Francesca Johnson
Francesca Johnson
Born in Norwich, Francesca Johnson had to grow up quickly due to her family situation, but she didn’t let it get her down.
“My parents split up when I was 10 and then my father developed severe rheumatoid arthritis,” she told me when we met in the Royal Castle, “I became his carer so had to juggle my first job at 16 with looking after him and the household alongside counselling mum who had moved onto a new relationship that was also very rocky. This taught me to always try and see all things in a positive light and looking back I realise that these family traumas meant that I grew up fast, was more mature than my friends and this gave me a real advantage in the world of work.”
Work has always been an important part of Fran’s life.
“My career was always the biggest thing in my life and I tended to wrap my social life around my work life – I’m changing that now but in the past it was certainly true. My first job was at Midland Bank in Norwich but I learnt quickly that banking at that time was a man’s world and I would struggle to get on. So I took on a management position with Norwich Co-operative Society – a big mistake as this antiquated business was a real life Grace Brothers! I then left to go work for Buxted Poultry which was the real start of my career in food.
“I was a Statistics Clerk – supporting the Sales Team. When I realised how much fun they were all having, I quickly transferred into telesales and I loved it – I’m one of those people who loves the challenge of Cold Calling!”
For five years she had a ball and did very well. Then the business was sold.
“The mood dropped instantly,” she said. “There were meetings which we called ‘Grim Reaper’ meetings because people would walk in and then never be seen again! I decided I had to leave.”
After another dead end job she decided to move into freelance telesales marketing but Francesca knew she wanted to develop her sales career, so needed to get some training.
“I wanted to get into Direct Sales, so I became a representative for a company selling feminine hygiene product vending machines! It was hilarious in many ways – they only employed female reps and made us wear nice hats to show how feminine we were! As we had to re-stock the machines, products were delivered to your house in bulk and I swear all my neighbours thought that I had some sort of problem!”
After a number of other roles which all delivered additional sales training, Francesca was asked to join a startup business selling frozen poultry products.
“This was my first role as Sales Director but the team all worked from our spare bedrooms initially,” she said. “We made enough to afford an office and then a proper food packing facility and we quickly built sales to a million pound turnover. We then sought opportunities to take it to the next level. Costco, Lidl and Aldi had just arrived in the UK and we saw an opportunity before the major producers did.
“The first one we cracked was Aldi, producing their own label frozen poultry products. I then pitched to Costco and arrived with 13 products for them to taste thinking they would possibly buy three or four. They shocked me by first announcing they would cook everything in a microwave which really worried me. Amazingly they tasted the first product and said: “We can see the quality, we won’t need to try the rest and we’ll buy all thirteen products!”
The company then went from strength to strength but Fran was facing challenges in her private life and was bored professionally.
“I left my husband and took a new job in Halifax which was a bit of a departure!” she laughs. “I’m a great believer in fate, however, and a colleague at this new company invited me to go on a skiing trip. On that holiday I met Brian – we really got on well and quickly became an item!”
As Brian lived in Hampshire the new couple shared a long distance relationship for over a year before moving in together near Southampton. They then came to Dartmouth on a day trip and fell in love.
“We just adored the place – discovering Alf’s and all the wonderful Dartmouth places and began to visit regularly,” she said. “Then on one rainy stay we entertained ourselves by looking in estate agents’ windows. We saw an interesting property in Swannaton Road and decided to have a look. It was up a huge amount of steps but it turned out to be our dream house.”
“We decided to move here permanently so we put in an offer and started trying to sell our house which took ages and we nearly lost out to a cash buyer. Thinking we had lost our dream we got halfway through another purchase when we heard the cash sale had fallen through. Fate had worked its magic again and we now look at our view of Dartmouth every morning and think: ‘How lucky are we? People ask me how I feel living in Dartmouth and I always say: ‘A bit smug!’”
Francesca now operates a sales and marketing consultancy in Devon and also sits on the board of Dartmouth’s Business Improvement District. She clearly loves Dartmouth and has a huge enthusiasm for being involved.
“There are many local people and organisations who all share the same goal of wanting the town to prosper whilst keeping it uniquely special. Communicating properly with each other and developing a team approach always achieves stronger results and I think the BID is helping deliver that. Dartmouth is simply amazing – I have made so many friends here and I feel happier and more at home than any place I’ve ever been.”
First published By The Dart May 2014