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All about
Everything you need to know about
Self-employment should have perks
Your work should be on your terms, and work FOR you. We advocate for trying fun new places to work, doing crafts while brainstorming, and taking time OFF.
You're the boss, you're allowed. It's cool.
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Our Values
If we don't know it, we'll find out
Everything can be figured out. Jess has so many years of the most obscure array of business experience, it's unlikely you'll stump her with a question. Even if you do, she'll know exactly how to find the answer thanks to years of developing a brilliant network.
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Your wins are our wins
We will always be your biggest cheerleader, and as if by business magic, if we help your business to do well, you'll probably want to work with us more. Therefore making our business do well. That's more than a happy accident.
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Systems & strategy shouldn't be intimidating
As a former software tester, Jess believes tech should be so user-friendly that your Nan shouldn't struggle with it. Strategy is just a fancy term for planning, analysing and goal-setting. All of which should be fun when it's your future we're talking about!
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You can teach skills, not attitudes
A can-do attitude and a bucket load of initiative goes a long way when you're running a small business. Skills can be learned, but that can't. As our team expands, these are the things we look for, and train everything else.
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Why is it called Girl Friday?
My mum simply said “Well in my day you’d have been called a Girl Friday”.
A what? I might be an elder millennial but that phrase was totally new to me.
Mum explained, "it’s like the go-to person in the office, the one who nothing really works without, the one who knows everything and gets everything done behind the scenes but without the big inflated job title”.
And it was like a little lightbulb was switched on inside my head.
Finally, a title for what I do!
A title for a job that I know tons of businesses, especially startups & entrepreneurs need.
After looking into it a bit more, the name really does carry quite a lot of misogynistic weight behind it, and as a raging feminist that didn’t sit right with me.
Besides, the name typically referred to a secretary or PA, and that wasn’t exactly what I was doing either.
Great question.
For years I’ve been helping businesses in all sorts of capacities… On a consultancy basis, building websites, helping with marketing strategies, managing ops, even importing & exporting all over the world. You name it & I’ve probably done it.
Often becoming the ‘right hand’ of the founder / owner / manager / person in charge.
Then suddenly, without marketing myself at all, I became fully booked for months at a time purely from word of mouth.
But one rainy Sunday, sat in a soft play café with my mum while my two children burned off some excess energy in the hope they might actually sleep that night (it never works FYI), I went on a long old identity crisis rant, saying I have no idea what I am.
I know what I do, and I know that I do it well, but I don’t know what that is in terms of a job title.
When people ask me what I do for a living, I just say ‘freelancer’ and usually that’ll do (apart from once when I was asked if that was code for OF…), but occasionally they might ask ‘in what?’ and when I respond with ‘a bit of this a bit of that’ I just sound like a knock off Del Boy flogging stuff from the back of a van.
So, here I am, trying to reclaim the title and flip it on its head.
Girl Fridays were always behind the scenes, taking no credit and generally undervalued.
My team of Girl Fridays are superstars, they’re your go-to person, they’re highly skilled & incredibly versatile, they’re used to startups and they know how to do everything you need.
So I decided to set this up & build this team of reliable Girl Fridays to fill the gap. To provide the service that so many people and businesses still need, but that there wasn’t really a name for anymore.
Virtual Assistant comes close, but the VA industry is unregulated and full of imposters. Often there’s the view that a VA is a PA but remote, and while yes we do have the Casual Friday plan for the more typical PA-type tasks, it's not often we're tasked with just managing someone's inbox & diary, there's always extras that need a bit more oomph. With Girl Friday there’s no mistaking we’ve got all of your tasks covered.
Then, if you need that next level up, Founder’s Associate, strategic thinking, critical ideation and all the other blue sky buzz words, but without the fluff & corporate B.S., I’m your Girl Friday for the job.
Jess x
Let's work together
Cass Dartnell
Unwind The Mind Wellness
“You are a true genius and I absolutely love what you’ve done with this website. I could never dream to have done this on my own, and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Karina Talor
Personal Stylist
"This is all great, thank you so much! You've worked really hard and delivered everything I needed. I think the web copy is fab. I like the style and it feels like 'me'. "
Suzy Jackson
ADHD Coach
My business has overcome challenges and grown in ways I know I’d never have achieved alone… and I have laughed a whole lot along the way. Self employment isn’t lonely with a business bestie like Jess!!
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Dr Tom Nicholson
Public Speaker
I'd literally struggle to run my business at all without the support that you give and i would be nowhere near as successful without your input. I am so thankful to have your support