# MiPA — full corpus Generated 2026-10-09 UTC ============================================================ # AI Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-we-compare/ai-assistants/ Published: 2026-09-29 AI Assistants vs Virtual Assistant Can AI Replace A Virtual PA? For some of it, yes. AI is genuinely good at drafting, summarising, research and first passes at almost anything written. If you are not using it for those things you are making your week harder than it needs to be.What AI does not do is take responsibility. It will not notice that the client who has gone quiet is the one worth chasing, it will not read the room on a difficult call, and it will not pick up the phone and be a person your customer is glad to speak to. A PA does all of that, and uses AI to get through the rest faster. Book a Free Call See the comparison Written by Emma Mills, Founder and Managing Director of Mi PA. Last reviewed September 2026. AI on its own or a Mi PA PA, side by side The things buyers ask us about most often, answered straight. What you are weighing up AI on its own A Mi PA PA Drafting and summarising Fast and good. Fast and good, because your PA uses AI too. Answering your phone Callers can tell, and most do not like it. A real person your customers assume works for you. Knowing what matters today Only what you tell it, every time. Learns your goals and works out the priority. Chasing and following up Only if you build and maintain the automation. Just happens. Judgement on a sensitive issue No. Yes. Accountability when it goes wrong None. A named person and a business behind them. Mi PA has answered calls and run diaries for UK business owners since 2008. We support over 500 businesses from our Salford office. What we would tell you to use AI for Use it for first drafts, for summarising long documents, for research you would otherwise put off, and for turning a messy set of notes into something readable.It is very good at all of that and it costs you almost nothing. We are not going to pretend otherwise to sell you a person.I was so impressed how professional the team were when they answered the call, everyone else I called seemed to be in a rush.Matthew Davies, Titan Serv Where it falls over AI does what you ask. That sounds like a feature until you realise the whole problem is that you do not have time to ask. Somebody still has to decide what needs doing, notice what has been missed and chase the things that have gone quiet. That deciding and noticing is most of what a good PA actually does, and it is the part that is still stubbornly human.There is also the bit nobody enjoys talking about. When an automated system mishandles a customer, there is nobody to say sorry and put it right. Use both, in the right places The businesses getting the most out of this are not choosing. They use AI for the drafting and the summarising, and a person for the phone, the follow up and the judgement calls.That is how we work too. Your PA is not competing with the tools. They are using them so that more of their time goes on the things only a person can do. Common questions Can AI replace a virtual assistant? It can replace parts of the job. Drafting, summarising and research are all handled well by AI. Deciding what matters, following things up, handling a difficult conversation and answering your phone as a person are not. Is an AI receptionist as good as a human answering my calls? Callers usually know. For simple, transactional calls an automated system can be adequate. For anything where the caller is a prospect, a complaint or in a hurry, a real person answering properly is the difference between keeping that business and losing it. Is AI cheaper than a PA? The tools cost very little. The time you spend prompting, checking and correcting them is the real cost, and for most business owners that time is the thing they were trying to buy back in the first place. Do Mi PA PAs use AI? Answer Coming Soon It can replace parts of the job. Drafting, summarising and research are all handled well by AI. Deciding what matters, following things up, handling a difficult conversation and answering your phone as a person are not.Callers usually know. For simple, transactional calls an automated system can be adequate. For anything where the caller is a prospect, a complaint or in a hurry, a real person answering properly is the difference between keeping that business and losing it.The tools cost very little. The time you spend prompting, checking and correcting them is the real cost, and for most business owners that time is the thing they were trying to buy back in the first place.Answer Coming Soon Worked out which bits you want a person for? Book a free call with Emma and we will tell you honestly where a tool would do the job just as well. Book a Free Call Or just ring us on 0161 820 6080. Somebody will answer. Other comparisons Mi PA vs hiring an employee What a permanent hire really costs once you add National Insurance, pension, holiday and recruitment. Mi PA vs a freelance VA What happens to your diary when one person is your entire support function and they go on holiday. Mi PA vs an offshore VA Where the cost saving is real, and where time zones, accents and data protection start to cost you more. Our virtual assistant services What a dedicated UK PA actually takes off your plate, day to day. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Freelance VA Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-we-compare/freelance-va/ Published: 2026-09-29 Freelance VA vs a Managed PA Freelance Virtual Assistant Or A Managed PA Service? A good freelance VA can be excellent. You deal with one person, you build a relationship, and the rate is often keen. Plenty of businesses run happily that way for years.The risk is that one person is also a single point of failure. When they are ill, on holiday, oversubscribed or they decide to move on, your diary and your inbox go with them. A managed service costs a little more and removes that risk, because there is a business behind the person. Book a Free Call See the comparison Written by Emma Mills, Founder and Managing Director of Mi PA. Last reviewed September 2026. A freelance VA or a Mi PA PA, side by side The things buyers ask us about most often, answered straight. What you are weighing up Freelance VA A Mi PA PA Who you work with One person, directly. A dedicated PA, with a business behind them. Vetting and training Down to you to assess. Recruited, trained and supported by us. Capacity when you grow Limited to their available hours. Scales as your needs change. Contract and compliance Varies. Often a personal arrangement. A company contract, one calendar month notice. Mi PA has answered calls and run diaries for UK business owners since 2008. We support over 500 businesses from our Salford office. What you are actually buying When you take on a freelance VA you are buying somebody's hours. When you work with us you are buying a service that keeps running.The difference does not show up in month one. It shows up the week they are in Lanzarote and your inbox is filling up.I've been a client for more than 2 years now and the experience has been great. They provide an amazing service and are an integral part of my business.Carl Firmstone, Definitive Electrical Solutions The process problem With a single freelancer, everything about how your business works tends to live in their head. That is fine until it is not.We build the way your business runs into how we work, so it is not dependent on one person remembering it. When a freelancer is the better choice If you need a few hours a month, or you want one specific skill from one specific person you already trust, a freelancer is likely a better fit than we are.We are built for owners who want ongoing, embedded support rather than occasional help. Common questions Is a freelance VA cheaper than a managed PA service? Often, on the headline rate. A managed service includes recruitment, training, supervision and continuity, which you are otherwise providing yourself or going without. How is a Mi PA PA different from a virtual assistant? A generic virtual assistant is process and task driven. They work through the list you write. A Mi PA PA is a trained executive assistant who learns your goals and carves a path to reaching them, becoming a second brain and an extension of you rather than another pair of hands. What can I hand over to a Mi PA PA? Phones first, then your inbox, then your diary. From there it tends to grow into lead follow up, customer service, travel, meeting preparation and the admin that never reaches the top of your list. What happens if my PA is unavailable? Answer coming soon Often, on the headline rate. A managed service includes recruitment, training, supervision and continuity, which you are otherwise providing yourself or going without.A generic virtual assistant is process and task driven. They work through the list you write. A Mi PA PA is a trained executive assistant who learns your goals and carves a path to reaching them, becoming a second brain and an extension of you rather than another pair of hands.Phones first, then your inbox, then your diary. From there it tends to grow into lead follow up, customer service, travel, meeting preparation and the admin that never reaches the top of your list.Answer coming soon Thinking about a freelancer? Book a free call and we will help you work out whether you need a person or a service. Book a Free Call Or just ring us on 0161 820 6080. Somebody will answer. Other comparisons Mi PA vs hiring an employee What a permanent hire really costs once you add National Insurance, pension, holiday and recruitment. Mi PA vs AI What AI genuinely handles well, what it still cannot do, and why our PAs use it anyway. Mi PA vs an offshore VA Where the cost saving is real, and where time zones, accents and data protection start to cost you more. Our virtual assistant services What a dedicated UK PA actually takes off your plate, day to day. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Hiring an employee Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-we-compare/hiring-an-employee/ Published: 2026-09-29 Virtual PA vs Hiring an Employee Virtual PA Or A New Hire? What Each One Really Costs You Hiring somebody is the obvious answer when you are drowning in admin. It is also the most expensive one, and the slowest. A salary is only the start: you also carry employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday, sick pay, equipment, recruitment fees and the time you spend training and managing them.A Mi PA PA costs one fixed monthly fee. There is no recruitment, no training, no probation and no notice period beyond a calendar month. Your Welcome Call comes first, and useful work usually starts a couple of days later. Book a Free Call See the comparison Written by Emma Mills, Founder and Managing Director of Mi PA. Last reviewed September 2026. A permanent hire or a Mi PA PA, side by side The things buyers ask us about most often, answered straight. What you are weighing up Hiring an employee A Mi PA PA What you pay Salary, employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday, sick pay, equipment and often a recruitment fee. One fixed monthly fee. How long until they are useful Weeks to advertise and interview, a notice period to serve, then training. Welcome Call first, then useful work within a couple of days. Who manages them You do. Recruiting, training, motivating, appraising and developing. We do. You get the output. If it is not working Probation, process and potentially a redundancy consultation. One calendar month notice. Scaling Another recruitment round. A conversation. Mi PA has answered calls and run diaries for UK business owners since 2008. We support over 500 businesses from our Salford office. The cost you do not budget for Most owners work out the salary and stop there. The costs that catch people out come later: the fortnight of your own time spent shortlisting and interviewing, the first two months where you are training rather than delegating, the holiday you cover yourself, and the awkward conversation if the fit is wrong.None of that is an argument against hiring. It is an argument for being honest with yourself about the whole number before you commit to it.I didn't want to hire. I just needed someone to move projects forward without all the faff. Mi PA didn't just get it done. They revolutionised my business.Carolyne Wahlen, Founder, Gap HR and Golf HR The bit nobody warns you about The part our clients tell us they dreaded most was not the money. It was becoming somebody's manager. Setting the work, motivating them, noticing when they are struggling, doing the appraisal. If you started your business to get away from that, adding a direct report is a strange way to buy back your time.With a Mi PA PA, none of that lands on you. Your PA is trained, supported and managed by us. You get somebody who learns your goals and carves a path to reaching them, without becoming another thing on your plate. When hiring is genuinely the better call Employ somebody if you need them physically in your building, if the role is a specialist one that will grow into something bigger, or if the work is full time and predictable enough that a permanent hire will always be busy.If somebody needs to be on site opening up, meeting customers face to face or handling stock, we are not the answer and we will say so. Common questions Is a virtual PA cheaper than an employee? Usually, yes, once you count the whole cost of employment rather than the salary. An employee also brings employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday, sick pay, equipment and often a recruitment fee. A Mi PA PA is one fixed monthly fee with none of those attached. How long does it take to get started compared with hiring? Hiring typically means weeks of advertising and interviewing, then a notice period, then training. With Mi PA you have a Welcome Call first, and once we have your information and logins, useful work usually starts a couple of days later. What if it does not work out? Your notice period is one calendar month. There is no probation process, no consultation and no redundancy. Can a virtual PA do everything an employee could? Almost everything that does not need somebody physically present. Calls, inbox, diary, meeting preparation, lead follow up, customer service, travel and general administration are all handled remotely. If the work needs somebody in the room, an employee is the right answer. Usually, yes, once you count the whole cost of employment rather than the salary. An employee also brings employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday, sick pay, equipment and often a recruitment fee. A Mi PA PA is one fixed monthly fee with none of those attached.Hiring typically means weeks of advertising and interviewing, then a notice period, then training. With Mi PA you have a Welcome Call first, and once we have your information and logins, useful work usually starts a couple of days later.Your notice period is one calendar month. There is no probation process, no consultation and no redundancy.Almost everything that does not need somebody physically present. Calls, inbox, diary, meeting preparation, lead follow up, customer service, travel and general administration are all handled remotely. If the work needs somebody in the room, an employee is the right answer. Not sure whether to hire or delegate? Book a free call with Emma and talk it through with somebody who has no interest in selling you something you do not need. Book a Free Call Or just ring us on 0161 820 6080. Somebody will answer. Other comparisons Mi PA vs a freelance VA What happens to your diary when one person is your entire support function and they go on holiday. Mi PA vs AI What AI genuinely handles well, what it still cannot do, and why our PAs use it anyway. Mi PA vs an offshore VA Where the cost saving is real, and where time zones, accents and data protection start to cost you more. Our virtual assistant services What a dedicated UK PA actually takes off your plate, day to day. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Offshore VA Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-we-compare/offshore-virtual-assistants/ Published: 2026-09-29 Offshore VA vs a UK PA Offshore Virtual Assistant Or A UK PA? An Honest Comparison An offshore virtual assistant will almost always cost less per hour than a UK one. That is the whole appeal and we are not going to argue with it. If your work is high volume, repetitive and does not touch your customers, offshore can be a sensible choice.It stops being sensible the moment the work involves your customers, your phone or your judgement. A time zone gap turns a two minute question into a twenty four hour delay. An accent your customers struggle with costs you calls. And the further your data travels, the harder it is to know where it has ended up. Book a Free Call See the comparison Written by Emma Mills, Founder and Managing Director of Mi PA. Last reviewed September 2026. Offshore VA or a Mi PA PA, side by side The things buyers ask us about most often, answered straight. What you are weighing up Offshore VA A Mi PA PA Hourly cost Lower, sometimes considerably. Higher per hour, but charged as one fixed monthly fee. Working hours Often several hours ahead or behind you. UK hours, in your time zone. Answering your phone Rarely offered, and accent and call quality can be an issue. Over 2,000 calls a day, answered as though they are sat in your office. Local knowledge Limited context on UK business norms and deadlines. A UK team who know how UK businesses run. Turnaround on a quick question Often next day. Same working day. Mi PA has answered calls and run diaries for UK business owners since 2008. We support over 500 businesses from our Salford office. The phone is the part that breaks Most offshore providers do not answer phones, and the ones that do are asking your customer to hold a conversation across a delay, a line and an accent all at once. Your customer does not know they are talking to an assistant in another country. They just know the call felt like hard work.Call answering is where we started, and it is still the thing we are known for. Your calls are answered by a named team in Salford who learn your business, take the message properly and get it to you while it still matters.A lot of my clients have said how brilliant you guys are. They could not believe it when I told them you are up North, they thought you were in the same building as me.Dan Radford, Edemo Electric BikesThat is the bar. If a caller can tell, it has cost you something. Where offshore genuinely wins If you need a large volume of repeatable back office work done to a tight budget, data entry, list building, formatting, basic research, and none of it touches a customer, offshore is a reasonable answer and you should take it.We would rather tell you that than take on work we are not the best value for. Common questions Is an offshore virtual assistant cheaper? Per hour, yes, usually by a wide margin. Whether it is cheaper overall depends on how much of your time goes into managing the gap, and on what a missed or mishandled customer call costs you. Are Mi PA's assistants based in the UK? Yes. Our whole team is based in Greater Manchester. There is no overseas outsourcing, no time zone gap and no language barrier. Can an offshore VA answer my business calls? Most do not offer call answering at all. Where it is offered, the combination of time zone, line quality and accent tends to be noticeable to callers. Call answering is where we started as a business and we handle over 2,000 calls a day. What about my data if I use an offshore assistant? Answer Coming Soon Per hour, yes, usually by a wide margin. Whether it is cheaper overall depends on how much of your time goes into managing the gap, and on what a missed or mishandled customer call costs you.Yes. Our whole team is based in Greater Manchester. There is no overseas outsourcing, no time zone gap and no language barrier.Most do not offer call answering at all. Where it is offered, the combination of time zone, line quality and accent tends to be noticeable to callers. Call answering is where we started as a business and we handle over 2,000 calls a day.Answer Coming Soon Weighing up offshore against a UK team? Book a free call. We will be straight with you about which one your business actually needs. Book a Free Call Or just ring us on 0161 820 6080. Somebody will answer. Other comparisons Mi PA vs hiring an employee What a permanent hire really costs once you add National Insurance, pension, holiday and recruitment. Mi PA vs a freelance VA What happens to your diary when one person is your entire support function and they go on holiday. Mi PA vs AI What AI genuinely handles well, what it still cannot do, and why our PAs use it anyway. Our virtual assistant services What a dedicated UK PA actually takes off your plate, day to day. ------------------------------------------------------------ # How We Compare Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-we-compare/ Published: 2026-09-29 How We Compare How Mi PA Compares If your week is disappearing into admin, calls and your inbox, you have five realistic options. You can hire somebody. You can use an offshore virtual assistant. You can find a freelance VA. You can try to solve it with AI. Or you can work with a UK based PA service like ours.We are not going to pretend we are the right answer every time. Each of the pages below sets out what the alternative does well, what it costs you, and where it tends to come unstuck. If one of them suits you better than we do, we would rather you knew that now than three months in. Written by Emma Mills, Founder and Managing Director of Mi PA. Last reviewed September 2026. The four comparisons, at a glance The short version of each argument. Follow any of them through for the full comparison. If you are considering Where it wins Where it costs you Hiring an employee Compare the real costs Somebody in your building, full time, entirely yours to direct. National Insurance, pension, holiday, sick pay, recruitment, and weeks before they are useful. An offshore virtual assistant See the honest comparison A much lower hourly rate on high volume work that never touches a customer. Time zone delays, call quality your customers notice, and less certainty about your data. A freelance virtual assistant Compare cover and continuity One person who knows you well, often at a keen rate, with a direct relationship. One person is also a single point of failure when they are ill, away or oversubscribed. AI on its own See what AI cannot do Drafting, summarising and research, fast and for almost nothing. It does what you ask, and the whole problem is that you have no time to ask. What you are comparing us against Mi PA is a UK based PA and call answering team. We have been doing this since 2008, we support over 500 businesses, and we answer over 2,000 calls a day from our office in Salford.You get a dedicated PA on one fixed monthly fee, with a calendar month notice period. No recruitment, no training and nothing to manage. Still weighing it up? Book a free call with Emma. If we are not the right fit, she will tell you which of the others is. 0161 820 6080 Book a Call ------------------------------------------------------------ # Careers Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/careers/ Published: 2026-09-28 We're hiring Virtual assistant jobs in Manchester Some people are simply wired to be the one who holds it all together. If that sounds like you, there is a career here with your name on it. Giving time back since 2008, 500+ businesses supported, Exchange Quay, Salford What it is actually like to work here You will not be a name on a rota. Our receptionists and PAs get to know the businesses they look after, learn how those owners like to work, and become a genuine extension of their team. That is why people stay with us, and why clients often work with the same PA for years.You will be busy. Priorities can change in a morning and no two days look the same. In return you get trusted early, trained properly, and you finish every week knowing exactly who you helped and how. The Mi PA Academy Nobody arrives knowing how to do this job. That is exactly what the Academy is for.It combines boot camp training, one-to-one development and hands-on experience with real clients, so you build the approach, the aptitude and the attitude the role needs. You learn from people who have done the job themselves, not from a handbook.It does not stop once you have found your feet either. There is a clear development path from day one, so you can move forward as your skills grow rather than waiting for someone above you to leave. The roles we recruit for Call answering One call you are the first voice a builder's customer hears, the next you are taking a message for a solicitor. It suits people who are quick on their feet and genuinely good with other human beings. If you have come from reception, retail, hospitality or customer service, you already have most of what we need. Virtual PA You look after a small group of clients as their dedicated PA. Diaries, inboxes, travel, follow-ups and the hundred small things that stop a business owner getting on with the work only they can do. You become their second brain. Apprenticeships We have taken on apprentices for years and several of the team started exactly that way. If you are at the start of your working life and you want to learn a proper profession rather than drift through a first job, this is a genuine route in. Three things we look for in every application 01 You help before you are asked Give us a real example, from work, school or university, where you took responsibility for something awkward and saw it to the end. 02 You stay organised when things move Tell us how you manage competing demands. We are looking for an actual process, and for how you communicate when something has to give. 03 You want to keep learning Tell us about something you pushed yourself to get better at. Attitude matters more to us here than a flawless CV. Apply now Fill in the form and upload your CV. Tell us which of the three things above you are strongest at and why, in a paragraph or two. That part matters more to us than the CV. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Reviews Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/reviews/ Published: 2026-09-15 Reviews Mi PA Reviews from Business Owners Across the UK You would not hand over your phones, your diary or your inbox to someone without checking them out first. So rather than pick out a few flattering lines, we have brought together the reviews our clients have left on Google and Trustpilot, each one linked back to where it was written so you can read it in full.Below you will find feedback grouped by the service people came to us for, whether that was answering their calls, following up their leads, taking the inbox off their hands or giving them a PA who learns the business and works as an extension of them. If you would rather talk it through than read about it, you can start a free trial for your calls or book a chat with the team. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Planner Thanks Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/planner/planner-thanks/ Published: 2026-02-27 Good Now actually use it! If digital:Your Productivity Planner is on its way to your inbox. It’ll land in the next few minutes (check spam just in case!).If Physical:Your pad is being prepared by the dream team. It’ll be landing on your desk very soon. Block 1 day this week to use it properly. Not “when you get a chance.” Schedule it now. Because once you see the truth about your time – you can’t unsee it! While You Wait… If this already made you question how you’re spending your time… Listen to my conversation with Daniel Priestley about leverage, thinking bigger, and why founders get stuck operating below their level.It’s one of the most powerful episodes I’ve recorded.If you’re serious about building properly - start here Want Help Acting on What You Find? If your audit shows you’re spending time on work below your hourly rate…That’s exactly what we fix inside Mi PA.Book a short Delegation Clarity Call and we’ll map out what to delete, delegate, and double down on. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Ai Receptionist Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/ai-receptionist/ Published: 2025-11-28 Home The UK Based Award Winning AI Receptionist For Small Businesses Discover How Easy (and Affordable) it is to have Your Calls Handled By The Experts ADD to Waitlist Fill in the form below and we'll add you to our priority list. Who Am I? I’m Emma, the Founder & Managing Director of Mi-PA & Mi-Call – the multiple award-winning PA and Call Answering team. Since 2007, we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses to answer their calls, manage their diaries, and deal with tasks within their businesses, allowing them to: Spend more time on the high-value, business-building tasks. Stop being a slave to the office and inbox, so they can spend more time with their families. Live a better life where they can focus on the fun stuff! Based in Manchester, our highly-trained, super-friendly, and ultra-professional team answer the phones for over 500 businesses – making sure they never miss a call… EVER! Emma Mills Managing Director Book Your Free Call With Me! Book a Call with Emma These were the last few people to book a call with me & this is what they thought… They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403081They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach https://vimeo.com/500403068https://vimeo.com/372353067If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company https://vimeo.com/500401035They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403049https://vimeo.com/500405295%20%20Embed "I was so impressed how professional the team were when they answered the call, everyone else I called seemed to be in a rush." Matthew DaviesTitan Serv "My customers always mention how polite and professional you are when taking my calls" Dean WinsleyEMF Wiring "You really do provide an excellent, no hassle, easy service. So worthwhile and valuable. It really does help me a lot!" James HudsonDrive Development Solutions "A lot of my clients have said how brilliant you guys are. They could not believe it when I told them you are up North, they thought you were in the same building as me." Dan RadfordEdemo Electric Bikes "I've been a client for more than 2 years now and the experience has been great. They provide an amazing service & are an integral part of my business." Carl FirmstoneDefinitive Electrical Solutions "Mi-Call answers my calls & I recommend them to any business! All my calls are answered professionally & it makes my business look like one of the big boys!" Jo BoatengRobo Cleaning Services "Day 1 of our calls being answered and it's working BRILLIANTLY!" David BrowneScottish Shutter Company "For a small business outsourcing can be stressful... not with Emma & her team. They are extremely helpful, positive, & accommodating. They have added so much value to my business." Alec CalderbankCalderbank Heating Trusted by 500+ UK BUSINESSES Questions about MI PA? We have the answers! https://vimeo.com/500815176https://vimeo.com/500834525https://vimeo.com/500834653https://vimeo.com/500816968https://vimeo.com/500817410https://vimeo.com/500816879https://vimeo.com/500817471https://vimeo.com/500817278https://vimeo.com/509792271https://vimeo.com/500817151https://vimeo.com/500817564 ------------------------------------------------------------ # Concierge Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/concierge/ Published: 2025-09-26 Home Mi Concierge – Premium Lifestyle Management & Personal Concierge Services Book a Call With Our Team Managing Your Life On The Go Communicate easily through your own dedicated WhatsApp group, a phone call, or a visit from your dedicated lifestyle manager. Mi Concierge are a Manchester based lifestyle management company established over 11 years ago by Emma Mills. The Mi Concierge Team has been providing completely discreet, super-efficient lifestyle and concierge services to discerning clients across the UK.Unlike many concierge and lifestyle management services, Mi Concierge are completely transparent with pricing and billing. We're here to enrich your lifestyle, handle your daily necessities, and give you back the invaluable gift of time.We'd love a chat. Book a call below now, or contact Emma directly on 07807 673 465 https://vimeo.com/362031430 I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life Sarah Arnautovic wife of Marko Arnautovic Book a Call With Our Concierge Team Travel And Experiences From last-minute weekend escapes to meticulously planned holidays, our travel specialists craft bespoke itineraries tailored to your preferences.We secure exclusive hotel upgrades, arrange private jets and yacht charters, and provide insider access to destinations worldwide. Whether it's booking that impossible-to-get restaurant reservation in Paris or arranging a private tour of closed museums, we make extraordinary experiences accessible. Flights Private jets Drivers Hotels Check in for all flights & travel in your dedicated diary Holidays VISA’s Home & Property Management Your home should be your sanctuary, not a source of stress.We coordinate trusted tradespeople for repairs and renovations, manage household staff recruitment and training, oversee property maintenance schedules, and handle utility management.From sourcing the perfect interior designer to managing multiple properties, we ensure everything runs seamlessly. The Family Assistant Finding Schools Kids clubs, classes, horse riding lessons Liaison with School for homework, school days, holidays, fees, school calendar Arranging Birthday parties, Princess Parties Christmas Parties, Santa Claus and Reindeer Recruiting staff to help with family life. Cleaners, Nannies, Live in Au Pair, Window Cleaner, Tutors Managing staff to help with family life and all payments Gift finding for Birthdays, Anniversaries and surprises Arrange memberships to health clubs Laundry and Clothes Cleaning Nurseries Pet Carers Private Doctors Personal And Family Services Life's daily demands shouldn't consume your precious time.We handle school applications and educational consultancy, arrange childcare and elderly care services, manage medical appointments with leading specialists, and coordinate family celebrations.From pet care to personal shopping, from gift sourcing to wardrobe management – we take care of the details so you can focus on what matters most. Business Support Services Successful professionals need seamless support.Our business lifestyle services include corporate event planning, executive travel arrangements, diary management, and administrative support.We facilitate business networking opportunities, arrange corporate hospitality, and ensure your professional life runs as smoothly as your personal one. Exclusive Events & Celebrations Creating unforgettable moments requires meticulous planning and flawless execution. Our event specialists design and deliver bespoke celebrations, from intimate dinner parties to grand occasions.We manage every detail including venue sourcing, catering, entertainment, floristry, and logistics. Our experienced team ensures your vision becomes reality whilst you simply enjoy being a guest at your own event. Entertainment & Access Gain entry to sold-out concerts, sporting events, and exclusive venues. Our established relationships unlock doors to private members' clubs, VIP experiences, and invitation-only events.We secure premium tickets to West End shows, arrange meet-and-greets with artists, and provide access to film premieres and fashion shows.Your social calendar becomes our priority. Who are Mi Concierge? Mi Concierge are a Manchester based business set up over 11 years ago by Emma Mills. The Mi Concierge Team has been providing a completely discrete, super efficient service.Unlike many concierge and PA services, Mi Concierge are completely transparent with price and billing. We are here to support you, to make your life easier so that you can concentrate on what you do best with a clear fee structure. Your Next Step Ready To Reclaim Your Time? Join the others who have discovered the freedom that comes with professional lifestyle management.Let us handle the complexity. You'll enjoy the simplicity.We’d love a chat. Book a call below now, or contact Emma directly on 07807 673 465 Book a Call With Our Concierge Team ------------------------------------------------------------ # Call Answering Service Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/call-answering-service/ Published: 2025-09-11 Home Professional Call Answering Service - Never Miss Another Call Again Discover How Easy (and Affordable) it is to have Your Calls Handled By The Experts Manchester-based, award-winning call answering service trusted by 500+ UK businesses. Our expert team answers over 2,000 calls daily, ensuring your customers always reach a real person who cares about your business as much as you do. Get Your Free 1-Week Trial Talk to one of our experts and enjoy call answering service free for a week, on the house. Book Your Free Consultation Download the Info Pack https://vimeo.com/501848452 What is Mi Call? Download the FREE Info Pack to get all the details on how Mi-Call works. It contains everything you need to know about: What is Mi Call & how it works The different ways we can help your business How the pricing works (& how affordable it really is!) and everything else you might need to know! Download the Info Pack Are You Losing Money Every Time Your Phone Rings? If you're a busy business owner, you know the frustration: Missing calls whilst you're with clients - losing potential customers to competitors Interruptions during important meetings - breaking your flow when you're trying to focus Working late just to return missed calls - sacrificing your personal time for business admin Wondering how many opportunities slip through the cracks - especially during busy periods Every missed call could be your next big client, urgent customer query, or game-changing opportunity. The question is: how much is each missed call costing your business? Here's what makes our call answering service different: No more frustrated customers hanging up. Our call answering service is handled by a dedicated team that cares about your calls as much as you do. Boutique team Who know your business Unlike offshore call centres, our Manchester-based call answering service team learns your business inside-out, handling calls exactly how you would. Real People, Real Conversations Our call answering service provides genuine, warm conversations - not robotic scripts. Your customers will love the experience. The Call Answering Service That Treats Your Customers Like Family Since 2007, MI-PA's professional call answering service has been the secret weapon behind hundreds of successful UK businesses. Based in Manchester, our highly trained, super-friendly team becomes an extension of your business - not just an answering service. Book Your Free Consultation What Our Call