What makes a business successful? Sami Rahman caught up with self made woman Arti Halai to find out…

Could you begin by telling me about a few of the things you’ve achieved in your career?

My career is in three categories. The first is my media career which I’ve been doing for 15 years. I started at Sunrise Radio and I’ve worked for a lot of big organisations such as ITV and BBC. My background has always been news and current affairs and it’s always been broadcast related as well.

The second part of what I do is I run a business. I have a training company that specialises in teaching people presentation skills, media training and communication. What makes me different is that I’m very interested in psychology so I bring psychological elements into all the training.

Then my third area is the voluntary work I do. I’m a trustee for an education charity and independent think tank and I work a lot with teenagers. I also give talks to women in management or various organisations on how to make a business successful.

How did you start out in your career?

n my final year at university I got involved in a radio station and I decided that this was what I really wanted to do. I really enjoyed it but I didn’t have a clue about the media and I didn’t know anybody in it. I found the name of a friend of a friend and got in touch with her to get some advice. And that’s how my career took off. I did a very intensive three-week radio journalism course once I’d graduated and got a placement through that. Then I got a break at Sunrise Radio.

You own your own company, AH Action! How did that come about?

I was working at ITV Central at the time and the company was downsizing. And after 13 years in the media I thought I really want to try something different. My other passion is psychology, I’ve always been interested in biographies, meeting people who are very successful and trying to see what makes them tick. And so my company merged from that.

What advice would you give to those looking for a job, given the current economic climate?

The current economic climate is not a good one and the market is going to be over-saturated with brilliant people who have lost their jobs due to the downturn. What I would say is if you have a good idea and you are brave enough to pursue it, now is the best time. I think that if you have a passion for something and you totally believe in it, you could make something of it. If you can see through the downturn and this difficult period we’re going through, then you are on to a winner.