I have met and listened to some fascinating speakers at various networking events and I always leave feeling inspired and motivated. There are always one or two nuggets of information that I take away and implement into my business.
Real name:
Jointly founding the Salad graphic design and digital consultancy in 2001 – aged 26 and with a background in fashion – I am living proof that, starting with just passion and a creative spark, anything is possible. The classic entrepreneurial success story, Salad has grown from humble beginnings to the award-winning agency it is today, with a team of 13 and working with the likes of Greene King, Olives et Al, Salomon and the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Alongside Salad, I have been instrumental in the launch in 2007 of another venture, Pasture Naturals – which has since shown significant growth and established itself in the luxury washroom product market.
I firmly believe in power of intuition, enthusiasm and sheer hard graft. Above all, though, I am convinced that the most important ingredient is people: I love what I do… the secret has been finding – and putting faith in – lovely, talented people who share that passion. In the early years of Salad I tried so hard to be corporate, slick, polished…. basically, someone I’m not. When I relaxed and started simply being me everything just clicked.
Whilst the commercial objective is success – it will never be success at any cost. As an agency, Salad has never espoused a late night working culture – it’s my belief that, in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability, people need to be happy, to be treated fairly… and to have fun.
It’s a message with which I hope to inspire others – and a key reason why I’m so excited about being a member of Enterprising Women.