I worked as MD at a large investment bank in Canary Wharf managing over 300 people. I really enjoyed the people management side of the role, so after 20 years thought I might like to move more into coaching. After spending a day with a Hannah I realised I would miss being part of a bigger team and having a more strategic business remit and operations to guide.
I'm now working in consultancy helping companies go through change management processes - so very much focusing on people management, but giving me more of the strategic business focus I realised I needed.

I'm Vicky, I have a dream to open a Play cafe in Reading. I don't have a background in running a coffee shop so I’ve done as much research as I can online and sitting in coffee shops, but I got to the point where I really needed some expert advice on where to go next, and someone to say ‘this is awful go back to the drawing board, or this is great, this isn't,’ and just really some guidance on what to do.

Today has been so busy and full on I’ve literally got a head full of ideas and it's been so exciting to see it in action. I’ve tried the food, I’ve tried making the coffee (not very successfully) and we've just had a great day talking about all the different aspects of what needs to go into starting the business. It's been brilliant. And walking around the building and seeing simple things like why that's in that drawer and why they work a certain way it's really, really valuable. I don't think I would have learnt half of this stuff just doing what I was doing so which was desk-based research and sitting in coffee shops and watching – it’s just not the same thing. I’ve already said that I might need to pay for another half day! :)

I would highly recommend Viewvo to anyone looking to change their current career path. In fact, I already have! Prior to having my children I had a long career in the Financial industry. However, I’ve always been passionate about interior design...but had so many questions and doubts about how achievable this would be and what my next step should be.

After discovering Viewvo at a careers fair and noticing that Rachel Laxer was one of the mentors I saw this as an opportunity not to be missed - and the fee goes to charity so it was a win win. Rachel is a fantastic person to shadow, a real inspiration having made a hugely successful career change into interior design from a prior career in Finance.

Rachel later invited me to be involved in the amazing interior design breast cancer charity event that she is co-chair for, Holiday House which launched in London this month. Through helping out at Holiday House I have met a number of other designers and professionals within the design industry so it has been an immensely rewarding process.

'Thank you for the chat and tips today. Such a cool concept and super helpful.'

I'm a self-published author whose book is available in ePub and printed. I wanted to meet with Todd to learn some insight on how I could market my book and increase sales, as currently the public interest is rather limited. I was also looking for advice on publishing another book and wanted to know if it may be better for me to do this through a renowned publisher, rather than self-publishing. The meeting with Todd was really productive – he also bought with him 2 editors and they provided some in depth advice and feedback on my first book, and how to breakthrough in the industry in general which has certainly helped a lot. The advice they shared was really valuable and I’m working through the changes they suggested. I’d definitely recommend this opportunity!

Dave was down to earth, realistic, and extremely open and friendly as we discussed the challenges of starting a business in what is a competitive marketplace. He gave me some great advice and it was fascinating and heartening to hear his story. All in all a really useful half hour chinwag!