‍

1.    What has been your proudest career moment?‍

The brand and literary side of the agency gives us so many proud moments. For me being part of someone’s literary legacy, creating world class books is the best feeling in the world.  

I am most proud that we can recreate great moments for our clients again and again.

‍

‍2.    Who has been/is your biggest mentor?

I have found that as a career grows, the mentorship requirement changes. With this in mind, I find it hard to single any one individual out. I’ve been blessed with many mentors at different stages of my career and as a lifelong learner, I’ve also invested in my own development in addition to receiving great advice and knowledge from a great many books and podcasts.

‍

‍
‍3.    What’s the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received?

Never sign a personal guarantee on a lease. If the business fails, you will personally be responsible to pay the reminder of the lease for its duration. Sounds boring but you would be surprised by how many people make this mistake especially in my experience, when leasing beauty salon premises.

‍
‍

4.    Which training body would you recommend for someone wanting to enter your area of the industry?

You don’t need a formal qualification for talent management, but you do need a passion for people, great negotiating skills and a ‘whatever it takes’ attitude towards problem solving and delivery.

‍

‍5.    How do you make sure you stand out from the crowd e.g. up-skilling, research, social media?‍

Be a lifelong learner and keep moving forward. Everything moves at a fast pace in business and technology  - if you stand still, you will be going backwards. Consistency is key, do a great job everyday!

‍

‍
‍6.    If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their own business, what would it be?‍

Don’t jump into a partnership because if feels safe. A business partnership is like a marriage, and it can get messy if it goes wrong. If you do go into partnership makes sure you have a written agreement of roles and responsibilities and a clear understanding of what will happen in an equal partnership, if a stand-off occurs – take advice on this.

‍
‍‍

7.    What’s the best and hardest thing about your job?‍

The hardest part is saying no to potential new clients so we can keep delivering first class service to current clients. Expanding a business needs a strategy to keep quality aligned with quantity.

‍

‍

8.    How do you switch off after a difficult day?

Time with family is very precious and I love to end the day reading a feel-good book.

‍

9.    Desert island 3 course meal?‍

I rarely eat a starter, so I’ll go with a veggie Sunday roast and strawberry trifle.

‍‍‍

10.  Which 5 people (dead or alive) would you have at your dinner party?

Elvis Presley, John Travolta, Billy Connolly, Caroline Hirons, Dolly Parton.

‍

‍