Helping female founders turn business growth into a business that works for them

About me

I've been where you are...

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I'm Lisa, founder of Virtually By Your Side, and a Business Operations & Growth Partner for female

founders of growing businesses. I've experienced what it's like to build a business from the ground

up, watch demand grow, build a team and reach the point where the way you've always done

things simply isn't enough anymore.

I know that growth isn't always as glamorous as it sounds. More clients, more opportunities and a

growing team can bring more complexity, more decisions and, eventually, more pressure on the

person at the centre of it all.

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I've been there myself.

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From the Royal Ballet to building a national business

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My career journey has been anything but conventional.

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I began my professional life as a dancer with the Royal Ballet. When an injury brought my performing career to an unexpected end, I moved into teaching ballet before taking my first steps into the corporate world.

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I quickly discovered a natural talent for sales, customer service and relationship building, but I missed the creativity, challenge and sense of purpose I'd experienced through dance.

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So, in 2007, I took a leap and started my own business.

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What began as a small home dog-boarding business became Wagging Tails - an award-winning national franchise network with branches across the UK and a team of almost 400 people.

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And as the business grew, so did the complexity.

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I learnt what it really takes to grow

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Over 17 years, I wore just about every hat imaginable.

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From franchising, marketing and business development to customer service, team management, operations and strategic planning, I gained first-hand experience of what it takes to build and scale a successful business.

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I learnt that growth isn't simply about getting more customers.

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It's about building the systems, processes and people around you to support that growth.

It's about knowing when the way you've always done things needs to change.

It's about learning to delegate, building a team you can trust, creating structure, improving processes and making strategic decisions - while resisting the temptation to keep doing everything yourself.

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And, perhaps most importantly, it's about recognising when you've reached the point where you can't be the person everything depends on anymore.

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That's the tipping point I understand so well.

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Why Virtually By Your Side?

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As my own business grew, I found myself increasingly drawn to supporting other entrepreneurs.

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I loved helping business owners step back from the day-to-day chaos, see the bigger picture, work out what needed to change and turn their ideas into practical action.

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That passion eventually led me to train as an accredited mindset coach, giving me another way to help founders navigate the self-doubt, overwhelm and challenges that can come with growing a business.

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But what I really love is being the person beside a founder when their business has reached that next stage - when they know they have something special, but the way they're running it is starting to feel unsustainable.

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That's where Virtually By Your Side comes in.

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Today, I work with female founders whose businesses are growing faster than their current systems, processes and capacity can comfortably support.

I help bring clarity to what's not working, strengthen operations, support teams and turn growth opportunities into practical action.

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I'm not here to tell you how to run your business from the sidelines. I've built and grown my own business, managed a large team and experienced the challenges that come with growth first-hand.

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I bring that experience, together with a practical, strategic and deeply personal approach, to help you move through your next stage of growth with greater clarity, confidence and control.

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My approach

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I intentionally work with a small number of clients so I can become genuinely immersed in their business and understand not just what they need help with, but where they're trying to go.

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I'm not interested in adding more complexity to your business. I'm here to bring clarity, structure and calm.

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Sometimes that means stepping back and looking at the bigger picture.

Sometimes it means helping you work out what needs to change.

Sometimes it means getting your team working more effectively or putting better systems and processes in place.

And sometimes it means rolling up my sleeves and helping you make it happen.

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My goal is simple: to help you build a business that works smarter, not harder — one that can grow without everything continuing to depend on you.

Because sometimes, the biggest difference you can make in your business is simply having the right person by your side.​