Regional Director for Oxford
Often as business owners we find ourselves spending time on all aspects of running our business from Finance to Marketing and not having enough time to spend on the actual reason we started the business in the first place.
At Get Ahead we are your Virtual Agency and it is my mission to help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes concentrate on the areas of their business that they enjoy, and are good at, and then identify what areas they could look at outsourcing. Since Get Ahead launched we have helped hundreds of business owners to achieve clarity and freedom.
This is a personal mission of mine, having spent 20 years as Buying and Brand Director in Retail, I have skills in managing and directing teams myself having managed teams of 50 buyers to deliver against KPI’s. I have had to be highly organised and time effective in my career, delivering a Commercial plan in both Private and Corporate Businesses. I have worked with one of the entrepreneurs, Theo Paphitis, from Dragons Den at Ryman the Stationers, so I have a wealth of experience in business and most importantly the challenges of running one.
The pandemic changed the world of work and I upskilled in Social Media to achieve CPD certification in Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Strategy & Scheduling. I set myself up as a Social Media Manager, so I am also fully aware of the challenges VA’s and freelancers have. It is so important to match the right Expert with my client’s business in terms of personality, skillset and standard of work.
When I met Rebecca, at a Flexible working Virtual Show, I was exploring my options to maintain a better work life balance with my family. I read Rebecca’s book Virtually Yours and could see that Get Ahead Virtual Agency was the perfect blend of working for myself, but also being part of an experienced team. Get Ahead is a professional business with a solid track record of helping businesses to be able to focus and grow.
If you would like to free yourself up to remember why you started your business in the first place, then contact me to discuss what you’re currently doing, or not doing in your business, to grow to the next level.
Here’s 60 seconds with our Oxford & Buckinghamshire Regional Director, Vicky McKenna.
Area of expertise
Marketing, Buying, Business Analysis, Product Development, an appreciation of strategic challenges and relationship building by managing large teams of people with different skills. Recently setting up my own Social Media freelance business has given me a deeper understanding of working for yourself, as well as the challenges of managing Social Media platforms.
When and why did you join Get Ahead?
After 25 years of working for other people, I felt ready to do something for myself. I met Rebecca Newenham, founder of Get Ahead, at Flexpo. I was looking for a new challenge and a flexible working option that would allow me to spend more time with my son. After considering my past career to date, the Get Ahead franchise felt like the right next step.
What did you do before you joined Get Ahead?
I enjoyed a successful career in commercial buying, working for many well-known brands including Dixons, GAME, Ryman Ernest Jones and H Samuel. I then studied with Techpixies CPD Social Media Course during the 2020 lockdowns, it gave me something to focus on, but also to upskill my knowledge. It was clear that the Pandemic had changed the way people shop and Social Media would now be a key part of all businesses future. I ran my own Social Media Management business, managing the Pinterest Account for Techpixies for 3 months.
Career highlight to date:
I really enjoyed my commercial buying career and worked on some fantastic projects for inspiring mentors like Theo Paphitis. He was great at spotting opportunities and whilst working for him, I learnt a lot about consolidating businesses and bringing teams together.
Plans for the future:
I am really looking forward to meeting lots of new businesses at networking events in my local area of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. I have always been a bit of a troubleshooter in my career. I love to solve problems and to support. I know there are many small businesses and entrepreneurs who are brilliant at what they do but don’t have time to concentrate on running their business, manage day-to-day tasks and make time for family and friends outside of work. The Get Ahead team can help support them to achieve their goals and spend more time on what they want to do, not what they feel they have to do.