Ingenious Corner

🌟 Strategic Partner
Collaborating with clients to drive business growth and success is my forte.  I specialise in developing innovative strategies that refine and enhance operations, identifying opportunities for growth, and creating pragmatic approaches for implementation.  By leveraging my expertise, we create a strong foundation for sustainable growth.

🌱 Mentor
Guiding business owners and professionals has been a huge part of my business, sharing my experiences, offering direction and knowing the right questions to ask you and challenging you in the right way.

🎤 Speaker
Raising awareness of the realities and practicalities of being neurodivergent and how to create an inclusive workplace and improve employee engagement.

🧡 Facilitation
Holding group sessions on strategy, mind mapping and bringing teams together to improve working relationships.

Creative Business Strategist & Mentor

InclUSion

InclUSion was a peer-to-peer community with weekly sessions led by me offering assistance, ideas, clarity, guidance and accountability.

“Louisa always looks at your business as a part of your whole life, combining personal and professional. I find those discussions provide a valuable perspective.  Louisa combines optimism, resilience and strategy to great effect. Those values are present throughout the community and give it strength.” – Lisa de Caux, Proofreader and Editor

“It is a great group to belong to and the other members are just as ‘down to earth’ as I am, and it makes a great difference to how comfortable you feel within an environment where you can ask for advice, give advice, and be held accountable by Louisa. ” – Mike O’Reilly, Founder of Age Diversity Network

Community Founder

Advance in IT Ltd

Advance In IT builds businesses in Holland providing AI, Data and IoT recruitment.

Senior Business Support

Workflow Virtual

My approach is to make LinkedIn mentoring fun and relaxed. I’ll share with you the tips and methods I use to get more engagement on the platform, but in a no-pressure, non-salesy way. You’ll find there’s no pressure from me – you can take what you like from the session and work out from there how to get the most out of LinkedIn for you.

I first created my LinkedIn account in 2007 and I have always loved the platform, now I want to help you to LOVE the platform too! 

I have created a 12-session programme which will take 22 weeks to complete. Each session we will cover something different:

Week 1: Understanding YOU
Week 2: Defining your WHY
Week 3: Identifying your MARKET
Week 4: Reviewing your PROFILE
Week 5: Generating CONTENT
Week 6: Tackling the WOBBLES
Week 7: Building an AUDIENCE
Week 8: Content INSIGHTS
Week 10: ACCOUNTABILITY
Week 14: Content GENERATOR
Week 18: No HIDING
Week 22: FINAL SESSION

There are so many people out there who are experts and who will no doubt promise you unlimited leads, that's not my style. With my programme, it's all about you learning how to use the platform effectively and how to create compelling content.

Together we will discuss ways to make the platform work for you which will ultimately lead to you creating content that aligns with your values and doesn't feel icky. Most of my business has come via inbound leads on LinkedIn and it's because I understand how to use the platform effectively.

Keen to find more, it is time to talk. If we are not already connected, now is the time and send me a message.

LinkedIn Mentor

Launched in the summer of 2017, Workflow Virtual Assistant was set up to offer VA support, the business has since evolved and grown.

I work with a team of freelancers to offer a wide variety of services to you.  I will always manage the relationship but we work together as a team, rather than a group of individuals to offer a high standard of service.

As a business, we offer strategic, operational, creative and administrative support.

Freelance Executive Assistant Agency

Kier Group

Kier Group plc is a UK construction, services and property group, I worked within the construction group.

During my time at Kier, I was responsible for investigating all invoices that had been put into query by the Finance Department.  This involved raising queries with external suppliers and site managers to obtain the relevant data in order to understand and rectify the cause of the query. 

Another aspect of the role involved updating and amending existing systems to resolve the discrepancies and ultimately get the invoice taken out of 'query' and cleared for payment. 

**Temporary work prior to going on maternity leave**

Data Analyst

Mitie

Mitie Group PLC is a British strategic outsourcing and energy services company.

I undertook data cleansing of key accounts to establish which accounts had continued to be billed past disposal dates.  In plain English, this meant a lot of data manipulation and attention to detail to resolve issues and therefore contacting external companies to resolve account discrepancies.

