What would you do if you had a six-figure salary? Perhaps you’d never cook another meal again or indulge in a monthly Thai massage and a Soho House membership to unwind from the stress that comes with being at your A game.
Here at The Good Life you don’t have to imagine what life at the top looks like anymore: Get real-life inspiration for how the most successful live their lives.
Today Fortune meets Rachel Watkyn, founder and CEO of Tiny Box Company, the U.K.’s largest online green packaging business and the most successful woman to ever appear on Dragon’s Den—or Shark Tank for the Americans.
After winning backing from two of the Dragons, she was able to scale the sustainable packaging company from the ground up into a £10 million-a-year business with 75 staffers. Last year, Watkyn’s took home about £140,000 ($180,000)—and that was “a mean year,” as she puts it. Most recently, the eco-entrepreneur was awarded an OBE from King Charles for Services to Sustainability.
But don’t be fooled into thinking success, wealth and recognition came easy for the now 53-year-old.
Last year, Watkyn’s took home about £140,000 ($180,000)—and that was “a mean year,” as she puts it.
Watkyn had a rough start to life and was taken into care when she was just months old. Although she returned to living with her family a few years later, instability and financial hardship continued throughout her childhood—she was uprooted often, so much so that she attended 9 different schools.
Eventually, she took control of her life by getting the grades needed to go to university and leave home at 18. After getting a business degree from De Montfort, she worked her way up at the software firm Tetra.
“That role took me to places like Africa where I worked in Sierra Leone for a year and that experience allowed me to witness another level of poverty and it was then that I knew I wanted to make a difference even if it was a tiny difference,” Watkyn tells Fortune.
Complications after appendix surgery led her to move back home where in 2007 Watkyn launched Tiny Box Company from her bedroom. She appeared on Dragon’s Den a year later—and the rest is history.
The finances
What’s been the best investment you’ve ever bought?
The best investment I’ve ever made was investing in myself and Tiny Box Company. Trusting my idea of making sustainable packaging for businesses and making it easily accessible whether you’re a large company or an SME.
My second best investment was my first house. I bought it in 1998 for £100,000 and sold it 4 years later for more than £200,000. I put a lot of work into renovating the property as it was definitely what you’d call a fixer-upper, but I loved it and it was mine.
And the worst?
My worst investment was when I purchased shares in Arms Holdings back in 2000. These shares cost me £4,000 and by 2003 they were worth £1,000 and I wrote them off as a dead investment. Honestly,I’d forgotten about them and had lost the paperwork in one of my moves, then in 2016 they tracked me down to inform me that they were selling and my shares were now worth £11,000. As you can imagine for an investment that I’d forgotten about it was quite a nice surprise.
If you have children, what does your childcare arrangements look like?
We have my husband’s children but they’re grown so, I’ve never had to juggle picking up children and moving around work. I’ve seen parents balancing children and work and I admire them for it.
What are your living arrangements like: Swanky apartment in the city or suburban sprawling?
Our home is in the beautiful Sussex countryside, about a 30-minute drive from our offices. When I first got sick earlier in life, my parents were in Sussex, so we ended up setting up our offices here and it made sense to live in the area.
How do you commute to work?
My husband works at the offices and is between the office and the warehouses, so I’m very lucky that he drives us to work. I don’t usually enjoy driving, so if I don’t have to then I’d rather not.
Do you carry a wallet?
No. I hardly ever carry a wallet, which means when my assistant is trying to get receipts from me, she usually has to search through my handbag to find what she’s looking for.
What personal finance advice would you give your 20-year-old self?
In hindsight, I wasted so much money partying when I was in my 20’s. I would tell 20-year-old me to save my money and not waste it on things I really didn’t need. Don’t get me wrong; I think you should still enjoy yourself, but 20-year-old me was partying every night.
I had to get a second job to cover the financial hole I’d gotten myself into by going out all the time. This looked like me working in a pub at the weekends after working my 5-day week. Working in the pub let me socialize whilst I worked, but working 7 days a week burnt me out.
What’s the one subscription you can’t live without?
I couldn’t live without my Spotify subscription. I have the normal subscription so £10 a month, I love having music playing in the house at the weekends and if I’m on a run I find it helps me keep pushing forward. I don’t think I could ever not have it, whatever mood you’re in whether it’s good or bad you can always put a song that’s going to help make you feel better.
Where’s your go-to wristwatch from?
I have to admit I am part of the Apple cult, so I’m hardly ever seen without my Apple watch.
The necessities
How do you get your daily coffee fix?
I’m not a coffee drinker but I am an avid tea drinker. Clipper Everyday Organic Tea is my go-to and there are boxes stocked up in the offices so we can never run out. I probably have six cups of tea a day meaning I have 42 cups of tea a week, which actually doesn’t sound as high as I thought it would be.
I always start the day with a cup of tea since it helps me wake up. Then, I usually have one as soon as I’m at the office so I can have it whilst I go through my emails.
“Whatever mood you’re in whether it’s good or bad you can always put a song that’s going to help make you feel better.”
Rachel Watkyn
What about eating on the go?
Lunch is usually al desko. If I’m out for lunch, then I almost always choose Italian—somewhere I can get a good bowl of pasta and I’m happy.
Where do you buy groceries?
I usually get our groceries from Waitrose and occasionally will pop into Marks and Spencer, although I have to avoid the sweet aisle there because some of it is so good.
How often in a week do you dine out versus cook at home?
I’m not a good cook, so that is my husband’s department, and we usually eat at home all week. We’ll have the occasional takeaway, maybe at the end of the week or weekend, but if I am eating out it’s usually a business lunch which I head into London for.
Where do you shop for your work wardrobe?
A favorite brand of mine that is great for smart office wear is Me+Em but I also shop at Saint and Sofia and Lemonade Dolls if I want something bright and colorful underneath.
When I started my career, it was the 90’s and I’d love to say there’s not a photo of me with shoulder pads, but that would be a lie. I used to have meetings with clients all the time, so I’d wear trousers and skirts and suits with heels, whereas now clients get me jeans and trainers with the occasional suit thrown in.
The treats
Are you the proud owner of any futuristic gadgets?
The most futuristic gadget I own is maybe my reMarkable that I take down notes with. I am also a proud owner of a Roomba even if it does eat my vision board on occasion.
If a Roomba counts, then it makes my life a lot easier. It goes around and hoovers while I work, and I don’t have to start hoovering at the weekend.
How do you unwind from the top job?
After work, I love to go for a run or find an online workout to follow. This really helps me unwind, especially if I’ve had a long day of meetings.
I don’t get to see my friends as often as I used to because we’re all spread out now, but there are a few of us who have been friends forever, and we’ll try to organize a weekend when we can all make it. When I see this in the diary, it’s something I really look forward to because I know we’ll have the whole weekend to catch up.
What’s the best bonus treat you’ve bought yourself?
The best bonus treat has been a holiday for myself and my best mate. I was 28 and needed some sun and fun, I’d traveled around Europe quite a bit with work so instead we headed to Barbados.
My second-best bonus was put down as a deposit for a house, but I think the trip with my best mate was the best.
Take us on holiday with you, what’s next on your vacation list?
Next on the list for a travel destination is Bali. My husband suggested this the other evening actually and I was very surprised at the idea but now I can’t wait to book.
I’m not very good at taking holidays, so normally, there’s been one every few years. However, this year, we’ve been lucky and had four trips. I enjoy exploring somewhere new or somewhere that I haven’t been in a long time, and that’s what we did earlier in the year. We went to Malta, and I’d been there before but not for a long time.
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