Tag: PA Franchise

EPAA Member Interview with Kate

By on August 2021 in Kate Chastey

Last week, our director and franchisor, Kate Chastey was delighted to join EPAA’s CEO Victoria Wratten, as she continued to interview members and find out how they came into the PA profession.

In this engaging hour-long interview, Victoria asked Kate about her career journey and for her top tips for anyone looking to have a career in executive and business support – particularly freelance.

Kate found her love for being a PA at just 16. She did a work experience shadowing Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen’s PA and found the variety and scope so interesting. After doing her degree and an early career in the advertising industry, Kate met a lady that changed the course of her life forever. Sarah Howells run a small business called The Passionate PA and Kate, excited by what the freelance word might have to offer, joined Sarah in February 2010.

Very soon after however, Kate found herself at the helm of the business – alone and way out of her comfort zone. She spent four years learning how to be a successful freelance PA and building the business into a successful brand in its own right. In the last decade she has worked alongside all sorts of business owners from tech start-ups to global business and the thrill of business growth, even today, is what gets her up in the morning.

In 2015 Kate decided she wanted to help other talented, determined and positive individuals build their own successful careers as freelance PAs and so franchised the business.

Her role now is to lead The Passionate PA, helping her small but incredible team of franchisees in their work with entrepreneurs. It’s a varied role, one where Kate gets to fulfil her passion for business, people, creativity and entrepreneurship in equal measure.

Kate’s dedicated to helping others understand the freelance PA role in today’s business world and loves nothing more than assisting others on their journey to a fulfilled and happy career.

About EPAA

Founded in 2016 to bring together a range of business support professionals and support them through a period of industry upheaval and transition, EPAA has now become the go-to organisation for EA/PA professionals in a diverse range of roles, all of whom provide invaluable support essential to the day-to-day running of any and every successful business.

The work of EPAA isn’t just for our members, but for the EA/PA professional community as a whole. EPAA strive to establish and maintain the sustainability and longevity of the profession in UK and international business and continue to help build a diverse and technologically proficient workforce that has the capacity to endure these turbulent times for the EA/PA profession.

Kate has been a Fellow Member since April 2020.

Learn more about the Association and their work here.

 

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

The Disenfranchised Podcast – Don’t ever have a Plan B

By on July 2021 in Our Team

In the Disenfranchised podcast series, Ed talks with entrepreneurs, experts and leaders from across the franchise community discovering their life stories and their tips for success away from the typical 9-to-5 grind.

The #Disenfranchised was created to showcase a community that offers a different career path and lifestyle for people who have become disenfranchised with the world of employment, inspiring them to take control of their lives and start earning more for themselves.

About this podcast episode

Kate Chastey, our franchisor, was delighted to be asked to talk with Ed Purnell on his renowned podcast.

Making the decision to leave employment is one of the toughest decisions you can make in your career, but you need to commit to it fully! A plan to return to employment if it all “goes wrong” might seem like a good idea, but it could determine the outcome before you’ve even got the business off the ground.

In this episode Ed speaks with Kate Chastey of The Passionate PA and learns how, despite the odds, she repeatedly committed to her plan A and created the career she desired. We enjoy a fun conversation that also included:

  • How she found work experience with a TV celebrity
  • The fear of stepping off the corporate ladder
  • Kate’s dedication to helping people to build great careers
  • The common misconceptions of the franchise industry
  • Strange requests from clients
  • And of course much, much more!

Click here to listen to the podcast

Or watch the recording below!

 

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Kate’s quoted in the Mail Online

By on July 2021 in Our Team

I didn’t quite “declare war” – trust the Daily Mail to exaggerate 🤪 – but I’m pleased to be quoted in this article. This is a really important read for all PAs, VAs and freelancers.

