Interview With PR Queen Sam Ward

Welcome to the eleventh of the weekly interview series where I will speak a wide range of people who have embraced the working remotely opportunity. We will speak to entrepreneurs, business owners, large organisation workers and freelancers about their trials and tribulations when delving into remote working.

This week I was DELIGHTED to interview PR queen Sam Ward who combines working for a household brand, freelancing for a broad range of clients, marathon running and been a Mum to a young child. Sam is pretty busy. I have known Sam for over a year now and have followed her career through her twitter account.

Sam in my opinion is huge inspiration for any new mothers given her lifestyle of maintaining a full time role, freelancing and keeping herself in shape. No mean feat really. You can follow Sam and her running through her enjoyable blog 750 Miles. I caught up with Sam to ask her how all this works for her, how she juggles home life and effectively work and delight her clients.

Q: Hi Sam, tell us a little bit about yourself, where are you from, where do you live now?

Hello! I’m originally from Sheffield but now live in beautiful Harrogate, where I also work.

Q: What company do you work for and what is your role within the organisation?

I work for Betty’s & Taylor’s of Harrogate and am the Brand PR Manager on the Taylor’s side. I manage the PR for core brands including Yorkshire Tea and their speciality teas and coffees. I also do freelance PR and social media for a broad range of clients. I’m a very lucky lady!

Q: How do you deal with stereotypes from friends in regards to productivity when working from home? i.e.: Sleep until midday, 2 hour lunch breaks etc.

I don’t really encounter negativity as many of my friends are in a similar position. Most of my remote work is freelance, and the majority of my friends either work in this way or run their own business – they know it’s not a walk in the park.

Q: What is the most challenging part about working remotely and how do you overcome this?

I have an eight-month old daughter so finding dedicated time can sometimes be challenging. There are always days where staying in bed seems like a much nicer prospect but you just have to be incredibly disciplined about it.

Q: What are the main positives around working from home?

Flexibility is the biggest positive for me – it allows me to work outside normal working hours, like when my daughter has gone to sleep – it means that I’m not missing the simple things, like bathtime, that mean so much to us both.

Q: Do you have a dedicated office space and what is the importance of having this?

This is terrible, but I tend to work from my sofa! It’s too comfy!

Q: Any pictures of your office space?

I don’t have any pics of my living room, sadly 😉

Q: Do you have any productivity tools you use to keep yourself efficient which may help our readers?

I don’t have any specific tools as my work is very deadline-heavy – it’s reason enough to make sure you work as efficiently as possible – otherwise it just won’t get done and you don’t get paid!

Q: If you could give any advice to our readers before deciding whether remote working is for them then what would it be?

Think about what kind of person you are. You have to be incredibly disciplined and if you’re the kind of person that will take an extra half an hour in bed unless you HAVE to be at your desk by 9am, then remote working probably isn’t for you.

Q: Do you believe more organisations should allow those with web based roles to work remotely? If so..how come?

Absolutely, as it’s more cost effective for both parties. It’s sustainable and allows greater flexibly for workers, which is a very attractive prospect.