iStylista interviews Michelle Dewberry

When did you first realise that you were a lean, mean commerce machine?

From a young age, I've always wanted a career in business and always wanted to be finanially independant. I only know how to do business, I wanted to a dancer too but i didn't think that would pay the bills.

What was your fondest off camera memory of The Apprentice?

The Apprentice was a great experience and for me, i really enjoyed the bonding that took place during the 'treats' and back at the house when we all cooked dinner for each other and watched DVD's together.

What was it really like working with Sir Alan Sugar and are you still in touch?

Working with him was a great experience. A real plus to add to the CV.
We speak every now and again but that was a previous chapter in my life, i'm now onto a new one.

What gave you the inspiration to set up Chiconomise?

I was fed up with having to search 1001 different sites to get a discount and found that heaps of the sites had hardly anything on it which I loved or was useful. So I set chiconomise up just for girls covering all the things that we love.

There are quite a few voucher code sites out there, what makes Chiconomise different?

We are one central site for everything. We scour all the voucher sites to get the best deals, we negotiate our own, list sample sales and high street sales and also list 24 hour 'daily' deals. We are the only site in the UK which pulls all of this infomation into just one place.

What happens in a typical day in the life of Michelle...

If it is a week day then it is straight up and straight to work. I'll either spend the day in my home office, out meeting brands or working the team. I also do personal development coaching or give business seinars so every day is different. If it's a weekend then I will always be out doing different things. I like travelling or taking part in sports challenges or just having fun.

What's next for Chiconomise?

We are going to make the 'daily' aspect much bigger so that everyone can see at a glance all the things that are happening in their area, every day. We are also shortly launching The Chiconomist which will help women manage their money better.

What words of advice would you offer women inspired to start and build their own business?

GO FOR IT. It is so easy to talk about things but life is too short for talking, it needs to be all about action. Yes, it is scary - yes it is challenging but it is always better to have tried than to have not.