In response to over 500 secretaries at Deloitte being told their jobs were at risk last week, the Daily Mail has picked up on the huge wave of PAs and EAs moving into the freelance world due to the difficulties in finding suitable roles for their skill sets, post covid. The article talks about whether the role of the EA is dead and how successful start-up VAs really are.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Firstly, we (the whole Business Support industry and recruiters) all need to work harder to educate the business community and news reporters on the difference between a Secretary, VA, PA and EA. But I’ll leave that for another blog!

Secondly, making a successful career out of freelancing is not easy – this was my point, which has, to some degree, been lost in the article. Becoming a Virtual Assistant just because you’ve lost your job is not the right thing to do. (Note the word ‘just’.)

I have spent over 10 years honing my skills as a freelance PA and helping others carve out successful businesses for themselves too under The Passionate PA brand.

Here’s the reality; being a successful freelancer or VA takes more time, energy, dedication and stamina than most full-time jobs ever do!

Sadly, the ‘quick-fix’ freelancers and VAs that are popping up daily, only to disappear within a few months, are really making it so difficult for the business world to understand the value a professional outsourced business support solution can offer. I appreciate going freelance is sometimes out of desperation. Of course. But sometimes it’s just pure naivety and rose-tinted glasses.

The whole reason I franchised my business was to help talented, ambitious individuals have an easier route into self-employed success. If you’d like to know more, visit our Join Us page.

I’ve heard so many horror stories of business owners trusting start-up freelancers and VAs, investing valuable time and energy into their on-boarding, only for them to quit when they find suitable employment. This leaves the business in the lurch and feeling very burnt by the whole experience.

➡️ My best advice to business owners – if you are serious about using freelancers to help you structure and grow your business, invest in people that make it their business to ensure you succeed. Check out Karen Murray‘s latest podcast where I talk about how to do this.

➡️ My best advice to employees staring down the barrel of unemployment or experiencing job loss – UPSKILL, invest in your own professional development and commercial awareness and really, really, really delve deep into your own values, passions and strengths.

Freelancing and being self-employed is NOT the easy route that so many gurus try to persuade you it is. Only embark on becoming a freelancer when no plan B will do! By that I mean, when your soul is hungry for choice, fulfilment and awesome clients and you are ready and willing to give your new adventure the focus it needs. You need an awesome support network and it you really want to thrive, an experienced, hands-on mentor that will open doors for you and help you navigate the challenges from day 1.

I’m very happy to talk to anyone thinking of doing so who’d love some unbiased and very honest advice.

Kate

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Kate on the Evolve to Succeed Podcast

By on May 2021 in Our Team

Listen on Spotify

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For the first time ever, our Director and Franchisor has spoken publicly about how she came to take over The Passionate PA at just 26, and the effects that choice has had on her as a person.

“Starting a business is never easy, but doing so at just 26 with the weight of the world on my shoulders was probably one of the hardest challenges of my life. It’s a choice that has made me ultimately very happy, but the initial years were a rollercoaster of emotions, challenges, excitement and continuous feelings of not being ‘enough’.”

Kate Chastey was delighted to be asked to talk to Warren Munson, long-time supporter of The Passionate PA. The team at the Evolve to Succeed Podcast did a superb job of creating the finished recording.

Kate said “this was a wonderful opportunity to share my business story and talk so openly with Warren about the things I hold so dear. Creating a life I don’t need a holiday from is 100% my personal definition of success and it was great to discuss that with Warren.”

In this episode, Kate and Warren also talk about:

  • How Kate’s early work experience with an entrepreneurial celebrity shaped her belief in what a PA could be and what she now feels a modern PA should be for entrepreneurs
  • How her early career in advertising agencies helped her learn so much about people, leadership and performance – and gave her the grounding for the leader she is today
  • Kate’s experience of Imposter Syndrome when she took over the business and found herself with very big shoes to fill
  • Our route into franchising with Kate’s ‘build it as we go’ approach and her fierce commitment to the people that choose to partner with her as Passionate PAs
  • How Kate’s father influenced her view of corporate life and financial security, and to this day still thinks she should get a ‘proper job’
  • And, of course, how all this has effected Kate’s personal life and given her a truly unique mantra to live by… “Create a life you don’t need a holiday from.”

