For this episode, I welcomed the inspirational Chela Hardy to the show.

Chela Hardy of AskChela LLC is a former Executive Assistant who transitioned into a career as a Virtual Assistant in 2001 providing general administrative services to small business owners. Since 2008, she has worked in her business as a Virtual Author & Speaker Assistant, offering a specific set of services (including publishing project management and book marketing brainstorming) to author and speaker clients around the country. 

Chela’s longtime presence in the virtual assistance industry has led her to coaching and mentoring several aspiring and new Virtual Assistants into their own careers. The author of Noted! Business Lessons Learned from Twenty-Two Years of Virtual Assistance and Become a More Confident Virtual Assistant: Quick Tips to Help You Believe in Your Entrepreneurial Self, Visualize Success and Grow Your Business, Chela blogs about the VA industry at AskChela.com and has recently launched Chela’s BizDev Binder for Virtual Assistants.

Links for Chela:

https://www.instagram.com/askchela/

https://www.facebook.com/chela.hardy.37

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelahardy/

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It's the first episode of Season 2 and we are back with the wonderful Lucy Everett - The Holistic Business Coach.

Lucy Everett is The Holistic Business Coach and calls her approach ‘business coaching done differently,’ because she believes that the success of our career or business is underpinned by how happy we feel in our personal lives. Her coaching method is all about reviewing life & work as a whole in order to set goals and move towards them with intention and ease – which is reflected in the holistic approach.

She has been on her own journey with personal development for over 10 years, and loves to help people unpack their limiting beliefs, combat lack of confidence and uncover their true greatness.

Lucy became a certified coach in 2021 after several years of running her own small business as a Virtual Assistant. Previously she worked for a global HR provider in the City, and prior to that she spent 10 years as a jewellery buyer for a High Street retailer. Her diverse experience in corporate & creative roles has cultivated a love of strategy which means she’s able to support her clients with business growth as well as personal growth.

Instagram; @lucyeverettcoaching

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyeverettcoaching/

Website: https://lucyeverettcoaching.podia.com/the-mindful-business-membership 

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I am thrilled to welcome an absolute powerhouse of the VA world, Amanda Johnson - Award-winning Virtual Assistant Coach, Trainer and Mentor, International Speaker, and proud Military Veteran.

On her retirement from the military in 2012, Amanda launched her own VA business.. She now works primarily with those wanting to set up a VA business and those who want to grow an awesome and authentic business. 

Amanda launched her VA business after a personal tragedy caused her to re-evaluate life; so she understands the drivers behind creating a business that is right for the individual rather than creating someone else’s idea of a business.

Amanda is well known for her genuine, no-nonsense and straight talking advice and support and uses her leadership skills across her coaching, training and mentoring. 

In 2021, VACT Limited purchased the UK VA Conference, UK VA Awards and the BeMyVA Directory and theses are all now part of the VACT brand. Amanda is a proud advocate and supporter of the wider VA industry and was recently invited to become a founding member of the Society of Virtual Assistants Advisory Board. 

Amanda lives on the south coast of the UK with her husband, Andrew (who runs his own business and is also a military veteran), their two young children, James and Jacob and really does live by her core values and ethos, which is to inspire, support and challenge those wanting a Virtual Assistant business. She likes to travel in her motorhome, to drink expensive champagne, Belgian beer and Belgian chocolate (as a result of living in Belgium during her military days!) and drinks way too much fizzy pop! 

VACT Website: www.vact.co.uk 

UK VA Conference Website: https://vaconference.co.uk/

BeMyVA Website: https://vaconference.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaconstancejohnson/

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Episode 21 of Up Close & Virtual introduces you to Indiana Julian, a 'marketing minded VA'.

I'm delighted to have Indiana Julian as my guest on the show this week. Indiana first worked as a VA during her university years and then transitioned into a variety of different roles in sales and marketing, before returning to work as a VA in January 2022. Since setting up Indiana Julian Consultancy Ltd in March 2022, her business has grown from strength to strength and she now has three team members, helping business owners with their LinkedIn personal brand, their marketing & administrative processes.  Indiana's expertise in sales and marketing have been instrumental in transforming her virtual assistance services into a thriving niche, realising the potential of LinkedIn as a business growth platform, and developing strategies to help her clients establish authority, expand their network, and generate valuable leads. 

