Trudy Shaw : Shut Up AND DRIVE

Trudy Shaw decided to look for a career change which would improve her quality of life, so she started training to be a driving instructor and set up ‘Shut Up AND DRIVE’ offering driving lessons. Read how Trudy went about setting this up…

Born and bred in Leamington Spa, I moved to Sheffield at 18 and after graduating, started my career in HR. In 2004 I gave up my role as Regional HR Manager for a blue chip organisation so that I could take my dream job in Egypt as a Scuba Diving Instructor.

A car accident meant I had to come back to the UK for medical care and I decided to look for a career change which would improve my quality of life.  So I started training to be a Driving Instructor in November 2007.

From the beginning

I didn’t want to rejoin the rat-race doing a 9 to 5 job which I did not enjoy. My main motivation to starting my own business was improving my quality of life such that I could choose the hours I work. I also had some setbacks in my personal life and starting my new business has given me a new focus.

Coming from an HR background, I knew my interpersonal skills were going to stand me in good stead when starting up my own business but, on the other hand, I knew that my lack of financial knowledge was going to be a BIG stumbling block. When I sat down and thought about setting up my own business, the sheer size of the task ahead was extremely daunting and almost stopped me from going ahead with my new venture.

So after toying with the idea of setting up my own business for some time, my gardener gave me the website address for the Women’s Business Development Agency as she had set up business with their support.

I contacted WBDA in order to get advice and support as I would never have had the courage to do it without their involvement. My Business Advisor, Carolyn Reily, broke the task ahead down into manageable chunks which proved to be much less daunting.

She gave me achievable targets and deadlines and convinced me that I was indeed capable of setting up my own business. She also gave me contacts to assist me in the setting up of 'Shut Up AND DRIVE'.

Carolyn also gave me support and encouragement throughout the process such that I believed I could achieve the ultimate goal of setting up my own business. I have also become more confident in my own capabilities and have mastered skills I never knew I had! (eg Finance!)

About Shut Up AND DRIVE

I am an independent Driving Instructor, offering lessons in Leamington, Warwick, Kenilworth and surrounding areas. I am dedicated to teaching you to drive safely and as well as possible, while enjoying the experience and having a laugh.

I have a brilliant first time pass rate, with most pupils passing their test many lessons before the national average!

For more information on Trudy’s services please contact her on 07919 662913, email trudy@shutupanddrive.co.uk or check out her website http://www.shutupanddrive.co.uk/