W hen Lisa Haigh moved to South Oxfordshire last year, she knew just what kind of job she wanted. She had already forged a second career, having given up her teaching job after five years to become a ‘household PA’ in London.

"I couldn't find a job like that in Oxfordshire, so I decided to offer my services on a freelance basis.

“Initially I was going to do it all myself, but the demand was so great that I started to sub-contract.

“But people could not commit themselves and I wanted them to be available when I needed them. I needed helpers, so I have recently taken on two employees.”

For those who do not know what a ‘household PA’ does, the answer is — anything.

Ms Haigh explained: “We offer help with day-to-day chores, which range from cleaning to childcare, laundry and ironing, gardening and tutoring. But I am finding it difficult to recruit people who can do all of those. I need people who can clean, iron and look after children and ideally can drive for the school runs, as well as liking pets. We might take on the cleaning for someone and then they say, ‘Can you walk the dog, or can you pick up the children?'’ "We need people who are multi-skilled. But we are not a concierge service — we are very hands-on. We help homes and families, as opposed to being a PA for an individual. We might have an older client with a computer problem, but we are more likely to be baking cakes for parties or feeding chickens.

“Recently, we decorated a boat for a party. Every job is different, but basically we just give a hand.”

Lisa trained as a primary school teacher, so running her own business involved a steep learning curve. ”It is very exciting, because it is all new. I do not have a business background, so I am finding lots of courses to go on."

Once she has recruited a household PA in a particular area, she visits local businesses to introduce herself and leaves copies of an artistic postcard that explains the concept.

She said: “Ten years ago, you would have asked your neighbour or a relative. But not everyone is near family, so they need to pay people to do these things. And people want someone they can trust.”

Many of her referrals come by word of mouth, but expansion is at a standstill until she can recruit more staff.

“I would like to take on more teachers for after-school tutoring or holidays and we could offer flexibility to the right person. We are a happy team and very motivated,” she said.

Contact 01844 278077 email info@lisahaigh.com