Answering Service Does For Your Business Focus on Growing Your Business Stop dropping everything every time the phone rings. Our call answering service frees up your time to work ON your business, not just IN it. Never Lose Another Sale Every call answered is a potential customer retained. Our professional call answering service ensures you capture every opportunity. Enjoy Better Work-Life Balance Take back your evenings and weekends. Our call answering service means you can switch off, knowing your customers are still being looked after brilliantly. Appear Bigger Than You Are Our call answering service gives you the professional presence of a large company, even if you're a one-person operation. Book Your Free Consultation Getting Started With Our Call Answering Service Is Simple Free Consultation We'll chat about your business needs and show you exactly how our call answering service can help (even if it's just for free advice!). Tailored Setup Our call answering service team learns your business, your customers, and exactly how you want calls handled. Free Trial Week Try our call answering service for a full week, completely free. No catches, no commitments. Go Live Start enjoying the freedom of knowing every call is answered professionally while you focus on what you do best. Book a free call with Helena If you’re on this page that means you might be interested in using our award -winning call answering service to: Get a super-star receptionist that will wow your customers. Free up you and your staff’s time. Improve your customer service. Boost your productivity. Liberate yourself from constant distractions. Well I’d love to chat with you (even if it’s just for some free advice)! So don’t be shy, book a free call with me whenever it suits you What Our Call Answering Service Clients Say These were the last few people to book a call with me & this is what they thought… They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach More than just a call answering service Guy Bartlett The Business Buyers Club If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403081They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach https://vimeo.com/500403068More than just a call answering service Guy Bartlett The Business Buyers Club https://vimeo.com/372353067If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company https://vimeo.com/500401035They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403049https://vimeo.com/500405295%20%20Embed "They're not just a call answering service - they treat my customers like their own." Dawn McGruerBestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach Mi-PA's call answering service has been a game changer for our small business. The team could take pressure off my husband taking calls whilst he is out working on jobs." Chloe Christine-Wallis "We've worked with MI-PA's call answering service for several years. They're a great team who really care about their customers. I could not recommend them highly enough." Philip Mulvenna "If you want to do what I did and improve your business, sign up for their call answering service." "I've been a client for more than 2 years now and the experience has been great. They provide an amazing service & are an integral part of my business." Carl FirmstoneDefinitive Electrical Solutions "Mi-Call answers my calls & I recommend them to any business! All my calls are answered professionally & it makes my business look like one of the big boys!" Jo BoatengRobo Cleaning Services "Day 1 of our calls being answered and it's working BRILLIANTLY!" David BrowneScottish Shutter Company "For a small business outsourcing can be stressful... not with Emma & her team. They are extremely helpful, positive, & accommodating. They have added so much value to my business." Alec CalderbankCalderbank Heating Trusted by 500+ UK BUSINESSES Complete Call Answering Service Features Conversation Experts Professional call handling by our trained boutique team who represent your business just like its your own Message Taking & Forwarding Detailed messages sent instantly via email or SMS - you'll never miss important information. Appointment Booking Our call answering service team can manage your diary, book appointments, and send confirmations. Call Transfer Services Urgent calls transferred immediately, routine queries handled by our expert team. Call Reporting Monthly reports showing call volumes, peak times, and customer insights to help your business grow Lead Qualification Our call answering service doesn't just take messages - we qualify leads and prioritise hot prospects. Transparent Call Answering Service Pricing No Hidden Fees No Long Contracts Cancel Anytime Our call answering service pricing is straightforward and designed to save you money compared to hiring full-time staff. Free setup and onboarding Pay only for calls answered Boutique Team treating your calls like their own business Free 1-week trial Want exact pricing for your business? Book a free consultation and we'll provide a tailored quote for our call answering service. Book Your Free Consultation Call Answering Service Frequently Asked Questions How quickly do you answer calls with your call answering service? Our Call Handling team SLA is 3 rings. We know how important it is that your customers don’t wait. Will your call answering service team know my business? Absolutely. We spend time learning your business, your customers, and exactly how you want calls handled. You’re not just another number to us. Can I try your call answering service before committing? Yes! We offer a completely free 1-week trial of our call answering service. No payment details required upfront. What happens to calls outside business hours? Our call answering service can support your business between 7am and 9pm weekday and 8am – 6pm weekends. We can also create a personalised voicemail or forward calls to your number outside of our working hours. How is your call answering service different from a call centre? We’re not a call centre. Far from it. We’re your virtual team with a dedicated account manage who will know and understand your business.Our boutique Manchester-based team provide a call answering service that feels like an extension of your business.We also love client visits! Our office in Manchester is waiting to welcome you whenever your nearby! What if I need to make changes to my call answering service? Easy! Our Mi Call customer service team headed up by Tyler our Mi Call manager are on hand to work with you on your account and are ready to adapt based on your evolving needs. Our Call Handling team SLA is 3 rings. We know how important it is that your customers don't wait.Absolutely. We spend time learning your business, your customers, and exactly how you want calls handled. You're not just another number to us.Yes! We offer a completely free 1-week trial of our call answering service. No payment details required upfront.Our call answering service can support your business between 7am and 9pm weekday and 8am - 6pm weekends. We can also create a personalised voicemail or forward calls to your number outside of our working hours. We're not a call centre. Far from it. We're your virtual team with a dedicated account manage who will know and understand your business.Our boutique Manchester-based team provide a call answering service that feels like an extension of your business.We also love client visits! Our office in Manchester is waiting to welcome you whenever your nearby!Easy! Our Mi Call customer service team headed up by Tyler our Mi Call manager are on hand to work with you on your account and are ready to adapt based on your evolving needs. Meet Emma - Your Call Answering Service Expert Hi! I'm Emma, Founder & Managing Director of MI-PA. Since 2007, I've built the UK's leading call answering service from scratch, helping hundreds of businesses to get their calls handled by our team of conversation experts. Why did I start this call answering service? Because I was fed up of brilliant business owners being held back by admin tasks and missed opportunities. Our call answering service exists to win you time back that you can spend on the things important to you. Based in Manchester with a team of over 30 professionals, our call answering service now handles calls for 500+ businesses across the UK. We're not just any call answering service - we're the call answering service that helps businesses grow. Want to chat? I'd love to hear about your business and show you exactly how our call answering service can help (even if it's just for some free advice!) Emma Mills Managing Director Book Your Free Call with Helena! our Conversation expert Ready to get your calls handled by conversation experts? Join 500+ UK businesses who trust our call answering service Your customers are trying to reach you right now. Every minute you delay is another potential opportunity lost to a competitor with a professional call answering service. Get Started With Your Free Week Trial Talk to one of our call answering service experts today. No pressure, no sales pitch - just honest advice about whether our call answering service is right for your business. Book Your Free Consultation Available Monday-Friday, 9am - 5pm ------------------------------------------------------------ # Virtual Assistant Services Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/virtual-assistant-services/ Published: 2025-09-02 Home Stay Organised And Ahead: UK Based Virtual Assistant Services That Work Buy Back Your Time. Delegate Like a Pro. We match ambitious business owners with our in-house, UK-based, Executive Virtual Assistants who actually get stuff done and strategically manage you, so you can stop firefighting and start focusing. Think of us as your go‑to Virtual Assistant UK. Book a Free Consultation Take the Scorecard How Much Time Could You Buy Back Today? Feeling stretched, scattered or stuck in the weeds? This quick scorecard helps you find out exactly where your time is leaking - and what to do about it.Answer 15 Yes/No questions and get a personalised report to uncover the quick wins to delegate and reclaim your focus as the visionary.It takes less than 2 minutes - and will give you back hours. Take the 2 minute Mi PA Scorecard Answer 15 simple questions to discover how many hours a week you could reclaim, and what tasks you could outsource right now. Take the scorecard What We Do: Virtual Assistant Services UK, Simplified At Mi‑PA, we know your time is your most valuable asset. That’s why we offer virtual assistant services UK wide providing reliable, UK based admin and PA support that keeps your schedule running smoothly.We’re not just task takers. We’re proactive problem solvers. From inbox and diary management to document formatting, travel bookings, and beyond, we act as your Virtual PA. Consider us your behind-the-scenes support, making your day easier, calmer, and more productive. The Only Virtual Assistant Company in the UK with a Fixed Fee We focus on delivering outcomes, not counting hours or billing by the minute. VIEW OUR PA SUPPORT PACKAGES Why Virtual Support Matters (Especially in the UK) As a business owner, your time is your most valuable asset. Yet it’s often swallowed up by admin tasks, diary management, and endless emails that pull you away from growth and clients. That’s where virtual support comes in.A dedicated virtual assistant acts as an extension of your team, removing the admin burden so you can focus on strategy, sales, and service delivery. Instead of juggling calls, scheduling, and paperwork, you gain back hours each week to work on what actually moves your business forward.Your assistant collaborates with your business and customers, making sure that every interaction is professional and seamless.The real advantage? Less stress, more focus, and a business that operates smoothly without you being tied down by minor details. Virtual support isn’t just convenient, it’s the smartest way to scale your business without the additional costs associated with hiring extra staff. Book a Free Consultation Book a free call with Emma If you’re on this page that means you might be interested in using our award-winning call PA service to: Spend less time in your inbox Have your leads followed up consistently See the people you love Spend more time on business building tasks Do less stuff you hate Stop Spinning so many plates. Well I’d love to chat with you (even if it’s just for some free advice!) So don’t be shy, just click below and book a free call with me whenever it suits you Most business owners deal with tasks that they don’t want to do, or that they shouldn’t be doing. …and you’re probably no different. If you ever spend some time auditing your day (which I recommend!), and then calculate how much time you waste on tasks that aren’t really moving your business forward, you don’t enjoy or weren’t born to do and – even worse – are stopping you doing the things you really want to do.I would guess that it isn’t a pretty figure. The good news is that there is an alternative – your very own Mi PA personal assistant: How Our Virtual Assistant Service Works 1 Seamless SetupTell us what kind of admin support you need. Calendar management, client comms, document work - and we tailor a virtual PA process to suit.2 Real People, Real Support No bots, no templates. You get experienced UK based virtual assistants who learn your preferences and deliver reliably.3 Delegate the Day-to-DayWe take care of recurring tasks - appointment booking, email triage, file management, so you can focus on high value work.4Transparent UpdatesYou’ll receive regular reports, updates on completed work, and flags on anything needingyour attention.5Smarter Over TimeWe adapt. As your needs shift, we refine our approach to stay efficient, responsive, and totally aligned with your business goals. Here’s just some of what we can help you with: Managing your diary We take over your calendar and diary, making sure your meetings are all booked in, nothing clashes and letting you know where you need to be and when Handling your inbox Your inbox is without a doubt one of the biggest time drains in your working week, and there’s no doubt you’ll get several hours back if you hand it over to us. Customer service Whether its support tickets, social media DM’s or calls. However your customers contact you we can provide them with wow moments and outstanding customer service New Prospect calls Does your ‘follow up’ process need a little help and consistency? Do some leads fall into a black hole and don’t have the attention that they need? Your dedicated PA can manage and call all leads and make sure that they remember to buy from you Social media management We know how important your social media presence is, and we can handle it all for you, from creating the posts, to posting them, to engaging with customers and prospects on the various platforms Following up on your leads and prospect Whether you use Pipedrive, a CRM or a spreadsheet we can manage your follow up process so that no lead is left to go cold! Customer Service from customer service calls to managing daily queries and questions so that every customer has a wow experience. We can manage your customer operations in Inboxes or your Customer Service Platform! Ever wondered what it’s like to work with your own Mi PA - PA? I didn’t want to hire. I just needed someone to move projects forward without all the faff. Mi PA didn’t just get it done — they revolutionised my business. Carolyne Wahlen Founder, Gap HR & Golf HR READ MORE The long and short of it is that we can be your PA, saving you hours that you can spend generating more income or spending more time with your family, all for a fraction of what it would cost you to employ your own personal assistant… With Mi PA you can Focus on the Fun Stuff. 0 + happy customers 0 Rating on Google Reviews 0 h on avg. saved pm for each client Download the Mi PA Brochure Download the FREE brochure to get all the details on how Mi-PA works. Download Free Brochure Work With Mi‑PA. Trusted Virtual PA Services in the UK What You Get Why It Matters UK-based tone and Builds trust with clients and maintains brand professionalism consistency. Friendly, human assistants Your tasks are handled with care - not churned out by a bot. Virtual assistant services UK. It’s the keyword - and the core of what we do best. Multichannel flexibility. Email, calls, calendar tools.We work with what you use. Process improvement & feedback loop. We fine-tune support as we go - ensuring continuous value. Who Am I? I’m Emma, the Founder & Managing Director of Mi-PA & Mi-Call – the multiple award-winning PA and Call Answering team. Since 2007, we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses to answer their calls, manage their diaries, and deal with tasks within their businesses, allowing them to: Spend more time on the high-value, business-building tasks. Stop being a slave to the office and inbox, so they can spend more time with their families. Live a better life where they can focus on the fun stuff! Based in Manchester, our highly-trained, super-friendly, and ultra-professional team answer the phones for over 500 businesses – making sure they never miss a call… EVER! Emma Mills Managing Director Book Your Free Call With Me! Book a Call with Emma Let’s Talk Results We’ve freed up time, streamlined systems, and helped clients grow without hiring full-timestaff. As one happy client said on Trustpilot:“MiPA has transformed my workday. I can finally breathe knowing my calendar and emails are under control.”That’s more than praise - it’s a signal that the right virtual assistant can change everything. "I was so impressed how professional the team were when they answered the call, everyone else I called seemed to be in a rush." Matthew DaviesTitan Serv "My customers always mention how polite and professional you are when taking my calls" Dean WinsleyEMF Wiring "You really do provide an excellent, no hassle, easy service. So worthwhile and valuable. It really does help me a lot!" James HudsonDrive Development Solutions "A lot of my clients have said how brilliant you guys are. They could not believe it when I told them you are up North, they thought you were in the same building as me." Dan RadfordEdemo Electric Bikes "I've been a client for more than 2 years now and the experience has been great. They provide an amazing service & are an integral part of my business." Carl FirmstoneDefinitive Electrical Solutions "Mi-Call answers my calls & I recommend them to any business! All my calls are answered professionally & it makes my business look like one of the big boys!" Jo BoatengRobo Cleaning Services "Day 1 of our calls being answered and it's working BRILLIANTLY!" David BrowneScottish Shutter Company "For a small business outsourcing can be stressful... not with Emma & her team. They are extremely helpful, positive, & accommodating. They have added so much value to my business." Alec CalderbankCalderbank Heating Why Mi‑PA Stands Out Small enough to care, experienced enough to deliver. We’ve been supporting professionals since 2007. You won’t find offshore confusion here - just capable, UK-based assistants who ‘get it’. Your voice, our service We work behind the scenes using your tone and language, whether that’s formal, relaxed, or something in between. No long term contracts. Stay for the service, not because you’re locked in. We work flexibly, so you’re always in control. Virtual Assistant Frequently Asked Questions What makes your virtual assistant services UK-based and different? We’re real people based in the UK – no overseas outsourcing. You get a tailored, consistent, professional assistant who understands local norms and time zones. What tasks can I delegate? Calendar and inbox management, admin tasks, data entry, client communication, travel booking, document formatting, and more. Do you offer flexibility as needs change? Absolutely. Our virtual PA services in UK can scale up or down depending on your workload and priorities. We’re real people based in the UK - no overseas outsourcing. You get a tailored, consistent, professional assistant who understands local norms and time zones. Calendar and inbox management, admin tasks, data entry, client communication, travel booking, document formatting, and more. Absolutely. Our virtual PA services in UK can scale up or down depending on your workload and priorities. Ready to Reclaim Your Time? Let’s explore how our UK based virtual assistant services can streamline your admin, free up your focus, and help you get back to doing what you do best. Book your FREE discovery call today ------------------------------------------------------------ # Sitemap Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/sitemap/ Published: 2025-09-01 Mi-PA Sitemap ------------------------------------------------------------ # Appointment Setting Service Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/appointment-setting-service/ Published: 2025-08-28 Home Fill Your Sales Pipeline with Qualified Meetings - UK‑Based Appointment Setting Service That Works Our friendly, skilled team handles the follow‑up so you focus on closing deals - think of us as your virtual sales assistant UK. Book a Free Consultation Download Our Time‑Saving Guide What is Mi Follow Up? Exactly what it sounds like – become a Mi Follow Up client and – quite simply – we’ll follow up on all the leads that come into your business We’ll call them on the phone We’ll send them emails We’ll book sales appointments into your diary We’ll get rid of the tyre kickers We’ll do ALL the work required so you can focus on the highest quality prospects, and you can be certain you’re maximising your marketing spend. What We Do: Appointment Setting Service UK, Simplified At Mi‑PA, we believe your time is precious. That’s why we created our appointment setting service for the UK, a robust, human-led follow‑up engine that catches every lead and converts interest into action.We don’t just dabble in follow‑up - we’re lead‑nurturing ninjas, armed with phone calls, personalised emails, and even gentle reminders to ensure your prospects say “yes” to a meeting. As your virtual sales assistant, consider us your pipeline’s best friend. Why Appointment Setting Matters (Especially in the UK) Missed calls = missed deals. In the UK, follow‑up needs to feel personal and prompt. Let us make it feel effortless, while you spend time on your strengths. Volume meets intent. With keywords like appointment setting service UK getting ~200 searches a month, the demand is there—for a reason. We’re here to meet it. Precision matters. Services like lead follow‑up service UK and sales lead follow‑up UK may be niche, but they bring extremely high-quality leads straight to your diary. The Mi Follow Up Way Download the FREE Info Pack to get all the details on how Mi Follow Up works. It contains everything you need to know about: What is Mi Follow Up & How it works The Mi Follow Up Way - our developed system How the pricing works (& how affordable it really is!) …and everything else you might need to know! Download the Info Pack Work With Mi‑PA - The UK Appointment Setting Experts What You Get Why It Matters Tailored, UK‑aligned tone Builds trust and rapport with UK prospects - no “global call‑centre” vibe. Friendly, human touch Your leads feel heard and valued—every time. It’s your main keyword, and it’s what we do best. Integrated follow‑up across channels Email, phone and scheduler - unified for seamless experience. Data‑driven improvement We learn fast and build better systems, meeting your evolving goals. How Our Service Works 1 Seamless SetupTell us what a “qualified” appointment looks like to you - industry, timeline, deal size - and we craft a process that fits. 2 Human Follow‑Up, Tailored to Your BusinessNo scripts, no robotic sequences. We engage warmly and professionally, just like a dedicated virtual sales assistant UK.3 Book Meetings, Not Busywork Once a lead shows interest, we handle the logistics - sending invites, confirming timings, and even follow‑up reminders. 4 Real‑Time ReportingGet updates on progress, feedback from prospects, and any reschedules - so you’re always in the loop. 5 Growth‑Focused OptimisationWe tweak our approach based on feedback and results to convert more of your inbound interest into booked calls. Let’s Talk Results We’ve filled courses, booked sales calls, and lifted client revenue - often in days, not weeks.As one delighted client shared on Trustpilot:“MiPA's follow up service has delivered immediate results for me. It's a gamechanger.”That’s not just good feedback - it’s proof that when leads get the attention they need, your calendar fills up - quickly. "Before enlisting the help of MiFollow Up a lot of my time was taken up booking appointments and chasing customers. They have been doing my followup calls for about 6 months and honestly the first time I was sat in a cafe watching new appointments ping up on my phone (without me having to lift a finger) was absolute bliss!" Lydia McGoldrick,Honey and Lace Photography Studio "If you’d like to outsource your followup and have a proper team behind it, look no further. Thank you for all your ongoing support!" Gokay FitnessDulwich Why Mi‑PA Stands Out SME spirit with professional polish We’re not faceless. We’re small enough to care - but experienced enough (since 2007) to deliver consistently excellent follow‑up and booking support. Your brand, our voice We match your business tone. That means using your language, mirroring your style, and representing you as warmly and professionally as you would. No contracts that trap you We earn your trust week by week - because we believe in flexibility, not lock‑in. That’s how real relationships work MiPA. Appointment Setting Frequently Asked Questions What’s different about your appointment setting service UK? It’s personal, proactive, and tailored exactly to your needs – and it delivers a higher conversion from interest to booked call. How much involvement is needed from me? Minimal. We’ll need your guidance on lead type and tone, then we’ll take it from there – booking calls, sending reminders, and keeping you in the loop. Can this service work across UK time zones? Absolutely. We cater to prospect schedules across the UK – whether morning calls for a Scottish client or afternoon talks in Cornwall. It’s personal, proactive, and tailored exactly to your needs - and it delivers a higher conversion from interest to booked call. Minimal. We’ll need your guidance on lead type and tone, then we’ll take it from there - booking calls, sending reminders, and keeping you in the loop. Absolutely. We cater to prospect schedules across the UK - whether morning calls for a Scottish client or afternoon talks in Cornwall. Ready to Stop Chasing and Start Meeting? Book your FREE discovery call with one of our lead‑conversion experts today - no obfuscation, just clarity, control, and a diary full of qualified meetings. Request A Private Consultation How much will it cost you? Your investment to become a Mi Follow Up client is A LOT less than you’d think – and it works based on a sliding scale of the number of leads you need following up. Use the tool below now to work out what Mi Follow Up will cost you, but don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to any of the questions, just book a call and we’ll go through them with you. Mi-follow up calculator Your Next Step Keen to talk about Mi Follow Up? We’d love a chat. Book a call below now, or give us a call and we’ll take it from there… 0161 820 6080 Book a Call ------------------------------------------------------------ # Football Personal Assistant Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/football-personal-assistant/ Published: 2025-08-27 Home Exclusive Support For Athletes: Your Footballer Personal Assistant UK Lifestyle, logistics and day-to-day admin handled with total discretion. Our concierge services for athletes UK ensure nothing gets missed, on or off the pitch. .fullwidth-button { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: center; } Request a Private Consultation https://vimeo.com/362031430 I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life Sarah Arnautovic wife of Marko Arnautovic .calendly-overlay .calendly-popup {max-height:100%;} Book a Call With Emma Tailored Lifestyle Support: Footballer Personal Assistant UK Professional footballers and their families live fast-paced, high-pressure lives. At Mi‑PA, we offer a dedicated footballer personal assistant UK service to simplify the complex and protect your time, privacy, and peace of mind.Whether it’s managing personal admin, travel, family logistics or discreet lifestyle arrangements, we handle it all. Our concierge services for athletes UK are proactive, trustworthy, and flexible - so you can focus on what matters most.We’re not just assistants. We’re partners who understand what it takes to support high-net-worth individuals and families. Why Discreet Concierge Services Matter for Football Families Life off the pitch can be just as demanding as life on it. Managing schedules, schools, relocations, travel, and last-minute changes requires expert help - and total discretion.Our football family assistant UK service is designed to lighten that load:You don’t need an agency. You need someone who understands your world. That’s where Mi‑PA fits in. Support tailored to both athletes and their partners or children Responsive and respectful communication No need to explain twice - your preferences are remembered How Our Footballer Personal Assistant UK Service Works Private Discovery Call We get to know your needs, lifestyle, and how you prefer to work—no assumptions, no judgment. Dedicated Assistant You’re matched with a UK-based personal assistant who supports you and your family discreetly and professionally. Day-to-Day Admin Handled From managing property bookings to arranging transport or handling paperwork, we make things easier behind the scenes. Family Support Built In School admin, travel planning, diary support - our football family assistant UK handles it all. Long-Term, Trusted Support You can rely on us over the season, off-season, or through life transitions like moves or career changes. .fullwidth-button { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: center; } REQUEST OUR CONFIDENTIAL CONCIERGE GUIDE What Our Personal Assistant Service Covers Personal admin & scheduling. Keeps you organised and focused Family & household logistics. School, travel, domestic support – handled Travel, relocation & bookings. Seamless coordination across countries and timezones Confidential lifestyle arrangements. Total discretion. Trusted contacts. No drama Concierge services for athletes UK Tailored support for your lifestyle, not just your work Real Impact: Peace of Mind For High Profile Families We’ve supported Premier League players, WAGs, and rising stars. Our clients value not just what we do, but how we do it - with professionalism, calm, and complete discretion.As one client shared: “My assistant from Mi‑PA feels like part of the family. She’s made life smoother for me, my wife, and the kids - without ever getting in the way.” Why Mi‑PA Stands Out UK-based, human support We’re not a call centre or an app. You get a real personal assistant based in the UK who’s here when you need them. Trusted by high-net-worth clients From international matches to personal matters, we support every aspect of life with care and confidentiality. Flexible, responsive, private No contracts. No unwanted publicity. Just expert service, tailored to your exact needs. Frequently Asked Questions What is a Footballer Personal Assistant UK and what do they do? It’s a private assistant who supports professional athletes and their families with personal Do you only work with footballers? While many of our clients are professional footballers, we also support coaches, athletes in other sports, and high-profile families who require similar concierge-level support. Is your service confidential? Absolutely. We work privately, discreetly, and respectfully—your personal information is never shared or discussed. Can the assistant help my partner or family too? Yes – our football family assistant UK service is designed to support both the player and their household. From school runs to travel, we’ve got it covered. It’s a private assistant who supports professional athletes and their families with personal While many of our clients are professional footballers, we also support coaches, athletes in other sports, and high-profile families who require similar concierge-level support. Absolutely. We work privately, discreetly, and respectfully—your personal information is never shared or discussed. Yes – our football family assistant UK service is designed to support both the player and their household. From school runs to travel, we’ve got it covered. Request A Private Consultation Whether you're mid-season, on the move, or managing growing responsibilities - Mi‑PA is here to help.Book a confidential discovery call today to explore how our footballer personal assistant UK service can make life smoother for you and your family. .fullwidth-button { display: block; width: 100%; text-align: center; } Request A Private Consultation ------------------------------------------------------------ # 106 Tasks Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/106-tasks/ Published: 2025-06-16 FREE GUIDE 106 Tasks To liberate your time and focus on the fun stuff 106 Tasks High-Performing Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Can Hand Over Today We've outlined 106 of the key tasks that we find all high performing business owners outsource to our expert team.It covers a wide range of support services, from managing your emails and calls to handling social media, event planning, and business admin.Add your details to get instant access to this helpful free guide to liberate your time and focus on the fun stuff!  ------------------------------------------------------------ # Follow-up-accountants-thanks Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-follow-up-2/follow-up-accountants-thanks/ Published: 2025-06-06 Great, get more customers and make more money. Click Here to Book Your Free Call With Mi PA! Package 1 Price £179 Package Contains........ Great reason to... You'll get.... Package 2 Price £289 Package 3 Price £559 Package 4 Price £1099 Package 5 Price £1599 Package 6 Price £2599 Package 7 Price £3799 Package 8 Price £4999 Your Next Step Keen to talk about Mi Follow Up? We’d love a chat. Book a call below now, or give us a call on 0161 820 6080 and we’ll take it from there… ------------------------------------------------------------ # Mi Tv All Episodes Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-tv-all-episodes/ Published: 2025-04-18 ------------------------------------------------------------ # All Podcasts Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/all-podcasts/ Published: 2025-04-09 Focus on the fun stuff The Podcast Hey there! If you're tired of:Spending too much time "down in the weeds" of your businessFeeling like you've hit a glass ceiling, and stalled in your growth journeySettling for a business and life that isn't be designTreading water, getting stuck in the day and failing to focus on the fun stuff YOU'RE IN THE RIGHT PLACE I'm Emma, by the way....And I've grown my business from little ol' me and a laptop, to a thriving million pound plus business, employing over 40 people and serving over 500 growth-oriented business owners.I've been through my fair share of ups and downs, I've been caught in the weeds, and there've been times when the temptation to throw in the towel was almost overwhelming.But by learning, growing and listening, I've built a business I love, and in my podcast, I share my growth journey, as well as the journeys of special guests from all over the world, all with one aim:To help you navigate the messy middle of your business, live a life you love and Focus on the Fun Stuff.  I hope you enjoy it! All Episodes LEARN MORE ------------------------------------------------------------ # Is this ONE oversight costing you leads, customers and a bigger, better business? Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/call-answering-sales/ Published: 2024-05-22 Is this ONE oversight costing you leads, customers and a bigger, better business? A huge proportion of businesses are wasting time and money on their marketing, all because they’re not reliably answering the phone to potential leads and customers. The worst bit? It’s entirely avoidable. Read on to discover the scale of the problem and how you can fix it to give yourself the best chance of success in 2025 and beyond... What our clients say: Hi, Emma Mills here – I’ve got a question for you: Hand on heart, can you say that every single phone call in your business gets answered PROPERLY? If you can’t, it’s CRITICAL you take the time to read this short note from me.And if you can honestly say that each call gets answered properly, you’re still going to want to read this, because there’s every chance you’re missing a big opportunity.If you don’t know who I am, let me briefly explain - I’m the MD and owner here at MiPA.For several years, I worked as a PA for high-level executives and business owners, before launching my own thing in 2007, working as a virtual assistant to business owners and entrepreneurs.My business has grown a lot since then – we’ve now got 40 on the team, and we support over 400 businesses all over the UK. Click Here to Book Your Free Call With Mi PA! Why have we succeeded?  There are plenty of answers to that, but perhaps the biggest is this one: We take the biggest pains and time drains off our customer’s shoulders, so they can concentrate doing what we do best. Over the years in business, I’ve had my fair share of tough months and sleepless nights, worrying about all manner of things; from managing to staff, to dealing with the cash flow, to bringing in new customers.I know what it’s like to be in your shoes, because I’m still in them, in the trenches, just like you.And over the years, the biggest thing we’ve done to free up our customers and help them thrive?Taken the simple task of answering the phone off their desk and onto ours. You see, the fact of the matter is this: if you’re a serious business owner, you SHOULDN’T be answering your own phone. Don’t get me wrong, the phone is an important tool in business, and probably always will be, but your time needs to be spent driving the business forward, doing the high-level stuff; NOT dealing with sales calls and helping customers with minor details. But here’s the thing: your phone DOES still need to be answered. I’ve been in the PA and call-answering world for a long time, but I still find it absolutely STAGGERING when I consider how many businesses are nigh on impossible to get hold of.You try calling them, and the phone just rings and rings and rings.Sometimes you might get an answerphone, but even if you leave one they don’t get back to you.From a customer point of view this is a clear oversight, but from a marketing perspective it’s downright criminal.If you’re a serious business owner, chances are you’re spending money on marketing.But if you’re marketing but not answering the phone when it rings, you’re almost certainly missing out on business.If a prospect is interested in your product or service, and they can’t get through to you on the phone, what do you think they’re going to do?Most likely, they’ll go elsewhere, to a business that’s actually prepared to take their call.Which means… Each marketing pound that you invest is a complete WASTE if you don’t nurture the lead or close the sale. So, we’ve reached two conclusions: 1. You shouldn’t be answering the phone 2. The phone still needs to be answered What are your options at this point? 