Frequently Asked Questions
Getting started
How do I know if I am ready to delegate?
If you are generating $500K or more and still personally handling scheduling, client onboarding, invoicing, and inbox triage, you are past ready. The clearer signal is this: you have revenue-producing work you keep postponing because operational work eats the hours first. Start with the free Delegation Audit. It walks you through five signs that your time is going to $15 per hour work, and if three or more apply, you have an infrastructure gap worth closing.
I have tried a VA before and it did not work. Why would this be different?
Most VA relationships fail for a structural reason, not a talent reason. The owner hands off tasks without documented processes, the assistant guesses, quality slips, and the owner takes everything back convinced delegation does not work for them. We start with the process, not the person. Our Document to Delegate approach captures how you actually do the work before anyone else touches it, so your support runs on your standards instead of their assumptions.
What can I actually hand off?
We use a Three-Tier Decision Model to sort your work. Repeatable tasks (scheduling, inbox management, invoicing, client onboarding steps) move first. Predictable decisions, the ones that follow the same logic every time, like renewal reminders or standard client responses, move next with documented rules. Irreversible decisions (pricing, hiring, ending a client relationship) stay with you. Most coaches and consultants find far more of their week lives in the first two tiers than they expected.
Do I need to have my processes documented before I start?
No. Building that documentation is the work, not a prerequisite. If you already had clean SOPs and systems, you probably would not need us. We extract how you work through structured intake, document it, and then delegate against it.
How we work
What does AI-native operations mean in practice?
It means we design your operational infrastructure with AI doing what AI does well (drafting, summarizing, first-pass triage, data movement between tools) and people doing what requires judgment and relationship context. You are not paying human hours for work automation should handle, and you are not trusting automation with decisions that need a human. The result is support that costs less per outcome and scales without a linear increase in headcount.
How is this different from hiring a freelance VA myself?
A freelancer gives you a person. We give you infrastructure: documented processes, a configured tool stack, AI workflows, and the support to run it. If a freelancer disappears, their knowledge leaves with them. In our model the documentation stays, which means continuity does not depend on any single person's memory.
How much of my time will this take?
Expect the heaviest lift in the first few weeks, when we are extracting how you work and building your documentation. After that, the model is Async Default: updates and decisions move through written channels on your schedule rather than standing meetings. Many of our frameworks exist precisely because our founder built this company in the margins of a demanding career. We design for owners who do not have spare hours, because ours does not either.
What tools do you work with?
Our core stack includes Notion, Slack, HubSpot, ClickUp, Dubsado, and Google Workspace, and we can work within tools you already use. Part of the initial engagement is deciding whether your current stack should stay, consolidate, or change. We do not force a migration for its own sake.
Will I be locked into meetings and check-ins?
No. Async Default means written updates you read when it suits you. We do recommend protecting a weekly CEO Hour: one block where you make the owner-level decisions the week surfaced, instead of making them reactively all week long.
Pricing and engagement
What does it cost?
There are two ways to work with us. The Document to Delegate Sprint is a fixed-scope engagement at $1,500. One area of your business, out of your head and into a playbook someone else can run, delivered in 14 days. One payment, no minimum term. Retainer engagements are tiered to your stage: Build at $4,000 per month, Grow at $7,500, Scale at $15,000, and Scale+ at $25,000. The right tier depends on what your operations actually require, which is why we start with a conversation rather than a checkout page.
What is the Document to Delegate Sprint?
It is the smallest useful version of what we do. We take one area of your business, pull the process out of your head through one 60-minute call and a short async intake, and hand you back a written playbook a VA, a contractor, or your next hire can run. You get the Delegation Playbook, a one-page Delegation Map showing what to hand off first, and a 30-day Handoff Ramp. Delivered within two weeks of your completed intake or you receive a full refund. It stands on its own, and if you later move to a retainer, the documentation is already done.
How does this compare to hiring an operations manager or employee?
A part-time operations hire typically costs more once you account for recruiting, training, management time, and turnover risk, and you carry all of that yourself. An hourly freelance VA looks cheaper on paper but leaves the systems-building, quality control, and continuity on your plate. We sit in between deliberately: more infrastructure than a freelancer, less overhead and risk than an employee.
Is there a long-term contract?
The Sprint is a one-time engagement with no ongoing commitment. Retainer terms vary by tier: Build and Grow carry a three month minimum, Scale a six month minimum, and Scale+ a twelve month minimum. Those minimums reflect how long it takes to document your processes, stand up your infrastructure, and let delegation settle into a rhythm you can evaluate honestly. Agreements can also be ended early by mutual consent, so neither of us is locked into an arrangement that is not working.
What results should I expect, and how fast?
Documented processes and a functioning delegation workflow within the first engagement phase, then a measurable shift in where your hours go. We will not promise a specific revenue outcome, because your revenue depends on what you do with the recovered time. What we can commit to is that the operational work currently sitting on your calendar stops sitting there.
Trust and fit
Who is behind Afloat?
Afloat was founded by Soletia Christie, who brings over 25 years of operations experience: 15 in the federal government, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Department of the Interior, and the Peace Corps, and more than a decade in the private sector. She built Afloat while holding a senior federal human capital role, which is why every framework we use is designed for owners running businesses inside real constraints on time and energy.
How do you handle confidentiality and data security?
Every engagement includes a mutual NDA, protecting your business information and ours from day one. We put defined security protocols in place for data protection, and we work inside your existing systems rather than pulling your data into ours. Your client records, financials, and business information stay where they already live. We enhance those systems and processes with our AI tools instead of replacing them.
What happens if my assigned support is unavailable or leaves?
This is the exact failure mode Document to Delegate exists to prevent. Because your processes are documented as infrastructure rather than held in one person's head, coverage transitions without you retraining anyone from scratch.
Who is Afloat not a fit for?
If you are pre-revenue or well under $500K, you likely need a simple freelance VA or better personal systems before infrastructure makes sense. If you want someone to set your strategy or generate your leads, that is a different hire. We are built for coaches and consultants whose offer already works and whose operations are now the constraint. If you are close but not ready for a retainer, the Sprint is the right size.
What is the first step?
Download the free Delegation Audit. It walks you through the five signs that your time is leaking, and it takes about ten minutes. If three or more apply, book a free 30-minute Operations Clarity Call and we will show you what the gap looks like and whether the Sprint or a retainer is the right next move.I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.