“When I was made redundant my brother said, ‘If you work that hard for other people, why don’t you work that hard for yourself?’ What he meant was that I should take a break, run or meditate. But what I heard was, ’why don’t I actually work that hard for myself and start a company?’”
These are the words of Juliet Fallowfield, PR consultant, entrepreneur and Starling business customer. She registered her business - Fallow, Field & Mason - in April 2020, the day after being made redundant. Days later, she dived into a two-month pro bono project.
She has since helped establish the PR capability for eight company founders. “I’ve adapted my twenty years of PR experience to enable businesses right from the start to own their PR in-house,” she says.
“As I faced redundancy at the beginning of a global pandemic, I assumed roles like mine would only become less available, so I just went for it. Plus with no social life allowed, it meant I could work all hours with no distractions.”
Unexpected entrepreneurship
Even though she dreamed of running a business as a young girl, Juliet never imagined she would venture into self-employment once she started working. “I loved my job and being part of a team,” she says. “Leaving that security would be too great a leap but, when the decision was made for me, I had nothing to lose.”