My typical days vary! I could be on site visits, doing design work, catching up on admin, social media posts, ordering for the shop, being with customers in the shop or sneaking in a game of tennis (perks of own business!)
What do you think are the three most important skills to succeed in your career area?
Hard work and determination, innovation and customer service.
Was this something you planned to do or did you change direction at any point in the past? If so, what was that and was it easy to do?
Always a dream to have my own business for as long as I can remember, but for a while I worked in the corporate world latterly for an American FMCG company, heading up their HR department. I was never truly happy in that role. I had a major catalyst for change which was my Dad getting diagnosed with cancer and I decided life was too short to not be happy in my work. So in 2009 I moved back to Jersey, took a lease on a shop and started to build my business.
What do you love most about working in your career area?
Being my own boss! I get to make all the decisions and set the direction for the business and I don’t have to answer to anyone else. I have AMAZING staff and do love working with them and bouncing ideas off them. I also love being able to express my creativity through my work.
Are there any negative aspects of working in your career area that people considering it should be aware of?
Retail is a tough environment so you need to be able to constantly evolve and innovate. Oh and paperwork, I’d much rather be dressing a house or redesigning the shop than catching up on admin. You need to keep on top of the paperwork side of the business to ensure everything else runs smoothly and you get to do the fun bits!!
What training / qualifications did you undertake for your current role or are you currently undertaking?
I have a degree in Archaeology and professional qualifications in HR and although these seem completely unrelated to my current career I think that the skills I learnt in particularly in the business environment has set me in good stead. Sometimes I think qualifications only get you so far, practical experience, learning from mistakes, that’s what really teaches you a lot.
Is there any other information that would be of interest to someone thinking ofthis career?
I’m lucky now that I love what I do ….so my advice would be to find a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.
