Welcome to Uppercase VA and thank you for dropping by.
My Story
I’m Shirley and my virtual assistant business was born from my genuine love of helping people and seeing others thrive. I describe myself as a professional ‘de-guddler’, by which I mean I can help bring calm to the chaos that comes with running a business or with the business side of your home life. Very often my clients come to me because they are overloaded with tasks – or struggling to find clarity within their own plans and goals. By helping them to de-guddle, I can bring a sense of calm to their work life, taking admin and other tasks off their hands and streamlining their processes to encourage productivity and efficiency over panic and confusion. I can also be the outsource for small companies with a task they simply haven’t the capacity to get done.
I have worked within a variety of industries over the years, including telephone answering and business centre management, business services and account management, translation, proofreading and language services and office management. But I had been looking for a way to continue to support other business owners and entrepreneurs while at the same time having a certain amount of freedom and flexibility in my own work life following redundancy caused by the Pandemic in 2020, and that’s how Uppercase VA was created.
By working remotely, I get to do the things I love – sharing the knowledge and skills that I’ve gained through practical experience, finding solutions to challenges and providing excellent customer service to both my clients and their clients in turn.
I pride myself on being empathetic, professional and resourceful – bringing a ‘can do’ attitude to every task I take on. If I can make your day easier, or take on a task that’s been troubling you, all the better. My aim is always to support you in creating success – be that launching a new product or service or simply getting an extra hour to spend with the family.
As an extension to this, one of my new services is support with Access to Work applications within the neurodivergent community and further specialist VA support once granted.
When I am not involved in de-guddling, researching, proofreading or virtually assisting, I’ll be at the gym, skiing, walking or spending some time with my family and friends. I am currently following an Open University course, Understanding Autism, which I am finding really interesting. I’m generally interested in sport, especially football, however certainly not golf, cricket or snooker! My home is just outside of Glasgow where I have lived since 1983 following my university and college days, having originally moved to Scotland from Chester as a child. Having studied languages, I love to travel and use these languages where I can, mostly in the skiing regions of France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland where, as a family, we have skied extensively since 1995.
Testimonials
For a number of years Shirley was both a gracious and formidable competitor. I was fortunate enough, eventually, to gain her vast experience and positive attitude into our business as our Office Manager and then quickly promoted to Operations Manager. For many years Shirley drove our operation forward developing our new sector covering clinics which became a market leader. Highly skilled in customer relationship management without a second thought of going the extra mile regardless of what was needed, Shirley always led from the front. It was a pleasure to work with her and have her part of our team.
– Chris Munro
Shirley is amazing at her job! She knows her way around people, she is excellent with the clients and does whatever it takes to help them. Shirley made sure the team of people she managed were on the same page and focused on our nuanced needs. The collaboration was very smooth, and her assistance definitely made a huge impact on our success. Shirley is always fast to respond, intelligent and comes up with creative solutions to difficult problems. All in, Shirley is exceptional at getting things done.
– Michael Brown
During Shirley's position at KBVO, she was looking after my account. She was a great help and understood my business and worked with us as a member of staff, she took phone calls and messages and organised my diary, as a busy couture dressmaker this was a great help for the business. I would be very happy to recommend Shirley for any other similar positions as a Virtual Assistant for companies.
– Mette Sølvtoft Baillie
I recently was fortunate enough to benefit from some guidance which Shirley was more than willing to share. I was beyond impressed by Shirley's thoroughness and abounding experience. She clearly knows her stuff and there is no question anyone seeking her services, will be in a very safe pair of hands.
– Hilary Kerr
I asked Shirley to help us out with enquiries and bookings for trainings we do. She picked up our complicated processes very quickly and ensured that everything was dealt with efficiently and effectively. Her attention to detail was impeccable, ensuring that our clients were in safe hands. I have no hesitation in recommending her services and will definitely come back to her should the need arise in the future.
– June Grindley
Working with Shirley as part of the Account Management team at Remploy I found her to be professional, approachable and someone who would be happy to assist any member of the team where possible. Many times I would find having a discussion with Shirley about how to approach a situation would help me to find solutions to mutual problems.
– Neil Cunningham
Shirley has an eye for detail and an intuitive and curious mind meaning that she will ask questions to bottom out a scenario for mutual benefit. My website required several proofread changes and her gracious approach meant that I could feel comfortable and rely on her grammatical and typographical amendments.
– Graeme McEwan
We worked directly with Shirley when she managed calls from our three clinics through clinic answer. Shirley was unflappable and really professional and efficient in supporting our business remotely. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to any business who need an experienced, intuitive and reliable VA who will give a really high calibre representation of their business online.
– Teresa Harvey
I have known Shirley for many years in her capacity as office manager/landlord in the early years, latterly line manager and friend. Focused, tenacious with excellent organisational, multi tasking and problem solving skills she is one of the most customer centric people I have ever met. With a keen eye for detail, numerate, flexible, analytical and self managing, she is a dedicated professional who communicates well at all levels, a motivating and supportive manager who leads and coaches by example and who believes in sharing best practice through clear communication. She is solutions driven and a hands on, “think outside the box” player who works especially well under pressure and manages to bring the best out of people. In short, she delivers an efficient and effective service, supporting operational and strategic needs, deploying people and resources effectively. Her friendly, approachable and professional manner meant it was always a pleasure to work with her.
– Keith Hudson