We had the good fortune of connecting with Bibi Goldstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bibi, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
When the business originally began in 2007 it was actually a personal assistant service so we were doing more physical work like grocery shopping, dry cleaning pick-up/drop-off, dog walking, car service drop-off things that busy professionals couldn’t get to during the week and didn’t want to spend their weekends doing.

The idea for the business really came out of a need for me. I was working a full time corporate job that included a ton of travel and my mom was running into some aging challenges that my siblings and I couldn’t always be available to help with. There were multiple things like her writing the wrong amount on a check for a utility bill, or she came home from the store and left ice cream in her car that melted which would surprise anyone who knew her because she loved her ice cream. Ultimately she couldn’t drive anymore and I was trying to find a service that might be able to help her with some of these kinds of things – so not finding one, I did what most entrepreneurs do and decided to start one.

It was a hard jump from regular paycheck to business owner but ultimately I never thought I would find the gratification from being of service to others that I don’t think I would have found working in my corporate job.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Working with Buying Time gives businesses an entire built-in team, we pride ourselves on how this differentiates us from other virtual assistants where businesses work with one person with their singular set of skills. We bring a dozen team members to the table with a variety of skillsets for customer service, graphics, web support, social media, email marketing, bookkeeping and much more in between.

Transitioning from personal assistants to only providing virtual support to businesses was not easy after 5 years of establishing our services in the local South Bay area. I wish I would have known all the differences in the cost of running a virtual business vs a business where our liabilities were so much greater in driving around, entering clients homes etc.

When I started Buying Time it was with a partner and while I have many regrets about how that relationship deteriorated, I’m very proud of what we’ve continued to build. My vision was always that we could create an opportunity for those we served to feel some relief from their to-do’s while simultaneously providing a place for people to work while fulfilling what they needed in their life like time and flexibility.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The South Bay has so many amazing places that I just love to show off whenever we have out of town guests! Some of my favorites are definitely all of the piers, Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beaches all have so much going on with shopping and restaurants etc.

Hermosa Beach Comedy & Magic Club is always so much and you might catch Jay Leno there on a Sunday night.

Terranea Resort restaurant Nelson’s for a great view of the bay.

Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center has incredible events for all ages from musicals to distinguished speaker series.

South Coast Botanic Garden, I love this place not only for it’s beautiful gardens but also because I married my amazing husband there in 2001.

Lots of local festivals and runs that happen in the South Bay including the Redondo Beach Super Bowl 10K that’s been happening the morning of the big game for over 45 years now

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
So much of Buying Time’s success is about my community, my village, our cheerleaders. One of the first things I did was join my local chambers in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach which opened up so many other micro communities for me and introduced me to many people still cheering us on today.

My business coach Joy, my best friends in life and business Cathy, Linda and Mickey – these relationships came directly from those chambers that led me to a local women’s group in the South Bay and these people along with my husband, Mark and daughter, Julie have believed in me, especially when I didn’t.

The entire team at Buying Time shares the vision of being of service and providing the best of themselves in skills, knowledge and compassion to all of the businesses we get to support.

Website: https://www.buyingtimellc.com

Instagram: @buyingtimellc & @bibigoldstein

Linkedin: @bibigoldstein

Facebook: @buyingtimellc & @bibigoldstein

Image Credits
Cynthia Olkie – Fleur di Lis Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.