"Make Space for More" with Melissa Swink invites you into the world of entrepreneurial transformation, where Melissa shares her remarkable journey from overwhelmed solopreneur to thriving business leader. As the founder and CEO of a virtual assistant services company, Melissa intimately understands the challenges of building and scaling a business.
Join Melissa each week as she unveils the blueprint to success, centered around her signature "Make Space for More" framework. Through practical advice, personal anecdotes, and expert insights, Melissa guides you through the five essential steps to growth and sustainability: defining your CEO role, decluttering your business, implementing efficient systems, building a powerhouse team, and authentically scaling your operations. Whether you're trapped in the cycle of overwork or striving to maximize your business's potential, "Make Space for More" equips you with the tools and mindset shifts needed to thrive in today's competitive landscape.
Subscribe now and embark on a journey towards greater time freedom, profitability, and fulfillment in your entrepreneurial endeavors.
5 Goals a Virtual Assistant Can Help You Achieve
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink discusses five common goals that virtual assistants can help leaders achieve. These goals include increasing revenue, achieving work-life balance, learning new skills, improving health and wellness, and building work relationships. Each goal is explored in-depth, with practical examples of how virtual assistants can provide support, streamline tasks, and ultimately help you reach each goal.
Leveraging Your Team to Create White Space as a CEO
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink discusses the importance of creating “white space” for business owners. This is defined as time to think strategically and innovate, outside of work time and meetings. She shares insights from her own experience and evolution as a business owner, emphasizing the need for delegation and how she uses her team’s support to free up time for higher-level thinking. Melissa also provides examples of tasks that can be handed off to others to enhance productivity and reduce bottlenecks in business operations.
How to Use a Project Management Tool to Organize Your Mind, Team, Business, and Life
A project management tool should be your best friend as a business owner. In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink discusses the importance of using project management tools to organize your business and personal life. She shares practical examples of how project management tools can streamline client tasks, track leads, manage repeatable processes, and even organize personal responsibilities. Tune in for practical tips and plenty of “ah ha” moments to help you better organize and prioritize your business!
3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help You Scale Your Business
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink discusses three key strategies for scaling a service-based business with the help of a virtual assistant (VA). Each of these concepts can be modified if your business sells products. Melissa walks through how to invest strategically in a team, how to turn services into products, ways to replicate successful systems, and how to reach the goal of doubling your revenue. Tune in for actionable insights for business owners looking to grow and scale their organizations.
5 Steps to Declutter Your Business and Reset for 2025
The only way you’re going to make 2025 a better year for your business is if you take an honest look at 2024, assess where you excelled and where you struggled, and identify specific, actionable ways to improve in 2025. This week’s episode will help you do all three of these areas! Tune in to hear practical, tangible steps you can take to declutter your business and reset for 2025.
12 Common To-Dos That You Can Delegate
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink discusses the importance of delegation and outsourcing for a business. She also shares her favorite December tradition, the “12 Days of Christmas,” which is a social media series that highlights popular tasks that are delegated to a virtual team.
The Magic Wand That Will Make Manual Work Disappear
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink discusses the transformative power of automation, AI, and smart systems. She shares practical strategies to save time and enhance efficiency in all areas of a business’ operations, including sales processes, client onboarding, team training, and accounting. By leveraging technology, business owners can streamline their operations, improve client experiences, and ultimately grow their businesses without the burden of manual tasks.
Mastering Time Management with Tackle
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink speaks with Mika Sagindyk, co-founder of Tackle, about the importance of time management and conducting calendar audits. They discuss how Tackle evolved from a simple calendar exporting tool to a comprehensive platform that helps users visualize their time usage.
The #1 Fastest Way to Get Anything Done
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, you’ll learn the #1 way to save precious time as a business owner. Just remove it from your to-do list in the first place! Tune in to listen as Melissa Swink discusses removing unnecessary tasks from your to-do list and provides four specific areas to evaluate. Simplifying your business operations will allow for greater efficiency and alignment in the year ahead.
