Ruby loves that her work includes “euphoria” on a regular basis. It comes when a ticket closes, a problem is solved, and she knows she’s helped someone. That feeling hits her every single time. And she’s addicted to it.
“Whenever I finish a ticket, whenever I help someone solve their ticket, I have that joy,” said the HireSmart virtual employee. “I have that feeling of euphoria that I wanted more. I wanted to help more.”
That honest pursuit of doing good work and feeling that satisfaction is exactly what led to her being named the 2025 Branch Employee of the Year for her client, a large U.S. community association management company.
From One Seat to Irreplaceable
Ruby serves as a client accounting specialist and helps with over 150 homeowners’ associations, and her role has grown over time because she kept looking for ways to help. She kept raising her hand and solving problems that fell between the cracks.
Last year, her company gave her an expanded role: managing the delinquency for the entire branch. She handles the legal fees, the attorney communications, the payment plans. She’s also the point person when homeowners reach out with payment-related questions, a direct contact that didn’t exist in her previous role.
“Every time I do their tickets, every time I help them, they are always saying, ‘This is the reason that you are the Employee of the Year,'” she said. “All my efforts are worth it. It means that I am giving an impact.”
The Bridge Between Worlds
And here’s another thing that makes Ruby irreplaceable.
HOA board members are expected to make decisions from financial reports they often can’t parse — not because the numbers are wrong, but because nothing bridges the world of the accountant and the world of the community manager presenting the data.
That’s where Ruby steps in.
She receives long emails of financial questions, sometimes three pages of confused board directors asking for clarification. She doesn’t just answer them. She translates. She takes the jargon and explains it in plain language.
And only a daily basis, Ruby assesses how each person communicates and adjusts accordingly. Some people need small talk first. Others need direct, efficient answers. She adapts.
“Whenever I need to communicate to someone, I am assessing their communication style first,” she said. “It leads me to have a more meaningful, more effective and more productive conversation with them.”
Spreading the Feeling
One day, Ruby brought a new admin into one of her projects. She wanted to show her what the work felt like, how to solve a problem from start to finish.
The admin completed one task the way Ruby had shown her. And then something happened that Ruby hadn’t expected.
“She also felt that euphoria,” Ruby said. “And she wanted to do it more, because that feeling of accomplishing something, it’s kind of rewarding.”
Ruby realized the euphoria isn’t just hers. It’s actually contagious when you give someone the tools to feel it, too, and they want to keep chasing it.
The Wisdom She’s Learned
While her team’s leadership has had turnover, Ruby is stable force for her client. And when new VEs arrive, she teaches them.
She has wisdom to share. Ruby completed HireSmart’s SMARTER Leadership Academy in 2025, and she shares what she learned with other VEs: practical, honest advice, and grounded in her own experience.
“First, know your core values,” she said. “It helps a lot to know your core values, to really be honest and true to your core values, because it will make your work worth it. It will direct you to where you are going.”
Next: don’t fear rejection. New VEs often hesitate to ask questions or reach out because they’re afraid of being told no. But Ruby has learned that rejection is part of learning.
“Do not fear rejections, because for new people, it is they are having a hard time to ask, because they might be rejected,” she said. “But do not be afraid of that, because that’s part of the learning process. You will get it eventually. You just need to trust the process.”
Then comes humility. “Whenever things go wrong or go south, have that humility, because people will just back you up,” she said.
And gratitude. “Have the habit of gratitude, because I am thankful with the job that I have. I consider this job as a gift that needs to be taken care of.”
Finally: embrace the challenge. “The journey might be a roller coaster. Might not be as easy as what I have. Might not be as positive as I am, but embrace the challenge. It will make you grow.”
Why It All Matters
For Ruby, the difference between working for HireSmart and freelancing alone comes down to one thing: she’s not just surviving. She’s building something.
In freelancer communities, people talk about getting laid off after a week, clients disappearing, or income stopping, but Ruby has job security, health and dental benefits, a retirement plan. She has a team, and she has people who depend on her.
And she has that feeling, that euphoria, waiting for her every single shift.
“That feeling of accomplishing things,” she said. “It gives me the euphoria, it gives me the satisfaction that I am doing good with my job.”
That’s the real reward. That’s what she’ll keep chasing, every single shift.
If this environment of personal development and genuine support sounds like the right place for you, click here to apply to HireSmart Virtual Employees.
