SELF MADE Susan MacTavishBest hosts dinner parties for a living. Yes, we’re jealous, too

Legendary dinner-party host SUSAN MACTAVISH-BEST, 43, CEO of Living MacTavish, serves up the lessons she’s learnt so far

➤ Take stock, then take action Previously, I worked in PR, but decided to set up a lifestyle brand nine years ago after I was badly injured, when a fireplace malfunctioned and shot flames at me. I spent a long time recovering in a burns unit, taking stock of life. That brush with death and time to think made me realise the importance of taking calculated risks in order to spend life doing something you really enjoy – it’s too short not to. When I recovered, I left San Francisco, ditched my clients and moved to New York to start over. ➤ Learn to put people at ease When I’m hosting a salon, I want to create a relaxed atmosphere in which people chat and deals are brokered. Fifty to 100 guests lounge around eating my homemade food – and I deliberately open the door wearing an apron. It establishes an atmosphere for networking that’s more natural; billionaires end up speaking to 23-year-old law-school students. Being curious allows people to let their guard down. It’s hard to walk up to a stranger, but the minute you introduce yourself and ask a question, you can breathe, and the onus to talk is on them. ➤ Don’t seek Madonna, seek her manager When thinking of who inspires my work, I looked to other lifestyle businesses and, for me, Jamie Oliver is the epitome of success. But he can’t write his books, run every restaurant and develop recipes alone, so I sought out who runs things day-to-day by trawling LinkedIn. I discovered the CEO was [at the time] a woman named Tara Donovan, and dropped her a line inviting her to dinner – you need to offer people something in exchange for their time – and she’s now a wonderful friend. Be logical and approach someone who’s likely to respond. ➤ Practise digital detoxing In my experience, the difference between someone who will remain at mid-level management forever and a top CEO is that the latter take time off. That said, they’re not lounging by a pool in their free time, they’re with friends or family. Those powerhouse types also spend less time on their phones and email; they’re fully engaged in conversations. It’s important to have set times in the morning and evening to clear your inbox, rather than getting into eternal ping-pong correspondence. Put your phone in another room past a certain hour at night, and make it clear that when you’re on holiday, you’ll only respond to emergencies.