MY STORY
Growing up with business
I’ve always been interested in business, making things that solved problems and been curious about how people make money in ways other than being employed! My dad had his own photography business, so I grew up knowing that working for myself and doing what I felt passionate about – was an option, albeit a tough one.
I started studying Business Studies in 1991 (that makes me feel old!) in the 6th form at school, did a Business Studies degree at Kingston University, specialising in marketing, then immediately went into my first marketing job. I loved how varied the topic of business and marketing is.
I specialise in being a generalist – I’m really good at lots of things and can turn my hand to pretty much anything.
I actually love marketing and business. I feel I am a marketeer by trade.
By accident my career started in the Beauty industry, a Marketing Assistant job I got straight from University. I wasn’t sure what industry I wanted to work in and so beauty was as good as any other. It was a great opportunity with an incredibly professional, small company and I learned a lot over 4 years.
But I kept wondering, is this it?!
Is this ‘it’?
I knew things weren’t right in my life but I didn’t really know what was wrong. I just knew I wanted more and was destined for more than an office job, commute and living for the weekends.
Have you ever thought or felt that there must be something more to life? More point to it?
I’m an adventurous soul. So, I went travelling, all by myself, to Australia (flying the day after Sept 11 happened -which was nuts!) and South East Asia, working in Sydney for a few months in the middle. It was amazing! People said I was brave, to me it was just so exciting. I had a ball and I had my eyes opened too; to poverty, but also to simplicity, community, family, spirituality and the happiness and peace that brings people.
Already into t’ai chi, I started to get into meditation and self-help books and inspired by a Buddhist teacher I met, I went vegetarian on my return. I was slowly beginning to awaken to my heart’s truth and tune into more of what’s possible.
Then back in London, I carried on working in the mainstream beauty industry, marketing small-medium brands of skincare, fragrance, toiletries, colour cosmetics and men’s as well as being instrumental in opening and building up a men’s spa in London!
It was great fun, with good people, the money was good. But I found the commute tough and I was getting physically sick with headaches and fatigue. Also, that nagging doubt didn’t go away... in fact, that voice started to get louder!
There has to be something more to life than THIS!
Trying to Figure it Out
I knew I wasn’t fulfilled in corporate, media London. I gradually realised I wanted to do something more important in the world, something that really benefits others (rather than being in the business of making people feel bad about their looks so they’ll buy more ‘stuff’ filled with chemicals and toxins – aka the mainstream ‘Beauty Industry’).
I soooo wanted to make a contribution, to make a difference and do something more ethical.
I thought about what other career I could do that was more in alignment with who I really am, with my passions and values. I thought and thought, going round in circles, trying to figure it out, but I couldn’t find the answer in my logical mind.
The answer was in my HEART. And my heart needed time and space and the right environment in which to flourish. So I went travelling again, this time to Latin America, but in a much more focused way (not running away). I went to volunteer on organic farms and permaculture projects – a new passion of mine and to find myself.
After 10+ years of reading self-help books, practising t’ai chi, chi gong, Buddhist meditation and yoga, I went to my first group personal development workshop in 2010 when I lived in an eco-spiritual community in Nicaragua (Central America). It was in tantra, and boy I was in at the deep end – we had to get naked and allsorts – eek! It was a stretch I can tell you, but a challenge that worked.
Listening to My Heart
Part of my personal growth journey has been the decision and practice to follow my truth, my soul’s purpose, to awaken my heart to who I really am, after years of being ‘asleep’, living someone else’s idea of my life. This really helped shift things, as it increased my self-worth and sense of fulfilment.
Through my spiritual and personal development practices (meditation, t’ai chi, dance, tantra) and meeting other people living alternative lifestyles, I started to wonder what was possible for me and what I really wanted. I opened up wide to the possibilities and opportunities of the universe and trusted that the right things would come my way.
And the Universe responded.
I was done with London but I had no idea where to go next. My previous employer offered me some work and agreed that I could be location independent 🙂 This really opened things up for me.
I worked for them for another 3 years and after months of deliberation, I moved to Bristol in 2014. I’d never even been there!
I loved being more independent, with no commute and flexible hours. I was healthier for it. I loved Bristol from day one and I worked on an amazing organic beauty brand which was right up my street.
