‘Meet The Member’ is our blog series where we get to know the members of our business club a little better. In this post, we catch up with Ina Jeffrey, Savannah Rose – Virtual Assistant

Name, business name: Ina Jeffrey and I’m the founder of Savannah Rose – Virtual Assistant

Tell us about your businesses, the inspiration be-hind it and when you launched it? I’ve had a pretty rough couple of years in my personal life with the loss of my mum, 2 friends, my cats and dog all during Covid. I fell into a pretty dark hole and it took me a while to claw myself back into the light. At the beginning of last year I know that something had to change. I wanted to get out of the corporate jungle and run my own business. I’ve spent the last 25+ years (really showing my age here ha!) in various admin roles like PA, Office Manager, Customer Service, Operations just to name a few. Administration is in my genes….my mum was a secretary as long as I can remember so the most natural thing for me was to become a VA. With all the changes that have happened in the last few years, things going virtual, it was easy to get started. So I set up shop. Opened my website, my socials and just started.

 

Best piece of advice you were given at the start of your business journey? Build a strong foundation and be yourself!

 

What has been your biggest lesson/ challenge faced so far and how did you overcome it?Finding my voice and overcoming the fear of what others think. In the beginning I compared myself to other VA’s and then started to doubt myself. But I realised, that I needed to find my voice, my place and just do me. The most important thing is that I can support my clients and help them get capacity to focus on what’s important to them.

 

What is your number 1 business tip for success? Build a strong foundation and be patient (I know, it’s not one of my virtues either)

 

What are the big business goals for 2024? I want to continue to grow my business so I can help even more Neurodivergent business owners achieve their goals and get out of the overwhelm cycle when it comes to their admin. I want to spread more awareness around Access to Work and support clients with their applications.

 

How can the GGC Business membership help? GGC is an amazing platform. There are so many amazing small business owners on here, some might be potential clients, some I learn from and others I will buy from. It’s a fantastic and supportive network to have. Visibility is key, and GGC Business Membership helps with that. As I’m aiming to spread more awareness around A2W, having this network is priceless!

 

What’s the dream? Building an agency to support Neurodivergent Business owners not only with their administration but overall business support

 

Fave mantra to get you buzzed up for business? I believed I could….so I did

 

Shout out to another local business you admire?

Ohhhh there are so many. I have to give a shoutout to Zaria Young though… Also Sarah Stewart and Gemma Marjoribanks….absolute queens!!!! There are many many more, but I’ll be running out of time hahaha

 

Offer for GGC website members? I can offer GGC website members a 10% discount for the first 3 months if they sign up to a minimum of 10 hours per month.