Episode 37: Interview with Simone Roche, MBE

Simones Vibrant Life and How Her Journey Began

 

Dawn McGruer:

Welcome to Dawn of a New Era podcast. Today, we have the fellow northerner, Simone Roche MBE.

We’ve just been having a lovely chat actually offline and we’re going to share some of those topics actually, because we were just talking about something we’re both very passionate about because Simone has founded Northern Power Women, and also you’ve got the Northern Power Futures; you’ve got about 60,000 people on there at the moment.

And one thing that I think we share a joint passion on is giving people a voice and shaking up the whole presence of online, and making sure that we have inclusion and diversity across all platforms. More and more people now are ready to step up and want to have a voice, and I think the more opportunity we can give, the better.

So on today’s podcast, we’re going to be diving into Simone’s very, very vibrant life. I think the thing that shocked me most was when I saw that, from seeing you speak for many years and things like that, that you joined the Royal Navy at 18 as a radio operator and then became a Lieutenant, and then you’ve evolved into one of the sort of biggest people in event spaces.

So just talk us through the beginning of your journey, because it’s fascinating.

Simone Roche:

Do you know what? It’s crazy actually. Because the start of this week would have been, if you like, my “renoversary”, as they would have called it. So the 21st of March, 1988, off I trooped from Lime Street Station in Liverpool. I think it was like 10 hours down to HMS Raleigh. And I felt, for those of you who are old enough will remember, like Private Benjamin, and I thought that’s what it was going to be like. I thought I was going to be getting off that bus at the other end, doing press ups and all that kind of stuff.

And for me, it was the best thing I could ever have done with my life. I absolutely loved and embraced everything about that. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I think I’d exhausted academia, you know? I’d gone through school and I was so-so; great at maths and languages, pretty rubbish at writing all the other stuff down, and science and stuff. So I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Did A-Levels, but then I didn’t want to do the university thing. I wanted to do some practical learning. And actually, quite frankly, Dawn, I wanted an adventure.

And so off I went. And it was in the days before women went to sea. It was actually illegal. And I think I just embraced everything. It was a real sort of sense of community, it was a sense of … God, talk about coming out of your comfort zone every single minute of the day, but..

Dawn McGruer:

So being an entrepreneur was probably a breeze for you after that.

Simone Roche:

Well, gosh, I never would have believed … Then, 33 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed I’d be here now talking to you on a podcast. I wouldn’t believe it. But equally, I also wouldn’t have believed that I would be an entrepreneur. That’s a scary, scary space, isn’t it? You know?

Dawn McGruer:

People have this perception, don’t they? They see your name, they see MBE, et cetera, they just assume that you woke up, you decided to be an entrepreneur, and that was it. But the journey that you’ve taken has been quite interesting, because you were heavily into events. So you were at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Aintree, you were …

Simone Roche:

Olympics. Southport Theater. Yeah.

But you know what? I learned my trait in the Royal Navy. One of the best marketing campaigns, or marketing slogans, is still in existence, which was, “I was born in the North, but I was made in the Royal Navy.” And I think there’s a real something in that. But I was definitely one of those people that took every opportunity, and the Navy affords you so many opportunities to volunteer, to get involved. And I think that’s definitely where I learned my kind of “jump into things and jump out your comfort zone,” because you’re in it every day.

But when I was based at NATO Headquarters down in London, there was always NATO conferences getting on. So again, I would volunteer to get involved. And then ultimately, sort of three or four years later, when I progressed through the ranks to a Lieutenant, or a midshipman, then a sub-lieutenant, and I went off to drive warships, so to speak, which sounds very fancy … Albeit, the thing that wasn’t cool is, when I joined the Navy in ’88, the height limit was 4″10, and three years later, when women were allowed to go to sea, they’d upped the height limit to 5″2, but they never remeasured me because I was already in the system.

Dawn McGruer:

Oh.

Simone Roche:

So when it came to driving a warship, they had to build me a box to stand on.

Dawn McGruer:

So how tall are you?

