Emma Wimhurst, 42, is a broadcaster, speaker and writer… and a self-made millionaire entrepreneur. She refers to herself as ‘an ordinary woman who achieved extraordinary results’, having worked at Revlon for 10 years covering everything from product development to brand management and you’d be forgiven for thinking that this married mum-of-three who lives in Dorset is ordinary. But if you’ve ever bought cosmetics from shops like Monsoon, Accessorize, River Island, Claire’s Accessories or George at Asda – she was the brains behind it behind the in-house labelled cosmetics that made it possible.
Her journey to success began in 2000 when her first child was still on her hip, finding a niche in the market which enabled her to have every working mum’s dream: working on her terms and enjoying family life at the same time.In 2003, she sold this successful brand, Diva Cosmetics, and now helps other entrepreneurs achive their dreams. That in between being an ambassador for the Make Your Mark Campaign (www.makeyourmark.org.uk) – the government’s initiative to encourage small business.
“We all measure success differently,” says Emma. “For some it is about achieving? financial freedom whilst for others it’s freedom in how they work. What I believe sets successful people apart is that they are totally clear on what it is they want to achieve. It sounds simple, but if we don’t know what we are trying to achieve then we won’t know when we get there.”
Emma is also a success mentor, helping others who aspire to achieving business achieve their goals and realise their dreams, through her business, www.empwr.co.uk. Here are her top 10 success-attracting principles:
- Weed the path: get very clear on what you want to achieve. Clear the path of weeds, including energy sapping people, projects and situations that are keeping you away from focusing on your goals.
- Shine your light: adopt a lighthouse approach and send your light of imagination and intent out there and visualise in all manner of detail what you want to achieve, including what it will feel like to have achieved yourgoal. Apply all your senses – we tend to get what we think about and what we think about expands.
- Think right: building a sound business from the outset requires key business skills. If you don’t know these, find out what they are. Read entrepreneurial press and attend workshops. Make it a priority to learn what the building blocks for business actually are, and don’t leave anything to chance. Visit www.empwr.co.uk to find out about the seven business disciplines that worked for Emma.
- Support and delegate: identify your strengths and weaknesses. Bring in expert services where you need them i.e.: if you’re having trouble focusing on the next steps and lacking in time management skills, you can use a personal/business mentor. Think about what you can delegate or even delete from your to-do list to take the load off a bit. In asking for help, offer something you find easy/effortless to do in return. It’s barter time.
- Prioritise: stop trying to do it all! If you’re juggling the demands of a family, dump the guilt and tightly prioritise every day what must be achieved that day. Use your time wisely. Apply as many time-savingstrategies as you can to daily life. Be elegant in your approach to your life.
- Plan, plan, plan: do the core planning right at the beginning of your goal-setting. We often forget some of the detail that made a great idea exciting in the first place. Record planning on the computer or if you prefer, an attractive journal. This is the same for planning your first book or market garden as it is a physical business venture.
- Be money savvy: don’t spend what you don’t have. Be realistic with money. Treat it with respect.??? Deal with debt. Create budgets. Learn about cash flow. Apply a little philanthropy. What goes around comes around – learn how spending less can be living better.
- Live like your life depends on it: we rarely get a second chance at the big stuff that makes life full, exciting and inspiring for us and our children. If you have an aching passion to build a business, write a book, run a cookery course or build a mail order candle business, incorporate the passion you feel for this into your daily life and inch towards achieving,every day. These are small steps that are part of the bigger picture.
- Sort the small things fast: admin has to be done. Set aside two hours a week in non-working hours time to create smart files, pay bills on time, cancel old agreements and keep on top of paperwork. Move it, file it or bin it.
- Focus on what really matters: this especially applies if you have a family. Don’t do anything where guilt or, heaven forbid, resentment can creep in. Bring your whole self to the family time and then you can bring your whole self to project/business time.Create clear boundaries from the outset. Have a burnout avoidance strategy. Build in as much fun and kick-back time as you can! Schedule holidays and long weekends. Experience your life.Not many people get to the end of their days wishing they’d worked harder.
“It is really possible to have it all and have a ball,” says Emma. “It doesn’t mean you will be chasing your tail either! Just find your passion and purpose, be strategic in all that you do, from homework supervision to growing a business, keep cheerful with the hardwork. Know exactly why you are doing anything. Learn to say ‘no’ so that you don’t leach time. Say ‘yes’ to yourself more often. Help others to help themselves.
“Life does not have to be perfect – it needs to be enjoyable and create a positive experience. Treat yourself with absolute kindness. Pay attention to stress. Deal with what crops up in life. Coach yourself to success. Be a willing participant in your whole life.”
Get in touch
Emma Wimhurst: ‘Mentoring People to Success’, Millionaire Mumpreneur.?? www.EMpwr.co.uk 01202 830653, emma@EMpwr.co.uk
