Member Article

Global expansion as Get Ahead welcomes first international franchisee in Australia

Virtual outsourcing agency Get Ahead is delighted to welcome its first international franchisee. Taryn Wynne will be running the Get Ahead Australia & New Zealand headquarters from her Sydney base.

Taryn has over 25 years of experience in a variety of business sectors. She is a qualified cost and management accountant with experience in several industries including consumer products, IT services, agriculture, hospitality and family businesses. Most recently, she was a Head of Finance and Shared Services in the Construction industry, before taking the leap to start her own business.

“I was introduced to Rebecca Newenham at Get Ahead by a mutual friend,” Taryn says. “I had already recognised the need to help small businesses in Australia and began working on how I could use my business expertise to make a difference. I appreciate how there are just not enough hours in the day for all the “noise” that goes with owning a business. I am also amazed daily by the people I meet who have the most fantastic skills but who don’t have a channel to use them as they don’t want a big corporate job. I aimed to join those two forces together and after speaking with Rebecca I realised that Get Ahead aligned exactly with that. Partnering with Get Ahead enabled me to benefit from an already established brand and launch into my home territory of Australia & New Zealand.”

Despite being on other sides of the world, Rebecca and Taryn soon realised that they have much in common. Both are passionate about supporting small businesses and empowering skilled freelancers to access flexible work. Rebecca says, “It’s been a pleasure welcoming new UK franchisees over the past few years, but I was aware that there were global opportunities for our business too. When a friend introduced me to Taryn, it felt like a great fit. I know our business is in safe hands with Taryn running our Australian Head Office. We are now actively looking for new franchisees to run different territories across Australia and New Zealand, as well as talented virtual experts to join her team.”

“Virtual assistants were already a well-known concept in Australia, even before Covid-19,” Taryn adds. “Many businesses are well aware of the value of outsourcing. Though there are also still people trying to do everything themselves as they think outsourcing is too expensive. I have been busy networking on and off-line to raise awareness of Get Ahead and the seamless service we can offer local businesses, as well as building my local team. I am committed to keeping our team of virtual experts local and not using offshore VAs. There are so many talented people right here in Australia. My role is to connect them with the right clients so that they can both achieve success.”

2021 is shaping up to be a milestone year for Get Ahead. Alongside welcoming the first international franchisee, the business has welcomed new franchisees in England and been shortlisted in several national awards, including the HSBC British Franchise Awards 2021. Rebecca concludes, “I continue to be amazed by the tenacity and enthusiasm of my franchisees and I thoroughly enjoy mentoring them all. With regional directors in Berkshire & North Hants, East Midlands, Leeds, Oxford, Suffolk & Essex, Surrey, West London, Wirral & Cheshire West, York and Harrogate, we are well equipped to provide effective outsourced services to businesses across the UK. I am excited about this first step of our global journey and looking forward to supporting Taryn as she develops Get Ahead in Australia & New Zealand over the next few months.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Caroline Saunders .