How Do You Know It’s Time to Bring on a Business Partner?
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink interviewed Heather Herdman, PhD, RN, co-owner of Sweet Willow, an herbal shop and café. Heather shared her journey from nursing to herbalism and entrepreneurship, describing how she and her friends saved a beloved local shop from closing. Learn about the evolution of Sweet Willow, Heather’s thoughtful decision to bring on a business partner, and the importance of community engagement. When it comes to bringing on a business partner, Heather talked about knowing what you want in a partnership and the benefits of having a supportive team.
Practical Tips for Growing and Scaling Your Online Business
Host Melissa Swink interviewed Alina Stansu, founder of The Orange Notebook, about authentic strategies for growing and scaling a business. They discussed Alina’s journey of starting a business during the pandemic, effective lead generation techniques, the importance of building genuine connections, and the lessons she has learned about outsourcing. Alina also spoke about the significance of understanding one's identity in relation to business and shared insights on navigating challenges while maintaining authenticity.
Rethinking Time Management as a CEO
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink shares key takeaways from a recent calendar audit workshop. This led to some surprising insights regarding her role as CEO, and how she SHOULD be spending her time. She also reflects on the benefits of delegating more tasks to her executive assistant, as she strives for better time management and business growth, such as having her EA attend workshops like this one.
3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Provide Operational Support for Your Business
Join Melissa as she discusses the importance of getting support for your business operations, especially if you want to grow. She highlights three key areas a virtual team can help with, ultimately allowing business owners to focus on their visionary roles. Tune in for practical examples and insights into effectively integrating virtual assistants into your business operations for improved efficiency and scalability.
How to Prepare Your Business for the Holiday Season
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa discusses three practical strategies for preparing your business for the holiday season. She emphasizes the importance of setting clear intentions, planning for time off, ensuring operational coverage, and determining your top priorities to finish the year strong. Tune in to learn how to navigate the busy holiday season with balance and joy!
Top 5 AI Tools Our VA Team is Using
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink discusses the integration of AI tools in her business operations, focusing on how they can enhance efficiency. She shares the most common tools her team is using, including the ways she is creating this podcast with AI support.
3 Powerful Conversations to Grow Your Business Now
In this episode of the Make Space for More podcast, host Melissa Swink discusses effective strategies for growing and scaling your business through three specific conversation types. Tune in to hear her personal experiences with these conversations and how they have positively impacted her business.
Strategies for Managing Your Energy as an Entrepreneur
In this very special episode of the Make Space for More podcast, Melissa Swink interviews Jamie G. Smith, a renowned business & lifestyle elevation strategist, speaker, and content creator! The pair discuss strategies for overcoming burnout and achieving authentic business growth. Tune in to learn about the importance of energy management, the impact of past experiences on present success, and the necessity of letting go of control to rise higher.
What Determines the Cost of a Virtual Assistant?
Tune into this week’s episode of the Make Space for More podcast as Melissa Swink discusses the essential factors influencing the cost of hiring virtual assistants (VAs). Learn how to frame your new hire as an investment in the long-term growth of your business rather than just an expense.
How to Streamline Your Email Inbox for Maximum Efficiency
In this episode, Melissa Swink discusses how a virtual assistant (VA) can help manage your inbox. She shares strategies for setting up access to your email, segmenting messages, unsubscribing from newsletters, filing non-response emails, creating templated responses, and having your VA respond on your behalf. She also provides tips for quality checks, such as daily summaries and documented procedures. Delegating inbox management can save time and allow you to focus on more important tasks in your business.
Practical Steps for Hiring Employees
Melissa interviews Kristie about the steps business owners should take when hiring employees. They discussed the importance of job descriptions, screening candidates, and the onboarding process. Kristie emphasizes the need for transparency in the hiring process and recommends involving trusted colleagues during interviews. She also highlights the importance of having standard operating procedures, plus her recommendations around performance reviews, and much MUCH more.