Interview with Simone Roche, MBE

Welcome to Dawn of a New Era podcast. Today we have the fellow Northerner, Simone Roche MBE, and 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, and that 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, right, was when I saw that from seeing you speak for many years and things like that, that you joined the Royal Navy at 18, right, as a radio operator, and then became a lieutenant, right, 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.

Do you know what? It's crazy actually, because I think the start of this week would have been my, if you like, my anniversary, as we would have called it. So the 21st of March 1988, off I trooped from Lime Street Station in Liverpool. 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, you know, all that kind of stuff. And it was, for me, it was the best thing I could ever have done with my life. I absolutely loved and embraced everything about that.

You know, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was kind of, I think I'd exhausted academia. You know, I'd done, I think I'd gone, I'd done through school and I was, you know, I was so, so great at maths and languages, pretty rubbish at writing all the other stuff down and science and stuff. And so I just didn't know, I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I say 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 just, I think I just embraced everything, you know. It was a real sort of sense of community. It was a sense of, you know, God, talk about coming out of your comfort zone every single minute of the day.

Being an entrepreneur was probably a breeze for you after that. Well, gosh, I never would have believed, like then, you know, 30 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, you know, I would be an entrepreneur.

That's a scary, scary space, isn't it, you know? People have perception, don't they, that once, you know, they see your name, they see MBE, et cetera, you know, 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 Blackpool Pleasure Beach, Aintree, you were...

Olympics, Southport Theatre, yeah. But, you know what? I learnt my trade in the Royal Navy, you know, so there's one of the best marketing campaigns or marketing slogans is still in existence, which was, you know, 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 learnt my kind of jump into things and jump out your comfort zone, because you're in it every day. But I was based at NATO headquarters down in London, and 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, very fancy.

Albeit, the thing that wasn't cool is because when I joined the Navy in '88, the height limit was 4 foot 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. So when it came to driving a warship, they had to build me a box to stand on. So how tall are you? I'm 5 foot and a tiny bit, Dawn.

5 foot and a tiny bit important, yeah. It's the tiny bit. I've got a standing desk to make me look taller, so I'm not slouched in a chair. But there was something about that when you're at sea, you know, 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 it's the, you know, anyone who's ever worked on a large event or any event knows that it's all about administration and coordination. It's seamless, isn't it? It's not about red carpet and prosecco, is it? It's about...

It's actually all the behind the scenes to be done. Yeah. So it was that really, that's what sort of drew me into sort of 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, of the whole Northern Power Women, you know, never thought about gender equality while I was in the Royal Navy or equality or stuff like this, 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, and learn about different journeys, I think is so, so important. That's why I'm delighted to be here with you today. 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 the 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, you know, we're both kind of very passionate about it. I mean, in your journey, do you feel that, obviously coming out of, obviously, 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? Oh my gosh, for 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. You know, everything starts and ends with you. Oh my gosh, gosh, how are you going to be able to fund the travel expenses? Who are you going to eat?

How's all this going to happen? And yeah, I'm an entrepreneur and I just don't eat. No, I think it's really weird. There was my sort of, I think my, I think there's also sliding doors moments, aren't there?

And there's a wonderful entrepreneur called Lara Morgan, and I was desperate for Lara Morgan to speak at the TEDx event that I was organising. So going back to giving unearthing voices and messages, I founded or co-founded TEDx Whitehall Women back in 2012 with 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 F are you not doing this for yourself? This is effing ridiculous. And I'm like, Oh, okay.

I'm, you know, and I just thought, well, and I'm... 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 you're more mindful to, or I was more open and saw things as an opportunity. And I never saw myself as an entrepreneur, never saw myself as that. I'm not afraid to take a risk.

I'm financially risk, you know, and I know you had the fabulous Shah 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? You know, that's what 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, you know, or that 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, you know, so I think there's...

And I think the thing 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, my entrepreneurial journey, I've gone with my gut.

And you're right, whenever I've just felt not right, 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, you know, then it's down on us. Growing up then, tell us about your childhood then.

