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We write about the hidden mechanics of how businesses run and why things often feel harder than they should. Explore our latest thinking on clarity, structure and the execution that keeps ambition moving.
26 April 2026 • Women in Business
Outsourced vs Fractional Support: What the Difference Really Is and Why It Affects Pricing
As organisations grow, the question is rarely whether support is needed.It is how that support is structured. One of the most common points of confusion…
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2 March 2026 • Women in Business
It Takes a Village — But Not the One You Think
International Women’s Day 2026 There’s a line often used in parenting: it takes a village to raise a child. In business, the equivalent is rarely…
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5 February 2026 • Admin & Ops
How Systems Save Your Sanity (And Your Business)
Behind every calm and confident founder isn’t chaos held together by late nights and good intentions. TLDR: It’s structure. A simple set of systems doing the heavy lifting in the background so your decisions…
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26 April 2026
Outsourced vs Fractional Support: What the Difference Really Is and Why It Affects Pricing
As organisations grow, the question is rarely whether support is needed.It is how that support is structured. One of the most common points of confusion…
Read more2 March 2026
It Takes a Village — But Not the One You Think
International Women’s Day 2026 There’s a line often used in parenting: it takes a village to raise a child. In business, the equivalent is rarely…
Read more16 January 2026
A Change in Perspective
The Realities of Working Virtually One of the problems about working virtually is that you don't have your team just on the other side of the desk all the time. And…
Read more6 January 2026
New Year, Same Us – And Proud of It
With January comes that familiar pressure to reinvent yourself. New year, new me. The burden of "I must do… dry January. Healthy January. Veganuary. Clean…
Read more15 December 2025
2025: A Year in Review
At the start of each year, I chose a few words to shape how I wanted the year to progress. For 2025 those words were:…
Read more8 December 2025
The Perfectionist Trap: How to Stop Overthinking Before It Stops You
Overthinking every email? Editing proposals three times? You’re not alone.
Read moreWomen in Business
View all26 April 2026
Outsourced vs Fractional Support: What the Difference Really Is and Why It Affects Pricing
As organisations grow, the question is rarely whether support is needed.It is how that support is structured. One of the most common points of confusion…
Read more2 March 2026
It Takes a Village — But Not the One You Think
International Women’s Day 2026 There’s a line often used in parenting: it takes a village to raise a child. In business, the equivalent is rarely…
Read more15 December 2025
2025: A Year in Review
At the start of each year, I chose a few words to shape how I wanted the year to progress. For 2025 those words were:…
Read moreAdmin & Ops
View all5 February 2026
How Systems Save Your Sanity (And Your Business)
Behind every calm and confident founder isn’t chaos held together by late nights and good intentions. TLDR: It’s structure. A simple set of systems doing the heavy lifting in the background so your decisions…
Read more15 December 2025
2025: A Year in Review
At the start of each year, I chose a few words to shape how I wanted the year to progress. For 2025 those words were:…
Read more8 December 2025
The Perfectionist Trap: How to Stop Overthinking Before It Stops You
Overthinking every email? Editing proposals three times? You’re not alone.
Read more1 December 2025
The Hidden Cost of Growth
It’s not money – it’s your energy. We ask our founder, Melissa, how she protects it.
Read more25 November 2025
What We’ve Rebuilt — And Why It Matters
A few weeks ago, I shared a reflection after a season of change. 18 months of introversion where we'd known we had more to give,…
Read more21 November 2025
5 Time-Saving Tips for Female Founders: Survive the Christmas Chaos
Because festive chaos doesn’t have to mean burnout, here’s how female leaders are rewriting the rules of work-life balance this season. The festive season is…
Read more5 November 2025
We've been quiet – and here's why
There’s a particular kind of silence that doesn’t come from lack of ideas, but from the weight of too many. Or the weight of too…
Read more1 September 2025
The September Reset: How to Refocus Without the Burnout
There's something about the back-to-school energy that fuels productivity – especially for founders. It's an opportunity to step back, reset and move with purpose into…
Read more18 August 2025
Founders: If You Want Growth, Stop Treating Marketing Like a To-Do List
By a Head of Marketing who’s been in the room (and the chaos). Let’s get to the point: marketing is not just output. It’s not…
Read more13 August 2025
The Calm Behind the Chaos: Why Great Admin Support Is Your Answer
In the early days of building a business, chaos feels inevitable. You’re moving fast, wearing every hat, managing clients, answering emails at 10pm, and squeezing…
Read more22 July 2025
If AI Is Flattening Marketing, It’s Because We Flattened It First
Last week, I attended a brilliant session led by Edward David as part of the Goldman Sachs 10KSB alumni programme. We explored what it means…
Read more16 July 2025
A Modern Reset: Why the UK’s Parental Leave Review Matters
Earlier this year, the government quietly announced a review of the UK’s parental leave system. For many, it barely made a ripple in the news…
Read more9 July 2025
Why Our Team’s Backgrounds Make All the Difference at sparemytime
When people ask what sets sparemytime apart, we often start with the people who make up our team. Not just because they’re talented (they are),…
Read more8 July 2025
Why Embracing Real Life at Work Makes Us a Better Business
This week, like so many parents, I’ve been juggling orthodontist appointments, sports days, school discos, leavers' assemblies and the usual stream of meetings and deadlines.…
Read more24 June 2025
Is It Time to Say Goodbye to Work-Life Balance?
