SmartPA is the leading provider of outsourced administrative and PA support to businesses around the world.
Who are SmartPA?
SmartPA is a business support and administration franchise transforming the way professionals work. SmartPA Franchise Partners support their clients by remotely delivering a range of admin and business support solutions. Some will act as a virtual PA, while others may offer additional skills such as HR, finance or social media management.
Launched in 2013 offering remote administrative support to over 500 clients globally, demand for our services is growing and now is the perfect time to launch your franchise business under our SmartPA brand. We offer lifetime business support from the minute you sign up with us.
Our business equips you with all the tools you need to succeed, including an online CPD accredited training course to get you started and ongoing support from a dedicated team. When you join SmartPA as a franchisee, you become part of a supportive community of over 100 SmartPA Franchise Partners and can tap into a wealth of expertise and business knowledge. You’ll reap the rewards of flexible working and being your own boss, with all of the support and guidance you would gain from working in-house.
Why now?
More organisations than ever are relying on services provided by SmartPA. With that shift comes a golden opportunity. And that’s why now is the perfect time for you to successfully start your own virtual assistant business with SmartPA.
Founded by 2020’s Business Woman of The Year, Sarra Bejaoui, you’ll be joining a team of inspirational leaders and innovative thinkers.
Franchisees who work full-time earn, on average, between £84,000 and £120,000 each year (and those working part-time earn between £30,000 and £48,000 on average).
We don’t restrict you by geographic territory (work from anywhere in the world and have clients anywhere in the world). Our recurring revenue model means that you can secure repeat business, ensuring a stable source of income and limitless earning opportunities.
SmartPA have worked with brands such as Google, Krispy Kreme and BBC. Launching your business with us gives you the opportunity to tap into our trusted brand and achieve instant recognition.
Reasons To Invest:
- Fully funded opportunity
- 100% home working
- Access to a global community of Smart PA Franchise Partners for income opportunities
- Potential to gain income from head office corporate clients
- Flexible working hours to suit your personal needs
- Expert remote training and continuous learning with full CPD accreditation
- World-class brand and sales & marketing
- Access to innovative technology and IT support
- Dedicated support team for the entirety of your business journey
- Ongoing mentorship for your business
- Tried and tested business in a box - using a model adapted to your needs
How does your franchise model work?
You become a SmartPA business owner by buying into the SmartPA partnership franchise (the cost of which can be fully funded by HSBC). We’ll then help you set up your own limited company.
Unlike starting your own business from scratch, where you’d have to tackle all the startup costs, challenges and risks on your own, you’ll have full daily support of our dedicated, friendly SmartPA support team, and you get to trade under the trusted, established global SmartPA brand, helping you hit the ground running straightaway.
We equip you with all the tools to succeed and expert knowledge and skills to run a successful SmartPA business. Our unrivalled programme covers everything from the SmartPA Method (best practice, remote working and service delivery) to pricing, business operations and long-term growth and development.
With SmartPA, you can start earning from day one through reliable work with HQ clients, servicing trusted businesses from SMEs to corporates. Our proven insourcing model also connects you with regular projects from across the SmartPA network, giving you stability and predictable income. On top of this, our training and coaching will equip you to grow your own client base—building a scalable business with the confidence, support, and freedom to shape your future.
A SmartPA franchise can be a great opportunity for anyone looking to run their own business or be their own boss, or anyone wanting to balance work around other life commitments. Because the franchise can be run from home, it requires minimum overheads and offers a highly flexible working model to suit your own hours and availability. The franchise model has been tried and tested successfully around the world, with over 100 SmartPA Franchise Partners already thriving.
Who are you looking for?
SmartPAs Franchise Partners come from a variety of backgrounds.
Previous experience is not essential, but a positive attitude is. SmartPA will provide the brand and the backing that allow you to build a successful business.
With peer-to-peer support, internal networking opportunities, wellbeing groups and much more, you’re never alone or without assistance from an expert.
Furthermore, SmartPA’s unique Insourcing model supports you and your business to grow. It provides both the opportunity to support and be supported by a more than 100-strong community across the globe.
