Here at Get Ahead VA, our people are everything. We’re dedicated to growing our business all over the country, so our customers can access a wide range of highly skilled professionals wherever they are. We currently have regional offices in Leeds, Berkshire & North Hampshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk & Essex, East Midlands and West Surrey, and we’re pleased to announce our latest addition: Guildford & East Surrey.
Here’s 60 seconds with our Guildford & East Surrey Regional Director, Joanne McGowan.
Area of expertise: I love helping people solve problems and seeing the delight when they realise you can help them achieve their goals.
When and why did you join Get Ahead? It was a bit of serendipity really. I have known Rebecca for a number of years and used the services of Get Ahead on a number of other occasions for other businesses, and I rang her to get some advice on another business opportunity I was considering. We got talking about her franchise offering and it just seemed to fit my skills and personality perfectly. I said it was a shame there wasn’t an opportunity in my area and she said there was, and the rest as they say is history!
What did you do before you joined Get Ahead? I have had a really varied career from running a dance and drama academy to a small business hub, running a family entertainment and activity business to digital development for a charity. Each has been rewarding and challenging but have helped me to develop a strong understanding of the problems small business owners and SME’s face and how to help them succeed.
Career highlight to date: I love coming up with solutions to other people’s problems and seeing the delight when they realise you can help them achieve their goals. Whether this has been teaching a couple to perform a beautiful wedding dance, putting together an amazing children’s party that took the stress off the parents, introducing someone to a fantastic business connection or sorting a complex website issue for a national charity, being able to take an idea and convert it to a reality is what gives me greatest satisfaction.
Plans for the future: I’m really looking forward to helping businesses across Guildford and East Surrey focus on the parts of their business that they excel at by giving them back time and to help them grow sustainably. I’m all for businesses helping each other along the way as this grows our economy as a whole which can only be a win-win!
