. Let's take a step towards creating more understanding and effective virtual workspaces together!

Session Time: Tuesday 12th March at 11.30 am NZDT

Lynda Moore

Money Mentor & Coach, Money Mentalist

How To Build Your Abundance Mindset Muscle

Unless you truly believe that you can be wealthy, you won’t get there... understanding your money mindset is a crucial part of your success in life and business. The stories that we tell ourselves about money are often hidden at a subconscious level. 

In this session, I am going to explore with you, where your money mindset comes from, how it's impacting every decision that you make, why we self-sabotage when we hit our money ceiling and how we can become masters of our money mindset and grow not only ourselves but our bank accounts as well.

Session Time: Tuesday 12th March at 1.00pm NZDT

Hayden Burgess

Creative Coach + Mentor, pitchr. Creative

Four Mindset Shifts, Four Stages: How To Sell VA Services Confidently for More.

In this session I’m going to demystify the sales process for you. I’m going to share with you the four mindset shifts you need to make that will completely change the way you sell.

If you don’t have these you may find yourself pandering to bad clients, dropping your price, signing up for major headaches and or being treated like a ‘pair of hands’ and not a professional.

These are also four mistakes you might be making on the sales call that is meaning you are losing ‘marginal sales’ you could have otherwise signed.

Then we’re gonna switch it up and I’m going to show you our four stage sales process to turn prospects into customers easily without being pushy, salesy or feeling grubby - you just need to follow our process and be you.

PS: Some of our clients have used this same process to sell five and six figure yearly retainers and double/triple their one off project fees (for real).

Session Time: Wednesday 13th March at 10.00 am NZDT

Sarah Wood

Business and Wellbeing Coach, SarahWoodCoaching.com

Becoming Burnout Proof

Being an online service provider can feel overwhelming! How do you balance the need for a healthy influx of client work with your own needs for sleep, rest, movement, good nutrition, quality social connection and heck, even hobbies?!

This session will help you understand what burnout is, how to recognise it early and how chronic stress and burnout negatively impact your productivity and performance.

Sarah will empower you to see self-care as a smart business strategy so you can finally break free of the hustle and grind and thrive in business and life.

Session Time: Wednesday 13th March at 11.30am NZDT

Brigit Esselmont 

Business Strategist & Mentor, Biddy Tarot

How to Use Intuition to Grow Your VA Business

In this interactive session, Intuitive Entrepreneur and Founder of Biddy Tarot, Brigit Esselmont, will show you how to tap into your entrepreneurial super-power - your intuition - to rapidly transform and grow your business.

During this session you'll discover simple techniques to access your inner wisdom, align your goals to your highest good and energetically attract the people you are here to serve.

No psychic abilities or crystal balls required!

Session Time: Wednesday 13th March at 1pm NZST

Courtney Haines

Communications Consultant & Brand Designer, CourtneyHainesOfficial.com

Finding Your Voice: Empowering Virtual Assistants with Authentic Brand Communication

In this interactive and insightful keynote, Courtney Haines, a seasoned Communications Consultant and Brand Designer, will delve into the art of building and nurturing a professional brand voice. Her presentation is tailored to address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by Virtual Assistants in the digital era.

In a world where online presence is paramount, Virtual Assistants often find themselves at the forefront of brand representation and customer engagement. Courtney's keynote will explore practical strategies for Virtual Assistants to establish a distinct and authentic brand voice that resonates with their target audience and aligns with their professional ethos. Attendees will discover how to:

• Craft a Unique Personal Brand: Learn the key elements of creating a personal brand that reflects your professional identity and values.
• Enhance Communication Skills: Gain insights into effective business communication techniques that enhance client relationships and business growth.
• Engage and Connect: Understand how to engage clients and audiences through compelling storytelling and authentic interactions

Session Time: Thursday 14th March at 10.00 am NZDT

Jessica Clark 

AI Strategist, Jessclark.com.au

AI Content Magic

Step into the world of AI Content Magic, where we're teaming up with the smartest robot around to make content creation a breeze. Think of it as having a super-smart friend who's always there to bounce ideas off, ready to help you whip up amazing content in no time. This session is all about making your life easier and your content better, with a little AI magic.

We'll kick things off with a quick intro to ChatGPT, where I'll share some of the cool stuff I've been able to create with AI, and the successes my clients are seeing by keeping it simple and smart. Then, we're going back to basics – picking the right ChatGPT version, getting your account ready, and showing you how to find your way around without a hitch.

But here's where it gets really good. I'll break down how to craft the perfect prompt so you can get exactly what you need from ChatGPT, fast. And because I'm all about keeping it real, I'll take you behind the scenes and show you how I use ChatGPT in real-time.

