I’ll start my story eighteen years ago. That’s when I met my husband, Stephen. I had many life experiences before then that shaped the woman I am today, but that moment was one of the most pivotal.

I was living in London and running my own successful retail and distribution company; Stephen was based in Leeds and owned a prosperous shoe business. We had an instant connection and despite the distance we knew we had something special. After two years of commuting between cities, I sold my business and moved to Leeds.

With four children between us we had to settle into our new married life pretty fast and it wasn’t long before we expanded our family. Ellie was the result of IVF and an absolute dream come true. Just two years later our natural miracle, Jack, appeared and took our family to eight.

Managing a large family and our own business was a challenge but we make a great team. What soon became apparent to me was that the tools I needed to be successful in both life and business were one and the same.

Qualities such as honesty, truth, integrity and compassion are ingrained into everything I do but being a great listener is probably my biggest secret to success.