Hello all!  I’ve made a few new connections recently so thought I’d tell you a little bit about me (if you want to know, that is!). I live in rural Suffolk with my husband and two children.  Like many people, I ‘fell into’ the career I am now in after working in mainly finance-related roles.  My HR career progressed, and I completed my CIPD at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge and achieved ‘Chartered’ status. I was HR Services Manager at Jardine Motors group when I had my first child, back in 2008.  I had all intentions of going back to work full time, travelling and staying away from home, as were the requirements of the job. Darling Daughter came along and, as they say, turned my life upside down.  Long story short, I decided I could not return to the same role so resigned – it was a difficult decision, but the right one at the time.  I started working for myself, had a small number of clients, and did this alongside working part time as an HR Advisor on an employed basis from home. Child number two came along and I continued to work both on a self-employed basis and continued the part time employed role.  The children grew, as they do, and my workload increased.  I gave up the employed role and concentrated on my own business. In January 2019 I made the leap from sole trader to Limited status, developed my new website and took on several new clients.  A scary leap, but one I wish I had done sooner! I love what I do.  I love working with people and find their different backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and behaviours fascinating.  I am continually meeting new people and never fail to learn something new. I work across different industries, which includes Schools, motor retailers, the service industry, recruitment, gyms, care at home, to name a few.  I love the variety of businesses that I work with – large and small –  and find working in different industries keeps me on my toes! Alongside this, I have the flexibility to be there for my family, which was one of the main reasons for starting the business in the first place.  Time seems to move so fast and I am well aware that this period of my life, when the children are relatively small, will fly past.  I don’t want to miss a minute of it.  I honestly feel I have work-life balance nailed – most the time anyway!  Sometimes I am working till late in the evening or on Sunday mornings to catch up, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. Modern technology has allowed us to have a more agile way of running our lives, at work or otherwise, and an awareness and appreciation of the benefits of flexible working is essential in the current business world, in my view. If you want to know anything about me, or my business, please ask!  I always say, no question is a silly question, and I love it when people have the courage to put their hand up and ask the thing no one else wants to say! Thanks for reading to the end – I’ve love to hear about you! Jo [responsivevoice_button voice=”US English Female” buttontext=”Click Here to listen to post”]