​QUESTION TIME ...

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What is your greatest life highlight?  

Personally managing to have my boys. Career coming 3rd on the apprentice and managing to get the investment to start my business 
 

Your biggest low?

Losing a company a few years ago. I felt like a huge failure (FAILURE MAKES SUCCESS MICHAELA!!!!)
 

What’s your definition of ‘success’?

I think it’s about setting your own goals and achieving them. Not someone else’s idea of success. People may look at me and think I am successful. I have a few successful companies turning over a few million but that was never my end goal so I don’t feel like I have been successful yet. Although I acknowledge I have come a fair way on my journey. (WELL SAID! WE'LL FIND OUT WHAT MICHAELA'S END GOAL IS AT THE EXPO!!)
 

If you were a cocktail, what would you be?

Pornstar martini. I’ll leave you to conclude why (THERE'S ALWAYS ONE...)
 

What is the best advice you could give to any lady in business?

Stop thinking of yourself as a lady in business and start thinking of yourself as the owner of a company or whatever your job title is. My gender has never worried me in the slightest. I was dragged up with 4 brothers. We was all treated the same. Well actually my mum always said from me being a little girl she was tougher on me because women have to have bigger balls than any man in this world to succeed. I never understood but now I’m so grateful that she was tough on me. It’s stopped me feeling like a victim I think and allowed me to just crack on. (WE LIKE THE SOUND OF YOUR MOTHER!!!)
 

What did you want to be when you ‘grew up’?

A footballer. I was shit hot as well. My best friend growing up who was a boy is now a professional footballer. I stand by the fact I taught him everything he knows.

That’s an industry where it’s right if your a woman. I used to play on the boys football teams but when it got to semi pro I had to play for the girls and on those days there was no career for women in football. I also loved long distance running I used to represent the north west and my county in loads of different sports. I think that really helped with moulding me on my career. I was always very competitive and long distance running takes a lot of kind of matter situations. You only rely on yourself to get you to the finish line and you have to have several words with yourself most races to get you there. I believe that massively applies to me now in business.

Your head falls off but you just have to have a word with yourself get your head back on and make shit happen.

(FANTASTIC ATTITUDE, AND WHO KNEW MICHAELA WAIN ALMOST ENDED UP AS A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER?!) 
 

What has been your favourite career highlight?

My favourite was the day I received my first payment for the first company I set up. I was trading from my living room with my son then 5 months old and my brother who has shares on the company and the post man come. We got 2 cheques one for £750 and one for 250. We was jumping on all the furniture screaming like mad men. That’s when I relapsed I could do it. We then went to the pub and got a little too drunk to celebrate. I didn’t take my son haha 

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Snog, marry or avoid ... Lord Sugar, Karen Brady or Claude?!

Marry Claude all day long. I love him. Hmmm probs snog karren and avoid lord sugar he did fire me after all. (IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT HE WAS DAFT!!!! HA)

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What message do you want to portray to our ladies at LIFE and why?

The main thing is to remember why you are doing what you do. For me being a company owner or self employed means that we sacrifice things others never would to allow us to experience a life that others never will. The highs out weigh the lows 100000000 million fold. You just gotta graft your arses off to get there. 

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What’s your best and worst attributes?

Worst is probably my short fuse. I have learnt to calm it, working with so many diverse people has allowed me to accept not everyone is like me but I guess you can never tame a tiger. And best is probably my positive attitude. When it comes to business I never have any fear. I never ever doubt myself and my ability. There’s times I think 'shit how am I gonna do this' but I’m a firm believer in there being a solution to every problem. That’s what gets me thru the tough times. I know 100% I will sort it. I sometimes have no idea how but I just know it will unfold and I will sort it. I think that’s what helps to make me successful. I literally don’t stop until I have a good plan or solution in place. And also the ability to adapt. People make plans and expect business or life to go a certain way and when it does t they struggle to pick themselves back up. I’m good at thinking ah well next idea and changing course to make it a success. That’s really important. You have to be flexible.