Simone Roche:

I’m 5″ and a tiny bit, Dawn.

Dawn McGruer:

Oh, you see, Yeah.

Simone Roche:

Tiny bit. I’ve got a standing desk to make me look taller, so that’s why.

But there was something about that … When you’re at sea, again, you always have additional roles and responsibilities. So I was sports officer, logistics officer. One of the most important things on a ship is making sure the mail gets to the right port on the right day. Obviously now, there’s mobile phones and internet, but there wasn’t in that day. But it was all of that. I got involved in so much. And I think that’s where my hunger for events and connecting people came together, because anyone who’s ever worked on a large event, or any event, knows that it’s all about administration and coordination. It’s not about-

Dawn McGruer:

It’s got to be seamless, isn’t it?

Simone Roche:

It’s not about red carpet and prosecco, is it? It’s about-

Dawn McGruer:

No. Unfortunately not. There’s the behind-the-scenes to be done. Yeah.

Simone Roche:

I know.

Simone Roche:

So it was that really. That’s what drew me into wanting to put those skills … And I think this is where … Like you say, you don’t just wake up one morning and have that trajectory. It’s the different skills that you pick along the way. And at some point, you form them into your different career journeys.

And I think that’s interesting, Northern Power Women. I never thought about gender equality while I was in the Royal Navy, or equality or stuff like that. I just didn’t. I’m passionate now about being able to showcase all role models. Like yourselves, you’ve been on the podcast. Having different voices be heard, be amplified. It’s so important that people can see people like them, not like them, or learn about different journeys, I think is so, so important. That’s why I’m delighted to be here with you today.

 

Simone’s journey from the Navy to Corporate to being an Entrepreneur

 

Dawn McGruer:

Well, see, one of the things we were talking about just before we came on was the fact that I’ve really taken to kind of looking at challenging the status quo and kind of looking at people that I haven’t heard of before, you know, new authors, new speakers, people who are at the beginning of their journey or who have been the most established, but they’re the best kept secret. And I think we have to give the opportunity and bring these people to the forefront. And we’re both kind of very passionate about it.

I mean, in your journey, do you feel that, obviously coming out of the Navy, going into, obviously, corporate, that you felt that it was a natural step to be an entrepreneur? I mean, do you feel like you’ve made a sacrifice by taking that route rather than staying in a corporate role?

Simone Roche:

Oh my gosh. Never, in any of those years where I was in the corporate world and the sector skills council world and the hospitality world, never in a million years did I want to be an entrepreneur. All of that risk? All of that stress? Everything’s on your shoulders? Everything starts and ends with you? Oh my gosh. “Gosh, how are you going to be able to fund the travel expenses? How are you going to eat? How is all this going to happen?” Yeah, I’m an entrepreneur and I just don’t eat.

No. I think it’s really weird.

I think there’s also Sliding Doors moments, aren’t there? There’s a wonderful entrepreneur called Lara Morgan, and I was desperate for Lara Morgan to speak at the TEDx event that I was organizing. So going back to unearthing voices and messages, I founded, or co-founded, TEDxWhitehall Women back in 2012, with a wonderful friend, Ruth Shaw. And we were desperate to find different voices to put on the stage. Anyway, I came across Lara and thought, “This is somebody I want to speak with.”

And I remember having a conversation with her. We ended up moving three times as we went. And she is the ultimate serial entrepreneur. And at one point she just went, “Why the eff are you not doing this for yourself? This is effing ridiculous.” And I’m like, “Ooh, okay.” And I went, “I’m fine. I’m okay doing what I do.” But it was that one thing that she said, she said, “But this is all about you, Simone. This is you. This is your brand, this is your standards. This is all about your values in this. So you may be doing this, but it’s you that’s driving it.” And it stayed with me and I think it shaped then my thinking over, probably, the next three months.

And so the things that happened may have happened anyway, but I think I was more open and saw things as an opportunity. And I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. Never saw myself as that way. I’m not afraid to take a risk. I’m financially risk aware. I know you had the fabulous Shar on earlier this week, who I love, and I think that’s the great thing about entrepreneurs, is everyone’s different and everyone.. Thank goodness, right? The uniqueness and the craziness of it all is wonderful.

