About us

PA 4A Day was formed in April 2009 by Janet Shapland and Michele Way to provide personal assistants to meet the requirements of busy professionals in Wiltshire and around the borders of Hampshire/Dorset/Somerset.

Our carefully selected team has a wide range of skills (see our Services section).

We pride ourselves in matching the most suitable team member to a client's specific requirements and for most bookings we have a uniquely structured approach of consultation, assessment, feedback, agreement, induction and follow-up (please see Our approach page for more details).

Michele on Janet

Janet and I initially met in 2005 during a property viewing prior to moving to her current home. Shortly afterwards Janet was recruited onto the team and proved to be a stalwart support in all areas of the rural estate agency business, following experience gained at Lane Fox in Surrey. Having worked together for more than three years meant that in joining together to set up PA 4A Day we were already very familiar with each other's traits, strength and weaknesses! This enabled us to hit the ground running and we were able to agree the business plan and put all the necessary wheels in motion, all in under a month!

Janet's many years of working in the corporate sector gives her an immense knowledge and numerous skills which have proved invaluable during the start up of our business. Janet is a creative thinker and came up with the initial concept and the name of PA 4A Day and indeed she is responsible for the day-to-day business running. We visit clients together, as we have such complimentary skill-sets, and can then make recommendations which make a real difference to their business.

Janet's methodical approach to all aspects of our business is underpinned by her sales and marketing, customer service, telephone sales and training knowledge. With this wealth of experience she has been able to advise some of our clients on their overall marketing strategy. She can be relied upon in a crisis and remains calm throughout - I put that down to her cabin crew training - but most of all she has a tremendous sense of humour which helps keep us sane.

We have had a number of unusual requests since starting the business and as always Janet takes it all in her stride. Indeed if you need stray birds caught in your house, then please do bear in mind Janet is an expert in bird retrieval, to say nothing of the process of moving dogs back to the UK from abroad! Janet is also good at managing expectations of certain clients, especially when they phone and want a PA NOW! Due to our bespoke approach it has on occasion been possible to react instantly to any urgent or distress calls, however, booking ahead does save us a few grey hairs!

Janet is also an enthusiastic art lover of all things equestrian and a pretty mean cake baker. Lemon drizzle cake springs immediately to mind! She shares a love of aviation with her husband George and together they fly high above the county (and beyond) in a light aircraft kept locally. Janet's other passion, travel, has taken her across most of the world but given the choice I know she would rather be on Palm Island in the Caribbean sipping a cocktail under the shade of the native trees.

Aside from this idyll, Janet's keen eye for detail ensures we often exceed our clients' expectations and as we move forward with our business, our shared vision for the growth and success of our company means together we can conquer the world - well just Wiltshire really!

Janet on Michele

We have worked together since 2005, initially in a local rural estate agent and from 2009 when together, we founded PA 4A Day. Michele's background across an extensive range of businesses has ensured that we are used to the call from clients 'we need Michele now!'

From leaving school in Dorset following A levels and with a typing speed of 50 wpm, that level has now increased to a key-smoking 95wpm! Hence the reason that she is often in demand on the basis of 'have lap-top will travel'. Michele has a passion for technology and has been a keen follower of business support systems from the outset of her career, from learning on the Adler typewriter at school, through word processors to computers and the new software that came with it. Originally working as a secretary in the banking sector Michele then went on to work for several small company start-ups before taking on roles as Office Manager.

Having lived abroad on and off through her husband's role in the MOD she quickly learnt to turn her hand to anything and make the most of opportunities as they arose. Throughout this journey she has undertaken an ethos of self-improvement all the way, including taking a Company Secretaries course and gaining a diploma in Computerised Bookkeeping.

She is a keen social networker and ensures that PA 4A Day keeps up with this vital method of communication, an area that I have yet to fully embrace! When we were forming our team in early 2009 I was aware that we needed a lot more 'Micheles'! We have been constantly amazed at the high-calibre candidates that we attract to the business and which has given us total confidence that they will represent us to the highest standard when we send them out into 'the field'.

Despite the demands of the business Michele still somehow finds time to offer her unique skill-set on a voluntary basis both with the Greyhound Rescue West of England and as Treasurer for the Avon Valley PCTA. Cooking is another hobby that she enjoys at the weekends, especially experimenting with spices in Indian food; she has been known to produce a celebratory lunch for ten people at the office while also juggling the demands of the business at the same time!

Finding time for holidays has been a bit scarce of late but as often as she can Michele enjoys visiting friends in France and embracing all that it has to offer, we manage to keep up on Skype during these times. We have shared great moments from winning two awards, and the nerves that come before big presentations, to supporting clients going through challenging times and then sharing in the success of others. As a business partnership it works, we have complimentary skill-sets and whilst we are a formidable team together, independently we both share the same vision for the growth and success of PA 4A Day. We both enjoy what we do and we hope that this is evident when we meet clients and associates through the course of our business activities.