CAREER PURSUIT

At 22 I joined the RAF; I finally had stability, money, people that cared, discipline and a family I had not yet experienced. I then grew a network of exceptional people who were generous with advice, guidance and time. Particular shout out at this stage to Air Vice-Marshal Ian Gale and Air Commodore John Wariner (ret’d). They believed in me when I had little faith in myself. They particularly taught me the importance of eliminating excuses and getting on with the job. No budget? No people? Just do it! I think resilience and determination can be taught, and I was fortunate enough to have it drummed into me in the Armed Forces. HOW THE RAF EQUIPPED ME TO RUN A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS I was born in 1985 ; I share my birthday with my twin Alex. Childhood was a bit chaotic – school had to do a lot of the ‘heavy lifting’ to make me a decent person. I unfortunately had parents who weren’t that able to parent; they stopped all contact when I had children − something they always said they would do (although the parenting stopped a long time before that). I’m not sure they even know about my business. I stayed away from home a lot. Most of my teenage years spent at my Gran’s and playing a lot of sport, so I was rarely in the house. I then escaped to Sheffield University (and then Loughborough University), my summers spent working at Camp America, travelling in the US or at Gran’s. B y H a n n a h S a u n d e r s , f o u n d e r o f t h e a w a r d - w i n n i n g c h i l d r e n ’ s v e g a n , n a t u r a l s k i n c a r e b r a n d T o d d l e . 24 C A R E E R P U R S U I T 2 0 2 0