Virginia has over 20 years of experience in supporting roles across a range of industries and is passionate about providing a first-class service. Her career has taken her from office management/PA support in the hospitality sector and wine trade to taking over the reins of a family property business, to name just a few.
She has a passion for property, keeping fit/healthy living and lives with her family in the heart of Chichester, surrounded by the South Downs countryside.
Rebeka has had 25+ years’ experience as an Executive Assistant supporting C-suite management and senior-level executives, working alongside them as their right-hand woman ensuring they completed their business objectives.
Working in industries such as Automotive, Financial Services, Real Estate, IT and Marketing she has gained a wide range of experience.
She loves helping people and thinking outside the box for solutions to problems and if she doesn’t know the answer to a question, she will keep going until she does!
Rebeka says multi-tasking is her superpower and she enjoys having lots of plates spinning at once.
Based in Berkshire, Rebeka can support you with:
Louise has 18 years’ work experience across private and public sectors, having worked in customer service, administration, data processing and project management within small and large companies.
Louise enjoys working in systems and processes and data and anything tech! Supporting people to run their businesses in a smooth and streamlined way is her main goal in all the work that she does.
Based in North Wales, Louise can support you with:
With a career spanning over 25 years and a passion for organisation and efficiency, Joy works with clients to lighten their workload, streamline tasks, and help them achieve their goals.
Her ability to multitask along with her attention to detail really bolsters the support she brings to her clients.
Joy has worked in business support roles for most of her career, dealing with Partners and Heads of Department. She is used to multitasking and often working to tight deadlines.
Joy lives in Coventry, where she can be found most Saturday mornings volunteering at Coventry parkrun.
Joy can support you with:
Amanda has over 15 years’ experience, supporting C-Suite Executives and prides herself on supporting her clients with integrity, open communication and relationships based on trust.
Amanda is a natural planner, a good listener, and a proactive problem solver.
Nicola has a strong background in customer facing administration, having worked most recently within the Learning and Development team of a local charity.
Prior to that, she spent 7 years as an Account Coordinator for a leading global recruitment company based in London.
Lucy has over 20 years’ experience providing PA and administration support, event management and property management in a variety of roles including a private charity, a private country estate and a group of hotels.
Lucy really enjoys supporting business owners so they can have more time to focus on their core activities and achieve their goals.
Melanie is a highly experienced office professional and qualified HR Manager with 23 years’ experience of working in the private, public and charity sectors.
She has also worked in various senior admin roles including Executive Assistant, Office Manager and PA.
Based in Devon, Melanie can support you with:
Research – for projects, blogs, social media content, website pages
Michelle is a qualified ex-teacher with over 20 years of experience in administration, education, health and social care and charity sectors. As a result, Michelle has extensive knowledge of the sectors, regulations, OFSTED, CQC, and GDPR.
Michelle is methodical and organised, with a keen eye for detail, and has extensive knowledge of data protection, confidentiality and discretion.
Based in Cheshire, Michelle can help you with:
Executive Assistant support; including diary and email management
Data input
Reformatting and standardising formal documents, including policies and procedures
Copy-editing and proofreading of documents
Updating policies and procedures to reflect current legislation and include best practice
Natasha worked for over 25 years in a variety of industries. Her roles have included managing an administrative support team working within the scientific community which involved data and documentation management as well project management and process improvement.
She loves building strong client relationships in order to thoroughly understand their business needs and goals. She is solution focused and enjoys solving challenges.
Based in Cambridgeshire, Natasha can help you with:
Natali worked for over 17 years within a wide range of fields such as design, events, sales and marketing, business support and project management and started working as a Virtual Assistant in January 2019.
Based in Buckinghamshire, Natali can help you with:
Nush has fifteen years of experience working for businesses that have customer service and attention to detail at the heart of what they do. She has worked with local authorities, private companies and higher education providers, both in the UK and overseas, with previous experience as a teacher, coach, manager and director.
Nush is a problem-solver, who loves new challenges and connecting with others; providing ‘right-hand’ support, in order to give others the time and space to work on the parts of your business which need them the most. Above all, she loves the connections she forms with others by working with them in their business; providing committed assistance and creative problem-solving in order to ensure that a business meets the needs of the customer, in turn helping the business to thrive.
Based in Dorset, Nush can help you with:
Copywriting, editing and proofreading a variety of materials, including blog posts, newsletters and social posts
Providing superb customer support to a wide range of stakeholders.
