August is nearly over but it was a pleasure to catch up with our monthly winner, Carole Noddings, who’s having a golden month, celebrating the wedding of her daughter, winning our monthly prize, just about to set off on holiday to France . . . and planning a new business in her spare time!  More about that later.

I loved Carole’s description of the planning for and celebration of the wedding as being “like a massive Christmas”; don’t those few words capture all the joy and excitement the family has shared? 

To be selected as our lucky winner was the icing on the cake; there’s a common denominator in the two prizes Carole has won in her entire lifetime – our very own Fairy Godmother!  One prize was some mentoring with Judith Morgan, the other the random number selected by said Fairy Godmother which made Carole August’s winner! 

The seeds for entrepreneurial success were sown early in Carole’s young life, spent in Malaya and Nigeria, where her father worked for Dunlop.  Everything, including the school bus, was provided by Dunlop which made Carole sure she didn’t want to be associated with such a paternalistic company herself.

Having been to secretarial college and aged just eighteen, Carole gave wings to her free spirit and travelled to Australia, on her own, in search of fun, sun, adventure and employment, which she enjoyed for the next three years. 

Returning to the UK and looking for employment, it wasn’t to be any ‘9 – 5’ set up for this young lady.  Having identified the print industry as a lucrative starting point, Carole took a job which required just 3 x 12-hour shifts a week for which she was paid handsomely.  Three years later, John came on the scene, a very successful high-earning executive based in London and they married.  By the age of 28 Carole had three young children and a desire to replace John’s London salary with their own business paying the same or more. 

With a mortgage of £72,000, Carole and John took out borrowings of £36,000 to acquire machinery from Linotype to set up on their own.  They had no customers, no capital, no doubts and a positive mindset.  Mum and Dad lent them £5,000.  The Linotype representative said he believed they would succeed.  John was ace at working the machinery and knew the job inside out and Carole was great at speaking to potential clients, lending a hand when necessary or finding freelancers.  John didn’t take a holiday for several years and the business enjoyed great success.

Living in East Sussex with their business in Tunbridge Wells, the children became acquainted with Mum’s quick trips into a client’s offices while they sat in the sanctuary of the car, in the car park, enjoying a lolly!  Times were different then and Carole didn’t have family support as her parents remained in Nigeria and John’s in Ireland.  Mostly, the business flourished but when they hit lean years and things were close to the line, they kept on as failure just wasn’t on the agenda.  Carole’s five children have grown up understanding the meaning of profit and unafraid of running their own ship.  A new generation of entrepreneurs is waiting in the wings.  Carole’s philosophy is that self-employment represents massive security in that she controls of her own life and won’t one day be told she’s surplus to requirements.

In addition, Carole feels the other very important reasons she is self-employed are the unlimited income opportunity and the chance to help others in the world, who have little chance of changing their circumstances.  By earning more ourselves, the potential to help others is greatly increased. 

Such was the reputation of the Tunbridge Wells business, Carole and John were approached by a local advertising agency for which they handled contracts, they merged and have been partners for thirteen years.  In May 2009 John sold his shares in the company but remains Managing Director.

Having a keen business eye, Carole noticed that a web manager they’d employed was of an independent nature and had a father who was self-employed.  Fearful of losing him, and in a win:win situation as the chap concerned was worried about raising finance, Carole financed a web design business. This talented designer needed a safety net as, in this type of business, it can take six months to get money into the bank; they continue to own the business in equal shares.  Carole’s input was to do the books but now she only visits the offices once every couple of months.  It was a great investment and richly rewarded Carole’s insight.

Here’s a lady who fully understands the need for, and is a talented cashflow planner and forecaster, believing this to be the critical factor in the success of her businesses.

So, what’s next ?

It didn’t surprise me to learn that there’s a new business in the planning!  The idea is to have a one-stop web business offering weight loss and detox products to help with the physical aspects of weight management but also to support the psychological issues associated with weight problems.  Great idea!

However, Carole’s been reticent in taking her business to market, although all the components are in place, believing it all had to be perfect before she could start.  Does that press any buttons for you?  Also, enjoying the break from working, Carole realised she needed a mentor to renew her focus and banish a few negative thoughts which had begun to creep in.  Now flourishing under the mentorship of Marie Taylor, it’s all systems go and the business is due to launch in October. 

Realising she’s a Creator, Carole’s no longer going to engage in the business activities she doesn’t enjoy, declaring she’s never going to do the company books ever again.  Good for you, Carole!  Although quite obviously excellent at this task, as evidenced by her fantastic business success, Carole said she always doubted her ability and so constantly worried about it. 

A Creator involved in minute detail – is it surprising?  Liberation lies ahead!  Freedom from those ‘out of flow’ jobs is the inspiration to outsource everything while Carole studies those psychological triggers which lie behind the problems associated with weight issues and seeks to bring solutions to her clients.

If you’d like to contact Carole, she’d be delighted to hear from you.  If you’d like to be notified when this new, forward-thinking site goes live, please drop Carole an email so you’ll be the first to receive the benefits it promises to bring.

Carole’s story is inspirational because she followed her heart, built her businesses and did exactly what Winston Churchill advised during the difficult times: “When going through hell, keep going!”  Carole weathered the storms with a success-orientated mindset and now has two flourishing businesses and a third about to launch; entrepreneurialism at it’s very best!

                                                                                                                                                                                              Interview by Janet Swift