Best Startup
We provide a complete range of back-office services – admin, bookkeeping, PA/EA/VA, payroll, etc., – for businesses of all shapes and sizes with the aim of freeing them up to grow their business and increase their revenue while keeping the day-to-day running up together.
Tell us about yourself?
Both of us (Claire Fisher and Claire Aikman) were self-employed and met through working for a mutual client. We decided to pool our resources and areas of expertise to be able to provide a service to many of our contacts as they were growing new businesses.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Don’t do all the work yourself – our business became a proper business once we started employing and took on office space.
What problem does your business solve?
Our business solves the problems of time and expertise. Too many business owners struggle with admin, bookkeeping and payroll at the expense of their leisure time or when they should be out selling and growing their businesses instead.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
We could hear business owners complaining about how long it took them to do their bookkeeping or put a proposal together (particularly to get a good and consistent format) and how that was pulling them away from building their business. As we had a mix of skillsets between us, we felt we could provide a one-stop shop that could solve this problem.
What is your magic sauce?
Having UK-based employees differentiates us from most competitors. Experience gained from running the business for over 12 years also helps – so many learning opportunities! We act as if we are employees within our clients’ businesses, which enhances their profile and business image.
Invisible Services … Visible Results!
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We plan to continue to grow both our business and the workforce and perhaps bring further service offerings (such as telephone answering) to the market.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
We secured a big client about 5 years ago and that became a game-changer in terms of building a bigger team of employees and ensuring that Claire and I weren’t the only people delivering the services. As much as anything, it was a mindset change.
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
Business owners who are struggling for time (both during working hours or in their leisure time) should contact us. We work with no retainer and no minimum charge, so a one-off piece of work is as welcome as regular, on-going activity.
