“I grew up in North Wales and my first role at 16 was with a psychological services centre which undertook evaluations of children and adults in addition to offering therapy. I got involved in organising their non-profit international conference into the study of dissociation, a coping mechanism for dealing with trauma. I loved everything about conference organisation, from inviting the speakers to getting together the program, choosing the venue to arranging the conference packs. But the best thing was seeing everyone arrive and the buzz of the day itself.
“At the time, I thought about training as a counsellor and undertook a counselling course while volunteering at my local Samaritans branch, also taking qualifications in business and finance. I even tried out a beauty therapy course on the weekends. After that, I started working in the fitness industry as a membership advisor. Not initially realising it was a sales job, I actually really enjoyed it, taking advantage of all the sales training on offer and leaning into the targets. I then moved to Leeds to take up a sales manager role with the firm, looking after a team based across three local authority sites in Bradford.
“An opportunity then came up to travel around the country launching new Pulse gyms at local authority locations including leisure centres and high schools, often including pre-sales. It was great fun travelling around, visiting new places right across the UK from Glasgow to Ballymoney, Newcastle to Watford. This was all before Google Maps, of course, I’d get my little 106 armed with my A-Z and somehow find where I was going!
“As much as it was a fun job, living in hotels all the time got a bit wearing. I saw a role as a business development manager at a children’s activity company. At the interview, I presented on how I’d develop my regional business and was asked: ‘So you’re a marketer?’ I’d never considered that I was a marketer before and I’d certainly never been trained as one. Despite applying for a role in Liverpool, I was offered a role in Canterbury, which I took, moving to Kent soon after.
“The role was another fun one, setting up children’s holiday and after school camps which involved recruiting and training a team, finance and, of course, marketing. This then then evolved into a pure marketing role based at the company’s HQ in Farnborough in Hampshire. The role involved lots of engagement with schools and families, including putting on alternative sports day events at schools across the UK. After finally finding my marketing niche, I decided to enrol on a CIM certificate in marketing in my spare time, which was brilliant.
“After quite a few years living in the south of the UK, it was time for a return to the North West of England. I was fortunate to find a marketing role with Holidaybreak in Northwich. At the time, it had a camping division which included the Keycamp and Eurocamp brands. My role was mainly communications based such as PR, customer research and events. I had a great boss, Dave, who encouraged me to develop my interest in PR, working alongside our PR agency. I learnt a lot, and also undertook the CIM marketing diploma in my spare time.
“Before I went on maternity leave, I’d come up with an eco schools campaign, working with The Travel Foundation. Dave gave me the opportunity to continue this project from home, and that was the start of my freelancing career. I set up my own business, consulting on marketing and PR to clients across a range of industries including travel, tech and education, and was fortunate to work with some great clients long term.
“I’d always regretted not going to university, so as I had Level 6 marketing qualifications at this time, I was able to enrol on a marketing degree at the University of Chester with exemptions, only needing to undertake 3 modules at 2nd year plus the final year. I think going to uni a little later in life was good, as it was something I really wanted to do. I’d always balanced learning with work, but this time I had a family too, so it meant being super organised and realising studying in short blocks could be just as effective as all day sessions. I particularly enjoyed the research for my dissertation which covered the influence of children on purchasing decisions.
“In August 2020, I had a call from a client, Margaux, who said an agency they worked for called Bravand were looking for PR support for Miconex. The first program launch I worked on was for the East Ayrshire Gift Card. This was right in the middle of the pandemic, businesses around the world were struggling hugely, and I could see the potential of Miconex’s local Town & City Gift Cards and Downtown Gift Cards to transform communities.
“Typically in a business, generating PR can be tricky because there aren’t that many genuine news stories. With Miconex, there were positive news stories in abundance, from new programs launching, to businesses staying open as a result of their local card to programs reaching milestones. It was brilliant, with an average of one press story every day. The role evolved from pure PR into a wider marketing role, including annual promotion, giving clients access to ready to use assets for Gift Card purchasing occasions through the year, and helping clients drive awareness for their programs with national campaigns, including Teacher of the Year, which picked up the best creative marketing campaign at the GCVA Hall of Fame awards in 2024.
“While our local Gift Cards are largely promoted at a local level, I could see the potential for our brands at a national level, and decided to enrol on the Mini MBA in brand management. It was one of the best courses I’ve ever done, inherently practical and engaging. We’ve achieved a huge amount at Miconex to date, but I believe there is still so much that we can achieve. We have some exciting opportunities coming up in 2026, and I can’t wait for the next chapter.”