Having worked for ten years as an Executive Personal Assistant, I started Joanne Manville Virtual Assistance in 2015. We support growing businesses by giving managers and founders the space to concentrate on what they do best. I was honoured to to win the award of UK Outstanding VA 2020 and 2019 and Small Business of the Year in the Devon Women in Business Awards in 2022.
When I was 28 I fell in love. Every morning I would wake with a smile and jump out of bed, looking forward to the day. We travelled a lot and met lots of really interesting people. I learned so much, rose to meet new challenges and had the best time. Then one day I…
I’ve recently written my entry for the UK VA Awards and really found that reflecting on the past twelve months was quite theraputic. All too often, we berate ourselves for what we haven’t achieved, rather than what we have, so I thought it would be good to write this post and share what’s been going…
Last year I was honoured to be awarded Winner ‘VA of the Year (South West) in the UK VA Awards. The awards are sponsored by BeMyVA who organise regional and national VA Award programmes and support the ongoing development of professional standards of VAs by working with the world`s leading organisations and associations. 2018 has been a really…
Earlier this year I was over the moon to be awarded Winner ‘VA of the Year (South West) in the UK VA Awards for the second year running. The awards are sponsored by BeMyVA who organise regional and national VA Award programmes and support the ongoing development of professional standards of VAs by working with the world`s leading organisations…
Celebrating three years in business – a reflection Today is our third anniversary! Three whole years since I took the plunge and started in business. And what a lot has happened since I wrote a year ago. Last year I rebranded the business, and that was a major milestone, this year I am celebrating the…
Growing up: How I rebranded my business Guest blog from Jonathan at Alder & Alder A rebrand isn’t about changing your logo. It’s about changing perceptions. If you can change the way people look at your business, you can create new opportunities. You can open up new markets and reach new customers. You can achieve…
Ping! What’s that? Did you REALLY take your work phone with you? The sun is shining, and thoughts turn to holidays. Sun soaked days around the pool, relaxing dips in the sea and walks along the beach, a glass of sangria with dinner. Ping! What’s that? When you are self-employed, it can be hard…
Insurance: A Necessary Evil? We all know that insurance is a necessary evil. We have to have it to protect us against the things that ‘may’ come and get us in the future. Most of us with businesses have insurance of one form or another, but do you check that the people you are working…
I spend a lot of time as a Virtual Assistant explaining to businesses how they can benefit from focussing on what they enjoy doing and are skilled at, and outsourcing the rest, and I recently had to take my own advice. As we all know, if you want your website to be bringing in…
A reflection on 2017 As the new year dawns, it is a time to reflect on the year passed, and think ahead to what you want your 2018 to look like. At a meeting of my personal development group at the end of last year, we took time to think about what we had achieved…