Privacy Policy

Last updated: 26 August 2026

Virtually By Your Side ("I", "me" or "my") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how I collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit my website, contact me, enquire about my services or work with me.

I am committed to handling your personal information responsibly and in accordance with applicable UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), where applicable.

1. Who I am

Virtually By Your Side is the trading name of Lisa Suswain, a sole trader.

Lisa Suswain trading as Virtually By Your Side
Redhill
Kings Somborne
Stockbridge
SO20 6PF
United Kingdom

Email: lisa@virtuallybyyourside.co.uk
ICO registration reference: ZB856538

For data protection purposes, I am the data controller responsible for deciding how and why your personal information is processed.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how I handle your personal information, please contact me using the details above.

2. What personal information I collect

Depending on how you interact with me and my business, I may collect some or all of the following information:

Your name
Email address
Telephone number
Business name
Job title or role
Information about your business
Information you provide when making an enquiry
Information about your business goals, challenges, systems, processes and operations where relevant to the services I provide
Information contained in questionnaires, audits, documents or other materials you choose to share with me
Details relating to the services you purchase from me
Payment and transaction information
Communications between you and me, including emails and messages
Information you provide when arranging or attending meetings or coaching sessions
Technical information about your visit to my website, such as IP address, browser type, device information and pages visited
Information collected through cookies and similar technologies, as explained in my Cookie Policy

I ask that you do not provide me with personal information about another person unless you have permission or another lawful reason to do so.

3. How I collect your information

I may collect personal information:

When you visit my website
When you complete a contact or enquiry form
When you email or otherwise contact me
When you arrange a consultation or discovery call
When you enquire about or purchase my services
When you complete a SCALE Audit, questionnaire or review
When you become a client
During the provision of my services
When you communicate with me by email or other communication methods
When you voluntarily provide information to me
Automatically through cookies and similar technologies

I may also receive information from third parties where this is necessary to provide my services or manage my business.

Where I receive personal information from a source other than you, I will provide the relevant privacy information where required by law.

4. How I use your information

I may use your personal information for the following purposes.

Responding to enquiries

I use your contact details and information provided in your enquiry to respond to you, answer your questions and discuss whether my services are suitable for your business.

Providing my services

If you become a client, I may use your information to:

Provide the services you have agreed to purchase
Carry out a SCALE Audit
Provide implementation support
Conduct SCALE Reviews
Provide business operations, systems, process and administrative support
Provide mindset coaching where this forms part of the service you have agreed to
Communicate with you about your work
Arrange meetings and coaching sessions
Manage projects and agreed deliverables
Maintain appropriate client records

Managing my business

I may use personal information to:

Manage my client relationships
Process payments and invoices
Maintain appropriate financial and business records
Manage contracts and agreements
Manage my accounts and business administration
Protect my business against fraud, misuse or other unlawful activity
Resolve disputes and deal with complaints

Improving my website and services

I may use technical and website information to understand how visitors use my website, improve its functionality and content, and improve the services I provide.

5. My lawful bases for using your information

Under UK data protection law, I need a lawful basis for processing your personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, I may rely on one or more of the following lawful bases:

Contract – where processing your information is necessary to enter into or perform a contract with you, such as providing services you have purchased.

Legitimate interests – where processing is necessary for my legitimate business interests, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms. This may include responding to enquiries, managing client relationships, improving my services and managing my business.

Legal obligation – where I need to process information to comply with a legal or regulatory requirement, such as maintaining financial or accounting records.

Consent – where you have given me permission to use your personal information for a specific purpose, such as certain types of marketing or where consent is required for non-essential cookies.

Where I rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.

6. Who I share your information with

I do not sell or rent your personal information.

I may share personal information with trusted third-party service providers where this is necessary to operate my business, provide my services or meet my legal obligations.

These may include:

Wix

My website is hosted and operated using Wix. Wix may process personal information relating to visitors to my website and information submitted through the website as part of providing its website hosting and related services.

Wix may also use its own service providers and sub-processors to provide its services.

Google Workspace

I use Google Workspace for business email, document storage and other business productivity services.

Personal information may therefore be processed or stored using Google Workspace where necessary for communicating with you, managing documents and delivering my services.

Zoom

I use Zoom for online meetings, consultations and coaching sessions.

