"I moved here in 2006 from Claire's Accessories because
I moved house. To be honest, I didn't know what I wanted
to do long-term. But I was quickly put in charge of the
Wild Bean Café and liked having my own little domain.
Before long, I started developing my skills through some
of the training courses and I decided to focus on becoming
a manager.
"I won the Retail Star for CSA of the Year award, which
was a proud moment. But my management skills really came
on when I started Connections 2. The training opened my
eyes to all the HR, commercial and planning sides of the
job. The group I learnt alongside were great fun too – I
still keep in touch with them.
"Now I'm six months into my first Deputy Manager role. I
feel like I've got the hang of it, but I still want to
stay at this level for a little while – so that I know
it inside out – before I do Connections 3 and look to
get my own store."