Sarah Howells
The Passionate PA was launched in October 2007 by Sarah Howells.
She rapidly increased her profile in the local Dorset business community not only by her hard work, but by also being a little bit cheeky, a little bit outspoken but mostly by being so passionate about providing excellent service – To the extent that many people referred to her as ‘Pash’ rather than ‘Sarah’!
Her parents insist that her first words were ‘I want to do it myself’. Whilst she didn’t always strictly believe them, she was always acutely aware of her independent streak. She’d always wanted her own business, but it wasn’t until 2007, at the grand old age of 33 (!), that she really sat and thought about how she could make the dream a reality.
She started by thinking about why she wanted to jump off the corporate ladder. And the conclusion she came to was that she had lost the passion for what she was doing. Then she thought about what made her feel passionate – and she decided that anything to do with people and organising really excited her. She was good at it. It gave her a buzz. And so her ideas developed…
She had seen friends, colleagues and associates rushing around like mad things and not always getting ‘stuff’ done. She heard so many people complaining there just weren’t enough hours in the day. And she also noticed lots of books and courses on time management!
Sarah decided that people didn’t need books or theories. She couldn’t physically make the day longer. But she could offer practical help. Someone to do things for them, organise things, make things happen. Someone who they could trust 100% and who had a passion for getting things right – first time, every time.
And so, The Passionate PA was born.
In early 2009 Sarah was ready to expand. Things were good and clients were coming on board all the time. She hired Kate in July as the second Passionate PA and the plan was, quite frankly, to take over the world!
In June 2009 Sarah was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. She spent many months fighting incredibly hard to get rid of ‘Frodo’ (as she called it) but in December 2009 she was given the news that the Breast Cancer had moved to her brain. Sarah sadly passed away on 18th March 2010, but not before handing over her wonderful business to Kate to continue to provide Dorset with all the Passion it can handle.
Sarah’s story can be read on her personal blog www.pmapash.org, but be warned – even the toughest of men will cry. Tissues at the ready please.
Sarah was a truly amazing woman, and is greatly missed each and every day.