“My definition of success is being able to enjoy every single day whilst adding real value to the people around me. It’s not about money. Success, to me, is about fulfilment – and understanding that it is all about NOW rather than one day in the future.”

Happy listening.

 

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Trisha Lewis Podcast – Trust who you are

By on April 2021 in Our Team

We are so thrilled to share a podcast recorded recently with Trisha Lewis – Communication coach, speaker and author.

Trisha invited Kate to talk about the things she holds most dear; leading with an open heart, the unique and exciting opportunity of franchising and the role of the freelance PA in today’s business world. Oh, and her crazy life on Dartmoor!

Kate and Trisha had an absolute blast recording this, as it evident from the outset. If you want to know more about Kate and how our business is just so different from corporate life – this is the perfect place to start!

Click here to listen

 

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Freelancers can help you weather this storm!

By on January 2021 in Blogs

As the reality of coronavirus continues to imprint itself into our lives and into our businesses, working remotely has become intrinsic to working practices in all manner of sectors.

The business landscape has changed. New habits are becoming engrained in our society, and the pandemic has forced many business owners to embrace remote working and flexible working hours. It’s become the new normal for so many SMEs, corporates and ambitious businesses; even with the vaccine in sight, this way of working is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

But freelancers have been embracing this way of working for years. Freelancers can provide solutions to nearly every hurdle business owners face, whether providing an entire service on a long-term basis, filling in a skills-gap for an interim period or completing one-off projects. Freelancers are professionals, offering on-demand skills and experience that can add a serious edge to most businesses.

While government loans may prevent businesses from going bust during these strange times, those loans will need to be paid back. As a result, now more than ever, businesses need to look at long-term stability and accelerating growth in order to stay ahead of the competition.

Hiring a freelancer can help overcome challenges without the need to employ. They offer the flexibility businesses need in uncertain times, and, by the very nature of the partnership, the long-term loyalty often lacking in employees.

The Passionate PA offers exactly that; a relationship-led partnership that helps ambitious business leaders and entrepreneurs drive change, build momentum and generate results. Often a commercial sounding board forour clients, The Passionate PA finds solutions, challenges clients to think differently and ensures the highest quality service in all aspects of business delivery.

As business owners ourselves, we know what it takes to run and operate a business meaning we do not fit the archetypal view of a personal or virtual assistant. Rather than managing diaries, accounts or filtering calls, a Passionate PA can assist with anything from streamlining business processes, copywriting and project management right through to driving growth through effective marketing strategies. We are masters of implementation and if it’s on your business to do list, we will help you tackle it.

While effective communication and business management is vital when working with any freelancer, The Passionate PA brings a second business brain to key decision makers and directors who might not always have the senior support they need, or solopreneurs who have no one else in their business to help them think strategically about their vision, their goals and more importantly, how to make them a reality.

Finding the right freelancer can take time so be sure to ask trusted business networks for recommendations or read reviews and testimonials. It might be necessary to work with a freelancer on a trial basis at first, or at the very least have an introductory meeting, just to ensure you will work well together based on personalities. However, once you know and trust a freelancer who delivers a service in line with your brand and ethos, it’s a relationship that can last for years!

Freelance services will be intrinsic to business growth as we tentatively emerge from our lockdown bubbles. It’s a really viable option for those business owners who want to develop at pace with flexible, loyal, commercially minded support but no employment contracts.

Founded by Dorset businesswoman Sarah Howells in 2007, and franchised in 2016 by Director, Kate Chastey, The Passionate PA has worked with leading brands such as Virgin Media and the Institute of Directors. It now supports a wide range of entrepreneurial professional services companies as well as agencies in the recruitment, digital marketing, financial services, IT and creative industries to name but a few.

To find out more about how a freelance PA can help you emerge from this storm stronger than ever before, contact us today.

You can find out more about our skilled team here!

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Is now a good time to become a freelancer?

