Female Founders: Alison Haill of Oxford Professional Consulting On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

As a part of our series about Women Founders, we had the pleasure of interviewing Alison Haill.

Alison Haill is the founder and CEO of Oxford Professional Consulting. She works with senior leaders in large organizations, as well as SMEs and solopreneurs, helping them develop leadership skills that bring positive change. In her work with women founders, she specializes in helping coaches, consultants and other female experts to build a business that is sustainable and profitable, without overwork, undercharging or needing to become a social media expert.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

My parents were both teachers and I always expected I would be too. I was keen to do a post-grad certificate in teaching EFL but to be accepted I had to teach abroad for a year first. So after university, where I studied Brazilian literature, I set out without a job for Rio de Janeiro, to find a job and spend a year teaching English in Brazil. I loved it — the teaching and Brazil. It led to 12 years’ teaching around the world and various post-graduate degrees as I rose in the profession, eventually specializing in Business English in Oxford.

After a few years based in Oxford with my husband and two small boys, I had a brief foray into selling women’s fashion through a multi-level marketing scheme — as a side hustle while still employed as a teacher. And in 1998 I founded my first real business, Oxford Professional English, to teach Business English in Oxford to international executives. Later I changed its name to Oxford Professional Consulting and we moved gradually out of language teaching into management training, consultancy and professional coaching. Now the focus of the company is coaching for senior leaders.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

Probably the most exciting was having an international client arrive by private plane to work with me. I’d been introduced to the CEO of a large international engineering company a few months before. Out of the blue I got a call from his PA saying he was returning from South America and would call in at Oxford for a couple of days to work with me on an important speech. What airport would I suggest as he would arrive by private plane? Luckily I knew of an airfield nearby and it all went smoothly. Everything fell into place, the speech work went brilliantly and we’re still in touch.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Well it wasn’t exactly funny but it was certainly a surprise. I wanted to learn some Arabic and I’d tried an evening class but it was very boring so I set up some private lessons with a guy from the Middle East. We’d had about three uneventful lessons when he pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket with an engagement ring in it, emeralds and diamonds I think. I was horrified. Needless to say, I refused the ring, the marriage proposal — and the lessons. Despite having lived in Singapore, South America and Egypt, this mistake taught me not to forget the potential for misunderstanding with a guy from a far off country who might misinterpret the freedom that women have here.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I’ve had wonderful help from many people over my time as a business owner but I’m particularly grateful to Rose, a Brazilian manager in the Sao Paulo office of Publicis who I met in Oxford the month before I left my job and started out alone. She invited me to Sao Paulo to “test the market”. We didn’t know each other very well but I’d told her my plans and she wanted to help me. She welcomed me into her house and her family, lent me her driver and set up client meetings for me. So I returned with client bookings, as well as a wonderful new friend. We’ve now been friends for over 20 years and have met in London, Oxford and Brazil several times since.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

As you say the wheels are turning but far too slowly. In my experience as a leadership coach I find many women lack the confidence to dream big. Of those that do, we lack the confidence to carry those dreams into full technicolor fruition. We are trapped by our culture, our upbringing, the inequality of opportunity at work and the practicalities of motherhood, to name just a few of obstacles.

As to what holds us back, I’d say lack of support, funding and expectations. Women need to develop the confidence, and the business skills needed. Schools don’t teach the basics of business, money or parenting to girls and boys. Then there’s childcare. When our children were small, we were living in Singapore for 7 years working in the British Council’s teaching operation. Live-in childcare was easy and not too expensive. In the UK childcare is very expensive today and hard to access.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Recognizing that women in the workforce would make a big difference to productivity, the government should support women led businesses at the start-up stage and beyond. Childcare funds or free childcare should be a right for any woman who wants to work or start a business.

In the UK it seems to me that accepting women in the workforce is a political issue rather than a real belief that their different approach will actually create positive change. We seem to be seen as a tick-box item rather than a valuable resource. Some organizations do appreciate the value of women in the workplace and provide good returner packages for women returning from maternity absence, but this is not widespread enough in my view.

As women we are less afraid than men to ask for help and less likely to see it as a weakness to use a coach to grow as a professional. However, too many competent individuals think it’s a weakness to use a coach. Men and teachers are the worst culprits of this in my view! I’ve noticed that many of the male clients I’ve worked with prefer to keep quiet about it. Whereas if they shared how empowering and useful it was, their colleagues would also be able to benefit, which would increase overall productivity and enjoyment of work across the country.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Women do things differently and care more about relationships. This can produce happier teams and more collaborative teamwork. I think we approach challenges differently and come up with solutions that care for people, as well as profits. The more women founders we have the more girls and women will know that it’s possible and they will dream bigger. With more women CEOs there will be more women involved in boards, panels and business meetings in general. Personally speaking, I have grown in business confidence, wisdom and the ability to speak up through being the main decision maker on a daily basis.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

There’s a myth that “it’s super easy” — just be good at something or have an idea and start your own business. It’s true that at some point you must go for it or shelve the idea. I’d say yes, it is easy to start a business but after that it’s a mix of hard work and happiness.

