Member Q&A with Amber Gray
This past May, longtime Createscape member, Amber Gray, was awarded Austin Business Woman of the Year. Amber is founder and CEO of Trusty Oak, a company that matches clients to virtual assistants. Austin Business Woman's mission is to support "women-owned businesses, female entrepreneurs, founders, creators and community leaders." The organization also celebrates women whose work has proven to be remarkable and courageous. We couldn't be prouder of Amber's achievement, so we asked her about how she got nominated for the award, what made her launch her own business, and why she flies 30 miles to Lockhart, TX, when she can probably get there quickly enough by car.
Ok, before we start, I just want to say — you fly airplanes?? I read that in your bio. Can you tell me about that a little bit?
Well, I can only say that I am very slowly learning to fly and it’s my wife, Emily, who is the one actually flying us around. Emily is a pilot for Delta Air Lines and we also enjoy flying small airplanes every chance we get. We like to rent planes at Pilot’s Choice Aviation in Georgetown, fly over downtown Austin to take pictures of the ever-changing skyline, and usually land in Lockhart for barbecue!
I did take a ground school course a couple of years ago and since Emily is also an instructor, I am learning a little each time we fly together. One of our favorite things to do is to take young people who are interested in aviation careers on discovery flights. We both also volunteer at airshows with the Commemorative Air Force’s Devil Dog B-25 Squadron to help keep the history of this warbird alive.
You’ve been a part-time member of Createscape since 2018. You’re one of our oldest members! Can you tell me about how you use your membership here? Is it mostly to get out of the house and have a place to work a few days per month or is it for the conference rooms and call rooms? A little of both?
I feel special knowing that I am one of the oldest members! And I can say that I have enjoyed seeing how dedicated the entire Createscape team has been from day one to continually improve the space and give everyone a great experience. Thank you for that! :-)
I am not in the space very often these days because if I were, I’d be in the phone booth most of the day. My business has been 100% remote since I started in 2015 and most of my team are outside of Austin so the majority of my work is happening on Zoom.
I absolutely love Createscape and typically use the Groove room or the patio when I want an in-person meeting with someone local to Austin. I’ve also held meetings in the conference room a time or two.
The main thing I use at Createscape is the virtual mailbox service which I feel gives my business a more professional vibe than using my home address.
I know it’s been a while, but do you remember how you found Createscape?
I do! Prior to late 2016, I was living in Kyle, TX and had a part-time membership at another coworking space in South Austin. In 2016, I moved to the east side just 1.3 miles from Createscape. I Google searched for something closer to home that had a virtual mailbox and was so happy to find that Createscape had such cool people and such a chill office vibe. I also love that I can ride my bike to the space when I do need to get out of the house.
You run an agency called Trusty Oak. Can you tell readers what you do and why you found your company?
Trusty Oak, in its simplest form, is a US-based virtual assistant company where we provide administrative and marketing support to small businesses through a simple subscription-based business model.
To put it more accurately though, Trusty Oak’s mission is to connect the country’s top freelance virtual assistants with their ideal clients and provide these VAs with resources, tools, a collaborative community, and mentoring to support them as highly successful assistants and for them to continuously keep growing professionally.
We believe that purpose-fulfilled people change the world, so our core purpose is to help both freelance VAs and growth-focused small business owners spend more time doing meaningful work they love, while balancing other priorities in their lives such as family, travel, creative expression, and philanthropy.
What made you decide to leave a full-time job to start your own business?
The truth is, I was working my ass off week after week and feeling like my efforts were not making the greatest impact I am capable of. I have always found myself advancing quickly in any job I have ever had, and my last full-time job was no different. I had been working for a startup marketing agency for 5 years – I started out as a subcontractor project manager, then became the web director overseeing our web design and development team, and spent my last year as VP of operations. The company was growing rapidly and I was able to grow professionally, too. But I kept feeling like I could do more somewhere else.
When I couldn’t find what I wanted after a couple of months of job searching, I gave myself permission to dream big and opened my mind to the possibility of doing something on my own. It was then that I stumbled upon a video on Periscope (do you remember Periscope?!) from a VA company based in Georgia and I loved the whole concept of VAs and their contribution to the business world I had grown to love while working at the marketing agency. I was in the shower when I had the lightbulb idea, “What if I started a company like that?” So I wasted no time making it a reality and took the leap in 2015!
What has business been like for you for the past year? It sounds like it could have been a good year for a company that matches professionals with virtual assistants.
When a vast majority of the rest of the world was going remote for the first time in 2020, we had already been doing it for five years and were able to harness the increased acceptance of the remote workforce and the gig economy.
