For online business scaling, the advice is often simple: hire someone cheaply in another country. There’s rarely conversation about a fair living wage or virtual assistants being members of your team. In this episode, we sit down with Fatima Herrera, Founder & CEO and Chief Impact and Growth Officer of Virtue Ally, a Certified B Corp virtual talent agency based in El Salvador - one of the first B Corps in the country. Virtue Ally connects values-led businesses in North America with skilled virtual professionals in Central America, and pays them a fair, living wage. That means Virtue Ally is not the cheapest option, and that’s the point. As Fatima puts it, it is a reality that costs in El Salvador are not the same as in California, and outsourcing can reduce costs. But that doesn’t mean you should just pay 10% and not care about the reality of where you’re hiring. For mission-driven businesses, who you hire and how you treat them is part of your impact. Choosing contractors based on your values, not just the lowest price, is how your operations match your mission. Fatima worked in a call center while she was in high school, where she was seen “as a number” and judged on how much she could produce. After earning her business degree, the only “real grown-up job” available paid a minimum wage she couldn’t live on, so she went back to the call center world. She knew doctors, psychologists, and architects in the same position, taking calls because they didn’t see a way out. Virtue Ally is the bridge she built so those professionals can grow in their careers. Two terms you’ll hear in this episode: Ethical nearshoring: Hiring talent in a country close to you, such as El Salvador, and treating them fairly. Beyond cost, it means considering other priorities like time zones, language, U.S. culture familiarity, and relationship building.Impact sourcing: Making sure the money your business spends abroad becomes real investment in the community, not just consumerist money. That means people can buy homes, improve their education, and grow in their careers. At Virtue Ally, that includes fair pay, career paths, training, and professional development for their assistants.We discuss: What a B Corp is - "a good company and a company for good”How discovering B Corp helped Fatima stop “fighting against the world” and prove you can prioritize both people and profitWhat BPO (business process outsourcing) is, and why so much of it copies the dehumanizing practices of call centersWhy outsourcing cheaper isn’t a bad thing - it’s about how you do itBrain drain vs. brain retention: how creating good jobs in El Salvador can help professionals build a future at home instead of feeling forced to migrateWhy Fatima chose a business model over a nonprofit, so she didn’t have to rely on grants or donationsHow remote hiring improves quality of life for workers facing two-hour commutesFatima’s top tips for running a mission-driven online business: be organized, communicate clearly, and know exactly what your goals are, because your team can’t guess what you’re thinkingConnect with Fatima and Virtue Ally: Website: virtueally.coFatima on Instagram: @frecuenciacolochaFatima on LinkedIn: Fatima HerreraVirtue Ally on Instagram: @yourvirtueallyVirtue Ally on LinkedIn: Virtue AllyConnect with Adina: Website: internationalempowerment.comPodcast: internationalempowerment.com/podcastInstagram: @adinaappelbaumLinkedIn: Adina Appelbaum 👇🏼 Work With Adina 👇🏼 Brand Positioning Audit Personalized strategic review of your current online positioning and opportunities how to best position yourself to attract dream clients on repeat online: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/product/brandaudit Changemaker Brand Accelerator Finally build an online brand as brilliant and respected as your offline career, so you become the undeniable thought leader in your field. Apply here: https://www.internationalempowerment.com/changemakeraccelerator
