PA and beyond
chauffeuring & concierge company fulfilling the needs of celebrities INTERVIEW
For Amelia Adkins, working as a PA meant looking after every aspect of a leading insolvency firm – now she runs a specialist
I STARTED MY WORKING LIFE AS A ... While in Sixth Form I was a part-time gymnastics instructor at a local leisure centre, teaching the basics to 4 – 16 year olds. I had planned to go to University, even though I was still pretty undecided as to what I ultimately wanted to do, but thanks to appendicitis I missed my A level exams. I say ‘thanks’ because, although devastated at the time, it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. It made me determined to do well, regardless of the fact that I didn’t have a higher education. I wanted a job where I could dress smartly, go to work in a busy office and continue my education in ‘real life’. After a short stint in event manage- ment, I got the job as a PA at Begbies Traynor, a leading insolvency firm.
MY CAREER PROGRESSED LIKE THIS... I joined Begbies Traynor at age 19 as PA
to two people and looked after all aspects of their business and personal lives. Over the next two years I learned so much –more than I think I would have at University – about real-life communica- tions, people and situation handling. You have to bear in mind that Begbies Traynor is an insolvency practice, so I was often dealing with people who had lost their businesses (and often much more) and who were obviously emotional as a result. I not only learned the basics about insolvency but was soon also able to iden- tify common mistakes that had led busi- nesses to that point. Two years later, aged 21, I was promoted to Office Man- ager, at a time when Begbies was expand- ing. I managed the opening of additional new offices, organised all the operational aspects of the business – from telecoms to staff induction – and ended up man- aging five offices around the UK. I thank Begbies Traynor for its trust in me and for giving me the opportunity to develop
skills for delivering a 1st class service, skills that certainly come in useful today!
I KNEW IT WAS TIME TO MOVE ON WHEN... After five years with Begbies Traynor, I had everything on an even keel – the offices were well-established and running smoothly but I was in a bit of a rut. By the time I returned from 18 months’ working my way around Australia and New Zealand, I knew exactly what it was – my entrepreneurial hunger wasn’t being sat- isfied. I joined what was then the UK’s largest independent chauffeuring com- pany, rising rapidly through its ranks to become Office and Client Services Man- ager before being appointed to its Board at just 25 years of age. Although I was able to work on improving service levels, and even gained my own chauffeuring licence, there wasn’t much scope for other devel- opments I was keen to implement, deliv- ering a more rounded service to clients,
2001 2003 2003 2004 2006 2009
Part-time gymnastics instructor
Missed A level exams thanks to appendicitis
Worked as an event manager
Went to work for Begbies Traynor as PA
Promoted to Office Manager
Went travelling to evaluate future options 22 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 |
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