“I would like to have been a bit tougher; I was probably too nice,” she says
with a smile, casting her mind back to her early twenties. “There are things
I’ve learned along the way from my dad, such as his sheer determination and
his will to succeed and fight and sacrifice everything. I’d try to train
myself to be a bit more like that.”
When she was younger, Williams never thought she would have a career; instead,
she was focused on getting married and settling down. But she began working
for her father’s company in 2002 as a communications officer and is now one
of the most senior women in engineering.
Sir Frank was once opposed to his daughter joining his company for fear of
accusations of nepotism, but he recently acknowledged that she has worked
“tirelessly” for Williams over the past decade, and her knowledge of the
sport is unquestionable.
If you’re just starting out in your career, enjoy the ride above all, says
Claire Williams, adding that it also helps to be clear in your
decision-making and bold in your actions.
“Do your best at school and prove you’re willing to put in the hours. Show on
your CV that you’ve gone one step further than the person next to you,” she
advises.
“It’s not just drivers; everyone at Williams has a winning mentality in order
to compete at the highest level.”
Nailing a passion
Thea
Green, 37, quit journalism to set up a chain of nail bars in
1999. She is now one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, overseeing a
business with a £22 million annual turnover and 450 staff. In the UK, Nails
Inc has bars in Fenwick, Harvey Nichols, Debenhams and
Selfridges, and Green is driving international and online expansion.
Things never stop for the mother of three, who lives in Fulham, London. She
says she came up with her business idea after travelling to New York in her
role as fashion editor at Tatler magazine. She noticed British women enjoyed
getting their nails done in American nail bars.
Bringing the concept back to the UK has been a roller-coaster journey, she
says, but as the number of women setting up businesses in the UK is at a
record high, Green was clearly ahead of the trend.
She encourages young women thinking about setting up their own business, or
those with an idea that they’re not sure how to develop, to do their
research.
“The great thing about entrepreneurs is that they love to recount their war
stories. Talk to people who have been there and done that; they’ll tell you
about how their business nearly went wrong and, crucially, how they fixed
it,”she says. “When you work in a company you don’t publicise your mistakes,
but spend 10 minutes with an entrepreneur and you’ll get plenty of free
advice.”
Green admits that she “screwed up” in the early days by loving her brand so
much that she over-ordered product before she had confirmed sales.
“I thought, ‘Why wouldn’t anyone buy it?’” she jokes. But she now has the last
laugh, with product orders rolling in from across the world. Her secret?
Prepare, prepare, prepare. “What stops me being nervous at a big meeting
with a potential new client or business contact is facts. Blinding myself
with facts makes me feel very confident. Always devote time to researching
your topic,” she advises.
Time to trade up
Ruby
McGregor-Smith, 50, was the UK’s first Asian woman to
run a FTSE 250
company. But contrary to the many accounts you hear of women’s
careers stalling as they try to juggle work with home life, she says her big
break came from taking time out to have a family.
“The best thing I did for my career was to have children. It was after taking
time off that I was approached by Mitie [a strategic outsourcing company] to
be on its plc board. That was the launch pad for my career,” she says.
McGregor-Smith first worked with the firm while at her previous company,
Serco. When Mitie was looking for someone with her skills and experience,
they called her. Expressing doubts about returning
to the corporate world, she was told she could work flexibly. She
joined in 2002 as group finance director, was later promoted to chief
operating officer and in 2007 became chief executive.
Her younger self would never have thought this possible. “I wish I had been
more confident in my twenties and said what I thought and got on with it.
When I had my first child I worried about my career. I should have taken
more time and been braver in my choices.
“It was only after having my second child that I realised I didn’t want
to juggle work and family, so I took time out. It was riskier but it led to
better opportunities,” says
McGregor-Smith. “If you’re committed to a serious
career, you have to understand it’s never going to be
perfect. You’ll have days when it’s really tough, and you’ll work long
hours.”
The chief executive advises “choosing your industry carefully”. Growing
business sectors that embrace flexible working patterns and enable women
(and men) to reach the top — such as outsourcing, construction,
technology
and start-ups — are worth focusing on, she says.
“Why would you choose to work in an industry that hasn’t embraced flexible
working and will hinder your career path?”Most of all, she says, young
career women should “worry less and drop this idea of trying to have
everything at the same time; you can have it all but you need to stagger it
over your life”.
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