In this Client Story, Kara Birrell talks us through her work with Op-tec Systems.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
In this Client Story, Kara Birrell talks us through her work with Op-tec Systems.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
This is such a good question and there are three simple answers:
If you are in one (or all three) of these camps, it is time to really consider delegating. As a business leader, your time is far better spent on strategic thinking and designing a business that makes the world, and our experience of it, better. You should be delivering work only you can, based on a grounded understanding of what your clients want. When you are doing this, and have the systems, processes and people around you that drive success, you will be operating at a different level… who knows what’s possible then?!
Start by taking a look at our free Delegation Tool. This will help you determine the work you should be doing – identifying everything else that can be delegated internally, outsourced to professionals like us, or taken off your plate with a little help from AI.
Request your free Delegation Tool today to help you take control of your weaknesses.
Why not take a look at the people in our team too, just head on over to our Meet The PAs page to find out more about the skills and experience they could offer you.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
Successful leaders understand the importance of focusing on their strengths. But what about those tasks that fall outside your areas of expertise or interest? You know, the ones that drain your energy and detract from your core objectives?
This is where outsourcing steps in as a strategic solution, allowing businesses (or more specifically, their owners) to effectively manage their weaknesses while maximising their strengths.
At The Passionate PA, we believe that outsourcing is not merely a transactional process but a powerful tool for business growth and success. With over 15 years of experience in providing top-tier freelance executive-level support to entrepreneurs and ambitious business owners throughout the UK, we’ve seen first-hand the transformative impact that outsourcing can have on a company’s productivity, profitability and overall development.
One of the key benefits of outsourcing lies in its ability to enable business leaders to focus on what they do best. By identifying and acknowledging areas of weakness, whether it be in administrative tasks, business development, marketing, event planning etc, leaders can free up valuable time and mental bandwidth to concentrate on strategic initiatives and core competencies. This not only enhances productivity and efficiency but also nurtures innovation and growth within the organisation.
Outsourcing to experienced freelancers offers a level of expertise and flexibility that may not be available with in-house staff too. Our team of dedicated and commercially savvy people bring a wealth of business experience to the table, from strategic planning to project management, tender writing to preparing a business for sale. Unlike traditional employees, freelancers can be engaged on a project basis, providing businesses with the agility and scalability required to adapt to changing demands and market conditions.
Another advantage of outsourcing is its cost-effectiveness. Instead of bearing the overhead costs associated with hiring full-time employees, businesses can leverage the services of freelance professionals and only pay for productive time. Whether it’s billing by the hour, day, or project, outsourcing allows for greater control over expenditure and resource allocation, ultimately leading to improved financial performance and profitability.
Perhaps the most compelling argument for outsourcing though lies in its ability to drive business growth and innovation. By entrusting tasks to experienced professionals, business leaders can tap into specialised skills and resources. This enables them to access new markets, pursue strategic partnerships and capitalise on emerging opportunities – all while maintaining a lean and agile organisational structure.
At The Passionate PA, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing today’s business leaders. When our team members are working 121 with clients, they are committed to delivering exceptional work and being part of your success story. We partner with you every step of the way to help you achieve your goals and unlock your full potential.
Outsourcing is not just about delegating tasks – it’s about strategically managing your weaknesses to drive business growth and success. By embracing outsourcing as a strategic tool, businesses can focus on their strengths, leverage specialised expertise and drive innovation, all while maximising efficiency and profitability.
Ready to take your business to the next level? Start by taking a look at our free Delegation Tool. This will help you determine the work only you should be doing – allowing everything else to be delegated internally or outsourced to professionals like us.
Together, we can turn your weaknesses into strengths and make your business goals a reality.
Request your free Delegation Tool today to help you take control of your weaknesses.
Why not take a look at the people in our team too, just head on over to our Meet The PAs page to find out more about the skills and experience they could offer you.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
Strategic Freelance Business Support is more than you might expect. Far from being ‘just’ epic email management and diary organisation, the services we offer transform clients’ businesses.
In this blog, Steph Taylor does some straight talking about the strategic business support she delivers to her clients after a 20+ year career in Human Resources and Change Management.
As an entrepreneur or executive, you need more than task completion from your freelance team members. You need strategic partners offering valuable expertise to accelerate your business growth. With over 20 years of HR leadership experience, I provide strategic skills along with hands-on operational support.
