The Client – Noah Nehlich, Founder/President Structure Studios

Twenty years ago, Noah Nehlich sought to improve lives through 3D experiences. To carry out his vision, he founded Structure Studios, a Las Vegas-based company that develops innovative, intuitive and user-friendly tools and features that make it easy for everyone to design in 3D.

Noah has fulfilled his founding vision by helping people use 3D to share ideas that make a meaningful difference. Many of Structure Studios’ customers are pool and landscape designers, who use the design software to share immersive 3D presentations with their clients.

The Challenge – Remaining Accountable to Priorities

Noah is proud of the system he set up early in his business to grow a strong team. But another system — time management — has required constant optimization. As a business owner, Noah has been challenged to block his time effectively. Calendar blocking is the process of creating blocks or events on your calendar to reserve time for productive activities. 

Like all founders, Noah struggled to focus on his priorities. Noah needed protection from activities he couldn’t do well in order to remain accountable to the work that only he could do, or do well. 

The Solution – Finding the Right-Fit Executive Assistant 

Through the referral of a friend, Noah sought help to find an executive assistant through Priority VA. 

At the start of the relationship, Noah had many concerns. 

Noah felt strongly that he needed an in-person EA. He had never before worked with a remote team member and didn’t think the telecommute model would suit his needs. 

He worried that training his EA would turn into a time debt, that he wouldn’t find enough work for the EA to do and that it would take a long time for the EA to ramp up into his or her role.

These concerns are valid — and common — amongst business owners. 

To address these common pain points, Priority VA mentors both founders and EAs in the partnership to maximize their working relationship. We also work to achieve long-term collaborative fit.

Finding the right “fit” for a business owner is achieved through a rigorous onboarding and vetting process of candidates. Priority VA is also Kolbe Certified and uses the conative assessment to match business owners with the right EA. 

After months of unsuccessful in-person EA matches, Noah heeded the advice to work with a virtual assistant. The partnership was so strong, Noah added his EA to his company roster directly.“Priority VA works hard to achieve the right personality fit. Because they take care in assessing the business owner for whom the EA will be working, they offer carefully chosen candidates while also weeding out people who just don’t want to do the work. Even though not every candidate was a perfect fit, each one had good points. I ultimately found a candidate who fit my needs perfectly,” Noah said. 

The Result – Optimized Time and ‘Opened’ Brain Power

Since finding the right EA, Noah’s expectations for productivity have been met and exceeded.

Shifting work to his EA has allowed Noah to optimize his time, focus on the work he should be doing as a business owner and “open up brain power.” 

“Finding an assistant who not only completes tasks successfully but also enjoys doing so has made it possible for me to take even more off my plate than I had anticipated,” Noah said. 

Noah also praises his EA’s ability to take on additional tasks such as conducting research and pre-travel research, placing complex orders that go beyond simply ordering from a website and helping set appointments — which he loves. 

“It is so much better to set appointments live than to let someone just click an open slot in my calendar,” Noah said.

Doing so has kept Noah’s calendar aligned with his priorities and protected, just as he’d hoped.