Upon first meeting Victoria Tomlinson, founder of PR consultancy Northern Lights, you can tell she’s a fierce business woman. However through the tough-love exterior, I also sense that she’s extremely loyal, and that those deserving of her respect will be looked after well. When Victoria agreed to answer several questions via email, I was excited to see what I would discover.
It takes a lot of guts to even think about starting a business from scratch, so what inspired Victoria to take that leap? ‘I had wanted my own business for a number of years.’ Still, wanting and doing are two very different things. She cites two key reasons for taking the leap, ‘the merger of my firm to become Ernst & Young; and my own merger! I married and moved north and decided this was the moment to set up a business.’ Her philosophy? ‘To create the business that I would want to employ. Very business-focused and fantastic service’
From Victoria attitude is would seem like this was something she had strived for all her working life, but no, it would seem she stumbled upon the PR industry quite by chance. ‘I was asked to join a charitable committee on a voluntary basis. My job was in international sales and when I was away travelling, they gave me PR to lead for the charity – thinking sales was PR!’ As with everything it would seem Victoria does, she quickly threw herself into the role, asking for help learning about the industry from friends working in PR and the media,’ I would cook supper as a thank you in return!’
Never planning to get into PR, Victoria’s education took a different route’ I have an HND in business studies.’ It goes without doubt, however, that these skills helped her to get where she is today. ‘It is my business background that has proved the most important in my PR career and I’ve learned my PR skills in a whole variety of ways.’
Having such a varied career, from charity work, to working in a consultancy, to setting up her own business, Victoria must have many successes to brag about, but when asked about the highlight of her career, she simply says ‘says ‘the most satisfying is having very long term relationships and adding value to businesses, and achieving tangible results for clients.’
From listening to Victoria talk about her career to date, it’s clear how she has come so far. She has a certain charm that makes you want to listen intently and take on board her advice. She has the knowledge, experience and mind set to be a real inspiration to people wanting to break into the PR world, but what qualities does she believe are most important for a successful career? ‘Passion above all, whatever you are in. A constant desire to learn and improve.’
Finally, with so many graduates fighting over an incredibly small number of jobs, it’s safe to say everyone will be wondering what she deems her best piece of advice. Putting it quite simply, she replies ‘stand out.’
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