Every Monday, we ask small businesses key questions. Here we speak to Natalie Perks, managing director of Inverness firm Redstart UK Training and HR services.
How and why did you start in business?
On leaving school in Birmingham I joined Land Rover as a business apprentice, completing an HNC in business and finance and gaining a degree in business administration.
I then undertook Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development qualifications, including basic engineering. Having experienced all the functions of a large global corporation, including marketing, finance, information technology, human resources (HR), production, logistics, design and development, I knew HR was my destiny and I opted for that.
Guinea pig turning point
One of my Land Rover HR colleagues asked me to help her achieve her coaching qualification by being a guinea pig, and that directly led to me making two commitments – I would relocate to the Highlands and run my own business.
I moved to Inverness about 12 months later, in February 2005, to take up the role of head of HR for Macrae and Dick, where I worked for the next 12 years. My two children arrived in 2006 and 2008.
Park’s Motor Group acquired Macrae and Dick in early 2016 and I helped with the business transition, but it was also the perfect opportunity for me to finally go it alone.
Having scoured my Collins Bird Guide for inspirational names, as I’m a keen birder, I established Redstart UK Training and HR Services in April 2017 and have never looked back.
How did you get to where you are today?
I left my Macrae and Dick bubble with only a handful of contacts, so the early days were spent immersing myself in the business community, building up my network and establishing my firm. Fortunately, a friend who also works in HR needed someone to run Dignity at Work training – my first lucky gig – and more clients followed soon after.
Five years on, life is fantastic. Although work is super busy, I love being my own boss and I have an amazing array of wonderful clients covering a wide range of sectors throughout Scotland.
Who helped you?
Family and friends gave me the courage and self-belief I needed to get going, and many people – some of whom I’d never met before – were incredibly generous with their support and advice.
I gleaned every morsel of information that would help me get started and allow my business to develop.
Member organisations such as the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) were a huge help too, allowing me to connect and network with like-minded people in similar positions to me.
I often dip into the wide range of really useful information stored in the members’ area of the FSB’s website.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
It may seem odd but one particular incident has helped many aspects of my life. In hospital after my son was born, I was struggling to breastfeed and it made me very upset.
A nurse gently approached me, held my hand and said that if I wasn’t enjoying breastfeeding or I felt it was harming my relationship with my baby, it was OK to stop, my baby would be fine.
Something clicked and I spent the next 10 months or so happily breastfeeding him. He’s still thriving 16 years on.
What is your biggest mistake?
Not travelling when I was younger.
What is your greatest achievement?
Having two children 22 months apart, while working full-time and with family 450 miles away in Birmingham. I survived with the support of my incredible neighbours, Margaret and Alister. I’ll never be able to thank them enough.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
I’d place climate change and the redistribution of wealth at the top of the agenda.
What do you still hope to achieve?
To travel around the world within the next 10 years.
What do you do to relax?
I enjoy lazy Sunday mornings in bed with a coffee and good book, plus running and sound baths (a meditative experience where participants are “bathed” in sound waves for mental relaxation).
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on TV?
I’m reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, and listening to both a true crime podcast called They Walk Among Us and the The Adam Buxton Podcast.
TV-wise, I’ve just finished Severance – it’s brilliant – and I’m always open to new ideas and suggestions.
What do you waste your money on?
Socialising, city breaks and the kids, but with the children it’s an investment.
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
Make myself a large coffee.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
I drive a Seat Ibiza and dream of an Aston Martin.
Conversation