In this episode Mary Lane Baker, co-founder and integrator of VA USA, shares her journey from public school teacher to building a virtual assistant company that creates remote jobs for military families. She explains how personal experience with military life and the need for flexible, meaningful work inspired the company’s mission.
Mary Lane describes how she and her husband turned a personal transformation into a business that pairs trained virtual assistants with faith- and purpose-driven companies, focusing on trust, process, and relationships rather than transactional task work.
She discusses practical strategies for building trust and accountability on remote teams—intentional onboarding, weekly meetings led by the assistant, time tracking with notes, proactive check-ins, and measuring engagement through simple scorecards.
The episode also covers VA USA’s unique people-first practices: creating an outreach ambassador role, integrating chaplaincy for virtual care, offering nontraditional benefits like financial coaching and marriage scholarships, and using care packages to show up in hard times.
Mary Lane talks candidly about the difficulties of rapid growth, the decision to downsize to protect values, and how spiritual surrender helped them realign. She closes with stories of impact—improved wellbeing for military families and team members who connected with faith—and a prayer for courage to take the next steps in building humane, values-driven workplaces.
