Profile of Jeanette Forbes, leading woman in a man's world

1. What is your business? PCL Group is a total ICT service provider to the Oil & Gas industry working predominantly in the Offshore, Marine, Commercial and Industrial sectors offering support and maintenance 24/7. We provide IT solutions from conception to completion and even include fibre and CAT5e cabling. None of our work is subcontracted so we have total control and should any problems arise, these become PCL Group problems and we cannot blame other sub-contractors!

2. What prompted you to start up in business?

I was made redundant with the last downturn in the Oil & Gas industry. This was the second time this had happened and I decided I did not like the feeling of not being in control of my own destiny and being made to feel like you had no value when you had worked extremely hard to get where you were. I thought it unjust not to have recognition for long hours, lack of time off and having to juggle working life and family life and keep a smile on your face throughout!

3. What was the market situation when you started up? The ICT market place was extremely competitive when PCL Group was incorporated. As you might imagine 28 years ago very few women thought about joining the ranks of their male IT engineer counterparts, and I do remember often walking into functions and seminars and men turning round and their expression being somewhat “why are you not at home with the kitchen sink and the children”, sometimes I wanted to run into a store cupboard and change into a waitress uniform I felt so intimidated. I decided that I had studied to put myself through night-school for a degree and a diploma in management for 4 years and I was as good as anyone of them in the room, so I stuck it out. It was tough and I did sometime relent to the pressure but with “true grit” I bounced back and continued.

4. Do you have a vision for your business and if so, what is it?

To become one of the largest and the best ICT companies in the whole of the UK. A well known brand in towns and cities across and eventually entering International markets.

5. What was the biggest obstacle you had to overcome and how did you do it?

When PCL Group was only 2 years old we encountered a “bad debt” for the sum of £179,000.00 through no fault of our own. The company that we were working for quite simply told us they had run out of money. We had two choices, close the business and try and eventually come out of the financial implications that this has on any company or individual or continue trading out of this situation. I decided to trade PCL Group out of the situation. It took us 3 years to come out the other end, no pay-rises for staff, no benefits to the company, you simply have to “tread water” for a long time. Imagine how you would feel when, year after year your accounts show a negative profit! Thankfully we are out of this situation now and going for gold at long last!

6. How did you find the finance to get started?

PCL Group was started from my dining room in our home and with just £100 in cash. I had just been made redundant, I had two children finishing Secondary School sitting exams and was the main bread-winner for the household. Having to pay the mortgage, pay bills and keep the food on the table is a job in itself. I once told a close friend when I first started PCL Group that if I had to eat soup and sandwiches once more I was going to scream!

7. What are your personal qualities that have that have helped you to succeed in business?

Honesty and the ability to keep focused when all around me seems to be in total chaos. I was always good at juggling a number of tasks at the same time, so I think this particular skill set has helped me to get to where I am today. I am a work-horse and sometimes someone has to take out the batteries to give me time to re-charge. I think if you enjoy what you are doing then it is less of a task and it becomes more of a pleasure.

8. How do you keep going when things get tough?

Have a conversation and share a couple of jokes with my engineers and staff. They always give me a shot of reality! We have a great team at PCL Group, all ages and you have to be prepared for the young engineers to tell you something that, really you could do without hearing, especially when they have had a night out. They soon make me realise that life is for living and today’s problems will be resolved by the morning or perhaps the next day, next week, next month, even next year, but they will be resolved!

9. How do you measure success?

I could tell you what the accountants would want to hear which is by the amount of money in the bank but this would not be my view on how I measure success. Success to me means putting in a full days work and earning your corn, ensuring that the rest of the team are happy and content and having a little fun along the way, but never forget business is not a game and the responsibilities should be taken seriously. Work hard, play hard is how I measure myself and the success which PCL Group has achieved in 8 years. I recently attended the Prowess Awards in Birmingham and won Woman in Science, Engineering and Technology for the UK this has to be one of my proudest moments. I suddenly realised that what I do everyday was making a difference. I invited my mother to join me as a guest as she lives in Yorkshire and I live in Aberdeen and we don’t see each other as often as I would like due to work commitments, she cried and told me she was so proud of me, that to me was success with a capital “S”.

10. If you had one piece of advice for a woman starting out in business, what would it be?

If you feel extremely confident that you have the ability to take the rough with the smooth in business then go ahead and do it! I told myself when I first started PCL Group that I would give it “my best shot” and I would like to think that is what I am trying to achieve, 24 hours a day 7 days per week! Only wish I had done it sooner.

Profile of Jeanette Forbes, leading woman in a man's world - To learn more about this author, visit Sue Stockdale's Website.

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