What has been the toughest issue your company has had to deal with over the last 12 months?
How long have you got? Trying to build up the business again after Covid has been hard. When covid hit, all the hotels shut, so I was left with 150 pallets of stock just sitting there in the warehouse.
But as luck would have it, a couple of weeks before covid hit, a hotel had asked us to produce a hand-sanitiser, and that's what we ended up making for the next two years.
Which other local firms do you most admire, and why?
I love
Bettys and admire them because they've been going for such a long time. They stick to their brand and are great at what they do.
Who are the most inspiring local leaders?
Charlotte Farrington, CEO of the
Yorkshire Children's Charity, is brilliant. She does a fantastic job and is a real ambassador for Yorkshire. She's fab.
What could be done locally to boost business?
The council could start by fixing the pavements, so that people don't trip up when they're going round the shops.
They should make parking cheaper too
– it's ridiculously expensive in Harrogate.And Harrogate's a hilly place, so they should allow people to ride around the cycle paths on electric scooters so they didn't have to use their cars.
Best and worst things about running a business from Harrogate?
Harrogate is very positive-thinking. A lot of people who move here want to do well and are very supportive of each other. I'm from Bingley, and when I arrived here 20 years ago, that was one of the first things I noticed.
The worst is that Harrogate is very cold in winter!
What are your business plans for the future?
We've got a lot going on! We'll be launching our new formulations in time to celebrate our 25th anniversary in October, and we'll be starting to retail in Dubai later this year too.
We've also just agreed to do all the fragrances for
Virgin Active's yoga studios. That's really exciting
– every time you go to Virgin Active, you'll be able to smell H2K!What do you like to do in your time off?
I play badminton and go for walks with my husband, daughter and dog.
I also go to a lot of events organised by
Yorkshire Business Woman.
Best place to eat and drink locally?
La Feria on Cold Bath Road in Harrogate
– there's lots of variety and it doesn't matter who you're with, the ambiance is always fantastic.Also, you can't go wrong with
William & Victoria's, just up the same road
– it's still going strong after all this time, and it's still amazing.This is the latest in a regular series of weekly Business Q&A features. If you'd like to suggest someone in business in the Harrogate district for this feature, drop us a line at contact@thestrayferret.co.uk.
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