Meet Francesca Armstrong, Chief Operations Officer of The Connoco Group
Please tell us what is a typical business
day for you?
A typical day for me starts around 3am –
we run an online business which means our operations are 24 hours a day. Having
expanded into 3 new markets and launched several other offices over the last
year I like to check my email during the night and feel it is important during
our initial expansion period that I touch base with our other team leaders and
make sure everything's running smoothly.
After this, I go back to sleep until 7am
which is when I get up and get ready for the day.
I aim to get to the office between
8.30-9.30 depending on how long I have been up during the night or what
meetings I have planned.
We run most of our sales and support from
our office in South East Asia – they are online until 12pm UK time so much of
my morning is spent working with our team there.
Afternoons are varied and can be anything
from looking at new projects to meetings with our clients. Reviewing our own
progress is something we are really keen on and I spend a great deal of time
working with our operations and sales team leaders to review sales and
processes to look at where we can improve as well as forward planning.
What made you start the business and how
did you get started?
We (My Partner Tim and I) started the
business as a side project to our existing jobs – he was working as IT
consultant and I was studying Fashion Design at St. Martins whilst interning at
Burberry. The business began to grow larger than we had anticipated and we
reached the point where we decided in order to take it to the next level we would
need to focus on it full time.
What would you say has been your greatest
accomplishment in the business world to date?
When you are so focussed on targets
within your own business it is often difficult to take stock and look at what
you have accomplished so far – because Tim and I work, live and breath together
we are constantly pushing each other and the business to do more.
If I had to pick something personal to me
that I feel proud of it would be the year on year increase in sales or building
out international teams to manage the challenges with time zones.
What has been
your biggest challenge in business so far?
Our biggest
challenges are often our biggest successes because they require everything that
we have to get through.
For me so far
this would have to be overcoming the challenges of cross-border trading and
working with different time zones. When we first launched in Australia and New
Zealand Tim and I were working 20+ hour days, we would have a power nap from
10pm – midnight and then spend most of the night awake with another quick sleep
at 6am until we had to leave to go to the office. It’s amazing how sleep
deprivation begins to take its toll but we have always said if you want
something you make it happen! Thankfully we have now successfully developed
teams which sit on those different time zones and I have never been so
appreciative of sleep!
What are your
future plans for the business?
We have huge
plans for the future as a company that never wants to stop growing. Our next
project will be an expansion of our hospitality and lifestyle arm into the
Hotel/Restaurant sector - We travel approximately 200 days a year so want to
take all the knowledge and experience we have developed and put this into
creating great business driven travel solutions.
If you had
to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Probably start
(even) younger and employ faster!
Why is it so
important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?
Too often young
people (especially women) are told you ‘can’t do that’ or you ‘won’t be able
to’ – our confidence in ourselves plays a huge part in our abilities to succeed
so it is critical to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself why
would anyone else?
It is never too
late to make a change or start again. What you think is your best right now is
just the beginning of what you can do. In life, we never stop learning.
What advice would
you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?
Prepare to lose as
well as win, just make sure your wins are much bigger!
What or who
inspires you in business and why?
I am inspired by
anyone that can take an idea/concept and turn it into a profitable and
sustainable business. There are so many hurdles out there to overcome
especially for a woman in business that if you can make it work you really know
what hard work is!
For a business to
succeed you need to be constantly evolving and developing with the times -
Victoria Beckham is a great inspiration for this as throughout her career she
has managed to constantly reinvent herself whilst still maintaining a strong
identity - something which is key to a business succeeding.
Today’s social
media movement provides inspiration for us all - I truly admire the people who
have taken themselves and their passions and turned it into a Brand and then a
business, for example, fashion and interiors’ blogger Aimee Song.
What is your favourite inspirational
quote?
Fail to prepare – prepare to fail
@frankieska
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