Don't Tell Me I Can't… Run A Business With My Friend

Kellie Forbes harnessed the power of female friendship to achieve success

- Anna Verdon

After a long day at work, my best friend Gill and I like to gossip over a glass of something fizzy. But I don’t need to regale her with the ups and downs of my day, as she knows all that already. No, we’ve not been gossiping over text – we’re business partners, and there’s no-one else I’d rather have by my side.

I first met Gill in June 1991, aged 21, while working in advertising, and within a week we were inseparable.

I was the loud one while Gill was laidback and sensible. But it’s true, opposites attract – we were always in fits of giggles.

Then, in July 1996, I left the working world to go travelling with my then husband, while Gill continued to climb the career ladder. But we called each other whenever we could and wrote letters every week – I’d tell her about going to the markets in Nigeria and send her pictures of the shores of Copacabana Beach.

I fell pregnant while I was away, and when I gave birth to Tayler in September 1999, followed by Cadia in May 2002, it was Gill who became their godmother.