**Thanks to full UK funding with HSBC, you can launch your SmartPA franchise today without any upfront investment.
To take the next step towards owning your own SmartPA franchise, request your free consultation by registering your interest below:
The true cost of covering all bases: how the “I’ll do it myself” mindset is holding back your business
We’ve all been in situations when doing everything yourself can feel like the safest and most efficient option, after all, no one knows your business or department better than you.
But as your organisation grows and demands increase, the “I’ll just do it myself” mindset quickly becomes a barrier to progress.
What seems cost-effective in the moment often becomes one of the most expensive decisions you can make: in time, in focus, and in scalable growth.
Here’s what doing everything yourself is really costing your business, and how outsourcing to expert virtual assistants can unlock the efficiency, headspace, and strategic clarity you’ve been missing.
The hidden cost of your time
Business leaders often underestimate the true value of their own time. When your day is consumed by admin, scheduling, inbox management, or operational firefighting, you’re paying a much higher price than you realise. Every hour spent on tasks that don’t require your expertise is an hour not invested in the areas where you create the most impact, whether that’s strategy, sales, client relationships, creative thinking, or innovation.
It’s also easy to assume that doing everything yourself costs nothing, but the reality is far more complex. Overloaded staff, overstretched leaders, and inefficient processes all create hidden expenses: overtime and burnout, bottlenecks that slow revenue-driving work, high recruitment and training costs, underutilised tools, and strategic priorities delayed due to lack of capacity.
Reduced efficiency and increased reactivity
The more plates you attempt to spin, the more existing ones start to wobble. Slow responses, missed opportunities, and delayed project progress are often symptoms of overcapacity rather than underperformance.
Leaders and teams working at full stretch naturally become reactive, firefighting the most urgent matters and only responding to those shouting loudest. As a result, client experience suffers and internal efficiency stalls.
A dedicated virtual assistant introduces structure, accountability, and consistency. They manage the details so your team stays focused on delivery and performance, strengthening both your operations and your reputation.
Systems not being used to their full potential
CRMs, automation tools, finance platforms, HR software, we often see businesses with impressive and powerful technology at their fingertips but no one with the time or skills to optimise it.
When tools aren’t configured properly, maintained consistently, or used as intended, the investment is wasted.
Today’s virtual assistants are more than administrative support. SmartPA’s specialists combine operational experience with technology fluency, ensuring your systems work for you, not against you. We streamline workflows, improve accuracy, and introduce smarter processes that elevate your team’s performance.
Put simply, growth stalls when everything funnels through you
If every decision, bottleneck, sign-off, or operational task requires your involvement, your organisation or department can only grow as fast as your capacity allows. This is one of the most common – and most costly – growth barriers for businesses of all sizes.
Learning to let go
Choosing support isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a mark of strategic leadership.
With virtual support that scales up or down with demand, you gain the flexibility to grow without inflating your payroll or overwhelming internal teams. Whether you need temporary project support, ongoing admin help, executive assistance, or a full virtual operations function, SmartPA adapts to your needs and budget.
Businesses that invest in expert virtual support unlock:
- More time for high-value, revenue-driving work
- Consistent efficiency across teams and functions
- Reduced operational costs without compromising quality
- Smarter use of systems and technology
- The flexibility to scale sustainably
SmartPA specialists deliver reliable, high-quality support across executive admin, HR, finance support, operations, CRM management, marketing coordination, and more.
If you’re ready to reclaim your time, increase efficiency, and build leaner, more agile operations, get in touch and discover how our expert virtual assistants can reduce your operational load, streamline your processes, and free your organisation to focus on the work that truly drives success:
Feeling really valued, feeling indispensable, and feeling like you are making a difference to people.
Life challenges took me to move home and hence change of job back into the Administrative sector. When I really understood I had the experience and ability to do this for myself - after all there wasn’t anywhere to go in my current job. I always had a deep desire to be a business owner, but just didn’t know in what field. When I found out about the support and guidance that SmartPA supplies, I didn’t look back
I was made redundant and had come across adverts for SmartPA but wasn't sure it was for me. A friend bought into SmartPA and I had seen lots of her posts. After 6 months of no luck with getting a job other than temping, I decided to take the plunge. My biggest achievement? Completing accreditation and launching it in lockdown.