So, yeah, I’m definitely on a totally different track or different vibe to how other people do it. But I think the one thing I’m passionate about is … I think on the day I set the business up, I was adamant, “Could I only work with people that I liked and I valued?”, or their value set. And I have. And every time there’s been something that has skirted around that edge, and my gut has gone, “No, that’s not right,” it hasn’t been right. So I think there’s-

Dawn McGruer:

Instinct. I’m into that. And I think the thing that you say about entrepreneurs and uniqueness, most businesses are not unique. It’s the entrepreneur, the business owner, that’s running it, and their principles and values, or vision and mission. And that is the spice of life. I mean, when you meet somebody, you just either know it or don’t, don’t you? And I think, for me, on my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve gone with my gut, and you’re right; whenever I’ve just felt not right, it hasn’t. It hasn’t panned. And I think the thing is, we have to have the confidence in ourselves sometimes to believe that we’re doing the right thing. It might go epically wrong, but then it’s down on us.

Growing up then, tell us about your childhood then? Was it kind of conventional? Because you grew up in Liverpool, didn’t you?

 

Growing up in Lancashire

 

Simone Roche:

Just out in the sticks, actually. We lived in Liverpool until I was four and then moved out across the border into Lancashire. So quite in the middle of nowhere, only child, but big sort of Northern kind of family, if you like. You know, the cousins. My birthday … And also, happy birthday for tomorrow to you, Dawn. My birthday, I always think, is the half Christmas; 25th of June, right smack bang in the middle of the year. And everyone would gather in our garden or house, and there’d be bodies and sleeping everywhere, kind of thing.

But definitely grew up in that vibe. Everyone would be at Northern Power nana’s on a Saturday. The men had gone to the match and the women were down the bottom road doing messages. I never understood what that was. I always used to think they worked for MI5 or something. But yeah, really close and extended. So even though I was an only child, I felt very supported. Mum had multiple jobs, kind of thing. And I remember just thinking I always had really strong women and strong people around me, but never really thought of it in that sort of equality-

Dawn McGruer:

But you knew it had an impact later.

Simone Roche:

Yeah. But there was definitely … As I say, I went through school, quite average. And when I eventually joined the Navy … When I told my mum I was going to join the Navy, she was like, “Oh my God, you’ll never keep your room tidy.” And I never did. I always just had a good way of disguising it.

But I always wanted to play football for Everton, and there wasn’t any notable women’s football in those days. It wasn’t a thing. You couldn’t even find a top that was female. You just had to get a youths. But my Nan, she was always going, “I’m going to … ” And she would make me a tracksuit and sew the badges on.

So there was never anything that I felt like I couldn’t do, if you know what I mean. So whether it would be my grandfather teaching me to play poker or my nan teaching me to do this, there was all those kinds of … Had that kind of real love of a good family.

But when I joined the Navy, they were just so proud. So proud. So shocked, yet so proud.

Dawn McGruer:

You’ve thrown in that you wanted to play for Everton. I mean, where did that come from, Simone?

Simone Roche:

I mean, big Evertonian fan, but my grandparents literally lived sort of yards away from the ground. So there was no way I would ever grow up to be a Liverpudlian without being sort of excommunicated from the family.

But yeah, no. It was definitely a loving family. When I joined the Navy, a couple of years in, literally two years into joining the Royal Navy, I lost my dad. It was a stomach ulcer, it was something else, then six weeks later, he died. It was stomach cancer and it just hadn’t been found. All those kinds of things. And I think that was really challenging.

And this is going to sound really wrong, but the Royal Navy sent me to the careers office in Liverpool to work, you know, as a base, so I … You know, only child, my mum was only young; she was only late thirties, at the time. And they wanted to just make sure I had the family around me, of the forces, if you like.

