Tell us a little about your entrepreneurial journey and how it started 

I started out trading the Stock Market which gave me the freedom to work when I wanted and taught me huge lessons in the psychology of trading and the extreme highs and lows that go with it! I launched my own TV channel dedicated to adverts and floated the company on the Stock Market. Here I learnt the importance of having good communication skills and it gave me invaluable experience of dealing with investors. I realised that if you believe in something enough you can make it happen no matter how daunting it may seem.

What are your significant achievements and where are you at now? 

My recent highlights are winning Business Mentor of the Year and I was awarded “Best Mentor” by the British Banker’s Association at a ceremony at BAFTA. I also get to host award ceremonies around the world and teach others the art of public speaking and presenting.

I recently founded National Mentoring Day to highlight the huge benefits that mentoring brings. Having seen how much of a difference I’ve made, I wanted to share this by promoting and educating others about the significant rewards of mentoring.

If you could go back to the early days of your entrepreneurial life and tell yourself one thing, what would it be?

If you were to change something about your past that would probably change who you are today as you would then be treading a different path. Most people are to some extent influenced, shaped or molded by their experiences good or bad. As I like the person I am today I would not want to change any bad experiences I had as they have only strengthened me.

If I were to give my younger self some advice it would have been to get a mentor. When I think back to how I never asked for help and struggled on my own whereas a mentor who had run their own business could have saved me so much time, money and wasted efforts in trying things that didn’t work! This is one of the reasons why I help so many businesses today – there’s no need to struggle just ask for help.

In your experience, what is stopping most business owners from succeeding?

I think it comes down to three main reasons: planning, making unfounded assumptions, or not adapting sufficiently to change. Businesses need to plan as much as they can; from expected expenditure to taking account of any possible seasonal changes to the business.

Businesses need to be regularly road tested – will people still want what you’ve created in 5 years’ time? Just because you have a business that works now doesn’t mean it will last; changes in technology, practices, competition, lifestyle and behavior will happen sooner than you think so continuous research is needed not just at the start.

The passion that keeps an entrepreneur working the long hours through difficult times can often mean they make decisions just with their heart instead of thinking if they need to change or adapt the business.

To find out more about Chelsey, you can visit www.BroadcastingYourBusiness.com