Lisa Morton is one of the most respected names in the world of Manchester PR.
She founded PR and marketing agency Roland Dransfield in 1996 from her kitchen table and has never looked back.
Since then, Roland Dransfield has gone from strength to strength, working with some of the UK’s most recognisable names and brands.
However, in the sixth episode of the Northern Leaders podcast, Morton has called out some of the sexist behaviour she’s had to endure throughout her career, particularly at the start.
You can listen to the episode – which has been sponsored by OpenRain – on Spotify or Apple Podcasts; or watch it on YouTube below.
“When I was about 22 I went to a big board meeting and got cheered,” she recalled. “When I look back and think about what it was like for a young woman back then, there was a huge amount of sexual harassment and prejudice and some encounters that you kind of brushed aside but were in fact horrendous. I’ve gone home from events before now when I was younger and cried my eyes out.”
In her mid-20s one client even asked her to lie naked on a slab for a music video!
“I do think it’s better now but it’s not completely sorted itself out,” she said.
Morton also told the podcast about having her first business at the age of eight after her mentor – Roland Dransfield – bought her a bucket and sponge.
“He told me ‘you’ve got a car washing round’,’’ she recalled. “He taught me about repeat customers, attention to detail and raising your prices on the back of good performance.”
Morton, who once sold ladybirds in matchboxes to make money, founded her PR company in her 20s while juggling raising two young children.
“It was terrifying,” she said. “I thought ‘if I lose the business I’ll have no way of feeding my kids. What do I do?’”
Morton hosts her own successful podcast called We Built This City and identified some of the business leaders she most admires, including former footballer-turned-businessman Gary Neville, Allied London CEO Michael Ingall and Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig.
She also lists her perfect dinner party companions.
This episode of the Northern Leaders podcast is sponsored by OpenRain, a specialist training business that harnesses the power of AI to deliver human-led training.
It was produced by What Media. The interviewer was BusinessCloud’s executive editor Chris Maguire.
You can listen to the Northern Leaders podcast on Spotify; on Apple Podcasts; or on YouTube.
Previous guests have included Chorley Group founder Andrew Turner; Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies; Matillion CEO Matthew Scullion; and former Chief Crown Prosecutor of the North Nazir Afzal.