And I always think that was the best thing I ever did. It was the best job I ever had. It was a great distraction, but during that time, I got to go out and visit schools with the Royal Navy Youth Presentation Team. And I think, again, that was start of this sort of vibe about supporting young people, making role models visible. So I think there was a culmination of, you know, whether it had been my family role models and then in the Royal Navy, and then going into that, it was almost like all these building blocks sort of came one way.

 

Living on a houseboat

 

Dawn McGruer:

Your life, hasn’t it? All the way through. And do you know what? You’ve kept your roots because you just told me that you live on a houseboat. When did this happen?

Simone Roche:

Well, where are we now? Gosh. It was the best part of 11 years ago. My husband and I were on a sailing holiday in Greece, drinking really bad Greek wine. And my husband’s job had been … There was a threat of redundancy. Local authority. It had always been a job for life, and then all of a sudden, this came up. And I could see him getting stressed, and we were on the sailing holiday, as I say, and I’m like, “We’ll live on a boat.” You know when you’re on holiday, and you have that idea, “I’m going to sell shoes on eBay, and that’s how I’m going to … ?”

Dawn McGruer:

Yeah, exactly. Sounds valid, doesn’t it?

Simone Roche:

And we had this conversation and we were like, “We can live on a boat. That’s what we’ll do. We can sail.”

Anyway, we came back and we started looking around. I was really mindful that stress is a killer actually. My husband, his glass is full up to the top, and I could see a change, and I thought, “We need to change something.” Anyway, we started looking at houses and flats to downsize, to sort of be proactive just in case he lost his job and whatever. After a couple of weeks, we found out his job was safe, but we kept looking because we thought, “If this happens again,” and lo and behold, it did, time and time again, “Let’s remove that killer aspect, the stress, out of his life.” And so that’s when we said, “Right. Why don’t we look at boats?”

And we started looking around. We told no one, because we didn’t want people to sort of dismiss the idea as totally ludicrous. We wanted to form it in our heads. Of course, it was ludicrous, but we did. We went the length and breadth of the country, looking for boats to buy, couldn’t find anything, so we built one. So it was a labor of love and hate and frustration, and so many things. It was like a big Grand Designs project.

So we now have Lady Isabella, named after my Northern Power nana. We’ve been there nearly, Gosh, nine years now. She’s here in Liverpool. She’s fabulous. But yes, I think it goes back to my roots. I think I am part mermaid, Dawn. I think that’s what I am.

Dawn McGruer:

I think you are. There seems to be this affinity, this sort of synergy that you have with the water. I mean, I’m still fascinated about the fact that you joined the Navy, because I just think that if people were to meet you or see you on stage, et cetera, it is the furthest removed role that you could ever think that you would do.

So I know that you’ve probably got an abundance of these, but are there any funny stories that you’ve got from in your career, or as an entrepreneur, that you’d like to share?

 

How Simone’s work ethic has shaped her career as an entrepreneur

 

Simone Roche:

Oh my gosh. Yeah, I mean, the Navy will give you a whole kind of thing on my career.

I think the entrepreneur journey has been so interesting though. I think the dots that we’ve been able to join, the mischief that we’ve been able to create, the businesses that have been influenced by just those connections, by fun, and whatever.

But actually, I’m thinking of one of the stories I had when I was at Aintree Racecourse. So not necessarily my entrepreneurial journey. But it’s funny actually, thinking of it now out loud, that was my first job out of the Royal Navy. And in the forces, you get paid 24/7. It’s not a 9-5 job. And I totally embraced Aintree in the same way.

I looked after Conference and Banqueting. It was myself, Chris and George. Chris was the cleaner and George was the furniture “putter outer.” And then there was Red Dog. Red Dog was my dog. I took him to work with me every day. And I treated that like my own business, because the team, the jockey club etc, the bigger organization, were less worried about the conference business, more worried about the racing side. So I was able to build this business from nothing. So there were hardly any events, a handful here and there, and I was able to grow it.

But I took my dog in. Beautiful Irish Setter. Totally, totally deaf and partially sighted. So not the best guard dog in the world. Anyway, I’d let her out and she would run round. It was all a safe space and whatever. And the next minute, I saw Red Dog, or Willow, is her name, digging by the finish line. And I thought, “Oh my goodness, I’m going to get sacked. I’m going to get sacked. Oh my goodness, what is it?”

