“Rachel feels like a part of my business – I enjoy all the benefits of having a colleague without the burden of employment”

A year ago, Lucy Whitehall was swamped under the burden of company admin.  Running her coaching business, Transform and Thrive, was both inspiring and rewarding, but without a team behind her, she was spending as many as three weekends a month taking care of more mundane tasks.

“Admin is woefully time consuming for any small business and, more importantly, not my skillset.  I was looking for someone I could completely trust – who was not only excellent at doing these tasks, but who also had real initiative, and  would be genuinely invested in making my business a success.”

Lucy knew that taking on a full time employee would never be possible.  “Employment felt like a heavy burden, and wasn’t practical with the ebb and flow of my workload.  I needed someone on hand who could be completely flexible: both with the variety and quantity of work.”

“Meeting Rachel was an instant relief.  It doesn’t seem to matter that we’ve never met – from that first phone call, she was really clear about how she works, and what she could and couldn’t do for me.  It meant I felt a huge level of comfort that she’d got this and I immediately trusted that it would be done.  Now she knows the business almost as well as I do despite being a virtual member of the team.”

Although Rachel primarily manages Lucy’s diary and takes care of bookkeeping, she’s become much more than an admin assistant.

“The difference between a PA and a really good VA like Rachel is I never feel she’s just ticking tasks off the list.  She has such knowledge of the intricacies of my business that she’s become my most valuable sounding board  – I know she’s a source of reliable, practical advice.  Her business expertise means she can not only offer me access to other experts in her team but also helps me spend wisely on new technology.”

Investing in a good relationship with a VA offers enormous benefits to small business owners.

“Working alone can mean it’s easy to lose perspective.  Rachel is invaluable as someone who challenges me and offers me a different point of view.  It feels like she really cares about making Transform and Thrive a success.  Even though I have a wide network of business associates and contacts, there’s no-one better placed to offer advice and guidance – she’s always the person I will go to first.”