MY STORY

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BACKGROUND

Growing up in a single parent family with my mum who was one of the UK’s only motor vehicle mechanics at the time, having to make ends meet was a normal way of life. Mum worked full time teaching in further education, but as sole provider to two children, her wages never quite reached the end of the month and so we had to think innovatively and make money in other ways…

There started my entrepreneurial journey in business…

From a young age I was destined to be a business owner- from making rose petal perfume to sell on my driveway as a child, to jewellery making, to selling anything and everything at car boot sales every Sunday. This is where I learnt my negotiation skills very early on. Bulk buying items to sell off individually at school for a marked up price - anything from sweets and chocolate to cigarette lighters (supply and demand!) From aged thirteen I worked for eight years in my families hairdressing salon- Peppers, this taught me not only valuable social skills, but also the value of money; sitting on a rickety old bus that smelt of fuel enough to make my eyes water on a two hour round trip to work each Saturday for ten pounds awarded to me in a little brown envelope at the end of the day…

It was hardly worth it - but it was mine- I earned it and that feeling has never left me.

As a teenager, mum and I bought and sold cars- I’d put up the money, she’d fix them up and we would split the profit - this later moved onto buying and selling houses and by the age of twenty one I had lived in eleven different properties and attended six different schools.

Without me realising, my business journey had begun …

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CAREER JOURNEY

Being creative, my natural course of action following school was art college, which from there I went on to study Theatre Design with Nottingham Trent University, gaining a honorary Bachelors Degree, gaining experience with various theatres including the Royal Shakespeare Company and Carlton Television Studios.

Incidentally, I now work closely with the Nottingham Trent University guest lecturing and running workshops, as well as consulting with academics around the subject of business and all areas of networking. I am also a proud member of their Alumni Fellowship Scheme, where I’m able to give back to the students through sharing my expertise via mentorship programs.

Following a Summer job operating rides at The American Adventure Theme Park, where I gained valuable customer experience, I started my first full time ‘grown up’ with corporate firm Royal Bank of Scotland selling insurance within a contact centre environment and loved it, though insurance was not in my future…

but I could sell and soon became one of the top sellers in the company.

My passion for events began at RBS , where I worked with management to develop staff incentives, started a staff well-being group within the firm and organised events to boost moral, progressing to stand-in team leader positions when required.

The advertising industry was to be my next path-leaving the corporate world for an independent glossy lifestyle magazine, where I embarked on the wonderful, yet cut throat world of sales and advertising- managing client accounts, tele/field sales, attending celebrity events and networking, as well as regularly writing for the publication.

My writing journey had begun.

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TAKING THE LEAP

Fast forward to 2008, itchy feet at the magazine and a desire to run things my way.

RSViP was a light bulb moment - born from the need to leave an eventual unhappy job- the concept took nine months to plan and launch, so I guess you could say it was my baby. Many said I was either brave or naïve to launch a new business in the heart of the recession - I asked myself the same question, but did it anyway and it paid off.

I began making profit in year three with my business network and events brand- RSViP, so it was a hard slog BUT I’ve never looked back.

Nottingham Rugby Club soon became a client and I went onto re-launch their corporate hospitality and look after their PR, tripling their attendance numbers, profits and visibility in one season.

Soon after I launched a second ‘non profit’ business network aimed at property professionals called WREN and have since combined with RSViP, hosted hundreds of successful events and facilitated hundreds of thousands of connections, resulting in hundreds of thousands of pounds of revenue being generated for businesses across the UK.

Utilising my experience in sales and advertising I went onto become co-owner and editor-in -chief of digital business magazine- Affari which ran alongside my existing business.

These days I spend my time sharing my knowledge and expertise through my skills training programs, hybrid coaching/consultancy sessions and workshops, guest lecturing at Universities, writing my business column and e-books and guest speaking at events/conferences…

Plus you may see me out and about at an event or two…

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MY INSPIRATIONS

So many wonderful things in life inspire me, creating new thoughts, ideas and questions…

My love for art, theatre, film, animation and music are always at the foundation of everything I do and I draw inspiration from the beauty I see around me which comes in the form of nature, architecture and places of interest.

Wunderlust is in my blood and the desire to travel, explore and discover new adventures will always be a part of who I am.

Expanding my knowledge and learning from others so that I can share and pay forward my findings is also an integral part of my life and business plan.

Sketch by me:

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MY CORE VALUES

my values are an extremely important part of who I am .

These are the things I hold myself accountable to, things I live my life by, things I measure everything against on a daily basis in both my work and my personal life.

As a left handed Leo, I am a creative, visual thinker, an ambivert and highly intuitive empath.

I never compromise on my values and neither should you.

Sketch by me

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ASK FIONA…

My friend Paul recently asked me a few fun ‘get to know you’ questions, so here goes:

What music are you into?

All genres except heavy metal and I’m not all that keen on jazz as I find it too all over the place’ as I’m an organised person!

My roots take me to reggae, old school R&B and anything from the 90’s to noughties, but I’m an 80’s kid so I’m also partial to a bit of Heart 80’s (in particular rock) on the Roberts radio!

What is your one desert island meal?

Being vegetarian and having a dislike to cooking, I tend to eat simple foods unless I’m dining out so I’d choose:

Jacket potato, beans, cheese and coleslaw in that order with lashings of real butter.

If I get dessert then a really fluffy lemon meringue pie or any kind of pudding with custard will do the trick.

How do you relax?

I love gentle exercise such as yoga /Pilates and I meditate and journal most mornings. I integrate gratitude & mindfulness into my daily life and love getting outside in nature on country walks & hikes, plus I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to visitors centres and history.

As a creative I am drawn towards anything crafty and a visit to an art gallery every so often keeps me topped up.

Favourite places in the world you have travelled?

I got engaged in Paris and married in Florence, so I am a huge fan of France and Italy.

Mallorca also holds special family memories for me and The Maldives was a big bucket list tick for me. My next dream is to travel to Jamaica and across the USA & do Route 66.

Who are your top 3 ideal dinner party guests?

Octavia Spencer

Denzel Washington

Robin Williams

With a cameo from Kevin Hart for comedy value.

Favourite tipple?

I’m not a big drinker, but when socialising I like a glass or two of fizz, if Champagne I prefer pink preferably Laurent Perrier Rose or any kind of Prosecco - i’m not fussy there!

My retro ‘go to’ drink is a dry Martini and lemonade.

Favourite Biscuit?

Ginger nuts dunked in real tea win every time, though I am partial to a Party Ring on a special occasion & dare I say Farley’s rusks are awesome!

What is your claim to fame?

I once ‘high fived’ super model Caprice during an interview, shared a cigarette with nineties pop singer Kavana, partied with the So Solid Crew at Butlins (!) bumped into Lisa from Steps in the toilets, where she told me she liked my dress, had a photo of myself and Kim Cattrall featured in a magazine and Philip Schofield waved at me at a theme park when I was about 8 - does that count?

Favourite artist?

Wassily Kandinsky closely followed by Gustav Klimt as i’m a fan of abstract art, however I also love all pieces by Vincent Van Gogh and Monet is classic beauty. One of my favourite illustrators is Quentin Blake and I love the work of fashion artist Jason Brooks, who is known for the design of the Hed Kandi compilations.