And what had happened is, Red Rum, famous racehorse from years gone by, people would put ashes … They would put their … But that is also where Red Rum was buried. And the next minute, I see Red Dog sort of digging up, and I’m like, “Oh my Gosh, she’s going to come up with this horse bone in her mouth.” Thankfully, that was not the case. It was the fact that people had put flowers down by the winning post. She was trying to fight with the cellophane. But from a distance, I couldn’t see it. I kept my job, managed to grow the business, all is good.

But yes, there’s been definitely lots of mischief along the way. And I think that’s the thing with any career. Whether you’re working in a corporate world, whether you’re just starting out on your journey, whether you’ve been severely impacted by the last year, everyone’s been impacted in some way, you’ve got to see things as a new … It might feel really awful at times, but it’s trying to look for that opportunity in what the situation arises for you, I think.

 

The opportunities in collaboration and asking for help

 

Dawn McGruer:

Yeah. And I think it’s been tough for people, trying to think, “It’s not going to be like this forever,” and trying to step out of it to try and move it forward in some way and try. I mean, not every cloud obviously has a silver lining, but it’s trying to look for that positivity.

What would you say was the most valuable lesson that you’ve learned as an entrepreneur from a failure or a challenge that you’ve had?

Simone Roche:

I think the real opportunities are the kind of collaborations. When you have that conversation, if you’re in an organization where you’re maybe tied with the restrictions of the organization, as an entrepreneur, it’s in your gift; only you can make that decision as to whether you want to step over the line with it.

And something happened not so long ago with me, where I made a decision that was totally out of our comfort zone; not something we would normally have done. And 100% did not go to plan and has cost money to us as a business. However, there’s the whole slogan, isn’t there, about building back better? I’m not a fan of going back. I’m a big fan of going forward. So I think sometimes you’ve got to break things up to step forward again.

This time last year, we’d just gone into lockdown, hadn’t we? And we had to scale down our business. It’s scary, and you just think, “Gosh, this is my child, Northern Power Women. I love this community. I’m passionate and proud of what we’ve built and created. What happens if it goes? What do we do?”

And I think one of the valuable lessons is to ask for help. Ask for help. Never think that you’re on your own. So again, it doesn’t matter which part of your journey you’re at, I think it is asking for help, because you are not the first person to ever have trodden this path, and equally, you can also offer value.

We’ve just finished the last session on Monday this week of this Peer Networks group of phenomenal entrepreneurs in Lancashire. And you start it where everyone’s a bit too busy to kind of come to it, and then, “I don’t really know whether I want to sign up to it. Oh, what am I going to gain?” But when you’ve got people who are farmers, people who are in the social space, in the broadcast space, the magic, when that comes together …

The most valuable thing I think you can do for yourself is give yourself time to invest in you. You can often spend your time giving or innovating, when actually, sometimes you’ve got to prescribe a whole dose of self-care. I’m shocking at that, but-

Dawn McGruer:

We all are a little bit.

Simone Roche:

Yeah. But last autumn, I bought a paddleboard, Dawn, to go back to the water.

Dawn McGruer:

It’s there. It’s there again.

Simone Roche:

But it is the only thing that makes me put this phone down. You can’t go in the water with that. I’m good, but I’m not that good.

 

Checking in on the checkers

 

Dawn McGruer:

I think with an entrepreneur, your mind is always consciously on. And even when you’re with people and you’re present, you’re not always mindfully present. And I think one of the things that I’ve found in lockdown, because I was crazy travel, up at 4:30, getting on trains, going to London, I was on, on, on, on, on, I actually felt anxious when lockdown happened, getting up. Because I was thinking, “Where have I got to be?” And by slowing it all down, I’ve been far more creative, you know? Taking that step back, but far more present. And I’ve learned how to distract my mind by doing other things, you know, things that are not work orientated. Because as much as it’s a passion, and it is, for both of us, we want to do different things, don’t we? We want to be more diverse. And I think, for me … I’ve started making bread and doing cooking, and all sorts of things. Things I would never do before. But it’s the only time, truly, I would say, that my mind isn’t thinking about work.

