PROCTORVILLE — The morning meeting runs through lunch. You’ve got your coat on to go out the door and the boss wants you to stay late.

So who is going to get groceries in the house? Or pick up your niece’s birthday present? And don’t even think about cleaning the house.

That’s where P.A.L.S., a new service business based in Proctorville, can step in.

Started in 2006, P.A.L.S. or Personal Assistant and Lifestyle Services steps in to help busy professionals keep up with the nitty gritty of life like picking up the laundry, mailing out holiday cards or waiting for the plumber.

The brainchild of Vickie Newman, P.A.L.S. offers a wide range of everyday services from house sitting to arranging for lawn care and minor landscaping to running to the bank to meeting weekend guests at the airport.

Before starting her own business, Newman was in the office of the Barboursville, W.Va.-based Dirtbusters Janitorial Services, a commercial cleaning outfit.

Working with John Perry, Dirtbusters owner, Newman learned much about being an entrepreneur.

“He is very business savvy,” Newman said. “I was able to observe business in action.”

Newman was encouraged by her husband to start an in-home business, but wasn’t sure what path to take.

“It took me a while to decide what I would enjoy. My boss always says I am a nurturer by nature. I am not a nurse but I can take care of people in other ways,” Newman said.

“I did a lot of online research trying to think of the future of the area. … This will be slow, but I know it will take off. The Tri-State is growing. People have two incomes, family, children.”

All those add up to busy people needing quality time to spend at home.

“I mostly cater to busy professionals, doctors, lawyers… people who have a lot of stress,” she said. “They want to relax and not worry about mundane things.”

P.A.L.S. can clean out a garage, re-box the items to be kept, re-label and put everything back the way the owner wants it. They can go through a basket of ironing or sit with pets.

“People who go out of town will call and say I’m coming back. This is what I would like to have in my house and have it clean,” Newman said.

P.A.L.S. can even provide a virtual office whereby a staff member can handle correspondence.

“We do unusual jobs. We hardly ever turn down a job,” Newman said. “Every day is a new thing.”

For more information, contact Newman at (740) 886-0600 or visit the web site at www.call-pals.net.