After visiting Cambridge Satchel headquarters last week and meeting the owner Julie Deane and her amazing team of workers, there was one thing which stood out for me. Integrity. This British business oozed positivity, kindness and put a smile on your face the second you walked in.
Meeting people like Julie makes you realise that there are successful people in this world who still remain true to themselves. You don't have to be ruthless, intimidating or up-your-own-arse just because you are now a millionaire. It was quite clear, Julie's priority is her children and their wellbeing, and they will always come first before anything.
It is fantastic to see in this day and age that there are companies out there who are striving to maintain a successful business but also keeping their integrity and honesty. Both Samantha and myself walked away from our visit saying we would love to work at Cambridge Satchel. And we adored Julie, her mum Freda, Jess and of course, Rupert the dog. It is a family business which was started with good intentions; not greed.
I honestly believe Cambridge Satchel's success is not only down to a fantastic product - the satchel - but also because Julie and her team are such lovely people. Who wouldn't want to work with them?
But to every happy story there is always a dark side and I was deeply saddened to learn that Cambridge Satchel had encountered such ugliness from another company. How could someone be so awful to this lovely lady? Is it just business? No, I don't think it is. I think it stems from greed, as the saying goes, money is the root of all evil.
What Julie had encountered wasn't just plain old competition, we all know competition is good for business, no, Julie is having to deal with something far more worse than that. Someone she trusted, she worked with has done more than the dirty on her.
And it doesn't matter what walk of life you come from, how fortunate you are, there will always be someone out there who has no conscience and no respect for anyone or anything. It's a real shame we have to be wary of other people and whether we can trust them or not.
I surround myself with honest and kind people who I know I can 100% trust but unfortunately in business this is not so easy. How can you determine if someone is going to help you or deceive you in the long run? Having somebody's word or promise literally counts for nothing.
Teresa x