Where you attend a Zoom meeting with me, information may be processed by Zoom as necessary to provide its services.

Other service providers

I may also share information with:

Payment and financial service providers
Accounting or bookkeeping providers
Professional advisers where necessary
IT and software providers
Other service providers who process information on my behalf

I only share information where there is an appropriate reason and lawful basis for doing so.

Where third-party providers process personal information on my behalf, I take reasonable steps to ensure that appropriate privacy and security arrangements are in place.

I may also disclose personal information where I am legally required to do so, for example to courts, regulators, law enforcement or government authorities.

7. International transfers

Some of the third-party services I use, including technology providers, may process personal information outside the UK.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, I will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer is lawful and that your information receives an appropriate level of protection under applicable data protection law.

8. How I protect your information

I take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against accidental loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

I use appropriate security measures provided by the technology and service providers I use, including Google Workspace, Zoom and Wix.

However, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You should also take appropriate steps to protect your own devices, accounts and passwords.

9. How long I keep your information

I will only keep your personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

The length of time I keep information will depend on factors including:

The nature of the information
Why I collected it
Whether I have an ongoing relationship with you
My legal, accounting or regulatory obligations
Whether I need the information to establish, exercise or defend legal claims

When personal information is no longer required, I will take reasonable steps to securely delete or dispose of it.

10. Marketing communications

I do not currently operate an email marketing list or use the personal information I collect through my website for regular marketing emails.

I may introduce email marketing or other direct marketing in the future.

If I do so, I will comply with applicable data protection and electronic marketing laws.

Where consent is required for electronic marketing, I will ask you to actively opt in. I will not treat silence, inactivity or simply providing your contact details as consent to receive marketing communications.

If you give consent to receive marketing communications from me, you will be able to withdraw that consent at any time. Marketing emails will include an appropriate method for unsubscribing or opting out.

Where applicable, I may rely on the "soft opt-in" for existing customers, but only where all relevant legal requirements are met.

I will keep appropriate records of marketing consent and will respect requests to stop receiving marketing communications.

11. Cookies

My website uses cookies and similar technologies.

Cookies are small files placed on your device which can help a website function correctly, remember preferences and understand how visitors use the website.

The cookies used on my website may include cookies that are necessary for the website to function, as well as cookies used for analytics, functionality or other purposes.

For more information about the cookies used on my website and how you can manage them, please see my Cookie Policy.

Where required by law, I will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies on your device.

12. Third-party websites

My website may contain links to websites or services operated by third parties.

If you follow a link to another website, that website will have its own privacy policy and terms. I am not responsible for the privacy practices, content or security of third-party websites.

I recommend reading the privacy policy of any third-party website you visit.

13. Children

My website and services are intended primarily for adults and business owners.

I do not knowingly collect personal information from children for the purpose of providing my services.

If you believe that a child has provided me with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact me so that I can take appropriate action.

14. Your data protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you have rights under applicable data protection law including:

The right to be informed about how your personal information is used
The right of access to the personal information I hold about you
The right to rectification if your information is inaccurate or incomplete
The right to erasure of your personal information in certain circumstances
The right to restrict processing in certain circumstances
The right to data portability in certain circumstances
The right to object to certain types of processing, including direct marketing
The right to withdraw consent where I rely on consent to process your information

These rights are not absolute and certain exemptions or conditions may apply.

If you would like to exercise one of these rights, please contact:

lisa@virtuallybyyourside.co.uk

I may need to ask you for information to verify your identity before responding to your request.

15. Your right to object to marketing

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.

If you object to receiving marketing from me, I will stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, subject to any legal requirements that may apply.

You can exercise this right at any time by contacting me at:

lisa@virtuallybyyourside.co.uk

16. Changes to this Privacy Policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to my business, the services I provide, the technology I use or applicable data protection legislation.

The latest version will always be published on my website.

The "Last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy shows when it was most recently updated.

17. Complaints

If you have any concerns about how I am handling your personal information, please contact me in the first instance:

Email: lisa@virtuallybyyourside.co.uk

I will endeavour to resolve your concerns as quickly as reasonably possible.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection.

My ICO registration reference is ZB856538.

Information about making a complaint is available from the ICO.

18. Contact me

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, how I use your personal information, or your data protection rights, please contact: