Kathleen Bright

Where You Live:London
Company: All Things Bright, Ethical Beads
Job Title: Web Publisher, Self-publishing journalist & entrepreneur

Describe your job/role?
I run a blog about personal entrepreneurship. I'm starting my own business and writing about my experiences, focusing on 'personal' aspects - how my business affects the rest of my life, how my friends influence and inspire me, how other people can get started out.

What is the best thing about your job?
I love the fact that by doing something that I enjoy, it inspires other people. It means a lot to me that I can create and share that kind of value. I have to admit that I love playing around with the design and code for my site too.

What attracted you to it?
I've always enjoyed writing and geeky stuff (like making websites) - when I was at school I taught myself web design. Combining the two happened naturally, it feels almost inevitable that writing and web designing would come together.

What schools did you go to and what subjects did you take?
James Allen's Girls' School, the female corollary to Dulwich College. I took Computer Studies, English Literature and Religious Studies for my A-levels. Before that, I was at Virgo Fidelis in Norwood.

What was your favourite subject and why?
The Philosophy of Religion, a component of Religious Studies, because I'm interested in people and reflection. Religious ideas are a big part of understanding not only religious believers, but all people everywhere because they imbue and influence culture so heavily. Questions about the meaning of life etc. strike me as important to think about!

Did you go to University / College and if so what did you study?
Yes, I'm still studying full-time actually. I'm at King's College London, reading MA Ethics & Philosophy of Religion. I did my Bachelor's degree (same topics) there too.

What was your first job?
A Sales Consultant at Next. It's also the longest job I've ever had, I've been there almost four years and counting. I love interacting with our customers and giving people help with what to wear.

What does your career path look like?
A scribble! I'm in my twenties and at university, so it's quite a short path. I envision it becoming more complicated with twists and turns as my self-awareness increases and new opportunities arise. I think I'll always be an entrepreneur, I can't imagine ending up in an increasingly extinct 'job for life'.

Which women have inspired and influenced your career?
So many and in so many different ways, I hardly know where to start. In my day-to-day life, I feel truly blessed that I have so many amazing friends who inspire and support me. I think my greatest blogging inspirations are Pamela Slim and Wendy Piersall. They both have blog, businesses, and lives too. Sometimes I feel really overwhelmed with all that I have to do and all I want to accomplish, so I feel inspired that they manage to do so much and still share how they got there and how they're getting on.

What would you say is your strongest attribute/s?
Creativity, I value it very highly. My motto is "inspiration, drive, passion" - creativity is a massive component of all of these.

What do you think is the most exciting/interesting thing about working in the digital media industry?
Hmm, what exactly is the digital media industry? I suppose that's just it -that there's such a variety of things involved, so much potential to do so many things. Technology moves fast and changes so much, that's what I love about the industry. For example, blogs have only gained popularity recently and many non-techy people don't really know what they are.

What advice would you give to people who consider entering the digital media industry?
Advice is always a tough one. I suppose, on a general note, what I find most helpful is having a support network of mentors and other inspirational people. So seeking out advice for specific worries you have is a good idea. I'm subscribed to tonnes of entrepreneurship blogs. Currently my favourite is Trizoko, which has a lot of relevance for those outside the field of entrepreneurship. I think the important thing is to listen to your instincts.