Process creation and optimisation, and document organisation.
Raakhee has a background as an Executive Assistant at Board level. She finds organising people who are disorganised very fulfilling, and she loves a spreadsheet!
Raakhee is passionate about helping the environment and actively aims to be greener in her day to day life. She is also in the process of studying for a BSc in Environmental Science.
Based in Leicestershire, Raakhee can help you with:
Rebecca has over a decade of experience in the PA and events world. She has orchestrated unforgettable weddings and events worldwide for esteemed clients including Tiffany and Co, F1, The Dubai Government, Carphone Warehouse, and Royalty.
Rebecca has a wealth of experience from her career which has covered sales, business support, PA and management roles.
Based in Devon, Rebecca can help you with:
General admin and PA Duties
Social Media Scheduling
Worldwide Event Planning and Organisation
Lifestyle Support – Appointment Setting, Research, Travel Bookings etc
Sarah spent 23 years in the charity arena. Her role grew, as the charity did. From reception, secretarial, and fundraising roles, to responsibility for communications and marketing.
She would describe herself as a ‘doer’. and believes that being able to use her creativity and design skills to help a business tell their unique story is a privilege.
Based in Devon, Sarah can help you with:
Content writing; eg blogs, articles
Newsletter creation - MailChimp and more Canva - design of social posts, presentations, eBooks, brochures, newsletters and more
Sophie has over 15 years’ experience in operations management and administration across both charity and corporate sectors.
As a Business Operations Manager Sophie understands the importance of robust processes and policies and sustainable systems to help drive efficiencies and make resources go further.
Sumeera has worked with various corporate organisations (including Microsoft, ITV and Shell), SME’s and start-ups over her 20 year working career, in areas including digital, marketing, websites, content and advertising.
She has experience working across a diverse range of businesses including business coaches, estate agents, food and drink, beauty, construction, estate agents, a branding agency, fintech, cyber, oil and gas, psychologists, health fitness and wellbeing, and technology.
Having worked in PA and Secretarial roles for over 20 years, Tamsin provides excellent assistance to a variety of high level managers including Directors. She has been involved in organising many staff events, including parties for 200+ staff, off site staff briefings including venue booking, facilities preparation and putting the presentations together along with scheduling staff in to attend.
She loves being one step ahead of a client and thinking about things before they’ve even thought of it themselves. Tamsin says that making a client’s day easier is the best feeling.
Vicky’s love of technology and her decision to specialise as a podcast VA followed a radio experience session with the Girl Guides which led to over 20 years of working within community radio.
She now uses that experience, along with her training in voice-overs, to support clients to develop their podcasts, enabling them to be seen and be heard.
Based in Lincolnshire, Vicky can help you with:
Creating and managing podcasts to release content consistently
Taking the headache out of editing video and audio content, whilst repurposing to get the most out of the recording
Making technology accessible to clients, through 1:1 support
Integrating your podcast into your business and streamlining production processes
With a managerial background in Client and Customer Service, Lou has worked as a Virtual Assistant for over two years. Lou is experienced in supporting both small and large businesses across a wide range of administrative tasks.
She enjoys a consultative approach with clients, offering ideas and solutions across the board. Lou is passionate about wellness and self-care in business and is studying towards a Life Coaching certification with focus on mindset and growth.
Lisa has been a PA / EA since 2005 and has worked with companies in the fields of management consultancy, recruitment, law, design and branding, and HNWI.
Her expertise is in complex and proactive diary management (including scheduling across different time zones), coordinating complex business travel, detoxing intense inboxes, compiling documents containing confidential data as well as arranging corporate entertainment.
Lisa has 30+ years experience in administration including the Employment Service, HM Prison Service, Ministry of Defence and Public Sector Industries, as well as a PA/EA supporting a Captain of the Royal Navy and a Head Teacher.
She also worked as an Events Manager, organising events from business networking and well-being to weddings and activity events.
Based in Lincolnshire, Lisa can support you with:
Providing Executive virtual administration solutions to businesses, entrepreneurs and coaches enabling them to concentrate on their clients.
Laura has a background in law and residential property and worked in Central London for 8 years looking after a variety of high profile clients. Her work included new business generation, diary management, customer/client relationships, project management and much more!
The boutique companies she’s worked for have her given a well rounded range of business skills and experience.