So if we were to leave today’s interview with one final takeaway, what would you like to share with our listeners?

Simone Roche:

I think the … And again, I think it’s really mindful of the times that we’re in; we’ve had the minute silence at the start of this week, and I think people reacted in different ways, I think. So the first bit, I think, is to check in on the checkers; check in on all those people who go out and they’re always checking on other people. Just check in on them.

 

Pass on and sharing opportunities that come your way

 

Simone Roche:

My other thing is, I’m passionate about paying it forward and being generous. So you have things that come in your inbox all the time. Pass them on. Pass them on to somebody else; someone else that may benefit, someone else that it’s a platform and a stage. Whether it’s linking a book, or an article or an event; whatever it is, pass it on. Be generous with the knowledge that you’ve got and take that time to give. Because I’m a big fan of, the sum of all those parts, the sum of all that makes a real difference. So don’t just delete. Try and find a way to share those opportunities.

 

Find ways to help other people

 

Simone Roche:

I had a number of people that were on furlough who were volunteering with us at the start, and had this invitation come through for young people; future women to take part in this global conversation. And I reached out to three of these volunteers and I got them to go on it. Little did I tell them, they had to do an intro. And you had the United Nations involved and stuff like that. But it’s that. It’s those money-can’t-buy-things. We’ve created this Be Heard campaign because I want to unearth those voices that you can’t always find, or you always see the same people on the same stages or in the media.

I suppose it’s what that Lieutenant Commander did for me many years ago, when he pushed me through the door and said, “You need to be an officer.” And I went, “I’m short Northern person. I’m sure this doesn’t fit in my makeup.” And he pushed me through the door rather sternly, then he came through it with me, and then gave me a talking to and gave me the belief that I could.

We can all do that. You would call that sponsorship now, wouldn’t you? But I urge everybody to do that and find a way to help somebody else. Whether it’s helping your next door neighbor with their LinkedIn profile, whether it’s helping someone else’s kids with their homeschooling because mom and dad are frazzled with it, or whetever that may be; whatever it is, that opportunity as a trustee or a governor or podcast interview or recommending, “Fantastic book, Dawn”; whatever it is, pass it on. Pass it on, because it’s so important to pay that forward. Because we’ve all had help along the way. So make sure that we pass it on.

Dawn McGruer:

This is it. Someone’s given us that first opportunity at times. And you remember these things. Experience is everything, and someone giving you that opportunity or giving you that experience of working with someone or doing something, it’s still so valuable each and every day. And it’s about enrichment, isn’t it, in life? And enriching others.

So I think probably the common theme across it all is community and collaboration, isn’t it, really? And it’s something that we both very much stand for.

So, Simone, if people want to come and check you out, where can they find you online?

Simone Roche:

They can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram; Simone Roche. northernpowerwomen.com. We’ve got our Power Platform, which is a great place; power-platform.com. Great place to put your opportunities for other people. Pass it on or be heard.

Dawn McGruer:

Yeah, exactly.

Simone Roche:

be-heard.io. Great way to unearth those voices and..

Dawn McGruer:

Yeah, fabulous communities and causes. And I think the thing is, everybody can get something from them. It’s so diverse that literally everybody should go and check it out and have a look at it, because whatever field or sector or stage or age you’re at, this is why Simone has created it.

So thank you so much for today. It’s been a joy as ever, and yeah, hopefully there’ll be more and more opportunities as time goes on, and more and more in person.

So thank you very much, Simone.

Simone Roche:

Thank you, Dawn.

Dawn McGruer:

Take care, guys, and thanks for joining us today.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s episode. And don’t forget, I’m going to be with you each and every week. So download and listen on dawnmcgruer.com or on iTunes, and come and join us in our Facebook community too. All the details are on the website, and I’ll see you next week.