The voice of business in the Tees region | 53
BE GUTSY, TAKE RISKS,
DO MAKE SURE THEY ARE
CALCULATED RISKS.
When I was at school, I wanted to be…
a UN diplomat! The idea of fixing and
negotiating things and thinking big with
other big thinkers always seemed attractive.
The best business decision I ever
made was… After decades of finance
management and as a business owner, the
time came for fewer tax returns to allow for
more family time and the growth of Assist
and that type of work. I realised people
wanted more than the usual networking.
There was a gap, which had no collective
voice, many of us were on the same page
having the same conversations in isolation.
Women of the Tees Valley still have so much
to do and say – watch this space. Join the
movement – hello@assistwomensnetwork.
co.uk. My business mantra is… work hard, play
hard!
The worst business decision I ever made
was… You’ve got to stand by decisions
made at the time, I believe any decision
was the right one when made. If it didn’t
work out as expected, it was a learning
curve, move on, do better next time. No
regrets! The advice I’d give to business start-
ups is… “Just do it”. Be gutsy, take risks,
do make sure they are calculated risks.
Take yourself out of your comfort zone,
prepare, plan and be the one to jump off the
cliff – but make sure you’ve checked your
parachute before you leap!
The best part of my job is… working
with the team and all those who work with
us on some “shake-it-up” things. We are
definitely doers and I like the idea of using
our voice. It’s remarkable how quickly we
can make some things happen. The biggest character on the Tees
business scene is… I am privileged to be
surrounded by so many remarkable Tees
people, the list is far too long, but as you
have pushed me into a corner, my dear
friend and talented game-changer Deb
McGargle, who is professional, diligent and
ambitious.
The biggest downside of my working life
is… lack of sleep!
If I could change one thing to help my
organisation it would be… We are all
volunteers. If we could have an army of
paid local people, we could do even bigger
and better things and in a shorter time and
inspire even more people to take a leap and
follow their reach-for-the-sky dreams.
Four words to describe me are… Recently
I have been called humble and modest.
Let me think… dedicated, persistent,
disciplined. Those who know me say my
brain is always running with far too many
things at any one time.
My greatest achievement is… balancing
family, work and study over the years.
Trying hard to have the best of both worlds,
I became an accomplished juggler. With a
20-year-old accountancy business and as a
single parent the crazy hours, hard work,
volunteering in schools and with many
charities while just keeping it real resulted
in a Lifetime Achievement Queen’s Award
for Enterprise Promotion and I met the
Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Teesside’s a great place for business
because… of the people and places.
The people are supportive, caring and
compassionate and all-round good fun
having plenty of giggles along the way.
All that Assist has achieved is down to
countless women and supporters who have
given their time, skills and ideas. The Tees
Businesswomen Awards are helping as
women don’t like to self-promote.
My biggest frustration about Teesside
is… we are seen as the poor relative and
not worth a visit. I get frustrated with “grim
up north”. We know better, we have a choice
to keep it the best-kept secret or shout
about it. Talking up Teesside is the way
forward.
My favourite local charity is… Easy one!
My Sister’s Place.
When I’m not working, I like to spend
my time… Time is always well spent doing
things out and about locally and lots of
travel with family and friends.
My guilty pleasures are… TV box sets
with an abundance of grit – no rom-coms
for me! Maybe I should also add the odd
G&T.
The best holiday I ever had was… Anyone
who knows me knows my fave place is
New York, best served with family and
friends, but even a working week on my
own being a New Yorker with laptop, coffee
and cake and snow outside went down a
treat! Rome and Egypt need a mention too.
Not many people know this about me
but… I love jumping out of planes – next
jump for the Philanthropic Foundation!
In retirement, I’ll spend my time… writing
a children’s book to encourage curious
young people to be their best version of
themselves and just do what they want
to do and have fun doing it, even if it
goes wrong. And enjoying my garden and
growing things.