After reading a thought-provoking LinkedIn post by The Times journalist Hannah Prevett (21 June) on work-life balance and her struggle to switch off, I found…
Read more18 June 2025
Fractional working isn’t just a trend. It's the future, and women are leading it.
This weekend’s Sunday Times article on the rise of fractional working sparked a wave of messages in my inbox. And understandably so. It’s officially hit…
Read more28 May 2025
The Hidden Trap of Being Good at Everything
Why high-achievers often stand in their own way – and what to do about it. I'm pretty good at most things. Actually, I'd say I…
Read more28 May 2025
Hiring Mistakes To Avoid
10 painful lessons from hiring the hard way — and the smarter path we’ve found. Hiring is hard. We’ve made enough mistakes to prove it. …
Read more30 April 2025
The Motherhood Penalty: Why the future of work must be family first
Most of the gender pay gap is caused by the motherhood penalty. As Joeli Brearley (founder of Pregnant Then Screwed) reminded everyone at the HR…
Read more22 April 2025
Three Months In – A Reality Check from the Founder’s Seat
If you’d asked me in January how Q1 would feel, I’d have said exciting, full of momentum, ready to smash the year ahead. And don’t…
Read more25 March 2025
The End of an Era… And the Start of Something Even Bigger
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind. A year of pushing ourselves, refining what we do, and being brutally honest about who we are…
Read more14 March 2025
Our Business Spring Clean Checklist
Spring isn’t just about longer days and fresh air – it’s the perfect time to step back, reassess and reset your business for the year. As a founder, it’s easy to get sucked into the daily to-do list without questioning whether we could be working smarter rather than harder.
Read more7 March 2025
We’ve won another award… here’s our secret!
Someone recently contacted me to congratulate us on our recent award win and asked ‘How do you keep winning awards?’. The answer is simple… but…
Read more25 February 2025
Cash Flow Survival: The Founder’s Guide to Staying in Control
Cash flow is the one single issue that will stop your business right in its tracks. It is the one thing that, if poorly managed, will make you fail.
Read more19 February 2025
The Content Trap: Why more isn't always better
Content fatigue is real, and it's killing your brand. We’ve all heard it: content is king. Post more. Blog more. Email more. Keep pushing content out into the world, and you’ll grow your audience, drive leads, and build your brand. Except… that’s not how it works anymore.
Read more10 February 2025
Scaling Up Without Breaking Down: The Truth About Sustainable Growth
Scaling a business is exciting and exhilarating—until it isn’t. I came across a terrifying, yet unsurprising, fact: 70% of scaling businesses fail. Seventy percent!
Read more5 February 2025
The secret to scaling? Hiring smart, not fast
Growing a business is thrilling, but let’s be real, it can also be challenging. When you’re overstretched and your to-do list starts looking endless, it can be tempting to hire quickly to lighten the load. But here’s the reality: rushing recruitment just to fill a gap can often create more problems than it solves.
Read more29 January 2025
Why I realised I’m not doing enough for women in business
For most people looking in on SpareMyTime would say, as I believed, that we're making a difference. I'm a working mother and female founder of a business built to employ mothers. Our whole foundation is built on making it possible for women to embrace a career and raise a family. TBH I've got a few awards to prove the point. So why then do I feel that I'm not doing enough for women in business?
Read more28 January 2025
Fractional teams: the new model set to transform startup success
As we step into 2025, I want to share something a little different—a mix of resolutions, reflections, and hard-earned lessons from the past year. Not just as a leader, but as someone who’s in the trenches, learning alongside you.
Read more21 January 2025
Why We Sack Clients (And Why You Should Too)
Yup, you read that right. At SpareMyTime, we sack clients. It’s not fun. It’s not easy. And, honestly, it feels horrible every single time. But here’s the thing: I 100% recommend it.
Read more14 January 2025
Our Key Trends for Startups and Scaleups in 2025
At SpareMyTime, I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with countless inspiring businesses and visionary founders since 2020. Witnessing their journeys has been incredible. As we look ahead to 2025, here are the top three trends we believe will shape the startup and scale-up landscape.
