What do you do and how long have you been in your current role?
I am MD of the event management company, the Taylor Lynn Corporation. I launched my own company, Liz Taylor Associates in 1985, but later joined forces with industry colleague Dianne Lynn to form the Taylor Lynn Corporation in 1995. It created a successful team that was to last until 2008, when I managed an amicable partnership buy-out.
Where was your first job? What was the most important thing you learnt there?
I worked on the M&S management programme and loved it. I had to work in all aspects of the business, so it taught me to really understand how the company worked. I have taken this philosophy forward and all my employees work from the bottom up – no job is too small or unimportant for anyone in the company.
How did you get from there to where you are now?
I moved into a retail role with Sterling Cooper and then had my first daughter. I was a stay-at-home mum for a while but desperately wanted to work, so took up planning small parties for friends and a part-time role in fashion PR. I still wanted more of a career though, so at a chance meeting with the sales director at The Midland Hotel in Manchester she mentioned that they needed someone to plan their client party – I seized the opportunity, it was a huge success and the rest is history.
Looking back, did you expect your career path to take the course it has?
I don’t think I imagined that TLC would be the success it is today or that I would be planning parties for celebrities and royalty, or indeed what hard work it has all been, but I always knew that I wanted to work in a creative business. There have been key moments and opportunities that came my way which have shaped my career path. I couldn’t have planned them, but was savvy enough to know that when they did come along, I had to make the most of them.
Would you do anything differently?
Not a thing. Every experience I have learned from and I still love my work.
Who has inspired you along the way?
My two daughters. When I set up Liz Taylor Associates I was a single parent and my children, Goldie and Katie, were my overwhelming inspiration. I wanted to create something they would be proud of, to support them financially but also to be a good role model for hard work and dedication.
Have you ever had a job interview that went particularly well or spectacularly wrong?
Well, I once had an interview for the planning of a celebrity party in Cannes. They asked questions such as "Are you available?", "Can you make it the party of the century?" and "Can you book Diana Ross?", to which I answered yes and got the job. I wish they were all that easy.
Is there a piece of career advice you've ever been told that has stuck with you?
The best piece of advice I have been given was to build a brand. A great friend once said that to make the most of my career in the events business, the key would be in creating a successful brand of my own, which is what I have focused on and so far, so good.
What career advice would you give to your 21-year-old self?
Work hard, be determined, take opportunities and enjoy the rewards of your success.
Want to share your career story with us as part of the ? Email news editor Samantha Edwards to feature in a future How I Got Here.
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