She grew up on a Scottish council estate with no business role models and little financial security – yet M&S Marketing Director Sharry Cramond is now globally one of the most successful in her field.
The businesswoman, based in Hitchin in Hertfordshire with her husband David and their children Charlie, 13, and Daisy, 11, credits having a ‘positive attitude’ rather than ‘luck’ as the secret to her success – which includes many awards and a six-figure salary.
Wanting to encourage others to unlock their potential, Sharry has written a book, Win Your Lottery, in which she aims to help readers become triumphant, since she believes anyone can be successful if they work hard enough.
Speaking to FEMAIL, the author insisted: ‘I have lived and worked all over the world and some may say I am lucky, but I spell lucky as hard work.
‘If you want it enough and if you are willing to work hard enough then I truly believe anyone can be successful. Everyone wants a big house, car, and fancy holidays, but everyone also wants to lay in bed or watch TV/spend hours on social media.
‘I’m afraid nothing in life is handed to you on a plate,’ the marketing director, who has shared her top tips to success with FEMAIL, added.
M&S Marketing Director Sharry Cramond (pictured), based in Hitchin in Hertfordshire, credits having a ‘positive attitude’ rather than ‘luck’ as the secret to her success
Sharry, who’s previously lived in Florida and Melbourne thanks to her career, grew up in a low income family on a council estate in central Scotland.
But she admitted she wouldn’t change anything about her background because it has driven her to success, explaining: ‘I didn’t want my children growing up with financial insecurity.’
Along with an ‘infectious’ positive attitude and hard work, Sharry said her livelihood was improved because of ten simple tips – including going the extra mile and standing out from the crowd.
She revealed: ‘I have always been fascinated about what makes one person successful and one person not, and it’s not always the smartest that get on necessarily.
‘I realised quite early in life the power of goal setting and maintaining a positive mindset and watching the self-talk.’
She grew up on a Scottish council estate with no business role models and little financial security – yet Sharry (pictured as a child) is now globally one of the most successful in her field
Sharry’s rubbed shoulders with some of the UK’s most well-known faces, including Britain’s Got Talent’s Ant and Dec and Simon Cowell (pictured together)
When asked what she thinks made her one of the top in her field – having won awards and accolades all over the world – she put it down to her can-do attitude.
‘It’s infectious,’ the businesswoman admitted. ‘”The answer is yes, now what was the question?” – that’s my motto.
‘My grandad was a coal-miner and he left the house every day whistling. When I asked him why, he said to me “Well I have to go down the pits so I can go down there moaning or I can go down there happy.
‘”Which one do you think will make me have a better day?” I always remembered that. Whistle while you work is not just for the seven dwarfs. No one wants to work with negative people.’
Sharry described another important moment from her childhood – when she headed to school in the wrong coloured blazer from a second hand store – which helped her realise that the key to a better life was firstly ‘believing in yourself’.
Sharry (pictured with Percy Pig toys) admitted she wouldn’t change anything about her background because it has driven her to success
‘I was 11-years-old and starting secondary school and you had to wear the school uniform’, she recalled. ‘We had to buy one from a second hand shop but it turns out the school had subsequently updated the blazer – still blue, but a different shade.
‘I didn’t realise and I felt like all the children that first day pointed out that I was “in the wrong colour”, and although I was embarrassed, I decided to own it.
‘I told them “yes, I know that I am in the wrong colour, but I actually prefer this one”, and they all accepted my answer. And at the end of my first day, I actually did prefer my version. That day, I realised three things that changed my life.
‘Firstly, it’s nice to be nice,’ Sharry insisted. ‘As the great American poet Maya Angelou said “People may forget what you said and forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
‘Secondly, whatever you tell yourself often enough will become your truth. I said that I preferred my blazer over and over again when people pointed out I was in the wrong colour and then I genuinely did prefer it.
Despite not having any business role models around her during her childhood, the M&S Marketing Director (pictured with some of the brand’s products) was eager to learn and relied on autobiographies to help her in her chosen career
Sharry dressed in a Percy Pig costume as part of her job. The author started her retail career at Tesco, explaining that they ‘are a great company where anyone can get on, if you work hard and you have a positive can-do attitude’
‘So watch your self-talk, as this works on the negative as well as the positive.
‘Finally, as I decided to really own my different coloured blazer, I learned that it’s OK to be different. In fact, it’s good to be different. You have to stand out from the crowd if you want to get on in life. Work out what you’re going to be famous for.’
Sharry Cramond’s Win Your Lottery (pictured) is available now
Despite not having any business role models around her during her childhood, the M&S Marketing Director was eager to learn and relied on autobiographies to help her in her chosen career.
‘I read about every successful person I could to understand what drove them and what I could learn from them,’ Sharry said.
The author started her retail career at Tesco, explaining that they ‘are a great company where anyone can get on, if you work hard and you have a positive can-do attitude’.
‘I have seen many people start on the shop floor and end up running large teams and departments,’ Sharry said. ‘You have to believe though. Many people from backgrounds like mine don’t think they can do it. If I can do it, anyone can.’
Revealing the turning point in her career, Sharry said: ‘It was joining the Coles Turnaround team (an Australian retailer based in Melbourne) that really changed my life.
‘I have always been absolutely determined to push myself to be the very best I can be and to give my all to whatever I am doing. But I really didn’t expect that I would get to work so closely with such incredible leaders… I could pinch myself.’
Sharry Cramond’s Win Your Lottery is available now.