My Beautiful Career

I started in music.

As a young singer, I moved to the Netherlands to study jazz vocals. I had some weird experiences. The arts were my world, but the music business was - something else.

Then I turned to academia, where I adored immersing myself in literature and culture - but as a job, it seemed too far removed from the “real” world.

I kept asking myself: “Is this for me?”

I wanted to be involved in how the world actually works. Look under the bonnet, see the nuts and bolts. Working with businesses gives me that.

Commerce makes the world go round. Imho.

 

Now I get to help people build something real - businesses, platforms, ideas.

I get to translate complexity into something a business leader can act on. I get to protect good people from bad paperwork.

And yes, I still love music, but law has let me be more than a bystander.

I didn’t come up through the usual pipeline. That’s exactly why I understand the kinds of business leaders I work with: people who took the unconventional route.

And it’s why I love what I do.

I qualified as a solicitor through work-based learning.

Along the way, I:

 → Translated Dutch statute law

 → Volunteered at a CAB

 → Built a legal function from scratch

Then, after many years, and many roles (and post-qualification, obviously), I:

 → Became a partner

So no, I didn’t get there through the front door.

I used the garden gate.

(It still works perfectly well if you keep it oiled.)

Why does that matter to my clients? Because I know what it means to build without a blueprint.

To figure things out without perfect conditions. To work with limited support and still get results.

(Just like start-ups do!)

That’s why I connect so well with unconventional founders - and why I don’t give one-size-fits-all advice.

I’ve always been good at throwing myself into a project.

Support the strategy. Rally the team. Push it over the line.

Recently, I realised that I wanted to pursue my own strategy. Don’t get me wrong, I will always follow team strategy - pulling in different directions simply does not work.

But I have ideas and I want to know if they are any good! And you know what - if I start on the wrong track, I will change tracks. 

It is much easier to do this with my own consultancy - think sailboat, not tanker. 

Perhaps this resonates with my client base, who are innovative, curious, possibly a little rebellious, going their own way.

PS

If you are a tanker, I can still be your scout!

I suppose I’ve been on a few unexpected journeys.

From being told I was too “overqualified” for a job, to becoming the first legal hire at a major organisation, building out their entire department from scratch.

Sometimes, a leap makes more sense than a ladder. I’d applied for jobs that felt like the next logical step – and kept being told I was too experienced. 

I was in my mid-30s — not fresh out of school — and I knew I had to focus.  When I wasn’t sure, I asked, I sense-checked my approach with peers, and ran the odd thing past counsel. I learned to trust myself more.

That experience gave me real confidence in my ability to tackle whatever I encountered in my professional life. If I don’t know something, I will put my mind to it, and I will surely find out.