MUMS WHO MEAN BUSINESS

Suzanne Parry Jones, 46, is the brand creator of Perform Better. She lives in Mumbles with her husband Christian, an Independent Financial Advisor, and their two children Harriet, 8, and Toby, 6.

Following a period of television presenting Suzanne worked in corporate sales for 20 years – radio, recruitment, advertising and medical.

After a first-rate career Suzanne suddenly faced redundancy, a huge emotional shift while juggling home life and two small children. It was the catalyst to launch a brewing business idea.

The amalgamation of her experiences lead her to coaching. Combined with her corporate business understanding her brand is underpinned with Suzanne’s BA honours degree in Psychology – the people seed, her brand was probably locked away in their future.

A postgraduate study in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and a diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Coaching provide a unique understanding of the human mindset.

She talks to Claire Hyden about the roller-coaster of work, school run challenges, changing the way we think and perspective...

Words by Claire Hyden

– a freelance brand consultant and writer who lives in Gower.

HOOSING your brand name is an emotive process. It’s your baby in effect, something that must be nurtured and loved. Nobody

understands the essence and feeling it is intended to render more than the creator.

You have to be brave. I’m not saying you take fingers to your ears with a la la la attitude but sometimes you need to hold your nerve. Creativity is a subjective arena. When your once nestled away and untouched idea is being brought (bravely) to life, in its intangible early form, no wonder its personality causes creative ping-pong sleepless nights as its values bounce around. It’s thrilling…

Suzanne wanted to be black-and-white about what her company delivers. She literally helps people ‘Perform Better’ at work. Suzanne is a coach. When you talk to Suzanne about your thoughts you

feel emotionally charged, empowered and engaged to succeed. Her brand strapline is ‘successful people get coached’.

Forward thinking businesses across varying sectors genuinely serious about investing in their staff frequently tap into Suzanne’s brand as it too is about ‘the people’. They recognise that coaching helps performance levels. Her business is coaching for their business success. Suzanne’s clients are striving for happy and contented staff – isn’t this what we all want at the core? They are providing tools from brands like Perform Better to achieve this.

Work can cause us all sleepless nights. We all work to targets. No matter what we do in the workplace everybody has them. Suzanne understands the pressures and helps alleviate the stress that we place on ourselves that would hinder

our performance. She too experiences the daily juggle of raising small children alongside work. Suzanne’s clients want their staff to have coping mechanisms and find work a positive experience. We want cohesion at the heart of our team and to feel motivated and what her clients want for their staff is just that.

Sometimes her client’s business may already have that foundation laid and their brief to her is to design strategies for change and push boundaries to function more profitably. As well as workshops and team sessions her performance coaching also focuses on the individual.

Applying a cognitive behavioural method empowers you to set realistic plans that allows change in the way you think, feel and behave, enabling you to achieve progress in work performance. Focusing on stress management or unearthing positively what you are particularly good at Suzanne can align everyone to the business strategy. What is pivotal is to feel passion for the brand we work for.

We discussed one scenario I recalled about a creative agency. Imagine a huge glass dividing wall across the middle of a department. The objective was nothing but design - a funky visual. Not intentional but quite destructive it created a physical and emotional divide in the office. It also didn’t help that a major client loss meant redundancies. Motivation was low and sickness levels high. Senior management employed a company just like Perform Better who got under the skin of what could set in.

They wanted to understand and counteract negative pressures. Aligning staff to new objectives and putting in motion a change of culture meant individuals could thrive creatively with new roots. If they hadn’t, things would have got worse. They wanted to fix things, help staff peak at their performance and have a human advantage in an extremely competitive industry.

This company recognised that they needed to invest in their most valuable asset, their people. If you don’t change anything nothing changes. Businesses face mammoth tasks when implementing major plans and change - in the pursuit of serious brand driven growth and success. Sometimes we need to take walls down.

Companies that use Perform Better identify that coaching is clever. Playing to strengths to alleviate stress, remaining focused on business plans, understanding how individuals feel and what motivates in turn super powers us. Investing in the success of their team aids performance - it brings out the best.

MUMS WHO MEAN BUSINESSMUMS WHO MEAN BUSINESS

“My LBD. My old faithful! I bought it on a girly weekend to New York, it sees me through!” says Suzanne.

“I have loved ballet and tap dancing since the age of 3. Even now I love tap; very girly!” says Suzanne.

“The essential Odd Molly school run cardigan that the majority of Mumbles mums probably own!” says Suzanne.

“This Gill Clement handmade jewellery was a birthday present, I love them.” says Suzanne.

Rebecca Jory is a local artist and photographer. This piece is part of a powerful photographic series of iconic local places that the whole community have fallen in love with.

“The Iron Man as he is known in Mumbles made this chair, it always receives compliments.” Says Suzanne.

Arwen Banning is a renowned local artist. Her exquisite figurative work of children captures the emotions and hearts of local mothers who see her pieces in galleries. Her local surroundings work evokes precious memories of happy long beach days with our family we never want to forget...