Laura Pace - owner & managing director, Yellow Fish

Running a female‐led creative agency is definitely one of my proudest achievements to date. I am a strong believer in empowering women and ensuring that there are no barriers to holding them back by creating an inclusive environment.

Professionally the biggest challenges for me as a leader are the juggle! Ensuring I have a deep enough understanding of each vertical of the business to provide strong leadership and guidance and working out where my time is best spent. In the industry, the biggest challenge is ensuring my voice is heard and recognised amongst some of the louder more prolific voices.

Personally, it has been all about not being held back by the 'being a mother or being a leader' debate. On declaring I was first pregnant I cannot tell you the number of times I was asked if I was going to stop working or find a less demanding job. I truly believe women can and should do what they want but it doesn’t have to be about one or the other. With a supportive team and family, we can lead companies and be mothers.

My inspiration comes from all the brilliant women and men in my life. From former male bosses who pushed me to be ambitious and stop being my own worst enemy (Edward Venning, Graeme Howell) to the most inspirational CEO who I took over Yellow Fish from, Maria Valentine. I want my female team to develop and my daughters to grow up knowing that they can choose any path and being a woman is quite frankly the best because we can have it all.

My best advice to females in this industry would be:

1. Don’t compare yourself to others. As women, we do that all the time. Just because you are doing something differently doesn’t mean it’s wrong.

2. If it feels like an uphill struggle, or toxic or like it’s never going to work, it probably isn’t ever going to work. Be decisive, learn from it and move on.

3. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Make small steps towards inclusivity and growth. It doesn’t need to all come at once.

4. Build a strong support system. Both personally and professionally.

5. If something isn’t working or you don’t wait for someone else to change it – move on, make the change and evolve.

6. Ask for advice constantly and find mentors who will champion your career.

7. Take a risk and a leap of faith. Don’t overthink decisions. The life-changing moments in my career to date have been when I took the biggest risks.

8. Work in an industry you love and are passionate about and it will never feel like work. Your success is not defined by others. It is defined by you.