****Temporary work prior to going on maternity leave**

Utilities Analyst

Praesepe PLC

Praesepe PLC operates several adult gaming centres across the UK.

During my short spell at Praesepe, I provided PA support to the Operations Director and two Senior Managers.  This involved liaising with different areas of the business across the UK, providing minute taking support and producing weekly reports and formatting of documents.

"Louisa came in as a temp PA at Praesepe and with little training she quickly adapted to the role. Louisa was brought in to help with a backlog of work and very quickly brought everything as up-to-date as it could be and re-organised existing systems and improved processes including creating work instructions. Louisa is confidently and assertively and chased people for outstanding information and reports. I found Louisa's can do attitude refreshing and if it wasn't for the fact the journey was to far I would have offered her a permanent role." - Larry Kehoe


**Temporary work prior to going on maternity leave**


"Louisa came in as a temp PA at Praesepe and with little training she quickly adapted to the role. Louisa was brought in to help with a backlog of work and very quickly brought everything as up-to-date as it could be and re-organised existing systems and improved processes including creating work instructions. Louisa is confidently and assertively and chased people for outstanding information and reports. I found Louisa's can do attitude refreshing and if it wasn't for the fact the journey was to far I would have offered her a permanent role." - Larry Kehoe, Operations Director

Personal Assistant

Blackstar Amplification Ltd

Blackstar Amplification is a designer and producer of guitar amplifiers and effects units.

Provided executive support to the Managing Director and four Directors.

Responsible for all aspects of HR within the business including redundancies, disciplinary meetings, absence management, new starter inductions and providing support and guidance to Line Managers.

Managed and developed all aspects of the recruitment process and changed the way that recruitment happened to make it more efficient for the hiring managers and candidates.  

Working closely with everyone in the business, I introduced and implemented the KPI system into the business.

Reviewing of processes.

Managed extensive global travel arrangements for the Managing Director and Directors including arranging visas, flights and accommodation.  Support was also given to visitors from overseas with co-ordinating their travel requirements.

Extensive diary management, including organising internal and external meetings across different time zones and locations.

Prepared and co-ordinated agendas, distributing papers for Board meetings, attending meetings to take minutes and following up on any agreed action points.

Co-ordinated meetings with overseas distributors coming to the UK including logistics, hospitality and evening arrangements.

Mentored younger members of the team and assisted them with their development, building up their knowledge and confidence.

Executive Assistant & Business Performance Manager

Provided PA support to the Executive Team.

Introduced a number of HR procedures within the first six months of working at Blackstar to improve efficiency within the Company.

Supported and offered advice to Line Managers in the management of employee performance.

Introduced a recruitment process and worked with Line Managers to ensure that high calibre candidates at all levels were attracted to the Company and retained.

Worked closely with the MD and the Executive team to produce and implement the Blackstar Mission, Vision and Values, these were introduced within the first few months of my starting with the Company.

Responsible for the implementation of KPI's within the business, working closely with Department Heads and team members.


"Since undertaking the role of Product Specialist at Blackstar Amplification in 2013 as a junior employee Louisa mentored and coached me through my tenure at the company developing my professional capacity in personal organisation and business etiquette & convention allowing me to expand and develop my responsibilities and skills across all areas of the company. 

Approachable and diligent she always offered fantastic support in any areas required and was thoroughly involved in facilitating my training and development on the NVQ level 3 course in customer service. Highly commended and appreciated by all employees in the company for her abilities in HR and communication she made Blackstar a thoroughly enjoyable place to work.

Louisa has played a huge part in my development as a working professional and for these reasons I give my full and unreserved recommendation."  - Ollie Clubb

Personal Assistant to the Directors

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team

This was a temporary position.

Provided support to the Production Scheduling Department, analysing and interpreting information from SAP.

Responsible for researching and investigating information to enable strategic decision-making by others.

Assisted with the introduction of KPI's into the Production Scheduling Department and into Stores.

Assisting other departments as and when required.

Logistics Analyst

Ever feel like business advice feels generic and traditional?  As though it was written for someone else because it doesn't connect with you?  Don't get me wrong, I don't want to reinvent the wheel and some of that advice is valuable, but it's about how we make it work for you.