By on June 2020 in Kate Chastey

This is a question I’m being asked a lot right now by people interested in becoming a Passionate PA, but also by skilled individuals who have toyed with the idea of “going freelance” for many years and are just looking for some advice. I’ve also had a few calls recently with people who have already embarked on their freelance journey but are finding it tough.

I have a few friends who are facing redundancy at this time too, and having shared my personal journey to some extent, they are wondering whether the freelance lifestyle is for them. They’ve seen me enjoying all the advantages of being my own boss, of working with great clients and of building the business of my dreams – something I never thought possible ten years ago!

So, when is the perfect time?

When I embarked on my freelance journey, I was 26, newly married with a wealth of skills and bucketloads of hope.

However, the UK was in recession, I had a massive mortgage and very fragile self-confidence due to countless bosses who had no idea what great people management really was. I was also dealing with the grief of losing the woman who set up The Passionate PA; my anchor, mentor and friend. (Read that story here).

My timing was NOT perfect.

But when would it have been? When my husband and I had six months’ money in the bank? When the economy had recovered? When I’d got over my grief? When I’d found my professional confidence?

Ha… the irony here is that my journey to becoming a successful freelancer ‘fixed’ all of this (except of course the economy – I cannot take credit for that!). Becoming a Passionate PA gave me choices like never before, developed my self-confidence, helped me recover from losing Sarah and paid really well. The recession was actually a good thing too because as my client-base recovered from the recession, they preferred to outsource rather than employ.

So, Top Tip Number 1 is to understand there is no such thing as perfect timing – it’s more about YOU and the commitment you have to yourself. When that is ‘perfect’, then the timing is right.

Top Tips for Freelancers

The rest of my Top Tips for freelance success go a little something like this:

🌟 Top Tip Number 2: Identify your personal goals and be crystal clear with what success REALLY looks like to you.

🌟 Top Tip Number 3: Be prepared to work hard – really hard. You may have great skills, but it takes real dedication to find the people who want to buy those skills. I urge all new freelancers to plan for the long haul and understand it takes time, effort and energy to build a successful business.

🌟 Top Tip Number 4: Define what your ideal client looks like and try to connect with them, and only them. Now, I know this is a bit radical, but no one else actually matters. You can have 500 followers on your business Facebook page, but it means absolutely nothing if they are just your family and friends… sure they might refer business to you, but your efforts are far better spent on targeted marketing approaches.

🌟 Top Tip Number 5: Know your value proposition (that’s what you offer, why and who to), and talk about it with total confidence! Know your personal USP too. 

🌟 Top Tip Number 6: Do not work for free, ever. Don’t barter, pimp yourself out or sell your soul to the devil no matter how hard it gets. The minute you start doing this, you undervalue yourself, your skill set and everyone else trying to make a decent living from freelancing. If there’s a problem getting clients, I’d wager it’s not price holding them back…

🌟 Top Tip Number 7: Distinguish yourself from your competition; keep an eye on them but don’t emulate them. While imitation can be flattering, in business, it is just plain rude to copy. 

🌟 Top Tip Number 8: Get to grips with the legals, finances and marketing on day one, particularly cashflow forecasting, insurances and GDPR.

🌟 Top Tip Number 9: Find a mentor that has been there and done it successfully for years (and years, and years, and years!). Momentary success is easy, sustaining a profitable, fulfilling business in the long-term is the real artform. Plus, try not to take business advice from your mum, partner, best friend etc unless they really are an accomplished business owner themselves.

🌟 Top Tip Number 10: Don’t have a plan B. Go all in like your life depends on it. If you have a plan B, you’ll waste valuable time thinking and planning for that and inevitably, your plan B will become Your Plan.

You know what, I could keep writing… There’s so much to say about how to manage your own mental health and keep a positive mindset as a freelancer. There are whole blogs I could write about how a successful freelancer must transition from an employee mindset to a business owner’s one.

Anybody who knows me well will know that one of my favourite words in the whole world is CONSISTENCY. I genuinely believe that my ability to remain consistent with clients, my business and the external world has been pivotal to my success.

