In 1989, a ground-breaking novel called The Second Shift was published. In the book, sociologist Arlie Hochschild concluded that women— who had just recently become a large part of the workforce — also worked an extra month of 24-hour days each year when counting childcare, household duties, and family management tasks. And a 2008 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that this was still the reality almost 20 years later.
But finally, society is changing. Both men and women alike are realizing the need for flexible solutions that make it possible to balance all demands and responsibilities. Many brave professionals are taking risks and fighting antiquated ideas of career success to create a life of balance for both work and family.
This was the purpose behind building Boldly. Our way of work gives our team the flexibility and location independence to prioritize their family needs while continuing to build a fun, rewarding and fulfilling career.
One of our team members, Shanna Salazar, is a perfect example of how work and life — once stark dichotomies — can be beautifully balanced.
Working Boldly with Shanna
In this series, we pull back the curtain so you can get a glimpse of the new way to work.
We spent some time with Shanna to find out what a day in the life of a Boldly business support specialist looks like:
Meet Shanna:
Shanna Salazar:
Business Support Specialist
Location
Greater Los Angeles
Length of time at Boldly:
3 years
Professional Experience:
23 years in sales and administration
A Carefully Cultivated Career
Shanna is a seasoned remote worker. Before Boldly, Shanna had been working remotely for one employer for 10 years. But when her former company downsized, Shanna was nervous about what came next.
“I was in Paris with my husband for our 20 year anniversary when I got a call that I was being laid-off. I was devastated, and terrified of the idea of having to return to an office.”
Over the next few months, Shanna carefully and diligently searched for remote work companies with great reputations and cultures that could offer her the stability of W2 employment. When she found Boldly – it clicked.
“I thought it was too good to be true, but everything I was reading and seeing ensured that this was for real. I was so excited when I succeeded in the hiring process.”
Shanna now works with three clients through Boldly — all entrepreneurs in vastly different industries (which is something she truly enjoys). One client runs a tutoring company for medical students, one runs a nightclub, a non-profit and a few other businesses in the LA area, and the other, a cybersecurity company in Huntington Beach. For each client, Shanna does a mix of executive assistance along with recruiting, HR and payroll work.
Shanna explained that all of her clients are a bit younger than her, which she finds invigorating.
“It inspires me. It energizes me to work with all of them. They’re all doing these incredible things and are so full of life that it spills onto me – I love, love, love my clients.”
Shanna’s Second Shift Solution
Besides being a talented addition to her client’s teams, Shanna also gives equal attention and care to her family duties and obligations. She loves being a big support system in the lives of her two busy boys (22 and 17) and a husband who coaches high school baseball. Shanna carves out time in her busy day for what she calls ‘straight mom mode’ — a time where she can focus on meeting her family’s needs and helping out in their activities.
“My son (youngest) is a senior in high school right now, so it’s a lot of fun being there for this important stage of his life — prom, senior pictures, college applications. I can help where he needs me.”
A Day in the life of Shanna:
We wanted a more detailed look at how Shanna manages her day. Here’s a breakdown she gave us:
6:30 am – Wake up, make coffee (an absolute must – first and foremost!) and make breakfast for kids
7 am – Make the 1-minute commute (walk-in cozy socks) to her home office and get online. First I check priorities that may have come up overnight for my clients or things I hadn’t gotten to later in the day
8-9 am – I work for my east coast client on any pressing items for the day. They’re super fun, I like starting my day that way
9-10 am – I check-in and complete daily tasks for one of my west coast clients
10 am – 12 pm – More work for my east coast client, they make up the majority of my hours – 3.5 hours a day
12-1 pm – BREAK! Lunch, errands, whatever I need (or want) to do
1-2:30 pm – Work for my third client, who is also on the West Coast
3 pm – I start putting together a list of tasks for the following day – daily tasks or anything I didn’t get to in the morning
3 pm – 6 pm – I’m in straight mom-mode. This is when I work on stuff for my son’s baseball team as the varsity team mom – booster meetings, fundraisers, PTA stuff, as well as helping him apply for college, work on his FASFA, schedule senior pictures – all the things!
6-8:30 pm – Run errands and do household chores
8:30 pm – This is when my husband gets home since his schedule is opposite mine coaching baseball. We eat dinner together, connect, and watch a movie. He likes scary thrillers like SAW – I’m more of Hocus Pocus kinda person.
10:30 – BED! I’ve tried getting to bed earlier than this, but it just doesn’t happen.
Understanding and Being Understood
As someone who greatly values family, Shanna said it means a lot to her that Boldly is not only woman-owned, but almost the entire management of the company are also women, and the culture at Boldly lifts women up and supports their needs.
“It’s just having that female perspective and having someone know first-hand what the professional experience looks like for a woman, means everything. Being a mom, and having a great job with flexibility that allows you to do a good job at work and at home – that’s hard to find.”
#OnlyAtBoldly
For her client who owns a nightclub in LA, Shanna said one of her favorite things to do is organize payroll for the promoters.
“I love looking at the list and seeing who is coming to the club. It’s so fun to be like ‘Oh Kevin Hart is going to be here tomorrow or Brody Jenner is our guest next week!’ He’s been so kind as to invite me to visit, but I always joke with him that it’s reserved for the young and beautiful!” She laughed. “They’d probably just be handing their coats to me if I showed up!”
Laughing and joking is something Shanna does often – and her infectiously positive and caring personality is just one more thing her clients appreciate about her.
“I handle expenses for one of my clients and he had quite a few UberEats and Grubhub receipts coming in. We have a really close relationship and I just went into straight mom-mode again and was checking in with him ‘are you ok? How’s your diet? Do you need some recipes?’”
Beautiful Balance
Stories like Shanna’s inspire us to continue our mission — providing rewarding, fulfilling and flexible career opportunities to people who strive to have it all. To echo Shanna’s words – having a great job with flexibility that allows you to do a good job at work and at home – that’s what #workingboldly is all about.
Topic: Remote Executive Assistant
