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Get Ahead offer outsourced support to businesses of all sizes, whatever service they may require – a virtual assistant, social media manager, PR specialist or broader business support. We carefully match clients with the right expert from our 60-strong team. Someone with the skills and personality our clients need. In other words, the right virtual support to help our clients get ahead.
Get Ahead was created in 2010 by business woman, Rebecca Newenham. Rebecca’s background was as a buyer for major UK retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Superdrug. But, having switched her focus for a few years to start a family, Rebecca saw the opportunity to create her own business. And so Get Ahead was born – providing outsourced services to business owners in need of additional resource and skills. By 2017, Rebecca realised that this opportunity was broader than its Surrey base – and expanded the business to create a franchise opportunity.
Since 2017, Get Ahead has been rapidly growing year-on-year, with regional offices covering areas such as Berkshire & North Hants, Leeds, South Yorkshire, West Surrey, Suffolk, East Midlands and beyond. Rebecca loves running a franchise business because she gets to bring on fabulous and inspiring Regional Directors, who she works with to grow their own successful Get Ahead businesses.
Rebecca is very proud of the success of Get Ahead, with recognition including a 2020 SME News ‘Business Elite’ Award and a prestigious Theo Paphitis ‘Small Business Sunday’ award. She was also herself chosen as one of 2020’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs in the UK.
Rebecca is a strong believer in flexible working and work-life balance. She believes that every franchisee helps her make the business stronger – listening to their ideas and working with them to further the overarching direction of the company. She is a passionate advocate for each and every one of her Regional Directors and loves nothing more than helping a new franchisee make their franchise business a huge success.
We are passionate advocates for each and every one of our Regional Directors. From day one, you’ll be given the all the tools you need to build a successful small business franchise.
Becoming a Regional Director for Get Ahead means having the freedom to run your own business with support from an established brand – so you’re going into business for yourself, not by yourself. But what is it actually like to be a Regional Director, day to day?
We spoke to Fiona, the head of our Leeds branch, to find out how she spends a typical working day.
My morning routine
I like to get up early because I have a great morning routine that helps to get me in the right mindset for the day: half an hour of exercise, followed by ten minutes of daily gratitude. Then it’s time to get the kids up and ready for school. I usually eat breakfast at around 8am and check my emails to get an idea of the jobs I’ll need to tackle first.
At my desk
The first thing I do when I sit down to start work is check over the tasks I’ve planned for myself the day before – responding to emails, posting and engaging on social media and connecting with people I met at networking events.
After that, I call the Get Ahead VA team to get a client update – it’s always reassuring to know that I have that support there when I need it – and I follow up with clients to ensure they’re getting everything they need. This is also a good time to make contact with prospective clients.
Out and about
The beauty of being a Regional Director is that you aren’t bound to your desk all day, every day. A big part of the job is networking, and I tend to do most of my networking at lunchtimes in order to fit it within school hours.
If I’m not networking, I’ll use this time to review my business and marketing plan, think about what is working well for me, and hone my pitch for future networking events. I’ll take about half an hour for lunch and eat it at the table (not at my desk!).
Afternoon commitments
When my daughter gets home from school, I take a break to catch up with her and then I walk to my son’s school to pick him up. This isn’t the end of the working day for me, but it’s great that I can be around when my kids finish school, to ask them how their day was.
My afternoon jobs include checking my emails and social media again, and responding to anything pressing, like sending a client proposal. As the working day comes to an end, I review what I’ve done and plan my tasks and set goals for the next day. Then at around 5pm it’s time to stop work and take the kids to Tae Kwon Do!
Being a Regional Director for Get Ahead is a hugely rewarding job, and I love the flexibility of the working hours and the variety of every day. I would recommend it to anyone who’s thinking of taking the plunge.
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