CAVA Executive
Tracey D’Aviero
Virtual Assistant Coach & Trainer
Tracey D’Aviero is a veteran VA, President of the Canadian Association of Virtual Assistants (CAVA), and a VA Coach and Trainer.
CAVA is a professional trade association for Virtual Assistants that provides education, information, resources, community and certification for Canadian VAs.
Tracey trains and coaches professionals who are brand new to the VA industry or who have been struggling to make their business successful. She has operated her own business since 1996, has been coaching and teaching VAs since 2010, and has operated CAVA since 2016.
Her mission with both the association and with her coaching business is to educate professionals on how to build and grow successful and profitable VA businesses with a solid foundation, goal setting that works, and accountability and support, and to connect busy business owners with amazing Virtual Assistants.
Tracey brings valuable experience from a variety of industries and varied service offerings to offer the members of the association and her coaching clients and students a broad range of insight, information and direction.
Tracey lives in Osgoode, Ontario, Canada with her husband Tony (an amazing chef) and her son Owen (also an amazing chef). When she is not working with VAs or her own VA clients, Tracey can be found with her family and friends, enjoying good food, drink and conversations, watching hockey (Go Sens Go!), and generally just enjoying life.
Canadian Association of Virtual Assistants
How I Got Here … The Long Way!
I went back to school when I was 24, after being in the workforce for several years (in administrative roles), to get back into the hospitality industry.
I was fortunate to get involved with a growing restaurant chain, and I went quickly from prep cook to kitchen manager. I migrated back into the administrative area of the restaurant, and in 1996 I left my apron behind and started a consulting business, as a Food and Beverage Consultant.
I worked as a consultant for the next several years and eventually worked solely with that same restaurant chain, through their head office, but from my home office. We opened nine restaurants and my position was to set up systems and procedures for staff training and food and beverage menus. I also did financial analysis and reporting for each store.
In 2005, I left that chain and was back out on my own. I found it difficult to get good clients in that industry, based on the services I wanted to provide. I found it even harder to find good paying clients! I started doing research online to figure out how I could use my skills to work with people who would value my services – and pay me well for them! – and lo and behold I found the VA industry. (I wish I remembered the keywords I used back then!)
I dove in head first and before I knew it I came to realize that I had actually been operating as a Virtual Assistant for almost my entire career. I have been working from home and communicating with clients mainly via email since early 1997.
Ever since then I have been a huge advocate of the Virtual Assistant industry, and CAVA and Your VA Mentor are parts of that.
Thanks for being here. I hope you will find something that might help you in your business!
~ Tracey D’Aviero (it’s pronounced dah-vee-AIR’-oh, just like it’s spelled!)