About me and what I do

I have a varied background in business and my career(s). It has given me a unique view of the world and how to get things done. Then again, we are all unique and a wee bit weird.

My business and finance training followed a mostly conventional track via a 20-year career in banking. I learned all about following rules and the corporate mindset plus quite a lot of what I didn’t want to be or do! I hated the professional “mask” that had to be worn to move upward (and golf, I was so uninterested in playing golf). However, I had a few roles that were not so traditional, including sales manager and marketing roles and creating & delivering training. I also refused to wear the less-than-exciting corporate attire – I remember my daffodil yellow skirt suit (deafeningly bright). Small rebellions.

Then I moved to Egypt and I really didn’t fit in! It was another uphill struggle as I worked for Egyptian businesses in the hospitality industry. I have a few stories – ask me sometime 🙂 I became less worried about fitting in because, whatever I did I never would. My history has made me appreciate and admire the fearless individualists, the eccentrics, and the trailblazers.

Working in Egypt and as an online solo small business owner was as much an exercise in losing that corporate approach as anything else. It’s been a tough journey to arrive at the realisation that I can work with whomever I want, and so can my clients. When we find each other it is effortless and fun. Again, mostly, because we deal with serious stuff that matters for any business, which takes work and commitment but doesn’t have to be miserable.

Now I choose those I connect with, maybe through aligned goals, needs or humour but always honestly. I deeply appreciate not having to “toe the party line” and having no choice, and I like to give clients the same freedom to choose how to set up their business so it works how they want it to.

I never really fitted in comfortably – I was a bank manager at 27 and my age and being female had both a positive and a negative impact on me. The environment I worked in never encouraged anyone to be themselves, and thinking about that now irritates me (a lot). Because of this, I avoid a one-way-only approach to solving compliance and tech-related problems. It’s all about collaboration, which I love.

My next move was working online from Egypt with UK-based clients, where I gathered online-related skills like wildflowers. I had to because the help here is limited and my Arabic is rudimentary at best (even now, said she shame-facedly). The truth is, I’ve always been a collector (hoarder!), and now I get to share.

Still, I gained an understanding of many tech-related areas I can and do turn to as necessary. For example, websites and online security as a user – I’m not an engineer, although I can wield a mean screwdriver when required. I’ve always loved Shiny tech and am always curious to see how things work to make them do what I want.