From Grit to Growth: Why I Do What I Do

I wasn’t born into business. I was thrown into it.

Raised in a strict Catholic family and packed off to boarding school at 10, I grew up in an environment where structure ruled and emotions didn’t. While I didn’t shine academically, I quickly learned how to read people, connect, and hold my own — all skills that would serve me later in life far more than any exam result.

At 19, pregnant and studying for my A-levels, I was disowned by my father’s side of the family. I did what many women in business do — I put my head down, worked twice as hard to prove myself, and kept going. I juggled nappies and night feeds with a business degree and started my career with a point to prove.

When I was finally welcomed back into the family fold, I joined the family business — only to lose my grandfather suddenly, and then my father just three years later. No safety net, no handover — just a lot of pressure, a lot of opinions, and a business to run.

I’ve worked through maternity leave with a baby on my lap. I’ve missed sports days and broken down in the car park. I’ve done 16-hour days just to make payroll. I know the feeling of everyone thinking you’ll fail — and doing it anyway.

But I also know now that success doesn’t have to be that hard. I burnt out so many times trying to do it all that eventually, I realised something had to change. When I discovered coaching, I finally understood that it’s not about being smarter — it’s about having better frameworks, systems, and support.

That’s why I became a business coach.

Now, I help brilliant trade business owners who are great on the tools but overwhelmed by the rest — the team headaches, the money pressure, the growing pains. I show them how to scale without losing their minds or killing their teams. I bring real-life experience, not textbook theory, and everything I teach is grounded in action, simplicity, and results.

If you’re grafting hard but feel like you’re winging it behind the scenes, you’re not alone. I’ve been where you are. And I can help you grow — with less stress, more profit, and a business that doesn’t depend on you 24/7.