Interview Spotlight With Pam Edwards

Pam Edwards is the owner of Phoenix Rising Services,  a niche business that delivers  Personal Transformation and Business Creation & Development.Pam brings over 30 years experience of helping Entrepreneurs to develop and grow their businesses. She has been actively involved in every aspect of creating and running a business, including dealing with  Legal Authorities, Creating Job Descriptions, Hiring & Firing Staff, Systems and Procedures, Planning and being responsible for 65 Staff and 25 HGV’s amongst the many other duties of an Office Manager. 

Pam has a unique way of helping her clients to create exciting new chapters in their lives by working through blocks that are holding them back from living their dream life. She is able to get to the root causes,  clear the blocks and then using a system of bespoke programmes, creates the right environment for her clients to craft and create their own exciting new chapter, which may be a new career or their own business. She does this by building their personal confidence, guiding and supporting clients on their journey of transformation.

Pam also has top level connections in many other fields who she will engage to help her clients when needed. Her ROAD MAP TO BUSINESS SUCCESS PROGRAMMES are  very comprehensive Business Creation & Development Courses, which focus on establishing a strong foundations and frameworks from which to build a long term successful business. The Courses look at every aspect of running a successful business and equips clients with the knowledge they need to ensure that they know the right questions to ask of potential suppliers and have the right systems in place for them to deliver great Customer Service. The Programme is designed to cover every stage of Business Development, taking clients from Start-up to becoming a successful Employer with great Leadership Skills. Pam is also teaches the Art of Networking and Business Presentation Skills including how to create and deliver exciting and engaging 60 Second and 10 /30 Minute Pitches.

Thank you for interviewing with us today, can you introduce yourself to us?

I’m Pam Edwards Owner & Founder of Phoenix Rising Services.I help people to create exciting new chapters in their lives by helping them to decide what they really want to do, encouraging them to believe that they can create their dreams into reality by supporting them through a guided bespoke programme to make it happen.

Sometimes, this will result in them wanting to create their own business and I will help clients to navigate the process of creating a strong foundation and framework from which to build a successful, long term sustainable business that will change their lives. I support clients through every aspect of this process from Start-Up through to becoming a great Employer and Leader when they take Staff on and beyond. I also teach the Skills needed to become a highly effective Networker and great Business Presenter from 60 Seconds Pitch through to a 10 or 30 minute Presentation.

Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?

Very briefly, I spent over 35 years working with Independent Entrepreneurs as their Office Manager being responsible for the day to day running of every aspect of any business.

I have dealt with developing systems and processes, hiring and firing staff, creating job descriptions, dealing with legal authorities and managing a fleet of 25 HGV’s and 65 Staff.

I also worked for a time at an International College where I was responsible for similar processes and including creating timetables and monitoring systems for Teaching Staff and up to 2000 Students.

I got to my late 50’s and was increasingly finding it difficult to get work and realised that I needed to offer my skills to a wider audience and could only do this by jumping into Self Employment. So I started out on this new career by becoming one of the first VA’s.

Since starting, have you made any changes to your business model?

Most certainly, one of the best aspects of working for yourself, is that you can and must change direction. I have developed my business to respond to the needs of the people I can help and also to respond to my own personal development and a desire to make my own changes. Although I started out as a VA, I soon realised that after 35+ years, I was quite bored and feeling unfulfilled so I found a new direction and created PITCH PERFECT PRESENTATIONS. This was designed as a direct result of my learning how to Network effectively and seeing so many business owners losing money because they didn’t understand how to network well and make it effective for their business.

One of the biggest issues people have around delivering their Pitches is a fear of public speaking. I taught people how to overcome this fear, together with how to create an exciting & engaging pitch and as a result get much better results from their networking by increasing their confidence in their Networking and Business Presentation Skills.

This has further developed into Phoenix Rising Services, because, as I got more well known, people began asking me to help them with their business development and in several cases, I was also approached at networking meetings by people who were in jobs but unhappy & they were interested in creating their own business but had no idea how to make it happen. Pitch Perfect Presentations has been absorbed into The Road Map to Business Success Programme within Phoenix Rising Services but can also still be accessed separately too.

Have you ever had a mentor? If so how has this benefitted you either personally or professionally?

I have always had and still do have various mentors throughout my self-employment, both personally and professionally. I have had many personal issues to deal with that I know have also held me back from progressing professionally so I do believe it is very important, if not imperative for every business owner to have this sort of support. Being Self Employed is a very challenging place to be and no-one can navigate and overcome the challenges it brings by themselves.

What outlets do use for marketing?

I use Linked In and Networking. I will be adding email newsletters to this in 2023.

What or Who has inspired you most recently?

My mentors have inspired me most and through my passion for encouraging people to be the best, most confident they can be, I have been inspired to revise and re-launch my Boost Your Business Presentation Courses, particularly for Networking Skills and the 60 Second Pitch to help boost the skills of those who are new in business or are returning to Networking after the challenges of the recent years.

What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?

The best advice I have ever received is to be honest, polite and encouraging of people and where they are on their journey. It is not for us to judge, it is for us to help them move on.

How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?

I generally still keep to “office hours”. After over 35 years working in an Office, it’s very much a habit but it’s a good one to have. I rarely work evenings or weekends. I keep those for social activities and personal development.

Name a seminal point in your career so far?

Realising that most Business courses, particularly government backed, didn’t truly address the issues and every aspect of the business of being in business so that most new businesses are doomed to failbecause they simply are not fully prepared or equipped with the knowledge they need to be successful.This is what led to the creation of Phoenix Rising.

Are there any leading entrepreneurs or SME leaders that you admire and if so, why? I don’t follow or try to emulate any leading entrepreneurs or SME leaders as such, because we all are very different in our life experiences and what works for them may not work for me but I do take inspiration from their journeys, especially when I need determination to get through the challenging times which we all go through. It’s useful to remember that no-one gets to the top without challenges both personal and business.

How do you define your own success?

Never giving up and never being afraid to change direction or expand service offerings when needed.

Finally, what can we expect from you next?

2023 is definitely an exciting year for me. I recently trained as a Public Speaker, which is quite a different technique from being a Teaching Trainer and I am also collaborating with several other people in writing a Box Set of Business Books, which will lead to me becoming an independent Author as well as expanding my range of Business Courses.