understand the money side of things and that was where he came in.
I was working all the hours God sent, but I was still taking Declan with me into the office. Mum would sometimes take him away for a few hours to give me a bit of respite. I’d then pick Rebecca up from nursery. I was basically multi-tasking to get whatever I needed done so I could also be a good mum and wife. It was really difficult but what kept me going were my dreams. I believed if you think big, then big things will happen. I kept dreaming about being the most successful businesswoman in the country. I kept dreaming about having a multi-million-pound company. I kept dreaming and dreaming. Every night, I would lie awake, notepad beside the bed. I’d wake up and make more notes.
‘Go to sleep,’ Michael would say. But I couldn’t, my mind was buzzing.
I wouldn’t have achieved any of the work if it wasn’t for my mum and dad. They looked after the kids all the time. They did everything. My dad packed the chicken fillets from his wheelchair, working really hard. He came in every single day. I’ll never forget when we got our first fax machine. Dad was staring at it like it was from outer space.
‘Dad, that’s a fax that’s coming in,’ I explained.
He looked gobsmacked. ‘Where’s the hole in the wall?’ he asked.
I burst out laughing. ‘What are you talking about, Dad?’
‘How’s someone sent that fax through? Where’s the hole for it to come through?’ He thought someone had delivered it through the brickwork like a letter through a letterbox. I tried to explain, but he shook his head in disbelief. ‘I don’t get it, I don’t get any of this,’ he said, throwing his hands in the air. I couldn’t stop laughing.
It was a really happy time having my family all together, all around me. And I think Dad was happy because he was working again. Dad was popping pills every day to keep him alive but he never let the strain show. I was making money from Elle, I was making money from the chicken fillets and what did I do?
‘Michael, we need to buy this house,’ I pushed. I’d spotted a beautiful, five-bedroom house with a mock castle parapet in an even posher area than the one in which we lived – Newton Mearns. It would be our first stand-alone house. It would be our castle!
‘We are not doing it, no way,’ said Michael.
I stood with my hands on my hips. I wasn’t budging. ‘No, we have to do it. We will stretch and we will manage. Let’s just do it.’ I guess a lot of people would have been terrified to make that move when they were unsure of what the future had in store, but I’ve always been a massive risk-taker, I’ve got balls of steel. Michael is a very safe person. He’s clever with numbers in an analytical kind of way. I’m the creative one – the entrepreneur. But Michael didn’t come up with the idea of chicken fillets and he didn’t wander around the stores trying to find breast enhancers. There would have been something wrong with him if he’d come up with that idea! He didn’t design a bra or work with Elle Lingerie, but he was highly intelligent: he understood the legal stuff, the accounts – all the areas I wasn’t good at or interested in.
I not only pushed for the house but I also bought a brand new Audi that I leased through the business. I also hired a nanny to help take the pressure off my mum and dad. Then I stood back for a moment and thought, Wow, Jesus… We are living in this beautiful house, I’ve got my own office, I’ve got a new car, I’ve got two wonderful kids, things are good with Michael… I’m on my way to the top.
I was close to getting my final prototype back from the factory in Portugal when I found out I was pregnant again, in December 1998. It wasn’t planned, but it was a nice accident, shall we say. Because I was an only child I’ve always wanted a big family. I’d grown up watching my friends muck about with their brothers and sisters and I wanted what they
I was working all the hours God sent, but I was still taking Declan with me into the office. Mum would sometimes take him away for a few hours to give me a bit of respite. I’d then pick Rebecca up from nursery. I was basically multi-tasking to get whatever I needed done so I could also be a good mum and wife. It was really difficult but what kept me going were my dreams. I believed if you think big, then big things will happen. I kept dreaming about being the most successful businesswoman in the country. I kept dreaming about having a multi-million-pound company. I kept dreaming and dreaming. Every night, I would lie awake, notepad beside the bed. I’d wake up and make more notes.
‘Go to sleep,’ Michael would say. But I couldn’t, my mind was buzzing.
I wouldn’t have achieved any of the work if it wasn’t for my mum and dad. They looked after the kids all the time. They did everything. My dad packed the chicken fillets from his wheelchair, working really hard. He came in every single day. I’ll never forget when we got our first fax machine. Dad was staring at it like it was from outer space.
‘Dad, that’s a fax that’s coming in,’ I explained.
He looked gobsmacked. ‘Where’s the hole in the wall?’ he asked.
I burst out laughing. ‘What are you talking about, Dad?’
‘How’s someone sent that fax through? Where’s the hole for it to come through?’ He thought someone had delivered it through the brickwork like a letter through a letterbox. I tried to explain, but he shook his head in disbelief. ‘I don’t get it, I don’t get any of this,’ he said, throwing his hands in the air. I couldn’t stop laughing.
It was a really happy time having my family all together, all around me. And I think Dad was happy because he was working again. Dad was popping pills every day to keep him alive but he never let the strain show. I was making money from Elle, I was making money from the chicken fillets and what did I do?
‘Michael, we need to buy this house,’ I pushed. I’d spotted a beautiful, five-bedroom house with a mock castle parapet in an even posher area than the one in which we lived – Newton Mearns. It would be our first stand-alone house. It would be our castle!
‘We are not doing it, no way,’ said Michael.
I stood with my hands on my hips. I wasn’t budging. ‘No, we have to do it. We will stretch and we will manage. Let’s just do it.’ I guess a lot of people would have been terrified to make that move when they were unsure of what the future had in store, but I’ve always been a massive risk-taker, I’ve got balls of steel. Michael is a very safe person. He’s clever with numbers in an analytical kind of way. I’m the creative one – the entrepreneur. But Michael didn’t come up with the idea of chicken fillets and he didn’t wander around the stores trying to find breast enhancers. There would have been something wrong with him if he’d come up with that idea! He didn’t design a bra or work with Elle Lingerie, but he was highly intelligent: he understood the legal stuff, the accounts – all the areas I wasn’t good at or interested in.
I not only pushed for the house but I also bought a brand new Audi that I leased through the business. I also hired a nanny to help take the pressure off my mum and dad. Then I stood back for a moment and thought, Wow, Jesus… We are living in this beautiful house, I’ve got my own office, I’ve got a new car, I’ve got two wonderful kids, things are good with Michael… I’m on my way to the top.
I was close to getting my final prototype back from the factory in Portugal when I found out I was pregnant again, in December 1998. It wasn’t planned, but it was a nice accident, shall we say. Because I was an only child I’ve always wanted a big family. I’d grown up watching my friends muck about with their brothers and sisters and I wanted what they
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