Tell us a bit about your role! Is there a “typical” day?
As a founder, there is never a typical day. My role has evolved as the business has grown over the past 10 years. I love having variety in my day, but I find most of my time is spent supporting the team who are incredible at delivering exceptional results for our clients - I help wherever I can!
If I’m not offering advice, I’m at board meetings or pushing our new business pipeline. I also enjoy regularly meeting with other entrepreneurs to discuss business challenges.
What was the biggest challenge in getting to your current position?
For me, the biggest challenge was transitioning the business to more than 20 employees. It meant processes needed to be improved or implemented to accommodate the larger team. Throughout this transition I tried to remain fair and consider as many views as I could when making decisions – which was hard to juggle at times.
When Sleek Events grew I also found it difficult to take a step back. Having been so involved in the day-to-day, I had to force myself to let other people take over. It’s hard to find people internally to help you develop when you’re the leader of a business, so I found it useful to find external peers who could give me a fresh perspective and help change my thinking.
What is your personal background and what role did it play in your career?
I didn’t excel at school, but I managed to achieve results that allowed me to go to university. Although, I never really knew what direction I wanted to go in. It became clear to me that I didn’t ‘fit’ the academic system or the traditional route that seemed to work for most people.
Once I started working, I felt like my line managers struggled to manage my drive, which at times made me feel I was being held back. Facing these struggles encouraged me to turn to freelancing, where I could push myself in both good and bad ways. I definitely worked too many hours, which may not have been my wisest decision, but it highlighted the importance of gaining a work life balance for myself and for my current team.
What is your biggest career-related win? What is your biggest loss?
My biggest win was rebuilding Sleek after the lockdowns and restrictions were lifted. Just before Covid I was fortunate enough to be accepted onto the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. This provided me with access to a range of entrepreneurs and business specialists at Oxford University.
They were pivotal in helping to boost my morale during the tricky times and made me look at strategies to implement whilst I dealt with the effects of the pandemic, rather than just focus on the emotional side. I have a lot to thank them for! It was a tough time, like for so many, but we returned to the scene more established and educated than before and for that, I’m very proud.
My biggest loss was when I was still relatively new to the business world including losing £500k of my own money. I also ran a public event which wasn’t a success and ROI was low. I learnt a lot from that experience and it led to Sleek focusing on B2B events.
Which individuals and/or agencies do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
I find it useful to talk to other founders or those in a similar position with decision making powers outside of their job titles, as it feels we have a shared understanding of common business challenges.
Whilst there are so many great people that work within the events industry, I find I’m actually mostly inspired by those outside of my sector. During Covid, I came across All Together, a pro bono advisory platform that provided access to successful business people. I was partnered with Jules Hydleman – who is full of knowledge and wisdom. He lifted me up when everything felt extremely tough. I’m incredibly grateful for his time and expertise.
If you could go back to your teenage years, would you have done things differently? Do you have any regrets?
I’m pleased to say I don’t have any proper regrets! On reflection it would have been nice to stress less about who I was, feel more comfortable in my own skin and learn to trust my instincts quicker – but I suppose that’s a pretty common teenager worry! I think if the school curriculum included entrepreneurship guidance or general life skills this would help to address some common problems students feel.
I also wish I started reading self-help books earlier in my life. They are an incredible resource and really helped me deal with my insecurities as well as fill the gaps which education or life hadn’t taught me.
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
Being totally honest, I have no idea!
I had never thought about working in the events industry before or during university. I took business studies with German and Spanish, which I felt left my options open. This paid off and I’m glad I choose a course that allowed me freedom to decide my career path later on.
What’s your one big dream for the future of the industry?
It can be tricky to get the work life balance right when working in an industry like events. Often you can be asked at any time to go on site which means clients can be in contact at all hours, so you’re never fully ‘offline’. This can make juggling children or hobbies challenging.
My dream is for businesses who employ event teams to truly understand the ROI and the time it takes to put on a successful event. Historically, event agencies had a bad reputation when it came to pricing and transparency, but hopefully the trust is slowly being rebuilt.
It’s a tough industry to work in, so I make sure my team feel like I recognise the effort they put into making sure each event we put on is excellent. It’s with this in mind I’d also love to see things like unpaid work experience be a thing of the past. It’s totally unacceptable in my opinion.
What are your top tips for aspiring creative professionals?
Events is fortunately an industry where there is always something to learn. Regardless of how many times you have executed an event at the same venue - always expect the unexpected! I’d always encourage people to remain curious and where possible spend time with more seasoned professionals to educate yourself.
Unlike other professions, career growth in events is not something that can be judged solely on timescale – for me it’s all about exposure and hands on experience.
What are your top tips for other creative leaders?
When judging creative as a leader, I think it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of others it may relate to – whether that’s clients, attendees, sponsors or employees. Taking this approach helps challenge the status quo and ultimately leads to more exciting creative that makes a real impact.
When you think about your team, what is the thing that matters to you the most?
For me it’s simple, I just want the team to be happy to come to work. I believe if you empower people so they feel like they can grow and develop it creates job satisfaction. Obviously, the desire to progress is up to the individual so they need to be open to change.
I have the team’s best interests at heart and want each one of them to succeed – whether that’s at Sleek or somewhere else if they decide to move on.
Do you have any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Eat That Frog!: Get More Of The Important Things Done Today by Brian Tracy
The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM by Hal Elrod
Start With Why: The Inspiring Million-Copy Bestseller That Will Help You Find Your Purpose by Simon Sinek
Code of the Extraordinary Mind, The: 10 Unconventional Laws to Redefine Your Life and Succeed On Your Own Terms by Vishen Lakhiani
The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People: Revised and Updated: 30th Anniversary Edition by Stephen R. Covey
Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Dr Spencer Johnson
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity by David Allen
Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by Jim Collins
Atomic Habits: the life-changing million-copy #1 bestseller by James Clear
