Emma said: 鈥淚 knew everyone else in the competition would aim at young people in pubs and clubs so I tried something different. I work on the reception at two Stockton leisure centres and knew that a lot of young people visited them. It seemed a good place to market Hed. The company says it has seen an upturn in sales thanks to the idea.鈥�
She also applied last summer for a marketing job with University of 海角直播-based company Co-efficient and Outsourcing Solutions. She has just heard that she has been taken on for a day a week, raising the profile of its work in helping small businesses tackle accountancy and administration problems.
Emma said: 鈥淲hen I wrote my letters for the job and the competition, I had just been diagnosed with ME and tired a lot of the time. I was sleeping sixteen hours a day and did not even have the energy to get out of bed.
鈥淏ut I decided it was a case of mind over matter. It was important to me that I could still do the kind of things I used to do. I had lost all my confidence and I was scared to go out but my successes gave me my confidence back. I still get tired but am getting better. Without those successes, I think I would have slipped into a deep depression.鈥�
An unexpected bonus was an invite to a celebrity party in London hotel during her trip to see Hed representatives.
Emma said: 鈥淎t one time I thought I was so ill I thought I would never be able to get to London. But there I was in the same room as the likes of Elton John, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Sienna Miller and Kelly Brook!鈥