2inspire Business Profile: Inspirational Business Woman Dr. Yvonne Thompson CBE

In this inspirational interview we meet Dr. Yvonne Thompson CBE, a renowned entrepreneur who has been in business for over 30 year. As a successful Public Relations guru and one of the founding directors of Choice FM (Now Capital Xtra), Yvonne has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the world and will be hosting a workshop at the The 2inspire Ladies Day on June 28th. 

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?

There is no typical day when you work for yourself.  It really depends on what is going on at the time.  However, I tend to wake up around 5.30 to 6.00am.  I don’t use an alarm it’s automatic whether I’m working or not.  First is a cup of coffee, depending on my schedule for the day either 30 mins of yoga or 90 mins in the gym. My gym opens at 6am which is great.  Exercise out of the way – its then back to emails, diaries, and as necessary off to first meetings.  But basically it is filled with mobile of office based working, planning, seeing clients and or event organising. Sometimes lunch – sometimes not, again depending on the day.  Attending or organising launches, networking events, receptions, dinners, seminars and or workshops. Again depending on the day it can finish anytime from 6 onwards.

What made you start the business and what steps did you take to start operating as a business?

I’ve been in business 32 years.  32 years ago, I felt it was the only way of getting a promotion as racial and gender prejudices were far more prevalent than they are today.  I worked at  CBS Records (now Sony BMG) and the music industry was very different then than it is now.  After working in press and promotions and working with high profile singers and performers for nearly seven years, and being  I felt the only way to move up is to move out and that’s what I did.  If I could do it for them I could do it for myself.  With business plan in hand, potential clients already in the bag, support on hand, and a place to work from, I set up my first office in Marylebone High Street, and Capital Radio Music Festival was one of my first clients, who went on to include the Sunsplash Reggae Festival in Jamaica, UK and internationally amongst many others.  I built the business gradually and strategically.

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

 My greatest commercial business accomplishment was being a founding director of the UK’s first legal radio station Choice FM, launched in 1990.  Bringing Black music to the mainstream of the UK’s music industry and music charts. It gave Black UK musicians the opportunity to get their music made and heard on radio

bringing them to a wider audience, but also helped black businesses to promote and grow their businesses across London and Birmingham. It was successfully developed into a group covering Birmingham, and London (North London and South London) and later sold to Capital Radio – and now owned by Global Radio

which bought Capital Radio Group and most of the other independent radio stations across the UK.  The name was recently changed to Capital Xtra. Starting my business support networks, including ACBN and the EFBWBL.  Supporting and inspiring others businesses to start up and grow their own businesses and experience the troughs and peaks of being an entrepreneur was also a personal great for me, for which I was recognised on the Queens’ birthday honours list in June 2003 with a CBE(Commander Of The British Empire). In 2004, I was recognised by the Mayor of Houston with an Yvonne Thompson Day 4^th January, and in 2005 I received an Honourary Doctorate from the London Metropolitan University for services to small, minority and women owned businesses and marketing, PR and mass communication.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Business growth in the first 12 years of running it was the biggest challenge.  Just keeping the business alive and growing felt like I had a triple whammy against me.  When I started my business, the banks and clients were not used to talking to women, even more so Black women, and even more so talking to a black woman about the business of PR.  Back then PR was not seen as tangible.  You could not say for sure you would get a certain amount of coverage for a certain amount of money paid.  But there was also nothing to say  you wouldn’t get more than you paid for.  It was a big learning curve for businesses in general and also my business. 

What are your future plans for the business?

The radio station has been sold, and I am now retired from the PR company but still working as a consultant.  I think after 32 years in business I have a few books in my head which I am planning to put on paper and publish them.  After that it is to enjoy life, do the things I want to do, see the things I want to see, go the places I want to go, and not have any regrets.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Not much, apart from getting more qualifications under my belt before starting my business, be more global, and aim higher, think wider, travel more and be more selfish.

What’s the best compliment you could receive in business?

I think having a satisfied client base, and getting great feedback, support and compliments  from others.

