“SET GOALS YOU ENJOY”
JANE CUNNINGHAM, 40,
CO-FOUNDER OF PRETTY LITTLE
HEAD (PRETTYLITTLEHEAD.CO.UK)
Running a PR consultancy that
helps clients “connect better with
women”, Cunningham and cofounder
Philippa Roberts bagged
the Conservatives as their first
clients and have gone on to work
with everyone from Tesco to BT.
Cunningham believes success is
all about, “research, research,
research.” The duo knew they
couldn’t sell an idea or product
without knowing it inside out first,
so they spent time getting their
facts in order about why the
stubbornly masculine marketing
industry needed a shake-up.
“Women account for 80%
of consumer purchase decisions,
including two thirds of the
computers bought and 60% of
the cars,” says Cunningham. She
even wrote a book based on her
research, which doubled up as
a canny promotion tool, Inside
Her Pretty Little Head.
Cunningham is also strong on
goals. “You’re much more likely to
achieve your goals if you have
some,” she says. But the key is to
ensure those goals focus on things
you actually enjoy.
Judging by 2009, the approach
paid off. “The business really took
off this year and that gave us a huge
amount of confidence.” Cunningham
believes the fact that their company
is small helped rather than hindered
them. “Our attention isn’t dissipated
by managing people or problems
As one of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs
and a Dragon on BBC Online Dragons’ Den, Julie
Meyer is a force to be reckoned with and bagged
a place in The Wall Street Journal’s Top 30 Most
Influential Women in Europe in 2009. She’s best
known for founding First Tuesday, a networking
forum for entrepreneurs which she built into a
£32m business in two years. She says two key
qualities have helped her achieve what she has –
tenacity and planning. “My favourite expression is:
‘Never give up, never accept no, and never ever go
away – even when they want you to!’” she says.
She also believes it’s crucial to invest in your own
skills if you want to achieve the best you possibly
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with the
building – all the day-to-day stuff that
goes with running a big company.”
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Break new ground 2010 will be about
new opportunities. “We’d like to do
more work in financial services and
in automotives.” The main focus though
will be ensuring they’ve got the most
up-to-date understanding of women.
“Because it’s been so back-to-back in
the last year, we haven’t been able to
look at what’s been going on in the
academic world, which provides us
with new learning,” she says. “That
learning and expertise is developing
all the time.” As well as using tools such
as Google Scholar, she’ll turn to top
experts in the field.
Stop the no-holiday habit
Cunningham is equally determined
that 2010 will be the year she gets
a decent break. “I’m going to have a
two-week holiday. I’ve not had one for
four years.” As for how she’ll ensure it
happens, she’s going to book it soon!
“Go abroad – you have to get out of
the country. It’s too easy to say, ‘I could
still do that meeting on Tuesday’,”
Cunningham advises.
Be more eco “We’ve tried hard in the
last couple of years,” she says. “The
usual things – recycling, lights and
heating etc, but I think I could be more
rigorous about it. I live in a very old,
drafty house and I’m sure there are
things we could do with insulation that
would make it much more eco-friendly.”
“DON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER”
JULIE MEYER, 43, FOUNDER
AND CEO OF ARIADNE CAPITAL
can. “Without sounding
too weird I’m my own
best asset. It cost me
£37,500 to go through business school in France.”
Clearly it was money well spent. List-writing has
also played a key role in her success. “For me it’s
essential because once you commit in writing you
can’t go back,” she says. “Every weekend I compile
a ‘run sheet’ for the week ahead, listing everything
from work meetings to gifts I need to buy.”
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Big up entrepreneurs “One of my businesses is
called Entrepreneur Country which is a community
PLOT YOUR OWN
Life and business coach Sue Clarke reveals
Planning ahead can be a powerful thing. “If we get up knowing
there is something we want to achieve, we get up with a feeling
of purposefulness,” says life and business coach Sue Clarke
(inthehotseat.co.uk). And by slotting targets into a year plan, we
can gauge progress and increase chances of success. “By having
a goal and a plan, with actions to work towards them, you will get
there,” says Clarke. Here are a few tips to help you on your way:
PINPOINT THE PROBLEM
1
Taking time to decide what
you want to change is crucial. If
you’re unhappy at work, but
unsure why, a career wheel
(right) can help clarify the
issues. “It looks at the core
areas of satisfaction with your
current job and assesses them,”
says Clarke. “Identify how
satisfied you are with each of
the areas – the ideal is 10.” You
rate each area out of 10, marking
on the wheel with a cross then
join the crosses up with a pen.
“If, say, you’ve got one cross at
three, another at six, then
another at 10, you’ve got a
bumpy wheel.” This exercise
establishes where you are now
and provides a pointer as to
where you need to make changes
to boost your career happiness.
ENSURE IT’S YOUR GOAL
2
Got a target in mind?
Before acting, establish
whether it’s really what you
want, or a goal designed to
please another. “Let’s say you
plan to stop smoking because
your partner wants you to,” says
Clarke. “You’re setting yourself
up to fail.” Motivation clarified,
pin down exactly what you’re
trying to achieve, to ensure
you’ve set the right goal. “If your
goal is to earn more money then
look at why. The reason could
be: ‘I want to earn more money
so I can hire people to give me
more time.’ The real goal here
is setting up a plan to create
more time, rather than driving
yourself to create more money.”
GET IT IN WRITING
3
Once you’re crystal clear
about what you want and why,
write it down so that it becomes
a real, tangible object in your
mind. But don’t stop there.
“Another exercise is to visualise
the result,” says Clarke. “One
exercise I often get clients to
do is to create a treasure map
– a vision board with pictures
of what they want. The plan
then takes on a life – it’s not
just dry schedules.”
of 25,000 entrepreneurs,” says Meyer. “I want to
increase the number tenfold by December 2010.”
She recognises that good PR is crucial to getting
there. “I’ll encourage affiliate partners to promote
us. Sometimes you need to call in a favour.”
Drop a dress size Meyers says she’s always been
pretty fit, “I have a personal trainer and we go
running together for 30 minutes, then we do 100
sit-ups and 30 minutes of Pilates,” she says. But this
year, she’s determined to be a size 8. “From
4 January, I’ll be ditching carbs at night.”
Get the full eight hours Another 2010 target
is to get more sleep. “At the minute I force myself
to get seven hours’ sleep. But I really should
have eight to be at my top performance during
the course of the day.” This means being better
organised. Meyer says, “I’ll stop wasting those
little pockets of time, reading gossip magazines
or watching TV. I have to be ruthless about
time-wasting activities.”
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