1. You could get an employee to do it If you’ve got an employee, then maybe they can answer the phone, while you get on with the business-building stuff. But if you HAVE got employees and you’re still missing calls, it’s probably because they’ve got too much to do, so you might need to hire one to make sure you end up with all your calls answered.If you’re a one-man band, this solution’s a little trickier.  An employee’ll cost you a bare minimum of £20,820, which isn’t exactly loose change! 2. You could outsource it to a team who knows what they’re doing and answer thousands of calls every single month for hundreds of businesses… (You knew it was coming – don’t act surprised.) If you know you shouldn’t be answering the phone yourself, but you also recognise that just letting it go to voicemail is costing you leads and customers why not get my award-winning team to do it for you? Here’s how it works: You talk to us, and tell us you want your calls answered, and how and when you want them answered We do some tech stuff our end, and you’re all set up You sit back, confident your calls are being answered, you’re not wasting your marketing budget, and customers are getting what they need, while you get on with doing what you do best (Oh, and just to be clear, all the sales and nuisance calls get dealt with, with NO charge to you)My team can deal with any call – whether it’s a customer service question or incoming warm lead – it’s like an extra expert employee on your team, without the cost associated with it. Click Here to Book Your Free Call What our customers say: “Why should I choose you over a big national?” Look, I’m not going to pretend there aren’t other call answering providers out there.But there are several reasons why going with us is a smart decision: #1 You’ll be working with an SME, just like you Rather than some big corporate monstrosity, we’re a small business – we get what it’s like to be in your shoes. #2 You’ll get a highly trained team at your disposal Most big call answering companies operate massive call centres – it’s never the same people answering your phone, and staff turnover is high, so you can’t be sure of consistent service. #3 You won’t pay for sales calls Let’s level with each other – a lot of calls these days are sales calls.  Lots of call answering companies will charge you for answering these.  We wouldn’t dream of it. #4 You’ll work with a team that’s big enough to cope, but small enough to care Our team is 35-strong – small enough that you’ll get to know us, but big enough that we can cope with whatever calls are thrown at us. #5 You’ll have a dedicated point of contact We’ve been around long enough to know that getting a customer is one thing, and keeping them is another thing entirely. You’ll have a dedicated point of contact to discuss things with, check in with and ensure you’re entirely happy and getting the most from the service. #6 You won’t be tied into a long contract Plenty of nationals will tie you in, regardless of how happy you are with the service.  We never do that – our job is to provide you enough value that you want to remain a customer. Your Investment Your monthly investment starts from just £80 + VAT, with an onboarding fee of just £97 – with no lengthy contract, unlike many of the big nationals. However, for the next couple of weeks, you can get two bonuses, providing you with even more value: BONUS #1 – First month FREE Come on board before Thursday 31st October at 5pm,, and you’ll get your first month, absolutely free, up to a maximum of 60 calls answered. BONUS #2 – FREE Productivity Pack You’re taking a fantastic first step by getting your call answering outsourced, but the chances are there are other areas where you could save time.I’ve developed a Productivity Pack that’ll help you get more done in the same amount of time, so you can grow your business and focus on the stuff that’s important to you, and you’ll get one absolutely free when you accept this offer before Thursday 31st October. BONUS #3 – £100 off award-winning PA support Become a Mi Call client before Thursday 31st October at 5pm, and we’ll give you £100 to spend on our award-winning PA support, so whether you need help with inbox management, data gathering, diary management, or anything admin-related within your business, you’ll get our team working on it.Your £100 gift is redeemable on any package of at least 10 hours (which is cancellable at any time), and you can use it any time in the next six months. SUPER FASTMOVER BONUS – Time Freedom call with Emma Mills (worth £299) For the first five businesses to accept this offer and sign up for Mi Call, I’m offering a completely free 60-minute Time Freedom Call with me personally.During the call, we’ll put our heads together, identify where time savings can be made in your everyday routine, allowing you to spend more time doing the things you love and that grow your business.At the end of the call, you’ll have an action list that’ll allow you to immediately start saving time, being more productive and doing the things that lead to success. Days Hours Minutes Seconds don't take our word for it - Here's what our customers say: Click Here to Book Your Free Call Get Started Now It’s Decision Time… Ultimately, if you’re serious about growing your business, you’ll know you shouldn’t be answering your own phone, but you also know it needs answering properly.If you think it’s sensible to give us a try, then all you need to do is click the button below, fill in the form and fast-track your way to less stress and more time to do the important things in your business.Or, if you want to try a call-answering service for size, why not call us on 0161 768 3239 and see how we handle your enquiry? I hope you make the right decision for you, and for your business, and that I’ll be welcoming you on board as a client very soon.Thanks for reading – click the button below and let’s get started now. Emma Mills Managing Director Book Your Free Call Get Started Now These were the last few people to book a call with me & this is what they thought... "MiPA has made a real difference to our business, with robust processes and on point customer care. Keep up the good work!!" Paul Bulloch Concept Vehicle Leasing "Mi-Call answers my calls & I recommend them to any business! All my calls are answered professionally & it makes my business look like one of the big boys!" Jo Boateng Robo Cleaning Services Click Here to Book Your Free Call With Mi PA! ------------------------------------------------------------ # Mi Follow Up Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-follow-up-2/ Published: 2023-11-27 Home Get ALL your leads followed up on, so you can make more sales, get more customers and make more money. Book a Call With Emma Download the Info Pack What is Mi Follow Up? Exactly what it sounds like – become a Mi Follow Up client and – quite simply – we’ll follow up on all the leads that come into your business We’ll call them on the phone We’ll send them emails We’ll book sales appointments into your diary We’ll get rid of the tyre kickers We’ll do ALL the work required so you can focus on the highest quality prospects, and you can be certain you’re maximising your marketing spend. The Mi Follow Up Way Download the FREE Info Pack to get all the details on how Mi Follow Up works. It contains everything you need to know about: What is Mi Follow Up & How it works The Mi Follow Up Way - our developed system How the pricing works (& how affordable it really is!) …and everything else you might need to know! Download the Info Pack Is Mi Follow Up for you? If you’re doing marketing but you’re not getting the sales appointments you want off the back of it… If you know you need to be following up, but you really don’t like doing it yourself… If you’ve not got internal resource dedicated to following up, or you’re currently delegating your followup and not getting the results you want… If you’re frustrated that you’re investing money in getting customers that you’re not seeing the return on… If you’re running any type of paid advertising… If you’d like to get more sales appointments, more sales and more profit… …there’s every chance Mi Follow Up is for you, and it’s definitely worth a conversation. Book a Discovery Call below. Book a Call With Emma These were the last few people to book a call with me & this is what they thought… They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403081They’re not just an answer service They treat my customers like their own Dawn McGruer Bestselling Author, Forbes Mentor, Multiple Business Own, Business Growth Coach https://vimeo.com/500403068https://vimeo.com/372353067If you want to do what I did and improve your business, do what I did and sign up Milton Firman Founder, The Legal Company https://vimeo.com/500401035They look after the important things in my business so that I can grow the business Ali Nowroozi Founder, Masumi Headwear https://vimeo.com/500403049https://vimeo.com/500405295%20%20Embed "Before enlisting the help of MiFollow Up a lot of my time was taken up booking appointments and chasing customers. They have been doing my followup calls for about 6 months and honestly the first time I was sat in a cafe watching new appointments ping up on my phone (without me having to lift a finger) was absolute bliss!" Lydia McGoldrick,Honey and Lace Photography Studio "If you’d like to outsource your followup and have a proper team behind it, look no further. Thank you for all your ongoing support!" Gokay FitnessDulwich Trusted by 500+ UK BUSINESSES Who Am I? Hi, I’m Emma Mills. Over the years, as I’ve built Mi PA up from just little ol’ me and a laptop to a million pound plus business with over 40 staff, I’ve learnt a lot about what’s important, and what isn’t. And a couple of years back now, I stumbled across something that’s been THE difference in our business – following up properly with every single lead.We’ve always been into marketing – we were getting content out of the door, sales campaigns were being implemented, and I was busy too, getting out and about, meeting people and making people aware of MiPA. We were generating plenty of leads, but we weren’t converting enough of them into paying customers.So I decided to change that, and got one of my most trusted team members to take charge of following up on every single lead that came into our business. All of a sudden, my diary was full of prospect calls, we were making more sales than ever before, and the business was growing faster than I could have dreamt of.In the two years that followed, our business grew 197%, and the only chance we made was to start properly following up on leads. As theyears went on, we started doing the same for our clients, and the results were similarly impressive. Mi Follow Up was born. Emma Mills Managing Director Book Your Free Call With Me! Book a Call With Emma How much will it cost you? Your investment to become a Mi Follow Up client is A LOT less than you’d think – and it works based on a sliding scale of the number of leads you need following up. Use the tool below now to work out what Mi Follow Up will cost you, but don’t worry if you don’t know the answer to any of the questions, just book a call and we’ll go through them with you. Mi-follow up calculator Your Next Step Keen to talk about Mi Follow Up? We’d love a chat. Book a call below now, or give us a call and we’ll take it from there… 0161 820 6080 Book a Call ------------------------------------------------------------ # Productivity planner Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/planner/ Published: 2021-04-13 Your Calendar Is Lying to You. Track One Day. Expose Where Your Time Is Leaking. I built this when I realised being busy wasn’t the same as moving forward. It gave me clarity. Now it’s yours. Not sure how it works? Watch the two minute walk through video below https://vimeo.com/783289354 Download the Free Productivity Planner straight away! You think you’re working on growth. But your day actually looks like: Inbox WhatsApp “Quick favours” Admin Firefighting And by Friday? You’re exhausted… but unclear what moved the needle.Maximum activity. Minimal results. This isn’t just a planner. It forces clarity. Step 1 – Calculate Your Real Hourly Rate Before you write a single task, you work out what your time actually needs to be worth.(That alone is uncomfortable. Good.) Step 2 – Set 3 Real Outcomes Not 27 tasks. 3 outcomes that move you closer to your goals. Step 3 – Track Your Day (6am–6pm) No judgement. Just data. Step 4 – Tick What You Could Delegate If someone else could do it for less than your hourly rate…You’ve found your next hire.That’s the mic drop moment. What you’ll get: The Hourly Rate Calculator Daily Time Audit Sheets 3-Outcomes Framework Built-in Delegation Trigger Column A simple system used inside 7-figure businesses This positions it as a system — not stationery. Want it in the post? We’ll send you: A printed Productivity Pad A beautifully packaged delivery A tangible reminder that your time is valuable Just cover postage. Why this matters: When something lands on your desk, you’re far more likely to use it.And this isn’t about downloading another PDF you never open. Send Me the Physical Pad to my house!! (Free!!) After one day using this You’ll know What to delete What to delegate What to double down on And whether you’re actually operating at your level.Most founders don’t need more discipline.They need clarity and better delegation. “If you realise you’re spending time on tasks below your hourly rate… that’s exactly what we fix inside Mi PA.” You’re “busy” all day. Inbox open. WhatsApp pinging. Favour here. Quick call there. You think you worked on strategy… but did you? Maximum activity. Minimal Progress. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Terms and Conditions Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/legal/terms-and-conditions/ Published: 2021-04-13 MiCall Terms & Conditions Your Mi PA AccountMi PA is an online office and personal assistant and business support service and is designed to provide a personal and business tool for both individuals and businesses.The service is provided by Mi PA (UK) Ltd, Universal Square, Devonshire Street North, Manchester, M12 6JH (Company No: 06513555) and its suppliers (“we”/”our”/”us”).In order to be able to use any part of Mi PA you are required to complete Mi PA’s registration process to obtain a Mi PA Account. You confirm that all information supplied by you to us is current, complete and accurate in all respects and you agree to notify us immediately of any changes to this information. If you have (or we believe that you have) provided false information or have (or we believe that you have) failed to notify us of any changes then we shall have the right to terminate your Mi PA Account (see Termination below).As part of our registration and security procedures, you will be required to provide a copy of a landline telephone bill or utility bill, in your name, matching the billing address for the registered card. Failure to provide the required information will result in the temporary suspension of your Mi PA account. We shall comply with all applicable Data Protection laws in the UK. For a description of how we use your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.Free TrialAny free trial offered by the company is at the company’s discretion and can be withdrawn at any time prior or during a free trial period. The free trial is for the call answering and message taking service. The free trial does allow for calls to be transferred to mobile and landlines to a maximum cost of £20.00. This limit can be reduced or withdrawn at any time at the sole discretion of the company. A fair usage policy is in place for all trials.ServicesMi PA offers registered users the following services:Call AnsweringAs a registered member you will have your calls answered personally by Mi PA. Your telephone number is your bespoke communication line and your call answering details can be amended at any time. All of your messages can also be sent to your personal mobile by SMS. You can also divert any land line or mobile number to your telephone number.BillingWe will invoice you on the 1st of every month. Mi PA will email your invoice to you. After issue of this invoice your Direct Debit will be charged. All charges incurred during any billing period must be paid in full, including and without exception any VAT or other charges. If the credit/debit card payment is rejected we will charge an additional administration fee, plus interest on the sum due, from the date when such payment was due until the date of actual payment at a rate per annum of 4% above the base rate from the Barclays PLC. Such interest shall accrue from day to day and shall be compounded annually. Furthermore, in certain circumstances we may disclose such failure to pay to a debt collection agency or a credit reference agency. The registered member, its company and the company directors are all jointly and severally liable for Mi PA charges accrued and also any chargebacks from the registered credit/debit card. You acknowledge that Mi PA can debit any credit card or debit card or Direct Debit registered against any of your accounts for any amount outstanding to us for each account. Your credit / debit card authority remains in place until all such accounts are paid in full. Any monies paid to us as future credit on your Mi PA account are non-refundable and can only be used for credit against services provided by Mi PA to you. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.Billing is charged on a “Per Call basis” for all tariffs.Call BundlesWhen committing to a bundle tariff the first month call package charge will be invoiced and charged immediately.You will be liable for call charges that exceed the package quota at the quoted rate.If for whatever reason you are not entirely satisfied with the service and wish to cancel we require 1 calendar months’ notice from your next billing date to cancel. We may suspend or terminate your use of Mi PA until you have made all payments due. Written notice shall only be deemed acceptable if it is emailed to pa@mi-pa.co.uk or posted to the Mi PA, Universal Square, Devonshire Street North, Manchester, M12 6JH.Our Call Packages also has a surcharge for opting for calls to be handled during the hours of 7am-9pm weekday and weekends from 8pm Friday to 8am-6pm. If calls are received during this period and the option has not been paid for then the company has the right under this tariff to charge the Out of hours calls fee surcharge from the last billing date. All charges and tariffs may be advertised on a daily rate equivalent but shall be chargeable on a monthly basis based simply on a 30-day month regardless of the actual number of days in the month.User Content and RestrictionsYou acknowledge that you are responsible for all information, data, text, software, music, sound, photographs, graphics, video, messages and other materials (“User Content”) that you upload, post, email or otherwise transmit or receive via Mi PA, or that we produce for you as part of the service. We shall have the right, in our sole discretion, to remove, block or refuse to produce any User Content that – is unlawful, abusive, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable. In particular you agree not to upload, post, email or otherwise transmit via Mi PA any material that: is harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libellous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; or – infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights; or – contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, damage, destroy functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment. Please note that: currently the Call Answering and PA support services can receive calls from within the UK and the majority of countries around the world. Any telephone number allocated by us to you will remain our property at all times and we may reallocate such number at our sole discretion. Nothing in our agreed terms constitutes you having any rights or ownership of the telephone number allocated to you for use during such period as we deem necessary whilst we undertake the answering of calls that you have directed to us by way of the telephone number allocated to you. We reserve the right to temporarily or permanently discontinue or to restrict your access to parts or all of Mi PA and/or the telephone number allocated to you at any time without notice or liability. You agree not to: – interfere with or disrupt the Mi PA service in any way; – impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Mi PA official, guide or host, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity; – send “junk mail”, “spam”, “chain letters”, “pyramid schemes”, or any other form of solicitation; – forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any User Content transmitted through the Service; – other than in the ordinary course of use of Mi PA, reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Mi PA service, use of the Mi PA service, or access to the Mi PA service; – use the Mi PA service for any unlawful activity.DATA PROTECTIONThe Company and the Member (You) acknowledge that for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA“) (as may be amended, extended, re-enacted or superseded by General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679)), You (the Member) are the data controller and The Company is the data processor in relation to personal data as defined in section 1(1) of the DPA (“personal data“).For the purposes of these terms and conditions & this contract entered into by You the Member with the Company the “process” shall include (without limitation) the collection, monitoring, recording, storage and disposal & deletion of Personal Data. All Personal Data relating to You (the Member), Your (the Member)’s directors, employees, contractors and consultants and any person(s) or organisation from whom The Company receives a telephone call, facsimile or e-mail for or on behalf of You (the Member) (a “caller“) shall be processed strictly in accordance with the DPA and on the given instructions of You (the Member).The Company shall take the measures deemed appropriate, whilst having regard for all costs & technical development associated with doing so, against the unauthorised or unlawful processing of Personal Data and against the accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, Personal Data to ensure a level of security appropriate to:The Company confirms and You (the Member) acknowledges that calls may be monitored or recorded for training purposes and such recordings shall be held for a period of time not exceeding 90 days by the Company in the UK.The Company shall ensure making all reasonable endeavours that all Company personnel who have access to and/or process Personal Data are obliged to keep the Personal Data confidential & at the written direction of You (the Member) the Company shall, delete or return Personal Data and copies thereof to You (the Member) on termination of the Contract. The Company shall assist You (the Member), at Your (the Member’s) cost, in responding to any request from a Data Subject and in ensuring compliance with its obligations under the DPA. The Company shall notify You (the Member) without undue delay upon becoming aware of any breach of the provisions of this clause. In the event that The Company breaches any or all of the above mentioned provisions of this clause, You (the Member) reserves the right to terminate the Contract forthwith without notice to The Company. You (the Member) acknowledges and agrees that details of Your (the Member’s) name, address and any payment details, methods or records may be submitted to a credit reference agency, and Personal Data will be processed by and on behalf of The Company in connection with the Services. You (the Member) warrants that the Contract and the Services provided under it will not amount to any breach of any contract or arrangements it has with any of its clients or customers.Intellectual Property“MI PA” is a trade mark. You may not use this or any other trademarks on Mi PA without prior written permission of the owner or licensor. The general contents of Mi PA and the way that they are presented are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, in whole or part, in any form or used in any other way except in accordance with these terms and conditions. You may download and/or print off the visible text and graphics for your personal non-commercial use from the parts of Mi PA which are generally accessible to all users. You may also download and/or print off User Content. However, you may not reproduce any of the other contents from Mi PA including, but not limited to, the structure, overall style and program code.Limitation of LiabilityWe shall use reasonable skill and care in providing Mi PA to you. Except as expressly provided in these terms and conditions, we expressly disclaim, to the extent permitted by law, any further representations (except misrepresentations made fraudulently), warranties, conditions or other terms, express or implied, by statute, collaterally or otherwise, including but not limited to implied warranties, conditions or other terms of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose or reasonable care and skill. In particular, we shall not be liable to you for any mistakes made in connection with the Call Answering and Secretary services. We shall not be liable in contract, tort (including negligence), statutory duty or collaterally or otherwise arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions or Mi PA for consequential, indirect or special loss or damage or any economic (including loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings), in each case whether or not advised of the possibility of such loss or damage and howsoever incurred. Our maximum liability in contract, tort (including negligence), statutory duty or collaterally or otherwise arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions and/or Mi PA, shall, in respect of one or more events or series of events (whether connected or unconnected) taking place within any twelve-month period be limited to the lesser of £50 or the sums paid by you in such period. Notwithstanding any provision of these terms and conditions: (i) your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected; (ii) we will be liable to you without limit for any death or personal injury caused by our negligence and to the extent that liability arises be liable to you without limit for any death or personal injury caused by our negligence and to the extent that liability arises under Part 1 or section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and for liability arising from statements made fraudulently by us.SecurityIt is very important to us to keep information about you and User Content confidential and secure and we will use reasonable endeavours to keep your information and User Content confidential and secure. However, we cannot ensure or warrant the confidentiality or security of any information or User Content. You also agree that we have no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages or other User Content maintained or transmitted by Mi PA.IndemnityIf you use Mi PA for any illegal purpose or for any purpose other than that expressly permitted by these terms and conditions or in breach of these terms and conditions you will be liable to indemnify us in full for any loss, liability or cost which we incur that arises from or in connection with any such use or alleged use.ModificationsWe may change or supplement these terms and conditions from time to time, including, without limitation, the charges. We will ensure that any such changes or supplements are made reasonably apparent to you and we will send an email to your email address at least days in advance. If we do change or supplement these terms and conditions, then you may terminate this Agreement in accordance with the provisions set out below (see Termination below). Otherwise, you will be bound by such changes or supplements. Any modifications to any client scripts or client process subsequent to activation shall be chargeable at the sole discretion of Mi PA. Quotations for changes shall be provided upon receipt of a written request for the modification from the member. Payment shall be taken prior to any amendments being initiated.ComplaintsWe are dedicated to providing you with a quality service. However, in the unlikely event that you should have a complaint with regard to Mi PA please send an email to pa@mi-pa.co.uk. We will use reasonable endeavours to investigate your complaint and respond to you within 24 hours of receipt of your email.Cancellation and TerminationYou have the right to cancel your registration for the Mi PA services within 7 working days of your registration, subject to you not accessing and using the service. Should you wish to do this, please notify us by emailing us at pa@mi-pa.co.uk. You may terminate this Agreement at any time by giving us no less than 1 calendar months’ notice from your next billing date, in writing. You may also terminate this agreement by giving us no less than 14 days advance notice from the date on which we change or supplement these terms and conditions. You agree that we, in our sole discretion, may terminate your Mi PA account immediately (including, without limitation, your username, password, Dashboard) for any reason including, without limitation, for lack of use, failing our background checks or if we believe that you have violated or acted inconsistently with these terms and conditions. In particular, we reserve the right to terminate your Call Answering and registration and telephone number if these are not used for a period of 90 days. Your monthly subscription is non-refundable and we require 1 calendar months’ notice from your next billing date to cancel. We may suspend or terminate your use of Mi PA until you have made all payments due.GeneralThese terms and conditions are governed by English law and any dispute connected with this site is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. To the extent that any provision of these terms and conditions is determined to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable then that provision shall be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision, and the remainder of these terms and conditions shall continue in effect. You acknowledge that you have entered into these terms and conditions in reliance only on the representations, warranties and promises specifically contained or incorporated in these terms and conditions and, save as expressly set out in these terms and conditions, we shall have no liability in respect of any other representation, warranty or promise made prior to these terms and conditions unless it was made fraudulently. Any rights not expressly granted in these terms and conditions are reserved. ------------------------------------------------------------ # miconcierge spanish Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-spanish/ Published: 2021-04-01 > El servicio confiable de conserjería y PA para GB ES PT FR DE NE El servicio confiable de conserjería y PA para los futbolistas y sus familias en el Reino Unido https://vimeo.com/362031430 "Recomendaría Mi PA porque mejora tu vida" Sarah Arnautovic esposa o Marko Arnautovic Llame al 0161 470 0007 O contacte a Emma directamente al 07807 673 465 Cómo lo podemos ayudar... JUGADORES DEDICADOS DE APOYO DE EQUIPO Y PA EN TODO EL REINO UNIDO Comuníquese fácilmente a través de su propio grupo dedicado de Whatsapp, una llamada telefónica o una visita de su PA dedicado. Viaje Vuelos Aviones privados Conductores Hoteles Regístrese para todos los vuelos y viaje en su diario dedicado Días festivos VISAS Familia Encontrar escuelas Clubes infantiles, clases, clases de equitación Enlace con la escuela para tareas, días escolares, días festivos, tarifas, calendario escolar Organización de fiestas de cumpleaños, fiestas de princesas Fiestas de Navidad, Santa Claus y Reno Reclutar personal para ayudar con la vida familiar. Limpiadores, Niñeras, Asistentes internos, Limpiadores de ventanas, Tutores Gestión de personal para ayudar con la vida familiar y todos los pagos. Búsqueda de regalos para cumpleaños, aniversarios y sorpresas Organizar membresías a gimnasios Lavandería y Limpieza de Ropa Guarderías Cuidadores de mascotas Doctores Privados Finanzaas Organización y establecimiento de débitos directos y pagos mensuales para evitar cualquier tarifa y multas Realización de pagos Seguro de viaje ¿Multas de estacionamiento Seguros y protección Gestión de hipotecas Planificación fiscal Personal PA: Compras: ropa, hogar Reservas de bares, restaurantes y clubes Reservas de citas Solicitudes y tareas de última hora Gestionar todo el papeleo y el correo. Su asistente personal PA dedicado puede recopilar el correo semanalmente para asegurarse de que todas las facturas estén pagadas y que todos los documentos estén en orden Servicios a domicilio Teléfonos móviles pata la familia Ayudar con la obtención de autos nuevos Administración diaria Gestión de redes sociales Chef privado Citas de peluquería en casa Casa Encontrar propiedades y servicios de reubicación Diseño de interiores Arquitecto Enlace con propietarios y agentes Servicios de mudanzas Limpieza de casa Reparaciones de la casa Decoradores Administración del hogar Llame al 0161 470 0007 O contacte a Emma directamente al 07807 673 465 ¿Quiénes son Mi Concierge? Mi Concierge es una empresa con sede en Manchester creada hace más de 11 años por Emma Mills. El equipo de Mi Concierge ha estado proporcionando un servicio completamente discreto, eficiente y que ahorra tiempo.A diferencia de muchos servicios de conserjería y PA, Mi Concierge es completamente transparente con el precio y la facturación. Estamos aquí para apoyarlo, para facilitarle la vida y poder concentrarse en lo que mejor hace con una estructura de tarifas clara. Llame al 0161 470 0007 O contacte a Emma directamente al 07807 673 465 ------------------------------------------------------------ # miconcierge portuguese Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-portuguese/ Published: 2021-04-01 > Serviço de Concierge e de Assistentes Pessoais GB ES PT FR DE NE Serviço de Concierge e de Assistentes Pessoais para jogadores de futebol e respetivas famílias no Reino Unido https://vimeo.com/362031430 "I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life" Sarah Arnautovic - wife of Marko Arnautovic Ligue para o número 0161 470 0007 Ou entre em contato com Emma diretamente para o número 07807 673 465 Como o podemos ajudar... ASSISTENTES PESSOAIS DEDICADOS E EQUIPAS DE APOIO POLIVALENTES NO REINO UNIDO Comunique-se facilmente através do seu próprio grupo de Whatsapp, por telefone ou através de uma visita do seu dedicado Assistente Pessoal. Viagem Voos Jatos particulares Motoristas Hotéis Check-in de todos os voos Férias Vistos Família Encontrar escolas Clubes infantis, aulas, aulas de equitação Articulação com a escola em relação aos trabalhos de casa, dias letivos, feriados, matrículas, calendário escolar Organização de festas de aniversário, festas de princesas Festas de Natal, Pai Natal e Rena Recrutamento de pessoal para ajudar na vida familiar. Senhoras da limpeza, amas, Au Pairs internas, Limpadores de janelas, Tutores Gestão da equipa para ajudar na vida familiar e em todos os pagamentos Encontrar presentes para festas de anos, aniversários e surpresas Organização das inscrições em ginásios Lavandaria e Limpeza de Roupas Berçários Tratadores de Animais de Estimação Médicos particulares Finanças Organização e configuração de débitos diretos e pagamentos mensais para evitar taxas e multas Pagamentos Seguro de viagem Multas de estacionamento Seguros e Proteção Gestão da hipoteca Planeamento fiscal Assistente Pessoal Compras - Roupas, Casa Bares, reservas em restaurantes e clubes Marcação de consultas Pedidos e tarefas de última hora Gestão de toda a papelada e serviço de correios. O seu Assistente Pessoal poderá levantar a correspondência semanalmente para garantir que todas as contas são pagas e que toda a papelada está em dia. Tratamentos portáteis na sua própria casa Família de telefones móveis Assistência na aquisição de carros novos Gestão diária Gestão das Redes Sociais Chef particular Ida de cabeleireiro a casa Casa Localização de propriedades e serviços imobiliários Design de interiores Arquiteto Contato com proprietários e agentes Serviços de mudanças Limpeza da casa Reparações domésticas Decoradores Gestão da Casa Ligue para o número 0161 470 0007 Ou entre em contato com Emma diretamente para o número 07807 673 465 Quem é Mi Concierge? Mi Concierge é uma empresa de Manchester criada há 11 anos por Emma Mills. A equipa do Mi Concierge fornece um serviço completamente discreto, eficiente e que economiza tempo.Ao contrário de muitos serviços de concierge e Assistentes Pessoais, o Mi Concierge é totalmente transparente nos preços e na faturação. Estamos aqui para o apoiar e facilitar a sua vida, para que se possa concentrar no que faz melhor com uma estrutura tarifária clara. Ligue para o número 0161 470 0007 Ou entre em contato com Emma diretamente para o número 07807 673 465 ------------------------------------------------------------ # miconcierge german Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-german/ Published: 2021-04-01 GB ES PT FR DE NE Der vertrauenswürdige Concierge & PA- Service für Fußballer und ihre Familien in Großbritannien https://vimeo.com/362031430 "I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life" Sarah Arnautovic - wife of Marko Arnautovic Rufen Sie 0161 470 0007 An oder kontaktieren Sie Emma direkt unter 07807 673 465 Wie wir Ihnen helfen können... ENGAGIERTES PA UND TEAM UNTERSTÜTZEN SPIELER IN GANZ GROSSBRITANNIEN Kommunizieren Sie einfach über Ihre eigene speziell dafür vorgesehene WhatsApp-Gruppe, durch einen Telefonanruf oder einen Besuch Ihres dedizierten PA. Reise Flüge Privatjets Fahrer Hotels Checken Sie bei allen Flüge ein und reisen Sie mit Ihrer dezidierten Agenda Urlaub VISAs Familie Schulen finden Kinderclubs, Kurse, Reitkurse Zusammenarbeit mit Schule für Hausaufgaben, Schultage, Ferien, Gebühren, Schulkalender Arrangieren von Geburtstagsfeiern, Prinzessinnen-Partys Weihnachtsfeiern, Weihnachtsmann und Rentiere Personalbeschaffung von Mitarbeitern für die Unterstützung des Familienlebens. Reinigungskraft, Kindermädchen, Leben als Au Pair, Fensterreiniger, Tutoren Managen von Personal, die das Familienleben unterstützen und bei allen Zahlungen helfen Geschenksuche für Geburtstage, Jubiläen und Überraschungen Mitgliedschaften in Gesundheitsclubs arrangieren Wäsche und Wäschereinigung Kindergärten Haustierpfleger Privatärzte Finanzen Organisation und Einrichtung von Lastschriften und monatlichen Zahlungen zur Vermeidung von Gebühren und Geldbußen Zahlungen vornehmen Reiseversicherung Strafzettel wegen Falschparken Versicherung und Schutz Hypothekenmanagement Steuerplanung Persönlicher PA Einkaufen – Kleidung, Startseite Bars, Restaurant- und Club-Buchungen Terminvereinbarungen Last-Minute-Anfragen und Aufgaben Verwaltung aller Büroarbeiten und der Post. Ihr eigener PA kann auf wöchentlicher Basis die Post sammeln, um sicherzustellen, dass alle Rechnungen bezahlt werden und alle Papiere in Ordnung sind Mobile Behandlungen im eigenen Zuhause Familie von Mobiltelefonen Unterstützung bei der Beschaffung von Neuwagen Terminverwaltung Social-Media-Management Privatkoch Friseurtermine zu Hause Zuhause Suche nach Immobilien und Umzugsdienstleistungen Innenausstattung Architekt Zusammenarbeit mit Vermietern und Maklern Umzugsleistungen Hausreinigung Hausreparaturen Dekorateure Hausverwaltung Rufen Sie 0161 470 0007 An oder kontaktieren Sie Emma direkt unter 07807 673 465 Wer ist Mi Concierge? Mi Concierge ist ein in Manchester ansässiges Unternehmen, das vor über 11 Jahren von Emma Mills gegründet wurde.  