Founder

Mary founded YAY in 2020 with a big dream and an even bigger personality – both of which have only grown over time. She’s now a CPD-accredited Online Operations Manager, and when she’s not working her magic with YAY clients and/or team members, she’s generally exploring the hottest new places to eat and drink, shopping for colourful homewares, or planning her next adventure. Put a scrunchie, a spicy marg and a plane ticket in a circle, and you’ll summon her pretty quickly…

Virtual Assistant

With 8 years of admin experience and 7 years of project management under her belt, Emma knows her way around a system and can colourcode a spreadsheet like nobody’s business. She started her Virtual Assistant journey because she wanted to travel more than her PTO allowed – and we love her for it! She’s a Crossfit enthusiast, gamer and coffee lover, second in command in her own home office to the real CEO, Frank the Labrador, and speaks Portugese. Boas-vindas!

Emma’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Set boundaries without guilt. Protect your time, energy, and mental space. Saying "no" to what drains you means saying "yes" to what matters.

Head of Creative

As YAY’s Head of Creative, Heather works with our creative clients and the team to ensure everything is aligned, and the big vision is coming to life. Heather’s a digital marketing and content queen, with experience in-house and agencyside, managing both client marketing and different channels for various passion projects on the side. In her free time, you’ll find her renovating her first house, chilling with her niece and nephew, drinking a marg (we like her style) or travelling somewhere new.

Heather’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Always keep your kindle on you for any moments of downtime or calm to catch up on your fave book.

Team member

Thanks to her brilliant creative vision and organisational abilities, Annie was YAY’s first ever hire. She loves making graphics and content creation, as well as good old fashioned admin bits. She’s a cat-loving, Prosecco-drinking sun enthusiast who loves balancing work with life, eating good food, and surrounding herself with amazing people. We stan.

Annie’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Before filling your calendar with work tasks, block off time for what makes you feel alive - morning walks, slow breakfasts, catching up with someone you love. Treat these moments like immovable meetings!

Team member

If you’re in a tech pickle, Katherine is your girl – specialising in scalable launching, she’s a tech expert (a techxpert?) who also has an OBM qualification and NLP coaching under her belt. She embraced the life-first business approach because she wanted to spend more time with her kids, and when she’s not working you can find her doing exactly that, watching Marvel films or playing video games.

Katherine’s top ‘life-first’ tip: say no to things that you don’t want to do, your business should be doing things you love.

Virtual Assistant

Kelly specialises in Virtual Assistance for neurodivergent individuals, with 15 years of experience and a background in marketing before that. She began her Virtual Assistant journey to have a better work-life balance, which in turn inspired her to help others do the same. With this balance, she enjoys travelling with her husband and 3 young boys in their caravan around the coasts of Scotland, as well as snowboarding in Europe. We’ll see you on the slopes, Kelly…

Kelly’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Embrace the outdoors, and exercise in nature. Your mental wellbeing will thank you for it!

Virtual Asisstant

Rhianna’s not just a virtual assistant but an ally in your business, with 15 years of experience across a number of diverse sectors. She prioritises finesse and fun in her work, bringing efficiency and warmth to everything she does. Beyond the business realm, you might find her with her nose in a book, listening to a podcast, brunching, playing Padel, or learning Spanish – maybe all five.

Rhianna’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Prioritise a chance of scenery when you can. Whether it’s a day in a new town or a weekend away, a change of scenery refreshes the mind.

Virtual Assistant & Social Media Manager

Shannon started working in social media and influencer marketing because it combined creativity and strategy, and soon found that she also loved supporting her clients with their everyday tasks too. She’s a people person through and through who loves building relationships and increasing communities – and when not at work, you can find her spending time with pals, surrounded by animals, or grabbing the mic at karaoke (What’s her signature song? we hear you ask. You’ll have to come on a YAY team night out to find out!)

Shannon’s top ‘life-first’ tip: It sounds cliche but life really is for enjoying and it’s the little things that count.

Virtual Assistant and Data Insights Analyst

If you’ve ever looked at a bunch of data and thought “God, I wish I knew what this meant”, may we introduce you to Livi, our virtual assistant and data insights analyst. She loves to creatively make sense of data through graphics, graphs and pretty colour schemes, so that business owners can have full visibility across their business. When she’s not nose-down in data, you can find her nose-down in one of her other passions: singing, baking, yoga-ing, or hanging out in Spain. 

Livi’s top ‘life-first’ tip:find some ‘casual magic’. Look for beauty in the mundane and everyday rather than holding out for the big exciting life experiences. 

