Don ’ t be fooled by companies offering cheaper price deals - you ’ ll end up paying a lot more over 12 months
DEFINING A DECADE
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Wiltshire ’ s ‘ admin fairy ’ celebrates 8 years in business
Emma Boatman , Founder of Boatman Admin Services , reflects on eight years of business growth , personal development and helping business owners get on top of their to-do lists .
When did you set up Boatman Admin Services ? I set up the business in October 2015 after leaving a job in the pharmaceutical world where I worked for over ten years . The business initially fulfilled numerous admin requirements for my husband ’ s independent financial advisory business .
What was the catalyst for setting up the business ? I fell into being a Virtual Assistant ( VA ) in all honesty ! Within months of supporting my husband ’ s business , several new processes and systems were set up and the administration side of the business was more streamlined , which increased efficiency and gave him more time to focus on the client-facing meetings .
This experience made it clear that good admin support is crucial to any business , but smaller businesses could particularly utilise my expert support . We carried out our own research which made it clear that there were lots of business owners trying to ‘ do it all ’.
What services do you offer ? The bread and butter of our business is admin services . This can be anything from inbox and diary management to market research or audio transcription . We also offer bookkeeping , website updates and social media management .
In addition , we offer an Online Business Manager service to help with strategy , business scaling , streamlining operations , improving efficiency and delegating responsibilities .
How has this business changed over the years ? Since 2017 we have built a team of seven incredible associates plus myself . The growth of the team started during lockdown as we started to get more enquiries from small businesses looking to outsource their admin and bookkeeping . I was surprised that we saw growth shortly after people got over the shock of being in lockdown but this was a turning point for the business .
Who is your typical client ? We work with anyone who is drowning in their admin . We ’ re very lucky to have such a diverse range of clients including copywriters , financial advisers , will writers , vets , interior designers , authors , business coaches – the list is endless .
What have been your biggest successes ? My biggest achievement has been having the confidence to set up the business . I left a corporate role where I ’ d experienced some bullying and my confidence was at an all-time low . I didn ’ t believe that anyone would want to work with me . Now I have a team of associates who support me and our clients .
Another success are the awards I ’ ve won along the way . I ’ ve been to the House of Lords twice through the Small Business 100 awards and the # iAlso awards . Being crowned the South West VA of Year and the runner up England VA of the Year was absolutely amazing and completely unexpected .
What have been the biggest challenges ? Whilst building my confidence was one of my biggest successes , it ’ s probably been one of my biggest challenges . Of course , we ’ ve also had a global pandemic to deal with . If that ’ s not a challenge , I ’ m not sure what is !
What ’ s next ? Good question ! Later this year I ’ ve been asked to speak at Bath University about my lessons learnt as a business owner .
Whilst I don ’ t have a grand master plan of action for the business or for taking over the world , I ’ m passionate about supporting fellow business owners to achieve more in their day without feeling overwhelmed .
To find out more about Boatman Admin Services visit : www . boatmanadmin . co . uk Email : Emma @ boatmanadmin . co . uk Call : 01249 470 067
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Don ’ t be fooled by companies offering cheaper price deals - you ’ ll end up paying a lot more over 12 months
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