How The Macklins Gained Back 60 Hours a Month with a Strategic Partner
When I first got on a call with Evan Macklin, he told me flat out, “I don’t know if I believe in virtual assistants.”
I laughed. I’ve heard that same sentence from almost every high-performing leader I’ve ever met. They move fast, run big, and usually think no one can keep up.
Evan and his twin brother, Ian, are co-presidents of The Elliott Group. They built one of the most competitive sales organizations in the country by moving fast, leading from the front, and keeping control. Absolutely no time to slow down.
But when we first connected, even that machine was running hot. Their days were stacked with calls, travel, and client meetings. They’d tried hiring in-person assistants before. Good people, but the process was heavy. Too much micromanaging. Too much redoing. Too many things falling through the cracks.
“I’d hire people I liked,” Evan said, “but I’d end up doing their job behind them.”
That’s the line that stuck with me because I knew exactly what he meant. They didn’t need more help. They needed the right kind of help. Someone who could match their pace, anticipate what came next, and actually give them their time back.
When a colleague mentioned IFCO, Evan was curious, but I wasn’t expecting what came next. Out of the blue, my phone lit up with “Macklin, Evan” across the screen. No warning, no scheduling, just a straight-to-the-point sales call. He put me on the SPOT.
Evan had already done the research. Most virtual assistant agencies he found were overseas, and every option seemed to come with extra work. Training, time zones, hand-holding. All the things he didn’t have time for.
“I didn’t believe in virtual assistants,” he told me later, “but your team didn’t just talk about support. You showed me structure.”
And that’s what changed everything.
Instead of another person to manage, we built them a system. One with onboarding, documentation, and the right match from day one. We created their SOPs, trained their assistant, and got them ready to roll before they even logged in.
When we officially matched them with their virtual assistant, Michaela, everything clicked.
Within days, flights were booked, meetings confirmed, clients followed up with. The little things, the ones that pile up fast, just started disappearing from their plate.
“It felt like magic,” Evan said. “No hand-holding. No chasing. Just done.”
I could hear it in his voice... that mix of relief and surprise when someone finally experiences what real support feels like.
The results didn’t take long to show up.
Structure has a way of doing that. It creates space. And for the Macklins, space turned into momentum.
Revenue grew. Clients noticed.
“People see the difference,” Evan told me. “They get faster responses, better communication, and they respect our time more. They see we run a tight system now.”
But it wasn’t just about business. It was life.
Evan’s calendar, once overflowing with meetings and follow-ups, started to feel lighter and for the first time in years, predictable. “My life runs off my calendar now,” he said. “If it’s not on there, it doesn’t exist.”
Now there’s time for school pickups, date nights, and moments with his kids... the things that had been squeezed out by the pace of success.
The biggest win wasn’t that Michaela gave them back 60 hours a month. It’s what those hours gave back to them.
Behind every focused leader, or in this case, duo, there’s someone quietly keeping everything in motion. For the Macklins, that’s Michaela.
She’s the kind of person who doesn’t wait to be told what to do. She anticipates it. From managing client communication to coordinating the twins’ travel schedules, she’s the connective tissue between their business and their lives.
And it doesn’t stop there. Michaela even keeps their families in the loop, sending updates, itineraries, and reminders so everyone knows where they’ll be and when. It’s a simple thing, but it’s changed everything for them.
“Before, there were travel days where I’d grab my bag and tell my wife, ‘I’ll see you in two days,’ and she’d look at me like, ‘You’re going where?’” Evan told me, laughing. “Now she already knows because Michaela made sure of it.”
That kind of clarity doesn’t just make business easier, it makes life lighter. Watching them find their rhythm again reminded me why we do what we do. It’s never just about the hours. It’s about what those hours make room for.
Evan and Ian’s story is exactly why we call our Executive Virtual Assistants strategic partners.
It’s not about checking tasks off a list. It’s about creating trust, rhythm, and space for the things that matter most. When you work with the right person, the details stop running your day, and you finally get to lead the way you’re meant to.
If you’ve been thinking there’s got to be a better way to work... there is.