What do you do at Big Light Digital and in what circumstances would I contact you?

I am the Digital Marketing Consultant at Big Light Digital. I head up all creative digital projects and oversee them from start to finish. I am Founder of Big Light of Mine social enterprise – Life Skills mentor and workshop facilitator and you might contact me if you have an idea that requires online presence or you are or know of a young person who could benefit from mentorship in the media industry.

What’s one professional skill you’re currently working on?

I really enjoy writing and although I understand and I’m comfortable with implementing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies, I’m doing a lot of reading at the moment around how to improve on what I know so far.

What’s your go-to productivity trick?

Eat that frog! (Have a read)

Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Hmmmm. I used to be a night owl but more recently I seem to be an early bird as I like to get up for a morning run before I start work.

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

My faith influences my approach to work. I always believe that a job big or small should be carried out with the utmost integrity and excellence and I would never like to handover work that is incomplete or that I am not completely satisfied is to a high standard.

What behaviour or personality trait do you most attribute your success to, and why?

I’m almost obsessed with Excellence! I hate, hate, hate shoddy work and think that if something is going to be done half heartedly – why waste your time doing it in the first place? That said, I live by the ethos ‘Work Hard and Be Nice To People.’ To create great work doesn’t mean you have to be horrible.

How do you prefer to start your day?

With exercise and with a coffee (I love Starbucks!)

How do you prefer to end your day?

Chilling out with my family or chatting on the phone to my closest friends.

What was your first job?

My first ever job was working in a ladies shoe concession in Debenhams just after I finished school. This is one of the ways I learnt all about customer service.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had, and what did you learn from it?

I worked at a company in London that was responsible for placing online ads for their clients. The role involved a lot of quick mathematics and excessive use of excel spreadsheets. Although it was still in the media field it taught me what my weaknesses were and exactly what I didn’t want to do!

What’s a mistake you made early on in your career, and what did you learn from it?

It was my responsibility in a previous role at a marketing agency, to create the monthly presentation that gave the partners of the business an overview of the work we had carried out in the previous month. The usual pattern was that this always seemed to get left to the last minute. To my horror there was a typo on the very first page of the presentation, needless to say senior management were furious and stormed out of the room without seeing the rest of the presentation. I learnt three things: 

1) Failure to prepare is to prepare to fail 
2) Always leave enough time to run through and proof check files
3) Print out when you need to and proof check a hard copy rather than on the screen

What led you to this career?

When I was in high school my Aunt was an Account Director in a big marketing firm in Birmingham. She kindly organised for me to get some work experience and I loved it! From then on I knew what field I wanted to pursue.

What energizes you at work?

Aside from coffee? (haha!) Creating a solution to a problem and devising a strategy on how to get it done.

What drains you at work?

When teams struggle or refuse to communicate effectively or who are not solution focused.

What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?

Starting my own business is a pretty big accomplishment that I’d say I’m really proud of.