I have received the best compliment of being recognised by the Queen for my services to businesses, and having the legacy of black music being on an equal stage of the UK’s music industry.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

If you don’t follow your dreams how will you make them come true. They will inspire the next generation, as I was inspired by generations before me.  Not necessarily in business but in the ambition of freedom.  Working for yourself is freedom to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, with who you want to do it with. Women are 51% of the world, we are the majority, but we are the minority in so many things and in so many ways.  Without starting my rant about women’s equality, we have to look to ourselves for our own well-being, but we have to bring the brothers with us.  So good luck with that dream.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

It’s such a different world now to when I started my business.  With the digital age you need practically no permissions, there are no barriers, and you can do practically anything from your laptop these days.  So if its what you really want, ensure you have all your ducks lined up, contacts, networking, media contacts, a database, social media, education – not text speech, people skills, communication, and last be not least and probably the most important, good work ethic.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

As the youngest of 5, I’ve always felt the need to be competitive to catch up with rest of the family.  I’m one of these people who is more interested in working for what I want.  It may be a fear that if someone gave it to me – someone can take it back!  If I work for it I own it and can do what I like with what is mine.  I’ve never depended on anyone to live and God’s will - I never will have to.  My love for work, achieving is the biggest high I can get, and I love being on a high so I strive to keep it going.  If I’m not busy I get very irritable.  I need to work and I need to achieve.  That’s what inspires me.  Who inspires me are the people that tell me I can’t.  Tell me I can’t, and if I believe I can – I will.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

There are so many –Here are a few:-

Seven Deadly Sins - Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Science without humanity, Knowledge without character, Politics without principle, Commerce without morality, Worship without sacrifice." Mahatma Gandhi

Chinese Proverb
"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand."

Love Like You’ve never been hurt,
Live like there’s no tomorrow,
Laugh like no one can listening
Sing like no one can hear you,
Dance like there’s no one watching
Enjoy life to the fullest

On June 28th Yvonne Thompson CBE will be running a workshop entitled  "How To Build Your Business Brand Through Your Personal Profile in 7 Easy Steps."
One of the most important tools for advancing your business is defining and using your personal profile to build your business brand. Dr Yvonne Thompson will teach attendees about building your business brand, how your brand is your vision of who you are and what you want your target market to know about you, and what you can do for your target market. She will teach how it is a message that distinguishes you from your competition. It is what makes you unique, memorable, trustworthy, and builds loyalty and connects your audience with you. Defining your personal profile and building your brand is simple using her 7 -step process. Book your place here

For more in-depth information on Yvonne Thompson visit msyvonnethompson.com.

2Inspire Network Business Profile: Marianne Miles, Founder of Merité Public Relations

In this 2Inspire Network Business Profile we meet Marianne Miles, Founder of Merité PR. Her determination to succeed has led to the growth of her flourishing PR agency, which represents some the UK's fastest rising stars of Stage and Screen.

Marianne

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?

No day is typical!  I could be inside all day answering emails, writing press releases biographies, pitches or planning campaigns or I could be out at events, photo shoots or interviews with clients. 

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

I was made redundant in 2008, then worked freelance for a few agencies. Ultimately I was tired of being told I was over or under qualified for roles I could do with my eyes shut and then being restricted within the positions I had obtained.  In 2011 a friend asked me if I would do PR for their self-published book, I accepted and loved every minute of that assignment, hence Merité PR was born!

Tamar Braxton meets Marianne Miles

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

At this stage of business each new client we obtain is an accomplishment because we do not promote our business, we have no web presence, much of our results and communication with the world is achieved via social media, mainly Twitter & Instagram.  Just being able to sustain a business so far and attract great clients has been the best thing for us.

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Positioning ourselves above the many PR Companies that have been set up and battling with clients who do not know your skill set.  Coming from a PR & Corporate communications background I know PR, I’ve done PR for many years I know how it works.  My outlook may different from many, I want to change things, shake things up a bit.  So my approach maybe untraditional for some, but it gets results.  It’s hard to explain to people who think they know what PR is.  But we have happy clients and slowly but surely our reputation will precede us.

