February 2024 - Get Ahead VA

Virtual PA services have revolutionised business support. One of our most popular services, we believe using a remote PA is a cost-effective, efficient solution. However, we also know that it can be hard to break away from the traditional idea of an employed PA. That’s why we’ve put together our top reasons why working with a virtual PA is as good – or better – than the traditional model. Read on to find out more.

1. A close working relationship

Recent tech advances have changed the way we communicate with colleagues. In addition, working from home some or all of the time has become the norm, meaning we’re often in a different location from our team members. What we learn from this is that it’s completely possible to have a great working relationship with someone even when your desks aren’t side by side.

Get Ahead helps the working relationship get off to a good start too. Our regional directors (your first point of contact) will spend time getting to know you and how you work. With this information, they’ll choose someone to support you who has the right personality match and who’ll thrive in the environment you’ve created. This will help your new working relationship develop all the closeness of the traditional version.

2. Advances in communication technology

Your virtual PA can work with you as smoothly as if you worked in the same office, thanks to platforms like Zoom, WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams. Faster internet speeds make real-time interactions easier too.

3. Changes in the PA role

The role of the PA continues to evolve. Advances in tech clearly help this evolution (see above) but there are social factors at work too. With many businesses having a flatter hierarchy than they used to, PAs are less of an extension of the boss, and more of a responsible team member. This means that the modern PA role is easier to do remotely than its former incarnation. It’s time to let go of the old-fashioned image and see the situation as it is in the 2020s.

4. UK-based support

If you choose virtual PA services from Get Ahead, your new assistant will be based in the UK. This means you’ll be in the same time zone, making it easier to coordinate tasks, diaries and meetings. Most of our virtual experts have English as a first language, so you won’t encounter the language barrier you might if you used an offshore solution.

5. A cost-effective solution

The bottom line is nearly always costs. When you use virtual PA services, you only pay for work completed. This means that if your business only needs support for a few hours each week, that’s all you have to pay for. There are also no recruitment costs, pension contributions, sick pay or holiday pay – you don’t even have to provide coffee!

Virtual PA services from Get Ahead

If you think your business could benefit from virtual PA services, we’d love to hear from you. Your local regional director will take time to find out how you work, so they can match you with the best business support expert for your needs. And if you’d like to see how this works in practice, read our case study here.

We are delighted to open a new regional office in West London. Louisa Summerfield will be running the West London region, helping businesses from Windsor to Wimbledon to get ahead.

After graduating with a degree in Law, Louisa worked as a corporate solicitor. She soon discovered a passion for business and went on to launch a global fashion brand, specialising in fashion for women in wheelchairs. In 2012, Louisa discovered Get Ahead online and began working part-time with the flexible outsourcing agency, alongside building her fashion business.

In 2017, natural entrepreneur Louisa spotted an opportunity to bring several domestic services, including dog walking and cleaning, into one customer-friendly online solution. Working with a technical team, she developed a unique app that used GPS to match local people with a range of home services, including cleaning, dog walking, handymen, and dinner party assistance. Chores and Paws became a massive success in London, connecting local service providers with local clients.

After six years of developing the business, Louisa felt ready for the next challenge. She completed the sale of her award-winning company and decided it was time for something new.

“Having started several businesses from scratch, I know how exciting and rewarding it can be, but also how tough it can be. This time, I wanted to find a role that offered all the support of working for a business but the freedom to do things my own way. Becoming a regional partner with Get Ahead was the obvious choice. I know Rebecca and the business incredibly well. I have seen first-hand how well she supports her Regional Directors, who are spread across England. Rebecca genuinely cares about her team and wants them to succeed.”

Over the next few months, Louisa looks forward to utilising her extensive local business network to raise awareness of our services. “Having been a small business owner, I completely relate to the frustrations and challenges of running your own company,” Louisa added. “I can instantly see what support business owners need and pinpoint the help that will make the biggest difference, whether that’s social media support, business development, accounting or other services. I love seeing businesses succeed and helping them on their journey.”

Our founder Rebecca Newenham is delighted Louisa has decided to become a regional partner and open the West London office. “Louisa has a proven track record of growing successful businesses,” Rebecca said. “Coupled with her deep understanding of our business and the value of outsourcing, I know she will flourish as a Regional Director. I look forward to supporting her over the coming months as she welcomes new clients on board. With offices in Berkshire, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, East Midlands, Essex, Harrogate, Leeds, North Hampshire, Oxford, Southampton, Suffolk, Surrey, Winchester and York, we are well-placed to support growing businesses.”

Virtual PA services have both similarities and differences from the traditional PA model. Unfortunately, some business owners are reluctant to sign up for support from virtual PA services because they don’t know what they can reasonably ask their virtual PA to do. This means they’re missing out on some great support.

If you’re wavering about taking up virtual PA services, you’re not alone. To help you, we asked one of our virtual PA’s Juliet to talk us through the top tasks her clients ask her to do. We’ll also take a look at more unusual tasks and how to go about finding the right support to deliver them. Read on to find out more.

Top tasks for virtual PA services

Email

Juliet: Email monitoring is one of the biggest areas of my role. With hundreds of emails arriving every day, it can be difficult for business owners to pick out the most important ones. That’s why I manage client’s inboxes, monitoring the emails to make sure that the right people see the most important messages and action them.

I keep my own records as well. If I notice an important email has not been actioned, I follow up with the recipient so it doesn’t go unanswered.

Initially, I send holding emails in reply so the sender knows their email has been seen. As time goes on and I get to know client’s businesses and how they work, I can reply to some emails myself, taking the pressure off the core team.

Outsourcing email monitoring means the clients can focus on their core business, confident that there is a VA looking out for the most important messages and taking the pressure off.

Accounts

Juliet: Having worked with a number of clients, I’ve got to know different types of accounting software! This helps me slot into a new business easily, and makes me more confident about taking on a new accounting platform. I enter the right data into the platform and chase and reconcile invoices.

Many business owners cite finance as their weakest area – if you hate it, you’re not alone! Fortunately, outsourcing means invoices can be reconciled more quickly and business owners don’t have to worry about it.

Reporting

Juliet: Many of my bigger clients have boards of trustees who have oversight of the business figures. Part of my role is to assemble quarterly reports, pulling together information from other sources so the trustees have an accurate picture of the business.

Preparing for board meetings can take up a lot of precious time. Fortunately, outsourcing the quarterly reports gives you that time back.

Events

Juliet: I often organise events, training and conferences for my clients. I’ve built up my own directory of venues and other services to help the practical side of business events run smoothly.

I love being able to share my established contacts with my new clients. Because I have worked with many different businesses over the years, I’ve developed a network of events contacts which I use to support my current clients.

What about other business support?

Get Ahead has a wide range of virtual experts. Even if you have tasks that fall outside virtual PA services, we have the expertise to deliver them. For example, we might match you with Juliet (or someone with similar skills) to put together a conference or stay on top of the emails. And if you have other jobs, like developing a new website or marketing a new product, other members of our extensive team can help. Even if you have more unusual requirements, like collating notes from a workshop, we hope you’ll come to us – we can always find the right support for your needs.

Virtual PA services from Get Ahead

Our team provide back-office support so that business owners can focus on their core offering. And without having to spend their evenings catching up on paperwork, business owners regain the free time and flexibility that they were looking for in the first place!

Want to find out more about virtual PA services? We’ve put together some of our resources to help you – have a read!

One generalist or a team of specialists? – Get Ahead VA

Don’t know whether to outsource? – Get Ahead VA

A hand-picked team for your business support – Get Ahead VA

Hut22 – a flexible solution for a changing workload – Get Ahead VA