Business Women’s Week: Debbi Gillham’s professional direction

Women are continuously building their professional profile and we could not be prouder of all the wonderful women, both employees and customers of BizSpace. We had an interview with Debbi, here’s what she had to say: 

What was your dream job when you were Younger?

Depends on what mood I was in or what I had been doing that day! I was never short of great ideas when I was a kid and never shy to let everyone know about them. I used to try everything, but with my own little twist. For example, my mum often reminds me that I spent a long time wanting to be a police detective, like Bruce Willis from Die Hard, except that I, of course, wanted to do everything on horseback!

Who do you look up to?

My mum. She has been a real inspiration to me. She had a tough start in life but through a ton of hard work and perseverance, she managed to not only improve her own life but also provide her kids with a better start in life and significantly more opportunities than she had. She made me realise and appreciate the impact of a good work ethic and the value of your own effort.

What is your superpower?

Well, that very much depends on who you ask. Personally, I like to think my positive outlook and ability to find opportunities in any situations are my greatest strengths but as I’m frequently asked if I come with volume control or a remote control, I’d suspect that the vast majority of people would highlight my ability to always be heard as my actual superpower!

What’s been the toughest challenge in your career?

Learning to compartmentalize my professional life and professional relationships was something I really struggled with at first. Although I always strive to present a professional demeanour and have been told I can be a real ‘hard case’ in certain situations, inside I’m a real softy. Learning not to take things personally, getting overly frustrated or emotional or let those feelings affect my personal life or relationship was tough, particularly when I was younger.

What would you say to your 16-year-old self?

If I could get my 16-year-old self to stay still for long enough I would tell her three simple things:

• Life is not perfect; accept it and deal with it. Waiting for a fairy tale to drop into your lap will not get you anywhere.
• Commit yourself fully to whatever you are doing; half measures or short-cuts rarely get the desired results.
• Appreciate and understand who you are and what’s important to you.

What advice would you give to young women today?

No matter whom you are or what do, life will always present complications. Be honest with yourself about both your desires and your capabilities and then, importantly, have the self-confidence to commit yourself and your actions to the informed decision you’ve made, then there’s very few of those complications you can’t overcome and even fewer you can’t learn from the next time something happens.

Thank you, Debbi, for your words and advice for women around the world today. It is great to have our BizSpace family offering inspirational words of wisdom. Here’s to all women of the business world!