Read more6 January 2025
What kind of New Year-er are you?
By the time New Year rolls around, we’ve survived the chaotic rush of Christmas and trudged through the no man’s land of Twixtmas only to be faced with the enormity of a whole new year to plan for and execute. It’s no surprise many of us feel rather uninspired.
Read more10 December 2024
Looking Back at 2024: A Year of Transformation and Growth
As the year draws to a close, December always brings a time of reflection and planning. For SpareMyTime, 2024 has been a year of incredible transformation. Our first few years were filled with momentous growth – rather like being in charge of a rocket with no manual.
Read more3 December 2024
Fractional Working: The future of smart business growth
The way we work is changing. Businesses are under pressure to grow, stay competitive, and adapt to unpredictable economic climates—all while managing rising employment costs…
Read more19 November 2024
Why buying a Christmas gift for your clients is more than just a kind gesture
It’s official – Christmas season 2024 is well and truly upon us. The first Christmas trees have started to appear in living room windows, and…
Read more1 November 2024
How to Outsource Like a Pro
Outsourcing is scary. On one hand, it unlocks growth, but if it goes wrong… it's costly! I've made tons of mistakes—both outsourcing and being outsourced…
Read more29 October 2024
Work smarter, not harder: Top tips to boost productivity
In today's fast-paced world, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by a never-ending to-do list. But by implementing a few simple strategies, you can significantly boost…
Read more15 October 2024
Navigating the AI era: How to use AI to its full potential
Our top tips for using AI in the workplace…Chances are, you're already using AI more often than you realise. From the personalised recommendations on your…
Read more9 September 2024
We Got a 1-Star Review on Google, and Here’s Why
No one really shares the messy bits of running a business, especially when things start to grow. The internet becomes devoid of mistakes made by…
Read more14 August 2024
Change is afoot at SpareMyTime
We're having a busy year…As you may know, I spent the first half of the year attending the Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses Programme. It…
Read more24 July 2024
From Shortlisted to Speechless: Winning the Inspirational Womxn Award!
We've only gone and won an award!Last week, I swapped my usual routine for something a little more glamorous. Donning my finest attire I headed…
Read more9 July 2024
How Can a Founder's Associate Help Your Business Soar?
Unveiling the Rise of The Founder's AssociateStarting a business is far from easy. Founders find themselves wearing countless hats – from product development and customer…
Read more27 June 2024
A Day in the Life of a Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant
Guest Blog: A glimpse into the day in the life of a Bookkeeping Virtual Assistant…. Lisa Murphy came to SpareMyTime four years ago after realising…
Read more3 May 2024
Taming the Chaos: Our Favourite Planning Apps for Small Businesses
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by to-do lists and scattered deadlines, you’re not alone. My to-do list can often get me tangled up in knots and…
Read more19 March 2024
Embracing Neurodiversity: A Personal and Professional Commitment
It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week! At SpareMyTime we believe in the strength of diversity, not just as an idea, but as the very essence of who…
Read more17 February 2024
10 Tips to achieve the best results from your virtual assitant
I get asked a lot how to achieve the best results from your virtual assistant. Like all relationships, it will take a bit of time to get to know your…
Read more8 February 2024
5 Important Reasons Why You should Apply for Business Awards
And the winner is…OK, so there’s no denying it – putting your business or indeed yourself forward for an award can feel uncomfortable. Nobody likes…
Read more31 October 2023
5 Important Reasons to get Virtual Assistant Support with LinkedIn
For many entrepreneurs and business owners, maintaining an active and engaging LinkedIn profile can be a daunting and time-consuming task. The demands of daily operations, client…
Read more18 August 2023
48% of UK companies outsource work in 2023, with an increase of 41% since the pandemic
Analysing datasets from Deloitte, IBISWorld and YouGov, SpareMyTime reveals that global spending on outsourcing could hit £571 billion by the end of the year, with nearly half (48%) of UK companies now outsourcing their work. These figures show a huge acceleration since the pandemic, growing 41% since 2019.
Read more17 August 2023
Melissa Reveals Six Reasons Why Outsourcing is a Better Solution than Hiring in 2023
As businesses embark on the journey of scaling up, their needs inevitably shift, demanding increased capacity in different areas. Here are my 6 reasons to…
Read more18 May 2023
5 Things To Look Out For When Hiring A Virtual Assistant
Hiring a virtual assistant has become an increasingly popular resource for businesses of all sizes and industries. Virtual assistants can provide a wide range of…
Read more9 May 2023
Everything You Need To Know About SEO Marketing
If you own a website it is very likely you have heard of SEO. SEO (short for search engine optimization) is one of the most…
Read moreLet’s Get Started
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The hidden mechanics of how growth-stage businesses actually run.
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