Hello Reader, The next edition of the Espresso AI newsletter goes out on Thursday, and I wanted to give you a little preview of what paid subscribers will receive. The May issue will include: 1. A simple prompt for making big business decisions If you’ve ever gone round in circles over a serious business decision, this provides a structured way to use AI to help risk assess and stress-test the implications without it hijacking the outcome or telling you to just go for it.2. A thoughtful task...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Hello - and happy Thursday!I’m just back from a great couple of days up north where I spoke at the first Manchester VA Conference.My session was all about confidence and how it doesn’t usually appear before growth - it tends to come because of it.I’ve actually really struggled with confidence over the years, and still regularly do.Most of us are waiting to feel fully ready before we put ourselves out there, raise our prices, pitch ourselves or take the next step… but growth rarely works like...
14 days ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, After a hectic couple of weeks of travel and events (and more lined up for next week!), this week has been all about getting my head down and cracking on. As much as I love getting out and about, meeting people and learning new things, there’s nothing quite like time working ON my own business and moving things forward.This weekend is a Bank Holiday in the UK (hurrah!) so we get an extra day to spend as we please. My children are away with their dad, so I’ll mostly be playing...
21 days ago • 2 min read
Good morning - and happy Thursday! It has certainly been a whirlwind three weeks since I picked up the reins at The VA Handbook HQ and as I was writing this, it occurred to me how much of it was about community. Last week I spent three days at Oxford University for the Goldman Sachs 10KSB programme I’m currently participating in, and a huge part of that was about building connection with other business owners who are running small but mighty organisations. There’s no bonding experience quite...
28 days ago • 2 min read
Good afternoon, The April edition of the Espresso AI newsletter goes out on Thursday, and I wanted to give you a preview of what existing subscribers will receive. As mentioned in the sale announcement, while I’m now the proud new owner of The VA Handbook, Jo will continue to write the popular monthly Espresso AI newsletter. This Thursday’s edition will include: 1. The darker side of AI Last week, a reader sent Jo a link to a whistleblower interview on Diary of a CEO about the darker side of...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
No, that isn’t a typo. I've just sold the VA Handbook to a graduate of my DIY VA course and someone I greatly admire. I know this may come as a surprise, so let me explain why I made this decision, who I chose to pass the reins to, and what happens next. Wow, that’s unexpected. Why did you decide to sell the company, Jo? There are many reasons why I decided now was the right time for me to move on. First, while I am phenomenally proud of everything I have built, after spending 17 years in the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Good morning! Last week, I celebrated the tenth anniversary of my VA Handbookers Facebook group. A whole decade! As I was replying to all the lovely congratulatory comments, I realised how many of the VAs have been in the group since the early days, and how I've watched their careers and lives change over the years. I've seen them grow teams, open agencies, have children, move countries, and even change the direction of their business to become OBMs or social media managers. I've also had the...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Good morning! It seems that spring has finally sprung. The daffodils are out, the days are getting longer, and the weather is getting slightly warmer. However, I'm still being cautious because: I live in Scotland. I've been fooled before. I have another couple of recommendations for you this week. Wispr Flow I'm writing this week's newsletter using Wispr, which is a free voice-to-text app that came recommended by a friend. As someone who doesn't touch type and is trying to mitigate RSI, it's...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Greetings from bonnie Scotland! This week's edition is a little different from usual. I've come across two things recently that changed how I plan my personal and professional lives, and I wanted to share them with you. The first is a phenomenally insightful YouTube video by Daniel Pink. At first, I was like "Urgh, New Year shizz, same old, same old", but I hit play and discovered the content was different from any other planning advice I've come across. It's 26 minutes of absolute gold dust....
2 months ago • 2 min read
Greetings from a breezy but beautiful Scotland! The March issue of my Espresso AI newsletter goes out on Thursday, and, as usual, I wanted to share a preview of what the existing subscribers will receive. This month’s issue covers: 1. The OpenAI furore You’ve likely seen the headlines about OpenAI's recent political donations and lobbying, and by the looks of my LinkedIn feed, everyone and their Mum is either switching to Claude or at least has an opinion on the subject. In this month's...
2 months ago • 1 min read