2 minute read
The real person behind this Virtual PA
Meet Jo Peters
We got personal with a woman who created her own company to provide virtual personal assistance to local
Advertisement
businesses WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
What motivated you to start your own company?
Well, as a single parent I wanted to support my family in a way that meant I could work flexibly around them without compromising either my work or my family. I applied for lots of admin roles, but honestly couldn’t find anything to ‘fit’; it was then that I decided I could work remotely offering admin services to businesses that needed the essential services I could provide without being employed by one company specifically.
You have grown in the last few years, has that happened organically?
It’s been through our clients’ feedback mainly, so yes I guess we have Emily – by working closely with them and their needs, we can discover additional services that they might need. We currently provide a wide range of admin support including reception services, virtual PA and credit control, and over the last couple of years I have extended the team in order to meet the growing demand, so that shows our growth too.
How has the global pandemic affected your business?
It actually impacted our business in a positive way. Initially, businesses put everything on hold, but slowly and surely as things started to open up we have found a huge increase in demand for our services. Some companies have had to re-size their companies and have outsourced where they may have once had a sole person to do that role. Many people seem to be changing their attitude to remote working in a positive way. In addition, business owners appear to have used the time to re-assess their work/life balance and are using our services to alleviate their time.
What do you get out of running your own company?
I love it! And that’s just for starters, it does work around my family life too – which was my initial goal when setting up. I get to work with some amazing and inspiring clients and what I particularly love is the diversity of my work from one day to the next. I actually didn’t imagine it would be where it was today – I really enjoy seeing how far we can take this. I also really like the networking aspect of working within the business community in Leicester; it’s a really supportive community and this has been especially true of the last year.
Tell us something we don’t know…
I am a self-confessed gym bunny and love my shoes and handbags. I also believe in the importance of having a positive attitude in this life and can often be seen dancing and singing away on Instagram and LinkedIn!
