Business Action August / September 2019
August / September 2019 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news about business and enterprise in Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Chulmleigh, Combe Martin, Holsworthy, Ilfracombe, Lynmouth, Lynton, South Molton, Torrington, Woolacombe and more. Full magazine available to non-subscribers mid-August. Business Action Plan and magazine subscribers receive priority access of new issues of Business Action on publication. Subscribe at http://www.business-action.co.uk/plans
August / September 2019 issue of the independent North Devon-based business magazine covering news about business and enterprise in Barnstaple, Bideford, Braunton, Chulmleigh, Combe Martin, Holsworthy, Ilfracombe, Lynmouth, Lynton, South Molton, Torrington, Woolacombe and more.
Full magazine available to non-subscribers mid-August.
Business Action Plan and magazine subscribers receive priority access of new issues of Business Action on publication. Subscribe at http://www.business-action.co.uk/plans
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
1. What was your first job?<br />
I was 13 and worked as a<br />
chambermaid in a small hotel<br />
in Cambridge. I made the<br />
beds, cleaned the rooms and<br />
bathrooms. My first proper job<br />
after leaving university was at a<br />
bank called AMP in London. I<br />
was an HR administrator.<br />
2. What is the best<br />
business advice you’ve<br />
ever received?<br />
Don’t worry about perfection.<br />
Just get out there and do it.<br />
Listen to the feedback, and<br />
then refine what you’re doing.<br />
I also read a book many years<br />
ago called Ready, Fire, Aim<br />
by Michael Masterson, which<br />
advises the same thing.<br />
3. What do you enjoy most<br />
about business?<br />
I really enjoy the business<br />
improvement process. I enjoy<br />
constantly looking at how we<br />
can improve and how small<br />
tweaks in each area of the business<br />
enable us to move forward<br />
and get better at what we do<br />
and the delivery of our service.<br />
4. What essential<br />
technology could your<br />
business never be without?<br />
Email marketing software.<br />
We recently switched from<br />
Mailchimp to Drip, which is<br />
brilliant.<br />
5. Describe your business<br />
management / style<br />
Collaborative. When it comes<br />
to clients, employees and all our<br />
stakeholders, I view the relationship<br />
as a partnership that we<br />
should all benefit from, and I<br />
believe that we should have fun<br />
as well.<br />
6. How do you go about<br />
personal development?<br />
Mostly reading. I have the<br />
app Blinkist on my phone,<br />
which is great for giving<br />
me a summary of the key<br />
messages of a wide variety<br />
of books. If the summary is<br />
good, then I’ll get the book<br />
and read it all. Audiobooks<br />
IN THE HEADER HOT SEAT<br />
Lucy Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald HR<br />
Looking for independent financial advice?<br />
Call us on 01237 426450<br />
for a free initial consultation<br />
Each issue we put a North Devon business personality in the hot seat<br />
and ask them 10 questions. This issue we asked Lucy Fitzgerald,<br />
managing director of Fitzgerald HR<br />
contact@dscottfinancial.co.uk<br />
https://dscottfinancial.co.uk<br />
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.<br />
are great because I can listen<br />
whilst driving and I drive a<br />
lot. A minimum of five hours’<br />
driving a week results in five<br />
hours of learning. But I often<br />
drive much more than this. At<br />
the moment I’m listening to<br />
Let My People Go Surfing; the<br />
Education of a Reluctant <strong>Business</strong>man<br />
by Yvon Chouinard.<br />
With offices in Devon, Somerset<br />
and London, Fitzgerald HR<br />
provides Human Resources<br />
with the human touch to<br />
organisations of all sizes looking<br />
for HR solutions across the<br />
employee life cycle.<br />
Fitzgerald HR offers a range<br />
of packages and solutions<br />
tailored to its clients’ requirements,<br />
from HR consultancy<br />
services, to acting as an<br />
extension to existing HR teams<br />
ABOUT FITZGERALD HR<br />
7. Is there anything about<br />
yourself that you would like<br />
to change?<br />
I can procrastinate. I prefer to<br />
work on focused projects and<br />
get very absorbed in what I’m<br />
doing. This is difficult when<br />
running a business as I’m often<br />
pulled in different directions.<br />
Sometimes I will put off<br />
important tasks because I want<br />
to keep going on the project<br />
I’m involved in. I’m working<br />
on getting a balance between<br />
giving myself the time to be<br />
absorbed in something that<br />
really interests me, and moving<br />
projects forward, whilst also<br />
getting the important business<br />
administration done.<br />
8. Social media: yes or no?<br />
Preferred network?<br />
Yes. I think it’s important for<br />
businesses to take a multichannel<br />
approach to marketing<br />
and we publish on LinkedIn,<br />
Facebook and Twitter at the<br />
moment. Personally, I tend to<br />
use LinkedIn mostly. I find it’s a<br />
great business networking tool.<br />
9. How do you wind down<br />
when not working?<br />
I spend time with my family. I<br />
also love to read fiction. Reading<br />
a good book is something I can<br />
get lost in, which makes it easy<br />
to switch off from everything<br />
else I need to be doing!<br />
10. Do you have a motto or<br />
favourite quotation?<br />
Two:<br />
1 – People who wonder<br />
whether the glass is half empty<br />
or half full are missing the<br />
point. The glass is refillable.<br />
2 – You can have it all, just not<br />
at the same time.<br />
by supporting with workplace<br />
investigations or training.<br />
With experience of working<br />
with a wide range of sectors,<br />
Fitzgerald HR knows that<br />
clients often need hands-on<br />
support, rather than just an<br />
advice line. Fitzgerald HR has<br />
built an HR company that<br />
can provide nationwide HR<br />
support on a local basis.<br />
■■Details 01271 859267 or<br />
www.fitzgeraldhr.co.uk<br />
18 business action | <strong>August</strong> / <strong>September</strong> <strong>2019</strong> | business-action.co.uk