Das Mi Concierge-Team bietet einen völlig diskreten, effizienten und zeitsparenden Service. Im Gegensatz zu vielen Concierge- und PA-Services ist Mi Concierge bei Preis und Abrechnung völlig transparent.  Wir sind hier, um Sie zu unterstützen und Ihnen das Leben zu erleichtern, damit Sie, bei einer klaren Gebührenstruktur, sich auf das konzentrieren können, was Sie am besten können. Rufen Sie 0161 470 0007 An oder kontaktieren Sie Emma direkt unter 07807 673 465 ------------------------------------------------------------ # miconcierge french Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-french/ Published: 2021-04-01 > Le service de conciergerie et d’assistants personnels de confiance GB ES PT FR DE NE Le service de conciergerie et d’assistants personnels de confiance pour les footballeurs et leurs familles au Royaume-Uni https://vimeo.com/362031430 "I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life" Sarah Arnautovic - wife of Marko Arnautovic Appelez le 0161 470 0007 Ou contactez Emma directement au 07807 673 465 Comment nous pouvons vous aider… DES AP ET UNE ÉQUIPE DÉDIÉS AU SOUTIEN DES JOUEURS À TRAVERS LE ROYAUME-UNI Communiquez facilement via votre propre groupe Whatsapp dédié, un appel téléphonique ou une visite de votre AP dédié. Déplacement Vols Jets privés Chauffeurs Hôtels Enregistrez-vous pour tous les vols et voyagez dans votre agenda dédié Vacances Visas Famille Trouver des écoles Clubs enfants, cours, leçons d'équitation Liaison avec l'école pour les devoirs, les jours d'école, les vacances, les frais, le calendrier scolaire Organiser des fêtes d'anniversaire, des parties de princesse Fêtes de noël, père noël et renne Recruter du personnel pour aider à la vie de famille. Ménage, Nounous, Live in Au Pair, Laveur de vitres, Tuteurs Gestion du personnel pour aider à la vie de famille et à tous les paiements Recherche de cadeaux pour les anniversaires, les célébrations et les surprises Organiser les adhésions aux clubs de santé Blanchisserie et nettoyage de vêtements Garderies Soins des animaux Médecins privés Finances Organisation et mise en place de prélèvements automatiques et de paiements mensuels pour éviter les frais et les amendes Effectuer un paiement Assurance Voyage Amendes de stationnement Assurance et protection Gestion hypothécaire Planification fiscale Assistant personnel Shopping - Vêtements, Maison Réservations de bars, restaurants et clubs Réservation de rendez-vous Demandes et tâches de dernière minute Gérer toute la paperasserie et le courrier. Votre AP dédié peut collecter le courrier toutes les semaines pour s'assurer que toutes les factures sont payées et que tous les documents sont en ordre. Traitements mobiles à domicile Famille de téléphones mobiles Aider à trouver de nouvelles voitures Gestion de l’agenda Gestion des médias sociaux Chef privé Rendez-vous avec le coiffeur à domicile Domicile Recherche de propriétés et services de relocalisation Décoration intérieure Architecte Assurer la liaison avec les propriétaires et les agents Services de déménagement Nettoyage de la maison Réparations Décorations Gestion domestique Appelez le 0161 470 0007 Ou contactez Emma directement au 07807 673 465 Qui est Mi Concierge ? Mi Concierge est une entreprise basée à Manchester créée par Emma Mills il y a plus de 11 ans.  L'équipe Mi Concierge fournit un service totalement discret, efficace et rapide.Contrairement à de nombreux services de conciergerie et d’assistants personnels, Mi Concierge est totalement transparent en matière de prix et de facturation.  Nous sommes ici pour vous soutenir, vous faciliter la vie et vous permettre de vous concentrer sur ce que vous faites le mieux avec une structure de tarification claire. Appelez le 0161 470 0007 Ou contactez Emma directement au 07807 673 465 ------------------------------------------------------------ # miconcierge dutch Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-dutch/ Published: 2021-04-01 > De Betrouwbare Conciërge & PA Service GB ES PT FR DE NE De Betrouwbare Conciërge & PA Service voor Voetballers en Hun Families in Engeland https://vimeo.com/362031430 "Ik zou Mi PA aanbevelen omdat het je leven verbetert" Sarah Arnautovic echtgenote of Marko Arnautovic Bel +44 (0)161 470 0007 of neem rechtstreeks contact op met Emma op 07807 673 465 Hoe we u kunnen helpen... UW EIGEN PA EN TEAM DIE SPELERS IN HEEL ENGELAND ONDERSTEUNEN Eenvoudig communiceren via uw eigen Whatsapp-groep, een telefoontje of een bezoek van uw eigen PA. Reizen Vluchten Privé-vliegtuigen Chauffeurs Hotels Inchecken voor alle vluchten en reizen in uw eigen agenda Vakanties VISA´s Gezin Scholen Zoeken Kinderclubs, klassen, paardrijlessen Contacten met School over huiswerk, schooldagen, vakanties, vergoedingen, schoolkalender Regelen van Verjaardagsfeestjes, Prinsesfeestjes Kerstfeesten, Kerstman en Rendier Werving van personeel om te helpen met het gezinsleven. Schoonmakers, Kindermeisjes, Au Pairs, Glazenwassers, Mentors Personeelsmanagement om met het gezinsleven en alle betalingen te helpen Cadeau´s zoeken voor Verjaardagen, Jubilea en verrassingen Lidmaatschappen van gezondheidsclubs regelen Stomerij en Kleding reinigen Crèches Verzorgers van Huisdieren Particuliere Dokters Financiën Het regelen en opzetten van automatische afschrijvingen en maandelijkse betalingen om kosten en boetes te voorkomen Het doen van betalingen Reisverzekering Parkeerbonnen Verzekering en Beveiliging Hypotheekbeheer Fiscale Planning Persoonlijke PA Winkelen - Kleding, Thuis Boeking van Bars, Restaurants & Clubs Afspraken Maken Dringende verzoeken en taken Beheer van al het papierwerk en de post. Uw eigen PA kan wekelijks de post ophalen om ervoor te zorgen dat alle rekeningen worden betaald en dat al het papierwerk in orde is Mobiele behandelingen in uw eigen huis Familie van Mobiele Telefoons Assisteren bij het aanschaffen van nieuwe auto's Agendabeheer Beheer van Sociale Media Privé-kok Afspraken kapper thuis Thuis Woningen zoeken en & Verhuizingsdiensten Interieurinrichting Architect Contacten met verhuurders en makelaars Afvaldiensten Huizen schoonmaak Reparaties in huis Decorateurs Woningbeheer Bel +44 (0)161 470 0007 of neem rechtstreeks contact op met Emma op 07807 673 465 Wie is Mi Conciërge? Mi Conciërge is een in Manchester gevestigd bedrijf dat 11 jaar geleden door Emma Mills is opgericht.  Het Mi Conciërge-team verleent een volkomen onopvallende, efficiënte , tijdbesparende service.In tegenstelling tot veel conciërge en PA-services, is Mi conciërge volledig transparant m.b.t. de prijzen en de facturering.  Wij zijn hier om u te ondersteunen, om uw leven gemakkelijker te maken, zodat u zich kunt concentreren op waarin u het beste in bent, met een duidelijke tariefstructuur. Bel +44 (0)161 470 0007​ of neem rechtstreeks contact op met Emma op 07807 673 465 ------------------------------------------------------------ # Concierge UK Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/miconcierge-uk/ Published: 2021-04-01 Home The Trusted Concierge & PA Service for Footballers & Their Families in the UK Book a Call With Our Concierge Team https://vimeo.com/362031430 I would recommend MiPA because it improves your life Sarah Arnautovic wife of Marko Arnautovic Book a Call With Our Concierge Team How We Can Help You… Dedicated PA and Team supporting players across the UK Communicate easily through your own dedicated Whatsapp group, a phone call or a visit from your dedicated PA. Travel Flights Private jets Drivers Hotels Check in for all flights & travel in your dedicated diary Holidays VISA’s The Family Assistant Finding Schools Kids clubs, classes, horse riding lessons Liaison with School for homework, school days, holidays, fees, school calendar Arranging Birthday parties, Princess Parties Christmas Parties, Santa Claus and Reindeer Recruiting staff to help with family life. Cleaners, Nannies, Live in Au Pair, Window Cleaner, Tutors Managing staff to help with family life and all payments Gift finding for Birthdays, Anniversaries and surprises Arrange memberships to health clubs Laundry and Clothes Cleaning Nurseries Pet Carers Private Doctors Finance Arranging and setting up of Direct debits and monthly payments to avoid any fee and fines Making payments Travel Insurance Parking Tickets Insurance and Protection Mortgage Management Tax Planning Personal PA Shopping – Clothes, Home Bars, Restaurant & Club Bookings Booking Appointments Last minute requests and tasks Managing all paperwork and post. Your dedicated PA can collect post on a weekly basis to make sure that all bills are paid and all paperwork is in good order Mobile treatments in your own home Family of Mobile Phones Assisting with sourcing new cars Diary Management Social Media Management Private Chef Hairdresser appointments at home Home Finding properties & Relocation Services Interior Design Architect Liaising with landlords and agents Removal Services House Cleans Home Repairs Decorators Home Management Who are Mi Concierge? Mi Concierge are a Manchester based business set up over 11 years ago by Emma Mills. The Mi Concierge Team has been providing a completely discrete, super efficient service.Unlike many concierge and PA services, Mi Concierge are completely transparent with price and billing. We are here to support you, to make your life easier so that you can concentrate on what you do best with a clear fee structure. Your Next Step Keen to talk about Mi Concierge? We’d love a chat. Book a call below now, or contact Emma directly on 07807 673 465 Book a Call With Our Concierge Team ------------------------------------------------------------ # Knowledge Centre Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/blog/ Published: 2020-01-09 Mi PA BLOG FREE Productivity Planner The Mi PA team know that how you use your time is everything! Which is why we made our Daily Productivity Planner to make the most out of our time. Get Yours Now! ------------------------------------------------------------ # Contact Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/contact/ Published: 2020-01-07 contact us Interested in how MiPA can save you time, reduce your stress and make you money? Let’s chat today. We’ll spend some time on the phone, working out what the right solution for you is, and explaining how we can help. Fill in the form below, or just give us a call and we’ll take it from there. 0161 820 6080 hello@mi-pa.co.uk BLDG FIVE UNIVERSAL SQUARE, DEVONSHIRE ST N, MANCHESTER, M12 6JH FOLLOW Us ON SOCIAL Facebook-f Twitter Youtube Linkedin Instagram ------------------------------------------------------------ # Services Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/our-services/ Published: 2020-01-07 WHAT WE DO How we help you save time and make money. Answering over 2000 calls a day, helping uk businesses become more successful Our Services We exist to win you time back that you can spend on the things important to you. MiCall We answer your phone for you If you’re answering your own phone, then you’re not spending enough time on the high value ... LEARN MORE MiPa We manage your diary (and everything else!) Every single month, hours of busy peoples’ time is swallowed up fussing around managing diaries… LEARN MORE Mi Concierge We take over your inbox Email inboxes are black holes that steal time every single day, but with MiPA, you can remove... LEARN MORE ------------------------------------------------------------ # Home Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/ Published: 2020-01-03 Award-winning Virtual PA & call answering team We give the gift of time to busy entrepreneurs & business owners every single day. Handling phone calls, managing your time, making sure you win the week and keep you accountable to your goals. Book a Call Answering over 2000 calls a day, helping uk businesses become more successful Welcome to MiPA We're an award winning Virtual PA and Call Answering Team obsessed with supporting our customers to run businesses they love. Since 2007, we've worked with hundreds of business owners supporting them to protect their time, work on the most meaningful projects that move the needle and take off their list the tasks they hate.We exist to help business owners to: Protect their focussed time for the projects that move the needle Stop being 'busy-work' super heroes Have a business they love where they can Focus on the Fun Stuff https://vimeo.com/706115485 Sound good to you? To schedule a call with one of our productivity experts who will unpack how we can support you best - Book a call below.If you want to stop being the bottleneck and meaningfully make progress in your business - we need to talk. Book a Call 0161 820 6080 Get stuff off your desk & onto ours Do you need help with? Missing calls and sales? Prospects getting your voicemail? Need appointments booked from incoming calls? Calls being handled badly? Spending too much time in your inbox? Are your leads followed up consistently? Not enough time to spend on business building tasks? Fed up of doing stuff you hate? Spinning too many plates? We can help! Talk to one of our experts to get started plus you can enjoy 1 week call answering free trial, on the house.Simply click below to talk to one of our experts and they’ll happily get you started. Book a Call What it's like to have a dedicated Virtual PA from Oli Luke, Founder, Orange & Grey Our Services We exist to win you time back that you can spend on the things important to you. MiCALL We answer your phone for you If you’re answering your own phone, then you’re not spending enough time on the high value ... LEARN MORE MiPA We manage your diary (and everything else!) Every single month, hours of busy peoples’ time is swallowed up fussing around managing diaries… LEARN MORE Mi Concierge We take over your inbox Email inboxes are black holes that steal time every single day, but with MiPA, you can remove... LEARN MORE VIEW ALL SERVICES Why over 500 businesses swear by MiPA Why over 500 businesses swear by MiPA Improve your operation Business is all about speed, but if you’re missing calls or it’s taking you days to get back to prospects, you’re leaving money on the table. We solve that problem, by making sure your phone is always answered, and leads are followed up with. Get super organised Organisation is a key part of a successful operation, but when you’re juggling a million and one things, it can be challenging. When you work with MiPA, you can have your diary managed by us, buying you a big chunk of time back and making sure all the I's dotted and the T's crossed. Save time If you’re spending time on manual, repeatable tasks, then you’re not maximising your own value. Let us do it for you, so you can focus on the high value and fun stuff. No need to recruit Recruiting can be a painful and costly process, and employing staff isn’t a cheap thing to do. Working with us will cost you less, require no recruitment and zero training. What our happy clients have to say Start your call answering Talk to one of our experts to get started PLUS you can enjoy 1 week call answering free trial, on the house. Book a Call 0161 820 6080 Each week, our founder Emma shares something useful to help you save time, make more money and focus on the fun stuff. Click below to get it direct to your inbox now. VIEW ALL Free trial today 7 days free call answering 0161 820 6080 Book a Call ------------------------------------------------------------ # Free Trial Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/free-trial/ Published: 2020-01-02 OUR FREE CALL ANSWERING TRIAL Take the first step today * ANSWERING OVER 2000 CALLS A DAY * HELPING UK BUSINESSES BECOME MORE SUCCESSFUL * Free trial today 7 days free call answering Simply fill in your details below and one of our team members will be in touch as soon as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------ # About Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/about/ Published: 2020-01-02 ABOUT Find out who we are & how we can help you. Answering over 2000 calls a day, helping uk businesses become more successful About Mi PA Our philosophy? Take away your painful, mundane tasks, free up your schedule for the stuff you enjoy – and have a great time ourselves as we do it too. Our simple formula means you scrap tonnes of weight from your shoulders, get rid of those time-consuming jobs that take you away from doing the things you love, and enjoy your business and personal life more.You’ll clock our relaxed atmosphere the moment you step inside our office or pick up the phone and talk to us – everyone’s chilled out and smiling, because when you worry less, you do a better job and actually get more sh*t done. Sound good to you? Give us a call and we’ll talk about how we can help you now. 0161 820 6080 Book a Call Our Services We exist to win you time back that you can spend on the things important to you. MiCall We answer your phone for you If you’re answering your own phone, then you’re not spending enough time on the high value ... LEARN MORE MiPa We manage your diary (and everything else!) Every single month, hours of busy peoples’ time is swallowed up fussing around managing diaries… LEARN MORE Mi Concerce We take over your inbox Email inboxes are black holes that steal time every single day, but with MiPA, you can remove... LEARN MORE We’re normal people in a normal office, doing a decent bit of magic to take care of everything on your to-do list. We’ve been doing this stuff for over a decade now, since 2007, when Emma first started out as a PA to two successful entrepreneurs who taught her a heck of a lot about the world of small business. Including how to run a business, how to stay incredibly productive day after day, and how to do it all smiling. Free trial today 7 days free call answering Book a Call Simply fill in your details and one of our team members will be in touch as soon as possible. https://vimeo.com/706115485 Our philosophy is simple: we exist to make your life better. Whether that’s by answering the phone to give you the best chance of converting clients…Or by taking care of your email inbox so you can spend time with the kids when you get home from the office… Or by performing all of your office operations, so you can go on holiday safe in the knowledge that the wheels will keep turning while you’re away… Hi, I’m Emma Mills… I started MiPA back in 2007, and back then I was just a one-woman band with a dream of liberating business owners from the tasks that sap time and energy, without making money.I quickly grew the team from one to two, and from two to four, allowing us to help more business owners to stop wasting time and start focusing on the fun stuff. ….whatever it is, if it can help improve your life, we’ll bend over backwards to make it happen. To talk to us about how we can help you, give us a call now. Book a Call What we do & Why it works Save you time When you’ve got a million and one things on your to-do list, some of the fundamentals - like returning calls and making appointments - can get left behind. We take that off your desk, ensuring your day runs smoothly, without you having to spend time on the nitty gritty tasks. Improve your organisation Organisation is a key part of a successful operation, but when you’re juggling a million and one things, it can be challenging. When you work with MiPA, you can have your diary managed by us, buying you a big chunk of time back and making sure all the Is dotted and the Ts crossed. Take over tasks Whether it’s spreadsheet admin, or inbox management, the low value tasks shouldn’t be on your desk. Put them on ours instead. Improve your business with no recruitment A virtual PA gives you the same benefit as a staff member, with less commitment, less cost and no recruitment process. ------------------------------------------------------------ # The Future Of Your Business Is Not Life As You Know It Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/future-business-virtual-pa/ Published: 2026-10-09 Predicting the future would transform business planning entirely. Wouldn't it? Right now, most businesses plan by looking backwards. They study statistics, trends and evidence from the past. Things that feel certain. Yet the future is anything but certain. As decades of research have shown, the business environment keeps growing more volatile and unpredictable. For a deeper look at that, this article on VUCA is worth a read. So how useful is the past as a guide to what comes next? What can we learn from the present? As a virtual assistant company, Mi PA sits at the centre of a genuine shift in how businesses operate. What was once traditional... Brick and mortar premises 9-5 hours Permanent staff Is now fluid and flexible... Work from anywhere Work at any hour Bring in extra support exactly when you need it Business is changing fast. Mi PA helps businesses and individuals grow in non-traditional ways, cutting the overhead and risk that come with fixed premises and permanent headcount. One of the most revealing aspects is how clients are choosing to use virtual assistant support. They fall broadly into three groups: Those who use a virtual PA to reclaim time Those who use a virtual PA to offload tasks they'd rather not handle Those who use a virtual PA to free themselves geographically That third group tells us the most about where things are heading. The first two motivations can, in theory, be met by traditional working arrangements. A virtual PA service removes the contract risk and scales far more easily, but hiring permanent staff could achieve something similar. Geographical freedom is different. No traditional model supports it. Many Mi PA clients are constantly on the move. They cross time zones, take breaks mid-week, and structure their hours around what they do best. They're not conventional for convention's sake. They're conventional only when it genuinely serves their goals. Geographical freedom is not supported by traditional business models. A generation is emerging that is deeply self-aware. They watched older generations absorb the damage of a recession built on 'traditional' foundations, and they use technology in ways that would have seemed impossible a decade ago. Will they choose fixed hours? Permanent locations? When the world is already offering them something virtual. The future of business will not look like the present. What changes are you seeing in your own industry? How is your business adapting, and what do you think it will look like in five years? ------------------------------------------------------------ # Your call is (not that) important to us Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/call-answering-service/ Published: 2026-10-09 Around 80% of callers will not leave a voicemail. They move straight on to the next number on their list. This research into customer service behaviour measures how long people are willing to wait on hold before hanging up. Look at the 18 to 24 age group specifically, your pipeline of future customers. 40% are not willing to hold at all. And these are people who are already paying customers. People expect fast responses. Answering calls and emails promptly is no longer a nice-to-have; it is a basic expectation. What actually drives new business? A client of ours, a Physiotherapist, asked a group of new patients why they had chosen her practice over others nearby. The answers kept coming back to the same things:She was nearbyShe answered the phoneShe replied to emails promptly Those three things mattered more to her new clients than price, reputation or any promotional offer. Speed and availability drove her growth, not marketing spend. And she is far from alone in this. That 80% figure bears repeating, most callers will simply move on rather than leave a voicemail. What message are you sending? "Your call is not that important to me" That is what an automated voicemail communicates, even when the truth is... "Your call matters, but I'm tied up with existing clients and cannot get to the phone right now." What you actually need to say is... "Hi, how can I help you?" So how do you say that when your diary is full? Here are three practical ways to make every caller feel heard. 1. Auto-responders Out-of-office replies are not just for annual leave. A well-written auto-responder tells customers their message has landed, confirms you will be in touch shortly, and directs urgent queries to an alternative number. Done well, auto-responders buy you breathing space and position your business as organised and attentive. 2. Call Answering Service A call answering service redirects incoming calls to a dedicated handler who knows your business, answers in your name and captures every relevant detail. Mi PA offers flexible monthly packages to suit businesses of all sizes. Find out more and see how it works in practice. 3. Virtual PA A Virtual PA goes further than simply picking up the phone. They process calls, book appointments, handle sales enquiries, manage your diary and a great deal more. See 27 Things A Virtual PA Can Take Off Your To-Do List for a fuller picture of what becomes possible. If you want to grow your business, strengthen client retention and deliver first-class support, make sure every caller knows their call is very important to you. What happens when you do not answer the phone? ------------------------------------------------------------ # Mi PA Dinner, drinks and……fundraising! Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-pa-dinner-drinks-and-fundraising/ Published: 2026-10-09 After minimal training and a close eye on the Saturday night forecast, we completed the Manchester Midnight 10K Walk, fuelled by a few drinks, plenty of food, and a finishing time we were quietly pleased with. Every athlete needs the right preparation, which is why we chose San Carlo (the finest restaurant in Manchester, by exactly 10k...) for our pre-walk dinner. A special mention must go to Caroline, who led the group the entire way at a pace that would have given Usain Bolt pause. We crossed the finish line in 2 hours flat. The atmosphere on the night was fantastic, with hundreds of walkers all raising money for a wonderful cause. We raised £300 for St Ann's Hospice, a great start to what promises to be a busy summer of fundraising. A morning of coffee and cakes follows in July. Elaine is now considering the Manchester Marathon Walk in September. She just has the small matter of convincing her walking partners to join her. Good luck with that. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Is your Business VA ready? Three Signs it’s High Time You Hired a Virtual PA Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/business-va-ready-three-signs-high-time-hired-virtual-pa/ Published: 2026-10-01 Knowing when to bring in extra support is one of the trickier calls a business owner makes. Here are three clear signs it's time to hire a virtual PA and give your business the backing it needs. You're missing important business opportunities This goes beyond missed phone calls. When you're tied up with essential but low-value tasks, such as answering calls or bookkeeping, there's simply no space to pursue bigger opportunities. If you catch yourself saying, "Sorry, I'm fully booked until..." then a virtual PA could be exactly what you need. Hand off the routine work and free up your time to grow. For a sense of what that could look like, take a look at 27 items a Virtual Assistant Can Take Off Your To-Do List Today. You're starting to make mistakes Forgotten appointments, missed travel connections, skipped family occasions, meetings you weren't prepared for. These aren't signs of disorganisation. They're signs you're carrying too much. When the small things start slipping, it's usually because your attention is stretched too thin. A virtual PA takes the pressure off so you can concentrate on what genuinely matters, in business and in life. You need more balance Running a business demands time, energy and focus. At some point, other things demand those same resources, whether that's family, health, or a new venture. A capable virtual PA makes space for all of it. If any of these sound familiar, you're likely ready to make the move. Here are two things worth considering as you get started: Read our essential guide to working with Virtual PAs Start building scalable systems and processes into your business Think about establishing a consistent way of doing things that others can follow and repeat. Your invoicing process, a client sign-up flow, or a customer service protocol are good places to start. We'll cover this in more depth in a future article. If you have any questions or want to find out more about hiring a virtual PA, call us on 0161 820 6080 or leave a comment below. ------------------------------------------------------------ # 27 Tasks a Virtual Assistant Can Take Off Your To Do List Today! Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/virtual-assistant-to-do-list/ Published: 2026-10-01 Working with a virtual assistant frees up time to focus on the work only you can do. Knowing which tasks to hand over, and how much of your own involvement each one needs, is often harder than it sounds. Here are 27 tasks our team handles for clients every day. Consider it a ready-made starting point for your virtual PA wish list. Which of these could you hand over today? Answering calls when you're in meetings, on flights, or with your family Booking meetings Making travel arrangements Amending or rescheduling travel plans Contacting building maintenance on your behalf Proofreading that proposal before it goes out Drafting that proposal from your brief Sending quotes to prospective clients Handling client enquiries Managing client complaints with care Taking orders from clients Liaising with office suppliers Making calls to contacts on your behalf Researching information you need quickly Calling cold prospects to open conversations Reminding you it's your partner's birthday (before it's too late) Reminding you it's your own birthday Making sure your last meeting wraps up in time for you to see your children before bed Keeping things running smoothly while you're on holiday Bookkeeping Keeping your database up to date Recommending better suppliers where your current ones fall short Finding venues and locations for meetings and conferences Advising on the right tone and approach for tricky emails or discussions Discreetly managing sensitive situations (not in your office, but firmly on your team) Offering a clear perspective when a situation feels complicated (same team, different desk) Make you look like you have everything under control, because you do. How much more could you accomplish if a virtual assistant handled these tasks for you? Know someone struggling to keep on top of a packed schedule? Share this with them. We'd love to help.   ------------------------------------------------------------ # What Are the Benefits of a Virtual PA? (Complete Guide) Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/what-are-the-benefits-of-a-virtual-pa/ Published: 2026-03-25 > The benefits of a virtual PA go well beyond a tidier inbox. Here is what actually changes in your week, from calls answered properly to hours won back, plus an honest look at what a virtual PA cannot do. If you are still answering your own phone, double-booking your own diary, and clearing your own inbox at nine o’clock at night, you already know something has to change. The question is not whether you need help. It is whether outsourcing that help will actually work for you! This guide walks you through the real benefits of a Virtual PA, what changes in your week from day one, how the cost compares with employing someone, and how to tell whether it is the right move for your business.Most business owners reach this point eventually, so if you are weighing it up, you are not alone! What a virtual PA actually is A virtual PA is a ready-trained assistant who supports your business remotely, handling the work that eats your day without ever moving the needle. Calls, diary, inbox, follow-up, bookings, and chasing — all the jobs that have to happen but do not have to happen from your desk.The word virtual only describes where the person sits. At MiPA you get a dedicated PA who learns your business and the way you like things done, backed by a wider team so there is always cover. Our list of 106 tasks a virtual PA can take on is the fastest way to see the ground it covers. Are all Virtual Assistants the same? Virtual Assistant and Virtual PA are widely used terms nowadays, and there are lots of different flavours behind them. At one end of the scale, a Virtual Assistant can mean someone offshore who is task-driven and will follow exactly what needs to be done, but won't manage you or proactively take things off your to-do list. This can be perfect for process-driven work, where it's already completely clear what needs doing. In the middle, there are thousands of fabulous independent Virtual Assistants who are self-employed and support local business owners. If having someone local you can meet in person matters to you, this might be the right fit. The main downside is that independent VAs are working alone, so there's often no cover when they're on holiday or unavailable. As they get busier, it's also common for their first clients to get less attention, and juggling different clients' needs becomes harder with a full workload. At the opposite end of the scale is a Virtual Assistant agency — like us here at Mi-PA, who focus on providing Executive Assistant-level Virtual PAs. We proactively manage you, your to-do list, and your projects, always with an eye on how we can move you closer to your goals, protecting your time and keeping you out of the weeds. We also make sure you get the same level of service all year round: when your dedicated Virtual PA is on holiday, your support doesn't change as another dedicated PA from our team steps in seamlessly. We build our whole operational system around this, so there's never a dip in the service you get. Benefit one: you get hours back every single week This is the benefit everything else sits on top of, and every business owner should constantly be striving for. Every enquiry you answer, every appointment you rearrange, every email you read twice before deciding what to do with it is time you are not spending on the work only you can do. Hand that over and the shape of your week changes. The calls still get answered, the diary still gets sorted, the follow-up still happens. You just stop being the one doing it. That might mean a clear morning for the work that actually earns, or a proposal that goes out on Tuesday instead of the following Monday. The point is not that you were doing it badly. It is that it was never the best use of you. Emma recommends: Spend a week writing down every task that interrupts you. Do not judge it, just log it. Almost everyone is surprised by how much of the list could be handed to someone else tomorrow, and that list becomes the brief for your PA. See what a dedicated PA could take off your plate on our virtual assistant services page. And use our Productivity Planner to help you log where you’re spending your time and what you should hand over first. https://mi-pa.co.uk/planner/ Benefit two: every call is answered properly, every time A missed call is rarely just a missed call. It is a prospect who rings the next name on the list, or a client who decides you are hard to reach. Hand the phone over, and callers get a real person who knows your business, greets them the way you would, and takes the details properly. It matters that the team sits in Manchester rather than offshore, because your customers hear an accent they expect, with no time zone gap and no language barrier. Our team answers more than 2,000 calls every single day, so a busy Monday morning is not new to anyone here. The details of how calls are handled belong on the call answering service page rather than here, so start there if the phone is your main problem. Benefit three: no recruitment, no job ads, no interviews Hiring is slow and expensive long before anyone starts. Writing the advert, sifting applications, running interviews, offers, contracts, references, payroll setup. Weeks of your time on a decision you will be living with for years. Employing someone also carries costs that never appear on the salary line. Employers currently pay National Insurance at 15 per cent on earnings above the secondary threshold of £5,000 a year, on top of pension contributions, holiday, sick pay, equipment and cover when that person is off, as set out in the government guidance on National Insurance rates for employers. A virtual PA removes the whole process. No advert, no interview, a calendar-month notice period, and support that is already trained, already managed, and already covered when someone is away. You also know exactly what you pay each month, because MiPA runs on a fixed monthly fee rather than an hourly rate, so the cost never creeps up, and you never open an invoice you were not expecting. If you want to talk the numbers through for your own business, get in touch, and we can make a plan with you on which package would suit your needs. Benefit four: flexibility that matches how your week actually moves Work does not arrive in neat, evenly spaced parcels. You have quiet fortnights, weeks where the phone does not stop, launches, deadlines and the odd month where everything lands at once. An employee is a fixed cost whatever the workload does. Support that flexes is not, and you can change what your PA supports you with as the business, priorities and goals change. The order people expand in is almost always the same. Phones first, because missed calls hurt the most and you can see the difference inside a week. Inbox next, because handing over your email is the window to the business and enables your Virtual PA to suggest how they can support you best, and means that your Inbox is moving without you having to check and respond all day reactively.  