Charlotte Knight, 40 Founder and CEO of beauty brand Ciaté
As a PA at the London office of a Hong Kong property company, aged 19, I would try to run before I could walk. I strived to use my own initiative, which is a blessing and a curse when you don’t have much experience, and at times I should have taken a step back. I was naive about cultural differences and my enthusiasm led to blunders. Once, I had to organise lunch for a meeting. Without researching the guests or checking dietary requirements, I ordered some sandwich platters. I thought I’d done a wonderful job until I discovered the meeting was for a group of Asian men who traditionally don’t eat sandwiches for lunch. Everything went untouched and my boss asked why I’d done it. In my haste to be organised, I’d not thought it through. Now I’m fastidious about researching etiquette.
I’d also tell myself to be more aware of my surroundings. I once attended a board meeting to take notes and was told to help myself to food, so I took a sandwich and filled it with crisps. As I pushed the bread down, the room hushed and the crunch of my crisps was all anyone could hear. I was mortified and learnt to tailor my behaviour to the environment – really, it’s surprising how many of my lessons involve sandwiches!
I’d always been entrepreneurial, waking up at 4am aged 15 to run car-boot sales, so working in a corporate environment was hard, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The company built hotels, so I worked with interior designers and discovered my creativity helping them. Find a connection to your natural interests and you’ll be more motivated to learn.
At 21, I decided to set up a nail bar, which soon grew into a chain. In 2009, I launched Ciaté. Now I learn so much from my junior staff; they’re our target market. When you’re starting out, you often don’t appreciate your value, but there are businesses with whole departments dedicated to understanding women like you, so express your opinions. I want my staff to be sponges: soak up everything – not just in beauty, but also on issues like sustainability. If you constantly think of the bigger picture, you’ll be one step ahead.
“Find a connection to your natural interests”