Before joining my husband Chris in our results driven and consulting business GENI – Good Enough Never Is - I worked as a Divisional Manager for the national recruitment company Brook Street.

I ran 5 branches and managed 30 staff, but following maternity leave I had the choice of returning to my job, or using my talents in sales and marketing to help grow and develop GENI. Of course I chose the latter!

Chris formed GENI this year following his experience as a franchisee with Business Coaching company Ology. The business name – Good Enough Never Is – came from a conversation he had with Entrepreneurs’ Forum Chairman Tom Maxfield. He used the phrase “good enough never is” to describe his approach to the standards he established at Sage and in Tom's Companies. The phrase stuck with Chris and became part of our business ethos.

Our aim was to establish a local brand, different from other performance development organisations. What’s great is that we’ve now established professional routes with the help of our corporate branding and marketing, and our biggest success to date has been winning contracts with some of the region’s leading companies.

The business has taken off much quicker than we expected which is fantastic and we’re putting into place things we wouldn’t have anticipated doing until later on. For support we turned to fellow entrepreneurs, friends, and Business Link have helped us a great deal along the way.

Obviously being a husband and wife team it is hard to switch off when you go home, but you must allow for ‘me’ time. Chris and I both have hobbies so we make sure we have plenty of quality time away from the office.

If you’re thinking about starting your own business, some practical things to mention first! Make sure you have done your research and you know that your idea is viable. Don’t over estimate your sales forecasting, set realistic goals, and make sure you get some good branding.

A successful entrepreneur embodies a number of characteristics – ambition, a positive attitude, the ability to step out of your comfort zones and a strong streak of fearlessness.