About me

When you were at school, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? And are you doing that now?

I am unusually lucky to be living my dream job. I knew I wanted to be a writer from about the age of 13. I remember my neighbour bringing round a writing competition for me to enter. It was when the Belgian Congo changed into Zaire (it's now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and she brought a National Geographic magazine about the region to give me some background information. I wrote a story based around the magazine, and won the competition.

Having learned the value of research at that early age, I now provide a 360-degree consultation service to all new clients. This covers all about your product or service, all about your competitors and all about your clients. The more information I have, the better job I can do. The idea is to make you stand out from the competition in a way your customers will respond to, based on your unique business personality and product/service offering.

What
I trained as a journalist, worked for nearly 20 years in the corporate world, then started Comms Plus in 2001. My BA Honours degree included the psychology of how people process words and symbols on paper. I am also a qualified INLPTA NLP Practitioner (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) to further understand and apply the power of language in written and spoken communications. I've practised creative writing with Sue Townsend on a Greek island, and my first book is definitely on its way, I promise!

Who
My clients include:

• Corporates such as LSC, Barclaycard International, FirstPlus, Tesco, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Domestic & General Insurance PLC, Freemans and Grattan.
• SMEs ranging from accountants to recruitment and telecoms to training, with a sprinkling of sole traders in between.
• Start-ups, I can help with everything from your logo and corporate stationery, to marketing leaflets and a simple website.

Where
Based in Beckenham, Kent, I have clients all over the UK, from Glasgow to Swansea and from Bradford to Brighton. Most of my local clients are based in Croydon, Bromley and surrounding areas.

What else
I have been Area Partner for eight different Business Referral Exchange (BRX) networking groups in the South London region, and co-moderator of the Croydon Ecademy club. Although I provide traditional marketing services for my clients, I get 98% of my own business through word-of-mouth marketing (networking). I'm an Associate trainer for Kent Trainers and an Associate consultant for MROI.