My extensive HR background has refined my ability to understand people, processes and operations. I now use these skills to collaborate with clients, optimising their businesses and driving results. My experience helps me identify their most valuable assets – engaged employees and satisfied customers – to boost retention and loyalty of both. I also have proven change management expertise to guide teams through change (big or small) smoothly.
In addition to strategic insights, I offer tactical support using project management, communication and organisational skills developed through a variety of HR leadership roles. I streamline processes to increase efficiency, I have strong analytical skills in gathering and interpreting data, and identifying actionable insights. My detail orientated mindset ensures clear, consistent policies, documents and procedures too.
My analytical thinking and critical evaluation allow me to objectively assess current processes and initiatives, revealing performance gaps and opportunities. I then help design tailored interventions aligned with my clients’ organisations and target markets. My project management skills ensure initiatives stay on track and on budget.
While I don’t offer formal HR services (there are plenty of companies that do that), I bring well-rounded expertise for value-driven support. My blend of people skills, analytical thinking, project management and passion for operational excellence is what my clients most value.
I can advise on workforce strategies, evaluate candidates, design onboarding programs, and more. I can assist with leadership training and coaching to build management capabilities. I can provide guidance on strengthening culture and engagement.
Operationally, I manage activities ranging from event coordination to streamlining everyday processes efficiently. I oversee special projects, gather and analyse data, manage communications between teams and customers, and keep initiatives progressing smoothly.
Strategic freelance business support is the rocket fuel you need to take your business to the next level. Let’s discuss your plans.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
I didn’t quite “declare war” – trust the Daily Mail to exaggerate 🤪 – but I’m pleased to be quoted in this article. This is a really important read for all PAs, VAs and freelancers.
In response to over 500 secretaries at Deloitte being told their jobs were at risk last week, the Daily Mail has picked up on the huge wave of PAs and EAs moving into the freelance world due to the difficulties in finding suitable roles for their skill sets, post covid. The article talks about whether the role of the EA is dead and how successful start-up VAs really are.
Firstly, we (the whole Business Support industry and recruiters) all need to work harder to educate the business community and news reporters on the difference between a Secretary, VA, PA and EA. But I’ll leave that for another blog!
Secondly, making a successful career out of freelancing is not easy – this was my point, which has, to some degree, been lost in the article. Becoming a Virtual Assistant just because you’ve lost your job is not the right thing to do. (Note the word ‘just’.)
I have spent over 10 years honing my skills as a freelance PA and helping others carve out successful businesses for themselves too under The Passionate PA brand.
Sadly, the ‘quick-fix’ freelancers and VAs that are popping up daily, only to disappear within a few months, are really making it so difficult for the business world to understand the value a professional outsourced business support solution can offer. I appreciate going freelance is sometimes out of desperation. Of course. But sometimes it’s just pure naivety and rose-tinted glasses.
The whole reason I franchised my business was to help talented, ambitious individuals have an easier route into self-employed success. If you’d like to know more, visit our Join Us page.
I’ve heard so many horror stories of business owners trusting start-up freelancers and VAs, investing valuable time and energy into their on-boarding, only for them to quit when they find suitable employment. This leaves the business in the lurch and feeling very burnt by the whole experience.
➡️ My best advice to business owners – if you are serious about using freelancers to help you structure and grow your business, invest in people that make it their business to ensure you succeed. Check out Karen Murray‘s latest podcast where I talk about how to do this.
➡️ My best advice to employees staring down the barrel of unemployment or experiencing job loss – UPSKILL, invest in your own professional development and commercial awareness and really, really, really delve deep into your own values, passions and strengths.
Freelancing and being self-employed is NOT the easy route that so many gurus try to persuade you it is. Only embark on becoming a freelancer when no plan B will do! By that I mean, when your soul is hungry for choice, fulfilment and awesome clients and you are ready and willing to give your new adventure the focus it needs. You need an awesome support network and it you really want to thrive, an experienced, hands-on mentor that will open doors for you and help you navigate the challenges from day 1.
Kate
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
We are so thrilled to share a podcast recorded recently with Trisha Lewis – Communication coach, speaker and author.
Trisha invited Kate to talk about the things she holds most dear; leading with an open heart, the unique and exciting opportunity of franchising and the role of the freelance PA in today’s business world. Oh, and her crazy life on Dartmoor!
Kate and Trisha had an absolute blast recording this, as it evident from the outset. If you want to know more about Kate and how our business is just so different from corporate life – this is the perfect place to start!
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
This is a question I’m being asked a lot right now by people interested in becoming a Passionate PA, but also by skilled individuals who have toyed with the idea of “going freelance” for many years and are just looking for some advice. I’ve also had a few calls recently with people who have already embarked on their freelance journey but are finding it tough.
