An unorthodox, happily married business woman who has sold a company for £20 million, shares the sometimes outrageous highs and lows during the development of Pacific Direct. Lara Morgan’s book, ‘More Balls Than Most’ shares down-to-earth hints, tips and anecdotes to ensure the reader is guaranteed to take away valued information to apply to their own company.
Full of compelling stories that will make the reader laugh out loud at Lara Morgan’s antics to get the job done by putting customer first, family first, dealing with the struggle and guilt of it all, and ensuring it is worth it along the journey. In More Balls Than Most Lara Morgan shares secrets that will be inspiring for both young entrepreneurs and the established businessmen and women, as well as chief executives faced with difficult decisions about the future of their companies. She shows the reader how to: Run a successful business and still (nearly) have a work/life balance; Have the confidence (and tricks) to make those vital first contacts; Take the creative decisions that will set their businesses apart from the rest; Inspire their teams to be creative and celebrate their success. The book is interspersed with examples from her own experience and includes tried and tested ideas. After using this book readers will realise the drive and determination required to make money whilst overcoming previously insurmountable problems. She believes if you want something enough and are willing to work hard, you can achieve anything.
How did I, clueless and uneducated in business, at the tender age of 23-year turn the sales of a few sewing kits and soaps into a global business worth £20 million? On reflection a whole hearted humility and awareness of all the things others could do better, and a continual drive to learn and improve both myself and the company helped me through challenge after challenge.
I believe anyone can build a profitable company if they want it badly enough and are willing to work hard – success is something others define.
Driven by a determination to learn from the best and an unshakeable belief in my skills as a saleswoman, I somehow managed, through sheer hard graft and seemingly inexhaustible energy, to acquire the business acumen to become CEO of one of the UK’s fastest growing small companies.
In my 19 years in the business, we revolutionised the hotel amenities industry, built a successful, forward-thinking organisation, faced some very tough decisions, until I finally sold my majority stake for £20 million. I’ve learnt numerous lessons from trying and failing to establish a work-life balance, have overcome huge challenges and been through extraordinary highs and lows.
My aim is for this book to provide inspiration for entrepreneurs and to provide easy to action ideas for business managers who are looking for new ideas.
Now more than ever, I have no doubt it will be the small, fleet of foot, flexible business models that will be first to markets, while the big boys flounder.
Lara Morgan was the founder and CEO of Pacific Direct. Basically a soap saleswoman with a massive belief in people, she revolutionised the hotel amenities market, bringing together some of the most famous brands in the world, such as Bulgari, Aveda, The White Company and Penhaligon''s. She was a founder member of the Young Entrepreneurs Organisation, now EO, and a finalist in the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year Award, and has also been a three times finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year.