Kirsten has spent the last 20 years providing EA, PA, Secretarial and Board support and event planning services to a variety of business owners and executives in the UK and overseas.
She loves helping people to meet their goals and increase their time to be able to enjoy the things they love most, in their business and personal lives.
Based in East Lothian, Kirsten can help you with:
Board and Executive team support
Event planning and management
Worldwide travel planning and complex itinerary co-ordination
Jules is our resident travel expert! She is passionate about travel and has over 30 years experience as a Travel Agent.
Working in partnership with High Street Travel Agency, Premier Travel, she can offer an ABTA Bonded Travel Booking Service. All package holidays will be ATOL Protected and 100% Financially Secure.
Based in North West London, Jules can help you with:
Jessica has been a virtual assistant since 2017 and specialises in minute taking (Boards, Sub-Committees, Working Groups and Programme Boards) working predominantly in healthcare both for the NHS and private healthcare. She has an extensive background in recruitment having managed the recruitment for a global IT firm across 20+ countries while managing a team based across the world.
Jessica understands confidentiality and discretion, is armed with the full range of administrative and communications skills you may require, and has an excellent career track record.
Based in Berkshire, Jessica can support you with:
Minute taking
Recruitment – process design, advertising, screening, interviewing, offers
Jenni has worked for over 25 years in Business Support roles for global corporate companies and SME’s, providing excellent support to a variety of senior managers including Directors through to operational staff.
Based in Merseyside, Jenni can help with:
Traditional PA skills to a high level
Excellent Microsoft skills
Extensive experience in multi Inbox/diary management
Jayne worked for 13 years as a Sales Manager, providing 5* event catering services to corporates, charities, and individuals alongside a large major events portfolio including the BRIT Awards & Royal Windsor Horse Show.
A dedicated, thorough, and hardworking individual, Jayne's skills have been proven in sales system processes, CRM, budgeting, forecasting and vital key administrative support to help maintain efficient operations. Since becoming a VA Jayne also has developed a passion for Canva, helping businesses to maintain a fantastic brand identity.
Jayne loves turning a lead into a sale and says the best way to do this is with a winning proposal and great client relations. Jayne loves taking a new client and putting systems in place to make sure they stand out at the first point of contact and build partnerships to last.
Based in Cornwall, Jayne can help you with:
Growing sales by assessing clients' customer journeys and improving their processes to maximise sales
Monitoring sales leads via email and on social platforms
Designing, creating and sending sales proposals
Implementation of suitable follow up procedures to maximise sales conversions
Managing existing customer service support
Extensive experience with administration and planning, particularly in the hospitality and events sector
For almost 20 years, Jackie worked for The Royal Household at Buckingham Palace, with the last nine and half years being the Personal Assistant to Her Majesty The Queen’s Personal Advisor and Dresser.
Being part of Her Majesty’s personal staff, Jackie always had to work with a high degree of discretion, be organised, detail oriented and maintain confidentiality at all times and these key elements Jackie continues to deliver to her clients today.
Based on the Isle of Skye, Jackie can help you with:
Holly worked for almost 15 years as a PA in the funeral sector, as an office administrator, funeral arranger, and PA to the area manager.
Along with her excellent PA skills Holly utilises her Multimedia Diploma from Plymouth College of Art & Design to provide tech support to her clients, such as video editing, photoshop work and canva design.
Helen has over twenty years’ experience working as a high-level Executive Assistant within the public sector, having worked for CEOs and as a Chief of Staff within the NHS, and the offices of the Government.
She not only brings a wealth of skills and experience to support her clients, but also boasts strong organisational skills and likes to be proactive and forward thinking. Helen is completely comfortable working within a high-pressured environment and is flexible to the demands of a challenging role.
Hayley is a PA/Account Coordinator with over a decade of experience supporting at both Senior Board and Director level.
She has a wealth of experience in a variety of sectors including Beauty/ Packaging and Hospitality. However a majority of her career, skills and experience is working within Executive Search and Recruitment.
Fiona has a comprehensive knowledge of finance and accounting processes having worked in finance since qualifying with the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT.)
She has also studied with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and obtained a Diploma in Management Accounting.