“I had been toying with the idea of starting my own business for a couple of years. In all the industries I’d worked in there was always the same issue that senior management didn’t really understand the importance of good administration or what was really involved in keeping an office running smoothly. I knew about VA’s but I wasn’t sure if it was something I could really do on my own so kept putting it off. When I came across SmartPA and read more it lit up a light and made me realise that I could start my own business but not be totally on my own, there would be support AND be part of an already established brand. The best- selling point of the SmartPA brand is our fabulous head office and support network and access to a vast talent pool of accredited, professional partners from a wide variety of backgrounds offering a variety of experience and skills. Yes there are other VA’s out there and other VA franchise companies, but SmartPA is nearly 6 times the size of competitors… so to me it is definitely THE brand in this industry.”
I have found the support from SmartPA's Business Support Team to be invaluable, and my monthly call with them enables me to stay focused. It helps to put together an ‘Action Plan’ to ensure that I am taking all the steps necessary to help grow my business. They’re always quick to respond with any queries I might have, and are always friendly, helpful, and approachable.
"I certainly have that Friday Feeling this eve! I have just finished my first week as a fully accredited SmartPA Partner and am so blessed to have some fab clients already and amazing support from the Business Support Team and the SmartPA community. I was so worried about making the move into having my own business and now I feel so positive and ready for anything!!!"
“Having researched various startup options offering business support, I chose SmartPA for their professional approach from the outset. At no point did I feel under pressure to purchase the franchise and I subsequently received excellent advice and support throughout my training and recent launch. The training programme is the most thorough and enjoyable I have ever completed and receiving accreditation gave me the reassurance I needed to start my business. The on-going support from the Business Development Team and other SmartPA partners ensures there is always someone to help if you require assistance or you just need a bit of moral support. During the Covid 19 pandemic, the world is becoming accustomed to remote working and the SmartPA model is a fantastic, flexible option for anyone looking to start a rewarding new business that fits in with their lifestyle.”
"I have to say, everyone that I have spoken to so far has just been so reassuring and helpful and I really feel that if at all I start to struggle, I can contact someone for help and advice and not feel awkward about it... It's really strange, as I know I am only just starting out, but already I feel I am becoming 'part of the family' - and this is because everyone is so helpful and approachable. I have that nice warm fuzzy feeling - it's great! I really do mean everything that I say as the team is just amazing!"
My journey with SmartPA has been brilliant! I can't fault the whole process. Jo was amazing to deal with, I loved speaking to partners and Andrew the CEO. My workshop was really valuable too - it was all very reassuring. Training - I loved it!! Steven was brilliant, I'd always feel anxious before training but by the end I was absolutely buzzing! I signed up when my little one was really little and I had my hands full, but I haven’t stopped since I launched. SmartPA was the best thing I've done for myself and my children. The whole onboarding process, speaking to people - you feel so included and part of the community from the start."
My SmartPA journey from discovery to accreditation was possibly rockier than most, as we moved house 3 times, renovated one of them and began a new life in Hong Kong, all in the space of 9 months! The training team was unfailingly supportive and gave me all the time and encouragement I needed to persevere through the process. I was in the interesting position of learning about SmartPA’s culture and values while receiving that support from the Head Office at the same time! It gave me a great deal of confidence that I am investing in the right company.
The SmartPA Franchise Opportunity
SmartPA Partner Testimonial | Louise Bowler
SmartPA Partner Testimonial | Mandy Busuttil
SmartPA | Our 2024 Partnership Event
SmartPA | Theresa McRobbie | Case Study
SmartPA | Yvonne Hams Testimonial
Monica's Story | SmartPA Partnership
SmartPA Spotlight | Tracy Jones
SmartPA Testimonial | Angela Dewitt
Sarra Bejaoui | SmartPA Founder
