THE BIG QUESTIONS
WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSIONAL TITLE?
I suppose it would be Founder, but on my email signature it says ‘Chief Lolly Officer’
WHAT DO YOU DO ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?
What don’t I do! Running a small business I do everything. I mainly focus on marketing, production and HR, but I suppose I’m the glue that holds everything together and makes the business run smoothly connecting all departments.
WHAT DID YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD AND WHAT CHANGED?
I firstly wanted to be a gymnast after watching the Olympics with my dad. When I realised that wasn’t that realistic I also dreamt of owning my business from a really young age, I promise, no lie.
WHAT ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS DO YOU HAVE?
I graduated with a first in Business Studies, specialising in Marketing from Cass Business School.
WHAT’S THE BEST CAREER ADVICE YOU’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?
You just have to work f***ing hard. Trust your instincts and don’t forget to celebrate the wins.
WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL AND WHY?
My mum, everyone probably says that and sounds soppy, but it’s very very true. She owned her own business and dedicated her life to her family. She is the kindest, thoughtful, self-sacrificing, hard working, environmentally friendly, loveliest people I know. I am very lucky to have her as my mum.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR CURRENT WORKING ENVIRONMENT?
Being able to be with my son more than I would do at a ‘normal’ job and being able to juggle work around my crazy hectic life.
WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR DAILY WORK ROUTINE IF YOU COULD?
More time with Rocco and my family. I work very hard and wish I had more quality family time, although I’m very lucky with how much time I get with him compared to other working mums at ‘normal’ jobs.
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF PROFESSIONALLY IN FIVE YEARS’ TIME?
LICKALIX being a great success and living in the countryside with more children and dogs (god is that a cliché!?)
DO YOU FEEL YOU CAN BE THE SAME PERSON AT WORK AND IN PRIVATE?
Yes, definitely. I am exactly the same, just a lot more bossy at work, although not sure my family would agree with that!
WHERE AND IN WHAT ROLES ARE WOMEN IN THE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE AT YOUR COMPANY?
Other than me, half of our managers are women and half our men. Our Marketing Manager and Events Manager are also women.
DOES DIVERSITY MATTER TO YOU?
Yes, definitely. We need lots of different types of people from different backgrounds to be able to creatively solve problems in different ways and come up with cool new ideas. Life would be very boring if we were all the same, and I think the same is true in the business world as well.
HOW GOOD IS YOUR WORK LIFE BALANCE?
I suppose good, but could be much better. I’m a perfectionist and my to do list is a million miles long. I balance work and life well but my sleep is the main thing that suffers. I don’t say no very much, I chip in with everyone else and get my hands dirty all the time, but to make sure everything gets done I then just work very late. This is actually one of the things that I hope our LICKALIX and BABY CÜBES products can help other busy parents with. Giving them something healthy, all natural and organic that they trust to feed their family so it’s one thing less that they have to do and worry about to they can save time and spend it having more family fun.
WHAT QUALITIES DOES BEING IN YOUR ROLE NECESSITATE?
Organisation, multitasking, thinking not 20 but a million steps ahead, communication and leadership, just to name a few.
ANY FINAL COMMENTS?
Thanks for asking me these questions.