With more than 16 years’ experience working in different industries and across multiple departments, Natalie Barker understands resource challenges all too well. Whether it’s admin, property, purchasing, operations, financial or marketing tasks, it can often seem like there’s neither the time nor the personnel to get things done. That’s why she’s launched M&M Business Support, providing virtual assistance to those in need. It was a personal as much as a professional decision.

“I feel like it’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a number of years since my first child was born,” said Natalie, who’s based in Grasmere. “I think Covid has made it more normal in terms of the way that everybody is working now. To be able to provide support when business owners are stretched themselves or they’ve got gaps in their team is a fantastic way of being able to help people.”

Natalie spent nine years in management, including leading teams remotely across four UK counties and working in Europe as an SME. With her broad experience, she feels qualified to offer help in different areas. “I hope my experience in management and resource delivery through my teams, but also myself on the ground, means that I’ve got proven evidence that I can understand, for example, the need for a retailer to have their orders on the website be delivered effectively,” she said. “It’s something I’ve absolutely done.

“In just over eight years of purchasing experience in supply chain and buying I developed a passion finding inefficiencies and cost savings and exploring different ways of increasing that profit margin. My more recent experience in the tourism and accommodation sector has been more around the customer experience and service delivery. I feel like there’s been two halves of my career to date. This is the third chapter as a virtual assistant.”

The beauty of the service is its flexibility, with Natalie happy to provide as much or as little help as is needed. “I’ve had fantastic feedback so far,” she said. “I’ve started to do a lot of networking with local businesses but I’m absolutely able to help and support nationally. One of the clients I’ve just taken on works in communications in London.”

With two small children – Molly, five, and Magnus, nearly two – after whose initials the business is named, Natalie wanted a better work-life balance. “Being able to be a little bit more flexible and have a little bit more control over when I work was definitely a factor in setting up my own business,” she said. “I can see my children growing up in an instant so it’s really important to be able to have that balance. This is about building something for myself, rather than an employer, and proving to myself that I’m able to do that. It’s something for me but also being able to help people out.”

While currently covering a wide range of areas, Natalie acknowledges that she may need to scale back. “I think I’ve become a bit of a Jack of all trades in my career,” she said. “It means that I can be a bit of a one-stop shop. Over time, it may be that I develop a bit more of a niche but it means at the moment, I can help with a variety of tasks and projects, which hopefully means that I can be a multi-faceted resource.”

In terms of the future, while there’s no set plan, there are overall aims. “I certainly want to build up a regular client base to be able to develop a reputation for being a problem-solving, solution-finding, flexible resource,” said Natalie. “Over time, I’d like to be able to work with other virtual assistants as well; to be able to build up a bit of a network to really champion the way that this business model could operate for people.”