The following is excerpted from this article in The Guardian. We love success stories! Sharon Hewitt, 50, left school with the words of a teacher “that if I worked really hard I might be able to get a job as a shop assistant” ringing in her ears. She was lucky, she says, to get a receptionist job in an estate agency and soon became a top-performing estate agent. Despite starting with little confidence, she realized that her ability to talk and listen, empathize with clients’ aims and discover what they really wanted from their house move gave her an edge. “It was the time when there were secretaries,” she says. “I could dictate all my letters, and delegate the things that were difficult.” So how has her dyslexia affected the way she runs the business? “I get people to speak to people, not focus on email,” she says. “Because I’m so concerned that my grammar and writing are poor l write really curt emails, so instead I always pick up the phone.”
For a company whose purpose is to grasp the holistic needs of its clients and their families, this focus on listening and understanding has been integral to its success. Hewitt was headhunted by Nationwide at a senior level, and by the end of her twenties was being employed specifically for her strategic and communication skills. On her return from maternity leave, she decided to go it alone. Her award-winning company, Chiltern Relocation, offers a bespoke employee relocation and home-finding service.