One girl’s story…
I have just realised that in a few weeks I will have lived in Bath for 15 years having grown up in Hastings.
This is just crazy! I don’t feel old enough to have lived without my folks for that long!
I moved to Bath at 19 with half an A level in fine art and lots of experience in hospitality to run a guest house in the city centre.
While at the guest house I went to Bath College in the evenings to study accountancy and worked at a local pub to make friends.
I moved from the guest house to a flat and went to run the finance at a marketing agency where I began managing digital marketing projects.
From there I moved to become part of the team at The House Ltd where I learnt about brand, culture and purpose. I worked with organisations both local and international, for profit and not for profit, brand new and 800+ years established.
And I went back to college again and added a Post Grad Diploma in Marketing to my bag.
I was also invited to become a trustee at the incredible Modern Slavery charity Unseen UK
I learnt a huge amount about myself too during these six years and my last day at The House was one of my saddest ever.
I met a wonderful guy and with him (in our spare time) set up a cafe and catering company.
I went in-house in 2017 to lead on Brand, Marketing and Internal Culture Change in a global healthcare manufacturer, Prima Dental Group and we founded another company in the group and two new divisions.
I studied again and became a qualified practitioner of the Barrett Values Centre and grew my cultural experience and credentials.
I had a son, contracted at another Bath agency and then as Covid hit I started BACKPACK - my very own consultancy. And what a ride that has been so far!
Having always worked in a coaching manner I finally added coaching officially to my quiver with a coaching certification from MOE Foundation too.
Around the same time my colleagues and I started Farleigh Performance and that has been an equally awesome ride so far with an incredible future ahead.
A few months into Backpack a call lead to the founding of SHE - part of the Catalyst Foundation a charity working with girls in rural Zimbabwe to ensure consistent and quality education.
I have been interviewed on the radio, spoken on brand and culture, been part of panels on international business, written guest articles and been a guest facilitator with leaders around #purpose. I say this because to me it’s mad not because I want to blow a trumpet or two!
I have just had my second son and I’m in the process of researching and writing a book about the mythical creature - The Grown-Up (watch this space!)
Who knows what the next 15 years hold but not bad for a college drop out from Hastings!