After returning from maternity leave, Naomi Wachner wanted more flexibility in her career. With an established and experienced background in legal services, she looked into ways to transfer her skills remotely to other businesses and lawyers. With this in mind, Naomi founded Calibre Virtual Assistant Services, an outsourcing agency for business owners who are looking for high-quality administrative support. After 12 months in business, Naomi applied for Enterprising Worcestershire's Business Coaching initiative to help elevate and streamline her processes.

The journey to entrepreneurship

“I was inspired to start my business two years ago after the birth of my second child. I wanted to create something that would make me more present as a mother without sacrificing my identity as a businesswoman. Business owners have always inspired me, so I wanted to create something for them to help scale their businesses in a cost-effective way.”

How did business coaching help to establish the brand

Naomi was paired with two dedicated business coaches from Real World Consultancy to help her refine her vision and to help her establish her brand.

“Like most things that are worthwhile, running a business comes with its challenges. I hasten to add that, for me, the good has always outweighed the bad. One of the challenges I faced was knowing what to focus on in my business and when. I was so thrilled when I was able to qualify with fully funded business coaching from Worcestershire County Council's Enterprising Worcestershire initiative in November 2024. Working with two amazing business coaches who were able to help me to refine my strategy and vision helped me to create a step-by-step process so that I could reach my goals faster, as well as enabling me to streamline my onboarding process for associates.

“The coaching was fantastic and provided me with the clarity I needed to help me establish my core values and my vision. The coaching also helped me to be a lot more daring - ‘next year, apply for awards and see what happens’. I did just that and became a 'One to Watch' in the Woman who achieves Awards, and winner in the West Midlands Regional Awards for 'Start-up Businesswoman of the Year 2024'. That extra visibility gave me more credibility and showed that I'm a serious businesswoman and here to make a difference.”

Future Plans

“This is going to be a big year to become more established in my business community, increasing my visibility and helping more businesses to scale.”