About

You & Me

You

You are in the right place.

You are an ambitious and passionate founder of a business in London, Herts or South East of Merry England. Because let’s start with here.

You might run a hotel, vineyard, museum or estate agency. If people and their enjoyment of life is your mission, then please read on.

You started this whole thing a while back. Thankfully, you aren’t scrambling around for funding or finding your feet. But it still feels harder than it needs to be. 

You are at a point where you feel you could grow or do something else exciting. But you are not sure what needs to be done, or how. 

You and your company have an incredible (personal) story, which - when you think about it - makes you smile or shiver. Yet for some reason you haven’t felt comfortable - or even thought - to share it more widely…

It’s frustrating that you don’t have more returning customers, that your staff turnover is higher than you’d like or that people who work for you seem to be disenchanted or less-than-enthused by their work.

You spend money on marketing, HR, customer retention and ad hoc sponsorships or charitable giving. But rarely do these strategies align and it’s difficult to assess the impact of this spending.

You talk about “local”, being more sustainable and creating a community but, in all honesty, you think you could be doing better.

You wish your people could be more committed to your cause and help you fly the flag.

You are fed up with working with agencies who fly in and out, demand a lot of hand-holding and don’t deliver.

You want to make your mark in the world - to be a bigger fish. To tackle the “machine” and bring more love, creativity and care into your market.

You are scared of dying with a feeling that it all could have been better, bigger or more impactful - for you, for your people and for the world. Sad but not necessary.

In a post-Covid world rife with anxiety about the AI robots taking over, now is the time to celebrate being human, to share our experience, create a sense of belonging and look forward to the future.

Me

Some might call me a Fractional Executive, some a Fairy Godmother and some a Non-Executive Director.

I cost the same as a junior member of staff, but have more experience than many managers.

I help purposeful and creatively minded people with disruptive or "post-conventional" businesses to harness their personal and company heritage stories - to stand out, grow, become sustainable, be inclusive, a great place to work and a responsible British and global citizen.

My aim is to help you to bring together your Brand, your People and your Communities... to save money, do good in the world and punch above the big boys (and girls).

Together

We can easily do this by using your stories. Trust me. And trust you. And your people.

It all sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it…

I am not for you if…

  • You are too big an organisation and it’s difficult for the left hand to talk to the right.

  • You want to appear very slick in your marketing and are scared to admit to fault, a pivot or a bigger picture system change that you may not be able to create on your own.

  • You prefer to outsource thousands a month on external Marketing, PR, HR, Market Research and Sponsorship agencies to get stuff done.

  • You are not prepared to let down your guard and give your people a bit more of “you”.

  • You do not have the space or time to listen - no, REALLY listen - to your employees, customers.

  • Have huge budgets to throw at growth but don’t really want to get personally involved.

Why me?

I have been working with storytelling and narrative for over 20 years - in Corporate Communications and through Theatre, Art & Design, Literature, Psychotherapy, and Cultural Theory.

I come to you with two decades of hands-on experience in Marketing, User Experience, HR & Community Engagement across a range of sectors - Corporate, Not-For-Profit, Government, The Arts, Start-Up and Finance. 

I have written two papers and spoken on panels about Corporate Social Responsibility, was the youngest marketing manager at the world’s only-art led insurance company and was the dedicated HR and Comms trustee for seven years for an international charity dedicated to better education, poverty-relief and social enterprise in the developing world. 

I have university qualifications in Graphic Design, Cultural Theory & Sociology and Art History and I’ve consulted to a host of organisations about a range of things related to what I want to help you with.

I have myself been a Manager, a Trustee, a Director and Consultant as well as an Assistant and a Dogsbody. 

I know how it feels at every level of employment. I’ve been both seen, heard, understood and respected and also ‘just the little marketing girl’ in a big bad bluechip ocean. I want everyone to feel involved and appreciated. 

After years of working “in-house”, having babies and Covid, I co-founded Better Bolder Braver with Simon Batchelar, author of Reframing Marketing. “BBB” is a thriving community supporting coaches to put themselves out there in the world with more confidence, clarity and joy, through good, ethical marketing. I love the entrepreneurial life and the squiggly career that brought me to where I am today.

I am, therefore, a gatekeeper to a host of professional executive and life coaches and am also close to a broad network of specialists in Branding and Marketing, Public Speaking, Learning & Development, Customer Experience and Community Engagement experts on whom I can call... For making corporate videos and podcasts to establishing sustainability and sponsorship activities, enhancing customer retention and making employees feel more seen, heard, understood and valued. 

If needs be, I will introduce the right experts at the right time.