Bay Tree VA is celebrating 15 years providing executive, virtual assistance to businesses and busy individuals across a range of sectors and business types, a landscape that has changed dramatically since Jane founded the business in 2008. “The approach to resourcing and the traditional 9-5 was beginning to shift prior to the pandemic but obviously since then remote working has become mainstream and we no longer need to educate our clients about the merits of cloud based software and virtual meetings. Any reservations about teams working from home have largely disappeared. Most businesses are set up extremely well for remote working or a hybrid arrangement. Bay Tree VAs, myself included, were working in garden offices long before the pandemic” explains Jane.
So how will Bay Tree VA be celebrating its 15th anniversary?
“I fear mutiny if there isn’t cake at some point”, laughs Jane “but we are doing something completely different for Bay Tree – something I really hope other businesses will consider too. We have marked our anniversary with a commitment to SupportDogs, a national charity that trains and supports specialist assistance dogs that improve the lives of children and adults with challenging medical conditions. The Bay Tree team thought long and hard about a charity that would be a good fit for us and SupportDogs is perfect. We are all dog lovers and understand the benefits of a loving pet. These support dogs take the relationship so much further than that. We are thrilled to be supporting Toni and her black labrador, Wolfy. Toni is registered blind and has epilepsy. She works as an Office Manager and like Bay Tree VAs juggles her job and her family. Wolfy is her constant companion as her seizure alert and guide dog.” Read more about Toni and Wolfy here.
The charity was established in 1992 across England, Scotland and Wales and provides all its services entirely free of charge so relies heavily on donations and volunteers. Many of the dogs are sourced from rescue centres. They are looked after by foster carers whilst undergoing their training and many go on to be fantastic assistance dogs.
Jane concludes: It feels a great fit to tie up with SupportDogs. We have a great team at Bay Tree, independent but very supportive of one another with a purpose to make the work/life balance better for not just our clients but also as VAs. To extend this further and support Toni and Wolfy is fantastic.
Join us with a virtual ‘Cheers’ as you watch the video and celebrate not only our 15th birthday but the amazing work of this charity and of course, Wolfy.” https://youtu.be/P9vJgDk2cA4
« Swiss & Camplings Laundries and Bay Tree VA | Putting Freelancers Centre Stage »
Jane Cattermole
Founder & Managing Director
Get in touch and let us know what you need assistance with. We’ll suggest how we can help, what tasks we can take off your hands and a way forward.
Lisa Hamon
Business Development
BAY TREE is a registered trade mark of Bay Tree VA Limited
