I am a huge podcast and blog fan. When living in London my journey on the tube to work in the Gherkin was made somewhat more bearable by listening to my favourite podcasts.

A veteran of university radio, where I presented a weekly show to anyone on campus who would listen, I have been harbouring an ambition to once again return to the medium and what better way than through podcasting. When in London we used some of our marketing budget to sponsor a business podcast and saw dividends in return, so I am very aware of the tangible financial benefits of utilising new media to target hard to reach demographics.

One of my other passions in life is business. Both of my parents are successful entrepreneurs and apart from a brother we lost to medicine, the rest of the family are now involved in working in or running businesses. Growing up we would often discuss business issues around the breakfast or dinner table and we still do this today.

While studying business at A-Level I fell in love with the idea of one day running my own business. I went on to study International Management at university in Edinburgh and Sweden. I returned to education this year to work towards a masters from the University of Ulster.

Over the last number of years I have been working in PR and have leant my expertise to brands including the Olympic Games in Athens, Specsavers, Cable & Wireless, PepsiCo, Walkers, Cool & Downtown FM, Matalan, NORIBIC and South West College among many others.

I took the plunge in 2007 and started my own business and it has been quite an experience. I think I’ve learnt more about business over the last year than in seven years of studying business. A big help for me has been listening to the stories of other entrepreneurs through podcasts and blogs and hopefully I have avoided pitfalls and spotted opportunities as a result. My company started out as the North West’s first PR agency, Converse Communications, in September 2007. In February 2008 we launched the North West’s first modelling agency, Converse Models and July 2008 we launched Northern Ireland’s second fashion week and the first in the North West, Foyle Fashion Week. Converse Business is the latest brand from Converse Group. A number of other projects are currently in the pipeline so watch this space.

Converse Business provides a platform to combine two of my passions, radio and business into a podcast that aims to educate and inspire entrepreneurs and those wanting to start their own business in Northern Ireland and beyond.

I greatly appreciate any feedback you can offer and your input in comments and content for the show and the blog will make sure Converse Business is a must listen and read for anyone in business.