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What inspired you to start a business?
Having been around many friends and family who run their own businesses, it’s always been something which has interested me. But I think it’s fair to say that when I hit my 40th birthday, there was a strong part of me which felt that it’s ‘now or never’!
What is the greatest challenge and the greatest reward in being your own boss?
I love seeing my decisions and ideas come to life, but the greatest reward for me is when my customers are successful and grow in confidence. The greatest challenge is probably not switching off or avoiding stretching myself too thinly in some areas.
What motivational tips can you give to our members about goal setting and managing both successes and failures?
I tend to give myself some very short term goals (as well as the long term ones) so that I can get the sense of reward from any progress made. In the very beginning I had my own form of bonus scheme – I bought myself a new handbag for every client I signed – but I’m not sure that would work for everyone!
What is the biggest challenge you have faced as a business owner?
Adapting my business model: there were parts of my service which I thought would fly which were the weakest and then others which were far more successful than I’d imagined.
How have you benefited from mentoring or coaching?
Absolutely: I have a coach who I have been working with off and on for many years. Not only is she incredibly wise and a dab hand at asking the tricky questions no-one else likes to (but which I need to work through), but I find that having someone there holds me a bit more accountable and gives me a kick, in the nicest possible way. I also mentor a couple of people which I find immensely fulfilling too and am very keen on trying to hook people up with mentors wherever I can.
What advice can you give about the benefits of networking?
I am not a natural in large groups of people and used to loathe the idea of networking with a passion, as I saw it very much as something others do. But that’s largely as it was very much a label I put on it. Once someone pointed out that I was actually networking all the time quite happily – at school gates, parties, socially as well as with my clients – I viewed it quite differently. I now attend numerous events and view it as a really good way to learn new things.
What are your tips for scaling a business and how do you plan for and manage growth?
Get your finances sorted, your model robust and your key people in place. But be prepared to adapt and divert from the line on the spreadsheet as you learn. I am a big fan of outsourcing certain skills and resources wherever I need to scale, something I do now and which I will continue to do in some non-core parts of my business. There’s just so much technology out there to help you do this, that’s changing all the time and I feel it’s not worth the money or time to recreate those aspects yourself.
What does the future hold for you?
The next year will continue to be increased growth in the UK market and development of products but longer term, I view it as an international service so will be keeping my eyes peeled elsewhere.
