Born From Burnout
I was the bottleneck in my own business. So I built the team I needed.
I know what it’s like to wake up with a full calendar, an endless to-do list, and the quiet guilt that you’re dropping balls you can’t even see.
The Lever wasn’t built from a whiteboard. It came from burnout, late nights, and the belief that business should feel better than this. I’d built something great, but I was drowning in it. So I built the team I needed. Strategic. Values-led. People who didn’t wait for instructions, they led beside me.
The Lever is that team. For women like us … brilliant, visionary, and done with being the bottleneck.
If that’s you? You’re in the right place.
Our philosophy
We design businesses that give founders their lives back.
That means more than operational efficiency. It’s about energy, time, and wellbeing.
What we do differently
We tell you what to do next
You’re not paying us to sit in meetings and give advice you don’t have time to implement. Your Business Operations Manager becomes the person who says “this is what needs to happen” and then makes it happen.
They’re not someone you delegate to, they’re someone you communicate with.
We don't add to your workload
When you need a hire, we find them. When you need systems, we build them. When something breaks, we fix it. You’re not managing another person … you’re gaining a team that owns outcomes.
Backed by specialists in finance, operations, marketing, and design, your BOM adjusts the pod to whatever you need, exactly when you need it.
We protect your standards without you
We know why you’re hesitant, your clients love working with YOU. But what if your secret sauce could live in systems, not just in your head?
We capture what makes you magic and embed it into how your team operates. Your clients still get you, just not for everything.
You’re asking: “Are you going to be another person I have to carry?”
No. We’re the team that carries you. We’re partners who treat your business like our business … and that means telling you the truth, making the hard calls, and moving things forward when you’re too exhausted to think straight.
You don’t need more advice. You need relief.
“It’s really exciting to join a community of women that are doing different things individually, but coming kind of together as a collective, and to be able to share and have that support and build relationships.
I love the element of that partner label versus contractor or employee.”
Bethany Watson, Business Operations Manager
Our leadership team
Meet the team that makes this possible
Our female-led team brings decades of experience in business ownership, strategy, finance, and operations. We’ve been in the trenches, we’ve navigated growth challenges, and we know what it feels like when your business depends entirely on you. We built the way out.
Justine Parsons
Justine is the architect of The Lever’s philosophy: that businesses should work for founders, not trap them. Her journey from overwhelmed operator to strategic leader shaped everything we do. She’s lived the bottleneck, built the way out, and now challenges every client to step into leadership with the same fierce belief that it’s possible.
Sue Balcomb
Sue ensures the systems we build genuinely support people, not just processes. She believes business success isn’t about doing more; it’s about focusing on what truly matters. Her approach is rooted in clarity, empathy, and results. She’s the bridge between our vision and our team’s execution.
Leanne Mulcahy
Leanne designs the experience of working with The Lever. She’s deeply curious about what makes people tick and obsessed with making things feel seamless, intentional, and human. Great experiences don’t happen by accident, and Leanne makes sure they happen every single time.
“For me, it’s very much that collective strength, the collegiality. We’re like a melting pot of skills that we can just weave in and out with whatever we need to do with each other.”
Marg Palmer, Finance Manager
Justine Parsons
Justine founded New Zealand’s first virtual assistant provider in 1998 and has spent over two decades helping business owners step back from the daily grind. Her journey from overwhelmed operator to strategic leader shaped The Lever’s mission, to help entrepreneurs build self-sustaining businesses. A champion of female-led businesses, she empowers leaders with smart systems, strong teams, and practical solutions to create lasting change.
Sue Balcomb
Sue brings a unique blend of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, turning ambitious plans into practical realities. She’s passionate about creating order from chaos, streamlining operations, and mentoring teams. Her leadership ensures that The Lever delivers innovation and sustainable growth for every client.
Leanne Mulcahy
Leanne is a business leader, mentor, and strategist with experience in business ownership, consulting, and cultural transformation. She ensures that the systems and strategies we implement aren’t just functional, they genuinely support people. She believes that business success isn’t about doing more; it’s about focusing on what truly matters.
Marg Palmer
Marg is a finance expert with a deep commitment to the community. With years in banking and business ownership, she understands the value of every dollar and takes a relationship-driven approach to financial management—ensuring integrity and trust are at the core of everything The Lever does.
Our partners
Our leadership team is supported by our partners; business operations managers, administrators, bookkeepers, designers, copywriters, marketers, legal and recruitment specialists who bring deep expertise to every client engagement.
This isn’t a team you manage. It’s a team that manages for you.
What our partners say about working with The Lever:
FAQs
What level do you go to when helping us?
We go all the way. If you need a hire, we write the job description, post it, filter applications, create the shortlist, and sit in interviews with you if you want. If you need systems, we build them. If something breaks, we fix it.
Your BOM isn’t advising from the sidelines, she’s in your business, owning outcomes.
Will you actually DO things, or just tell us what to do?
Both. Your Business Operations Manager tells you what needs to happen next and makes it happen. She’s not someone you delegate to, she’s someone you communicate with. There will be an element of doing, especially while she gets to know your business. But the goal is always: you lead, she executes.
How do I know my clients will still get me?
Your secret sauce doesn’t disappear, we capture it and embed it into how your team operates. We map out what makes clients love working with you and systemise it. Your clients still get you for the strategic work, they just don’t need you for everything.
What if I don't even know where to start?
You’ve already started! The next step is your Reset Call. We’ll diagnose what’s keeping you stuck and give you a roadmap of your first 1-3 moves before you commit to anything bigger. You don’t need answers, you need someone to help you find them.
Who do I actually work with day-to-day?
You’re matched with one Business Operations Manager who becomes your strategic partner. She’s your main point of contact and is backed by our leadership team and 30+ specialist partners. When you need finance expertise, your BOM brings in a specialist from our finance team. When you need marketing support, she pulls in the right partner. You work with one person, but you get the depth of an entire team.
Is this going to be another thing I have to manage?
No. Your BOM manages the team, the projects, and the execution. You don’t onboard specialists, you don’t chase updates, you don’t manage timelines. You communicate with your BOM about what needs to happen, and she makes it happen. The whole point is to give you room to breathe, not take more of it.
How quickly can we start?
Once you sign on, we can match you with your Business Operations Manager within days. She’ll book a session with you, and start moving on priorities immediately. We don’t believe in long onboarding cycles, we believe in momentum.
Your next step
Ready to see what this could look like for you?
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect plan or even know where to start.
The Reset Call is a focused 45-minute conversation where we diagnose what’s really keeping you stuck and map out your first 1-3 structural moves, before you commit to anything bigger.
No pressure. No pitch. Just clarity on what needs to happen next.
