A financial services professional who has helped businesses overhaul processes and introduce AI technology is launching a new venture to help SMEs tackle the operational pressures that can hold back growth.
Experienced transformation and financial services professional Lianne Marsh (pictured) is launching a new business supporting companies across Stockport, Cheshire and the wider North West with the systems, processes and day-to-day workload that can consume business owners’ time.
Lianne will launch Alchemy VA Stockport and Cheshire East in November but rather than offering purely traditional administrative support, she plans to use her experience to work alongside growing businesses that need additional capacity but also want to examine how they work.
She said: “There comes a point for many growing businesses where the owner simply can’t continue doing everything themselves.
“Sometimes the answer isn’t just finding somebody to take tasks off their hands. It’s looking at the processes behind those tasks, questioning whether they still make sense and finding a more efficient way of doing things.
“That is the part I really enjoy – taking something that feels complicated or inefficient, creating structure around it and seeing it through to a solution.”
Lianne began her career with the Bank of New York before moving into stockbroking and subsequently financial planning with Ascot Lloyd.
She progressed from administration and paraplanning into leadership positions and eventually became responsible for a team of around 20 paraplanners, including training new starters and overseeing standards and processes.
Most recently, she moved into business transformation, helping review existing processes and identify where unnecessary steps could be removed. Lianne was heavily involved with the introduction of an AI meeting transcription and report writing software, from customising the out of the box software, to training the advisers and paraplanners, to tracking adoption and embedding the tool into existing processes.
Now Lianne is taking those skills into the SME market through her own Alchemy VA franchise.
Alchemy VA founder Suzy Sanders said: “Small business owners are often incredibly good at what they do, but as their businesses grow, processes that once worked can become inefficient and the day-to-day workload can start taking them away from the work that really needs their expertise.
“Lianne understands that challenge from both sides. She has the organisational and client-service skills you would expect from an experienced VA, combined with years of experience in transformation, process improvement, technology adoption and managing people. I think that combination will be hugely valuable to the businesses she works with across the North West.”
Lianne’s services will include developing processes and procedures, creating new-starter systems and toolkits, research and data gathering, project and event support, proofreading and publishing, content, marketing and social media.
She believes the increasingly broad role played by outsourced business support creates an opportunity for SMEs to access experienced professionals without immediately adding another permanent position.
“For me, good virtual support should be about becoming a trusted extension of a business,” added Lianne.
“I want to understand what a client is trying to achieve, identify where I can genuinely make their working life easier and then help them put the right support or structure in place.
Lianne chose to establish the business with Alchemy VA after deciding she wanted greater autonomy over her career while retaining the support and structure of an established organisation.
Initially operating independently, her ambition is to develop a team of associates within the next two to three years and ultimately create further flexible employment opportunities in the region.
For more information about Alchemy Virtual Assistance, their services, or franchise opportunities, visit www.alchemyva.co.uk or contact Lianne directly at [email protected]
