Introducing Heidi Oliver, Founding Director!
It was the start of the recession in 2006, and it was time to move house as I was expecting my second child. Unexpectedly, quite out of the blue, I was made redundant from a position I had been in for five years.
With over 30 years’ experience working with senior corporate directors across a multitude of sectors, I felt there was a gap for outsourced administrative and operational support.
Following my redundancy and a great deal of research, it appeared to my business partner and I that many companies were finding it hard to cover the overheads of in-house staff. Absolutely Admin could offer them the perfect solution, by providing a service to cover the odd hour here and there, meaning they would only need to…
‘Pay for the time it takes, not the coffee breaks!’
We started with an amazing lead into a marketing company owned by Mary Portas, an English retail consultant and broadcaster, known for her retail and business-related television shows, ‘Queen of Shops’. We worked alongside Mary, monitoring all publication subscriptions globally, arranging promotional events and staff events, including a fabulous Christmas office party in a plush hotel in Hertfordshire.
We had a number of high profile contacts, and by recommendation we were offered the opportunity to organise a charity auction for the annual Duke of Essex Polo Event held in Epping, Essex. It was a most enjoyable day, with the added benefit of networking with many local businesses and introducing them to the service Absolutely Admin could offer. The event also gave author & entrepreneur Katie Price the perfect stage to promote her new equestrian clothing range. We were delighted to be tasked with the challenge of auditioning & appointing male and female models for Katie’s celebrity, equestrian Fashion Show.
We went on to attract a portfolio of clients both locally and further afield who we built a great rapport with.
As my business partner’s maternity leave came to an end, she received an offer she could not refuse and made the difficult decision to move away from Absolutely Admin, back to her role in the City. We had managed to secure several contracts by this time, so Absolutely Admin was on the look for out an extra pair of hands.
It was tough at first, however I thrive when presented with a challenge and am proud to say I managed to source a fantastic team of like-minded female professionals, with similar backgrounds in different sectors. Together we continued to deliver the high-level administrative support our clients required.
With a great team behind me, and my continued drive and ambition, I managed to secure even more contracts, both big and small. In 2008 we became an approved supplier for Bloomberg TV. It was an amazing opportunity for us to work with such a high-profile organisation creating Bloomberg TV production transcriptions.
Our portfolio of clients just kept growing and now consists of a mixture of multi-national corporates, not-for-profit membership organisations, and small business owners. We have the pleasure of doing everything for them from building and maintaining effective CRM systems to organising and hosting large scale conferences.
There are many people who inspire me, but no more so than the passionate entrepreneurs and business leaders featured in the shows we transcribe on behalf of Bloomberg TV. It is truly amazing to hear how some of these huge organisations started in a garage or college dorm, very similar to the story behind Absolutely Admin.
It is a pleasure for Absolutely Admin to play a significant part in assisting our clients in the development & expansion of their businesses, allowing us to take ownership of their operational needs, which in turn enables the client to focus on what they do best.
