I’m from a council estate – teachers said ‘get a proper job’ but now I have a £2.4m business & work with Robbie Williams
WHEN support worker Carla Speight landed the chance to photograph Green Day at a gig, her friends from the council estate back home hardly believed her.
The 38-year-old was once a motivated teen desperate to break into the media industry, but was “crushed” when one teacher told her to give up on her dreams.
Being a working class girl from a small town in Manchester, working under the bright lights of the media “was just never an option”, Carla says.
Instead, teachers urged her to get a “proper job like admin or retail”, so she became a deaf-blind support worker.
But the mum-of-two couldn’t let go of a burning passion inside her.
She knew she wanted to work in the media in some form, so continued to seek out freelance gigs in photography and PR whenever the opportunity arose.
Fast forward 20 years, what was once a side hustle for Carla is now her full-time job.
She runs her own PR and talent agency named Carla Speight & Co, and has recently launched the PR Mastery For Business app, which is already valued at £2.4 million.
“This girl from a council estate went from working as a deaf-blind support worker and finding herself as a single mum, all the way to turning her hobby into her dream job,” Carla tells Fabulous for our exclusive series, Bossing It.
“It’s all about making your own right place, right time moments.
“I always say I shouldn’t be doing this job, that it’s a hobby that got out of control.
“I was always interested in media but I was never given the opportunity to see it as a viable career when I was at school.”
Carla started out photographing music and comedy gigs in exchange for a ticket – and she landed those gigs by sending out speculative emails.
“Don’t ask, don’t get,” she says.
From there, she began rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in music and comedy.
Her photography work gradually evolved into talent management and PR representation, where she landed more press coverage and more TV gigs for celebs.
Carla's Top Five Business Tips
- Get an accountant
- Don’t be rude to people
- Make your own right place, right time
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help
- Always believe in yourself, no matter what
Among her A-List clientele are Lionel Richie, Robbie Williams, Kaiser Chiefs, Take That and Lewis Capaldi.
She’s particularly passionate about the comedy industry and has been hired by her self-confessed hero Sarah Millican, as well as Katherine Ryan, Jason Manford and Joel Dommett.
“When I look back at my career, I have to take a minute to really believe all those things happened,” she says.
“I talked my way into a lot of places and I worked incredibly hard to get to where I am today.
What I’ve managed to do is a far cry from what I thought I’d end up doing, and I’m proud of the fact that I proved that teacher wrong
Carla Speight
“What I’ve managed to do is a far cry from what I thought I’d end up doing, and I’m proud of the fact that I proved that teacher wrong.
“I’ll always be grateful to everyone who opened doors and recommended me in the early days of my career.
“I now pay that forward and support as many as I can like they did for me.”
Paying it forward is the whole premise of serial entrepreneur Carla’s new app.
What do PR agents do?
PR agents manage and enhance the public image of their clients, whether it be a celebrity or business.
They do this through building relationships with the media and landing coverage in the press.
This is done through creating and distributing press releases, securing career-enhancing opportunities and organising events to improve exposure.
They also handle crisis management by developing communication plans and mitigating negative publicity, particularly when scandals arrive.
PR agents ensure all communications align with their client’s brand image and values, and monitor public perception to manage reputation.
Having spent weekends as a child working in her mum’s gift shop, she recognises that small businesses “are the backbone of our economy”.
So, the PR Mastery For Business app is a toolkit all designed by Carla to help small business owners secure press coverage and increase their exposure.
She was able to begin designing the content for the app in 2020 with zero investment thanks to it all being written from her wealth of experience and PR knowledge.
The app has new AI developments launching in two months time, which Carla hopes will rocket it into a seven-figure worth.
This girl from a council estate went from working as a deaf-blind support worker and finding herself as a single mum, all the way to turning her hobby into her dream job
Carla Speight
“I’ve done all of this with two kids in tow,” the mum to Ben, 17, and Max, 13, adds.
“That’s what I do it for – they’re my biggest drivers.
“I look at both boys and think back to my circumstances; having a single mum, there’s so many stereotypes they could fall into.
“And they just don’t fall into them, because they look at me and go, ‘well, she’s managed to create something wild for herself and call it work’.
“I always hate being that sort of cheesy person, but you know how it goes.
“You can be whatever you want to be.”