Coffee with Fleur Emery
Fleur Emery,
Start-up Expert and Columnist at Courier Magazine
Age 46
Describe your career path in two or three sentences including any twist or turns ending with where you are now.
I started my first business with my sister from home, kind of by accident 15 years ago, a pot-porridge called Grasshopper. So when you see porridge-on-the-go pots, we were the first people to do that back in the days when you could create a product, brand it yourself, market it yourself and still make it into the supermarkets. We sold it in Waitrose and Whole Foods and hundreds of independent stores and on Stena Line Ferries and Eurostar and in hotels. It was fantastic, I had a great time.
Then I started a craft beer company called Green & Pleasant which became the house lager at The Ritz Hotel and was the first beer ever to be written up by Wallpaper magazine. During this time, I blogged and broadcast the journey and relished being part of the emerging start-up community. Speaking and consultancy work evolved and now I coach start-ups, in the area of “branded stuff”, usually products not services and mostly in food and fashion.
What decision / experience proved to be the most helpful to your career?
Realizing, that I was unemployable in mainstream work. I really suffered in my 20s and was miserable, I was a square peg trying to fit in a round hole.
I worked in a charity, I tried to work in a German investment bank, I tried all kinds of jobs and failed. I ended up scraping a living playing poker because I really couldn’t work for other people and I didn’t know why.
I was quite desperate until I realised that when I did my own thing, my productivity went through the roof and I became very happy, very quickly.
Where or to whom did you look for inspiration when thinking about making a change?
I had the luxury of failing for a decade because I had parents that I knew I could turn to if I really fell, I wouldn’t starve and I wouldn't become homeless and that was inspiring. My parents were exasperated at times and still today they feel frustrated that at dinner parties when people ask what I do they don’t have a clear answer but they supported me through multiple failures, through degrees started and stopped, multiple house moves, so that is inspiration in action.
What do you think are the most important qualities are for sustaining a fulfilling career(s) as you grow older?
Do you mean being happy in work?
For me, it means keeping my life simple. I am a minimalist and keep my consumption under control in every way. I do really like quality things, I’m known for liking a bit of cashmere and a decent piece of furniture but I don't have a consumption habit.
I am a non-drinker, I am a careful purchaser of anything and so my overheads are really low and on that basis, I can earn less and that helps me make better choices. I keep things quite lean and that means I have the luxury of saying no to a lot of stuff.
What was the biggest challenge or hurdle to making a career change?
It’s an inside job basically, it’s what’s happening between your ears. It’s not exterior things.
If you can cut your costs, that's one practical thing you can do. And, you need to get real about what your responsibilities and duties are. Everyone has assets and everyone has liabilities, for example if you are responsible for five kids, you have to make calculations around those things. But ultimately it has to do with how you feel about your entitlement to be happy. I have a very low tolerance for unhappiness.
When I was in my 20s, I was a drug addict and alcoholic and I was very very unhappy. I changed, I took help and I did masses of work and I cleaned up my life and got happy. I became useful and I became a good worker and a good employer and a productive member of society. So, I have a first-hand view of what happens if I let my mental health slip and I end up doing a crummy job. I just can’t do it, the cost is too high so I am prepared to go to any lengths to maintain my mental health and to do work that I am proud of.
What are the key ingredients for work that makes you happy?
Being useful. Finding something that is meaningful.
What advice would you give your 20 year old self knowing what you do now?
The party is over. Go home, have a sleep, eat some breakfast, go for a run. You’ve been to more parties that most people go to in a lifetime but now it’s time to go home and become useful to other people.
What is your top tip for people thinking of re-inventing their careers later in life?
The fact that you are thinking about it means you should do it. People who are really happy working in investment banks don’t fantasy about opening a sustainable glampsite in Somerset, they just think about getting promoted and buying more stuff.
Recommendation: Favourite book to read, website to browse or podcast to listen to while drinking coffee?
I write for Courier magazine and before I wrote for them I was there number one fan for a long time. If you are interested in working for yourself or starting a business, Courier is a great place to start. They have masses of free events and they have very smart people working for them and research things really well.
On Instagram follow @extinctionrebellion (obviously) and my new obsession @lovely_._lydia a block printer who happens to be an expert on European politics and de-codes Brexit politics live on her Instagram stories.
Also Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker Magazine, my only subscription apart from Courier, Ronan Farrow for President.