We’ve had the privilege to work with some of the leading brands in the world in the USA, Thailand, and the uk

Interview with Ashleigh Donald, Co-Founder of Halo Business Consulting 
Ashleigh Donald launched Halo Business Consulting with her husband, specialising in customer experience, operations, marketing and communications for the hospitality and leisure industry.

Halo was created as a result of identifying the need for cost-effective, personable and creative solutions for businesses.  

​Ashleigh, originally from Newcastle upon Tyne, has extensive experience as an in-house Marketing & Communications Director, with eight years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. In 2014, she implemented the pre-opening communications to launch Shangri-La Hotel, At The Shard in London. Ashleigh is Entrepreneur in Residence and member of the Alumni Leadership Circle at Sheffield Hallam University Business School, and has held roles at a range of national PR agencies.
 
Michael is a senior hospitality professional with 15 years' experience leading the front of house teams in luxury international hotels and resorts. During his tenure with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Michael led customer experience departments, conducted Six Sigma operation innovation initiatives and was part of the pre-opening task force for two London hotel openings. Most recently, Michael was the Reception Manager at The Goring in London, the only hotel with a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty, The Queen. In 2015, Michael helped the hotel win the coveted five-star rating from the Forbes Travel Guide and win the AA London Hotel of the Year in 2017.

Explain a little about your background. How you started doing what you are doing now, and your journey?
Having lived and worked in London for many years, my husband and I decided to transform our work-life balance in 2018 to fit around our family. Our love of coastal life brought us to Whitley Bay where Halo Business Consulting is based, whilst representing clients on both a local and global scale.
 
Halo was created as a result of identifying the need for cost-effective, personable and creative solutions for businesses.  
 
As a husband and wife team, with more than 30 years’ collective experience in global hospitality operations and marketing communications, we offer flexible support to businesses in the key areas of Customer Experience, Operations, Marketing and Communications.
 
Our support to companies can range from fully integrated consultancy, offering advice in one key area or becoming a 'virtual' team member to work on a specific project, coach in-house teams or to support in periods of restructuring.  Acting as an outsourced and hands-on resource, companies can benefit from access to senior leadership without the need to commit to a full-time or in-house resource. 
 
We’ve had the privilege to work with some of the leading brands in the world in the USA, Thailand, Scotland and London.
 
Before launching, we undertook a thought-provoking branding exercise which helped us to underpin who we are, what we call ourselves, what values we hold and how this is reflected in our visual identity.
 
We came to the word Halo. A symbol of light and positivity, the psychology of the Halo Effect which is initiated during first impressions and, of course, its association with angels...and the north!
 
We work across all sectors but given our background, hospitality is our speciality. Our clients since launching Halo include  Kew Green Hotels, The Dilly on Piccadilly, Light Human Hotels, Almarose Hotels & Resorts, The Resident, Zero Procure, For The Love of The North, RA Jackson & Son and Anise Gallery.


What was it like in the first week or two of starting your own venture?
It was a little nerve wracking putting ourselves out there and boldly saying we’ve launched our business but the support we received from family, friends as well as local and trade press was unbelievable. We were so thrilled that everyone was encouraging us to succeed.


How did you fund your business in the initial stages and how has that changed as time went on? 
We were able to start our business with a director’s loan from our own savings. The biggest expenses were a new laptop and numerous cups of coffee at the local café and library which served as our hot desk office until we invested in some office furniture and create a dedicated home office. We were able to keep costs very low in the initial stages as we concentrated on letting people know what we were doing.


Would you say your business is profitable? Are you happy with what you're making? Have you set any goals for 2021?
We’re thrilled with how everything is going. We’re both really hands on in our business so keep our outgoings as low as possible. As we look to 2021 and beyond we hope to continue to work with the incredible clients we currently work with and support them on their journeys.


What's the most important thing you're working on right now, and how are you making it happen?
We’ve actually just finished a really exciting project with Kew Green Hotels where we supported them to deliver their annual conference and awards as a virtual event. We had around 135 attendees for the day conference and the awards ceremony was open to view for all employees of their 40 hotels in the UK. The event was co-hosted by Kew Green CEO and Hospitality Ambassador Fred Sirieix. Sessions were delivered by the CEO along with the Senior Leadership Team and guest speakers from InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, 80 DAYS and performance coach, Luisa Godfrey.

In the evening, the awards, hosted by hospitality ambassador Fred Sirieix, recognised the outstanding employees and the dedication they have shown in providing accommodation for essential workers.
 
This was a real first for a hotel management company to deliver their annual conference in such a way. It was a huge learning curve for everyone involved but the feedback from the event was fantastic.


Tell us about your support network - did you have the backing of your friends and family?
I think initially family were a little apprehensive that we’d left our permanent jobs in London and were starting afresh to launch our own business but they could see the determination we had to make it a success and have always offered their full support.


What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I (Ashleigh) attend a bootcamp four times a week at 6.15am – normally we’d be on the beach but we’ve reverted to zoom for the time being. It’s such a fun and awesome group. I always feel to energised and positive after each session. Michael would love to be out on a golf course by the sea but settles for a nice coffee in the garden at the moment!


Tell us how you got your first few clients/customers?
Our very first client came from a referral from a friend where we offered interim marketing leadership for Alamarose Hotels & Resorts to support them with some short term projects as well as help them define longer term strategies.

Following this an ex-colleague and friend contacted us to support with a rebrand of a collection of hotels in London and Liverpool which was just before we went into lockdown. Sadly, their hotels all closed and we weren’t able to continue to work with them.

We had a few challenging months during the first lockdown, not least with homeschooling but we also needed to rebuild our business. We contacted a friend who we’d been a client of many years ago and put our heads together and came up with an idea to host a series of thought leadership events for the hospitality, travel and leisure industry. Each week, for six weeks during the height of lockdown, we brought together a panel of industry leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the situation and followed up by creating a white paper which we shared with all attendees and our wider network.

This was a great way to stay in touch with our industry friends and try to bring people together and offer support. We were very fortunate to start working with two of the attendees from these events who continue to be our clients.  


Tips on how to make it past the 12 months mark:
Done is often better than perfect (we had to tell ourselves this as we tinkered with the Halo website for hours on end!). Always try to add value and offer a fresh perspective or insight, learn from your experience, adjust as you go and be open to new ways of doing things.  Keep up to date with current affairs and industry trends for your clients’ sectors and look for opportunities to be mentored (informally of formally) and/or be part of a relevant association or networking group. Give back and be kind.


What is your commercial marketing strategy and how do you plan to make even more money?
Our overall strategy is to work hard, deliver great value for our clients and continue to expand our network. We’re in such a people business, many of our new business leads come through referrals from clients and friends which we’re always so grateful for so we just need to continue on this trajectory.