“Any idea will do as long as it makes money”. I’d like to dispel this one because you need to love your idea and be passionate about it in some way. Otherwise, the long hours will feel like drudgery.

“If you’re good at social media your business will thrive”. I’d take this with a good pinch of salt too. Your success with social media depends so much on how you use it, who you want to attract, what you’re selling, how much it costs which channel and how you use it. And there’s so much more to running a successful business than social media. For a start, you must sell something that people want to pay for.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

I don’t think every woman is cut out to be a founder. Some of us are more risk-averse and there are definitely risks when you are in charge of bringing in the revenue to pay yourself and any staff needed. If you value security and a regular salary and hours then founding a company wouldn’t be a good fit.

Useful traits for a founder would include flexibility and adaptability so you can vary your hours, adapt to new circumstances and change direction if needed. Optimism is important too — you need to see the glass as half full rather than half empty but also be practical and realistic enough to know when to give up on an idea. A cheerful or positive personality, able to listen well and articulate ideas with clarity is pleasant to be around and will deal well with colleagues, staff and clients. A sense of humor and knowing when to use it is a big asset. Another essential trait is to have an interest in learning new skills — and to learn from mistakes because you’re bound to make them!

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1 . Don’t undercharge because pricing shows your quality. Many of the female coaches and consultants who are in my mentoring group came to me because they needed help in raising their prices. They knew they were undercharging but were afraid of losing clients by charging more. One of them doubled her prices after working with me for a year and her clients came back time and again.

2 . Spend time ON the business (marketing, meeting potential clients, networking, emails) as well as IN it (coaching clients, baking cakes, servicing cars or whatever your expertise is).

I thought since I was very well qualified, experienced and good at my job, that having a website would be enough. If you provide coaching or consulting services like I do, even excellence doesn’t assure you of customers. A website won’t bring you sales if nobody knows about it. When I started my business, I was totally green in this respect!

3 . Charge what you are worth. If you provide services, this needs to be your mantra. Otherwise you will begin to resent providing your service and you may not bring in enough to give you a living. I know an experienced professional whose business didn’t enable her to pay her mortgage so she has gone back to an employed job three days a week and another female founder who gave up completely.

4 . Get comfortable talking about money. You can’t run a sustainable profitable business without both. Annie is typical of many of the coaches and consultants who come to me for help with pricing. They know they are undercharging but they are scared to lose clients by raising their prices.

She was overdelivering and undercharging in her teaching business, barely making ends meet, when she signed up for my Money Breakthrough process. It totally changed her approach. Her confidence in her service rocketed so she was able to increase her prices without fear.

5. Invest to progress. This means time and money. You can get some way on free webinars and pro bono help as I did for the first year. But when I paid to work with an experienced business coach, I raised my game considerably higher because I had paid. I still work with a coach because I achieve more than working alone. When they invoice you a premium amount, your coach raises their game too. I recently paid 20K in US dollars for 6 months of coaching — and yes, you guessed — I worked like crazy to make sure it was worth it. I learnt loads, upgraded my marketing and my business brought in more revenue.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
I’ve written two books on coaching in the workplace. I’ve introduced non-directive coaching into more than a dozen different organizations in the UK — and in Europe — so coaching is available at work. In the workplace it benefits the individual, those around them and the organization. In the schools I’ve worked with, it’s exciting to see that new generations of children are introduced to coaching and experience its benefits.

As part of my strategy to help the community, I’ve licensed my coaching training to two individual organizations and am open to other requests. I also do contribute pro bono in the Santander Women in Business scheme for female founders each year.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I would put coaches in all schools for staff and students and make it obligatory that staff use them and speak about how useful they find working with a coach. It’s too easy for competent people to say “I don’t need coaching” but I have found that the brilliant people I’ve coached with come up with ideas they had not thought of on their own. Putting coaches in schools and setting up good training there would enable new generations to understand and make use of its immense value throughout their lives.

We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.

I’d love to meet Deborah Meaden. It’s great to see her on Dragon’s Den. I like her straight talking and feisty comments. She’s a woman after my own heart working past retirement age at what she obviously loves doing and making a positive difference through her experience and acumen..

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.