ABOUT
I'm Sophie - business strategist, straight talker, and someone who genuinely loves this industry.
I've spent twenty years in retail, hospitality and lifestyle. Running businesses, shaping destinations, sitting in every room from the shop floor to the boardroom. I've seen what works, what doesn't, and what most people are too polite to say out loud.
I started Market & Me because I got tired of watching brilliant businesses not get the support they deserved. So I stopped saying it wasn't my job and started doing it.
I work hard, I care about results, and I'll always tell you the truth. If that sounds like your kind of person - let's talk.
WHY MARKET & ME EXISTS
Tired of seeing the same thing. Brilliant businesses, brilliant people, but no honest outside perspective to match their ambition.
When you're too close, you can't see clearly what you're missing. Market & Me is that outside, industry perspective.
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INDUSTRY EXPERTISE IN YOUR CORNER
500+
Businesses supported across retail, hospitality and lifestyle
150+
Founders coached 1:1
20+ years
Industry experience across start-up, independents, big brands, and landlord side
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Twenty+ years in retail, hospitality & lifestyle. Running businesses. Then shaping the destinations they trade in.
I've sat in every room you're likely to find yourself in. Trust me, I've seen it all. I lead every project personally and bring in specialists I trust when the brief needs it.
Stockroom girl to managing shops, bars and restaurants
Started on the shop floor and honestly loved it. Running sites, building teams, long hours, learning the hard way what makes a business perform. Working for big name brands, independents, start ups and even a luxury cruise ship! It didn't feel like it at the time, but it was the best education I ever got.
From the floor to head office
Worked my way up into national leadership roles, heading up retail operations, marketing, events and business performance. Suddenly I was in the big meetings shaping strategy at scale - and I realised pretty quickly that I had a lot to say about it.
Shopping centre management
This took me landlord-side first to Westfield - at the time the biggest shopping centre in the UK and the busiest in Europe - and Transport for London's commercial property estate, over 1,000 retail businesses and hundreds of railway arches. Leading strategy, customer experience and relations across some of the most complex retail environments in the country.
Freelancing & advising businessesStill in full time roles, but founders kept asking for help and being told it wasn't anyone's job to give it. I disagreed and made it my mission to empower and grow more businesses and their teams.
Market & Me
Eventually I stopped doing it on the side and made it official. Market & Me was born.
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WHY MARKET & ME
Here's what you get when you work with me
Both sides of the industry.
Most business advisors come from one direction - and no, not the band, I'm more of a garage girl than a boyband person. Either they've run businesses or they've worked at the landlord and corporate level. I've done both. Which means I'm not giving you half the picture. I'm giving you all of it.
I stay in your corner.
Most programmes end and you're back to figuring it out alone. That's not how I work.
I'm here for as long as the work needs me - and I'm genuinely invested in what happens next.
Transparent & direct.
Partnerships are built on trust.
I'll always be transparent and direct with you - sharing what will actually move your business forward - even if it's not what you were expecting to hear.
This mix gives me a view most business strategists don’t have - and it’s why my clients get results fast.
Most founders don't need more information. They need space to think clearly and act on the decisions they're already carrying.
01.
Clarity first. Always.
We cut through the noise so you can see what's really going on and what actually matters next, give you an external perspective so that you can start seeing clearly again.
02.
Built around you.
Every business is different. Every founder is different. Support that fits your goals, your life and your season of business. Never a one-size-fits-all programme.
03.
Built to last.
Quick wins are great. But we focus on decisions and habits that keep working long after we've stopped working together.
Get clarity on strategy and build a plan that aligns to your goals
Get your pricing, margin and financial structure working as hard as you are
Build a team and operation that scales with you, not against you
Open the doors that matter - new markets, new partnerships, new revenue streams
Build a business that works for your life, not against it
Make the big decisions with a strategic partner who knows this industry inside out
HOW I CAN SUPPORT
You've probably got goals for your business. Here's how I can support you.
Don't just take my word for it.