Hi, I'm Louisa! I partner with creatives, leaders and tourism businesses to transform their vision into practical success.  Think of me as your business wingwoman for creating strategies that actually work for your way of thinking.

Whether you're:
🔸  a creative drowning in ideas, looking for clarity and direction without stifling the magic
🔸  a leader seeking fresh perspectives and ideas to propel you forward
🔸  in tourism and want to create truly inclusive experiences for everyone (employees and customers alike)

I mix creativity with strategy, analysis and practicalities, and I combine that with my neurodivergent way of thinking and real-life experiences.  At 43, I was diagnosed as autistic, I suspect I've got ADHD too.  I'm solo parenting to my autistic son and I have chronic health conditions.  It means I understand a thing or two about thinking differently and challenging situations - it's why I take a holistic approach.

I've also got 7+ years experience of being self-employed, a degree in Tourism Management and lots of experience gained in the corporate and SME worlds within different sectors in the UK and overseas.

You'll benefit from:
✨  Strategies that mix creativity with practicalities
✨  A different perspective that challenges conventional thinking
✨  Bespoke solutions that are specific to your needs and working style
✨  Inclusivity - it's not a tick-the-box approach


"What's different about Louisa is that she genuinely 'gets' you and wants to help you succeed." - Eleanor

"It's really good to discuss different ideas with someone who is prepared to challenge your thinking, your goals, and your (lack of!) plan." - Lucy

“Louisa delivered an outstanding workshop illuminating the numerous benefits of a neurodiverse workforce and the challenges faced by neurodiverse employees." - Katharina


Ready to move your ideas forward? Let's chat over a virtual cuppa about your vision and how we can make it a reality.

📧 Louisa@IngeniousCorner.com
🌐 IngeniousCorner.com
📅 Book a free call: tidycal.com/ingeniouscorner/virtual-cuppa


🧡 Instagram / TikTok: neuro_family_adventures

When you see someone smiling, it paints a picture but the truth is, you don’t know what the smile is hiding.

Last week, I saw 5-10 minutes of a tv programme on BBC1. The snippet I saw was of Kellie Bright chatting to the parents of autistic children and them talking about how their life is impacted and how for many, they’ve had to give up work.

I didn’t need to watch any more of the programme because that snippet hit home.

Despite my sporadic social media activity, behind the scenes, I am still working but I’m also still battling for survival.

In many ways I feel like a failure and I know im being too hard on myself but it’s because I’m quietly ambitious and I’m not achieving my aspirations.


Yet, despite those thoughts, I know I’m also winning:

- I’m still working 
- I know clients value and appreciate the work I do
- despite repeatedly being told he wouldn’t get one, I won the battle to get my son his EHCP (Educational Health Care Plan) 
- collaborative work is ongoing (Exploring Inclusive Tourism podcast & the Creative Business Club) 
- I have strong boundaries to protect my mental health and wellbeing
- I’m solo parenting, have chronic health conditions and my son has huge meltdowns most days, doesn’t sleep properly and yet I’m still relatively sane! The humour and sarcasm is still there…


But here’s the downside and why I say I’m failing:

- despite the EHCP, the support still is inconsistent 
- my little dude is in year 4 and I find myself looking at where I will need to move to for the right secondary school but that in itself will be a challenge to find the “right” school
- I’m not marketing my business or promoting myself in any way, thank goodness for referrals!
- my headspace is full (AuDHD brain) 
- my ideas and plans aren’t progressing because I don’t have the headspace (it’s not because I need support, it’s because balance is key)
- I’m frustrated by my lack of progress 



I often see people saying we can always make time to make things happen if we really want to but when you’re a SEN parent or you have challenges beyond your control, it’s not that simple.

I’m sharing this to say that despite my inactivity, I’m still around, I’m still working and I’m appreciative of those who check-in and refer me.

But also, please ignore the “shoulds”!

I often hear clients tell me what they’re doing and when I question why, they tell me that’s what person X on social media said. When in reality, it’s not right for them.

Louisa van Vessem

Creative Business Club

Straight-talking clarity, strategy + support for Creatives and Leaders ✨Mentor | Consultant | Facilitator ✨ Sounding Board when you’re stuck ✨ The Monthly Reset + One-Off Clarity Sessions to keep things simple + doable

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