Back in September I was also invited to chair a panel at Goals House to coincide with the United Nations Global Goals anniversary. Being able to navigate a complex conversation across 5 countries, IRL and digital with government officials, artists and those from the World Health organisation was a stand-out moment in my career. Through my work I regularly get the privileged opportunity to mentor as part of The Association of Women in The Arts (AWITA), Art Market Mentors (AMM) and Warwick Business School. It was also an emotional moment to be named a top 5 Luxury power player with impact (PR Week PowerBook 2020).
Aside from my work, I am proud that some of my closest friends remain the same since birth, which reassures me that despite changes, my values remain true to who I am. Of course, I am also very proud of my art collection, which started with a down payment of £300 to my great artist friend Jonny Yeo. He kindly allowed me to pay off an original painting in monthly instalments and that led to me starting my own collection, which I jokingly call Wicks Fondazione and now comprises over 100 works of emerging and established artists. Living with art makes me happy because it reflects back to me emotions, decisions and journeys throughout my life. My art pieces are like old friends. They enrich my life.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS/WITHIN YOUR INDUSTRY?
Learn. Learn. Learn. Ask questions and lots of them and never presume you know the answer. I still know I have huge amounts to learn and I hope it’s my humility and collaborative nature which makes people want to work with me, my team and the business. Also don’t give up. You will have bad months, maybe even years but if you can stay consistent in the little things then usually the big moments start to arrive.
Finally, you will often find you spend most of your time on what we call, ‘the boring stuff’ the admin, legals, finance and it’s really important that you get to grips with the entirety of your business, what makes it tick and the ways in which you create sustainable revenue. Working with and hiring teams it’s important to embrace the opposite of yourself, often both in personality and skill set – it’s this which makes a business flow and work to its best. I always think other female leaders love hearing from women wanting to learn, so if you feel inspired do reach out. They would love to hear from you. In the art world specifically, there are some incredible groups like Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA) or Marguerite which help you to build a sense of community and shared experience in a space which can be very specialised.