I was recently asked by fellow Substack writer, Keris Fox, who is interested in womens’ attitudes to money, if I would answer a few questions. This was a bit of a surprise, as though it was my first professional endeavour, I left the financial world in 2004, and my views on money have changed quite a lot since then. However, it prompted a trip down memory lane which I thought I would share with you. It also provides a bit of my back-story.

Q. I discovered you while reading a 1989 Cosmopolitan in which you were featured as a winner of the magazine’s 1988 ‘Women of Tomorrow Awards’. What did that mean to you?

A: It was very early days for me. I was just starting out. I had only set my business up 18 months previously, but I had obviously done enough to be noticed. The awards were for women under 30 and I was 29 at the time. It was a big deal. Interviews, a photoshoot, a prestigious awards luncheon in London. There were 10 categories and I won the financial one. I had always worked really hard at everything I did (education, sport, business up to that point) but in common with many other women, I suffered from ‘imposter’ syndrome. The fact that I was recognised by esteemed professionals boosted my confidence and nudged me along my way.

Q. You set up a company staffed by women, to advise women, which you did for nearly 20 years. How did this come about?

A. After doing a psychology degree, I opted to study for an MBA (business masters) straight away. When I emerged from business school, I thought I was the only graduate on the planet who couldn’t read a balance sheet! I had lacked confidence with numeracy since school, as a result of poor teaching and it was later reinforced by the social conditioning that maths isn’t a girl’s subject. So, it was a shock to find myself in the financial world. Something else that shocked me was the absence of women. I seemed to be the token woman at every event I attended, and one of only three or four in the company I worked at, for three years before setting up my own business. So, I searched for a female peer group.

It was the early 80s and the professional women’s networking movement was just getting going in London, at the time. I joined everything there was. Women in management, women in banking, women in marketing, women in property, women in PR, the lot! Another surprise was finding that many women, like me, lacked confidence around numbers and finance. So, I decided to set up a business to cater for them. I would be the acid test. If I could understand it, then I could communicate it in a way that was empowering (basically, plain English), and help women become financially independent which meant more choices in life. It became my mission. I built my company from scratch over 17 years, eventually employing 35 women (and a token man). I was well known, as a result of being a regular spokesperson on personal finance in mainstream media during that time.

Q. You were also involved in raising the profile of women working in the financial sector. Why was this important?

A. Working with women, as clients and colleagues, and also networking with women, made me realise the different style women have in business, which is much more empathetic, team-orientated and centred on the needs of their clients and customers. I wanted to show-case this to the rest of the financial sector. I figured it could help to repair the badly tarnished reputation of financial companies in the 80s and also attract women clients who were growing in affluence, but put off by the patronising, jargonated nature of male dominated institutions. So I set up a network which became national and ran events all over the UK. I also founded an awards scheme (similar to the Cosmo’ awards) which was very prestigious and ran for a number of years.

Q. Later, you became interested in women’s leadership style. What defines this?

A. Typically, it’s not about power, status or money. In the first instance, it tends to be about making a difference to people’s lives. When I sold my business in 2004, I set up a cutting edge video website (in that online video was in its infancy at the time), so I could interview top women entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs in the UK. This was a continuation of my experience of working with women in the financial sector. After interviewing around 100 women, it was clear that they were not ambitious in the way that men were. Corporate women didn’t have their eye on the top job from the get-go and strategically plan their ascent. They took every job they were offered, moved sideways and upwards, and learned about the whole organisation in the process. Only when they were near the top, did they think about applying for the top job.

Women entrepreneurs, on the other hand, usually started businesses which filled gaps in the market they had discovered from their own needs, or those of their family. They were more risk averse, borrowed less money and grew their businesses more slowly than men, over a longer period of time. But they built solid businesses that endured.

This is why we need a more feminine approach to business and in all the institutions in our world right now. But I don’t believe it needs equal numbers of men and women in positions of power. Both sexes can espouse these virtues and values. It’s about changing the culture.

Q. What is your relationship with money today?

A. I have enough to do what I want. I am no longer chasing my tail and living a life of perpetual motion. I have downsized and simplified my life. I have an abundance mentality (which I have always had) and I am confident in my ability to manifest what I need, one way or another. I have written extensively about how to do this, in my book, ‘The Ultimate Relationship… the one with yourself’, and there are free audio excerpts on my website and Subtstack.

Q. What would your financial advise to women be now?

A. Think about how you create resilience in today’s crazy world, and invest in it. First, get rid of debt, then simplify what you can and reduce your costs, learn how to grow food (even if you live in a flat, or re-purpose your garden). Invest in your own skills so that you have other strategies if life changes suddenly. After that, if your have surplus funds, invest in your family, friends and community, where required, as they will be there to support you in kind if the proverbial hits the fan. No man or woman can be an island unto themselves. Over and above this, invest in doing things that make the world a better place.

Regards conventional financial institutions, do due diligence on who you use, such as your bank, investment companies and digital finance platforms. Ensure they are aligned with your values, or at least, not feeding corruption that is systemic in our world. Try to live as ‘cleanly’ as you can regards where you buy goods and services. We can choose where and how we spend our money, and make it a force for good. Use cash wherever possible. This is very different advise to what I would have given 20 or 30 years ago, but times have changed.

Q. What’s the best thing you have ever spent money on?

A. Investing in myself, my ability to create a livelihood and make a difference to the world around me. Investing in my home which has always been a sanctuary from the madding crowd, investing in my own creativity and learning, investing in my personal and spiritual growth.

Q. What would you do with £10,000 today?

A. My financial focus right now is on establishing the Earth Collective, a sustainable and regenerative eco community in Portugal. I am planning to build a small number of homes partially underground and partially overground (think of a Hobbit House), that are curvilinear, use natural materials and principles of sacred geometry, to create beautiful spaces that support health and vitality - for humans, animals, plants and the earth. Plus permaculture, of course, and self-sufficiency in energy and water.

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