Celebrating 5 Years of Abby at Virtual Gurus

From client success to leadership—five years ago, Abby Belin walked through the doors at Virtual Gurus as a Client Success Manager. Today, she’s our VP of Revenue Operations, one of the driving forces behind how we serve clients and support VAs. From the start, people knew Abby was different. “You’re going to love Abby,” was the first thing we hear about her, and it turned out to be true for everyone who’s worked with her.

Abby is sharp, empathetic, and unapologetically herself. She brings both analytical depth and authentic leadership that make people around her better. In this article, we’re sharing Abby’s journey: how she turned her career around at a low point, the lessons she’s passed on to others, her best advice for clients and virtual assistants, the tools she swears by, and the ripple effect she’s created in our community.

“It’s been my privilege to work with Abby for the last five years and watch her growth firsthand. Abby has an incredibly sharp analytical mind and a natural curiosity that pushes her to dig deep into data. She never shies away from a challenge and always steps up when something needs to be figured out. She is an invaluable teammate who makes everyone around her better.”
— Rob, CTO

Finding Belonging at Virtual Gurus

When Abby joined Virtual Gurus in 2020, the company was only seven people in a co-working space.

Personally, she was at a low point. “I had just graduated with a math degree and thought things would get easier, but they didn’t. My first job paid me so little that I was worse off than I’d been on EI. It felt like one discouraging event after another.”

Then she met founder Bobbie Racette. Abby considered applying as a virtual assistant, but Bobbie encouraged her to join the head office instead. Within weeks, she started as a Client Success Manager. “It instantly felt like family. Within a month, I’d turned my life around.”

Abby discovered something she had never experienced at work before: true belonging. In previous jobs, she had been told to grow her hair out, wear a dress, be more “feminine,” or that she didn’t look professional enough. She had even lost opportunities because of it. Here, the rules were simple: come as you are.

“For the first time, I could stop pretending to be someone else at work and put all my energy into the work itself.” — Abby

Discovering Growth and Purpose

Abby admits she started out Googling terms like “churn” in meetings, worried she wasn’t keeping up. Five years later, she’s the one driving churn analysis and strategy at VG. “It’s amazing what you can learn when you set your mind to it.” She also discovered a deeper purpose: helping others break through the barriers she once faced.

“I get my motivation from what VAs tell me, how VG changed their lives. Here, people can balance family and work, show up as themselves, and be valued for who they are. That’s what makes this community so powerful.” — Abby

Abby with Bobbie at the Virtual Gurus Holiday Party 2024

Abby’s Best Advice

For new clients:

• Invest early: train your VA, give feedback, and communicate openly.

• Remember, you’re not just hiring an assistant; you’ve got a whole support team behind you.

• Celebrate what’s working, and speak up if something isn’t. The clients who lean in see the biggest returns.

For new virtual assistants:

• Be honest about your skills; trust grows faster than exaggeration.

• Stay proactive: anticipate needs and reduce stress for clients.

• Keep learning and evolving; the more efficient you are, the more opportunities open up.

• Most importantly, have fun and be yourself. That’s how you’ll do your best work.

The Tools Abby Swears By

As VP of Revenue Operations, Abby lives in data. Here are some if her day-to-day tools.

• Google Workspace remains her foundation. “Google Sheets is still my core skillset, it’s where I slice, test, and analyze quickly. But eventually my datasets grew so large they started crashing my computer.”
• HubSpot, Talentplace, and other data sources form the backbone of my work and where out data comes from.
• Ralph—AI assistant helps to automate data aggregation, restructure messy sources, and unlock analytics not possible with formulas alone.

“The beauty of Ralph is that it writes the code, and I focus on validating the output and finding insights. Instead of spending hours wrangling data into shape, I spend that time on what matters, finding insights and making decisions.”

Why We Love Abby 

For her birthday, the team surprised Abby with a life-sized Ryan Reynolds cutout, an inside joke that’s become a reminder of the joy she brings to the office.

But her impact goes deeper. Director of Client Success, Kaitlin Gibson, puts it best: “Abby hired me when I was at my lowest, interviewing from my car during COVID after losing two jobs. She saw my potential, became my mentor, and helped me grow into leading the CS team. She changed my life.” That’s Abby’s legacy: when she thrives, others thrive too.

Abby with a life-size cut-out  of her Ryan Reynolds gifted by the Virtual Gurus team to show our appreciation.

Meet Larry

No story about Abby is complete without mentioning her beloved pooch Larry, who came into her life after a difficult back surgery. “Larry is the kind of dog everyone gravitates toward. He loves kids, is obsessed with treats, and has favourites at the office (usually the people who spoil him most).

The funny thing is, for such a big, intimidating-looking dog, he’s scared of his own shadow. He’ll literally jump at the smallest thing. He’s equal parts playful puppy and grumpy old man, which makes him such a character.”

Abby with her trusted pooch Larry.

Smarter Support for Your Business

Abby’s story shows what happens when people are empowered, they unlock growth for themselves, their teammates, and the clients they serve. At Virtual Gurus, we help businesses grow through skilled North American Virtual Assistants and conversational AI Virtual Receptionist that never misses a message.

From bookkeeping, inbox and calendar management, customer support, and marketing assistance to 24/7 call coverage, we make sure your business runs smoothly, so you can focus on what matters most: growing it.

👉 Ready to work smarter, not harder? Book a consult with our team today.