What Sets Freedom Makers Apart
Laura Renner • August 24, 2020
Freedom Makers was born in 2015 after I had been running a recruiting business for two years. I noticed many small business owners were not ready to commit to having an employee, even part time. Revenue fluctuations were often too unpredictable and there was a reluctance to take on the responsibility for managing someone else. They wanted and needed help, just not full time help.
Meanwhile, due to my experience in the military, I knew there was an under-tapped resource of talent in the military spouse community. I would look around during my active duty time and see spouses that had an awesome work experience and strong education but were limited due to duty stations and constant moves.
I had no idea the journey I was embarking on when I formed Freedom Makers and I am incredibly grateful and proud for what we have built. The company has grown to a company of 4 employees and over 130 Freedom Maker virtual assistants all over the world! We have so much more to go for sure, but we have built a solid foundation.
What Sets Freedom Makers Apart?
In one glance, that seems obvious.
We hire military spouses!
Yet it was not obvious at the time. You see, in the military, we do not see ourselves as special. We are one of many, part of one team, one fight. It did not even occur to me to tell any potential clients about this facet.
But in the business world, we are “unique.” I still had not come to grips with that when I came up with the idea of Freedom Makers. Luckily, some friends quickly educated me on how our story needed to be front and center. People want to support the military and their families, hiring a Freedom Maker is one way to do that. The military connection denotes a legacy of loyalty and preciseness. Military spouses are part of that legacy and represent those qualities to our clients.
What Really Sets Us Apart?
Freedom Makers is more than who we hire, though that is a big part of it! From the beginning, we have focused on what the next step will be. And as we take one step, the next step(s) becomes clearer.
- Guiding Principles
We started with one guiding principle: Freedom. That meant
no minimum hours
for
clients and that Freedom Makers get to choose what types of work they want to do. We know how important it is to know how much a virtual assistant is going to cost. We help make it affordable with prices that fit your budget.
As we grew, we added two more guiding principles: Strive for Excellence and
Transparency.
These three guiding principles truly guide us when we are facing decisions ranging from daily operations to major initiatives. It is part of our foundation. They align with what people think of with the military. We expect our Freedom Makers to strive for excellence in everything they do for our clients. Starting from the initial client conversation, our FMs are expected to act professionally and honestly. We care so much about these guiding principles that we have an employee dedicated to ensuring them. Our Success Manager, Wilma Till, communicates with our Freedom Makers and clients continually to ensure they are receiving the excellent service we promise.
- Screening Process
We involve the business owner with the screening process. After all, they know best the kind of person they work well with. Getting to choose the best-fit person for them has led to more satisfied working relationships. We will vet FMs for them but they have the opportunity to engage with them in a conversation, helping to solidify their choice.
- Success Manager
Once a client starts with their Freedom Maker, they are not on their own. Our Success Managers works to ensure the relationship gets off to a strong start and is there to help it get stronger over time. When business owners find their stress relieved and military spouses find fulfilling work, we consider that a success and only want that relationship to grow stronger.
Each quarter, the Core Team meets to discuss what we thought went well and what we think we need to improve upon. From there, we determine the initiatives we want to accomplish during the following quarter. This helps us to prioritize and to make visible progress. For instance, we are currently rolling out a custom time tracking and billing system that greatly improves the Freedom Maker and client experience.
This constant focus on improving where and when we can may indeed be our greatest strength. Right now Freedom Makers is growing more than ever and we are proud to help military spouses find meaningful work and help clients find help with their businesses.
I am excited to see where the journey takes us next!
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