UPDATE: Ex-City lawyer finds success is child's play
In 2006 we spoke to Lucy Martin (formerly of Simmons & Simmons, Allen & Overy, Gouldens (now Jones Day) and Rowe & Maw (now Mayer Brown), who gave it all up six years ago to set up Gina’s Nannies, a nanny-finding service based in Wimbledon. She has now published a book “Make it Your Business: the ultimate business start up guide for women” and we spoke to her again to see how she’s doing. Click here to read Lucy’s first interview with us about leaving law.
mtl: Hi Lucy, last time we spoke to you, you were running Gina’s Nannies with Gail Hennessey (formerly of Gouldens) and you were writing a business start-up guide for women. What’s happened since?
Lucy: The book was published in November 2006 and was reprinted in April last year. I’m now writing another book which is intended to be the definitive guide to childcare, covering everything there is to know about nannies, childminders, nurseries etc. I’m still running Gina’s Nannies – now with an assistant on the recruitment side, which helps me find time for all the other things I’m doing now…
mtl: What are those other things, apart from the new book?
Lucy: The book was just the beginning. Through the book, Bella (my co-author) and I met various people in lobby groups and in government, all connected with the women’s enterprise movement in some way. We are both official “ambassadors” for the “Girls Make Your Mark” scheme which aims to encourage young girls to consider setting up a business as a real career option. We have done a lot of public speaking, sharing the stage with the likes of Polly Toynbee, Nicola Horlick and Margaret Hodge, and I now sit on the Small Business Forum, which advises government on issues affecting small businesses.
mtl: What do you think are those issues?
Lucy: Well recently, the big issue was CGT. A group of us went to the Treasury and met with the Chancellor and his advisors to voice our concerns about the proposed increase. I like to think that the minor climb-down exempting small businesses from the 18% hike might be due to our influence…! Also, there are a lot of barriers that stop women setting up businesses and I am always the one at these meetings making sure the female viewpoint is well and truly listened to. My biggest bugbear is the cost of childcare, and the fact that employing a full time nanny can cost you up to £12,000 in tax and NI alone, and that’s out of your own taxed income of course. Don’t get me started on that one!
mtl: Are you still running Wimbledon Women in Business?
Lucy: Yes WWIB is going strong, although I don’t actually run it anymore. There is always a good core membership of about 40 or so female-run local businesses, and a good turnover of them as they grow and move on. It’s still an inspiring night out, and they run lots of networking events and lunches as well now. It just shows what a real and continuing demand there is for women-focussed business support.
mtl: Any top tips for other women looking to leave the rat race and become self-employed?
Lucy: Well the book is full of them (top tips and women leaving the rat race). The one thing that seems to stop a lot of people is this myth that you need some sort of brainwave to set up a business – some sort of big idea or some new invention. In fact, you can just as easily set up a business doing what a thousand other businesses are doing - just do it better.
mtl: And how do you do things better?
Lucy: I think customer service is everything. If your clients feel that you really care about them, that soon translates into referrals and business growth. If you can put a problem right, or just go the extra mile to make sure a client is happy, it will pay off. Legal training is great for that – and since my clients are mostly lawyers themselves I think they appreciate it too.
You can find out more about Gina's Nannies at www.ginasnannies.com. Wimbledon Women in Business can be found at www.wwib.org.uk and details of Lucy's book at www.howtobooks.co.uk/makeityourbusiness/index.htm.
If you know any other ex-lawyers who have gone and done something interesting or unusual with their lives then please get in touch.
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