Professional one-to-one: Joelle Warren MBE, Warren partners

A firm believer in the importance of family life and giving back to the local community, she has shown that you can stay true to your values and still succeed in business – today the company has a turnover of £5m and profits of £500,000.

“It is not always a transparent industry when it comes to costs and processes,” says Warren. “Our approach is to tell the truth and treat people decently, give feedback and do what you say you are going to do, when you say – that plays out with both candidates and clients and suppliers. I didn’t particularly expect that to be different but it is.”

The company, which employs 30 staff across its offices in Cheshire, London and Edinburgh, was an early champion of diversity in the workplace. Warren herself was involved in establishing the North West and other regional branches of the Two Percent Club, a network of women leaders from across the country which drives forward the issue of the under-representation of women in boardrooms. 

EY and TheBusinessDesk.com have worked together on a project celebrating some of the north’s most successful entrepreneurs, looking at their journey to the top and the challenges they have overcome as their business has grown and developed.