Client Case Study - Emma Allsopp
Posted on 28th November 2024 at 10:00
Client Case Study - Virtual Assistant Support for Emma Allsopp
THE CHALLENGE
Spending lots of time and energy carefully booking new clients in, dealing with invoicing, inboxes, creating meaningful content, slicker processes and lots of other essential ‘behind the scenes’ business administration had caused Emma Allsopp to become frustratingly stuck IN her business. Not only did these tasks not play to Emma’s strengths, she also didn’t enjoy them and over time she saw how it was starting to negatively affect her and her valuable work.
Recognising that she needed to be less involved with the day-to-day mechanics of her business, something needed to be done in order for Emma to be more present with her clients and herself. As a professional coach, trainer and supervisor, Emma recognises the business-critical importance of investing in her own CPD. Without an extra pair of hands, amongst client delivery and operations, prioritising her development as a specialist practitioner and a business owner was becoming increasingly challenging.
THE IMPACT
Alchemy Virtual Assistance was first recommended to Emma by an already valued client who had been supported by us for some time. Not having considered working with a VA prior, but finding herself getting increasingly bogged down with the detail and her ‘to do’ list filling up with tasks that she wasn’t good at, Emma contacted Alchemy VA to explore what support would work best for her.
Emma knew she was in safe hands experiencing a ‘seamless’ line of communication from the outset. One of Alchemy’s trusted Franchise Partners Natalia Kalacova calmly, practically and methodically took the time to understand Emma’s personal challenges and unique approach to her work before making recommendations as to what level of Virtual Assistant support would be most impactful.
As we often do, we started off slow and steady in order to lay solid foundations to the working relationship. But soon after Emma made the ‘very easy’ decision to increase her monthly support level. The quality of Natalia’s contributions, progress and outputs made this a very natural and easy commercial decision. Beyond the ‘doing’ Emma cites Natalia’s qualities as a human being is what makes the real difference. Natalia’s natural ability to scan the business operational horizon and pre-empt the business needs is what makes her a truly trusted partner.
Natalia’s calming and valued ‘leave that with me’ approach is instantly reassuring and allowed Emma to get less involved with activities behind the scenes, an important factor in supporting Emma to become a better coach and drive better outcomes for her valuable clients.
Natalia first got to work on managing emails, bookings and creating presentations all alongside taking steps to automate and digitalise a lot of manual processes. Ensuring that a thorough understanding of the business was gained prior, Natalia was able to implement an online booking system, automate the invoicing process, create a digital contract procedure as well as an improved, less time intensive approach to email marketing.
When the trust was deep rooted and the flow of completed tasks was increasing, Natalia shifted her attention to supporting Emma in being more visible online to attract more clients. Giving Emma confidence that the operational elements to her business were solid and stable in order provide the very best level of service to present and future clients.
Natalia’s support gave Emma the time, headspace and energy to further develop her business and the confidence to return to LinkedIn. Almost a year on, Emma has found herself being much more proactive with regards to the development of her business empowered through the trust build that Natalia will pick things up. Emma states that Natalia is incredibly kind and supportive and isn’t afraid to speak up to share her ideas, experience or perspective when she thinks it will benefit the business.
Ultimately, Natalia has elevated Emma, allowed her to do what she does best. Even if having a Virtual Assistant has not yet shown a positive impact on the finances, to Emma the return on investment in many other ways is undeniably clear.
THE RECOMMENDATION
Emma has successfully leveraged the support of a Virtual Assistant to really lean deeper into her own practice, further developing both the business and herself. As Emma puts it so eloquently, Natalia is doing the ‘engine stuff’ leaving Emma to shake the ‘pom poms’. Today, Emma finds herself not mired in the day to day, instead authentically and freely showcasing herself as the practitioner & proudly serving her remarkable clients in the ways that they need.
“Natalia is the ying to my yang. Her passion is genuine and pure, she is also very highly skilled.”
A Virtual Assistant has given Emma perspective, allowed her to step back to move forward confidently. Emma has a supportive assistant to not only help her easefully navigate the challenges most small businesses face, but also aiding her in better establishing her valuable voice in a saturated market.
Without the support of a professional, dedicated Alchemy Virtual Assistant Emma believes she would have struggled, possibly even lost business. Natalia stepped in just at the point that Emma was trying to recruit friends in attempt to lighten the load, a move Emma knows wouldn’t have been a sustainable and successful long-term strategy.
Natalia’s courageous and compassionate approach, coupled with her technical skill set and vast experience supporting other small and fast-growing businesses made it the perfect commercial match.
Emma values the ‘very human touch’ she experiences from Alchemy VA, and fondly recalls the first conversation with Natalia who proudly declared that her true passion is admin and thank goodness it is! Reflecting on her experience with Alchemy VA, Emma wanted to offer these words of encouragement and advice to anyone considering working with Alchemy VA…
“Do it! It’s the best investment you can make. Working with a very skilled and resourceful Virtual Assistant allows you to get back to doing what you started out to do.”
THE CAUSE
Emma Allsopp is a specialist in Neurodiversity, offering training, consultancy and coaching. She’s also a qualified coach supervisor. Emma is one of the rare individuals who possesses both the knowledge and skill to know which of these is the appropriate intervention.
Emma’s extensive experience has been gained working with individuals across public, private and third sector organisations and she currently works with clients in health, education, technology, and creative industries.
From first job to executive, Emma works across the neurodiversity continuum, effective in roles of trainer, coach and ally. Clients make good use of Emma as a thinking partner to gain clarity on what they are thinking, wanting/needing to do, with her acting as a doula for change whilst prioritising her client’s abilities to build their competencies in campaigns towards confident leadership, promotion or self-reframing.
As a dedicated mother to two neurodiverse children and an ex-teacher, Emma prides herself on holding space bravely and ethically for her clients. She understands the true nature, challenges and barriers faced by brilliant neurodiverse minds within the education system and work environments. She also works confidently the complexities surrounding mental health and well-being. Having been self-employed for eight years, Emma wishes she’d gone ‘all in’ on her business sooner.
WHAT NEXT?
2. Not sure if you're 'ready' for a Virtual Assistant? Why not take our FREE Virtual Assistant ‘readiness’ evaluation?
3. For any support or advice about how to best leverage the support of an Alchemy Virtual Assistant, you can connect with Natalia Kalacova or book in a call here.
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