Based in Devon, Fiona can help you with:
Day to day finance administration
PAYE, CIS and VAT returns and liaising with HMRC
Processing payroll
Raising sales invoices and posting purchase invoices
Credit control, chasing overdue payments
Daily banking and allocating of all monies including setting up supplier payment runs
Processing petty cash payments and maintaining the cash book
Maintaining Gift Aid donation records and performing reclamations quarterly for charities
With three decades of experience as a PA/EA Anne-Louise brings a wealth of expertise to her role.
Her diverse background includes collaborating with professionals at various career stages, from recent university graduates to the challenges of the C-suite and the needs of HNWI.
Based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Anne-Louise can help you with:
Anna has an extensive background in the medical and educational sectors having spent over 20 years working in a medical royal college and a chartered professional membership body.
She has comprehensive experience managing educationally focused projects, supporting boards and committees, and managing operational membership activities.
Anna has a rescue border collie and spends much of her free time indulging her passion for all things canine by studying dog behaviour and training and helping to run local dog training classes. She also volunteers as a co-editor of her local community magazine.
Based in Wiltshire, Anna can help you with:
Project support and project management, particularly projects with an educational focus such as curriculum development.
Minute taking at Board level, including technical/medical subject matter
Preparation of agenda and papers, follow-up of actions.
Proof-reading and editing
Drafting of papers and articles for approval
Stakeholder management, particularly where board members or project experts are working on a voluntary basis.
Amanda has over 15 years’ experience, supporting C-Suite Executives and prides herself on supporting her clients with integrity, open communication and relationships based on trust.
Amanda is a natural planner, a good listener, and a proactive problem solver.
Katie is a student at the University of Exeter studying English and Communications. She is a curious, driven and bold individual.
Katie has experience writing and editing for student journalism and also works on layout for RAZZ student magazine at Exeter University.
In her free time, Katie is an avid reader, writer and podcast editor. On her podcast, Katie has gained experience interviewing people in PR, marketing, journalism and entrepreneurship and has become incredibly passionate about representations in the media.
As a result, Katie works vigilantly to ensure confidentiality and ethics are maintained.
Based in Exeter, Katie can help you with:
Podcast editing
Social media strategy. (Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and Twitter).
(Continued...) The recognition received through awards has been both humbling and inspiring. In 2020 and 2019, I was honoured with the title of UK Outstanding VA. In 2018, I proudly received the England VA of the Year award, and in the same year, I was recognised as VA of the Year in the South West, a title I also held in 2017. Additionally, in 2016, I was a Finalist for the prestigious Best Newcomer award.
Our journey continued in 2022 when we were awarded Small Business Of The Year at the Devon Women In Business Awards.
The award I am most proud of however, was Contribution to the VA Community which I received in 2022 from the UK VA Awards.
Outside of the office, I have been volunteering in Scouting for over 20 years and now serve on the Board of Trustees and support the fundraising sub-committee.
UK Outstanding VA 2019 & 2020
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the UK Outstanding VA 2019 and 2020 category in the UK VA Awards
VA of the Year 2018 (England)
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the VA of the Year 2018 (England) category in the UK VA Awards
VA of the Year (South West) 2017 & 2018
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the VA of the Year 2017 and 2018 (South West) category in the UK VA Awards
VA Newcomer of the Year 2016
‘Finalist’ in the VA Newcomer 2016 category in the UK VA Awards
UK Outstanding VA 2019 & 2020
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the UK Outstanding VA 2019 and 2020 category in the UK VA Awards
VA of the Year 2018 (England)
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the VA of the Year 2018 (England) category in the UK VA Awards
VA of the Year (South West) 2017 & 2018
Awarded ‘Winner’ of the VA of the Year 2017 and 2018 (South West) category in the UK VA Awards
VA Newcomer of the Year 2016
‘Finalist’ in the VA Newcomer 2016 category in the UK VA Awards
Based in Newton Abbot, Devon I love:
Assisting business owners strategically, taking a whole-business view and determining the best way to save them time
Helping identify what could be delegated and putting this in place
Supporting whole teams, to enable them to work more effectively together and focus on the bigger picture
Lifestyle support, ensuring clients maintain a work/life balance
Let’s start with the obvious here. It might appear counterintuitive to list the reasons we may not be a good fit for you and your organisation, but here at The Indispensary, we value honesty and integrity, so why not lay our cards on the table?
Hiring a Virtual Assistant is one thing, but to really get the best from your working relationship, as well as gain positive results, both parties need to be upfront about their expectations and boundaries.