Diary management is the next natural step, once you have stopped flinching every time someone else moves a meeting. Very few clients start with everything, and the ones who do usually find they have handed over a process nobody had written down yet.We start with a strategic plan of the tasks and projects that will impact you and your time the most, and set a clear 30, 60 and 90-day strategic plan to buy back your time. You can also pick the piece that hurts most rather than buying everything at once. That might be appointment setting if leads are going cold, or inbox management if email is the thing stealing your mornings. Have a look at the full range on our services page and start where the pressure is. Benefit five: there is no training curve to manage This is the benefit most business owners underestimate. Bringing an employee up to speed is a project in itself, and it is your project.ACAS guidance on planning an induction programme shows how much ground a proper induction covers, and every hour of it comes out of your week. With a virtual PA, the training in how to be a PA has already happened. What is left is learning your business, which is a structured handover rather than a job you manage from scratch. You explain how you like calls handled, who matters, and what a good week looks like, and the team takes it from there. There is no probation to manage, no performance review to write, and no appraisal cycle to run. That is a lot of management load you simply never take on. Emma recommends: Do not hold back the messy stuff at handover. The tasks that have been hanging around on your To Do list for months, the projects you want to do but don’t have the bandwidth for, and the tasks you truly hate. Those are exactly the tasks a good PA should be taking off you, and telling us early means we handle them, take them off your to-do list, and they can leave your headspace! The easiest way to see how it works is to talk it through. Book a short call, and we will walk you through how onboarding runs and what your PA would take on first. Benefit six: support that scales as the business grows The support that suits a two-person business does not suit a ten-person one, and the last thing you want is to renegotiate your admin every time you grow. A virtual PA scales with you. Busier quarter, more support. Quieter one, less. A new service line that needs its own bookings handled simply gets added. There is no restructure, no redundancy risk and no second hire to justify, which makes it something you grow into rather than something you keep re-examining. You can see how businesses of different sizes use the service in our case studies. What a virtual PA cannot do Most guides on this topic stop at the good bits. Knowing the limits up front is what stops the first month from feeling like a disappointment, so here they are. Anything that has to happen in person. Meeting a client at your premises, signing for a delivery, being on site. Anything that needs your judgement as the owner. Pricing a job, deciding on a hire, handling a complaint that has gone past the point of admin. Your PA can prepare the decision and chase whatever is missing, but the call is still yours. Specialist work in your trade. Your PA learns your business, not your profession. Reading your mind in week one. The first fortnight involves questions. That is the handover working properly rather than a warning sign. Fixing a process that does not exist. If nobody has ever decided what happens to an enquiry after it arrives, handing it over will not decide it for you. It does make the gap obvious, which is useful, but expect to make a call or two. And if it is not working out, that is a conversation with us rather than a performance review and a probation process. It is still a conversation. It is just a far easier one, and it does not end in a redundancy. Who gets the most out of a virtual PA The benefits land hardest when you recognise yourself here: You are the bottleneck. Nothing moves unless you touch it. You are missing calls, and you know some were enquiries. Your diary takes more managing than the meetings in it. Your inbox is a to-do list you did not write and cannot finish. You have thought about hiring but cannot justify a full-time salary yet. The thought of managing, motivating, and training a new team member fills you with dread.  You want to keep your business nimble. If two or more are true, the conversation is worth having. Frequently asked questions What is the difference between a virtual PA and a virtual assistant? A Virtual PA at Mi PA means a trained, talented executive assistant who will become a second brain and extension of you.  They will work with you to understand your goals and then carve a path to make them happen. The most common first areas that we will pick up from you are diary, calls, inbox and your personal admin, while a virtual assistant is the broader term, which most often describes an assistant that is process- and task-driven and needs guiding and directing as to what you need them to do next. What matters most is whether you get a dedicated person who learns your business or a rotating pool who does not. How do I compare the cost with employing someone? Compare total employment cost against the fee, not salary against fee. On the employment side, add employer National Insurance, pension contributions, holiday and sick pay, equipment, software and cover for when that person is off, then add the weeks of your own time it takes to recruit. Work out your own number, because the answer depends on the salary you would have paid and how much support you actually need. Will my customers know the call has been answered by someone outside my business? They should not. Your calls are answered as though the team were sitting in your office, using your greeting and your instructions. The team is UK-based, so there is no time zone gap and no language barrier. Do I get the same person every time? You get a dedicated PA who learns your business, your customers, and the way you like things done, with a wider team behind them so there is always cover. That is the difference between a service that gets to know you and a rotating pool that starts from scratch every time. How long does it take to get started? Setup is quick, and we start digging into your work straightaway post-Welcome Call once we have all of the information we need to log in and get set up.  The first 30 days, we focus on the initial wins that will make your life better straightaway, and there are a couple of weeks of live calls and real diary change before your PA is anticipating rather than asking. The best way to picture it for your business is to talk it through with us. Do I have to commit to a fixed number of hours? MiPA works on a fixed monthly fee agreed up front, so you know the cost before you start and it can be adjusted as your needs change. Talk to us about what your workload actually looks like and we will tell you honestly what fits. Ready to get your week back? You did not start your business to spend it answering the phone and managing your own diary. If any of this sounds like your week, book a chat, and we will talk through what you would hand over first, what it would cost and whether it is worth it for you. Book a call with MiPA or start a free trial for your calls and Focus on the Fun Stuff. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Six Common Doubts About Hiring a Virtual PA (And the Honest Answers) Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/six-most-common-doubts-for-using-a-virtual-pa/ Published: 2026-01-19 > The most common virtual assistant doubts are not about capability; they are about control, cost, and trust. Here are the six that business owners raise most often, with an honest answer to each, so you can decide whether handing the work over suits you. Most virtual assistant doubts come down to one question, which is whether someone outside your office can really be trusted with the parts of your business that keep it moving. This post works through the six doubts business owners ask us about most often and gives you the straight answer to each.  We’ll say when the concern is founded, and we’ll say when it’s not!  By the end, you will know whether handing work over suits you, and what to get in place first. None of this is unusual, by the way. Your business is your baby, and taking that first step to delegating is scary. Almost every owner who eventually delegates spends a few months circling the idea first, and most virtual assistant doubts come from not knowing how the day-to-day actually works rather than from any real problem. Doubt one: it will not work as well as having someone sat in the office The honest answer is that most of your business already runs virtually, so this is a smaller leap than it feels. You take enquiries by phone, you send quotes by email, your files sit in the cloud, and you probably work with an accountant or a supplier who you’ve never met in person. A virtual PA fits into the setup you already have rather than asking you to build a new one. What sits underneath this doubt is usually visibility rather than distance. You cannot glance across the room and see the work happening, so it feels riskier than it is. In practice, you judge it on output, which is how it should have been judged anyway, and watching someone sit at a desk was never proof the work was any good.What you get from your virtual PA at Mi PA is end-of-day updates on completed work and work in progress, a flag on anything waiting for your decision and nothing goes quiet on you. We never want a client to have to ask where a task is up to.  We keep you up to date so that all of the tasks can leave your head and go onto our list. What you do gain is that you stop being limited by who happens to live within driving distance.You choose support based on how well it fits the work and the impact you need them to make on your life. You get someone reachable whether you are at your desk, on site or between meetings.The fair part of this doubt is that remote support needs clearer instructions than a tap on the shoulder does, which is exactly what our onboarding process is for.We’ll manage you and the process os that you can just hand over the tasks and get on with what you do best.If it is specifically the phone that worries you, a call answering service is usually the easiest place to start, because you hear the result immediately and you gain your time back instantly. Doubt two: nobody will learn my business properly The honest answer is that they will, but it doesn’t happen on day one, and it comes from our Mi PA onboarding process rather than from hoping.Someone sitting across the desk from you absorbs how things work by overhearing it. Remotely, that same knowledge gets written down once, which is why the first few weeks matter far more than the rest. That is why our new clients start with a welcome call to build a picture of how the business runs, your tone of voice, who matters most, what you never want to be interrupted for and, most importantly, your goals for the next month, the next quarter and the year ahead. You decide how much detail your dedicated virtual assistant holds and how you want to be kept up to date. Like any good relationship, it takes some effort and collaboration at the start, and it is the part that pays you back, because after that the questions stop coming back to you. Our client case studies show how that settles in practice. Emma recommends logging what you do hour to hour for a couple of days before you speak to anyone about support. That log becomes the starting point for the tasks and projects that will make the biggest difference when you hand them to your virtual PA, and almost nobody has ever written it down. You can do that using our Productivity Pad here Doubt three: I do not know how much work I would actually hand over The honest answer is that you do not need to know on day one. Most owners start with the one or two jobs that either irritate them the most or will make the biggest difference to getting their time back, usually the phone or the inbox and your diary and the other inbound messages and customer emails that come with it. We build from there and add to it once you see what it frees up. Deciding the whole scope in advance is the thing that keeps people stuck, and it is absolutely not necessary. We start small with the most impactful tasks and layer on top task by task, buying back your time bit by bit. A simple starting point is to keep a rough note for one week of everything that interrupts you, then mark anything that did not truly need you or that you do not enjoy. That list is almost always longer than expected, and it becomes your brief. If you want a prompt, the list of 106 tasks a virtual assistant can take on is a good place to look. Because MiPA works on a fixed monthly fee, you can move up or down as the workload shifts rather than committing to a full-time salary and hoping there is enough to fill it, or spending your own time hunting for tasks to justify it. Doubt four: I am not comfortable with someone else choosing my assistant The honest answer is that this is a fair thing to want control over, and it is not a name pulled out of a hat! People have different strengths, from diary and inbox work to event coordination and client-facing calls, so we match your executive assistant against three things: What your work actually involves, rather than who happens to be free. How you communicate. We DISC profile every client, so we understand your natural style and the kind of communication you prefer. Your sector, and whether we already have a virtual PA with experience in your industry. You are also not stuck with the match. If the fit is not right for you, tell us, and we will change it, which is a massive advantage over hiring that most people do not expect. A wrong appointment in-house costs you months, recruitment spend and an uncomfortable conversation, and none of that lands on you here. Emma recommends regular reviews from the very start. We book one at the end of week one, again at the end of months one, two and three, and quarterly after that. Nearly every problem we see is a briefing gap rather than a capability gap, and it is easy to fix early and awkward to unpick later. Doubt five: I do not want sensitive information leaving my business The honest answer is that this deserves a proper answer rather than reassurance. You decide what you share and when. Many clients begin with only what is needed for the task in front of them, then widen access once they are comfortable, and that is a perfectly sensible way to do it. It is also worth asking any provider the same set of questions. Where is information stored, who can see it, how are calls handled, and what happens when someone leaves the team? The ICO publishes plain English data protection advice for small organisations, and it is a useful yardstick before you hand anything over. One thing worth knowing about MiPA is that the team is in-house and based in our Manchester office, working with clients across the UK, so your information is not passing down a chain of contractors you have never met. We also use LastPass to store card details, passwords and anything else sensitive, so nothing sits in an inbox or a spreadsheet.It is also an advantage to have a Virtual PA from a confidentiality perspective for your wider team. We have many clients who do not want certain information shared with their in-house team but are very happy to share it with us as they feel there is no conflict of interest and we become a trusted confidante and sounding board. Doubt six: it will cost more than just getting on with it myself The honest answer is that it depends on what your own hour is worth, and most owners have never sat down and worked that out. The comparison people reach for is the monthly fee against nothing, but that is not the real choice. The real choice is the fee against the hours currently going on work that does not need you, plus whatever it is costing you not to be doing the work that does.Every hour you're in the weeds of your business is an hour you're not moving your business forwards, creating new partnerships or implementing your ideas. It is also worth comparing it properly against the other option, which is hiring. A salary is the start of that cost rather than the whole of it. The GOV.UK guide to employing staff sets out the seven things you have to sort out before anyone starts, from right to work checks to registering with HMRC and enrolling them in a workplace pension, and sitting on top of that are employer National Insurance, holiday, sick pay and whatever it costs to find the right person in the first place. With MiPA there is one fixed monthly fee, no recruitment and no training, and because you are working with a team rather than one individual, you are not the one arranging cover when somebody is off. There is no public price on the site, because the right package genuinely depends on how much you are handing over, and we can usually spot things worth improving or automating along the way. So the honest answer to what it costs is to book a call, and we will make a plan that is right for you and a real number for your situation, rather than a range that fits nobody. Emma recommends putting a rough hourly value on your own time before you compare any quotes. Take the figure you want to earn or generate in a year, divide it by the weeks you want to work, then by the hours you want to work each week. That is the rate you need to generate every hour. You would never pay someone that rate to manage your inbox, yet that is exactly what you are doing when you manage it yourself. Mi PA has been brilliant from the outset. We only have to tell them once, and they get it.  Colin Barnes, Collabor8online So are these virtual assistant doubts worth acting on? Mostly they point at preparation rather than at real risk. Five of the six come down to the same two things, which are being clear about what you are handing over and checking in properly at the start. The sixth, the cost one, comes down to doing the sum honestly rather than avoiding it. Get those right, and the arrangement tends to look after itself. The businesses that struggle are usually the ones that handed over a vague instruction and then went quiet. You can read more about the team and how MiPA has worked since 2008 if you want a sense of who would be picking up the phone. Frequently asked questions Is a virtual PA worth it for a small business? As the saying goes, if you do not have an assistant, you are the assistant. Buying back your time is worth making a daily focus, and once you put a figure on what your own hour is worth, the opportunity cost of spending it on low-value tasks becomes obvious. If admin, calls or diary juggling are eating into the things that actually bring money in, a virtual assistant is the key to changing that. Can a virtual PA answer my phone as well as handle admin? Yes. Call answering and virtual assistant support are separate services at MiPA, and plenty of clients use both, so calls are picked up by a real person while the diary and admin are handled in the background. If missed calls are the immediate problem, start there and build from it. What happens if my workload changes from month to month? Support scales with you, which is the main reason the fixed monthly fee model suits businesses with uneven demand. You are not carrying a salary through a quiet spell or scrambling for temporary cover in a busy one. On top of that, every month we hold a strategy meeting to understand your goals for the month and the quarter ahead, so the support is planned in advance rather than reacting after the fact. What about my inbox, is that something a virtual PA can take on? Absolutely, and for a lot of owners it is the single biggest time drain in the week. The inbox is the window to the business, so once your PA is in it, they can act on new tasks as they come through and spot other areas where they could take work off you. Mi PA is the service built around inbox management, filtering and prioritising so you open your email to decisions rather than to a backlog. How do I know my information is handled properly? Ask before you commit. Any provider should be able to tell you plainly where data sits, who has access and what their process is when a team member moves on. If the answers are vague, that tells you something. Ready to talk it through rather than think about it? If you have read this far, the doubts are probably not really the blocker. The quickest way through is to talk it over with someone and put a number against it, so book a call with the team, and we will walk you through what handing the work over would look like for your business, and what it would cost. If it is the phones you want to test first, you can start a free trial for your calls, which is the easiest way to hear the difference before you commit to anything. You can also read more about our virtual assistant services if you want the full picture first. ------------------------------------------------------------ # The True Cost of Not Hiring a PA Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/the-true-cost-of-not-hiring-a-pa/ Published: 2019-12-24 > The cost of not hiring a PA never shows up on an invoice. It shows up in missed enquiries and unchased quotes. Here is how to price your own time, compare employing against outsourcing, and work out which one your business actually needs. The cost of not hiring a PA almost never shows up on an invoice, which is exactly why it goes unnoticed for so long. It shows up in the enquiry that reached voicemail, the quote nobody chased, and the work that only you can do sliding into next week again. This guide shows you how to put a number on your own time, what employing someone genuinely costs once you add everything up, and how to decide whether outsourcing makes better sense for your business. Cost and true cost are two very different numbers Cost is what leaves your bank account. True cost is what the decision takes from you somewhere else in your week, your goals, and your ability to move projects forward. Doing your own admin has a cost of zero, and that is precisely why it feels like the sensible choice. Nothing goes out. Nobody needs managing. When you are watching every outgoing, that logic is hard to argue with. True cost works differently. It is the hour you spent tidying a spreadsheet instead of speaking to a prospect. It is the new enquiry that rang at half past four while you were already on a call, and never rang back. None of that lands on a profit and loss statement, so it never gets weighed against the fee you were trying to avoid. Almost every owner reaches this point. Doing everything yourself is not a mistake; it is a stage. The only real question is whether you have stayed in it longer than the business can afford. Put a number on an hour of your own time Work out a rough hourly value for your time, then multiply it by the hours you are losing. It is not an accounting figure, but it is accurate enough to make the decision with. Take your annual turnover and divide it by the hours you actually work. A business turning over £250,000, run by an owner working a 45-hour week for 46 weeks of the year, produces roughly £120 of turnover for every hour that owner works. Now count what is going elsewhere. If 8 hours a week disappear into calls, inbox and diary admin, you are putting roughly £960 a week of owner-priced time into work that does not need an owner doing it. Across a working year, that lands somewhere near £44,000. Be straight with yourself about what that figure is and is not. It is not money you would bank by outsourcing tomorrow, because time only turns into revenue if you actually spend it on the work that earns. What it does give you is the price tag sitting on every hour you hand to admin, and a fair test of whether admin is the best possible use of an hour valued at that. Run the sum on your own numbers before you go any further. It usually comes out higher than people expect, and it tends to reframe the fee you were hesitating over. Emma recommends: do this against a full month rather than a typical week. Owners consistently underestimate their admin time because they count the tasks they remember and miss the ten-minute interruptions, which is usually where most of it actually goes. The costs that never reach an invoice Four things tend to cost the most, and none of them appears anywhere in your accounts. Enquiries that reach voicemail. A caller who gets a recorded message and no call back is never recorded as a loss. You do not know they rang, so you cannot miss the revenue. Follow-up that never happens. Quotes go out, and nobody chases them, because chasing is the first job dropped when the day fills up. That work was already most of the way won, then it just gets lost for no reason because no time was dedicated to it. Context switching. Answering the phone mid-task does not cost you the length of the call. It costs the time it takes to get back into what you were doing, several times a day. The work only you can do. Pricing, partnerships, hiring, the direction of the business. It slips because nothing forces it to happen, and by the time you notice, a year has gone by.  Most business owners repeat the same year over and over just because they don’t dedicate time to the most important things. What it really costs to solve this by employing someone Employing a PA costs noticeably more than the salary you advertise, so it is worth seeing the whole figure before you compare it against anything else. Take a £30,000 salary as an illustration. Employer National Insurance is charged at 15% on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, which adds £3,750. The minimum employer pension contribution is 3% of qualifying earnings, adding roughly £713. That puts you at around £34,463 before you have bought a laptop or written a job advert. There is a fair point on the other side of that. Eligible employers can claim the Employment Allowance, worth up to £10,500 against their employer National Insurance bill, which can reduce or remove that £3,750 for a smaller business taking on its first person. Check your own position against the current GOV.UK guidance for employers rather than assuming it either way. Then there is everything that never appears on a payslip. Recruitment time, the weeks before a new person is genuinely useful, the 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday you need cover for, sick leave, and the ongoing job of managing, motivating and reviewing another human being. For a lot of owners, that last one is the real objection. They want the work handled without adding someone else to look after, and they want to keep the business nimble. The other question is simply whether you have five days of work. Employing someone full-time to fill three days is an expensive way to solve a part-time problem. Emma recommends: write down what you would actually hand over before you choose between employing and outsourcing. If the list fills a proper week, hire. If it fills a couple of days and changes shape every month, what you want is flexible support. What changes when you outsource instead Outsourcing takes away the fixed commitments and keeps the work covered. That is the whole difference. A virtual PA from MiPA is a trained, talented executive assistant who becomes a second brain and an extension of you. They learn your goals and carve a path to make them happen, which is a very different proposition to a task-driven virtual assistant who needs directing every time. You get that on a fixed monthly fee, so you know what you are paying and the cost does not creep. There is no recruitment to run and no training to deliver. When someone is on holiday or off sick, cover is handled at our end rather than yours. Support scales up or down as your workload moves, and it runs on a calendar-month notice period, so you are never locked into something you have to unwind. If the pressure is on the phones, call answering puts a real person on your line instead of voicemail. If leads are going cold, appointment setting chases them properly. If it is the inbox eating your evenings, Mi PA takes it off you entirely. The team is in Manchester and works with owners across the UK, so your callers speak to someone who sounds like the person they expected. You can see how that works in practice in our client case studies. How to decide, in four steps Track a full week if you can. Log where your hours actually went, not where you assume they went. Our Productivity Planner will help you: Planner Price your time using the sum above, then put the annual figure directly next to the fee you were hesitating over. Pick the first thing to hand over. Phones usually come first, because the interruptions stop immediately. Your inbox comes next, because it is the window to the business and it shows where else you need support. Diary management follows once the pattern is clear. Our list of 106 tasks you can hand over is a useful prompt if you are stuck. Give it a proper start. At Mi PA, that begins with a Welcome Call, and useful work starts a couple of days later once we have the information and logins we need. From there, it runs to a structured 30, 60, and 90-day plan built around whatever is costing you the most time, so you get some early wins in the first month. Emma recommends: start with one area rather than handing over everything at once. Owners who pick a single thing and let it settle for a month get much further than the ones who try to clear the entire list in week one. Frequently asked questions What does the true cost of not hiring a PA actually mean? It is the value of what you give up by keeping the work yourself. Missed enquiries, quotes nobody chased, and hours of your own time spent on tasks that do not need you to do them. None of it appears in your accounts, which is why it goes unchallenged. Is it cheaper to employ a PA or use a virtual PA service? It depends whether you have a full week of work. Employing brings National Insurance, pension, holiday, sick cover, and management on top of the salary. Outsourcing is a fixed monthly fee with none of those attached, and it suits variable or part-time workloads far better than a full-time role does. How many hours a week do I need to be losing before it is worth it? There is no fixed threshold. If admin is regularly pushing the work only you can do into your evenings, the sums usually already work. Price your own time and compare the two figures honestly. What should I hand over first? Your phone, in most cases. The interruptions stop straight away, and the difference is obvious within days. Your inbox is the natural second step, then your diary once the shape of the support is clear. Can I try it before committing to anything? You can start a free trial for your calls, which lets you hear how the team handles your line before you decide anything else. PA and VA support is not part of the trial, as the real benefits start towards the end of the first month as the relationship builds and we start to fully understand how to support you best, so get in touch if that is the part you are weighing up! Ready to stop paying the true cost? If you have run the numbers and the total surprised you, that is usually the moment something needs to change. Tell us what is taking up your week, and we will talk you through what the right support looks like and what it would cost you. If you would rather see it before you discuss it, start a free trial for your calls and get your phone answered by a real person while you make up your mind. Either way, the aim is the same. You get your time back, and you focus on the Fun Stuff. ------------------------------------------------------------ # 3 Tips to Help you Deal with Interruptions in your Business Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/3-tips-to-help-you-deal-with-interruptions-in-your-business/ Published: 2019-06-26 Your time is valuable and if you let yourself get distracted by interruptions throughout the day, it can be a massive hindrance to your productivity. You have a certain number of hours in the day for work and too many interruptions can interfere with your mission to grow a successful business. So, what can you do reduce and manage interruptions? In this blog post (and Mi-TV episode), I share my three top tips to help you deal with interruptions at work, maintain focus and manage your time more effectively.   Common Interruptions at Work Before we get into the tips, let’s take a moment to identify some of the common interruptions people experience at work. The number one interruption we all face at work is from our team members. This is a common one because our team members are going to have questions for us from time to time. However, if you’ve got a member of the team who repeatedly comes to you with an abundance of questions, it can become a serious problem. Another common interruption CEO’s face at work is via apps like WhatsApp. When you’ve got lots of messages from chat apps like this, it can really hinder productivity. Clients may expect quick replies and even show frustration if you don’t respond immediately. This can take up a lot of your time if you don’t set the right expectations early on. The third interruption we’re going to talk about is when clients show up to your office unexpected and assume you can automatically make time for them. This one is super annoying because you don’t want to be rude to your clients and yet, your time is valuable and there’s a good chance you’ve already made plans and don’t have the time to accommodate surprise drop-ins. To help you get your time back, here’s my top three tips to manage workplace interruptions:   Plan Time for Interruptions Sometimes interruptions are unavoidable. But there is a way to limit them by planning for interruptions ahead of time. The best way to do this is to schedule check-in times with people during the day. This can be 30 minutes to an hour of the day where you dedicate your time to an individual or a group to discuss issues, solve problems and ‘put everything on the table.’ At Mi-PA, I set aside 30 minutes from 12.30pm to 1pm where I meet with two key members of the team to talk about any issues we have and to give them a chance to ask me questions. Of course, if there’s any urgent matters that need attending to outside of that time slot, I’ll cater to those accordingly. Planning time for interruptions is a great way to restrict the amount of time you spend doing things outside of your main priorities. It means that everyone in the team knows when they can reach you so that they’re not coming to you with questions every minute of the day. You can even ask them to keep a list of questions or topics they’d like to discuss with you. Then, when the time comes, they can hand you the list to go through within the time slot you pre-planned.   Change your Mindset You can’t change other people’s perception of your time until you change your own. This means understanding that your time is valuable and it’s okay to say no when you need to. A good example is when it comes to responding to WhatsApp messages. For some reason, a lot of people assume that when you send someone a message on WhatsApp, it should fast-track a response from that person. First of all, that’s not true. And secondly, you shouldn’t assume that somebody will always have time for you. The same can be said for your clients. If you’re busy working on things that will help push the business forward and your phone buzzes with a new WhatsApp notification, you’re not obligated to respond straight away. There are times when you’re available and times when you aren’t. Learn to change your mindset and remember that your time is valuable. One of the best ways to regain control of your time and manage interruptions at work is to let your team (and clients) know when you’re available and when you’re not. That way, everyone’s on the same page.   Set Expectations If you find that people keep interrupting you throughout the day, it’s probably because they think it’s okay to do so. Maybe you’ve developed a habit of getting back to people asap and now they’ve come to expect your immediate response. If you run a business from a physical location, there’s always a chance that you’ll get an unexpected visit from a client. Sometimes, this is unavoidable. However, there are ways to reduce the chances of something like this happening. It begins by setting expectations with your clients. Let them know that if they want to see you or schedule a meeting, it has to be pre-booked. Showing up and demanding your time on the spot isn’t acceptable unless it’s an emergency. And even then, it’s hardly ever an emergency! A great way to help you get in the right mindset to tackle interruptions effectively is to imagine every hour of your time is worth £1,000. You can spend that hour working on your business and doing things that you need to do to drive it forward, pay everyone’s wages and stay afloat. Or, you can spend it answering unimportant questions that could’ve waited for another time. Which will you choose? How do you want to spend your time at work? It’s important that other people learn to perceive you (and your time) in a way that means they can’t just grab an hour of your time whenever they like. They need to be made aware that your time isn’t always guaranteed. You may have other plans in that time and things that you need to focus on.   I hope that you found these top three tips to help you deal with interruptions useful. If you have a favourite or want to share a tip of your own, let me know!       If you’re interested in talking to us about outsourcing your emails and delegating tasks, call me on 0161 820 6080 or email me at emma@mi-pa.co.uk If you want to find out more about our services and discover all the ways that we can help you to grow your business, click here. https://mi-pa.co.uk/our-services/         ------------------------------------------------------------ # Top 3 Tips for Managing Your Email Inbox Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/top-3-tips-for-managing-your-email-inbox/ Published: 2019-06-17 If you’ve been watching Mi-TV for a while, you’ll know that I like to focus on topics that help you get more time back so that you can focus on your business. And, one of the biggest “time suckers,” on the planet has got to be emails. Yes, emails are one of the most effective forms of communication in our digital era. But if you’re constantly reading and replying to emails, it can really hinder productivity. If you’re a business owner, there are probably days when your phone is blowing up with emails. It takes a certain level of will power and determination to resist the urge to check your inbox periodically throughout the workday. If you’re not careful, your email inbox can chain you to your desk. Email is a chief procrastinator and it’s one of those things that can make you feel like you’re busy and being productive when in actual fact, you’re not getting much done. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I find myself getting sucked into the email vortex. However, I’ve come up with some great ways to help me better manage my emails, so I’m not constantly glued to my inbox. In this post (and over on episode 116 of Mi-TV), I reveal my top three tips to help you deal with your emails so that you can focus on building your business without completely neglecting your inbox.   