I re-trained in some coaching and personal development modalities (see my qualifications here), threw myself into this new world and grew massively as a person. I started to wonder, could I go it alone…
I made the leap of faith and finally left my ‘proper’ job in May 2014, waaay before I felt ready. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do at first, so I started running women’s empowerment workshops and courses, then Heart IQ events, circles and courses, doing 1-2-1 coaching and creating online courses. Plus, I picked up some freelancing and VA work along the way to make ends meet!
My entrepreneurial journey
A funny thing happened, that wasn’t part of my ‘plan’ but has been a huge blessing! In 2014, I started a wonderful collaboration with a couple of friends with their own business: The School of Natural Skincare. They teach people to make their own natural and organic skincare and how to formulate products to sell.
Together we created a business program (Build Your Beauty Brand) to help people who felt ready and wanted to create and build a successful natural beauty brand. I love coaching, teaching and mentoring passionate, ethical, entrepreneurs with the business, marketing and branding skills and knowledge they’re lacking. Many of them are creating some amazing natural beauty brands. I’m so proud!
With my own stuff, I’ve been on quite a journey!
I’ve been working with women on developing their authentic confidence, power and voice for a few years and I love it. My women’s work is massively empowering, expansive and enlightening. Now, I’ve developed and consolidated my skills and background in marketing and my personal development expertise, to niche into helping women entrepreneurs to market themselves more confidently and feel more confident with their marketing.
I meet so many women who are really great at what they do (and I believe we all have unique gifts for the world) but struggle with the business and marketing side of things AND struggle to put themselves out there.
It’s scary, I get it. It’s very exposing to market and promote yourself and your heart-centred business. It can be difficult to say to the world, this is who I am, what I believe in, what I have to offer and how much I’m worth!
It brings up our stuff.
It brings up our fears around being rejected, judged, not being good enough and being seen.
I feel so passionate about helping women really shine in their business and create a successful, sustainable business offering their amazing skills and gifts to the world. I just love working with women who want to make the world a better place.
And so, here I am… Hopefully helping you with my unique take on marketing: AUTHENTIC MARKETING.
Marketing and sales doesn’t have to feel horrible, icky or scary. I believe marketing can be enjoyable, when you do it in a way that feels good to you and will be effective.
Gone are the days of pushy, annoying marketing and selling…..
Now is the time for authentic marketing!
To find out more about my work go here.
A Powerful Manifestor
I love Bristol, I feel so at home here. I’ve found my tribe both locally and globally and I’ve now finally met my beautiful forever man (Ralph), my soul mate I’d been calling in for some years :-)!
I’ve discovered so many tools, techniques and practices that I’ve become a pretty powerful manifestor. I do believe, we can (pretty much) achieve whatever we put our hearts and minds to – and I believe it is a collaboration!
Walking the path of one’s truth isn’t the easiest way, I can tell you, but one I will never regret.
And I’ve never been happier…
My Journey of Self-Love
I didn’t always love myself and feel confident as I (mostly!) do now. My story starts with me as a rather podgy teenager, with ‘thunder’ thighs, terrible haircuts, no style and three older brothers who took the piss, a lot! I never used to feel very feminine – I was a tom boy wearing hand-me-down trousers in an unambitious, working-middle class, Northern family.
As I didn’t know any differently, I wasn’t very embodied (as I now understand the term), I was actually pretty disconnected from everything but my head! I wasn’t listening to the other wisdom found in my body, life-force energy, emotions and intuition.
So I ended up in a career and work path that was very logical but wasn’t really in alignment with my values (marketing in the mainstream beauty industry – urgh!). I would have loved to have studied psychology or sociology instead. So I found work draining, stressful, exhausting, plus I was sick a lot with what I can now see were stress-related illnesses (bad back, headaches, fatigue and poor digestion).
As a way to escape my reality (and I’m also a bit of an adventurer), I was quite a hedonist. In my 20’s (ok, and half of my 30’s), I partied a lot, drank too much & took recreational drugs regularly, always wanting to be the centre of attention, to fill the emptiness inside, to feel something other than not being ‘good enough’, not fitting in, feeling flat and unfulfilled.
Knowing it wasn’t ‘right’
I knew things weren’t right in my life but I didn’t really know what was wrong, so my decision at first was to go down the hedonistic route, run away and go travelling, to Australia and S.E. Asia for a total of 16 months – all on my own! People said I was brave, to me it was exciting. I had a ball and I had my eyes opened too; to poverty, but also to simplicity, community, family, spirituality and the happiness and peace that brings people.