Got something you want to create? Throw it my way during the session, and I'll show you how I'd tackle it.

Join me for AI Content Magic, and let's make content creation fun, fast, and fabulous with a little help from our AI buddy. It's all about getting creative, saving time, and still smashing out content that hits the mark every time.

Session Time: Thursday 14th March at 11.30am NZDT

Frida Kabo

Sensitive Success Coach, FridaKabo.com

Making Sensitivity Your Superpower - How To Thrive In a World That Overwhelms You

In this session, we will talk about what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and how we can use that knowledge to support ourselves better and thrive in a sometimes overwhelming world.

HSP is an innate personality trait with over 20-30% of the population. So this conversation will be helpful whether that is you or someone you know. Chances are that the percentage is higher in this summit as we often are looking for another way of living that works better for us.

We will also explore how we can use our sensitivity as our superpower and create success in a way that works for us. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the session!

Session Time: Thursday 14th March at 1pm NZDT

Upgrade Your Ticket To An All Access Pass and Get Access To These Pre-recorded Bonus Sessions

Eman Ismail

Email Strategist, Eman Copy Co

How To Do Email Successfully In 2024 (Reacting To Google & Yahoo's Deliverability Updates)

On 1st February, Google and Yahoo made their biggest updates to email in 20 years. These changes are impacting small businesses all over the world, and it means we need to change the way we do email marketing.

In this talk, Eman Ismail – email strategist and copywriter – shares what your new email strategy should look like so you're not negatively impacted by these new changes. And so you can continue to use email marketing to sell your products and services in 2024.

BONUS SESSION - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!

Clare Drake

Pinterest Manager and Business Coach, Clare Drake Coaching

How VAs Can Use Pinterest To Get More Leads In Just 1 Hour A Week

In this session, Clare will show you how you can use Pinterest to get more leads to your VA business in as little as 1 hour a week.

She will show you the foundations of Pinterest, how to use it effectively to get results quickly, as well as how to grow your email list using Pinterest.

BONUS SESSION - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!

Kate Merryweather

LinkedIn Coach, KateMerryweather.com.au

Attract Clients By Standing Out On LinkedIn

With so many VAs as competitors, how can you stand out and attract the right clients to you? Use LinkedIn! It's a goldmine full of people with money and you can use it to show off your expertise and have clients coming to you, begging to work with you.
In this session, I'll show you how to use LinkedIn in a non-boring way that makes you more visible, more valuable and more profitable, leading to more followers, more fans, more leads and more buyers.

You'll learn how your profile, connections and content work together to create a perfect storm of interest on LinkedIn. And you'll get action-takey strategies you can implement right away to make your LinkedIn efforts far more rewarding.
You're sure to finish the session with a newfound love for LinkedIn and the power it can give you to grow your businesss and thrive -- even in a competitive market.

BONUS SESSION - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!

Sam Browne + Jo Jensen

Virtual Assistant Coaches, The VA Foundry

Session 1: Finding Your Fit: Discovering Your Perfect VA Pathway

Sub contractor, freelancer or agency owner?

This session will help you align your unique skills, strengths and personality style with the most suitable VA pathway, ensuring you embark on a journey destined for success.

Session 2: Ready, Set, Scale: Prepping Your VA Business for Next-Level Success

In this session, you'll learn how to identify the right time for growth, understand your options, and avoid the pitfalls of scaling too fast.

Put an end to chaos and frustration, it's time to get strategic. We'll provide you with the exact steps to take to scale successfully.

BONUS SESSIONS - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!

Dalene Breytenbach

Education Specialist, Thankyou Payroll

Session 1: Avoid the 3 Common Payroll User Mistakes! (30 minutes)

Imagine knowing ahead of ways to simplify your payroll so you can avoid common payroll trip-ups.

As a payroll centrepoint for over 7000 small businesses, these 3 mistakes sit at the top of our list in what we see with users.

Luckily our Support Crew can help clients untangle their mistakes, but what a relief and time saver if these mistakes don't occur in the first place.

As the saying goes, 'Knowledge is Power', and in this case knowledge also reduces serious frown lines.

BONUS SESSIONS - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!

Alick Draper

Head of Customer, Thankyou Payroll 

Session 2: Purpose And Profit: You Can Have It All

Many businesses have a vision of IMPACT but fall short in knowing how to effectively embed this into their day to day business activity and without it affecting profitability.

Sharing your IMPACT story can be an effective influence with your consumers but also employees are increasingly seeking a work environment that is 'doing good' as this reflects a positive workplace culture.

This session gives real examples and actions taken to 'have it all'.

BONUS SESSIONS - ALL ACCESS PASS HOLDERS ONLY!