At the tender age of 22, Debbie was running a pizza restaurant for a well-known high street chain. After studying for an HND in Hospitality Catering & Institutional Management in Bournemouth, she decided restaurants were her calling. Achieving financial success and raising standards in all areas (including staff retention and morale!), Debbie was quickly recognised by Head Office and recruited into a Training Officer position responsible for delivering training to restaurant teams across the whole of the UK.
Flying about in her little red Ford Fiesta, Debbie’s role was to assist in the opening of new restaurants, training teams, auditing and delivering the company’s mission vision and values. From there she was quickly promoted again to manage the whole training function for the company which was a brilliant experience in itself. Then, as now, Debbie found the Operations of the business far more interesting and rewarding so returned to ‘the coalface’ and become an Area Manager responsible for 12 restaurants across the south of England with a budget of £5million. From this, Debbie went on to spend a further 5 years in Whitbread, working for a similar high street restaurant chain with eventual responsibility for the development of a new Area Manager and 19 restaurants.
In 2004 Debbie took the huge decision to join her husband in the family business. This was a totally new sector and working environment, with very unique business challenges that opened up a whole new world of learning for Debbie. Throughout the 12 years Debbie worked directly in the business, she was responsible for Sales & Marketing, Business Development, Operations, Human Resources, Health & Safety, Financial Planning & Cash Flow Management and even Import & Export Projects. It was a remarkable opportunity and one that helped hone skills and business understanding even further. With her daughter growing up fast, Debbie decided she wanted to take more control of her work/life balance.
In January 2016 Debbie joined The Passionate PA, which has enabled her to do just that! Debbie has worked exceptionally hard to create her own lifestyle business in her beloved Dorset offering her invaluable skills and experience to a whole range of businesses. Being a Passionate PA has enabled her to spend more quality time with family and embark on some very exciting relationships with entrepreneurs and business owners. Life’s good, very good!
