Not a very cheerful topic – certainly not British, we barely talk about money, never about sex and never in my experience about death. Yet death is something that will come to us all, sooner or later. I do remember my grandmother making it very clear that she saw funerals as a complete waste of […]

Did you know that you can exercise and strengthen your brain as if it were a muscle? The brain is a complex and wonderful thing, which many of us do not use to its full potential. You’ve heard the term, use it or lose it; well, the more we use our brains the more neural pathways […]

This week’s blog is a guest post from James Oakley of James Oakley Media. I’ve written before about the attitude of “if you don’t ask, you don’t get” and I love that James really applies this, not least by nicely “stalking” me in order to get the advice and mentorship he wanted in order to […]

Stress is a major issue these days; it does affect everyone, no matter who they are or what they do. Stress can be positive and I know personally there have been times where I have benefitted from being in a stressful situation. Intentionally putting myself into uncomfortable and challenging situations have grown my abilities and […]

I am a busy woman, always juggling as much as I can whilst also trying to stay sane, balanced and frankly happy. I have worked and planned hard to build a life where I have choices and the freedom to do as I please. As part of my vision I wanted to have a less […]

Success in life is a matter not so much of talent as of concentration and perseverance. – C. W. Wendte Focus is something we don’t mention enough in business, but it’s something so incredibly valuable, not only in business but in everyday life. I was not top of the class at school, being more of […]

I am often asked about my daily schedule; how I get so much done, stay on top of emails and so on. Whilst every day is different, and I’ll often find myself travelling or attending meetings, I thought I might share how my “normal” working day goes and how I have strategies that allow me […]

I spent 17 years building Pacific Direct before initially selling my share in the company from 99% down to just below 20%. During the years we were building the company I spent a lot of time travelling the globe, visiting clients and suppliers and establishing factories. In one year I spent over 200 nights in […]

When you run your own business, no matter the size, it is important to also take time for yourself. Work-life balance can feel like a bit of a joke when you’re trying to keep a business going, but it’s important to remember that if you don’t cultivate some form of work-life balance now, you may […]

How do you motivate your staff to work hard, so that you get the best out of them? Traditional notions of management are great, if you want compliance. If you want engagement, self direction works better. – Dan Pink I’ve written a lot lately about things like company mission statements and staff appraisals; these are […]