Hiring a VA is an investment, but only so if the working relationship is sound. The whole point of working with a VA is to allow you to free up time to focus on your impact, giving you peace of mind that the necessary background tasks are being taken care of. But it’s all about being right for one another!
So, with that in mind, here are 5 reasons we may not be right for you.
You are looking for ad-hoc support
We support our clients best when we can really get under the skin of their organisation, rather than just scratching the surface. In order to do this, we need to dedicate time and headspace to you as a client, getting to know you and the inner workings of your operations. It’s important for your VA to understand your core values and objectives, as this will allow them to deliver a higher standard of work.
This is why we only offer retainers, and our retainers begin at ten hours a month – an amount of time we feel is necessary to be effective and make a difference to your organisation.
VAs dedicate their time and energy to your business, but in order to make an impact, they need the time. We take on clients for a minimum of ten hours per month for a reason – any less and it’s really hard for us to make a difference – and making a difference is what we are all about. We want to get to know you and your organisation, come up with ideas, innovations and efficiencies for you, but it is almost impossible to do this if you’re not able to allocate a budget for the support. Check out our options here.
So, if you’re looking for ad hoc support, I’m afraid we’re not the right team for you.
You can’t dedicate time to work with your Virtual Assistant
All busy leaders will benefit from the support of a Virtual Assistant, but only if each party respects the other’s time.
Of course you are busy, we are too, and that in itself is a good enough reason to make sure you allocate time to your relationship with your VA and ensure the hours you’ve paid for are being filled.
If you are too busy to pass tasks over in a reasonable timeframe, we’re not here to keep chasing you up. It’s a drain on our time as well as yours, and I’m not going to lie, we find it soul destroying!
We work with responsible, ambitious, passionate charities who want us to help them achieve their goals.
Obviously, you need to delegate if you’re finding yourself unbearably busy but working with a VA will require you to prioritise time in your schedule to communicate with them. You’ll need to explain what you need and if you don’t have time to delegate or communicate, you simply won’t get the results you’re looking for. This could result in lost hours you’ve not used, delays in projects, tasks not completed exactly how you want them etc.
So, if you’re too busy to dedicate time to your working relationship with a VA, we’re not the right team for you.
You want a Virtual Assistant who is a do-er but not a thinker
The Indispensary team is proactive. Each team member has an impressive skill set and specific expertise and experience. This makes us unique in that we will always be looking to contribute more to your growing impact.
The team are focused, driven, and creative – and they all love problem solving. We will actively make suggestions for improvements in efficiency or quality and put forward ideas to help bolster your business. Yes we’re do-ers, we love getting things done, but we’re not ‘just’ do-ers.
So, if you’re looking for a team to simply ‘do as they’re told’ without thinking about it, that’s just not us!
You are looking for a free trial
We occasionally (albeit rarely) get asked if we’ll do a ‘trial’ project for free to prove our expertise and this is a major red flag.
We have a wealth of testimonials from long-standing clients, a team portfolio where you can check out our skills and experience and a blog brimming with insight – that’s all proof we’re a great team who get great results.
We don’t do free trials. Would you ask a plumber to come over and give you a demonstration of their abilities before hiring them to fix your tap? No, you’d likely hire based on referrals and testimonials.
Our work speaks for itself and we can point you in the direction of examples if you’d like to see them, but our social proof should be more than enough for you to see whether you’d love to work with us.
So, if you’re looking for a freebie before committing, we’re definitely not the right team for you.
We genuinely have your best interests at heart, it’s in our best interests too. Don’t just take our word for it, have a look at what our wonderful clients have said about what we offer .
You have been told to hire a Virtual Assistant but you don’t really know why
Do you already know what you need from a Virtual Assistant and in which areas you need support?
Setting clear and reasonable expectations is part and parcel of any professional working relationship. We’re clear about what we can and will deliver, and you need to be clear about your expectations from the start.
Each member of the team has multiple clients and so to ensure they are giving them the best service, expectations and boundaries need to be established and adhered to.
If you need a VA but are unsure if you’re ready, you can read more about things to consider before hiring a VAhere.
We recommend you take our quiz to find out what type of support you need to help you to boost your charity’s impact and download our ’30 ways to use a VA’ guide for charities here.
If you feel that we have the same values as you do, and you are ready to hire a Virtual Assistant, then we would love to hear from you. Do get in touch and let’s see how we can help.
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