I have a few friends who are facing redundancy at this time too, and having shared my personal journey to some extent, they are wondering whether the freelance lifestyle is for them. They’ve seen me enjoying all the advantages of being my own boss, of working with great clients and of building the business of my dreams – something I never thought possible ten years ago!
So, when is the perfect time?
When I embarked on my freelance journey, I was 26, newly married with a wealth of skills and bucketloads of hope.
However, the UK was in recession, I had a massive mortgage and very fragile self-confidence due to countless bosses who had no idea what great people management really was. I was also dealing with the grief of losing the woman who set up The Passionate PA; my anchor, mentor and friend. (Read that story here).
My timing was NOT perfect.
But when would it have been? When my husband and I had six months’ money in the bank? When the economy had recovered? When I’d got over my grief? When I’d found my professional confidence?
Ha… the irony here is that my journey to becoming a successful freelancer ‘fixed’ all of this (except of course the economy – I cannot take credit for that!). Becoming a Passionate PA gave me choices like never before, developed my self-confidence, helped me recover from losing Sarah and paid really well. The recession was actually a good thing too because as my client-base recovered from the recession, they preferred to outsource rather than employ.
So, Top Tip Number 1 is to understand there is no such thing as perfect timing – it’s more about YOU and the commitment you have to yourself. When that is ‘perfect’, then the timing is right.
The rest of my Top Tips for freelance success go a little something like this:
🌟 Top Tip Number 2: Identify your personal goals and be crystal clear with what success REALLY looks like to you.
🌟 Top Tip Number 3: Be prepared to work hard – really hard. You may have great skills, but it takes real dedication to find the people who want to buy those skills. I urge all new freelancers to plan for the long haul and understand it takes time, effort and energy to build a successful business.
🌟 Top Tip Number 4: Define what your ideal client looks like and try to connect with them, and only them. Now, I know this is a bit radical, but no one else actually matters. You can have 500 followers on your business Facebook page, but it means absolutely nothing if they are just your family and friends… sure they might refer business to you, but your efforts are far better spent on targeted marketing approaches.
🌟 Top Tip Number 5: Know your value proposition (that’s what you offer, why and who to), and talk about it with total confidence! Know your personal USP too.
🌟 Top Tip Number 6: Do not work for free, ever. Don’t barter, pimp yourself out or sell your soul to the devil no matter how hard it gets. The minute you start doing this, you undervalue yourself, your skill set and everyone else trying to make a decent living from freelancing. If there’s a problem getting clients, I’d wager it’s not price holding them back…
🌟 Top Tip Number 7: Distinguish yourself from your competition; keep an eye on them but don’t emulate them. While imitation can be flattering, in business, it is just plain rude to copy.
🌟 Top Tip Number 8: Get to grips with the legals, finances and marketing on day one, particularly cashflow forecasting, insurances and GDPR.
🌟 Top Tip Number 9: Find a mentor that has been there and done it successfully for years (and years, and years, and years!). Momentary success is easy, sustaining a profitable, fulfilling business in the long-term is the real artform. Plus, try not to take business advice from your mum, partner, best friend etc unless they really are an accomplished business owner themselves.
🌟 Top Tip Number 10: Don’t have a plan B. Go all in like your life depends on it. If you have a plan B, you’ll waste valuable time thinking and planning for that and inevitably, your plan B will become Your Plan.
You know what, I could keep writing… There’s so much to say about how to manage your own mental health and keep a positive mindset as a freelancer. There are whole blogs I could write about how a successful freelancer must transition from an employee mindset to a business owner’s one.
Anybody who knows me well will know that one of my favourite words in the whole world is CONSISTENCY. I genuinely believe that my ability to remain consistent with clients, my business and the external world has been pivotal to my success.
There are so many more lessons I could share. I’m truly passionate about helping skilled individuals create rewarding and sustainable businesses as freelance PAs. That’s my role at The Passionate PA; franchisor, mentor, marketeer, rainmaker, a shoulder to cry on… a problem shared and all that! With my franchisees, I go through it all with them, right by their side and make sure they don’t fall over at any of the hurdles. If you are thinking about becoming a freelance PA and would love the support on offer here, book a call today.
If what you’ve read here has spurred you on to go it alone as a freelancer with your unique skills, then awesome! I wish you all the luck in the world for the next chapter of your career. Keep positive and remain consistent.