But like so many other businesses, 2020 was full of challenges and required us to adapt to the evolution of work. Last year, we dropped all of our specialty services (leadership coaching, financial strategy, and inbound marketing strategy) and doubled down on providing mentorship and support to our virtual assistants to help them excel in their important, yet behind-the-scenes role supporting CEOs and founders.
Getting laser focused on supporting our team first has been a game-changer for our clients because happy and supported virtual assistants are more productive, creative, and driven which has a direct, positive impact on our clients’ success. So far in 2021, we are experiencing massive momentum from these changes as well as the ongoing shift toward more companies embracing the power of remote teams, and as a result, Trusty Oak’s revenue is up more than 85% over last year!
You recently won Austin Business Woman of the Year. Congratulations! Can you tell me about that journey? How did you get nominated and what was it like when you actually won?
This was such a wonderful surprise to even be nominated! Thank you for celebrating this win with me!
I had not yet sought out opportunities to be recognized for the work we are doing at Trusty Oak because my vision for it is so much bigger and there’s a lot more work to be done. I learned about the nomination after Trusty Oak was tagged on social media – I didn’t even know the award existed until then! Once I learned I was nominated, I shamelessly asked everyone I know to vote and it was then that an old friend commented on my LinkedIn saying that she was the one that nominated me because she admires what I am doing with my business. And it turns out that a lot of people like what we are doing, so I won!
Austin Business Woman was founded by Olga Adler in an effort to create a supportive community for women in business and the platform she developed provides a directory for woman-owned businesses in Austin. Several categories were awarded and presented at an awards gala last month. This was the first networking event I had attended since pre-pandemic and it felt great to meet new people and soak up the moment of receiving this amazing recognition for my hard work so far.
Other than in sports back in my high school days, I’ve not won anything so I am still in a little bit of shock! Even so, I hope this is the first of many. I can’t officially announce it yet, but Trusty Oak has some other big news coming later this month! :-)
What are some ways you’re active in Austin’s business community? For example, do you go to networking events? Do you mentor college students or young men or women who are new to the workforce? Do you volunteer?
In October 2020 I joined Entrepreneurs’ Organization Accelerator Program which is a program designed to help founders who want to scale their businesses rapidly to reach a milestone of $1,000,000 in annual revenue. This has all been virtual until recently but I have met so many incredible business leaders through this program. I am learning a lot and grateful for the camaraderie and accountability. Starting in July, I am volunteering on the board as the communications chair for EO Accelerator Austin.
I also informally mentor another woman business owner and have the fun Auntie opportunity to mentor and work with my 19-year-old niece who is currently serving as my personal assistant and learning more about business through the process.
Other than flying airplanes, what do you do for fun?
I don’t really have something that is “my thing” per se, but I do love finding new and exciting experiences! Some of my favorite experiences usually include traveling, hiking, food, and learning. Over the last year, some fun moments to note:
Last summer, I set up an inflatable kiddie pool under my carport to host social distanced hangouts with friends. (El Chilito’s $2 frozen sangrias to-go were a highlight, too!)
Since my wife didn’t fly airliners for 355 days during the pandemic, we took a four-week road trip to camp and hike in 13 National Parks in nine states, from Texas to Wyoming, to Oregon and back down. (Bryce Canyon is my favorite so far!) We wrapped this up in Marfa, TX where we had an elopement wedding!
For my 40th birthday in March, I raced go-karts at Circuit of the Americas.
The birthday shenanigans continued when I went skydiving in San Marcos, TX. (I already bought my second jump - I love an adrenaline rush!)
In May, I took a woodworking 101 class at Woodcraft Austin and made a gorgeous cutting board I am very proud of!
Now that Austin is starting to open up again, what kinds of things do you want to do this summer?
I am really looking forward to watching movies at Austin Motel’s swimming pool! They used to partner with Alamo Drafthouse to show older movies poolside. I’m also excited to keep my kiddie pool parties going :-)
Are you originally from Austin? If not, where are you from and how did you end up here?
Like most people, I am not from Austin but this is definitely home! My parents divorced when I was very young so I bounced around a lot making it hard to say exactly, but I claim that I am originally from both Llano, TX and San Angelo, TX.
I visited Austin for the first time around 1999 or 2000 to attend a Dave Matthews Band concert at Southpark Meadows. Back then, it was just a big field! I fell in love with the ATX vibe and promised myself I’d move to Austin one day. Life stuff happened for several years but I finally made the move in 2009 and now I can’t imagine ever leaving.
Who makes your favorite tacos?
I love you for asking this question. Tacos are my favorite food! For breakfast tacos, Mi Madre’s #0 (bacon, egg, potato & cheese) wins hands down. For general tacos, Nixta Taqueria is my number one favorite! That being said, there are SO many great taco joints in Austin. Maybe that’s why I don’t ever want to leave!