Create an automated email reply My number one tip to help you manage your emails is with an automated email response. Many people assume that automated emails are impersonal and like a digital shrug off. But there is a way to do it right. You just need to choose your words carefully. I try to keep my automated responses short, friendly and to the point. I usually will reply with something along the lines of; “Hi, it’s Emma Mills here. If you’ve seen my latest Mi-TV episode, you’ll know that I need to follow my own advice and to get my head out of the dirt and into the clouds, I can’t be responding to email all day! My PA, Rebecca, will be monitoring my inbox and if there’s anything urgent, she’ll grab my attention and let me know. otherwise, I’ll look at my emails at least once a day to respond.” In most cases, I think a response like this is fair. When you’re tied to your emails, you’re not doing your best work because you can’t be productive. The most effective automated email response will give some kind of expectation of when you’re ready to reply to their email. So, it’s not like you’re saying you’ll be ignoring them. You’re just letting them know that you only check emails once a day and if anything urgent comes through, you will respond in a timely manner.   Don’t create too many email folders Organising your emails into lots of different folders can be a real headache. Managing one folder is challenging enough for the average business owner. But, if you’ve got a maze of folders to sift through, you’re going to get frustrated and waste even more time going through them all. Instead of having a stack of folders that you never keep up with, have just one folder that you can easily manage. Having too many folders with multiple accounts is never going to work. Unless you’re an epic multitasker and can do a million things at once, multiple email folders are never the answer. One folder is the best way to keep on top of your emails. If you need to find an email from a certain client or business, you can search for it using the search tool. There’s no need to bog yourself down with lots of different email folders. If you outsource your emails, you might want to create a private folder for yourself that only you can see and another folder containing the emails you want to outsource. That way, you only have to deal with the ones in your private folder while everything else is taken care of on your behalf.   Get a new email address My third and final tip is to get a new email address. Make it a slight variation from the one you already have and use it as your new inbox for all the emails you need to deal with. Everything else that can be outsourced or wait until a later date can go into your previous email inbox. Creating a new one gives you a clean slate to handpick the emails that you do want to respond to. If you’re like me and you’ve subscribed to a lot of different things using an old email address, that inbox can quickly clog up. So, having a new email address and only using it for important emails that you want to personally respond to gives you the chance to do that with minimal fuss. Plus, if you are thinking about outsourcing your inbox duties, having a new email address makes it much easier to keep certain emails private. This is great if you want to keep a conversation private. Then, you can let your outsource team manage the rest of your emails from your previous inbox and you can free up a lot of time for yourself as a result.    I hope these three tips help you to deal with your emails without feeling overwhelmed and stressed out!       If you’re interested in talking to us about outsourcing your emails and delegating tasks, call me on 0161 820 6080 or email me at emma@mi-pa.co.uk  If you want to find out more about our services and discover all the ways that we can help you to grow your business, click here. https://mi-pa.co.uk/our-services/ ------------------------------------------------------------ # How to Protect & Regain Control of your Time Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-to-protect-regain-control-of-your-time/ Published: 2019-03-06 Life as an entrepreneur is hectic. You’ve got what feels like a million things going on at once. Your inbox is packed with unread emails. The phone is ringing off the hook. And, people are demanding your attention right, left and centre. You’d be forgiven for second-guessing your decision to launch a business. Heck, you’d probably get away with jetting off to an exotic island with no intention of coming back, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.   It’s completely normal to feel overwhelmed. But, it’s no reason to pack your bags and call it quits! If you feel like your time is running away from you, you’ve got to regain control of it.   How do you regain control of your time?   Well, if this were a sci-fi or fantasy movie, I’d tell you to find the time master and politely ask him to give you your time back. But, unfortunately, this is real life. And, if you want to regain control of your time, all I can give you is a box.   Yes, a box. Your box can be real or imaginary. It doesn’t really matter. Naturally, I chose to go with a big pink box (which you can see in episode 101 of Mi-TV). Once you’ve got your box, start to think about all the things in your life or business that take up too much of your time. Or, do what I did and think about other things about the entrepreneurial sphere that grinds your gears.   Have a few things in mind? Great. Take all those things and put it inside your 101-business box. Forever. You don’t need to go back into that box. There’s nothing worth your time inside it. Every time you feel frustrated about something (or someone, cause let’s be real, people can be a pain too), put it inside the box.   This is like a mental activity that will help you to de-stress and see the bigger picture. Everything you put in the box is a time waster, and you don’t need it. I had four things I wanted to put into my 101-business box, so if you want to find out what they are, keep reading!     Time Vampires No, I haven’t been binge-watching Buffy! This breed of vampire doesn’t crave blood. It craves time. Most notably, another person’s time.   A time vampire is something or someone that drains your time and energy right out of you. They probably don’t realise they’re doing it. They’re the type of person who calls you out of the blue and keeps you on the phone for over an hour. Or, the client who emails you and expects an immediate response. You get the idea.   As a business owner, your time is precious. You shouldn’t spend it doing things that aren’t important or don’t move your business forward. Time vampires kill productivity. Of course, you don’t have to ignore them completely. You can assign a blocked amount of your time to deal with the time draining activities or people in your life.   So, if you’re like me and you want to start taking back control of your time, you’ve got to put the time vampires in your life inside the box and put a lid on it!     Polystyrene Okay, this one is completely unrelated to business and has nothing to do with anything. I realise that. But, I hate polystyrene. I can’t explain why. I hate how it looks, feels and the sound it makes when you pull it out of a package.   So yes, I put polystyrene into my box. Now…let’s move on!     Self-Assigned Grandeur Job Positions I go back and forth with this one. But, there’s something about people who have literally just started a business and called themselves the Vice President or Co-Founder, that just confuses me.   I guess it’s because I struggle to call myself an entrepreneur. Yes, I have a business. However, I’m so focused on growing it that I never stop to think about giving myself a grander title.   I’m not even the designated CEO of my business. That prestigious title belongs to Ralph. (If you’re wondering who Ralph is, he’s my four-pawed friend and makes a short but powerful guest appearance in ep.101 of Mi-TV – so be sure to check it out!)   I went ahead and put those types of people in my 101 box. These are the kind of people who give themselves a massive title when it’s only them alone in the business. Or, they’ve literally just started and don’t even have any clients yet.     Small business owners tearing each other down This is one of my biggest pet peeves of all time, and it happens way too often. When I see or hear an entrepreneur give another small business owner a hard time, it just makes me mad.   None of us has got it all sorted out. Nobody is perfect, and no business is perfect. It’s difficult to run a business, and the last thing you need is someone else tearing you down. I think it’s even worse when the people who are causing all the self-doubt are business owners too. They should know better!   So, into the big pink box they go!   And there you have it, the four things that I have put inside my 101 box!   I hope this has got you thinking about what you’d put inside your own 101 box and please do share what those things are with me either here, via email or on social media!     Want to free up your time so you can put more focus on creating consistent content for your business? We can help. Call me on 0161 820 6080 or email me at emma@mi-pa.co.uk. Or visit our services page to discover in more detail the diverse range of services we offer like-minded entrepreneurs and businesses right here. <https://mi-pa.co.uk/our-services/>     ------------------------------------------------------------ # Top tips: What to outsource to an assistant Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/top-tips-what-to-outsource-to-an-assistant/ Published: 2018-01-09 There are few entrepreneurs I’ve met who actively enjoy making a list of To-Dos so long it feels impossible you’ll ever achieve just a fraction of your daily tasks. We’re all overwhelmed with work yet, as business owners, we’re expected to be everywhere, all at once. From a work level this could result in slipping customer service, no follow-up to sales calls, leads drying up because your time is pulled away from marketing or even operational issues. From an emotional level, it’s even worse. You’ll feel stressed, angry, frustrated, disappointed as getting on top of your workload slips from your grasp. Well, never fear. There’s a saying I have (that I just made up) which goes: “Behind every great entrepreneur, there’s a great PA”. And I completely believe it. Given the effort needed to grow a business, it makes sense for a business owner to hive off those tasks which need doing but don’t need doing by them. Here are six tasks you need to get rid of right away:   Repeatable and routine tasks There are probably a handful of tasks in your business that you always have to do each day, week, month or quarter. Tasks like producing reports or filling out expenses or doing something which is a “must do” but which doesn’t a) move you closer to your business goals and b) isn’t a great use of your time. It’s still an essential use of someone’s time, but not yours. These are the perfect tasks to outsource to an assistant. Because they’re repeatable and routine, you know what the right outcome looks like before you’ve even started. Identify these tasks and hand them off first. It will immediately make a difference to your day.   Call answering One of the quickest and easiest wins for a business is to outsource the handling of your calls. Although it can seem a big step handing over your potential customer’s first contact, a good call answering service will ensure every single one of your calls is answered on-time, every time in a consistent professional manner. This means you’ll never miss a potential sales and you or your team isn’t left dealing with nuisance sales calls. Answering the phone can prove a real distraction when trying to deliver a product or service to your customer even though your next customer could be on the other end of the phone. By outsourcing your calls, you rapidly make a return on your investment and free up your time to focus on other parts of your business.   Content creation and production Writing blogs, recording podcasts, penning emails and editing video. Content may be the basis for your marketing efforts and successfully puts your profile out there, but there is a cost - time and effort. Once embarked upon a marketing plan that requires regular content, it’s easy to spend hours and hours of every day staring at a screen or fiddling with technical details to keep to your schedule. There is a better way. Although it may make you a little jittery to think someone else is writing on your behalf, there are creative ways you can use a PA to create content and distribute it without it taking as much time. Working smarter rather than harder is the name of the game here.    Social media The opportunities provided by social media are endless. Not only can you connect directly to your customers, influencers and the media, but social media offers you a free platform to a global audience. The downside, of course, is social media activity takes up growing proportion of your time (as well as being hugely distracting!). The constant need to post social media updates to remain visible on readers’ feeds means this can be - and often is - a full-time job. But if you’re like most businesses where serving your customers is the priority, how can you do both without hiring a full-time social media pro? Easy. A PA is well-placed to handle all your social media scheduling and - as above - they can also create new or curated content to feed the beast. Better still, have them monitor your social media channels for comments, replies and customer support questions, so you can focus on doing what you do best - growing your business.   Research If you’re anything like me, you probably enjoy burying yourself in a business book or two or scanning through business advice articles to soak up as much knowledge as you can. But sometimes there’s research that needs to be done, which isn’t quite a productive use of your time as it could be or isn't nearly as enjoyable. That’s where a PA comes to the rescue. A good assistant will undertake research and hand you the results so you can make an informed choice. Of course, good research always relies on a good brief and a clear idea of what you’re looking for from the findings. Whether it is compiling lists of ideal prospects, finding out how to do something related to tax or even calling round hotels to find the best price for a meeting room, a PA can hand you back a considerable amount of time.   Customer support Depending on what your business offers, you can use a PA to fulfil many customer support requests. If there are common problems and issues your customers continuously struggle with, using a PA to handle low-level matters - as a starting point - can free up your time immeasurably. Alternatively, a PA can screen calls and log these to a support desk, or they can refer customers to other resources which may be more useful - such as help guides or walkthroughs.   Sales and follow-up Ok, I’m not suggesting you hand over your sales efforts to a PA. You or your sales team will always be the best at promoting your business to prospects. However, if you have marketing activity running or need sales support, you often need more hands on deck. And that’s where a PA can help. For example, if you’re running a marketing campaign to a large number of prospects, a PA can follow-up with the recipients of a marketing email or sales letter to confirm receipt - a task which wouldn't be the best use of time for your sales team. Outside of a marketing campaign, you can use a PA to follow up immediately with any leads - through your website, for example - so there is that quick initial contact while the lead is still hot. A PA won’t necessarily replace any sales capability you have, but they can significantly enhance in the right places to shorten the sales cycle… and make you more money.   So where do I start? Ah, this is the big question. My advice is starting with those routine and repeatable tasks that take up more than 10 minutes of your time as this has the most significant impact on your day. Of course, having helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners, we’re experts at helping you transition to using a PA to free up your time and help you grow your business. If you want to know more about how we’ve helped businesses like yours in all of these areas, give me a call on 0161 820 6080 or email me at emma@mi-pa.co.uk. Or visit our services page to discover in more detail the diverse range of services we offer like-minded entrepreneurs and businesses right here ------------------------------------------------------------ # 9 things you won’t believe we’ve been asked to do for our clients (and we loved number 6!) Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/9-things-you-wont-believe-weve-been-asked-to-do-for-our-clients-and-we-loved-number-6/ Published: 2017-08-21   A day in the life of a PA is often filled with surprises.   If you thought being one of our superstar PAs means simply answering phones and organising diaries all day, you’ll be shocked to discover what we really get up to on behalf of our clients.   You see, we love a challenge here at Mi-PA.   I regularly challenge clients and prospects to throw any tasks at my crack team of PAs, no matter how tricky. And many are only too pleased to take us up on that challenge. To show you how colourful our days can be, here’s a selection of the weird, wonderful and downright brilliant tasks we’ve been given to do:   Most people would celebrate summer with a nice barbecue or Pimms on the lawn. Imagine how puzzled we were when we were asked by one client to hire a reindeer in summer for a party! We love our football up here in Manchester. But one of our clients really loved the Beautiful Game and asked us to find a custom frame for a football. We never did ask how they were going to hang it on their wall… Sometimes we’re asked to go full Sherlock Holmes and track down hard-to-find items (though not people… yet). One of the toughest challenges set for us was finding a basket for a pram that had been out of production for years. We found it, bought it, the client was very happy. More important, so was her baby. Our clients clearly love a good party (see above) so we weren’t in any way surprised when we received a request to get Olaf and Elsa from Disney’s Frozen along to a soiree. Of course, it wasn’t the real characters… but we had to find actors to play Olaf and Elsa at the party and costume them up ready for the bash. Sometimes our last minute requests aren’t so jolly and are REALLY last minute. One client left his passport in his clothes that went into the washing machine and needed us to arrange a new one. What a disaster! But our trusty PAs kicked into action and got a new one arranged and ready to go for his next trip. Phew… One of our most enjoyable tasks was to help a client arrange their engagement to their partner at Disneyworld. We loved being part of this real life fairy tale as we arranged all the little, memorable details including a ring in a glass slipper. Ahhhh. Staying with a slightly different romantic theme, we’re also great at being discreet (despite me telling you this :)). We once had to book hotel rooms for a client’s girlfriend… and another trip for his wife! Our clients are entrepreneurial types but we weren’t expecting to actually build a whole new business as part of our service. We were gifted the lofty task of ordering £350,000 of electrical appliances for a client who was creating a new business and sourcing his own products. Now that was one delivery to our office we’ll never forget (true story!). Dogs need holidays, too. Or, at least, that’s what our CEO Ralph says. I loved one canine-related task we were given where we had to organise a passport for a little pooch so they could travel to sunny Spain. (Ralph wasn’t jealous at all….)   As you can see, our team’s abilities and experience range far and wide in the service of our clients.   Think you can come up with a PA task to challenge and stretch my wonderful team? I dare you to give us a try with your own strange request (within reason).   Discover how we can help take your business further and help you get your head out of the dirt and into the cloud. Call me today on 0161 820 6080.     ------------------------------------------------------------ # 7 ways a virtual PA makes your business bigger Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/7-ways-a-virtual-pa-makes-your-business-bigger/ Published: 2017-05-25         They say size isn’t everything… but sometimes when you’re a small business or a one-person operation it helps to look a little bigger than you are. Packing a mighty punch, despite your size, is one way to go shoulder to shoulder with larger competitors. But it’s not just about looks. Imagine being able to run a lean business with full operational, customer support and sales capability while raising your profile. Sounds too good to be true? The good news is you don’t have to hire more staff or rent expensive office space just to allow you to roll with the big boys (and girls). So how do you achieve it? (I’m going to give you a clue - it involves using a virtual PA :))   Here are seven ways you can use a virtual PA team to operate like a big business, even if it’s just little old you:   First, stop doing EVERYTHING   We know the type of business where the owner does EVERYTHING. They pick up the phone when it rings, they answer every email, they collect the post, buy the milk, travel to sales meetings and spend hours trying to fix the printer. If this sounds like you…STOP and call me right now on 0161 820 6080!) Hiring a whole team to take the small but essential tasks away from you is unrealistic. However, outsourcing this job to a virtual PA means you reap the benefits whilst avoiding the heavy investment in time and money. A virtual PA becomes a part of your business, so most clients won’t be able to tell he or she isn’t in the office with you and they can do most jobs remotely. (Ok, maybe not getting the milk… but they can arrange EVERYTHING else) There are two main benefits. Firstly, you win back time and space to focus on what’s really important in your business. And, secondly, if people can see you have a PA and what appears to be a team around you (i.e. you’re not doing EVERYTHING), it gives them confidence in you. You’ve got things together. And that breeds confidence, which is great for business.   Get your own executive PA   Long gone are the days of hiring a virtual PA to just answer your phone or look after your diary.  With Mi-PA, at least, you are assigned a highly skilled PA with a broad range of experience and expertise, far more experienced than a traditional receptionist or PA. Their range of abilities stretch to becoming a member of your team, more akin to an executive PA. For an executive PA, businesses dish out anything upwards of £25,000pa. You’d have to be working for a big business to justify paying out this kind of wage and need them on a full time basis. Yet, with a virtual PA you get the same level of service and expertise, delivered when you need it and charged for exactly what you use. You still get all the benefits, with a virtual PA gaining a deep understanding of how you best work and your routine.   Show you’re organised… and control your time   Having a PA answer simple questions and organise meetings for you doesn’t just take the pressure off your back and free up time, it demonstrates to clients there is a hierarchy below you. Outsourcing small tasks like organising your events calendar and work schedule shows in the way you deal with clients. Clients who receive calls from your virtual PA will experience exactly the level of professionalism you want them to receive. The whole psychology behind not being able to call you at any time shows customers you’re in-demand. Although this may appear to make the business seem less personable, it positions you ahead of any conversation or meeting. And it gives you back control of your time, so you’re not driven by others’ priorities. If your business is visibly organised with clear objectives and deadlines you can’t help but be seen as more reliable. By extension, you’ll exude an air of effortless professionalism.   Build systems and processes   Trying to stay on top of everything in a small business without help can sometimes be chaotic and seriously detrimental to your productivity. One of the benefits of working with a virtual PA is to help you develop systems and processes so you can hand off work more effectively. By building systems in your business you’re committing your business to more consistency, greater predictability in your outcomes and a better result for your customers. At Mi-PA we use a clever little piece of software called Sweet Process to build systems and processes for clients for everything from call answering through to sales operations and customer support. Developing processes is the secret behind successful businesses such as McDonalds, Starbucks and other franchises where predictable outcomes and good customer service is essential. By working on these with a virtual PA, you deliver “big brand” levels of customers service and operational efficiency.   Never miss a call and capture every lead   The last thing you want is hundreds of leads flowing in but no way of dealing with those leads, wasting all that marketing investment. Nightmare! If you ARE too busy, a virtual PA can relieve the pressure by answering the phone, capturing leads and turning unwanted clients away. Having this pressure removed means you need never answer the phone to anyone who isn’t a dedicated customer. (Urgh, horrible sales calls…)   Running a slick sales and marketing operation   One of the most time-consuming activities in a small business is setting up and running marketing and sales campaigns. This often involves drawing help from various sources and project managing this to conclusion. When you’re on your own, it may seem like it takes up all your time. But sales and marketing are perhaps the most important function of any business… so how do you run effective campaigns, while still having time to breathe? A virtual PA team can help. Working with your marketing and sales campaign, an outsourced PA team can take on all elements from printing, packing and sending mail to telephone follow-up and receiving inbound calls. How do we know? Because we do exactly this for a number of our clients as well as increasing their online presence through social media posting on their behalf.   Dedicated customer support   Winning customers is one thing. Keeping them is a whole other skill. When you’re on your own or your team is small, you often find yourself splitting your effort. Handling sales AND customer support is the fastest route to burn out as you struggle to keep your head above water. What if you could hand over your entire customer support function to a team who already knew your business and whom you could track their effectiveness quickly and easily? A great virtual PA service can handle your whole customer support function, leaving you to focus on the tasks that help you grow your business. Having someone always there to answer the phone means there are no gaps in your customer service, even when you ARE too busy to take calls. It provides a consistent, reliable service to existing customers and elevates your business to another level in your customers’ perceptions… for much less than the cost of hiring an-inhouse customer support team.   These are just a few reasons why outsourcing your admin and hiring a virtual PA will transform your business in the eyes of your potential customers. Using a virtual PA service allows you to open doors to help your business do more, reach more customers in need of your service or product and level the playing field with larger competitors with bigger budgets. Discover all the ways we help entrepreneurs who want to make their business bigger here! Ready to super-size your business with a virtual PA? Call me on 0161 820 6080 today and let’s get started.     ------------------------------------------------------------ # How a great PA service grows your business – from small to large (or back again) Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-a-great-pa-service-grows-your-business-from-small-to-large-or-back-again/ Published: 2017-05-16 Everybody knows that, as a business owner, your time is the most valuable.   Whether you’re building your business, making sales or leading a team, how you spend your time in your business is the biggest indicator of how successfully you grow.   The mantra has always been to focus on growing your business, not wasting time on “low value tasks”.   However, there’s a bit of a misconception around what “low value” means and it could be holding you back from really taking your business to the next level.   “Low value” doesn’t means the tasks are not important. They are. Clearly, appointments need to be set, calls followed up and basic admin done (with lightning quick efficiency, preferably ;))   But beyond that, there are also tasks which are mainly operational and are still vitally important to your business.   These are bigger than the £10 an hour tasks (like admin, diary management, etc) but aren’t tasks YOU should necessarily do, like customer support or sales follow-up.   What do I mean?  Well, let me explain.   Imagine you’re so successful at marketing and sales your business grows rapidly and more customers come flooding to your business. Great news, right?   But it causes a headache. How are you going to support all those new customers without compromising your reputation and customer service levels you’ve taken years to build up?   For most businesses, the traditional approach would be to rapidly recruit more support staff.   Which means additional costs, a time lag between the long process of recruiting and getting them up to speed... and not to mention it takes you or other members of your team away from things you really need to be working on.   Not so for one of our customers.   Needing to guarantee a consistent, timely experience for his growing customer base, we took over his company’s entire customer support function.   While he focuses on driving sales and marketing the business, he can relax in the knowledge that whatever business he’s bringing in will be fully supported and new customers (and old) will be properly looked after.   Best of all, his customers know no different. It feels and sounds like his customer support is still all part of the same company so customers are none the wiser.   And it doesn’t have to end there.   For example, another of our customers has handed over his complete enquiry and sales operation to Mi-PA.   His company runs its marketing campaigns and our team make sure no stone is left unturned when those enquiries come flooding in on the phone. He no longer has to worry about missing any inbound calls from potential customers and losing revenue, just because he doesn’t have sales staff available when needed.   He still has complete control over his sales process but now has the flexibility to scale up as quickly as his business can handle.   People used to say “as your business grows, a great PA service grows with you” but I don’t believe that goes far enough. I believe a great PA service can actively help your business grow.   How your PA service works for you really is at the limit of your imagination.   Worried you may be spending longer dealing with £10 tasks than £1,000 tasks that move your business forward?   I have the answer. Click below to fill out your details and I’ll send you a Mi-PA Productivity Pad, designed for busy entrepreneurs who need to get a grip on their working day.   And if you already know you need a little bit of support (or a lot!), give me a call on XXX and I’ll run through the ways we can help your business grow.   Everybody knows that, as a business owner, your time is the most valuable.   Whether you’re building your business, making sales or leading a team, how you spend your time in your business is the biggest indicator of how successfully you grow.   The mantra has always been to focus on growing your business, not wasting time on “low value tasks”.   However, there’s a bit of a misconception around what “low value” means and it could be holding you back from really taking your business to the next level.   “Low value” doesn’t means the tasks are not important. They are. Clearly, appointments need to be set, calls followed up and basic admin done (with lightning quick efficiency, preferably ;))   But beyond that, there are also tasks which are mainly operational and are still vitally important to your business.   These are bigger than the £10 an hour tasks (like admin, diary management, etc) but aren’t tasks YOU should necessarily do, like customer support or sales follow-up.   What do I mean?  Well, let me explain.   Imagine you’re so successful at marketing and sales your business grows rapidly and more customers come flooding to your business. Great news, right?   But it causes a headache. How are you going to support all those new customers without compromising your reputation and customer service levels you’ve taken years to build up?   For most businesses, the traditional approach would be to rapidly recruit more support staff.   Which means additional costs, a time lag between the long process of recruiting and getting them up to speed... and not to mention it takes you or other members of your team away from things you really need to be working on.   Not so for one of our customers.   Needing to guarantee a consistent, timely experience for his growing customer base, we took over his company’s entire customer support function.   While he focuses on driving sales and marketing the business, he can relax in the knowledge that whatever business he’s bringing in will be fully supported and new customers (and old) will be properly looked after.   Best of all, his customers know no different. It feels and sounds like his customer support is still all part of the same company so customers are none the wiser.   And it doesn’t have to end there.   For example, another of our customers has handed over his complete enquiry and sales operation to Mi-PA.   His company runs its marketing campaigns and our team make sure no stone is left unturned when those enquiries come flooding in on the phone. He no longer has to worry about missing any inbound calls from potential customers and losing revenue, just because he doesn’t have sales staff available when needed.   He still has complete control over his sales process but now has the flexibility to scale up as quickly as his business can handle.   People used to say “as your business grows, a great PA service grows with you” but I don’t believe that goes far enough. I believe a great PA service can actively help your business grow.   How your PA service works for you really is at the limit of your imagination.   Worried you may be spending longer dealing with £10 tasks than £1,000 tasks that move your business forward?   I have the answer. CLICK HERE to fill out your details and I’ll send you a Mi-PA Productivity Pad, designed for busy entrepreneurs who need to get a grip on their working day.   And if you already know you need a little bit of support (or a lot!), give me a call on 01618206080 and I’ll run through the ways we can help your business grow. ------------------------------------------------------------ # 5 life-changing strategies to help you leave work an hour earlier! Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/5-life-changing-strategies-to-help-you-leave-work-an-hour-earlier/ Published: 2017-03-16 I don’t know about you, but I didn’t start my own business to work even longer hours. As much as I love my fab team here at Mi-PA (and I really do love them), spending every hour in the office is not part of the plan. There are books to be read, family and friends to be enjoyed and certain little pooches to go walkies with. When you’re up to your neck in work, though, it’s hard to find a way out. Don’t worry! There are ways you can start winning the battle to claw back more of your time and restore a healthy work/life balance. Here are four pretty neat strategies to help you squeeze as much into your day, so you can enjoy more time to yourself, guilt-free. 1. Narrow your daily focus Ok, so that deadline two weeks from today is important and yes, you have to remember that client meeting next Thursday…. but beyond unavoidable milestones, try to start each day with a fresh agenda. I know I’m far more effective when I focus on a single goal rather than many. It’s better to be realistic about what you can get done in a day than set yourself an impossible list of tasks to get done by the end of the week. We all know what happens, don’t we? One by one those important tasks fall by the wayside as new, more urgent jobs muscle their way into your schedule. Arrrgh! Don’t fret. Just relax. Keep a clear mind each day. Forget trying to mentally juggle all the other jobs you meant to get done two days ago. Narrowing your focus to one or two tasks a day may seem counterintuitive, yet the result is greater focus. In the long run, you’ll get more work done, more quickly and, ultimately, achieve more in a week. Because once you’ve done those big ‘ol tasks, it’s time to relaaaaxxxx. Seriously, give yourself a pat on the back. Be kind to yourself by not working overtime to fit in those little jobs you should delegate, do another time or even delete. When you’ve done the one big task of the day that moves you closer to your goals, you can go home at a reasonable time and still feel absolutely wonderful about it. 2. The three minute rule Nice and easy, this one. Whenever you get something new to go on your to do list, ask yourself: “Will this take less than three minutes to get done?” If the answer is yes, do it now. Don’t think about it or leave it till later. Get it done. This nifty little trick prevents a pile-up of little tasks you naturally end up putting off again and again. You’ll feel super-productive and - with less time spent procrastinating - you can find some extra time for yourself each day. 3. Reclaim “hidden” hours If you’re anything like me, chances are your working day probably hides pockets of time you could be putting to better use. One part of your schedule where you can unlock more time in the day is your commute. What happens during those hours spent travelling? No wifi? No problem! Just list out all the things you can work on without internet - including brainstorming, consuming business and audiobooks - and dedicate your commute to them. Another place to look for “hidden” hours is in your morning routine. Can you shave an hour or half an hour off your sleep first thing in the day to kick off a morning routine that puts you on the right foot for the rest of the day? Whether it’s a Tony Robbins-style routine, a physical or mental workout, or meditation and goal-setting like Miracle Morning, your day is defined by how you start it. The next point is also really important… 4. Not all hours are equal Remember, not every hour is equal. If you can squeeze in a extra half an hour of work in the morning, you could get as much done as you would in a few hours at the office, where there are distractions left, right and centre. Why? Because most of us experience a surge of mental energy when we apply ourselves to a task soon after waking up. Alternatively, go into the office an hour earlier to enjoy quiet time without the distractions or get into the office an hour later and complete your most important task at home or in a coffee shop (where your staff can’t find you!) Find where in the day you experience your most productive period and work around it. It’s a sure-fire way of allowing you to clock off a little earlier than usual at the end of the working day. If you really can’t find any time hidden away in your schedule, though, there’s one more action you can take… 5. Get expert help I’ll keep this short. Basically, if you haven’t looked into the time-saving opportunity of hiring a virtual PA yet, go ahead and do it now. It’s a game changer for lightening your load. It lets you spend less time on tasks that could be passed onto someone else - without the burden of taking on an employee. Yes, yes, I know… you’re thinking “well, you would say that, wouldn’t you?”