You know, was it kind of conventional? Because, you know, you grew up in Liverpool, didn't you? I just out in the sticks, actually. We lived in Liverpool till I was four and then moved out into, sort of, 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. And my birthday, and also happy birthday for tomorrow to you, Dawn. My birthday, I always think is the half Christmas, 25th of June, you know, right smack bang in the middle of the year, and everyone would gather in our kind of garden or house, and there'd be bodies and sleeping everywhere, you know, kind of thing. But definitely grew up in that vibe.

Everyone would be Northern Power nannas on a Saturday, the men had gone 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, like, you know, MI5 or something. But yeah, really kind of close and sort of extended.

So even though I was an only child, I felt very kind of supported. Really kind of, mum had multiple jobs, that kind of thing, and just remember just thinking always had really strong women and strong people around me, but never really thought of it, you know, sort of in that sort of equality. Stop it, but you knew it had an impact later. Yeah, but it was definitely, as I say, I went through school, you know, quite average, and when I eventually, when I sort of 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, you know, I never did. I just found a good way. But there was, it was, it was like I always wanted to play football for Everton. And, you know, 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 youth, you know, this was. But my nan was always like, you know, she was always, I'm, I'm gonna, and she would make me a tracksuit and show the badges on it.

So there was never anything that I couldn't feel 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, it was all those kind of, had that kind of real love of a good family. But when I joined the Navy, I remember just, they were just so proud, like so proud, so shocked, yet so proud. So thrown in that, you know, you wanted to play for Everton.

I mean, where did that come from, Simone? I mean, big Evertonian. In fact, my nan, my grandparents literally lived sort of yards away from the ground, so there was no way I could, I would ever grow up to be a Liverpoolian without being sort of excommunicated from the family. But yeah, no, it was, it was just a real sense of, 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. My dad died really, you know, it was a stomach ulcer, it was something else, and six weeks later he died, and it was stomach cancer, and it just hadn't been found, all those kind of things. And I think that was really challenging. 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, seemed old at the time, and they just gave me, they wanted to just make sure I had the, if you like, 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 that, I think, again, that was start of this sort of vibe about supporting young people, making role models visible. So it was, I think there was a culmination of, you know, whether it be 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 along the way.

Life, hasn't it, all the way through. And do you know what? You've kept your roots because you've just told me that you live on a houseboat. And when did this happen?

Well, you know, 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, you know, we were on this sailing holiday, as I say, and I'm like, we 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 sounds, you know, seems valid, doesn't it? And we had this conversation and we were like, we can live on a boat. That's what we'll do.

We can sail, that's, you know. And anyway, we came back and we started looking around, and we... I was really mindful that stress is a killer. And actually, I could see my husband, his glasses is full up to the top, you know, and I could see a change, and I thought, we need to make, we need to change something.

And anyway, we started looking at houses and flats to downsize, to sort of be proactive, just in case he lost his job or whatever. And 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, we want to, let's remove that killer aspect, the stress, out of his life. And so that's where 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 totally 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 labour of love and hate and frustration and, you know, so many things. It was like a big grand design project. So we now have Lady Isabella, named after my northern power nana. We've been there nearly, gosh, nine years now.

You know, she's here in Liverpool. She's fabulous. But yes, I think it goes back to my roots of, I think I am part mermaid Dawn. I think that's...

This used to be like 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 is there any funny stories that you've got? Got from sort of in your career or as an entrepreneur that you'd like to share?

Oh my gosh, yeah. This, I mean, the Navy would give you a whole kind of, I think, a whole kind of thing on, you know, sort of 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 pure kind of, you know, those connections by fun and whatever.

But I'm thinking, actually, I'm thinking one of the stories I had when I was at HU Racecourse, so not necessarily my entrepreneurial journey. But it's funny, actually, now thinking of it now out loud is that was my first job out of the Royal Navy. And, like in the forces, you get paid 24/7. You know, that's your— it's not a nine-to-five job.

And I totally embraced entry in the same way. And I looked after conference and banqueting 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 people were—the team, the jockey club, et cetera, the bigger organisation—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, you know, a handful here and there, and I was able to grow it.