We talked about being a VA as a side hustle at university, how to harness the power of LinkedIn and Indi’s exciting future digital nomad plans.  

Currently based in Cardiff Indi serves clients all over the UK (And a couple beyond )! When not working Indiana enjoys scenic walks, travelling & sipping chai lattes in coffee shops.

Find out more about Indiana on the links below:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/indiana-julian-bsc/

https://instagram.com/indianajulian.va

https://www.indianajulian.co.uk/ 

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I can't believe we've reached Episode 20 of Up Close and Virtual!

I was absolutely delighted to welcome Gwen Backhouse to the show this week.

Gwen has been a Virtual Assistant now for nine years, with twenty-three years of experience in the business admin/PA industry. Now working with a team of associates, Gwen has won the top awards in the industry, and even made UK VA Awards history when she went from winning the Best Newcomer Award in 2015 and then went on to win Outstanding UK VA Award in 2018 in the space of three years, a still unbeaten record. Gwen is now a judge for the UK VA Awards and has also judged for the West Midlands PA Awards too.

One thing Gwen is passionate about is collaboration within the VA industry and as a result, she co-founded the North East VA Conference with fellow VA Amy Russell, which saw its first event this year and was a great success.  Also, since February 2023, Gwen has taken over the running of the Society of Virtual Assistants to help and support Virtual Assistants across the UK.

When she's not VA-ing, Gwen plays fiddle in a ceilidh band, loves jigsaws, singing (badly) and gardening. She lives in Brampton, Cumbria with her husband, a German Shepherd (Athena) and two guinea pigs (Pete & Manu).

Website: https://www.curlewsecretarial.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/virtualassistantcumbria/

Facebook: : https://www.facebook.com/curlewsecretarial

SVA Website: https://www.societyofvirtualassistants.co.uk

North East VA Conference: https://www.nevac.co.uk/

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For Episode 19, I welcome a very special guest, Jessica McBride, to talk all things ChatGPT and much more...

Jessica McBride is the founder of Tech Savvy Assistant, a platform dedicated to leveraging technology to streamline administrative tasks. With over a decade of experience in the administrative profession, Jessica has garnered deep insights into the intricacies of the role and the potential of technology to revolutionize it.

Jessica's passion lies in teaching. She is driven by the desire to empower other administrative professionals to harness the power of technology, thus simplifying their roles and enhancing their productivity. She accomplishes this through a variety of mediums including speaking events, educational workshops, and personalized coaching and support. Jessica's ability to elucidate complex technological concepts and her infectious enthusiasm make her a highly sought-after speaker and educator.

Beyond her speaking engagements and workshops, Jessica is also an author. Her insightful and concise books, available on Amazon, provide further tools and strategies for integrating technology into administrative roles. They have been praised for their practicality, clarity, and the tangible improvements they bring to their readers' professional lives.

To learn more about Jessica McBride and the services offered by Tech Savvy Assistant, you can visit her website at techsavvyassistant.com. For inquiries, coaching requests, or to invite Jessica to your next event, she can be reached at [email protected]. Jessica's innovative approach, expertise, and dedication make her a dynamic force in the realm of administrative technology. Connect with her today and discover how technology can transform your administrative processes.

Instagram

LinkedIn

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For Episode 18 of Up Close and Virtual, the Katie-VA Business podcast, I was delighted to welcome Cara Birkett, of Miss B VA.

Cara has been an Executive Assistant for 17 years and after being made redundant in December 2020, she opened her own Virtual Assistant business, Miss B VA.

Through Miss B VA, Cara helps Sales Professionals to grow their business by providing virtual assistance on their time-consuming tasks. She supports them in three areas; classic executive support, social media, and her favourite, PowerPoint. Cara understands the importance of being proactive, meaning she is an expert when it comes to scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, project planning &managing travel arrangements. She has also developed the ability to anticipate roadblocks & create effective alternative plans. Her greatest value to any Executive is her ability to work independently, freeing up their time to focus on the needs of the business.

Cara is a PowerPoint expert, a Power Queen, as she likes to call herself. When she was niching down and deciding how she wanted to shape her VA business, she knew PowerPoint was a skill she wanted to offer to her clients. Most people think PowerPoint is old fashioned and boring to use but it is a fantastic platform and Cara is here to show her clients just what a fabulous tool it can be!

