Describe your working day ... Work is a short mile and a half journey from home - I should walk really , but having usually started my working day early at home I ’ m keen to get to my desk and carry on .

My day is typically a mixture of supporting staff and answering their queries , alongside speaking to customers and answering their questions on implementing AdminBase . I can often be found testing new developments before we release them or writing specifications and designing new AdminBase features .

I tend to leave the office around 5-5:30 , have dinner with my family , and then frequently carry on working into the evening to finish any urgent tasks .

What is your workspace like ? Pretty tidy most of the time . There are a few pieces of paper dotted around but Ab Initio is pretty much paperless – so my laptop desktop could definitely do with a tidy up .

First thing you do when you get to your desk ? Sort out my email inbox . Clear the junk and flag what needs doing urgently .

What websites help you ? Google of course . I love Moqups for designing software interfaces . Confluence is also very handy .

Most useful business tool ? I think the prize for that one goes to Slack . As most of my staff work remotely , co-ordinating everything and everyone used to be a real headache . The day I discovered Slack changed everything . That and the software we have developed inhouse to manage every aspect of the business from initial enquiry , to support contract admin , support ticket logging and resolving , and license key generation . These are always the first two things I open when I start work and the last two things I close before clocking off for the day .

Best business decision in your current role ? The realisation that I needed to step back from some of the day-to-day aspects of Ab Initio and concentrate more on supporting my staff to handle those . This change means I can spend more of my time focusing on the direction we need to take the business in , both in the medium and long term . Also realising that , whilst I might be able to do certain things myself , there are only so many hours in a day and so it is worth outsourcing as much as possible to free up my time .

Favourite role models and why ? I love watching Dragons Den , especially the successful ladies on there . They ’ ve made me realise I don ’ t have to say yes to everything . It ’ s OK to say no this isn ’ t for me . You just need to be confident in your own vision . But at the same time , I try to be flexible in my mindset and prepared to listen to ideas from people of all ages .

‘ I try to relax in ways that don ’ t involve looking at a screen ’

How do you unwind ? Right now , with foreign travel out of the picture , I try to relax in ways that don ’ t involve looking at a screen . I ’ ve rediscovered a passion for couture sewing and I am working on a complete garden redesign as I suspect that ’ s as far I ’ ll be going for quite a few months . Both these things can be enjoyed whilst consuming nice wine so that ’ s me sorted .

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