‘More Balls Than Most’ is my first book. Within it, you will find:
Secrets of how I built a globally recognised company from almost nothing and sold it for £20 million.
I hope, an inspirational, straight-talking business book about how to grow your business and maximise profits.
Professional advice for all young entrepreneurs, managers and CEOs.
Tried-and-tested business templates that you can download for free and apply to accelerate business success
How did I, clueless and uneducated in business, at the tender age of 23, turn the sales of a few sewing kits and soaps into a global business worth £20 million? On reflection, a wholehearted humility and awareness of all the things others could do better, and a continual drive to learn and improve both myself and the company helped me through challenge after challenge.
I believe anyone can build a profitable company if they want it badly enough and are willing to work hard – success is something others define. Building Pacific Direct as a company has been one of my greatest achievements. We, the Pacific team, overcame endless hurdles on the way and we had numerous moments of laughter and panic as we prevailed.
There are many business books around but I wanted to share the real challenges and experiences any business owner will come across in their journey. As well as to highlight the things that really matter when it comes to the success of a business. Don’t ever underestimate the value of great people and having the right team in place.
Without their commitment and genius we would never have transformed the company from a cottage industry, hand-selling products door to door, into the multi-million business empire, Pacific Direct – manufacturer and supplier of amenities to luxury hotels in 110 countries around the globe, working with luxury brand names such as Bulgari, Aveda, Elemis, The White Company and Penhaligon’s.
Driven by a determination to learn from the best and an unshakeable belief in my skills as a saleswoman, I somehow managed, through sheer hard graft and seemingly inexhaustible energy, to acquire the business acumen to become CEO of one of the UK’s fastest growing small companies. In my 19 years in the business, we revolutionised the hotel amenities industry, built a successful, forward-thinking organisation, faced some very tough decisions, until I finally sold my majority stake for £20 million. I’ve learnt numerous lessons from trying and failing to establish a work-life balance, have overcome huge challenges and been through extraordinary highs and lows.
Each chapter includes ‘Lara’s Laws’ to mentor you through the many challenges a growing company has to face, as well as providing invaluable proven shortcuts and business templates for managing and monitoring your progress.
Key Learning Points include:
- Have the confidence (and tricks) to make those vital first contacts
- Take the creative decisions that will set your business apart from the rest
- Inspire your teams to create and celebrate their success and yours
- Reward in ways which reap further rewards
- Run a successful business and still (nearly) have a work-life balance
My aim is for this book to provide inspiration for entrepreneurs and to provide easy to action ideas for business managers who are looking for new ideas. Now more than ever, as the UK emerges from recession, I have no doubt it will be the ‘small, fleet of foot, flexible business models that will be first to markets, while the big boys flounder’.
