What is a typical day for you? What sort of role do you play in your business and what challenges do you face in your sector as woman?

I’m a new mum, so once I have my son dressed and off to his childminder I get myself looking smart and out the door before I end up with sticky hands staining my top. Five years into the business and I have finally learned to delegate. I spend most of my day with various members of the team helping them with whatever issues and challenges a new day brings.

I oversee the entire matchmaking process and personally deliver matchmaking for a couple of VIP clients. This involves dashing out of the office at various points in the day to meet clients and potential matches.

The rest of my day is usually spent working on our PR and marketing strategy. Being a mum means I no longer work the crazy hours I used to, but I usually stay in Mayfair one or two evenings a week to attend meetings or to meet a client. I feel very fortunate. There’s not a single part of my job that I don’t enjoy.

What have been your smartest investments?

I merged with another matchmaking agency in 2013 and then bought my business partner out. This transformed Vida Consultancy from a London centric boutique agency into international business with very little competition. The process was very stressful at the time, however, it has made Vida into what it is today and was definitely worthwhile.

What is the greatest challenge and the greatest reward in being your own boss?

When I first set up Vida, I was worried that I would become lazy, however, I was the exact opposite. I became a complete workaholic, so my greatest challenge was maintaining a work-life balance.

I was so focused on work that I let friendships slip and didn’t see my family as much as I used to. This brought huge feelings of guilt. Since having my son Harrison just over a year ago, this forced me into delegating properly for the first time.

Now, I am reaping the rewards of choosing when I work and from where. I work from home every Friday so I can spend more time with my son and I leave work at 5.30pm sharp three evenings per week so I can do bath and bedtime, then I catch up with emails after that.

What are your priorities as a business leader?

Maintaining high levels of professional and ethical standards is very important for me, not just within Vida but across the industry as a whole. In 2014, I was invited onto the Board of Advisors for the Matchmaking Institute and I’m doing a lot of work with them to enhance the professionalism of matchmaking. We run the world’s only accredited training course in matchmaking, which will run in London this September.

With all your accomplishments, what are the principles, philosophies and guidelines that have brought you this far? What do you live by?

I’m inherently a good person and always try to do the right thing by others. I am a strong believer in positivity. When I am faced with a difficult challenge, I choose to respond in a positive way, so I feel good about the outcome. I try to ignore negativity.

What’s next for your business?

We want to expand our events service, Vida8 to other cosmopolitan cities and continue to grow our international matchmaking service, which has doubled in size year-on-year since we launched.