Cara firmly believes that organisation is the key to any successful project, and she prides herself on being organised, so you don’t have to. 

Links for Cara below:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-birkett-virtual-assistant/

https://missbva.co.uk/

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For Episode 17 of Up Close and Virtual, Jenny Lovell of Northern Star VA joined me to talk about her business journey and transition from a Personal Assistant and Internal Communications Specialist to a Virtual Assistant.

Jenny Lovell is a Virtual Assistant and founder of Northern Star VA Ltd. With over 18 years’ combined experience as a Personal Assistant and Internal Communications Specialist. She is passionate about enabling ambitious business owners to grow their businesses by offering creative and technical support with growing their email lists, launching memberships and administrative support. She was born and raised in the North-west of England (Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire), but has now settled on the South Coast in Hampshire where she lives with her husband and two young children.

Join us as we dive deeper into her journey and learn how she can guide you towards organisational bliss!

Links for Jenny below:

www.northernstarva.co.uk

www.instagram.com/northern_star_va

www.facebook.com/NorthernStarVA

www.linkedin.com/in/jennymlovell

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I am delighted to welcome Julie Chandler of Intuitively Led for Episode 16 of Up Close and Virtual, the Katie-VA Business podcast.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Julie Chandler, an intuition coach and business development professional. Julie is on a mission to help 10,000 women become intuitively led in their business, and she's here to share her insights on how to harness the power of the universe and intuition to create flow and ease in your business. With over a decade of experience in offering practical guidance within the back end of people's businesses, Julie is known for her unique blend of mixing all her skills and abilities to empower women to connect with their intuition and trust it. So let's dive in and learn from Julie's expertise on how to combine the power of the universe with your business growth. 

Julie Chandler is a recognised expert in both the Intuition and Business Coaching spaces with 18 + years of experience working with and teaching intuition and universal energy. As an Intuitive Business Coach, Julie Chandler has achieved industry notoriety and has been featured in countless publications including Daily Mail and Metro as a trusted expert on spiritual, intuitive and energy insights. Bringing a refreshing take on a traditional 'woo' industry, Julie brings a down-to-earth and simple view to working with Intuition, the universe and energy for your business success.

Whether teaching Intuition, Tarot, guiding clients through her signature program b-Y.O.U Aligned or as the host of the Intuitively Led podcast, Julie takes things back to simplicity, reminding you that you're the main character in your success story. 

Links for Julie below:

https://www.juliechandler.co.uk/

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/intuitivelyled

https://www.instagram.com/juliechandler__/

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I'm delighted to have Sarah Jane as my guest for Episode 15 of Up Close and Virtual, the Katie-VA Business podcast.

Sarah-Jane is a highly experienced administrative support professional with over 35 years of experience in the industry.

She has worked in some of London's top law firms as a legal PA, as well as in the C Suite for a large Japanese company. In the last 20 years, Sarah-Jane has worked in the entertainment industry, starting at a music management company before moving on to become the Manager's assistant for the well-known UK Band Take That for nearly ten years. She has worked as an employed assistant, freelance assistant, and virtual assistant, giving her a wealth of knowledge and experience in all areas of administrative support.

Sarah-Jane is a "client first" person who prides herself on delivering a personalized, right-hand [wo]man service to whoever she works with. She has been described as the "epitome of a first-class assistant" and strives to live up to that title. Sarah-Jane is a self-proclaimed geek who loves technology, apps, and programs, and is always on the lookout for something that improves on whatever they are doing. She is the kind of person who will put systems and processes in place whilst nobody is looking, making everything more time-efficient and easy to find.

Sarah-Jane started her virtual assistant business in 2017 and has been bowled over by the online business world ever since. She finds the vast opportunities available to really grow your business and the mechanics of that super exciting. Her VA client roster (past and present) includes celebrities, Lords & Ladies, High Net Worth Individuals, Influencers, Innovators, and Inventors.

After many years of working and living in Central London, Sarah-Jane now lives in Kent, by the sea, with her dog, enjoying the benefits of designing her life to suit her.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahjaneheath/

https://www.instagram.com/sarahjaneheath/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/sjheathva/

https://www.facebook.com/sarahjaneheathonline

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