Tech Virtual Assistant & Specialist

After years in the corporate world leading teams and building systems, Kate realised most companies make things more complicated than they need to be and decided to set up her own business helping female founders (and we’re grateful for it!) She specialises in tech and automation that do the heavy lifting, so your business doesn't rely on you doing everything manually. Outside of “working hours”, you’ll find her lifting weights, trying out new gadgets, cooking something banging in the kitchen, or deep-diving into woo-woo energy work.

Kate G’s top “life-first” tip: Schedule your rest like you schedule your work. Your brain needs a break, and your business will be better for it. Oh, and always buy the fancy coffee. Bad coffee is not an option.

Creative VA

As well as her years working in virtual assistance and social media management, Kate’s experience as someone with ADHD and as a former support worker for neurodivergent adults means she’s incredible at helping business owners run their businesses in a way that works for them. Inside work, she specialises in social media strategy and creation. Outside of work, she crochets, sews, surfs, and spends time with her six rescue animals – and would absolutely love to hear about your pets too.  

Kate T’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Schedule regular creative breaks in your calendar…making time for creativity without pressure keeps your client work fresh and inspired

Virtual Assistant

Rachel spent most of her career as the sole ‘back-office’ team member for high-growth businesses and start-ups, so she’s great at pivoting, context switching, and storming through a to-do list. She lives with her partner, their Cocker Spaniel, two bunnies, and a Bristle Nose Catfish, and can be seen zooming around the Cotswolds in Mitch, her yellow MINI. Fun fact: she’s completed 37 ultramarathons either as a participant or a volunteer!

Rachel’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Do something that scares you, that feels impossible or is unlike anything you’ve ever done before. Finding your ‘tough thing’ that gets you hugely outside of your comfort zone will show you that you’re capable of more than you ever imagined to be possible.

Virtual Assistant

All that glitters isn’t gold, but all that shines bright is our virtual assistant Jodie, who came into Virtual Assistance via a less-than-traditional route: silversmithing. Running her own jewellery brand taught her so much about marketing, branding, and all the behind-the-scenes magic that keeps a small business thriving, and following this newfound passion resulted in a career as a Virtual Assistant, where she helps small business owners sparkle shine (see what we did there?) When she’s not working, she’s still flexing those creative muscles, wandering around an art market soaking up inspiration, hiking or wild swimming.

Jodie’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Remember to spend time filling your cup with JOY rather than always trying to be productive.

creative marketing, especially supporting ND clients

In her own words, Zoë’s VA journey started ‘in true ADHD fashion’: feeling miserable in her corporate job, following her curiosity, and realising she could combine her love of spreading joy with tech and marketing to support fellow neurodivergent entrepreneurs. She is not just there to manage your BTS tasks: she’s also there to cheer you on, remind you to show self-compassion, and help you build your business without burning out. In her spare time, she’s a year-round sea swimmer and paddle boarder!

Zoë’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Take time to pause and recharge, and BE KIND to yourself. When life gets hectic, it’s easy to push through, but stepping back and giving yourself space to breathe will help you come back with more clarity and energy.

Virtual Assistant

Charley is your process and procedures pal. After years spinning plates within the charity and mental health sectors to find ways to best support people efficiently and effectively, becoming a VA and focusing on those areas felt like the natural (and exciting) next step. She gets so much joy from helping business owners achieve their goals: when you win, she wins! Charley enjoys being outside, whether that's chasing after her kids and dogs, or taking a calmer walk through the Norfolk countryside.

Charley’s top “life-first” tip:Take time out for yourself. If you are not taking time out to focus on your wellbeing and passions, you’re not the best version of yourself.

Virtual Assistant

Originally from South Africa but now living in Scotland (via a stint in Canada), Beverley enjoyed a 25-year career across office management, c-suite support, human resource development, project management, CRM management, and event management before becoming a virtual assistant. She’s always conscientious, professional, and makes an effort to got the extra mile. Alongside work, you can catch Beverley playing referee to a little person and a beloved four-legged friend, and planning her next travel adventure.

Beverley’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Be kind to yourself!

Virtual Assistant

For fabulous social media, Hollie’s your gal. After feeling burnt out in 9-5 jobs that didn’t fulfill her, she now spends her time making cool graphics, writing engaging captions, and generally making your social media look divine. When she’s not doing that, she might just be working on set for something secret and exciting…but you didn’t hear that from us.

Hollie’s top ‘life-first’ tip: Don’t forget to prioritise you. Building a business and chasing your passions is incredible, but so is your well-being. Get your 8 hours kip, step away from your phone when possible, and spend time outdoors. Your health fuels everything else!