DEDICATION AND HARDWORK IS KEY

As we are drawing to the end of our month long EKPR range campaign it’s the perfect time to keep our empowering women theme in full swing and introduce you to Kelly – the account area manger for Industrial Signs, who is one of our UK EKPR stockists. Kelly is a beautiful independent lady who works extremely hard, she has been with Industrial Signs for over 10 years now and is such a loyal, dedicated member of their team! Here at Shachihata EU we know how busy Kelly is and we want to thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule for taking part. Please see below for Kelly’s inspiring interview.

(Image: Kelly Jones LinkedIn)

How do you feel about working within the industrial sector?

I quite enjoy it, I mean it is a male dominated industry so it can be a little bit intimidating (it definitely was in the beginning!) but I’ve been with Industrial signs for over 10 years now and I’ve managed to build up good relationships with my customers over the years, that in turn has definitely made my life easier in terms of feeling more comfortable, confident and at ease when I’m going into wholesalers where 95% of the time, I am the only woman.

With this industry being largely male dominated – have you ever felt uneasy?

In a word… yes. There have been many times I’ve felt uneasy over the years but honestly, I couldn’t tell you when I last felt like that. I’ve grown in confidence and in many other ways over the years so I think it’s harder to make people feel uneasy if they actually feel comfortable and content with themselves

What gives you daily motivation in your career

I enjoy being out and about, speaking to different people and visiting different places… it kind of feels like every day is different even though we’re doing the same sorts of things across the board so that really helps to keep me motivated. To be honest it’s only ever been when things have gotten tough in my personal life that motivation was really hard to come by and near on impossible to find.

What are the pros and cons that come with working in the industrial sector?

Hmmm, my pros are that I get to meet new people all the time, travel around the country and that it’s helped me to grow my confidence and people skills. Cons are probably that people can be rude sometimes… you need to have a thick skin, be able to take things on the chin and not take things too personally. It can be really difficult to slap a smile on and act happy if that’s far from how you’re feeling.

Have you ever faced any challenges with being a female? If so, what?

I think the main challenge for me has been to not feel intimidated by rude comments and awkward/obvious staring. In the past some things happened that did upset me but I think it’s always good to try and take accountability for allowing people to make us feel certain ways… i always try to hold onto my power!

As you work for the company Industrial Signs – a stockist of our EKPR range. Which product would you say is the best seller? And which product is your favourite?

Our best seller so far has been the Electrical marker pen kits, the twin ends and the long nibs made them useful to the customers with their awkward markings and they’ve also been a little bit of fun for me to sell. My favourite though… I quite like the ‘plumbers markers’ as they’ll still write and mark up on wet materials… rain’t no stopping us now – ha-ha!

Kelly is on LinkedIn – @KellyJones…. Give her a follow!!