Dawn Gracie, Sales Coach and Manager of the Chichester branch of The Mumpreneurs Networking Club.
When I left school with 9 O’levels , I wanted to be a make-up artist and embarked on a career as a beauty therapist in Oxford. My dream job came along and I worked for a day on the film ‘Three men and a little lady’ with Tom Selleck and Shelia Hancock but to this day I have no idea why I didn’t grab the opportunity to go back the following year to work on the film Robin Hood, Prince of Theives! I think I was busy just being 19 and having fun!After moving to Brighton in 1991 I decided to change direction and applied to University to take a degree in Psychology. My passion is ‘what makes people tick’ and always has been. Whilst waiting for the application to be accepted, I accidentally got offered a really well paid job with a recruitment agency and so began my next career. University was never to be!
Two years and two children later, I had the urge to return to work and started working as a party plan rep with Body Shop at Home. After a fantastic response to my recruitment advert with ABC Magazine, I successfully grew the Brighton team, but as It was only intended to be part-time, it had grown to such a size that required full time attention that I decided to hand the empire over and began working with ABC Magazine as their part time West Sussex Sales Manager.
I moved to Chichester in 2004 and carried on working for ABC Magazine to help grow the Franchise network and continue the advertising sales. In July 2010 I heard about the Mumpreneurs Networking Club which had eight groups across Sussex and London and decided to join the Chichester group to see if I could meet new advertisers and other local business people. Initially the thought of networking was daunting and I wondered if it really was all just an excuse to get out of the office rather than be a productive work activity.
It turned out to be a perfect mix of the two, and I loved the group so much, that in January this year, I took over the Chichester group and have since seen our network of clubs grow to twelve with more and more areas launching all the time. Despite the word ‘Mumpreneur’, it is NOT a club exclusive to Mums, or even women! We are a non-lock out group and welcome men and women (parents or not!) looking to reach women in business. Everyone is welcome at my friendly, informal group that meets once a month at a family friendly ‘day’ time at the Chichester Premier Inn!
Having mixed with some truly inspirational people, I decided in July to leave my job of eight years with ABC Magazine and have developed a rather niche business inspired by the Mumpreneurs. I am using my experience and knowledge to help other ‘Solopreners’ develop and hone their sales skills. I am now trading as Dawn Gracie Sales Coaching and offering 1-2-1 coaching and training for those who work alone, or in a small team. It can be a lonely job for these people so I offer my skills to inject enthusiasm and oomph into their sales activities, and offer a motivational ear when times seem tough.
I turned 40 this year and have achieved so much – lost nearly three stone with my personal trainer (met through Mumpreneurs Networking Club), threw a vintage style birthday party, won best dressed female at Goodwood Revival, and finally grew up and joined the Chichester Chamber of Commerce.
I also run a holiday cottage from my home www.northleighcottage.co.uk and in my spare time (!) I sing in a fantastic local Chichester covers band called The Chain www.thechain.biz , scour charity shops and markets to collect vintage clothes, walk my two dogs Basil and Ruby at East Head, write a blog and visit food/craft fairs with my family.
What’s the saying? ‘Ask a busy person’!