Kate x
Kate Chastey is ‘chief’ Passionate PA; a truly experienced and successful freelancer. Having run The Passionate PA since 2010 and been through all the highs and lows, it’s fair to say there’s not much she doesn’t know about building a small business in the UK. She is also franchisor of The Passionate PA brand. More information about Kate can be found here, or joining our franchise, here.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
Coronavirus has affected every business in our country. There’s no sugar-coating it, for some it has been utterly dire and for some it has been an unprecedented opportunity.
Here at The Passionate PA, we work with entrepreneurs; fast-paced, growing businesses that are always looking ahead. Our experience has been that Covid-19 literally stopped most of them in their tracks… at the very least for a few days whilst they got over the shock, worked out how to get a workforce to be productive from home and managed the risks associated with the pandemic.
But now, for most of our clients, it’s business as un-usual.
Working so closely with these business leaders, we see their challenges and feel their pain. The benefit of knowing their businesses so well, is that it gives us a unique and valuable perspective, and a beautiful opportunity to really show how much we care and help them survive the crisis.
In the early weeks of the pandemic, each of our team worked really closely with their clients to ensure they not only survived this crisis, but planned to come out stronger and more focused than ever before.
In this blog, our franchisor, Kate Chastey (centre), shares our 7 Point Plan for helping clients through this crisis.
We help each of our clients perform a SWOT analysis of their business. Done formally, or informally, we make sure we are helping our clients see their strengths at this time, and the weaknesses that need to be addressed.
We’re also helping our clients understand the business threats from this situation – it has to be said, its mostly cashflow no matter what size the business is! And, of course, the opportunities – within every crisis there are opportunities, sometimes it’s just hard to see them when the panic sets in. We help our clients step back and evaluate.
Once a SWOT is done, we help our clients prepare a structured plan to ensure they (and the whole business) can cope with the levels of change required. We help our clients focus on the desired outcomes and prepare accordingly.
No matter what the business or what the challenge, there is always innovation to be introduced somewhere. We help our clients release their shackles and see opportunities for innovation and diversification whether it be in service or product offerings, routes to market, target audiences or even marketing messages.
We are masters of efficiency; from managing productivity, motivation and communication to streamlining business processes and customer service. We happily share our knowledge and experience to increase efficiency for the greater good of the business and its people.
We aren’t just thinkers and planners – oh no! A huge part of the partnerships we have with our clients is rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck in. We help our clients prioritise and action, and we take responsibility where needed to relieve our clients of workload.
The key to all success is consistency and so our clients rely on us to provide a level of service that never falters. With one eye on today’s ‘To Dos’ and one on the path ahead, we help our clients consistently perform their roles and responsibilities, ensuring their business survives today and can thrive as we all move forward.
It makes the world go around. Simple.
In our relationships, there is always time for kindness, compassion and understanding. Overwhelm happens to us all, no matter how senior or how experienced. It happens at different times and with different triggers and one of the best parts about being an entrepreneur’s Passionate PA is the trust and loyalty we share.
Our clients can always rely on us to be the listening ear, the kick up the butt or the provider of gin… whichever is the most appropriate at any one time 😉
If you are looking for a fresh perspective to get you and your business through this really difficult time, please contact Kate on 03 3000 20 200.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
Recently, The Times newspaper did a double page spread on the strength of the franchising industry in the UK, with a lead story about how women are thriving in this arena.
Well, I guess myself and The Passionate PA are proof of that!
But, unlike the huge brands The Times talked about, such as TaxAssist Accountants, ActionCoachUK, Subway and Wiltshire Farm Foods, my journey into franchising, along with my vision for the future, is quite unique.
The Passionate PA is a labour of love for me. If you’ve taken a peek at Our Story on our website you’ll know this was not really how it was meant to be. Our founder, Sarah Howells, started The Passionate PA over 12 years ago after realising she wanted to be her own boss. She set out to change her own career because she could see small businesses would buy pockets of time and skills from her. She was well ahead of the current Virtual Assistant trend, and definitely one of the first to recognise that branding and networking really matter!
I met Sarah in 2009 when she had developed the business to a ‘busy’ point. She wanted another Passionate PA with complementary skills to hers, and so together our plan was to take Dorset by storm (that’s where I lived back then). She was the career PA, I was the marketing PA; we believed clients would love the double act.
