I was inspired to start my business from personal experience, having turned a close family member’s loss-making building company around and made it really profitable after running it his way for three years and it making a loss. I had it in profit within 12 months, and built on that for a further five years. Realising I could do the same for others, The Small Business Nanny was born.
My favourite thing about running my business is every day is different with a diverse range of innovative and traditional industries in the region and challenges for me to sort out!
The three words that best describe my business are …. Unique (there is only one me), hands-on and caring.
Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because there are incubators everywhere; you no longer have to sit alone in your spare bedroom. Kollider has just opened in Sheffield, and there are the Barnsley BIC and Digital Media Centre in Barnsley to name but a few providing affordable places to work, collaborate, use a meeting room if you need one and network.
Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because there are numerous ways to finance growth in the region, as well as endless opportunities to network and find a mentor. Everyone should have a Mentor regardless of seniority.
The best advice I ever got was to go and run the Marketing Department at Warner Bros Cinemas age 22 when there wasn’t one! I could have said ‘no’ but I knew it was the biggest opportunity that had come my way so far, so I took on the challenge, learnt on the job, listened to everyone I could, and within 18 months I was running an Internal Advertising Agency buying all the media direct, publishing magazines, as well as organising endless Film Premieres and Cinema Opening campaigns, including Meadowhall. Most people don’t realise it was originally opened 25 years ago as a Warner Bros Cinema by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Bugs Bunny!
The worst advice I ever got was believing someone who told me they knew what they were doing, when my gut feeling was telling me otherwise, and proved to be right – Emotional Intelligence is very powerful.
The organisations that have supported me and my business include Barclays – I’m thrilled they are partnering with Kollider, and the Chambers of Commerce are always there.
The main challenges facing my industry/sector are getting business to acknowledge they need my help before it is too late. Too many businesses fail because the person in charge neglects something they’re either not good at or don’t like doing.
In 5 years’ time I expect my business to have helped hundreds of other businesses survive and thrive and reduce rates of failure. Size and sector are irrelevant as the basic business principles are the same. Look after your cash-flow daily, don’t reinvent the wheel, listen to others, continue to ask questions, communicate, and don’t think everyone has to be good at everything, and finally “Don’t Wait for the Storm to Pass … Learn to Dance in the Rain”.