What are your future plans for the business?

I will continue with the PR side, expanding with more staff and bigger client accounts, but I will also be adding a production company and a charity foundation which will help to bring out the best in kids who have been let down by the system.  I think it is important to inspire and give back no matter how little you have achieved.

 

The Team: Tyrell Miles Brown (PR Assistant) - Denisha Watson (PR & Events Manager) -Joanne Watson (Events Assistant) - Marianne Miles

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

Chucky Venn and Marianne

Nothing!  I never regret anything I do in life, I believe our outcome is ordained.  I’m happy with where we are right now.  We have just started a great campaign with Domestic Violence UK with some of the Strictly Come Dancing stars involved, we recently co-ordinated a successful charity event, which has led to more work in that sector, and we continue to work with up–coming actors & presenters like Remel London who has a big year coming up.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that is because of the work we have done so far, good or bad.

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

Traditionally women have not been allowed to dream of business success or riches in the same way as men, thankfully attitudes are changing but it is still important to let all girls know from a young age that whatever they can dream can be achieved.  We have many examples of women who have obtained success without using their sexuality or feminine wiles; Oprah Winfrey is a prime example.  The foundation I’m starting will be all about tapping into the inner–self, letting young people dream and believe it can happened for them, but most importantly, showing them how to achieve success and guiding them along the way.

What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

PR is a saturated market.  Everyone thinks they can become a publicist without knowing how much Public Relations covers.  It's not just tweeting and sending out mail chimp blasts.  You have to have a lot of extra skills to survive.  Writing skills are all-important, as well as networking and maintaining your contacts at all media outlets.  The more skills you have, the more services you can offer.  I have just completed Photoshop and In Design training and am currently undertaking videography and editing.  Make sure you get some training and keep updating your skills.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

From the sly, cut throat nature of Mark Zuckerberg to the honesty and integrity of Oprah Winfrey, to the innovation & daring or Steve Jobs, the belief and faith of Lisa Price (Carol’s Daughter) and the ability to grow and evolve like Jamal Edwards. All of these people inspire me in their own way; I hope to have a little bit of each in me one day.

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

As I’m approaching 40 time is of the essence, but this Chinese proverb recently reminded me to live for now:  The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, The second best time is now!

Email:  Info@meritepr.com

Twitter: @MeritePR

Instagram @MeritePRGirl

2Inspire Network Business Profile: Kelly Ruston, Communications and PR Director of Lightbox

In this 2inspire Network profile we meet Kelly Ruston, Communications and PR Director of Lightbox, mother of one and partner to an accountant who shares her story on how she gave up her formidable and somewhat envious career to go into business in the Marketing and PR industry. Read her inspirational story below and hopefully you can also believe in the power of your own dreams.

 

Kelly Ruston

Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?

There’s no such thing in my world! I work flexibly so every day is different but it’s always an early start and always a late finish (and that’s seven days a week!)

I work around my two year old daughter, so I’m usually up around 7am checking emails; journalist pitches mainly and then onto motherhood duties like breakfast and getting dressed.

After an hour of juggling business and childcare, I’m usually found in the office or at home working on proposals, PR campaigns, calling clients or something very different like toddler swimming lessons or soft play. As I said I am very fortunate that my business allows me to work around clients and my family so neither play second best in my life.

I have at least two days in the office or client facing so I am fully up to speed on what’s going on whether that’s internally at Lightbox or on the accounts we manage.  Office days seem like a breeze in comparison to working from home as you can actually drink a hot cup of coffee whilst working, but trying to have a cup of coffee and some lunch whilst working from home and juggling childcare is usually non-existent.

In PR, every day is different; so one morning I could be on the phone to a journalist for a National or I could be working on a pitch very late at night as PR doesn’t stop – especially now social media platforms are taking off! Over 59% of journalists use twitter for work purposes and lots of opportunities come in at night time – especially those that have a significant reach, so I can often be found tweeting after 8pm for clients after my daughter has gone to bed.

