Mary Ann Smith: running a business is a tough gig (pic: DB Media Services)
Mary Ann Smith talks to TERRY MURDEN about her latest venture and how wigs have been a factor in her business and social life
Every meeting with Mary Ann Smith begins with a beaming smile, a few giggles and an energetic burst of possibilities that lie ahead. There is also the mystery of what sort of hairstyle she will adopt. She is a wig wearer, following an issue with thinning hair, and today she’s adopted a long, wavy style which does nothing to conceal the regular comparisons with a television personality.
“People say I look like Carol Vorderman. They even insist I am Carol Vorderman,” she says. “Maybe I should get a job as a look-alike.” It would be another role to add to the list of “side hustles” she engaged in during her early years as she developed a taste for starting and helping businesses.
Her CV now lists coach, consultant, chief executive, therapist and non-executive director. Today she is at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh to talk about her latest venture, a business that has been a long-time in the making.
The Booking Office aims to help businesses leverage a greater return on their investment in conferences, exhibitions, awards dinners, charity events and corporate hospitality.
“The last conference I went to I asked the exhibitors what their ideal client would be, and not one of them could tell me,” she says. “They don’t have any clear idea about what they are expecting from these events.”
She berates companies for spending thousands of pounds on booking tables and inviting guests but not engaging with them before, during or after the event. “I went to an event where the tables were £6,000 and not everyone turned up. That’s £500 a seat. The organiser was unhappy, but it was their problem. What had they not done to make sure every person felt the value of being there? We are there to understand who is in that room.”
Smith has launched the Booking Office with Francesca Devine, a young sales and marketing executive whom she is now mentoring to expand it and eventually take over.
Ms Devine, who’ll be 25 next month, a few days after her co-founder’s 56th birthday, was a cup-winning netball and football player in her teens and had worked with Smith’s daughter in Dubai.
“She was once the little girl who lived across the road, and she has grown into a very talented young woman who is now my co-founder,” says Smith.
“This is her first business, and I love being able to share the knowledge and experience I’ve gathered while supporting her as she develops her own skills as a business owner. The thought that she can eventually pass that learning on to others makes it even more meaningful.”
While she has seized on opportunities to spread her interests from occupational therapy to business coaching and property investment, Smith admits that in her early years her prospects were much less certain.
She grew up in Methil, her father an engineer in the Merchant Navy, and her mother a cook and housewife. “They were good parents who did everything they could for me. We didn’t have a lot of money, but I never went without anything I needed.
“I will always thank them for is investing in my ballroom and Latin American dancing lessons and allowing me to compete. Looking back, I recognise what a commitment that was when money wasn’t plentiful.”
She didn’t enjoy school and suffered the typical stereotyping of girls when it came to career options.
“I wanted to be an architect but was told I should focus on health as women did not do well in architecture. So I did biology and became an occupational therapist.” She attended Queen Margaret College (later university) when it was on Corstorphine hill in Edinburgh. “They called it Pill House because there were so many health studies courses.”
She ended up teaching alongside some of her tutors, but continued to feel the tug of entrepreneurialism. “At the time there were women like Michelle Mone and Karren Brady being successful females in business and I just wanted some of that.”
Mary Ann Smith with business partner Francesca Devine (pic: DB Media Services)
While she didn’t become an architect, her career included two years as a commercial director at a practice in Lanarkshire. With her current husband she launched into property and advising family firms, while for the past three decades she has been a director of business consultancy WeAchieve Associates.
Seven years ago, she became involved in the chambers movement. “Our offices were next door to the chief executive of Dumbartonshire Chamber at the time, and I gradually became involved through helping him and supporting Chamber activities. That led to joining the Dumbartonshire Chamber board and, subsequently, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce board. I’m now in my second term on the Scottish board, entering my fourth year.
“I know how difficult running a business can be. It’s a tough gig, and the Chamber offered a practical way to support other business owners and give back in a more impactful way.
“I also believe our education system doesn’t always equip people for the realities of business and working life. If you want to influence change, it helps to be involved where decisions are made. Working alongside people with influence and experience creates opportunities to make a wider impact. There is so much potential within our business economy, and I want to help more people realise it.”
Smith is passionate about helping women, not just in achieving their business ambitions, but in improving their personal esteem, and her own issue over hair loss led her to help other women facing similar challenges.
“My hair started thinning during perimenopause. I still have a full head of hair, but its volume and texture have changed, and it doesn’t have the bounce it once did.
“A particular turning point came after I delivered a keynote at a construction event in London. When I saw the photographs afterwards, I felt that I didn’t look like myself. That brought home how closely my hair was connected to my sense of identity and confidence.
“Hair extensions didn’t appeal to me. I like being able to run my fingers through my own hair, so I began exploring wigs instead. In doing so, I discovered so many other women experiencing similar feelings.
“There can still be an assumption that a woman wearing a wig must be undergoing cancer treatment. In reality, women wear wigs for many different reasons, including thinning hair, hair loss and simply enjoying a different look. I wanted to help make those conversations more normal and give women somewhere to feel understood.”
Smith says that some of her clients were talking about TikTok, one of the few social platforms she knew little about.
“I decided to learn how it worked, investigate its commercial potential and use my interest in wigs as the starting point.
“Within the first year, I had built a following of more than 13,000 people, alongside a separate online community of around 150 women. That showed me there was a real need for connection, practical help and encouragement.”
Nowadays, she chooses her wigs to suit her outfits and her diary.
“I still describe myself as a full-time wig wearer, although there are days when I don’t wear one. Most of the time I do, because I love them. They have become an accessory and a way to express different parts of my personality. My girlfriends and I have a lot of fun with them.
“What began as a personal exploration has helped build confidence, created a community and developed into another successful income stream. It has also given me practical experience of TikTok that I can now use to support clients who want to understand the platform.”
PERSONAL CHECKLIST
Occupation: Coach and chief executive
Birthplace: St Andrews, raised in Methil
Age: 55
Education: School in Kirkcaldy, Queen Margaret College (later university).
Career highlights: Occupational therapist, business owner, non-executive director, CEO
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