My journey really starts a couple of years before I set up Westwood-IT (the name being a nod to my favourite Fashion Designer).

I’d spent over 12 years at a blue chip company, in a cushy role, just 10 minutes from home, with great benefits: a final salary pension, private healthcare, and a company mobile phone (which was quite a thing in the ’90s).

But it had stopped being fulfilling, and for me, happiness has always ranked higher than simply chasing a bigger bank balance.

Hitting the big 4-0 was the turning point.

I was a single parent to a 10 year old, and really appreciated the job security, but I’d also started to think there had to be more to life than repeating the same predictable days, so when voluntary redundancy became an option, I took my first leap of faith, with no clue what I would do next.

Twelve months working in TV as a ‘supporting artiste’ followed, something the Leo in me had always wanted to try, but it was far from glamorous.

The pay was low, and when, after four full days on Coronation Street, the only part of me that made the edit was my left leg, shown for a nanosecond in the Rovers Return, I had to accept Hollywood probably wasn’t beckoning... and it might be time to find a ‘proper’ job again.

While a career on the big screen clearly wasn’t on the cards, I wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of working around TV and film altogether.

A chance visit to The Sharp Project, on International Women’s Day, of all days, is where everything changed.

I got chatting to the Chief Exec, as you do, and a couple of weeks later, I was offered a job as Front of House Manager.

I loved it. I got to meet loads of interesting people and well known celebrities, with one of the highlights being my comedy hero, the late, great Victoria Wood, who was on site regularly while filming 'That Day We Sang'.

Thanks to my previous experience, the responsibilities soon expanded, and I became IT & Systems Manager for both Sharp and its sister site, Space Studios Manchester.

About six months in, and completely out of the blue, the set up changed, and going freelance became a condition of the role.

Cue my second leap of faith.

It wasn’t exactly a bold business move, I basically had no choice if I wanted to stay at Sharp.

So I said yes... but with no safety net, no roadmap, and absolutely no clue how it would all work out.

A change in senior management and a few, let’s say ‘creative differences’ brought my time at Sharp to a natural end a couple of years later, although I did return to rent office space (proof that you should never burn your bridges).

By then, the self employed bug had bitten, and life’s been on my terms ever since.

To stay freelance over the years, I’ve had to be open to all sorts, what started with an IT focus evolved into a mix of roles across different industries and companies.

I’ve worked in media, the games industry, TV, radio, security, legal, and telecoms, alongside brilliant people, ambitious entrepreneurs, and clients with big ideas, shifting priorities, and a need for someone who could just get it done.

Teams have been based as far apart as the UK, Spain, and the Philippines, and I’ve worn the hats of fixer, problem solver, copywriter, planner, diplomat, and motivator (mainly to myself), often all at once, with the job of keeping people, operations, and priorities moving forward.

Projects I’ve managed have included building brands from the ground up, coordinating sales campaigns that actually delivered, and creating content that connected, all from a converted shipping container in Manchester that’s seen more action than most boardrooms!

Overseeing the successful conversion of a derelict former bank into a company HQ, armed with nothing but a to-do list and the previous experience of someone who once built a flatpack chest of drawers 30 years ago, was definitely one to remember.

I survived the Covid years.

Coped with the dreaded ‘Peri’ (and no, I don’t mean Nando’s).

And for five years, I cared for my mam right through her final battle with cancer, juggling client deadlines with grief, hospital appointments, and keeping the lights on.

Being the only breadwinner, I didn’t have the luxury of stopping as the bills still needed to be paid.

I didn’t always get it right, blagged it more times than I’d like to admit, but I always showed up. And I made it work.

Beyond the work, the projects, and the milestones, the biggest win has been watching my daughter build her own business too. Now three years in as a very successful nail tech, she’s got celeb clients, glowing reviews, and a work ethic that’s evident in all her passport stamps.

If you’re sat at the edge of something uncertain, I hope my journey shows you that you don’t need to have it all figured out.

Just trust yourself enough to take that first step.

Because some of the best chapters often begin with a deep breath and the want of something more.

Cheers to 10 Years and whatever the future holds!