I got into the event industry after organising fundraising events to raise money for a local village playground, suddenly it all came together and I realised I had found my ideal job, it was real a light bulb moment.
I have worked here since I launched the company in 2002. After working as a marketing and events manager in local authority for three years I realised that with the restrictions of red tape things just don’t happen quickly enough, so I thought "let’s go and do it for myself".
I was attracted to this particular role because I love the whole aspect of piecing everything together. I often liken it to a giant jigsaw or even at times childbirth, as you go through several months of ups and downs, feeling sick, then calm, then running around at the last minute to get everything ready, but the end result is simply fantastic. It makes the pain all worthwhile and you just enjoy it.
Not many people know that my family and I appeared on the Big Breakfast in 1996 as Family of the Week. I also once appeared on Family Fortunes with my mum and my sisters. It was an awful experience and we only won £57.14 each.
My worst experience at an event was cancelling an awards evening due to exceptionally bad snowfall. We quickly re-planned and took guests on boat trip down the Thames with a fish and chip supper. When the marquee roof collapsed under the weight of snow three hours later, I knew I had made the right decision.
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt it’s that you should always have a plan B up your sleeve, and having a good relationship with the people who can help you implement it can work wonders. I once had to redirect a massive parade 45 minutes before it was due to start. Fortunately having the authorities on side made all the difference.
The best event I’ve been involved in was Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations. We were awarded the five-year contract and had only six weeks to plan before we were on site. There was a lot to do and not much time, but we did it with Christmas bells on. During the light switch on countdown I stopped breathing until the moment the city lit up - the adrenalin rush was unbelievable and one I’ll never forget.
If I could do it all over again I would have started on this career path 10 years earlier. I was 30 before I realised what I wanted to do with my life and I have never looked back.
The one thing I can’t stand is dishonesty, in particular when people are underhand in how they deal with others. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I hate double standards and just cannot abide people who are sneaky.
Outside of work I spend my time with my family. I have a large extended family network and there is always a family celebration to go to, which I always get roped into organising. I also love cooking themed dinner parties and decorating cakes.
If money were no object I would travel much more and buy a few event venues. We deliver so many events it would be great to see how the She’s Gott It! team would do at running our own venue.
The one thing I can’t do my job without is my husband and my team. My husband is incredibly supportive in everything I do and really picks me up when I’ve had a bad day. My team is amazing, so creative, hard working and passionate about what they do, it makes my job so much easier.
If I could switch places with anyone else in the industry it would be one of my event managers. They spend all day every day working on events whereas sometimes my job has to be about leadership, HR and finance, but really I love nothing better than rolling up my sleeves and getting on with it.
If I ruled the event industry I would ensure experienced event managers were recognised by all as an essential part to any big event. We all know the result if those not qualified attempt to fit a gas appliance or try to fly an aeroplane.
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