I joined Huntress Group and founded Birchrose Associates in September 2019.

I launched the brand, and in the early months my role was very focused on the brand development, marketing strategy and the recruitment of my team. I have an open dialogue with my CEO and our HR Director; I feel my goals are listened to, considered and supported. When launching Birchrose, my ambitions were incredibly supported from my first pitch. It was a challenging first 12 months when the pandemic hit, but myself and the CEO were aligned on the long-term strategy from day one.

A huge appeal of joining Huntress to launch a new brand, is the way in which managers are financially rewarded. In my previous role, management bonuses were based on team growth YoY, but not profitability. At Huntress, Managers have two opportunities to achieve a bonus: achieving quarterly GP targets (collaboratively discussed and agreed in Q4 of the previous year), and annually in line with the profitability of your team.

This is hugely motivating, as quite simply, the more successful your team is the higher the bonus! Managers may sacrifice their own personal billings at times to focus on the development of their staff, but when the team collectively performs well, this is financially recognised in the form of annual management bonuses. It not only adds to the drive and motivation, but it also promotes commercial thinking, and has certainly improved my business acumen and general decision making with regards to hiring strategy, marketing spend.

The best bit about working for Huntress and Birchrose Associates are the people! We have a team of hugely passionate people who work hard and support each other along the way. Everyone is down to earth and approachable, which makes the tough days bearable and the good days incredible. I really value the support from my CEO. I always have it when I need it, along with the freedom (and trust) to make decisions and run with them.