. True, but I’ve seen the huge difference it’s made to our customers. It may not seem like handing over a few admin tasks and answering calls is that revolutionary. Yet when you get into the swing of delegating tasks, you suddenly find lovely, great windows of time opening up in your schedule. That may mean leaving work early to meet friends, doing more of what you love or spending more time with your family. And if that isn’t life-changing, I don’t know what is. Check out all the ways we help overworked entrepreneurs like this here. ------------------------------------------------------------ # The 8 questions you MUST ask your call answering service Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/the-8-questions-you-must-ask-your-call-answering-service/ Published: 2017-02-24   Ok, so you’ve done your research and know a call answering service is the right choice foryou. Now this leads to thenext big question: which firm do I pick? As you’ll probably know by now, not all call answering services are the same. Some are small but beautifully-formed boutique operations catering very closely to their client’s every whim. While others are glorified call centres designed to handle large volume of calls. Picking out the perfect call answering service is all about knowing what you need. But here’s the problem. If you’ve never used a call answering service, how can you check they’re legit? How do you know you’re making the right choice so it doesn’t turn into a call answering nightmare? Never fear. I’m here to make this a whole lot easier for you. By asking the right questions, you can get the answers which reveal whether a firm is right for you. But whoever you work with, I believe it’s important you choose a firm that’s going to have a positive impact on your day-to-day working life. That’s why I’ve pulled together these eight must-ask questions with which to quiz any potential call answering service. It won’t take a second, and could save you a lot of time. 1. Who have you worked with similar to my business? Of course, no-one expects someone answering your calls to know as much about your business as you. Yet, it’s really useful to discover if the firm has experience handling calls for businesses like yours. Another thing to check is if they’ve served businesses of your size and in your general industry. At least that’ll put them in the ballpark of experience. Oh, and don’t feel shy about making them work for it. Any really good firm will just lurve being asked for a case study or two or be happy to let their customers speak with you. If they can give you proof of successful relationships with other businesses like yours, consider that a huge tick. If they’re reluctant to co-operate with this entirely reasonable request, sound the alarm bells. Do you really want your prospects coming into contact with a company that’s shown a poor attitude towards its own customers? 2. How much can you tailor your service? No two businesses are alike. Your business probably does things very differently from your competitors. So when it comes to hiring a call answering service, it’s dead important services can be tailored to meet your needs. This could be anything from managing different phone lines for different types of calls, providing a 24/7 service or offering a scaled back service that covers only certain hours in the day. Just remember you’re in control. Go for a firm that is willing to work around you. That’s why I’d be wary about fixed, one-size-fits-all call answering solutions. If you need to start changing the way you work around them... run a mile. Instead, take out a pen and note down very quick a list of your ideal requirements for your call answering firm. Check off each requirement as you quiz each prospective firm. 3. What happens when lots of call come in at once? Will some get missed? This is one of the questions I’m most asked. If your business is booming and the phones are ringing off the hook, the last thing you want to do is miss a hot prospect eager to buy from you. Check with your potential call answering firm that there’s a contingency plan in place for when call volumes get high. Which leads on to the next really important question... 4. How many people will be handling my calls? You’ll probably have more than one person answering your calls, so ask exactly how many people will work on your account to ensure it’s not a ridiculously high number. Why? Surely, more is better? Well not exactly. You only want your calls to be answered by people who are fully briefed on your business. The last thing you want is for customers hearing a different voice every time. The ideal scenario is for the process to be so effortless that your customers and prospects build a relationship with your call handlers... without them even knowing they’re a call handler. You’re taking a big leap of faith trusting a stranger with your live enquiries, so knowing they’re representing your business well is super important. Having a relationship with your call handlers helps make them feel like a genuine extension to your team. 5. How can I make sure my work is being handled correctly? This is an obvious one, but so important we couldn’t leave it out. Ok, you don’t want to go all Big Brother on your call answering firm, but seriously — how do you know how your calls are getting answered? Ask your provider what systems they have in place to help you check your call handlers’work. Also find out what process the call handler follows when answering each call, what kind of notes will be made and how these will be made available to you. 6. Are you able to take action on my behalf or do you just take my calls? When it comes to call answering it’s best to do more than it says on the tin. For example, at Mi-PA we do call answering but this is supported with other services such as diary management, customer support, in fact... anything else really. The problem is not every call answering service is able to go above and beyond call answering. Which could be a deal-killer if that’s what you’re looking for. You may want your call handlers pass on the details of each call and let you take it from there. And sure enough, this is the best option for when your personal expertise is needed. But what about when the call is about something straightforward, like booking an appointment or receiving a copy of your sales pack? Wouldn’t it be better to let those jobs eat into someone else’s time? Which is why it’s worth having the conversation with your call answering partner to understand what they can do for you beyond just fielding your calls. You might quickly discover more efficient ways to cope with your workload and - if this extra level of service is unavailable - find it’s worth looking around for a new call answering partner. 7. How do you handle those pesky sales calls? Knowing you never have to deal with nuisance sales calls ever again is one massive weight off your shoulders. But don’t put it to the back of your mind just yet. Ask your call answering partner how they deal with unwanted calls. Do they have a procedure in place for identifying whether a call is unwanted and how to close them down quickly and politely? Your call answering service should be able to talk you through a standard process they follow when unwanted calls come in. The benefit of having a set procedure is your call handlers spend less time on calls you don’t want and more time taking calls from people who matter. 8. Do you have a gorgeous ‘lil doggy in your office? Ok, ok, this may not be an essential question exactly, but I’m pretty sure every PA office needs a dog. Why? Because a little pooch never fails to make the whole office happy. And a happy office means happy call handlers, which means happy customers for you! Ok, that last one may be a little tongue-in-cheek... but it’s good know how strong your call answering team really is. Hopefully, if you’re in the market for a call answering firm these nine questions will point you in the right direction and help you find a service perfect for your needs. Whatever you do, remember you’re in control. Ask for plenty of proof the firm can do what they say they can do. And, if possible, speak to current customers (or even better get sneaky and call them to see how their calls are answered!) If you want to test the waters with a new call answering service designed with all of these points in mind, call 0161 820 6080 now to set up a free 1 week trial of our Virtual Receptionist service. You can discover more about it here. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Mi Pa are looking for a Superstar PA! Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-pa-are-looking-for-a-superstar-pa/ Published: 2016-06-01 We are looking for a superstar PA to join our growing team of time saving business helpers. To apply you MUST send your CV with a COVERING LETTER or statement which describes why your application should be considered. A CV without any letter will not be considered. Feel free to send a letter, video or even a picture to let us know that you have what it takes to join us. The members of our team have a 'can do' attitude and thrive off working in a FAST PACED ENVIRONMENT. You might be a graduate, college leaver or have a few years career experience under your belt and you like the idea of working for a fun, innovative, growing business. You’d like no two days to be the same and want to go home each day feeling like you've achieved something. You like a challenge and excellent customer service comes naturally to you. More about us…..We’re a growing business that provides a PA support service to companies of all shapes and sizes. We take away the hassles of employing support staff full time and instead provide a flexible service so we are there to support them when they need it. We want our clients to do the things that they do best in their business with fewer distractions and a much shorter to do list. We have exciting expansion plans so we’re looking for extraordinary people to join our small but dynamic team. Therefore, you must be prepared to show amazing team spirit to get the job done. A little about the role…..You’ll work for around 5-10 different clients so multi-tasking and the ability to handle a varied and ever changing workload is a must. You will work directly under one of our Lead PA's and support her in making sure all of our customers are extremely happy! Support requests could include organizing business travel, managing a client’s diary, taking a phone order or researching the contact details for our clients Dream List! You will make sure that the tasks are prioritized and completed on time while constantly trying to exceed our client’s expectations. You will view this role as a ‘career’ and will look forward to progressing as the company grows. This role brings with it the opportunity to be trained into a Lead PA. Our PA’s must demonstrate:• Positive attitude, work ethic and ‘can do’ spirit Extremely high levels of organisation The ability to multi-task, prioritize workload and deliver under pressure Excellent written and spoken English skills Essential Position Requirements: IT Literate – specific knowledge of MS Office required Professional , polished appearance Friendly, helpful approach to work at all times• Excellent customer service skills Experience of working within a client facing environment Ability to work independently and manage own workload Professional communication skills both verbal and written Benefits: Competitive Salary Be part of an exciting, growing company. Team Lunches & Events 20 days holiday plus Bank Holidays Birthday Day Off. Training & Development Career progression opportunities Job Type: Full-time Please send to: vacancies@mi-pa.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------ # Why have one PA when you can have three? Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/why-have-one-pa-when-you-can-have-three/ Published: 2016-02-04 While I may have sneakily taken out ‘Mi’ to make this title work, I’m being one hundred percent honest in this; at Mi PA there are no lone wolves. This is because the foundation of delivering an excellent service to you is built upon the way we work as a team. So if you do decide to sign up, you won’t just be getting your very own dedicated PA to complete your duties; you’ll receive an entire squad of superstar PAs to work are you disposal. So what exactly are the benefits of hiring a team of PAs? Well… Use a pool of different skills and talents While all of our PAs are skilled to a T in organisational day-to-day duties, what makes our girls really shine are their passions and individual skills. For example, Caroline has extensive experience in organising travel, and she loves making sure our client’s holidays and business trips are 100% bespoke. Whereas Amber is an absolute data management queen. If you have a research task, or need assistance with managing a system, she would be your first point of call. And luckily for you, they work in a team of three, so chances are you would be getting all of these skills for the price of one PA. No sick days One of the main issues you may have or are experiencing with a personal assistant is finding cover for when they aren’t there. And more often than not, they can be gone for days at a time, leaving you trying to find cover or with urgent day-to-day tasks outstanding. But we can eliminate this concern. From day one, each member of your team will be trained and armed with the skills needed to stand at the front line of your business. So when one of your team members is absent, there will always be backup in place to ensure your work is completed to the standard and efficiency you expect. Multitasking to a new level While we can guarantee that any dedicated PA assigned to you has already mastered the art of multitasking, thanks to our carefully constructed teams, we can offer you something more. If you run a business that requires multiple tasks to be carried out, but you’re also looking for diary and email management for example; all of these jobs can be completed at the same time. Your team can work both collectively and separately on multiple jobs – it all depends on your needs. We get it, and we’re 100% committed to making your goals attainable. Join us, sit back, and enjoy the road to success. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Virtual Property Management Services Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/property-management-services/ Published: 2015-03-16 Landlords! We can help you manage your tenants and contractors. With a great property portfolio comes great responsibility - to your tenants, to the building itself, to the rules and regulations governing property management. Whether it’s a faulty fridge, gas safety certificate, new locks or new tenants, owning a property demands time and attention. How do you balance work and family commitments, and not jeopardise valuable downtime, while managing a property portfolio? Mi PA’s virtual property management service is the smart Property Investor’s secret weapon! We can remove much of the pain of property management and help you achieve work-life balance while on the path to financial freedom. Our first class virtual property management service provides a point of call for tenants, estate agents and contractors. We can deal with the day to day niggles that tenants raise, according to your pre-agreed instructions; liaise with estate agents and manage contractors. Mi PA can organise regular services such as gas safety inspections, liaise with approved contractors or find suitable businesses and manage the quotation and repair process for you. We can communicate with estate agents on your behalf, welcome in new tenants, handle purchases and disposals. Our virtual property management services include: First point of contact for tenants Arrange scheduled maintenance and servicing Respond to ad hoc incidents Manage new tenants and moves Liaising with estate agents for purchases and disposals Our services typically cost less than traditional estate or management agencies and our glowing reputation among property investors is testament to the high levels of service Mi PA offers. If you’d like to know more about Mi PA’s virtual property management service, call us today to learn more on 0161 820 6080 or click here to request a call back. To learn more about the benefits of virtual assistance, please browse our website and blog. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Customer Surveys – Find Out What Your Clients Really Want? Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/customer-surveys/ Published: 2015-02-02 Customer surveys are a mixed bag. Incredibly useful, they can also be time consuming and wildly unnerving. We might hear some things we really don’t want to hear…No wonder so many businesses put customer surveys on the back burner. And while it can be a daunting task - especially when tackled all in one go - it’s vital to the future of our organisations. If we’re not capturing our client’s needs, wants and desires how will we be able to meet them? Customer feedback, good or bad, helps organisations grow. Knowing what clients want helps to: Improve the product or service offered - increasing value by enabling and defining progress Improve customer service levels - the Ps and Qs of your business Understand customer language - helping you to match it in your marketing materials Understand how and when customers want to interact with you Build deeper more meaningful relationships with clients OK, so maybe I’ve got you convinced customer surveys are essential, but what about the time factor? And that’s not all. Common reasons for not conducting customer surveys include: Calling every single client is going to take ages! They might ask questions beyond the survey which will take even more time Will people be really honest with me? I’m too close to my business; hearing the negatives will crush me Enough reasons to find someone else to do it for you! Customer surveys are an example of a very high value activity that does not have to be done by you. Outsourcing this to a trusted team of virtual assistants enables you to capture all that vital information while not impacting on time or tact! An external representative will enable honesty, capture an accurate interpretation of any issues at hand and ensure conversations stick to the script! And of course, with someone else taking care of this for you, it won’t impact on your day job. Mi PA helps many business owners understand their clients better. Our team of virtual assistants can operate as members of your organisation or independent customer survey specialists. Surveys are compiled alongside you for your full approval and results are accurately captured for your interpretation and action. Do you know what your clients really want? Maybe it’s time to find out. Contact Mi PA today and ask about our customer survey service. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Meeting Minutes Just Went Virtual Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/meeting-minutes-just-went-virtual/ Published: 2015-01-26 Now here’s a thing you may not have considered: working with a virtual personal assistant who can take meeting minutes for you without needing to be in the room! There comes a time when following up after a meeting takes too much time or resource than a business owner can afford. There comes a time when your mind needs to be on the conversation, not on the note taking. There comes a time when you need to focus on the things only you can do – and meeting minutes is not one of them! Accurately capturing meeting notes is a skill the Mi PA team are adept at. Your Mi PA virtual PA will take relevant, well-documented notes that read easily and have clearly defined actions. How can my meeting notes become virtual? Not as Sci-Fi as it sounds, this is simple to do by making good use of technology. With Skype or via a conference call your virtual personal assistant can be every bit as useful as if they were in the room with you. There are a few rules we recommend you follow to make this service work for you. Introducing each person in turn and not talking over each other works well here, as it does on all conference calls and most meetings! Your Virtual PA will facilitate this as part of the service. Is this right for my business? A virtual PA is right for your business if you: Need accurate, timely accounts of meetings and conference calls Have a busy schedule Recognise the value of your talents and the need to outsource activities other’s can do Need a bigger team but not all of the time Want to explore the benefits of support staff without the risk and overheads of employment And what's more, your minute-taking Virtual PA can do much more than take notes. Clients use Mi PA's virtual PA's for diary and event management, travel arrangements, customer service support, research, email management, order processing and much, much more. If you’re keen to expand in 2015, contact us  to learn how a virtual PA from Mi PA can help you - or start by exploring how a virtual PA can help you during your next meeting. Call  us on 0161 820 6080 today! ------------------------------------------------------------ # Grow your business in 2015 with Mi PA’s Virtual PA Service Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/grow-your-business-mi-pa-virtual-pa-service/ Published: 2015-01-19 LIMITED OFFER! 20.15% OFF Virtual PA Service in January Mi PA's diverse range of clients use our services to help their businesses grow. Until the end of January, we're offering 20.15% off our virtual PA service for all new customers - could you be one of them? Not used a virtual PA before? Here are just some of the ways Mi PA clients use this service. Customer Service for a Security Company For one client, we're an integral part of his customer service process, taking calls and helping to convert sales with existing clients. While customer support was always part of the package, our client did not anticipate the rise in sales we've delivered by ensuring a professional and friendly service. Diary Management for a Property Mentor Another busy executive relies on Mi PA for complete diary management, scheduling and re-scheduling calls, making reservations, dealing with clients and organising smooth travel arrangements. By outsourcing this important task, our client frees up vital time to focus on other areas of his business. Email Management for the CTO of a Big Data Consultancy By highlighting urgent emails and liaising with the client, we ensure all communications are attended to in a timely and appropriate manner. This saves the client time, and keeps his staff and customers happy while streamlining his processes to increase efficiency. Travel Management for a European MD Here, Mi PA books, researches and organises all travel arranges for the MD and his entire senior team. This includes scheduling travel, accommodation and entertainment across the globe. We're experts at ensuring travel arrangements are smooth and hassle free. Order Processing for an E-Commerce Retailer This savvy business owner has built a busy online business. He's able to free up more of his time by outsourcing all customer interaction to Mi PA. All orders, returns, refunds, deliveries and enquiries are managed by our team. If you'd like to grow your business this year, streamline processes or free up more of your time, talk to Mi PA today to learn more about our Virtual PA service. And enjoy 20.15% off your first month's service if you sign up in January! Call 0161 820 6080 today to learn more.  ------------------------------------------------------------ # Brilliant Gift Ideas for Entrepreneurs Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/brilliant-gift-ideas-entrepreneurs/ Published: 2014-12-01 (or ideas for your own wish list!) I love buying presents for other people. This year, I’m determined to find meaningful gifts that really add value. There’ll be no novelty gifts or trinkets from me in 2014! It’s all about the really useful stuff! Talking of really useful stuff, when it comes to starting and running a business there is an endless list of useful additions that would make everything easier. If you’re shopping for an entrepreneur or if you’re an entrepreneur yourself and would like to inspire your friends and family with a handy list, here are my best and most brilliant Christmas gift suggestions for 2014. (Disclosure: Mi PA is, naturally, on here!) What else would you add to this list? What would you love to receive for Christmas this year? For the traveller If your Entrepreneur is car-based, a built-in Bluetooth car speaker is a thoughtful gift and welcome investment. Talking safely while on the move is a must but compromising on call quality is now a thing of the past. For those who are air-bound, smart carry-on luggage can really make a difference to travel. Slim and easy to manoeuvre, this gift will be welcomed by the jet-setting entrepreneur. For the talker A good quality microphone or headset can transform your day – and it’s not just for virtual assistants! The ability to type or write while talking on the phone is, in my opinion, a must. Not only can you take thorough notes, you can also gesticulate and move around (as far as the cord will allow!). I find that makes for more natural conversations and better rapport. It also prevents you from jarring your neck at that awkward angle as you wrestle your phone under your chin in order to multi-task! For the home office worker High speed internet access is a great gift for those based at home. There’s nothing more frustrating than wasting what feels like hours trying to get a page to load, or having the speed dip when the kids get home from school! Another great idea is a multi-purpose printer. One that scans and maybe even faxes is a great option. Don’t forget to buy a couple of reams of paper too! For the book worm Business books are a great gift for entrepreneurs. Choose your topic with care and attention. There are some masterpieces on motivation, efficiency, procrastination, profitability. What matters most to your entrepreneur? For the endlessly busy A virtual assistant of course! Mi PA offers a wide range of virtual assistant services. From call answering to diary management, customer service to order processing, travel management to event management, there is very little my skilled and savvy team can’t take on. Our services start from as little as £40 a month and all contracts are flexible. The time and money saving benefits kick in within the first month when clients begin to see an uplift in productivity. If you're keen to give the gift of virtual assistance this year, contact me today to learn more. ------------------------------------------------------------ # The Mi PA Training Scheme Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/mi-pa-training-scheme/ Published: 2014-10-27 There’s something really exciting about having new team members in the office. We’ve just hired two new apprentices through The Apprentice Academy. Darcy and Amber are just out of college, full of enthusiasm and ready to get stuck in to the Mi PA Training Scheme. We combine boot camp training, one-to-one development and on-the-job experience to cultivate high-calibre virtual assistants who are ready to take on the world! Our thorough training ensures fantastic career prospects for our apprentices and the subsequent Mi PA career development path ensures we hold on to that talent, giving each one of our fabulous employees the opportunity to shine and enjoy their career to the max. All this would not be possible without the support of the National Apprenticeship Service. They offer grants to help employers take on apprentices aged between 16 and 24. It has a value of £1500 per apprentice which contributes towards their wage. The Apprentice Academy found us our brilliant new employees and supports their training – and ours! The whole team benefits from this – we all learn something new – and knowing we’re giving something back to Manchester and helping young people get ahead gives us enough warm and fuzzies to last all year! Taking on apprentices has helped transform Mi PA. We’re building a sustainable business and a culture of learning – something I value really highly. I’ve seen the whole team step up, helping our newbies fit in and supporting them in their learning. Taking on an apprentice is more straightforward than many people think and is a great way to grow your business and team’s skills. To be eligible for the grant, you business must have less than 1000 employees and will not have recruited an apprentice in the last 12 months. Grants are available for up to 10 apprentices per business. This is the 2nd year Mi PA has worked with The Apprentice Academy and I highly recommend their service. You can find out more here. By the way, we’re always on the lookout for new talent, so if you or someone you know is interested in a career in Virtual Assistance, please do get in touch. Whether they’re an apprentice, graduate or career-builder, we’d love to hear from them. ------------------------------------------------------------ # How systems help to scale your business Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/systems-scale-business/ Published: 2014-09-22 Acknowledged or not, processes inherently exist in every organisation. If you're familiar with The E-Myth, you'll recognise that when those processes are developed into robust systems, they create the order and structure that produce your product or service, ensuring it is delivered consistently every time, with predictable results. You'll also recognise how vital that is to growing a business. In the beginning, when there’s just one, two or three of you, communicating what needs to be done in each of these processes is easy. You work closely together; you can read each other’s minds. You understand how each other works. When you want to scale your business however, that indescribable combination of things Sarah does to win new business, or those magic words Joe says to appease customers, need to be captured and systemised so others can repeat them. After all, when you’re scaling your business, you’re keen to bring on more people, secure more revenue and probably take a step back at some point in the future. You need to download all that vital knowledge into systems and processes that can be consistently replicated and scaled. Not only will this allow others to pick up where you left off, it can also iron out inefficiencies in your organisation and build a robust ROI into your offering. Clear processes are the foundations of business growth and Mi PA can help your organisation design and implement those systems. With you, we’ll work through current processes, identify new ones, and create robust systems for each, helping you to increase efficiency and other indicators of success such as customer satisfaction and sales. Mi PA’s expert Virtual Personal Assistants are trained in the art of efficiency and organisation. They’re adding value to businesses across the globe through customer support, sales support, diary and event management, logistics and so much more! Each team member has vast experience across a multitude of industry sectors and they’re ready and waiting to get things done for you. To learn more, please get in touch. ------------------------------------------------------------ # How to Deliver Incredible Customer Satisfaction with a Virtual PA Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/customer-satisfaction-virtual-pa/ Published: 2014-09-08 Customer satisfaction is critical to business success, and often an indicator of it. Satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with your offering determines what needs to be changed or enhanced and provides opportunity to communicate with your customers and build truly personal relationships. For the busy entrepreneur, while she no doubt recognises the importance of customer satisfaction, when also responsible for business development, product innovation, accounts, service delivery and customer satisfaction, it can be easy to let client feedback fall off the to-do list. Another intimidating aspect of customer service is the possibility of hearing negative feedback first hand. I think this works both ways: customers may not be as honest with business owners as they might be with a third party; and it can be hard to hear your business criticised. Introducing the Virtual PA...! A Virtual PA, operating outside of your organisation, can take care of this important business-building task, while removing the proximity barrier and time and resource constraints associated with continually monitoring customer service. Indeed, Mi PA manages customer service for several clients. We: - Conduct customer surveys for a car garage in Manchester - Answer new customer questions via email for a crowd funding site - Facilitate initial interviews for a business coach via phone by following pre-set questions For each client we’re delivering more time and information to their small businesses by capturing vital customer feedback that will help their businesses improve and grow. We’re ensuring their clients are happy, healthy and inclined to recommend their services to others. Nurturing customers to a place of absolutely loyalty is one of the smartest moves any business owner can make. Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart says so: “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” Donald Porter, VP of British Airways agrees: “Customers don’t expect you to be perfect. They do expect you to fix things when they go wrong.” Even Lewis Carol and Ghandi had something to say on the matter: “One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” Lewis Carol “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.” Mahatma Gandhi If you’d like to make customer service an integral part of your business offering and growth strategy, talk to Mi PA about making this a reality. Our professional, experienced Virtual PA’s are on hand to take care of this important task. Contact us today or leave a comment to learn more. ------------------------------------------------------------ # 5 Time Saving Business Hacks From The Experts Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/5-time-saving-business-hacks/ Published: 2014-08-26 I am surrounded by the best time-saving, multi-tasking experts in the business. They make it their priority, every single day, to deliver brilliant work with maximum efficiency. Who better then, than a team of Virtual Personal Assistants to open the hatch on the best time saving techniques in the business? From our finest assistants, here are the Mi PA top 5 time-busting business hacks! 1. Unless you have a VPA, check emails twice a day Famously touted by Tim Ferris, this technique is too often overlooked by busy professionals. Rarely will the world end if you don’t reply to an email immediately. If it was that urgent, they’d call you. So shut it down! Check your emails once in the morning and once around 4:30, before the day ends. How to hack it: You might like to set up an auto-responder letting people know you’ll be checking your emails twice a day and if it’s urgent, to call you. You’ll find people quickly get used to not having an immediate response and often solve problems independently before you’ve responded. 2. Manage meetings If you’ve got a meeting in one part of town, how can you maximise your time there? Who else can you see? What else can you do? There is nothing more frustrating than travelling for an hour, for an hour long meeting that delivers few outcomes, takes you away from you desk and costs time and money. Instead, look for opportunities to merge meetings with other activities, such as networking. How to hack it: Shift your mindset from reacting to meeting invitations, to proactively booking them around what works for you. Switch from running all over town, to suggesting opportunities that benefit you and whoever you’re meeting. Networking is a great way to do this, along with meetings in or around stations and airports. You might prefer to dedicate one day a week to meetings, or two afternoons. 3. Batch jobs together to save time Take an afternoon to do invoicing, an hour do to expenses, a 15 minute break to attend to the shredding and recycling. Batching jobs together saves time and avoids the exhaustion of flitting from one topic to another in endlessly busy spirals. How to hack it: Officially designate time to an activity in your diary – this psychologically gives you permission to focus on it, guilt-free. 4. Ready, headset, go! A quality headset with microphone can revolutionise your life. We all use them here at Mi PA. Using them means our hands are free to type notes while on calls, to access information quickly and multi-task with ease. Headsets also mean you avoid the awkward neck ache that comes from trying to hold a phone between your head and shoulder. Sound and voice quality are also much improved. How to hack it: Get yourself a headset! You might also like to consider VoIP services and take phone calls using your internet connection. This can often deliver cost savings to small businesses. 5. Take a break! Studies show that productivity increases when you give yourself a break once in a while. Companies in America (notoriously mean in the holiday stakes) have increased and incentivised vacation time in a bid to increase productivity and retain staff. Research suggests productivity can increase by up to 80% after a holiday. How to hack it: Block out at least a long weekend at least every 6 weeks. Prepare for it in advance and make sure it happens! This article, How to Take a Holiday When You Run Your Own Business, will help you manage the process. Have you discovered any time-busting business hacks? What do you do to cut time but not quality? We’d love to hear from you in the comments. ------------------------------------------------------------ # When Applying To Be A Virtual Assistant Make Sure You Do These Three Things Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/virtual-assistant-careers/ Published: 2014-08-11 We call it the Mi PA Academy. Through a combination of boot camp training, one-to-one development and on-the-job experience, our employees acquire a solid foundation in approach, aptitude and attitude. The Mi PA Academy cultivates high-calibre virtual assistants with fantastic career prospects. Our exciting career-development path ensures we hold on to that talent and each one of our employees gets to shine and enjoy their career to the max. And from a personal point of view, it’s fantastic to see individuals develop into fully fledged Mi PA virtual assistants! Roles here include virtual receptionist and virtual personal assistant. Each requires a different level of expertise and experience, but both share vital common themes that are crucial to the success of a Mi PA employee. It’s these we look for when recruiting to the academy. Here, we explore those themes and let you in on the secrets that make a candidate a keeper - and give you top tips on how to demonstrate you’ve got what it takes! 