But I took my dog in. Anyway, beautiful Irish setter, 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 and, you know, it was all safe space and whatever. And the next minute, I saw Red Dog, or Willow as her name, digging by the finish line.

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, is Red Rum, famous horse, you know, racehorse from years gone by, people would put ashes, you know, they would put there, but that is also where Red Rum was buried.

And the next minute, I see red dogs sort of digging up, and I'm like, Oh my gosh, she's going to come up with this, like, you know, horse bone in her mouth kind of thing. 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, I think there's been definitely lots of mystery 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, you know, everyone's been impacted in some way.

You know, always feel like that you've got to see things as a new... It might feel really awful at times, but trying to look for that opportunity in what the situation arises for you, I think. 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.

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, you know, a failure or a challenge that you've had? I think it's, I think the real opportunities are those, the kind of collaborations. Never, you know, when you have that conversation and whereby if you're in an organisation where you're maybe tied with the restrictions of the organisation, as an entrepreneur, it's in your gift and, you know, as you, 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 the decision, it 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, I think there's the whole sense of the, you know, 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 you've got to take, 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 I, you know, we had to scale down our business, and it's scary, and you just think, gosh, this is my child, Northern Power Women, you know, I cannot. 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.

I think 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 10 phenomenal entrepreneurs in Lancashire. And, you know, you start it where everyone's a bit too busy to kind of come to it, and then you, I don't know whether, I don't really know whether I want to sign up to it or what am I going to gain? But when you've got, you know, sort of people from environmental, people who are farmers, people who are, you know, in the social space, in the broadcast space, the magic when that comes together, I think the most valuable thing I think you can do for yourself is give yourself self time to invest in you. You can often spend your time giving or innovating, where actually sometimes you've got to prescribe a whole dose of self-care.

I'm shocking at that. But last autumn I bought a paddleboard, Dawn, to go back to the water. It's there. It's there again.

But it is the only thing that makes me put this phone down. You can't go on the water with that. You know, I'm good, but I'm not that good. 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 found in lockdown, because I was crazy travel, up at like 4:30, getting on trains, going to London, I was like on, on, on, on, on. I actually felt anxious when lockdown happened, getting up because I think, 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, you know, 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? I think, and again, I think it's really mindful of the times that we're in. You know, we've had the minute silence at the start of this week, and I think certain people were really, people reacted in different ways, I think. So I think the first bit, I think, is to check in on the checkers.

Checking on all those people who go out and are always checking on other people. Just check in, check in on them. 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 or not it's being, you know, sort of, it's a link in a book or an article or an event or, you know, whatever it is, pass it on. Be generous with the knowledge that you've got and take that time to give that to us, because I'm a big fan of the sum of all those parts. The sum of all that makes a real difference.

So, you know, don't just delete. Try and find a way to share those opportunities. 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, you know, young people, the future women, to get part in this global conversation. And I reached out to three of these volunteers and I got them to go, and little did I tell them they had to do an intro, and it was like 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. It's that, I suppose it's what that lieutenant commander did for me many years ago when he said, he pushed me through the door and said, You need to be an officer.

And I went, I'm a short northern person. I'm sure this doesn't fit in my makeup. And he pushed me through the door rather, you know, sort of 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 neighbour with their LinkedIn profile, whether it's, you know... Helping someone else's kids with the homeschooling because mum and dad are frazzled with it, or whatever that may be.

Whatever it is, that opportunity as a trustee or a governor or podcast interview or, you know, recommending fantastic book, Dawn. Whatever it is, pass it on. Pass it on, because that is, it's so important to pay that forward because we've all had a help along the way. So make sure that we pass it on.

And this is it, and someone's given us that first opportunity at times, and you remember these things. Experience is everything. And someone giving that opportunity or giving you that experience of working with someone or doing something, you know, 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? They can find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Simone Roche. You can 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. Lend your pass it on or be heard.

Yeah, be-heard.io. Great way to, you know, unearth those voices and... Yeah, fabulous communities and causes.

And I think the thing is, is everybody can get something from them. It's so diverse that you 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, you know, more and more in person. So, yeah, thank you very much, Simone. So thank you, 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.