Cheryl Holland

I retired three years ago but until then, I was a self motivated professional Sales Agent, self employed, travelling all around the South East and West of England. My career was in the Nursery Trade and, during those years I worked for Maclarens, Bebecar, Silver Cross and lastly Uppababy, only changing companies when I was actually head hunted to join them.

With Uppababy, I joined the company as the products were being introduced into the UK and, together with Richard Bamforth ( Director of DCUK, now Uppababy) we successfully built the customer base for the products, putting the company 'on the map'.

As a Sales Agent with my own company, my customer base was my lifeline, therefore it was imperative I was loyal, reliable, trustworthy and aware of their business needs individually. Over the years I was able to take on other agencies other than pushchairs but I was known for only ever representing the best companies with the best products - retailers always knew they could trust my judgement and would therefore support me by buying into the brands.

I was involved in both consumer and trade shows, demonstrating and selling to both factions. I also worked in various independent retail stores over the years, whenever they were having a promotional event - however this did also include many John Lewis and Mothercare stores on my area when they had Nursery Events .

I have always believed customer service and care is paramount - in today's difficult market where internet purchasing is commonplace, it is paramount that independent stores give a high level of customer care, friendliness and helpfulness so that the customer feels they are in the very best place to make that decision and purchase. It is particularly true in the Nursery Trade where margins are extremely low but I am positive this is also true of many other businesses.

• I am an avid reader but also thoroughly enjoy walking my dog daily - this is extremely sociable and I have many 'dog walking' friends where we are 'ladies who meet and do coffee'!

I loved my career and retired mainly because I drove in the region of 40k miles a year plus was away many weekends - traffic jams were my day to day life and, after all those years, it all became too much. However I am sure that, if all my customers had been within a 20 mile radius, I would still be out there, thoroughly enjoying the interaction with them all. I enjoy my retirement but feel I still have more to give.