1. Be as helpful as possible It might not be your responsibility, it might not be on today’s to do list, but your ability to look beyond that and make our clients – and our client’s clients – feel as supported as possible is a key feature of every Mi PA job role. Even when taking a difficult call or tackling an urgent task, it’s very important you can take responsibility for the situation and see it through to the end. How can you demonstrate it? Collect anecdotes from work, school or university that demonstrate your commitment to see a job through to the end. Tell us how you’ve helped your client or associates as much as possible. 2. Be organised In such a varied job role, there are new challenges every week. Priorities can change in the blink of an eye at Mi PA. The fast paced environment means you have to be able to quickly adapt to altering demands from multiple clients. Can you keep up? Organisation is part mindset, part process. We’re looking for evidence you can implement or use a process to help you stay on top of client work. Communication is often a big part of this. What have you done to manage multiple responsibilities? 3. Show a willingness to learn The academy is all about development. We’re looking for individuals who are determined to become the best Virtual PAs in the industry. The bar is high so your drive is important. Are you up for learning new things? Are you prepared to unlearn some things? This, more than anything, is about your attitude. Show us some spice! We’re looking for a spark, that firework of determination that sets you apart from your peers. Show us how you stretch, reach and never settle for second best. Tell us how you enjoy working with a team to achieve ridiculous goals! This could be a brief paragraph in your covering letter. We’re actively recruiting right now! We’re actively seeking candidates for a variety of roles and if you think you’ve got what it takes to join the Mi PA Academy, we’d love to hear from you! Send your CV and a covering letter to vacancies@mi-pa.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you! ------------------------------------------------------------ # A Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/virtual-assistant-a-day-in-the-life/ Published: 2014-08-04 I’m forever being asked by inquisitive acquaintances what it is, exactly, that a virtual PA does. Prospective clients, curious friends and potential employees all take an interest in our ‘virtual’ world. Well allow me to open the doors on Mi PA and give you a glimpse of all we get up to. Here is a day in the life of a Virtual Assistant... Rise and shine! Client support starts early at Mi PA. The phones switch over at 8am so a member of the team is always in by 7:40 to set the office up for the day - tidying up and switching on computers, printers and opening various programmes. By 8am, we’re ready and waiting, reviewing client emails and inboxes to see what needs answering and prioritising for the day. A taste of the work “This week I’ve been organising travel details for several clients - finding, booking and altering flights and sorting visas” says Caroline, a Mi PA virtual PA. “For clients, this can be a dreaded task when they’ve got a lot on their minds. We dedicate uninterrupted time to it and offer perspective on what needs to be booked when, alleviating the pressure that often surrounds travel arrangements." Shauna has been talking to a client who’s in Barbados just now. “He was giving me a step-by-step account of his holiday – I think he was trying to make me jealous! But that sort of conversation really helps me understand his lifestyle and priorities. “Sometimes that bigger picture allows us to deliver extra value because it influences things like the timing of a catch up phone call or the tone of an email” says Shauna. “We put a lot of effort into customer relationships for all these reasons.” Mi PA works for a recycling company. We take care of the service from beginning to end so this week, for example, the VA’s assigned to this account have been organising purchase orders for shipping lines and containers, and organising trailers for transportation. “It’s really enjoyable to work across so many different industries” says Charlotte, another core member of the team. “We pick up skills from each area which helps turn our hands to many, many tasks.” Such as researching the famous! A client recently asked us to search for ways to contact Richard Branson and Nathaniel Rothschild. This included their likes and dislikes, the name of their PA and ideas to grab their attention. We’ve also been looking for rental options in Westfield shopping centre where a client would like to open a juice bar. “I’ve been speaking to agents and organising rental surveys,” says Laura, “just another diverse day in the life of a virtual PA!” As standard, each team member is continually organising and prioritising their workload for each of their clients. At the beginning of the week, we’ll discuss what’s going on and support one another with tasks as needed. The work is incredibly varied and changeable, so being able to prioritise is a key skill among the team. The Mi PA team spirit The team spirit at Mi PA is very special. We’re positive, organised and exceptionally good at multi-tasking but crucially, we all love what we do and make sure we nurture our upbeat atmosphere. We have a team meeting once a week and as you can imagine it’s never dull! There’s a good level of banter and fun at Mi PA. Once a week the boss buys us lunch – Subway, Martin’s or pizza – and we often celebrate a Friday evening as a team, too. We take part in charity and community events, most recently for our adopted charity Forever Manchester, a community foundation for Greater Manchester. We ran the Colour Run to raise money on their behalf – so much fun! You need to know about Ralph Ralph is our office mascot. He’s owner Emma’s adorable Cavidoodle – that’s a Cavalier King Charles Poodle for the unaffiliated. Without a doubt, Ralph has a very therapeutic affect on the team and we all dedicate some time throughout the day to entertain him (and ourselves) with a walk or game. The only person Ralph doesn’t like is the security guard, who he sees every single day and yet never fails to bark at. The music Depending on the mood, we’ll be dancing at our desks to Gaydio or have Key 103 on in the background. We’re on the phone throughout the day, so the music is never very loud, but it’s another mood-setting essential at Mi PA. The Mi PA Way I asked the team for three things every virtual PA needs to succeed in the role. Here’s what they said: Be as helpful as possible – even when taking difficult calls or dealing with last minute or urgent tasks. We take responsibility for every task and see it through to the end. Be organised – you have to roll with the week and be able to re-prioritise at the drop of a hat. Show a willingness to learn – in such a varied job role, there will be different challenges every week. A virtual PA needs to be up for that challenge and keen to take on new skills. If this day in the life of the Mi PA team has left you longing to know more about the sort of things we get up to, please get in touch with a call, comment or Tweet. And if you’re thinking about becoming a Virtual PA, we’re always on the lookout for new talent. Drop us a line with your CV. ------------------------------------------------------------ # How to Profit from Hiring a Virtual PA in Just One Month Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/hiring-a-virtual-pa/ Published: 2014-07-21 Within one month, a new Mi PA client is already profiting from using our service. I’m going to share with you exactly how our virtual PA service delivered a return for this client in one month, and in just one afternoon... PLUS I've got two more ideas to add to this success story that will make your VA service even better for your business and for your clients. No more missed calls The call answering service Mi PA provides is one of our most popular services. The premise is simple: we’ll answer the calls when you can’t. Did you know that 80% of people do not leave voicemail messages? New business opportunities could be passing you by every time you miss a call. Can you afford to let that happen? Here’s how our call answering service came into its own for our new client Dan Cahill is the owner of Stockport-based graphic design studio Creative Batch. Dan’s the sole proprietor and a busy guy. As well as running the studio, he also runs #stockporthour - a weekly Twitter event for the Stockport business community. Calls: answered While exhibiting at a recent trade show, two of the many calls we answered for Dan were new business leads. We were able to answer the calls and take down the details, ensuring the opportunities were captured in a timely and professional manner. Here’s what happened next... Added customer service The friendly welcome we gave Dan’s new prospects helped to deliver and reinforce his brand from the very first communication. The warm hello from our informed VA’s conveyed the message that clients are taken care of and considered; the company is professional, friendly and approachable. It also helped Dan’s business appear more established. Our call answering service gives the impression of a reception, an office and naturally the success required to employ such people and work in such a space. Higher value tasks While we were answering these calls, among several others, Dan was at the aforementioned trade show where he captured dozens of leads himself. He told us answering his phone during the trade show wasn’t feasible because it was so busy. But had he done, he would have appeared distracted from the people and opportunities in hand. Dan’s focus enabled him to effectively promote his business to hundreds of new people and attract dozens of new prospects in one afternoon. Win-win all round for Creative Batch and we’re thrilled to share his success with you. To get into the nitty-gritty of those leads, it’s worth saying that the two phone calls were highly qualified new prospects prime for conversion who became clients the following week. What could a call answering service do for your business this week? Here are those two extra ideas for adding even more value to your business Proposal writing and proof reading Many of those new leads will require proposals - a time consuming and laborious task. This is one of the many tasks a Virtual PA can help you with, whether it’s creating the proposal from scratch, following a proposal formula or proof-reading one you’ve created. The added support will save you time and the extra pair of eyes will ensure it is pitch-perfect. Following up on work Retaining a client is more cost-effective than attracting, nurturing and converting a new one. Use a virtual assistant to check-in on clients once a project is complete; find out how things are going and if they need any additional services. You can also use this opportunity to conduct client satisfaction questionnaires, enabling you to perfect your customer service in the future. How could a virtual assistant help your business this week? Please do get in touch with your thoughts and questions. ------------------------------------------------------------ # How to Take a Holiday When You Run Your Own Business Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/how-to-take-a-holiday-when-you-run-your-own-business/ Published: 2014-07-14 Summer is finally here. Between the inevitable showers of rain, the sun is doing its best to blast us with vitamin D, we’re in our shorts and flips flops, and the BBQ is finally out! It’s time to take a holiday! Is there anyone more deserving of time off than the ever-dedicated business owner? Interestingly, one of the biggest concerns for entrepreneurs is how to balance work and play. How do you manage the workload and client demands when you want to get away from it all? How do you take time off when you run a small business?Here are my top tips for taking a holiday when you run your own business. Plan in advanceAs a business owner your days are no doubt more flexible than those tied to a 9-5. Short breaks are feasible, as are long weekends. But if you want to take an entire week or fortnight away from your business, you need to plan. To manage that effectively, it might be an idea to: Book your time away as far in advance as possible Make sure your co-workers know when you’ll be away Ensure no vital meetings are booked into your diary for that period This will help with the next tip... Clear the decksTie up loose ends before you go away. Make sure projects finish well in advance so you’re not stressed up until the last minute, and if you’re mid-project get the right resources in place in good time. Tell your clientsTelling your clients when you’ll be away is part and parcel of great customer service. Even if they won’t notice, it is essential the right systems are in place should they need to reach you. Set up an out of office replyAn auto-responder doesn’t have to be devoid of personality and warmth. In fact, the best auto-responders enhance and promote your brand by showing personality and doing such things as mentioning new products and services, and introducing new members of staff. During your time away, you can do all these things with an auto-responder that points your clients in the direction of help should they need it. Use a Virtual AssistantThe level of service you provide need not drop when you’re away. A Virtual Assistant can answer all calls, field emails, manage your diary and take care of dozens of other activities, too. Emails don’t need to pile up, messages can be replied to, business can continue as normal. And, should an emergency occur, your VA will be on hand to manage it and know just what to do. Getting the most out of your holiday can be intrinsically tied to getting the most out of your VA, so you might like to read our related article – Top Tips for Working with VA’s. If you’d like to take some well-earned time off this summer, drop us a line or give us a call. We’d love to help you plan virtual assistance to support your business during your time away. ------------------------------------------------------------ # 13 Unexpected Ways a Virtual PA Can Bring You More Business Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/13-unexpected-ways-a-virtual-pa-can-bring-you-more-business/ Published: 2014-06-23 > Most people asking what a virtual PA can do expect an answer about admin. The bigger surprise is the revenue side. Here are 13 unexpected ways a virtual PA brings more business through your door, and how to put each one to work. Most people asking what a virtual PA can do expect an answer about admin, and admin is part of it. What surprises business owners the most is a Virtual PA having an ROI on your revenue in the business, because the same person keeping your week straight is also the reason enquiries get answered, quotes get chased, old clients come back, and opportunities don’t get missed. Here are thirteen of the less obvious ways a virtual PA brings you more business, and how to put each one to work. None of it is complicated. It is simply the part of the job that never makes it onto a task list, because a task list describes the work and not the effect it has on your pipeline. First, a virtual PA and a virtual assistant are not the same thing A virtual assistant is process-driven and task-driven. You hand over something you have already worked out; they run it, and they wait for the next instruction. That is genuinely useful, and there is a place for it. A Virtual PA at MiPA works differently. You get a trained, talented executive assistant who becomes a second brain and an extension of you. They learn your goals, they work out what is standing between you and those goals, and they carve a path to make them happen. That distinction runs through everything below, because almost none of it happens when you are only handing over tasks. Our virtual assistant services page sets out what that looks like day to day. Win back the business already coming at you 1. Every enquiry reaches a person, so the ones you would have lost convert instead The fastest revenue in most small businesses is not more marketing; it is answering the phone. Someone who reaches voicemail rarely leaves a message and rarely rings back. They simply try the next name on the list. When your phone is answered by a team who know your business, that call becomes a conversation instead of a lost opportunity. Our call answering service handles it as if we were sat in your office, taking the details, answering the obvious questions, and getting the enquiry to you while the caller is still interested. EMMA RECOMMENDS: Pull your call log for one ordinary week and count the calls that went unanswered before you change anything else. Most owners just never look at this data and are surprised by how many of them were new business rather than someone chasing an invoice. 2. Someone actually follows up on the quotes you sent Quotes rarely die because the price was wrong. They die because nobody chased them. You send it, the prospect doesn’t reply, nudging feels awkward, and three weeks later the moment has gone. A PA has no awkwardness or emotion about it, because it is simply the job. Our appointment setting service picks up the follow-up, keeps it polite and persistent, and gets you an answer either way. A clean ‘no’ is worth having too, because it stops you carrying dead pipeline around in your head. Our motto is ‘until they buy or until they die!’ 3. Your inbox turns into a lead source rather than a landfill There is business sitting in most inboxes. An enquiry that landed on a busy Tuesday, an introduction you meant to reply to, a renewal that needed an answer a fortnight ago. With Mi PA, someone works through it properly every day, pulls out anything that needs you, deals with everything else that does not, and makes sure nothing commercial gets buried under newsletters. Your inbox is the window to your business, and once a PA can see into it properly, they start spotting the opportunities you have stopped noticing. Get more from the clients and contacts you already have 4. Business development gets a slot in the diary and keeps it Everyone means to spend Friday morning on business development. Then a client calls, something breaks, and it goes. Six months later you are wondering why the pipeline looks thin. Hand your diary over, and that block stops being yours to give away. Somebody else holds it, moves whatever tried to take it, and offers the person a different slot, which is a conversation you would probably not have had with yourself. It also gets used properly. A PA can put the calls, the research, and the three names you keep meaning to contact into the block before you sit down in it, so the time is already pointed at something by the time it arrives. 5. Dormant clients get a reason to come back The cheapest list you will ever market to is made up of people who have already paid you. Most owners know that and almost none of them work it, because it means going back through old records and writing to people one at a time. That is exactly the sort of project a PA can own. Agree the criteria, agree what the message says, and let them work through it while you get on with delivery. One thing to settle before anyone starts. Marketing to people who have bought from you before is not the same as marketing to a cold list, and the rules differ depending on how the contact details were collected. The ICO guidance on direct marketing is the place to check, and it is worth doing once properly rather than assuming. 6. Reviews, testimonials and case studies get collected while the work is fresh Proof sells, and the problem is timing. The best moment to ask is the week you finished the job, which is the week you are already deep into the next one. A PA asks at the right moment, chases the people who meant to reply, and turns what comes back into something you can use. Our own client case studies exist because somebody made the ask and followed it through, including the work we do with Carolyne Wahlen at GAPHR. EMMA RECOMMENDS: Write down what you would say on the phone before you hand a task like this over. A PA can match your tone almost exactly once they have heard it in your own words, in fact most often you might just find that a PA can do it better than you too…. Operate like a bigger business than you are 7. You get a professional front door, and people treat you differently How a business answers the phone tells a caller how it runs everything else. A number that diverts to a mobile that goes to voicemail says one thing. A real person who takes proper details says another. You do not need to pretend to be bigger than you are. You need the first impression to match the quality of the work, and that is often what tips a tender or a larger client your way. The MiPA team has been answering business calls from Manchester since 2008, for clients right across the UK, so very little about your busiest morning is new to them. 8. Invoices get chased, so money you have already earned actually arrives Late payment is a cash flow problem rather than a sales problem, and it is one of the very few places where money appears without any new work at all. Chasing is uncomfortable when it is your name on the invoice and your relationship on the line. It is straightforward when a PA does it on your behalf, politely and on a schedule, with the same wording every time and no hard feelings on either side. 9. You walk into meetings already briefed There is a version of you that turns up having read the client news, checked what you agreed last time, and looked over the account. That version wins more work, and the difference is usually twenty minutes of preparation that nobody had time to do. A PA can put a short brief in front of you the day before. Who is in the room, what you promised last time, what has changed at their end since. None of it is difficult; it just has to be somebody else’s job. It reads as effort on your side, and it lands as respect on theirs. The other half matters more and gets done even less often. Somebody writing up what was agreed straight afterwards, sending the follow-up while the meeting is still fresh, and putting the next step in the diary before the day gets away from you. Protect the time and attention the business actually runs on 10. Nothing falls into the gap between conversations Most lost work is not lost at the pitch. It goes in the gap afterwards, when the note never got written up, the next step never got set, and the opportunity sat marked open for eighteen months after it had quietly died. A pipeline you do not trust is a pipeline you stop using, and once you stop using it, you are running the business out of your own head instead. That works until the week you are ill or away. Somebody keeping your records straight after every conversation sounds like admin, and it is. The effect is commercial, because you can see where the business actually is and act on it rather than guessing. 11. The deadlines you keep missing get met Tenders, renewals, award entries, accreditation paperwork, framework applications. Every one of them is revenue or credibility; every one has a date, and every one loses out to whatever is loudest that week. Give them to somebody whose job is to hold the calendar, and they get done. Not more heroically, just on time. 12. You add capacity without taking on the cost of an employee You are the most expensive person in your business, and you almost certainly spend part of every week on work you would happily pay somebody else a fraction of your own rate to handle. That is not a character flaw. It is what happens when there is nobody to hand it to. Recruiting is the obvious answer and the expensive one, because a full-time employee brings recruitment, training, employer National Insurance, pension contributions, and holiday and sick cover along with them. GOV.UK sets out what employing someone actually involves if you want the full picture. A fixed monthly fee gives you the capacity without any of it, and the support scales up or down as your workload moves. 13. You get a second brain, not a second pair of hands This is the one nobody expects. After a few months, a good PA knows your goals, your clients, your patterns and your bad habits. They notice that Thursdays always overrun, that one particular client always needs chasing twice, that the enquiries you convert best all come from the same referral source. That is a different relationship from delegating tasks, and it is where most business comes from. Somebody close enough to spot the pattern and far enough outside it to mention it. EMMA RECOMMENDS: Tell your PA what you are trying to achieve this quarter, not just what you want done this week. The moment they understand the goal they start bringing you things you did not think to ask for, and that is when the relationship starts paying for itself. How to start without disrupting your week Handing work over goes best in a particular order. Start with your phones, because it is the easiest thing to pass on and the quickest to show a difference. Then your inbox, because that is the window to the business and it lets your PA see where you genuinely need support. Diary management comes after that, once they understand the shape of your week. The first thing that happens is a Welcome Call, where we go through how your business runs and what is getting in your way. Useful work usually begins a couple of days later, once we have the information and logins we need. From there, onboarding follows a structured 30, 60 and 90-day plan that starts with the tasks and projects eating the most of your time, so you get some real wins inside the first thirty days. Everything runs on a fixed monthly fee with a calendar-month notice period, so you always know what you are paying, and you are never locked into something you cannot step back from. If you would rather test the waters first, you can start a free trial for your calls. What a virtual PA can do: frequently asked questions What can a virtual PA do that a virtual assistant cannot? The difference is less about the task list and more about how the work happens. A virtual assistant runs the processes you hand over and waits for direction. A Virtual PA learns your goals and works out what needs doing to reach them, which means they bring things to you rather than waiting to be asked. Is a virtual PA only useful for admin? No. Admin is usually where it starts, because it is the fastest thing to hand over. Most of the commercial value shows up afterwards, in the follow-up, the chasing, the meeting prep and the protected time. Our list of 106 tasks business owners hand over is a useful place to see the range. How much does my PA need to know about my business? More than you might expect, and that is rather the point. Share your goals, your key clients, and how you like things phrased, and the quality of the work moves on noticeably within a few weeks. Can I try it before committing to anything? You can start a free trial for your calls, which is the lowest-commitment way to hear how the team handles your business. The PA and VA services are not part of the trial, so the way to explore those is a short conversation with us. What happens if my workload changes? Support scales up and down as the work moves, which is one of the reasons a fixed monthly fee tends to suit business owners better than adding headcount. There is a calendar-month notice period rather than a long tie-in. Ready to find out which part to hand over first? None of this needs a big decision today. Have a look at our virtual assistant services to see how a dedicated PA works in practice, then get in touch with the team. Tell us what your week looks like at the moment, and we will be straight with you about which part is worth handing over first. If you would rather start smaller, start a free trial for your calls and see how it feels to stop answering the phone yourself. Either way, the aim is the same. Fewer things stealing your attention, more of the business that was already coming your way, and enough room in the week to focus on the Fun Stuff again. ------------------------------------------------------------ # Seven Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Virtual Assistant Source: https://mi-pa.co.uk/seven-mistakes-hiring-virtual-assistant/ Published: 2014-06-09 > Hiring a virtual assistant should give you your week back. When it does not, the cause is usually a decision made before day one. Here are seven hiring a virtual assistant mistakes to avoid, and what to hand over first. When it does not, the problem is rarely the assistant. It is almost always a decision made before day one, such as a vague brief, a choice made on hourly rate alone, or the wrong job handed over first. Avoid these seven hiring a virtual assistant mistakes, and you will feel the difference in weeks rather than months. Deciding you need support is a good sign. It usually means the work has outgrown your hours, you have won more clients than you can comfortably look after, or you have finally admitted that the admin is eating the part of the job you are actually good at. The next decision — who you hand the work to and how you hand it over — is what determines whether you get your time back or simply pick up something else to manage. 1. Assuming every virtual assistant does the same job A virtual assistant and a virtual PA are not the same role, and the difference decides how much time you actually get back. A virtual assistant is usually process- and task-driven. You point at a job, they do that job, and then they wait for the next instruction. That works well when you already know exactly what needs doing and you have the headspace to direct someone through it. A virtual PA works differently. A trained executive assistant learns your goals, works out how you operate, and becomes a second brain and an extension of you, so the path to your priorities gets cleared without you spelling out every step. If you are already stretched, a pure task taker adds to your management load rather than lifting it. It is worth looking at what a dedicated virtual PA takes on day to day before you start shortlisting. 2. Not deciding what you actually want off your plate Work out what you want back before you go looking for someone to give it to. Most owners describe the feeling rather than the tasks. Drowning is not a brief. Spend one week noting every job that interrupts you, including the calls that break your concentration, the quotes you meant to chase, the supplier admin and the inbox you clear at ten at night. Then split that list into what only you can do and everything else. Everything else is your handover list. If the list dries up after five entries, the 106 tasks you can hand over today is a useful prompt, and most people find at least a dozen they had stopped noticing. Emma recommends building your list from a real week rather than a typical week, because typical weeks do not exist. The tasks people forget to mention are almost always the ones costing them the most time. 3. Judging the decision on the hourly rate An hourly rate is not the cost of support, and comparing rates is where good decisions quietly go wrong. Employing someone carries costs the salary never shows. There is recruitment spend, employer National Insurance, which GOV.UK sets at 15 per cent on earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, pension contributions, holiday, sick cover, equipment, and the weeks of your own time spent training and supervising. If you do decide employing is the right route, ACAS sets out what a fair hiring process involves. This is a landscape worth checking with your accountant rather than a rule of thumb. Outsourcing to a team works on a fixed monthly fee instead, so you know the number in advance; you are not paying for quiet weeks, and there is no recruitment, no training, and no cover to arrange. If you want the comparison run against your own numbers, ask for a straight answer on cost. 4. Choosing one person with nobody behind them A single freelancer is a single point of failure, and that becomes obvious at the worst possible moment. Holidays happen. So does illness, so do busy periods, and so does the day they take on another client who needs more of them than you do. Working with a company rather than an individual means training, insurance, holiday and sick cover have already been sorted out, and somebody else knows your account when your usual PA is away. Ask any provider a plain question: what happens on a day my assistant is not available? The MiPA team is in-house in Manchester, has supported over 500 businesses since 2007, and answers more than 2,000 calls a day, so there is always cover in the room. You can see how that works in practice in our client case studies. 5. Handing over the wrong thing first Start with the phones, then the inbox, then the diary. That order works because it deals with the interruption that costs you the most first. Calls are the one thing you cannot plan around. Every ring pulls you out of whatever you were concentrating on, and the ones you miss are often new business that quietly goes elsewhere. Getting your calls answered by a real person who knows your business is the fastest change you can make, and it is the one you notice in the first week. The inbox comes next, because the inbox is the window to your business. Once your PA is in there, they can see exactly what lands on you day to day and start suggesting how best to support you rather than waiting to be told. That is what Mi PA is built for. The diary comes third, and it works better third, because by then your PA knows what your week should actually look like. If the thing keeping you awake is a pile of quotes nobody has chased, follow-up and appointment setting is a sensible early handover too. Emma recommends counting, over a single week, how many calls you did not get to and how many you returned the same day. That number usually settles the argument about what to hand over first. 6. Turning up to the handover with nothing ready The handover is where the value is won or lost, and it needs about an hour of your preparation rather than a fortnight of documentation. At MiPA it starts with a Welcome Call. Useful work usually begins a couple of days after that, once your PA has the information and the logins they need. If access is missing, everything waits, which is the most common reason a first fortnight feels slower than expected. From there, onboarding runs to a structured 30, 60 and 90-day plan that starts with the tasks and projects eating the most of your time, so you get real wins inside the first month. The opposite mistake is just as common. Translating a process that has only ever lived in your head can turn into a ten-page instruction manual that takes longer to write than the job takes to do. Describe the result you want, hand over the context, and trust the person doing it to apply common sense. Emma recommends recording your screen while you do the task once, instead of writing a process document. It takes five minutes, and it captures the small details you would never think to write down. 7. Micromanaging what you have just handed over Checking every task defeats the entire purpose, and it is remarkably easy to do without noticing. The point of hiring a virtual assistant is to stop being the bottleneck, so agree on what good looks like, agree when you will review it, and then step back. A short weekly summary or a quick catch-up gives you visibility without you sitting over the work. Expect a two-way learning curve as well. You are working with a person, not a machine, and the first month is where both sides learn the shorthand. Review properly at the 30-day mark, adjust what is not landing, and hand over a bit more once it is. Owners who treat the first month as a settling-in period rather than a verdict get far more out of the arrangement than those who decide in week one. That is exactly what the virtual PA service is designed around. Frequently asked questions How do I know whether I need a virtual assistant or a virtual PA? If you know precisely what needs doing and simply have no time to do it, a task-focused virtual assistant may be enough. If you want somebody to learn your business, spot what needs doing, and take it off you without being asked, that is a virtual PA. Most business owners who feel like the bottleneck need the second one. What should I hand over first? Your phone. Calls are the least predictable interruption in your day and the easiest thing to pass on cleanly. Once that settles, move on to your inbox and then your diary. Is a virtual assistant cheaper than employing someone? It depends on how much support you need, but the comparison should include the full cost of employing rather than the salary alone, including recruitment, employer National Insurance, pension, holiday and cover. Outsourcing runs on a fixed monthly fee, so there is no recruitment cost and no cover to organise. Get in touch for a comparison based on your actual workload. Can I try it before committing? You can start a free trial for your calls, which is the quickest way to hear how your phone gets answered before you make any longer-term decision. The trial covers call answering. Virtual PA and virtual assistant support is set up through a Welcome Call rather than a trial, because it is built around your business from the start. What if it does not work out? MiPA works on a calendar month notice period, so you are never locked into a long contract while you find out whether the arrangement suits you. In practice, most problems in the first month come down to the handover rather than the fit, so raise anything that feels off early, and it usually gets solved quickly. Ready to get your week back? Hiring well is mostly about preparation. Know what you want off your plate, judge the cost properly, hand over the phones first, and give the handover an hour of real attention. Get those right, and the rest tends to look after itself. If you would like to talk it through, have a look at what a MiPA virtual PA can take on or get in touch with the team, and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit. If you would rather start small, start a free trial for your calls. It is the lowest-commitment way to find out what it feels like when your phone stops being your problem, and you can get back to focusing on the fun stuff. ------------------------------------------------------------