Today we’d like to introduce you to Arreanna Cromartie.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up in country NC, I always knew I was destined for greatness but I never knew what that greatness would be. I never felt as if I was the “ordinary” country girl my environment said I was supposed to become.
Around the age of 9, I began to realize that I was really smart and while everyone was saying they wanted to be a basketball player, doctor, actress and any other glamourous profession that typically brings overnight success, I was the odd ball that wanted to make it in the history books, at an early age I knew that knowledge goes further than a jump shot. Imagine being in a rural elementary classroom where the average two parent income typically didn’t exceed $32,000 and I’m telling kids that I was becoming a successful state prosecutor and then merging into politics where I would run and be voted the first African American and woman president of the United States. That was 1998, now let us fast forward to 2004 when my body changed, maturity levels increased and my name went from Ari to mommy. Yes, the math was correct, I had my first daughter when I was just a baby myself and I remember the doctors placing her in my arms. This was the first time I really understood what my elders meant when they said life has a funny way of not turning out like you imagined.
By the time I was 21, I was married with 4 kids, 60+ semester hours in college and working an 8-5 accumulating vacation and sick time. I am a determined person so I knew that if I really put my mind to something it will come to pass but I also understood the obstacle it would be to get me there. I began going to school at night and working in the day and then eventually took a break from school altogether and focused on my house and my work. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer so I worked as a clerk in the City Hall building, I also worked as a paralegal to a defense attorney. My goal was to never except fast food or anything that society said as a teen parent you typically work. My colleagues were 15+ my senior and to this day they don’t even know I was 19 and 20 at the time. Life once again happened and I was taken out of work for medical reasons, not wanting to return to my place of employment, since it reminded me of how much a failure I had become, seeing everyone in their suits and degrees on the wall it was a slap in the face of the choices I made that put me where I was. One day out of the blue I got a call from a young lady that wanted me to come in for a treatment coordinator position for a local dental office. After being an hour late, due to navigation issues, instead of turning around and going home I still came to this empty building thinking maybe I can still be seen. As I assumed everyone had departed for the day and there was no one left but a real cool older man that wore everyday clothing and carried a book bag on his back with one strap over his shoulder while the other strap dangled. We got on the elevator together and rode down all while he asked questions and I respectfully answered. As we went our separate ways he shook my hand and introduce himself, which was a name I would remember because it just so happens to be the self-titled dental practice I was rushing to get to. Long story short, I got the job after several other interviews and this is where I was first introduced to dentistry. Most didn’t know but I was a sponge and although it did not appear that way I was retaining everything. I loved the patient relationship that the girl that trained me had with our patients so I made a mental note.
I loved the way the checkout girl knew almost every dental code so I made a mental note and I worked to becoming them but better until I became the go to girl around the office. Eventually dentistry became easy to me and when I was offered a position in corporate dentistry here in Atlanta I jumped on it and we packed up and joined the mass of people that flocked to Atlanta to start a new life. Being here I knew it was going to give me the push I needed. Now I see people similar to me staying in huge homes, driving exotic cars, graduating ivy league schools and I wanted a piece of the pie. I didn’t have a degree, I didn’t have a rich family all I had was 4 kids a husband and this brain that had so much knowledge on dentistry but I didn’t want to be a dentist. I was useless!
Then I remembered an idea I had when I worked for the office back in NC, what if I did what I do in this office for offices all over. In my head I felt that I was a treasure to the dental community. This is when the birth of Gold Virtual Assistant, LLC came into place. My business went from something to do in my off time to me renting out one of the largest suits in my building.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a such a young mother has been the greatest challenge. As you could imagine being a mother to now five kids and also a caring wife is hard all by itself but adding being responsible for your employees and their families is just as hard. Every day I am faced with the fact that if my business fails what will my family do and how can we survive, how will my employees pay their bills or buy their kids school clothes. Being a business owner, I am not just responsible for my home but everyone that is added to our payroll. Also, this is a road not traveled so I starting off with this business I has to first educate people on the concept and then persuade them to give us a try. This isn’t a business where clients go looking for me a lot of the time I have to go looking for them.
Gold Virtual Assistant – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Gold Virtual Assistant, LLC cater to dental offices throughout North America. We remote into their offices and provide office support as if we were sitting in the office with them. Our biggest service being our insurance verification’s only because we update the patient account and maintain the process the office already has in place which typically is the most time consuming, but services exceed just verification. We manage claims, outstanding and submitting, account management, payable and receivables and provide phone support, including answering phones after hours, appointment confirmation and treatment plan follow up just to name a few. We can do everything for a dental office except greet the patients when they walk in. Dental offices love this because you pay a flat rate every month, all the duties we have been contracted to do are being completed in a timely manner and you never have to worry about sick, vacation and holiday pay/time. You never have to tell us to stop talking about work, you never have to worry about employee disputes. We just work! Unlike some of our competitors we know that not every dental office is the same so we don’t have a layout of how we work and you have to adjust your office to it. We adjust to your office so if you want us to do something a certain way this is exactly what we do.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
As the owner of a company that is so nontraditional it is amazing to see the response I receive from people with 20+ years in the dental field. I love hearing “Where were you all when I first started dentistry”, or getting calls from people all over asking to work with us. I believe the best part is that this was an untouched area in dentistry and I created a lane for myself and others to follow. Being recognized for our great work and knowing that people 1000 miles from here know my name or my company is surreal.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2330 Scenic Highway S Ste 218
Snellville, GA 30078 - Website: www.goldvirtualassistant.com
- Phone: 4702105632
- Email: info@goldvirtualassistant.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldvirtualassistant/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldvirtualassistant
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