Already into t’ai chi, I started to get into meditation and self-help books and inspired by a Buddhist teacher I met, I went vegetarian on my return. I was slowly beginning to awaken to my heart’s truth.
I didn’t want to go back to the same situation that I knew wasn’t me, but I didn’t know what else to do, so I got stuck in London and got another job doing what I’d done before: Brand Management in the beauty industry (although with a more ‘fun’ company) – I felt I had no choice!
But, this nagging doubt, these thoughts of, “there must be something more to life than this!” didn’t go away, in fact, they started to get louder!
Trying to Figure it Out
I knew I wasn’t fulfilled (in corporate, media London) at the time. I gradually realised I wanted to do something more important in the world, something that really benefits others (rather than being in the business of making people feel bad about their looks so they’ll buy more ‘stuff’ filled with chemicals and toxins – aka the mainstream ‘Beauty Industry’).
I soooo wanted to make a contribution, to make a difference and do something more ethical.
I thought about what other career I could do that was more in alignment with who I really am, with my passions and values. I thought and thought, going round in circles, trying to figure it out, but I couldn’t find the answer in my logical mind.
The answer was in my HEART. And my heart needed time and space and the right environment in which to flourish. So I went travelling again, this time to Latin America, but in a much more focused way (not running away). I went to volunteer on organic farms and permaculture projects – a new passion of mine and to find myself.
After 10+ years of reading self-help books, practising t’ai chi, chi gong, Buddhist meditation and yoga, I went to my first group personal development workshop in 2010 when I lived in an eco-spiritual community in Nicaragua (Central America). It was in tantra, and boy I was in at the deep end – we had to get naked and allsorts – eek! It was a stretch I can tell you, but a challenge that worked.
As I released and started to deal with all the ‘stuff’ I’d been suppressing, all the past hurts, shadows, pain and disappointments, I was totally set free! I didn’t know all my ‘stuff’ was holding me back and keeping me feeling flat & numb and not living my purpose. I didn’t know that was what was causing my problems and I finally found the solution!
Listening to My Heart
Part of my self-love journey has been the decision and practice to follow my truth, my soul’s purpose, to awaken my heart to who I really am, after years of being ‘asleep’, living someone else’s idea of my life. This really helped shift things, as it increased my self-worth and sense of fulfilment.
Upon my return from Latin America, I lived with my parents for six months and sat patiently with the question of where I wanted to be as I knew London and the life I’d had and work I’d been doing, was no longer an option. I followed my intuition, my heart’s inner wisdom and eventually moved to a totally new city, Bristol, which I’d never even been to, I just knew deep down it was ‘right’!
I followed the breadcrumbs (each small step taken revealing the next). I re-trained (see my qualifications here), studied and practised my ass off. And in the process, did the tough and necessary personal development work, which enables me to hold you safely and with high integrity when I work with you.
I trained in various modalities. I went part time. I sold my flat in London. I awakened my creativity and real me. I stopped drinking and partying because there’s was no longer a hole to fill! I’d found more of my true purpose!
I changed everything about my life.
I made the leap of faith and finally left my ‘proper’ job in May 2014, waaay before I felt ready. I didn’t really know what I was doing so I started running women’s empowerment workshops and courses, then Heart IQ events, circles and courses, 1-2-1 coaching and creating online courses. Plus picked up some freelancing and VA work along the way to make ends meet!
Then a funny thing happened, that wasn’t part of my ‘plan’ but has been a huge blessing! I started working with a couple of friends and their business (The School of Natural Skincare), using my extensive business knowledge of the beauty industry but this time in a way that feels great. Together we created an online program called Build Your Beauty Brand through which we teach and I mentor budding beauty entrepreneurs to create and grow their own brand of natural and organic beauty.
I’ve now taken all my experience of helping people live a life true to themselves, a life of courage, self-belief and self-confidence and I’ve niched down to specifically helping women entrepreneurs to create an authentic business they love. Check out ways of working with me here.
I love Bristol, I feel so at home here. I’ve found my tribe both locally (through networking) and globally (through Heart Intelligence and The Art of Feminine Presence) and I’ve now finally met my beautiful forever man (Ralph), my soul mate I’d been calling in for some years :-)!
Now, no matter what’s going on (good or bad), no matter how I feel, whether I’m really wobbly emotionally, feeling sad or scared, vulnerable or whatever, I never lose my sense of self-love and strength in who I am.
Walking the Heart Path of truth isn’t the easiest path, I can tell you, but one I will never regret.
And I’ve never been happier…