Hannah Edwards, of Empowered VA Services, is looking forward to a busy October!

OCTOBER is here! It’s Q4 and one of the key business moments is, of course, Halloween (or at last for some businesses).

Today we’re talking to Hannah Edwards of Empowered VA Services. Hannah is a virtual assistant and social media manager based in Swindon. She helps small businesses gain back their time by doing the tasks that they hate so that they can concentrate on the big picture work.

What’s coming up for your business/organisation in Q4? Milestones, events, anniversaries?
Today I’m holding a fundraiser with Kevin Griffiths of Basepoint Business Centre in support of my client Paul Day of Filestream who is running the London Marathon in April 2025 in aid of Helen and Douglas House.

We’ll also be looking at holding further events to support him in his bid to blast his target of £2500!

I’ll also be supporting my client Fiona Scott at the Great British Expos. Fiona takes a stand at them and I get to meet a lot of new people!

In my own business I’ll be looking at what has worked for me this year and working out how I can expand on that to grow more and how I can adjust or stop what hasn’t work in my business to streamline the processes even more!

October represents several awareness months. Are any of these relevant to you or your business?
For me personally, October is Black Cat Awareness Month and is also the anniversary of my having Rox, my gorgeous black cat for two years. He’s still very much a kitten who likes to make sure that I’m awake early ready for work!

Are you doing anything in October for charity or for a community or volunteer project?
I’ll be planning more fundraising events in support of my client Paul Day as mentioned above. And for a cheeky push if you do want to donate to his run you can head to https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/paul-day

Did you know October 10 is World Mental Health Day – how important is this subject in your business and in your life? Why?
As a business owner, I find that it can sometimes be difficult to balance business and rest and I know that when my mental health slips, it’s because I’m doing too much in the business and not getting enough rest. I’ve been trying to ensure that I reclaim my evenings and weekends. I have an alarm set on my phone so that I can make sure I am shut down by the same time every night and if I do work the weekends, it’s either first thing on a Saturday morning or prep on a Sunday evening for the week ahead.

Last year I completed the First Aid for Mental Health course offered by John Lewis to ensure that I have the tools at hand to support my clients, family and friends if needed.

Some ‘quirky’ moments this month are:

*National Poetry Day – Oct 6
*World Handbag Day – Oct 10
*Do Something Nice Day – Oct 5
*Apple Day – Oct 21
*Pumpkin Day – Oct 26

If any of these resonate with you – tell us why? Do you have a huge collection of handbags for example?
I love that World Handbag Day and World Mental Health Day are on the same day! I do have a rather large collection of handbags and I’m now growing my collection of laptop bags too! Nothing makes me feel better than buying myself a new bag – or pulling one out of the collection and being asked if it’s new because people haven’t seen it before!

Clocks go back this month – an extra hour in bed – 2am on Sunday October 27? How do you see ‘time’ in your business or organisation?
In a way my business is all about time. It’s helping you reclaim your time to focus on the big picture work or get more time with your family by giving me the tasks that dominate your task list. I love hearing my clients reaction after a few months of working with me when they start to properly notice that they haven’t had a late work day or been double booked or have managed to spend some time having lunch with a friend!

October 30 will be the day when our new government’s first Budget is announced? What are your feelings about this? What are you hoping for? What, if anything do you fear?
I have mixed feelings. I’m happy that we’ve had a change in government because it really was time for someone new to come in and start to make a difference but when I see my clients being let down time and time again by the decisions made in the budget i.e. the lack of social care funding that will affect us all at some point – makes me sad. It’s time we had a government who cared about all of us and I’m hoping this new one is the one for the job!

And finally, tell us one thing you love about the autumn/winter months? 
I love the cosiness of the dark evenings. I’m an extremely avid reason and I love to sit under a blanket on the sofa and read my books. I also love how business owners are with each other doing the extra check ins on those who suffer from S.A.D. and really struggle with the dark nights and early mornings.

For more information visit www.empoweredvaservices.co.uk