In a nutshell my day starts around 7am and finishes around 9-10pm on a good day but tied up in that is having fun with my daughter.

What made you start the business and how did you get started?

Throughout my ten year plus career as an employee I was frequently told to ‘go it alone’ but never had the guts to do so.  It was only when I was on

maternity leave in 2012 that the idea of going back to my then glamorous and very envious job as Head of European Communications at Claire’s Accessories and all the travel involved, did self-employment really appeal to me. At first I did a little bit of freelancing for small PR firms and then realised I wanted more. After a chance meeting at a networking gig in Birmingham, I met my now business partner Rob Pollard as we decided to merge our businesses together to offer all Marketing, PR, Creative and Digital services as a fully integrated creative services agency (Rob had a web and digital agency at the time).

We’re relaunching Lightbox as we speak through traditional and viral platforms including social media, filers, new website and more to highlight our new service offering and tell the business world so to speak about our ‘perfect marriage’ of marketing and PR.

What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

That’s a tough question, as I’ve been an ‘employee’ for so many years and have some fantastic shout out loud achievements but as a new business owner, I’d have to say landing our very first clients coverage in Hello Magazine. That was quite something.

I love to make clients happy and achieve their goals and this client in particular was new to their industry, had very little budget and was slightly concerned at paying for PR so when I called them to say one of their products was going to be featured in Hello’s Christmas Gift Guide for Foodies they were over the moon and so was I!

What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Probably the workload, I’m used to working hard, working long hours – I’m a mum to a two year old so I never stop – but when you are working for yourself, you work a lot of hours and don’t get paid. That’s the challenge right there – turning your efforts into profit.

What are your future plans for the business?

Rob and I are very ambitious and have already said our short-term strategy (12-18months) is to double our 2013 turnover from the original business entities and recruit 2 more personnel. Our longer term strategy (3-5 years) would be to double our staffing and resourcing, move premises to the city centre and again double our 2014 projected income.

Our five year plan is somewhat bigger but we are very humbled to be where we are now so any growth is better than none.

If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

I’m a big believer in fate, so I think my time came to go into business after having my daughter.  I could easily say starting my family earlier and going into business but then the timings might have been completely different and would never have met my new partner in crime (so to speak – we do everything by the books!)

Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

Women always have it tough; whether it’s staying at home to be a mum, running a business, getting ahead in business or for some just getting a job in a very male dominated industry. For me I want young women to realise that we can indeed have it all…yes you might have to make a few sacrifices like I have done (for example my party lifestyle of a singleton is no longer now I have a family and a business to run!)

I want women to realise that having children doesn’t mean ‘end of the road’ for their career or end of motherhood either. Working flexibly around your children and business commitments should be easy to ask for in today’s world but sadly it isn’t and women are usually faced with a dead end part time job or full time nursery care for their children.  I say live your life as mum and career woman and don’t sacrifice either. Many mums nowadays are setting up their own businesses, known as ‘mumpreneurs’ so they can work flexibly around childcare.

 What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

Get experience in paid employment both client and agency side. Going it alone in Marketing and PR can be a lucrative choice but there are so many agencies out there and without experience, credentials and contacts you’ll get overlooked – regardless of how brilliant you are.

What or who inspires you in business and why?

Tricky one! I have so many but I’d have to say the founders of netmums; Sarah Russell, Cathy Court and Siobhan Freegard who have just received OBEs in the New Year’s Honours List. A very simple idea that was born from these three women meeting at a toddler group and spotting a need in the market. It certainly goes to show how ‘mumpreneurs’ can get ahead!

What is your favourite inspirational quote?

Everything is situational and depending on where I am in my life, but I’d have to say my ‘borrowed’ inspirational quote (it’s actually my other half’s) is from Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Christo; Wait and Hope.

I’m normally a very impatient person who wants things done there and then and well I believe ‘Wait and Hope’ has kind of led me to where I am today; mother, partner, successful business woman and all-round nice person (I like to now think!)

