About me

“Why do you do what you do?”

I have asked this question numerous times to understand what makes people get out of bed each morning, why they picked their chosen career path, what makes them tick? Too often, I receive an answer that is based on a required level of monetary renumeration rather than a pursuit of a hobby, passion or business idea.

For aspiring retail entrepreneurs, the biggest hurdle preventing them launch their own business venture is normally a lack of knowledge on how to start or that simple, but very human, fear of failure.

For existing entrepreneurs who have taken that leap of faith, their greatest challenges are often the absence of a sounding board, imposter syndrome, lack of expertise in certain business functions, loneliness, long working hours, financial risk, stress and feeling isolated.And sometimes, they just wish they could duplicate themselves to get through the workload.

It was to address these issues that The Retail Partnership was born with a simple mission to support founders of startups, small and medium sized product based retail businesses. I offer a hybrid model of mentoring, consultancy and coaching to help entrepreneurs build, grow and scale their company. My mission is to inspire and nurture entrepreneurship, help transform business ideas into reality and create enduring retail brands.

It was to help overcome these challenges that The Retail Partnership was born with a simple mission to empower and nurture entrepreneurs to build, grow and scale their business. In doing so, I hope to help people find meaning, purpose and passion in their lives.

I have trodden the entrepreneurial path for the past 25 years. During that period, I have founded multiple direct-to-consumer retail businesses, some of which have flourished into thriving companies, others have provided a very comfortable standard of living and one simply required too much effort for too little reward. Such is the rollercoaster journey of an entrepreneur - the mistakes are just as important as the successes in the learning process and both are essential ingredients to enable a true understanding of exactly what it takes to run your own business.

I have sat in the same saddle as you, experienced the same sleepless nights, times of feeling overwhelmed, other times celebrating when reaching certain milestones, hours trying to solve a stream of problems and multiple late evenings bookeeping or replying to emails from suppliers or customers. I understand the journey you are taking, the times you are feeling lost and the times you are enjoying the view from the top. I understand your passion for your business and belief in what you are selling. I also know that I possess the requisite skills, specialist retail knowledge and well-honed abilities to come alongside you, help overcome the challenges and support you in growing your company

My businesses have grown into all shapes and sizes - one, a multi-channel aspirational brand employing 250 staff across a chain of 20 retail stores ; another, a medium sized factory outlet sourcing clearance product from factories in the Far East; and one, a small e-commerce dropship business which I ran as a solopreneur from home. I believe this breadth of experience has provided me not only a deep operational understanding of the realities of running a SME retail business but also a kindred empathy of the challenges placed upon its founder.

Like many entrepreneurs, I have learnt the necessity of wearing multiple hats and developing a broad range of commercial skillsets. I am equally adept at interpreting financial statements, buying product and managing inventory levels, negotiating leases and opening new stores or warehouses, mentoring staff and building teams, creating workflows and integrating multiple software applications, raising finance from venture capitalists, designing award winning stands for trade shows, creating e-commerce channels and digital marketing strategies.