160+ businesses, and 146% growth: Wiltshire firm celebrates a decade of success

Wiltshire-based Boatman Admin Services, an award-winning virtual assistant, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month - marking the milestone with an impressive 146% increase in turnover. In 2015, Emma Boatman, Director, left the corporate world to launch Boatman Admin from a laptop at her kitchen table. Today, she leads a trusted multi-associate team, mentors other VAs, and has supported over 160 UK businesses by giving them back the time they need to succeed. 

Boatman and her carefully selected team are the invisible engine behind a client’s calm and growth, seamlessly integrating with solo founders and scaling businesses alike. They work across industries as varied as design, law, financial services, and even artisan chocolate. 

The company’s evolution from solo venture to team of five accelerated during the pandemic, when the furlough scheme led to increased demand and the introduction of her associate model.  

Boatman, Director, comments: “In the early days, I had zero confidence. I’d spent years in pharma support roles, but I didn’t believe I could make it my own. Then I just saw a gap; my accountant needed help, and I thought maybe I could fill it.” 

She continues: “When you give five hours to a VA, you’re getting five hours back yourself. For strategy, growth, or the headspace it takes to run a business (or even to just live life!) Our clients know that’s an investment, not an expense.” 

Boatman herself has been recognised with a #ialso100 Award at the House of Lords, shortlisted for VA of the Year in the South West, and named one of the region’s Most Inspiring Women by The Business Exchange. 2024 also saw Boatman Admin introduce an Online Business Manager (OBM) service for clients, offering management-level support and stopping bottlenecks. 

She adds: “Being a VA goes well beyond just having a laptop – there’s process, structure, insurance and onboarding. Growing to a team of trusted associates has been invaluable – as Steve Jobs says, ‘great things in business are never done by one person.  They’re done by a team of people’.” 

Clients have worked Boatman Admin for many years, with the founding client, Swindon Will Writing, still on the books a decade later. “One of our clients’ own customers assumed I was an employee,” Boatman adds. “To me, that’s the gold standard, blending in so seamlessly we’re part of the fabric.”  

This milestone coincides with a growing shift in how local businesses manage their operations. As hybrid working becomes embedded in day-to-day practice, many are reassessing how they access support.