Contact Details:

LinkedIn profile - uk.linkedin.com/pub/kelly-ruston/b/63a/a72/

Twitter - @kelliruston

Website – www.lightboxcomms.co.uk

2INSPIRE BUSINESS PROFILE: Rough House Media

 

In this 2Inspire profile we meet Ann Wright, a journalist and BBC Producer who is the founder of Rough House Media. RoughHouse Media is a bespoke consultancy which provides specialist media advice and support to a wide range of clients including global businesses and entrepreneurs, with a particular specialism in the not-for-profit, charitable and public sector. The company provides media consultancy, video production and a range of media and presentation training courses. 

1/ Please tell us what is a typical business day for you?

One of the brilliant things about running a company like Rough House Media, which provides a range of services, is that there really isn’t a typical day.  One day I might be scripting, filming or editing a video or podcast, the next I might be working on a media strategy for a client and the one after that I might be designing or running a training course.

And I still work for the BBC from time to time, which is great. As a producer, I specialised in major live events, so I’m called in for programmes such as the Festival of Remembrance, Royal Wedding and the Diamond Jubilee.

Fitted around working ‘in’ the business, as they say, is working ‘on’ the business – writing our blog, joining social media conversations, networking, sales and marketing plus the nitty gritty of accounts and admin. 

One thing about having your own business – there is always something to do!

2/ What made you start the business and how did you get started?

My (now) husband and I are both BBC producers, and we set Rough House up in 1998 because we wanted to use our experience to help clients, particularly charity and not-for-profits, make the most of media opportunities.

We worked around our day jobs, offering a mix of media training courses and video production – one of our earliest projects was a series of football videos for Southampton FC.

In 2008 I left the BBC and began working for the company full time, and since then, we have really expanded and developed our services, so now we offer podcast production, crisis communications and management, media strategy and consultancy and presentation skills training as well.

3/ What would you say has been your greatest accomplishment in the business world to date?

Particular highlights were winning my first piece of business after starting to work full-time for the company in 2008, and really increasing our production work last year, with three films for the Kennel Club (which have so far had over 120,000 YouTube views) and a series of in-depth podcasts for the Royal Society of Public Health.

But probably the greatest accomplishment has been to build a client list we can be proud of – working with organisations like the Royal Society of Chemistry, the University of St Andrews, the World Energy Council and the Civil Aviation Authority.

4/ What has been your biggest challenge in business so far?

Two really - firstly, to transform myself from a TV producer into a businesswoman, understanding and across all aspects of running a business.

And secondly, to keep on top of technology; the world of the media is changing constantly and as a media consultancy we need to be ahead of the curve so we are able to advise our clients.

5/What are your future plans for the business?

We want to further develop our services, using our knowledge of the industry to provide more media and public relations support for clients on a long-term basis, as well as increasing the amount of video and podcast production we do.

6/If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?

It is true you learn from mistakes, and I have made a fair few.  One key piece of advice I would give is to be smart about networking. Networking is an excellent way of gaining contacts and business, but you have to network where your most valuable clients are.

7/ Why is it so important to inspire young women in particular to follow their dreams?

At school I went to, the girls generally were advised to work in a bank or become a hairdresser. At my university, graduates were advised to go into retail management, accountancy or the civil service. I did none of those and have had a varied, satisfying and interesting career. You don’t have to do what everyone tells you to, if you are determined enough, you achieve whatever you wish.

8/ What advice would you give to somebody who wants to start a business in your industry?

PR and media consultancy is a very crowded market, so identify your specialism and niche so you have a ‘unique selling point’ that marks you out from your competitors.

9/What or who inspires you in business and why?

I’m inspired by women who are able to build and grow their businesses but still remain true to themselves and their vision.

10/What is your favourite inspirational quote?

I’m torn between Bill Gates:

"If I was down to my last dollar, I'd spend it on public relations."

And Nelson Mandela:

“Whatever your life's work is, do it well.”

Website: www.roughhouse.co.uk

Twitter: @roughhouse01

Tel: 020 8332 6200

Email: info@roughhouse.co.uk