There are so many more lessons I could share. I’m truly passionate about helping skilled individuals create rewarding and sustainable businesses as freelance PAs. That’s my role at The Passionate PA; franchisor, mentor, marketeer, rainmaker, a shoulder to cry on… a problem shared and all that! With my franchisees, I go through it all with them, right by their side and make sure they don’t fall over at any of the hurdles. If you are thinking about becoming a freelance PA and would love the support on offer here, book a call today.

If what you’ve read here has spurred you on to go it alone as a freelancer with your unique skills, then awesome! I wish you all the luck in the world for the next chapter of your career. Keep positive and remain consistent.

Kate x

Kate Chastey is ‘chief’ Passionate PA; a truly experienced and successful freelancer. Having run The Passionate PA since 2010 and been through all the highs and lows, it’s fair to say there’s not much she doesn’t know about building a small business in the UK. She is also franchisor of The Passionate PA brand. More information about Kate can be found here, or joining our franchise, here. 

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Compartmentalise and Conquer!

By on March 2020 in Top Tips

Being organised and productive is a choice. That choice is the difference between being a busy fool and a successful business person.

The one trait really productive people share is the ability to compartmentalise their activities. So, in this blog, we share our top tips from over a decade of working with inspiring business leaders:

  1. Write down your personal definition of success i.e. are you wanting to be the world’s greatest parent, a caring employer or a successful business owner. OR, are you trying to create balance – if so, what does balance actually look like in reality with the values and responsibilities you have?
  2. Write a daily To Do List of the things that must get done in order to achieve your overall success goal. One sheet of A4 – no more.
  3. Be ruthless, if the task in your head doesn’t “make your boat go faster” or serve your personal values, do not write it down – scrap it.
  4. Create barriers to all distractions – physically and emotionally. Set times to turn off your phone, get off social media, step away from the news. Create space in your day for the important, critical To Dos.
  5. Allocate time to each ‘compartment’ on your To Do List, and a set time target to achieve each individual task. Remember ‘done’ is better than ‘perfect’.
  6. Multitask with cautions. Only do this on the things that don’t really have an impact on your success.
  7. Share your planned way of working with others and set clear boundaries for them i.e. between 8am and 10am every day is your Business Development time so you cannot be disturbed or between 5pm-7pm is exercise and healthy food prep. Explain to others why this protected time is so important so they become advocates, rather than distractions.

Here is a tool we use to help clients get started with this new ‘compartmentalise and conquer’ approach.

DOWNLOAD YOUR PDF NOW

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: 

Why I chose franchising…

By on November 2019 in Kate Chastey

Recently, The Times newspaper did a double page spread on the strength of the franchising industry in the UK, with a lead story about how women are thriving in this arena. 

Kate Chastey is the lady behind the growth of The Passionate PA. In this blog she shares why franchising is right for us.

Well, I guess myself and The Passionate PA are proof of that!  

But, unlike the huge brands The Times talked about, such as TaxAssist Accountants, ActionCoachUK, Subway and Wiltshire Farm Foods, my journey into franchising, along with my vision for the future, is quite unique.

The Passionate PA is a labour of love for me. If you’ve taken a peek at Our Story on our website you’ll know this was not really how it was meant to be. Our founder, Sarah Howells, started The Passionate PA over 12 years ago after realising she wanted to be her own boss. She set out to change her own career because she could see small businesses would buy pockets of time and skills from her. She was well ahead of the current Virtual Assistant trend, and definitely one of the first to recognise that branding and networking really matter! 

I met Sarah in 2009 when she had developed the business to a ‘busy’ point. She wanted another Passionate PA with complementary skills to hers, and so together our plan was to take Dorset by storm (that’s where I lived back then). She was the career PA, I was the marketing PA; we believed clients would love the double act.

