Jasmine Birtles – TV presenter, Financial Expert, Author and Founder of MoneyMagpie

Website: https://www.moneymagpie.com

“One of the great things about working for yourself -which I have done all through my career – is the variety of money-=making activities you can do at the same time!”

“That’s what attracted me to freelancing in the first place. Being a freelancer has meant that I have been able to write books (38 so far), be a stand-up comedian, entertain at corporate events, write for national newspapers, magazines and websites, present TV and radio programmes (Homes Under the Hammer among others), become a financial expert, be a keynote speaker, be an entrepreneur running a national money website (MoneyMagpie.com) and teach webinars. And there are many more activities that I haven’t yet got round to, so watch this space!”

“It’s no surprise to me that women far outnumber men when it comes to freelancing and being self-employed. Women, generally, are great at juggling different parts of their lives, are more interested in a fulfilling career than making crazy money and are more flexible in their approach to life. These are broad generalisations of course but I have found then to be largely true in my experience.”

“So my message for International Women’s Day is to make the very most of being a woman, particularly if you work in a largely male-dominated area. I have learnt a lot that’s positive from watching how men work and listening to their advice, but I have also learnt that it is a really bad idea both personally and professionally to try to ape men and be tougher than the boys.”

 

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“It may be a longer journey, but the best way for women to get on and genuinely make a difference in their work, and in the world, is to be more of a woman, not less. This means, among other things, consciously to express qualities of gentleness, kindness, fairness, sisterliness (to the men as well as the women) and forgiveness, as much as possible. It is not in any way about being a push-over – these qualities need to be paired with rigorous research, goal-oriented work, wisdom and strategic thinking, among other characteristics – but if you are to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’, as Gandhi recommended, you have to dive deeper into those eternal qualities. At least that is what I have found.”