I would never have jumped off my own corporate career ladder without Sarah holding my hand (insert “giving me a push!!”). But, she was proof that being a freelance PA could be rewarding, and as I was only 26 at the time, risk was something I still felt pretty comfortable with. With the support of my husband, I quit my well-paid, sensible job in marketing (which I did love to some degree), in order to experience something new. I was to be self-employed but under the wing of someone who’d been doing it for over a year, and could sell ice to Eskimos!
What could possibly go wrong…?
Cancer. Sarah lost her battle with Cancer just 16 days after I officially joined The Passionate PA in Feb 2010. So, in amongst all that grief and sadness, I was left to run, market and build a brilliant business that I felt had only really been brilliant because of Sarah and everything she was.
This was one of the lowest points in my life. I was 26, knew absolutely nothing about running my own business and knew even less about being a freelance PA; in fact, I hadn’t even had ‘PA’ as a proper job title before! Panic set in and a pretty turbulent four years followed. Throughout all the personal doubt though, I managed to find amazing clients, deliver exceptional work for them and make decent money, so something was working, it just took we a while to pin down exactly what!
Throughout those early years, freelance PAs and VAs were be-friending me all the time with the goal of getting to know what it was I was doing so differently. In honesty, I didn’t really know – I was just doing what I thought was right with a keen eye on client happiness and my own profitability. Looking back now, this was a period that shaped me and my life hugely. At the time it just felt like a constant rollercoaster ride of building a business, filling Sarah’s shoes and wondering what the hell the future had in store. But, my knowledge and confidence developed – and so did my vision.
If the early days of being a Passionate PA taught me anything, it’s that every so often, we all need someone to hold our hand. I would never have set up my own business without Sarah’s initial push and a recognised brand to hang my hopes on. I would never have continued that journey without the unwavering support of my husband and the Dorset business community.
And that, in a nutshell, is exactly why I franchised The Passionate PA. I wanted to give other people the opportunity to be brave in setting up their own business, with me holding their hand. I love helping others identify their truly valuable skills and experiences and working with them in a partnership to shape a business that empowers them and delivers financial rewards and personal fulfilment.
Franchising isn’t an easy option. It’s scary at times, can be incredibly lonely as a franchisor without a head office team, and obviously it needs pretty deep pockets to create a business worthy of investment from franchisees. But, there are so many advantages! It suits my life goal, which is not to manage people through employment, but to help them develop themselves to be the best they can be. Franchising enables me to create partnerships with each of my franchisees – and for them, there is complete clarity on what they are investing in and what they will receive in return.
All of my future growth plans revolve very much around my chosen lifestyle on Dartmoor – the house of my dreams with 2.5 acres and a life full of family, fur babies and baking. Unlike the global franchises of this world, I don’t want an empire with a huge head office team and all the associated stress and cost that goes with that. I’m committed to spending my working life helping honest, passionate and skilled individuals create businesses they love under The Passionate PA’s brand. I am building a team of freelance PAs that are unrivalled in terms of skills, outlook and team spirit. It’s that simple.
There are so many ambitious business owners out there that need/want a Passionate PA and relish the fact that we are very different from the option of employing a PA or Project Manager, or in some instances, using an alternative freelancer. The power in The Passionate PA comes from our team – together we can tackle just about ANYTHING a business owner needs, due to the variety of skills, knowledge and experience within our growing team, and our little black book of contacts full of experts in their field. That is added value and clients love it!
Being a freelance PA wasn’t what I dreamed of when I was a child, but running a business certainly was. Franchising wasn’t part of my plan when I left employment, but because it gives me and the franchisees a partnership where both are responsible for our success, it has always felt so right.
Happy clients! Happy Passionate PAs! Profitable businesses! It all makes my heart skip a beat.
Having built a great platform to franchise from, I am now committed to growing the brand and business at a pace that I am comfortable with, together with a clear focus on delivering exceptional value to the team as it grows. I will only grant franchise territories to those that share my passion and vision. It’s incredibly exciting to have finally defined what success looks like to me, and be well on the path to achieving that.
Further blogs from The Passionate PA:
They are the words a long-standing client declared to me on Monday in one of our sparky, rather honest conversations… Kate Chastey writes about why entrepreneurs need to consider Outsourcing as a viable growth option. Continue reading “Employing is so last century!”
Kate Chastey, director of The Passionate PA, talks candidly about the highs and lows of rebranding The Passionate PA and why the time was right to embrace change. Continue reading “It’s time to grow up!”
In December 2017, The Passionate PA celebrated 10 wonderful years working with the South’s leading business people. Things are pretty different now to how they were in 2007… but we’re always ready for a challenge!