I would never have jumped off my own corporate career ladder without Sarah holding my hand (insert “giving me a push!!”). But, she was proof that being a freelance PA could be rewarding, and as I was only 26 at the time, risk was something I still felt pretty comfortable with. With the support of my husband, I quit my well-paid, sensible job in marketing (which I did love to some degree), in order to experience something new. I was to be self-employed but under the wing of someone who’d been doing it for over a year, and could sell ice to Eskimos! 

What could possibly go wrong…? 

Cancer. Sarah lost her battle with Cancer just 16 days after I officially joined The Passionate PA in Feb 2010. So, in amongst all that grief and sadness, I was left to run, market and build a brilliant business that I felt had only really been brilliant because of Sarah and everything she was. 

This was one of the lowest points in my life. I was 26, knew absolutely nothing about running my own business and knew even less about being a freelance PA; in fact, I hadn’t even had ‘PA’ as a proper job title before! Panic set in and a pretty turbulent four years followed. Throughout all the personal doubt though, I managed to find amazing clients, deliver exceptional work for them and make decent money, so something was working, it just took we a while to pin down exactly what! 

Throughout those early years, freelance PAs and VAs were be-friending me all the time with the goal of getting to know what it was I was doing so differently. In honesty, I didn’t really know – I was just doing what I thought was right with a keen eye on client happiness and my own profitability. Looking back now, this was a period that shaped me and my life hugely. At the time it just felt like a constant rollercoaster ride of building a business, filling Sarah’s shoes and wondering what the hell the future had in store. But, my knowledge and confidence developed – and so did my vision. 

If the early days of being a Passionate PA taught me anything, it’s that every so often, we all need someone to hold our hand. I would never have set up my own business without Sarah’s initial push and a recognised brand to hang my hopes on. I would never have continued that journey without the unwavering support of my husband and the Dorset business community.  

And that, in a nutshell, is exactly why I franchised The Passionate PA. I wanted to give other people the opportunity to be brave in setting up their own business, with me holding their hand. I love helping others identify their truly valuable skills and experiences and working with them in a partnership to shape a business that empowers them and delivers financial rewards and personal fulfilment. 

Franchising isn’t an easy option. It’s scary at times, can be incredibly lonely as a franchisor without a head office team, and obviously it needs pretty deep pockets to create a business worthy of investment from franchisees. But, there are so many advantages! It suits my life goal, which is not to manage people through employment, but to help them develop themselves to be the best they can be. Franchising enables me to create partnerships with each of my franchisees – and for them, there is complete clarity on what they are investing in and what they will receive in return. 

All of my future growth plans revolve very much around my chosen lifestyle on Dartmoor – the house of my dreams with 2.5 acres and a life full of family, fur babies and baking. Unlike the global franchises of this world, I don’t want an empire with a huge head office team and all the associated stress and cost that goes with that. I’m committed to spending my working life helping honest, passionate and skilled individuals create businesses they love under The Passionate PA’s brand. I am building a team of freelance PAs that are unrivalled in terms of skills, outlook and team spirit. It’s that simple. 

There are so many ambitious business owners out there that need/want a Passionate PA and relish the fact that we are very different from the option of employing a PA or Project Manager, or in some instances, using an alternative freelancer. The power in The Passionate PA comes from our team – together we can tackle just about ANYTHING a business owner needs, due to the variety of skills, knowledge and experience within our growing team, and our little black book of contacts full of experts in their field. That is added value and clients love it!

Being a freelance PA wasn’t what I dreamed of when I was a child, but running a business certainly was. Franchising wasn’t part of my plan when I left employment, but because it gives me and the franchisees a partnership where both are responsible for our success, it has always felt so right. 

Happy clients! Happy Passionate PAs! Profitable businesses! It all makes my heart skip a beat. 

Having built a great platform to franchise from, I am now committed to growing the brand and business at a pace that I am comfortable with, together with a clear focus on delivering exceptional value to the team as it grows. I will only grant franchise territories to those that share my passion and vision. It’s incredibly exciting to have finally defined what success looks like to me, and be well on the path to achieving that.

Further blogs from The Passionate PA: